191–200 of 980 posts
Godel Escher Bach is the best book I've read. Very interesting topics and the sheer creativity of the writing is amazing.
Its translations are also the best translations known to mankind (I read the German one, the French is said to be as good or better).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is the literal pillar; physically and figuratively the foundation, of my knowledge corpus; aptly the bottom book in my corner-turned-library. I spent hours as a kid, slowly parsing, contextualizing, researching every iota and minutiae of that book. I had an encyclopedia just to help supplement that book.
Didnt recogize the english title before i read this comment and it immediately clicked. The copy i have is from the late 80s and even then it was a bit dated, but it didnt matter. Awesome book. Now 35 years later my kids and I sometimes spend hours looking through the same book. Even more dated now, but that probably makes it even more amazing for them and now they know how a tape recorder works \o/
The truth is, if you ask me this 100 times, you'll probably get 100 different answers, because it's impossible to really pick just one (well two, separating by fiction/non-fiction). But for today I'll go with: Fiction: Neuromancer Non-fiction: The Selfish Gene
> Fiction: Neuromancer I've tried twice to read this, but it looses me about 10% in for some reason. Is it worth continuing past that? Does it get "better"? Or does that just signal that the whole book isn't for me?
IMO the first part of the book is peak cyberpunk vibes. In particular I read it almost like I would read poetry, late at night when I can't sleep, sometimes jumping back and forth between pages.
I was very influenced by Kurt Vonnegut when I was a teenager. Coming of age is a perfect time to learn that the fact that life is absurd doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't laugh, just the opposite. Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse Five are some of my favorite books of his. As an adult, I've been very influenced by the late Daniel Dennett and his naturalist philosophy. Books like From Bacteria to Bach and Back or D…
"The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life." Not because I remember anything about it, or believe anything it espouses, or even like it all that much, but because it's a useful filter for obnoxious people in meatspace. If someone I don't know too well asks me what my favorite book is, I say Atlas Shrugged. If they react inappropriately, I'll be cordial and treat them with respect,…
For me, it's The Grapes of Wrath. Simultaneously raised my bar for what I consider good writing and made me much more empathetic to the plight of those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder through no fault of their own. As relevant today as when it was written.
How you think about or are influenced by books are also dependent on your current mode and situation. I also enjoying and have great memories from reading "The Soul of a new Machine", the stress that I felt from that book reflected my own work situation of at the time, so it some how stuck with me more that I believe it would have done at another point in time.
On the weirder side of things: As I grown older I felt like I lost the feeling of magic during Christmas time. So every year I read a stupid Christmas themed romance novel. The previous two have been "Snowed In for Christmas" and "The Christmas Bookshop". I recommend both.
"The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life." Not because I remember anything about it, or believe anything it espouses, or even like it all that much, but because it's a useful filter for obnoxious people in meatspace. If someone I don't know too well asks me what my favorite book is, I say Atlas Shrugged. If they react inappropriately, I'll be cordial and treat them with respect,…
Edit: Watching my points go up and down on this one has been interesting! I didn't realize people were so divided on whether or not it's okay to lie and test people as some sort of friendship filter.