Catch 22 (resisting the system), Ayn Rand books (role of self-interest, role of Elon Musks in society), Asimov's Foundation books (predicting the future with integrals), Ishmael (man vs world), Dragon's Egg (best hard scifi book, how our environment shapes us)
Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
181–190 of 599 posts
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#182Though not my life per se , I find the fiction in the USMC's reading list to be very .. interesting. It's a strange mix of more popular titles and super niche books. It's all focused on war-fighting, but it gives a great look into the Marines: GATES OF FIRE: AN EPIC NOVEL OF THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE by Steven Pressfield STARSHIP TROOPERS by Robert A. Heinlein ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card READY PLAYER ONE by Erne…
Ready Player One? Why?
In a word, Nostalgia.
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#183Remembrance 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…
I read it for my bookclub together with a bunch of physicists. While I thought it was quite entertaining (but not more than that) they were all dismayed because of the amount of technobabble. Also, not to spoil it, but the title is wrong. It's a four body problem.
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#184"East of Eden." Steinbeck draws beautiful vignettes of human life and emotion, and I think the book's main idea about human motivation is largely correct and explains a wide variety of behavior. It helped me see both myself and others with more clarity.
Greatest book I’ve ever read. Timshel.
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#185Re-reading Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle after being in Silicon Valley after a while really illuminated the character-type I found myself surrounded by: emotionally detached geniuses absentmindedly ruining the world.
His style of storytelling is just great. He leaves so much off the page with his short style that at the end you get that feeling you’ve experienced something profound that can’t quiet be put into words.
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#186Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2500/2500-h/2500-h.htm This book resonated at a perfect time for me, opened my eyes to what peace in human mind could be, peace through acceptance, and above all the rejection of strict god-judging religions. This was important because instead of chasing "happiness" I began to work towards "contentness" which has lead to minor emotional improvements in my l…
Just finished it last week, it made me revisit the idea of "What it means to have meaning in life?" and how personal that is, and have a wholesome view of my personality without any prejudice.
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#187Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently books are not nearly as well known as his Hitchhiker's Guide "trilogy", but they are better books.
The Lord of the Rings is spectacular. The movies were remarkable feats, but they missed the trilogy's heart (and ruined some great characters). It's dense reading, but the prequel The Silmarillion is perhaps the only successful epic mythology written in modern times.
C. S. Lewis' "Till We Have Faces" is a remarkable adaptation of the Cupid and Psyche myth, from the perspective of Psyche's sister.
I loved Spider Robinson's Variable Star, based on an unfinished outline by Robert Heinlein.
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#188Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire - captures the beauty and importance of our natural world. Reminds us we can live simply and the idiocracy of trashing our own planet. (often compared Thoreau's Walden - also a must read)
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
Player of Games is amazing.
Serious question, what is so amazing about it? Based on recommendations (I'm a scifi fan) I bought it and read it. It was an OK read, not boring or anything, but also hardly extraordinary. For me easily forgettable. I don't have the feeling I missed some important part since it wasn't really very complex. So I'm curious why people think it's so good.
Not sure, I'm not really a literary critic. I guess Banks does a good job of setting up the bad guys to be real arseholes, then knocks them down. The pacing had me reading this book in just two days, which is unusual for me.
This sprinkled with cool ideas like the giant brush fire, the whole empire being based on a game, the ship names. I also like board games which probably doesn't hurt the book.
I like most of the Culture books. My other favorite is Use of Weapons which is very different from Player of Games, much slower.
Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?
#190The Bible (Old and New Testaments), An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, The Constitution of the United States of America and Jonathan Livingstone Seagull.