Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 264 posts

Re: Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?

#171

Post by Freak_NL »

coldpie wrote: post #10

I subscribe to Asimov's bi-monthly (6/year) sci-fi short story magazine and there's always one or two stories that really stand out every issue. It's always a treat when a new one turns up in the mailbox. https://www.asimovs.com/

Collections of short sci-fi stories can be thoroughly refreshing. It gives the author the space to explore outlandish concepts (societal, philosophical, technological, etc.) that wouldn't work too well stretched out to a full novel. From recent anthologies to paperbacks collecting a bunch of stories around a theme from the seventies: there are gems in every one of them (misses too of course).

I find it a good way to explore authors I haven't read anything by as well.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?

#172

Post by Freak_NL »

cunningfatalist wrote: post #91

The best works of fiction I read: - Count Belisarius by Robert Graves - The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell - The Expanse (all of them) - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir And the best books on software development were: - Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach by Mark Richards and Neal Ford - Multithreaded JavaScript by Thomas Hunter II and Bryan English - The Programmer's Brain by Felienne Herman…

If you enjoyed The Bone Clocks, consider trying the other books in that same universe. Like The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (particularly if you enjoy its historical setting of Edo period Japan on the artificial island of Deshima where the Dutch were allowed to operate a trading post), or the shorter Slade House.

Of course Cloud Atlas is well-known and a good read.

Utopia Avenue, his latest work about a fictional band in the 1960s, is a very pleasant and frankly fun read too, although different from the others. In typical Mitchell fashion, it does loosely connect to his other works and that weird über-narrative he is building. I'm looking forward to see what he'll end up doing with that.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?

#173

Post by toomanyrichies »

benjaminwootton wrote: post #138

“Man’s Search For Meaning” made me think a lot.

This book was a revelation for me. Logotherapy, or the idea of finding meaning in one’s trials and tribulations as a path to therapeutic recovery (and even becoming grateful for them), got me out of a lifelong spiral of self-pity and resentment.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?

#176

Post by HEmanZ »

ushercakes wrote: post #69

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius. This year and every year. It is kind of a stereotype though of tech dudes to be into stoicism, but whatever, this book really just puts me in such a good frame of mind any time I open it.

If you like older wisdom books like this, I’d recommend the essays of montaign.

Marcus wrestles with being a man, montaign wrestles with being a human.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?

#177

Post by tasuki »

ambrose2 wrote: post #119
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> kind of a stereotype though of tech dudes to be into stoicism I like this book but completely disagree with your stereotype. In fact, I find the tech dude stereotype to lack perspective, resort easily to anger and personalization, stew in thought, and accuse others for their suffering.

I think both of you might be right, as my impression of the stereotype is more that the tech dude is “into” stoicism, but falls short in practice.

Welp that's me exactly.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?

#178

Post by HEmanZ »

I finally got around to reading Moby Dick this year. I found it to be about 100x better and more approachable than I expected, and there’s so much to meditate on while reading it that I am excited to read thru it a second time.

Also, 2 new Cormac McCarthy novels just came out and I re-read the boarderlands trilogy and blood meridian this year to prep myself. I can’t recommend these enough, even tho it was my second time reading

Re: Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?

#179

Post by kevmarsden »

Four novels stood out:

- Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

The novel explores aging, careers, and relationships. As I plod further into middle age, I felt like it was written for me.

Amor Towles is a brilliant writer. I enjoyed all three of his novels:

- A Gentleman in Moscow - Rules of Civility - The Lincoln Highway

Post reply on HN