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Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

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Re: Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

#231

Post by sho »

TimSchumann wrote: post #148
lawlorino wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Three Body Problem (all 3 books) - Liu Cixin These are great and helped me re-discover my love of sci-fi from when I was a kid, they are often recommended in these HN book threads. I just ordered the other 3 books that you mentioned so thanks for the recommendations!

I’ve read all of them. You won’t be disappointed. I’d start Alistair Reynold’s stuff off with ‘House of Suns’ though. It’s a standalone, but it’s one of his best works IMO. Then go ahead and devour the ‘Revelation Space’ series.

Huh, haven't actually read "House of Suns"! Guess I know what's next on my list, thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

#234

Post by bookofjoe »

very_curious wrote: post #229

The "Master & Commander" Series by Patrick O'Brian has been a great companion to me over the years and over many re-reads. For me it's not about the sea battles -which I don't find particularly interesting- but rather about the writing style, the character development, and the fun of ambling through life with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.

This series was the only thing I could read (just barely) while mired in a 1.75-year-long depression in 2014-15.

Re: Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

#235

Post by bookofjoe »

stepvhen wrote: post #173

If you only read one book, I suggest Don Quixote, the Grossman translation particularly, if only for the higher quality footnotes (compared to Lathrop's which is very well translated but poorly commented). The advantage here is DQ is really like four or five books of various types, and has a Yale Open Courseware series attached to it, so for any chapters you want to know more about, the resources are at hand. Through…

I've started and failed to complete this book many times. Yet I've loved what I read. There are many who believe this is the greatest novel of all time.

Re: Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

#236

Post by bemmu »

rdeboo wrote: post #146
jefim wrote: post #13

My to-go favorite for relaxed summer evenings is "The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov. It is a literature masterpiece that magically adjusts to my current inner state. It can be both easy reading when I'm tired and just want to unwind, and thought provoking when I'm ready to be thoughtful. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117833.The_Master_and_Ma...

I started reading "The Master and Margarita" this year after seeing this title pop up on HN so often. I could not finish it, I found it rather boring. I'm curious, am I the only one? What does everyone find so great about this book?

I also found it hard to follow and the story not particularly interesting, at least not enough of a reward for struggling through it. I finished it a few pages a night over ~3 months, which was a good activity to help me sleep.

I read the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Could be that it simply whooshed me, maybe I'll try again older and wiser and find myself enjoying it.

Re: Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

#237

Post by teekert »

INTPenis wrote: post #100
djaychela wrote: post #81

I'd have to recommend 'A deepness in the sky' and 'A fire upon the deep' by Vernor Vinge. Both really good science fiction books where your initial perception is slowly shown to be incorrect as more details appear about the characters, and with great storylines. Despite being thick tomes with small print, I got through both reasonably quickly as they were so addictive to read - 'just one more chapter', etc...

I did not expect to see sci-fi here but I'd like to add anything in the Revelation Space universe by Alastair Reynolds. I just got done reading it for a 2nd time, and Elysium Fire for the 1st time and I'm in love with his style of writing and the universe he's created. I just want more information about all the things like Ultras, Rust belt, Glitter band, Belle epoque and so forth. In my opinion it's not as poetic as…

I also like this series but starting a new book in the series takes to long to drag me back in every time... I wish it would zoom into the main characters earlier...

Re: Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

#238

Post by sanabriarenato »

gordon_freeman wrote: post #26

I would recommend Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Hays Translation) along with On the Shortness of Life by Seneca. These 2 books together will introduce you to the Stoic philosophy which I just found a couple of years ago and it has made my life much better.

The obstacle is the way (https://www.amazon.com/Obstacle-Way-Timeless-Turning-Triumph...) is also a good one on the Stoic philosophy, could serve as in introduction to Meditations

Re: Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

#239

Post by wes-k »

gbuk2013 wrote: post #142

Inner Engineering by Sadhguru. For me it was an unexpectedly transformational when I read it 6 months ago. Unlike the stoicism books that teach you to condition yourself to be unaffected by external events, this is a method for taking charge of what goes on inside the body and (in my case) in the mind and emotions. As an aside, if you haven’t tried audiobooks, I would recommend trying. I find that after a while day o…

I’d also recommend searching for Sadhguru on YouTube and watching any of his answers that peak your interest. I can’t help but feel that he has tapped into some stream of wisdom we can only hope to catch a glimpse of.

Re: Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?

#240

Post by clarityPhone »

ElCapitanMarkla wrote: post #224
kreetx wrote: post #58

I've really enjoyed Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila by Robert M. Pirsig. EDIT: Also, The Phoenix Project is very very good if you are into IT management: funny, and although a novel then the content will make you want to fix your company and perhaps even think bigger about your carrer. But this one won't last you a summer since if you read it that slow you'll forget what was going on. :)

After reading recommendations everywhere I read Motorcycle Maintenance but I just didn’t get what all the fuss was about. I was completely bored all the way through and still have no idea what it is people see in it.

I felt exactly the same way, and this as someone who spent their entire life surrounded by motorcycles. The philosophical insights just felt a bit... corny? And the rest was just plain boring.
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