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Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

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Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#261

Post by topaz0 »

floathub wrote: post #227
topaz0 wrote: post #143

Howard's End, EM Forster, is one, along with all of Forster. Arcadia, a play by Tom Stoppard, is fantastic. Good for many re-reads (and re-watches). Ursula Le Guin (maybe The Left Hand of Darkness is my favorite?) might be the best sci-fi/fantasy ever written, as much as I love Lois McMaster Bujold (three worlds to choose from, each offering many more or less independent novels and novellas), who is also great. A few…

Am intrigued by the mention of "re-watches" for Arcadia. Is there some filmed production of the play which is available on video? Have never been able to find one ...

Not that I know of. I just keep an eye out for nearby theaters performing it.

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#262

Post by Balgair »

throwanem wrote: post #194
screaminghawk wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a word, Nostalgia.

Sure. But my question had less to do with why it was popular generally, and more with why it's on the USMC commandant's reading list specifically. That said, the USMC Research Library [1] places it in, among other categories, "Regression (Civilization)", which may cast a glimmer of light on why it's where it is. [1] https://usmc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?d...

Nearly every time the USMC list goes up on HN, the reaction is the same: Why the heck is Ready Player One on the list?

Thanks for diving a bit deeper into the selection.

To add a bit more context, the USMCRL has this in addition to the categorization:

"2044. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets..."

As the selection is in the 'Primary Level - Enlisted' alongside Ender's Game and Rifleman Dodd, I think it is there to showcase initiative and intelligence for young enlisted marines.

Still, I'll admit, it is a strange choice.

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#263

Post by idoubtit »

adamredwoods wrote: post #139

Siddhartha, 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…

In my late teenage years, I was fond of Hesse's novels. Demian was interesting enough to get me started. Narziss und Goldmund was by far my favorite. Siddhartha was also a good read, but at this point it was getting repetitive with its other works, and I didn't share the author's fascination for Indian religion and philosophy. Der Steppenwolf was a disappointment.

A few years later, a friend lent me Das Glasperlenspiel (The Glass Bead Game). I was deeply surprised, because it was so different from his previous works. It's a dystopia, but the focus is elsewhere. The book is much less romantic than usual, more subtle and intriguing. Twenty years later , I remember it fondly, and I can't think of any similar book. If you like Hesse, you really should try his last novel.

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#264

Post by Dowwie »

I finally read Frank Herbert's "Dune" this year and I'm so happy about the decision to finish the book. In the book are several references to what is known as the "Litany Against Fear". You may have come across references to it in pop culture, where the beginning is often cited. For instance, Elon Musk references it often.

The Litany in its entirety:

> "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

Learning how to manage fear is something I think we can all benefit by.

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#265

Post by eatwater123 »

metroholografix wrote: post #224
Jkol wrote: post #103

Remembrance 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 found all 3 books to be vastly overrated and mediocre at best. I would bet money that in 10 years, few will even remember them. The translation doesn't help, but the issues with the books go beyond it. It's obvious that Cixin Liu is not a good writer. The characters in TBP are cardboard cutouts and his pacing and framing of ideas awful. I feel that there is merit in his imagination but it'd be better presented in a…

Counterpoint: I can absolutely imagine myself re-reading TBP series multiple times; I've already re-read it once since reading it a year and a bit ago.

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#267

Post by 0-_-0 »

adaisadais wrote: post #251

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. My best friend in 7th grade had older siblings and they had all read Ender’s Game. He read it and told me I had to read it. Being the impressionable 7th grader (2006-7) that I was I gladly obliged. I found the book to be deeply fascinating. It opened my eyes to ‘new’ technology like ‘ansible’ (can communicate anywhere in the universe instantaneously) and really opened up my imaginati…

I never thought of it like that before, that reading sci-fi at an early age opens up your imagination to what's possible, in your life and in the world. It definitely had that effect on me now that I think about it.

Re: Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?

#268

Post by RBerenguel »

stepbeek wrote: post #205
cnorthwood wrote: post #164

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Wild by Cheryl Strayed - not strictly fiction but it could be read as such. Opened my mind to areas of society I wasn't aware of.

Flowers for Algernon is an incredible book. I read a lot of it on a flight and cried my eyes out.

Likewise (also the flight part). I'd also add Canticle for Leibowitz on that "bucket".
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