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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?

#291

Post by ivankirigin »

Dowwie wrote: post #264

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-dea…

I just read 1Q84, and decided that it was the worst book I've ever read.

Now reading Dune, for the first time since high school 20 years ago. There is a solid argument to only read classic scifi until the reviews are so good that you can't ignore it, or if you learn to trust the author.

Dune is an incredibly textured far future. Ecology, waves of anti-technology, post-humanism, politics, and nuanced characters.

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

#292

Post by bo1024 »

The Little Prince. It’s beautiful and helps me re evaluate / question priorities.

Vonnegut impacted me to be a bit more fatalistic (“among the things he could not change were the past, present, and future”) and nihilistic in a positive way. Although not sure this is a positive overall for my personality. More sort of forgiving, e.g. the idea that people’s mistakes are due to their bad chemicals or faulty wiring. Suggest Cats Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5, maybe Galapagos for starters.

Once A Runner, as a runner myself, crystallized for me a philosophy of striving for excellence at something that may not matter to anybody else. And I find it fun.

What I liked about Neal Stephenson’s Anathem was the “this too shall pass” perspective on human societies and civilizations outside the wall of the maths. Whatever the current government or technology levels or wars happen to be, blend together. It reminds me of the feeling you get in Jerusalem of being in a moment of history that is no more important than other times and is of one piece with them, rises and falls included. This probably connects to the nihilism again. Anyway.

I almost exclusively read fiction but I’ll mention Working by Studs Terkel, not fiction but certainly not self help or technical. Just helped me feel connected to parts of society I don’t experience.

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

#294

Post by armenarmen »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #20
hprotagonist wrote: post #12

see my nick, but in addition to stephenson, the books i come back to over and over again for comfort and wisdom include: - Lord of the Rings: The other bible. Not even the very wise can see all ends; be of good cheer. - A Wrinkle In Time: 9 year old me, there is such a thing as a tesseract, and there is also Mrs. Beast. - The Master and Margarita: apocalyptic reading from someone who knew, and a cat who always pays h…

> Good Omens: Gaiman and Pratchett team up, what’s not to love? It's a good book, but aesthetically it suffers in my mind because it's a rewrite of Pratchett's earlier book Sourcery .

Damnit. I had somehow missed that for years, but you are right.

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

#295

Post by Cyph0n »

Cyph0n wrote: post #92
ryan_w wrote: post #88

Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi - I recently started reading manga again and had heard about the series. It's an amazing feat of visual storytelling, jumping genres all the time, an incredible and vast world, and complex characters you can't help but love or hate. On the surface it looks fun and lighthearted but that facade is quickly thrown out to explore mature themes, ultimately culminating in an exploration…

For those who are not up to reading manga, the 2011 anime version is an amazing adaptation and a decent introduction to anime in general.

By the way, it’s on Netflix and Hulu.

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

#296

Post by guscost »

libraryofbabel wrote: post #163

It's interesting seeing how many of my touchstone books turn up in other people's lists. Here are some I didn't see yet: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness. My favorite Le Guin (the Dispossessed is pretty good too). Shockingly original when it was published in 1969; the portrait of the society and culture on Gethen still feels unique. A slow burn at the beginning, but builds to a dramatic conclusion. Patric…

> Patrick O'Brian, Aubrey-Maturin series.

Wonderful, wonderful books. I didn’t even like historical fiction as a concept before these. It takes a while to get over the “culture shock” and learn the vocabulary of seafaring life, but it easily pays off with twenty-and-one-half (!) excellent stories. Someone also made a companion glossary called “A Sea of Words” which is a big help.

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

#297

Post by BryanA »

palerdot wrote: post #45

The Count of Monte Cristo If you find yourself HOPELESS (which whole world is experiencing right now), just read this. Because this book is all about HOPE. Edit: Go for the 'unabridged' version to truly experience this novel.

I read this book at a coffee shop and have never had so many people asking me what I was reading! Although I must admit, I switched to the abridged version because I was so impatient reading through the serial filler...

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

#298

Post by joi_de_vivre »

slothtrop wrote: post #168
tkamphefner wrote: post #165

Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age, for a coming of age story, using nanotechnology as a futuristic concept for understanding the differences of being fed one's needs and being given the tools for meeting them. Steinbeck's East of Eden for coming to grips with a fundamental moral struggle of what is good and what is choice. Anything ever written by Kurt Vonnegut for the proper cynicism needed to live in this world. Os…

I could have written the same. Would also include The Name of the Rose, The Remains of the Day, Dune, the Master and Margarita, Candide. Probably others.

not GR? your name is, uh, evocative

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

#300

Post by etrautmann »

shantara wrote: post #111
etrautmann wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I loved this book too - curious how it impacted you?

It made me reconsider my previous assumptions about the nature of human mind and consciousness. It also helped me realize that many of the things we think we perceive through our senses are in fact the the objective reality, but our brain's reconstruction of it, and the brain can sometimes lie "for our own good".

Great points, thanks! I also appreciated considering alternate forms of intelligence and communication.
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