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Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

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Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#121

Post by dahdum »

rsync wrote: post #107
Jkol wrote: post #103

Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, aka Three Body Problem. Explored existential topics in a way I've never encountered anywhere else. I truly believe that decades from now this series will be viewed as the LOTR of our time. I've recently been reading the Foundation series, and have found the concept of The Mule character to be incredibly eye opening. I can't say directly it's had a positive impact on my life but it…

Agreed. I don't put it on-par with Dune, but there are definitely concepts in the TBP trilogy that are simultaneously difficult and mind-opening. Some of them are quite haunting, actually. Most of the deeper exploration of these ideas takes place in the third book.

Dune was my favorite series until TBP. Dune degrades quickly after the first book while I thought each TBP was better than the last.

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#123

Post by yobert »

oliv__ wrote: post #17

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

Atlas Shrugged was wonderful for me as a young adult. It helped me break free of a religious upbringing that was filled with guilt.

And then it was good for me in my middle age when I realized how flawed other parts of Rand's philosophy are and how much I disagreed with them and why, and got to move past it to even better places. :D

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#124

Post by johnchristopher »

1. A patchwork Planet: A Patchwork Planet is a novel by Anne Tyler. Published in 1998, it tells the story of Barnaby Gaitlin, anti-hero and failure who suffers from more than the usual quota of misfortune. The book is noted for its complement of old people and eccentrics, and its sharply ironic humor.

As a teenager/young adult (can't remember), the ending left me puzzled until someone older tipped me about what was going on.

2.

edit (this was my first answer before I could remember the title of two other books which aren't as famous but left a mark on me):

Steppenwolf could be a good candidate.

Wind, sand and stars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind,_Sand_and_Stars

There's something in it about going on.

I can't say they had a significantly positive impact on my life though.

I think reflecting back on events, trying to put things and traumas into perspective has had a positive impact.

What I am trying to say without knowing where you are coming from: there's no magic pill and books are not magic pills either.

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#127

Post by nnlsoccer »

awinter-py wrote: post #98

esp this week, vernor vinge's 'fire upon the deep' it perfectly captures the weird information environment surrounding a global crisis (people communicating via letter, people closer & farther from the crisis having different skews and perspectives and beliefs) and the house of cards effects around collapsing civilizations

His other book A Deepness in the Sky is amazing as well

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#128

Post by SamBoogieNYC »

The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hašek - this book is pee-in-your-pants funny. A Czech satire about WWI. Definitely shines a light on the absurdity of war and various institutions - a lot still applies today. There is profundity in the dark humor, and at the same time it is a great mood-lifter. The character Svejk stays with you as a sort of idiot-genius-rebel, a cool archetype

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#129

Post by vivekf »

tonetheman wrote: post #52

Illusions Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah An amazing book about choices. And what you can and cannot control in your life. I read it in college and have re-read it over the years. https://www.amazon.com/Illusions-Adventures-Reluctant-Richar...

Jonathan Livingston seagull by the same author is also an amazing book

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#130

Post by Fnoord »

Some things I'd mentioned are already mentioned, so I upvoted these instead of double mention.

I'd like to add if you like SF and Star Wars, you'll enjoy The Thrawn Trilogy [1]. I read them as kid, somewhere in the 90s. Not sure if they're still relevant.

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/series/42348-star-wars-the-thrawn-...

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