181–190 of 247 posts
I’m intrigued by the scarce mention of Spanish authors, particularly those from the Golden Age. Other than Cervantes, I haven’t seen any of his coevals listed: Lope de Vega, Francisco Gómez de Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, Calderón de la Barca and many others. What are the reasons for this phenomenon, which is not unique to HN? Are the the works too archaic for modern taste? Are the translations just not good enough to c…
I really like books written by Jules Verne. Those books were really ahead of its time. He was a prolific and best Sci-fi writer. I would like to mention few of his works like 20,000 leagues under the sea, journey to the center of earth and Around the World in Eighty Days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne
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His History of Western Philosophy is really great, too.
That book has a large number of criticisms for its (in the opinions of the views it criticizes) misguided polemics; if it's worth reading, it's also worth reading its criticisms.
Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu. Short, concise and applicable to modern world. Not an essay per se or book though.
Martin Fischer's Translation of Baltasar Gracian's "The Art of Worldly Wisdom". (Amazon seems to have a few)
Quoth Nietzsche: "Europe has never produced anything finer or more complicated in matters of moral subtlety."
On Liberty - https://www.utilitarianism.com/ol/one.html
Reading those allows a masterful foundation for understanding ethics, which is crucial for a deeper understanding of utility as a primitive concept.
Atlas Shrugged had the most profound impact on me. Ishmael was a funny, short and enlightening read.
It's strange, reading Rand; I liked her use of language but didn't like her "heroes", nor the points she was trying to make. And after The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged reads like a twice-as-long, twice-as-over-the-top rework of the same material, just with a female heroine. So it's safe to skip it if you're pressed for time.
I’m intrigued by the scarce mention of Spanish authors, particularly those from the Golden Age. Other than Cervantes, I haven’t seen any of his coevals listed: Lope de Vega, Francisco Gómez de Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, Calderón de la Barca and many others. What are the reasons for this phenomenon, which is not unique to HN? Are the the works too archaic for modern taste? Are the translations just not good enough to c…
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This is going to sound weird, but... I remember your comment from four years ago (!) [0] and it really stuck with me. However, I could never find the thread, so when I saw this thread, I simply had to check if you wrote a comment again; and here we are! I recently began reading it and is really enjoying it. Thanks for the recommendation! [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12245036
Ha ... not as weird as you might think, 'cos I also thought the same, unless there're a few others on this site dedicated enough to learn French to read this book ...
Also, the only book I have found close/equal to Count of Monte Cristo is Les Miserables. The book is amazing, no idea about the musical. There are so many parts of the book (Waterloo) that just blow my mind. Also served as a motivation to learn French.
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster (Written in 1909) Enchiridion of Epictetus Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
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That book has a large number of criticisms for its (in the opinions of the views it criticizes) misguided polemics; if it's worth reading, it's also worth reading its criticisms.
In philosophy this is the rule not the exception. And reading the sources is also valuable, as he himself pointed out. Especially now that we have the web so you don't even need to visit a well stocked library to see how accurately he represents a philosopher's writings (his views on those views not withstanding).