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Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

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Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#151

Post by than3 »

yawz wrote: post #37
yawz wrote: post #31

My best nonfiction read was The 1619 Project. It's a heavy read, but I highly recommend it. The runner up would be Christian Livermore's We Are Not OK. Best fiction read was Tim Winton's Breath or (there's probably some recency bias at play here) Sebastian de Castel's Traitor's Blade. I also read a few comic books. I love the East of West series (at least the first three books).

Wow! Immediately downvoted, on the topic of books?!? I wonder which one triggered such a negative reaction.

Well, all I'll say is, it is not surprising.

Subversive content in general tends to get that reaction from intelligent people and that book is more rightly considered propaganda than actual history.

If you understand what propaganda is, what its goals are, and can recognize it easily you probably wouldn't have been blindsided.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#152

Post by than3 »

sidmitra wrote: post #69
yawz wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow! Immediately downvoted, on the topic of books?!? I wonder which one triggered such a negative reaction.

I don't know why you were downvoted, but your comment made me google some of the books to see if there's something to the recommendations. I don't know what the 1619 project is; but the first few google links are all adverts like > What Is The 1619 Project? - The 1619 Project And Socialism > 1619 Project Debunked - What parents should know. So i assume there's a certain section that disagrees with the book so much th…

From what I heard, there have been a number of historians that aired concerns of factual issues pre-print who were ignored, and its marketed as a history book despite not being a history book.

One of the goals of propaganda is to cause disunity.

The idea being you divide people and conquer. You force people into psychological states where there are two minorities where some people don't react, and some who react violently at shadows, and it allows a smaller third group to do things that couldn't normally be done. That's the gist of it. You get them to that point by corrupting social norms, and other factors that make up individual and national identity. Its quite evil, and often uses sophisticated techniques that are designed to work on psychological blindspots we all have, the only defense for that type of material, is to limit exposure and view that material with critical thought and attention.

Obviously this kind of content would be harmful to any children younger than 12 as they would lack the developmental faculties needed to discern lies from truth and just accept what is provided.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#153

Post by Popeyes »

lawlorino wrote: post #137
notarob0t wrote: post #132

-Demon Haunted World A Candle In The Dark - Carl Sagan I enjoy his writing in general, but this one talks a lot about being a skeptic and critical thinking which is paraphrasing strongly. -The Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett. Could not stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and was pretty bummed when it was over. Its about a cathedral being built in the 1100's. My most favorite book this year and probably…

> The Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett Same, one of my favourite books ever. The others in the series are not quite as good, but I think you will enjoy them.

If they only cut out all the 'bad guy does a rape, again' stuff, it would be a fantastic read. Otherwise it's a fascinating read, populated with bad characters.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#154

Post by gbro3n »

kcartlidge wrote: post #144
gbro3n wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am 90 pct through Project Hail Mary and agree this book is brilliant. If you're technically / sci-fi inclined you'll love this. The author ties together a great story with scientific knowledge which must have taken significant research. Children of Time is my next audio book coincidentally.

I'd agree, and I really enjoyed it. Bad news though. You're at 90%, and the last 5% felt rushed to me. So enjoy 90% to 95%, and here's hoping that 95% to 100% is just my personal preference!

Ha, yeah does seem to be a lot of loose ends to tie up in a short space of time / book!

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#155

Post by dysoco »

kasperset wrote: post #36

Did not read that many books this year but this two books makes my list: 1)The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_Tasting_Tea This book is about the history of Statistics which is weaved through the some remarkable personal stories behind the history of Statistics. If you have ever used statistics, some of the words will sound famili…

I'm very interested in The Song of the Cell, thanks, I love books like that and I tried to read The Emperor of All Maladies and I enjoyed the writing but I just couldn't keep reading, Cancer and terminal illnesses just terrify me, that was truly a horror book for me.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#156

Post by kinghtown »

rcarr wrote: post #106
kinghtown wrote: post #57

2666 by Roberto Bolano Yeah, believe the hype. Definitely the most important novel of this century. The story revolves around the deaths of over 500 women and children in a small border town in Mexico. Absolutely devastating read, It feels like most novels are rather silly in comparison (2666 even pokes fun at literature in general for ignoring the atrocities in Mexico.) 5 stars.

> Definitely the most important novel of this century. There is no such thing as “the most important novel of this century”. “Importance” is subjective based on the values of the beholder. It’s an especially ludicrous claim if by “this century” we are to assume you mean 2000 - 2100 considering we are not even a quarter of the way through it. > It feels like most novels are rather silly in comparison (2666 even pokes…

Thank you for that. I got my full dose of pedantry in early today. Do yourself a solid and check the book out anyways.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#157

Post by birdymcbird »

rg111 wrote: post #130
jsenn wrote: post #68

* Three Body Problem. I've heard of it many times, but never read it. Picked it up a month or two ago, read the whole thing in a few sessions, one of my favourite sci-fi books ever. Will read the next book in the series. * Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive. Best pop-sci book I've read in a while. Strikes the right balance between including pertinent information without being overwhelmi…

I loved Three Body Problems as well. What are your other favorite sci-fi novels, and books in general? (Send some general fiction recs on my way if you feel like it.)

Question wasnt directed at me but if you like three body problem I also recommend the expanse series.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#158

Post by cafard »

mbg721 wrote: post #29

I enjoyed "The Third Policeman" by Flann O'Brien, an author who died in the 60s but who had been completely unknown to me until this year. It's a short and very surreal novel, with an Irish dark tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

If you haven't yet, treat yourself to The Poor Mouth and The Best of Myles.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#159

Post by Anon84 »

jzl wrote: post #73
Anon84 wrote: post #26

If I had to pick one book from 2022, I would definitely go with Carlo Rovelli’s “The Order of Time” https://amzn.to/3W4PdVG In the book, Rovelli explores the concept of time and how it has been understood by scientists and philosophers throughout history. An intellectually stimulating and not overly technical read about the concept of a universe without time and some of the latest developments in Loop Quantum Gravity…

I’ll check this one out, thanks. You might enjoy “From Eternity To Here” by Sean Carroll, which is a pretty deep exploration of similar topics.

I’ll definitely check it out, thank you

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023

#160

Post by lostmsu »

MH15 wrote: post #110
hikingsimulator wrote: post #17

One book stuck out to me this year: Blindsight by Peter Watts. What happens when humankind on the verge of post-scarcity suffers its first alien contact -- truly alien contact. A team of engineered humans is sent to meet them. What really stuck out to me is how the content of the book could be applied to a potential AGI -- an alien, intelligent entity that we can't really understand and still have to interact with. I…

Check out this short film some artists made based on Blindsight in collaboration with Watts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkR2hnXR0SM

I heard that video game Prey from 2017 is related.
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