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Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
141–150 of 219 posts
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#142I want to get one of those giant XML bibles and keep it on my desk just to troll people.
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#143I keep ~10 books at my desk. 9 of them are related to Javascript / Python / Probability etc [1]., There is one book though, that I really love to see everyday. Arabian Nights. That was the first book that was gifted to me when I was 11. I always had it with me. It reminds me of my childhood when things get too stressed and I read excerpts out of this book. [1] https://www.amazon.com/JavaScript-Definitive-Guide-Activa…
Which translation of Arabian Nights do you have? I've been wanting to read it for a few years now but haven't got around to it. I think this will the next book I read. Any suggestions are appreciated!
https://www.amazon.in/Arabian-Nights-Masters-Collections-Map...
I'm not sure where you can get it in the states.
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#144A few immediately come to mind: - Garner's Modern American Usage - The Hardware Hacker (I am a huge fan of bunnie) - The Art of Electronics (Horowitz and Hill) I don't really have "reference" books on my desk. Most rotate out quite frequently depending on what I'm researching and writing about. These can range from Raizman's History of Modern Design to Lewis Carroll's Symbolic Logic . In addition I make plenty use of…
+1 for an English usage guide.
I prefer the updated Garner's Modern English Usage because it caters for the broad church of English not only the USican dialect.
Also, +1 for a thesaurus.
I keep a dead tree Roget's handy – he's buried just down the road – and macOS provides the Oxford gratis. I also have Chambers on iPad/iPhone for pennies – a completely different slant.
Effective, concise communication is a huge part of tech. Get better at it day by day by surrounding yourself with the best tools. It costs next to nothing, and it improves the rest of your life to boot.
Aside: I keep a bookcase next to my desk with ~50 novels in three languages. One chapter rewires my brain to think different and has solved innumerable problems. Your HR dept may not approve. Challenge them.
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#145~ Books => I have most in digital and physical copies ~
- The C Programming Language (2nd edition) - Brian Kerningham / Denis Ritchie
- The C++ Programming Language (4th edition which discuss C++11) - Stroustrup
- Design Patterns Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software - GoF
- Effective C++, Effective Modern C++ - Scott Meyers
~ Specifications ~
- C99 draft spec, C++11 draft spec (too cheap to buy official copies!)
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#146Clicky links for most mentions. (not all here)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ekA4jSrY4xOtQW6OCL4x...
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#147Gödel Escher Bach, or GEB. It's one of the most informative books I've ever read with a really valuable perspective to view information through. I find myself applying it more frequently the more recently I've re-read it.
It is difficult for me to imagine its utility as a desk reference, but it is certainly just as rich and unusual a piece of literature as its reputation suggests.
Hofstadter's 2007 book "I Am A Strange Loop" develops one of GEB's themes in more depth. It's written in a more straightforward style than GEB, so it's less remarkable as a reading experience, but its perspective has stuck with me in a pretty fundamental way, so I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed GEB and wants to dig further into the puzzle of consciousness.
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#148* Sapiens
* The Intelligent Investor
* Malgudi Days
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#149A few Stroustrup books. A few Chinese language books (to help communicate with co-workers) A few Algorithmic Trading related books as well as a few math books. And, laugh if you wish, a few Buddhism books to help remind myself patience, no negative energy, etc. If I am feeling frustrated I can read a few quick thoughts.
be lucky I'm not your colleague, I'd have lifted your desk faster than a monk's Om
I guess I don't understand what you mean by this.
Re: Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?
#150Programming Python from O'Reilly. It helps lift my monitor nicely. Honestly, I've yet to find a physical book that has proven to be a useful reference in the long run. Programming languages just change too quickly; it's the web or the code. As for more meta-programming/business/interpersonal books, the few that I've read are not ones I've ever had any real desire to go back to.
I have 2 of the 7 books of the X Window Programming Reference in that role.
Apart from K&R, there are very few programming books which are worthwhile; up to about 10 years ago the ORA series were worthwhile, but nowadays especially with StackExchange it's just far better to get the one fragment of information you need in a handy searchable pasteable internet format.
(Non-programming book recs: recently The Man Who Stole Portugal (non-fiction, surprisingly relevant to crypto) and The Time Of Gifts (biography, extravagantly written, requires checking wikipedia every 5 dozen words unless you have a really excellent knowledge of European history)