Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#11

Post by hjkl » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 2:49 AM UTC

gordonc wrote: post #6

The Black Swan (unrelated to the Natalie Portman movie) A great look behind some of the pseudo-science and psychological principles behind decision-making, rationality, and markets.

I loved Black Swan for the same reasons. I also read "Hollywood Economics: How extreme uncertainty shapes the film industry," which reads like an applied version of the Black Swan in relation to the film industry.

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#12

Post by llimllib » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 2:54 AM UTC

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nobokov.

Superb meta-literature.

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#13

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 2:56 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#14

Post by bradly » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 2:58 AM UTC

Into Thin Air. http://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-Disaster/dp/038...

Amazing story, super inspirational, and lots of great history. My wife and I both loved this book and could not set it down.

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#15

Post by roustem » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 2:58 AM UTC

Delivering Happiness is great. I loved it too.

The best book of 2010 for me "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall: http://www.amazon.ca/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/...

There are so many great things about this book. It has an amazing story and also delivers a message why humans were born to run.

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#16

Post by flapjack » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 2:59 AM UTC

"Land of Lisp" http://landoflisp.com/

I'm not even finished with it, but it has still introduced me to Lisp, functional programming, artificial life, and web servers as well completely changed the way I program.

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#17

Post by mmaro » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 2:59 AM UTC

Gokhale's 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, via http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1739607 (thanks, HN). It's not the best presentation or the best science, but it has ended my back pain and given me awareness of my body. Anyone who sits with a curved back or occasionally lifts heavy objects should read it.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979303605/

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#18

Post by adriand » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 3:00 AM UTC

"The Player of Games" by Iain M. Banks. I love serious literature, I love non-fiction, and I love business & tech books, but I decided to give sci-fi a shot again and a friend leant me this book: wow. Fascinating, rip-roaring, mind-bending read! If you want to read something but don't want to fall asleep, I highly recommend this book.

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#19

Post by joe6pack » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 3:01 AM UTC

"Daemon" and "Freedom" by Daniel Saurez. Very enjoyable reads, and chock full of not-too-distant futurism. They display an enormous amount of thinking about how social networks and the massively increased availability of data about our lives are changing the ways we interact with each other. Sprinkle in mysteries that play out in both reality and MMORPGs, lots of interesting devices, and a terrifying peek at what a technology-driven global economic meltdown could look like, and you have the basis for these books.

Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why

#20

Post by tptacek » Mon, Dec 06, 2010, 3:02 AM UTC

joshfinnie wrote: post #3

My choice: Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace I was actually very surprised on how insightful this book was. It is a great look into the inner mind of a prolific writer and the anguish he felt by in genius.

Man, I couldn't possibly disagree more. I really enjoyed Wallace's voice in this book, but felt like David Lipsky injected way, way too much of himself into it.