The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. For motivation
Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
191–200 of 224 posts
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah, well, this is a bit of a contentious question in the Discworld community, with no clear correct answer. Discworld has a number of major story arcs which are generally able to be read separately although they often overlap, and so some people prefer to follow one of the many Reading Guides out there to determine which books to read and when. But a lot of us disagree and say that you should go to the very first boo…
We have a winner, folks! I'll order the first book this week and take it from there. I've read quite a bit of sci-fi and I can appreciate good world building, so I won't be giving up that easily. Thanks for the advice.
Fantastic, I'm so excited for you!
I would also highly recommend reading The Annotated Pratchett[1], which provides insight into the many fascinating real-world events, objects, people, myths, legends, and more that Pratchett subtly (or not so subtly in some cases) referenced in his work.
Don't get ahead of yourself of course, wait until you've finished reading the entire book before you read its corresponding APF entry so as to avoid spoilers :)
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#193Small Gods. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34484.Small_Gods It's the 13th book of Terry Pratchett's superb Discworld series, but it's the perfect entry point for anyone who hasn't read any of them because it doesn't require any exterior context, and it's pure Pratchett in his prime. I honestly can't recommend it, and the rest of the series, highly enough. If you haven't experienced Pratchett's work then I implore…
Have you read the graphic novel?
Oh absolutely! I own at least one copy, and usually multiple copies, of everything Pratchett ever published, ranging from a first edition of The Carpet People through to all of the Discworld Collector's Library hardbacks that have been produced so far, and even all of his collaborative works like The Long Earth series and Good Omens et al.
Collecting Pratchett's books is probably the nearest thing I have to a drug addiction.
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#194The Diamond Age Even more than Star Trek, this novel caused me to think about a post-scarcity world. If we could have anything and everything, what should we do with it? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age
Excellent book about nanotechnology, which is something we don't really seem to hear about much anymore. I remember when it was going to be "the next big thing".
It's something that has arrived gradually without much fanfare as there don't seem to have been any qualitative leaps forward so far.
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#195State of the Art by Iain M Banks
Consider Phlebas is one of the few books I have read more than once. The Culture series is unparalleled. Surface Detail is probably my pick for #1, as Consider Phlebas isn't really set within the Culture proper, so stands in its own category in a sense.
Maybe you can advise me. I read Consider Phlebas, and I didn't like it at all. I rarely like war fiction.
Is Phlebas typical of the whole Culture series, or are the other books a different kind of story?
Thank you.
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#196Nassim Taleb's Antifragile. First read it when it came out in 2012, and I was still unmarried and unemployed. Interesting to re-read it now that I'm married and have been working for 4+ years.
I've read a few of Taleb's other books. He seems to have a few brilliant points with lots of supporting materials and rants. Can you summarize the new insights you got after being married/employed?
I wouldn't say there are any new insights per se; I'm maybe just more intimately acquainted with them. Ie when I first read it, most of the descriptions about things like how a paycheck influences your thinking/behavior were just intellectual ideas for me, but having had a mortgage + paycheck for 4 years I've come to personally witness how it's 'domesticated' me in a way, made me more fragile, however you want to describe it
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#197I'm in love with Rethinking Innateness. I'm posting half in the hope someone suggests an up to date version, but it's brilliant and fascinating itself. It was prescribed when I was studying my CS MSc and I've read it three times now.
I got initially into computers because I would press something on the keyboard and knew there was a sequence of commands that directed the graphics card to output something – I needed to understand that. Now, as I assume applies to so many people here, my curiosity has expanded to human development, this books is _the bridge_ between CS and psychology.
https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Innateness-Connectionist-P...
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#198Deep Work by Cal Newport. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work Eye opening reading for everyone who works in IT, science or any industry that requires long chunks of deep attention.
On my first run through this book and I already want to re-read it again. It has had an amazing effect on helping me re-focus on my work and re-familiarize myself with the value of deep focus / work.
Great book - highly recommend it.
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#199HPMoR
I loved that book more than the original. I think they should make it a movie. How do you continue learning more types of stuff that the book teaches you?
There were several books mentioned in HPMoR that seem like good recommendations. I know for a fact that Feynman's Lectures on Physics is superb. See http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/ for the texts.
Re: Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?
#200I'm currently reading Neuromancer again. Still doesn't feel dated.
Feels the opposite too me. It shows it's been written in the 80's.
Would "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." make sense to young people nowadays?