Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#231

Post by hnews_account_1 » Sat, Oct 29, 2022, 10:33 PM UTC

croo wrote: post #197

hnews_account_1 wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree on Three Body Problem. Especially the second book which I thought was even better than the first. The third was pretty meh and I didn't entirely like the resolution. But the first book is really great imo.

I somewhat agree... The story and sci fi elements are brilliant, some of those where ground breaking extremities for me - those I really enjoyed. The characters are mostly shallow shells to narrative the happenings without any development and often lacking reason and common sense which I really hated.

Yeah I agree. The only person who made total sense was Luo Ji and even he went like completely ballistic by the third book. The female character sucked so hard, I doubted if the author had ever written a female character before. It was Asimov levels of bad.

The societal descriptions were truly amazing though. Coming out of the despair and decline with some false hope that humanity’s physics was good enough to face off and then absolutely getting their ass handed to them in a conflict with what was essentially something less than a messenger probe. I’m absolutely convinced this is what we will do as a race in such a situation.

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#232

Post by pkrumins » Sat, Oct 29, 2022, 10:45 PM UTC

sireat wrote: post #218

pkrumins wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Time spent reading books is time not spent deploying. The only thing that matters is deploying.

I am deeply saddened to hear this Pēteri... Hopefully your state is transitory and you will find balance again.

Lulz

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#233

Post by the__alchemist » Sat, Oct 29, 2022, 11:38 PM UTC

  - Reread *The Diamond Age* - Neal Stephenson book on nanotech
  - Part way through *The Eighth Day of Creation* - A detailed history of biological accomplishments and discoveries in the 20th century; constructed from interviews with the heros
  - *Radical Abundance* - Drexler book on nanotech
  - *Neuromancer* - Inspirational scifi novel with a literary flare
  - *Children of Ruin* - Children of Time sequel; for those who like 8-legged creatures!

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#234

Post by the__alchemist » Sat, Oct 29, 2022, 11:40 PM UTC

disillusioned wrote: post #76

Mostly science fiction, and most Adrian Tchaikovsky science fiction at that: * Elder Race - Tchaikovsky's Hugo-nominated novella does this really neat thing where it tells the same story from two different perspectives, which happen to perfectly meld fantasy with hard scifi in a super clever conceit. * Children of Time - A hard scifi-meets-entomology-study take on how shifting perspectives work and the no-stone-left-…

3rd one?!! Yes please!

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#235

Post by antipaul » Sat, Oct 29, 2022, 11:40 PM UTC

Team of Teams by Stanley McChrystal

Although the first third was a slog (a simplistic history of management), the rest was filled with great insights in every page. I read those very slowly, almost meditating, because it was so good.

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#236

Post by mbrodersen » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 12:25 AM UTC

Rich Dad Poor Dad. It completely changed how I view the world of personal finance and has already changed my future for the better.

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#237

Post by codpiece » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 1:52 AM UTC

Railsea by China Miéville - it is a marvel of imagination and world building.

G.S. Denning's 'Warlock Holmes' series always makes me laugh out loud with Holmes cast as a rather unstable magician being bailed out by the ever-logical Watson.

The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi foresees dystopian cities and cutthroat water rights along the Colorado river.

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#238

Post by skydhash » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 1:57 AM UTC

filoeleven wrote: post #200

disillusioned wrote: post #76

Mostly science fiction, and most Adrian Tchaikovsky science fiction at that: * Elder Race - Tchaikovsky's Hugo-nominated novella does this really neat thing where it tells the same story from two different perspectives, which happen to perfectly meld fantasy with hard scifi in a super clever conceit. * Children of Time - A hard scifi-meets-entomology-study take on how shifting perspectives work and the no-stone-left-…

Tchaikovsky has a lot of good stuff out there already, and shows no signs of slowing. If you liked Elder Race, you’ll probably also like the novella The Expert System’s Brother and its sequel, The Expert System’s Champion.

"Shadows of the Apts" series is one of my favorite. The story is so nicely constructed that you sometimes forgot the world building, even though it impacts on the characters' personalities. I've also the Expert System books, and it was somewhat disturbing in their explorations. Most of his books I've read seems to be premised on how easily man experiments can go wrong.

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#239

Post by skydhash » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 2:06 AM UTC

plants wrote: post #146

jdshaffer wrote: post #132

I've read over fifty books this year (I read a lot). The ones I've enjoyed the most are: * The MurderBot Series (Wells) - So good I read them all twice through * The Interdependency Series (Scalzi) - Creative and fun, but I didn't like the wrap-up and ending. * Project Hail Mary - Surprising fun! jazz hands * Old Man's War series (Scalzi) - First three were great, last three were so-so * Anne of Green Gables - My dau…

Awesome list, thank you for sharing! Curious, though - how do you structure your weeks so that you can consume 50 books a year? That would take me a while!

For me, it's with a Kindle. I bring mine everywhere as it's so small (Kindle Basic) I can put in the back pocket of my pants. Whenever I have to wait for something, or I'm taking a break, I just open it and the book is where I left it. 5, 10, or 50 pages, they all add up. Most books are around 600-1000 pages on it.

I can finish a book this way in about 3-4 days. But my reading quota has lowered this year as I was reading wuxia (chinese) books where each is about 27k to 30k Kindle pages.

Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?

#240

Post by skydhash » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 2:16 AM UTC

khazhoux wrote: post #41

redmorphium wrote: post #6

I haven't read a single book in 2022. Somehow, over the years, I've lost the habit of reading.

No shame in that, I say. I've completely lost any interest in reading fiction, because it's almost always a letdown. Good ideas with poor writing. Good writing with poor endings. The disappointments go on and on, and that's hours wasted. I've tried my friends' suggestions, best-of lists... the stories are consistently lame, except for the handful of masterpieces like Dune. On the other hand, I'll gladly curl up with…

Maybe too much technical analysis of the book? When I read fiction, I use the words of the author of as a means to evoke visually the scene in my imagination. Sometimes, I think I patch the story as I go on, as I rely solely on what I visualize to recall past events. Writing doesn't matter as much, and even characterizations do not. I only enjoy the ideas and the sequences of events. Every so often, I read similar novels just to see how much the author can differ from the previous.