Going bit ahead of time, since still reading the last book, but Expanse series by James S. A. Corey. It has it ups and downs, but mostly ups. I really like the pace, good balance between opening up characters and story/world building. First 2 books can be read without going full on with all 9.
Ask HN: What are some must read books?
31–40 of 128 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#32I don't know about must-read but here are my top 5 books:
- Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
- Anna Karenina, Lev Tolstoy
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig
- Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky
- Dune, Frank Herbert
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#33Non-violent Communication - One of my top 5 books easily. Changed how I think about the language we use in everyday communication with other people, and more importantly, the language I use with myself.
+1
Despite its unfortunate mis-titling, it's a fantastic book.
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#34The prose in Gatsby is so good. Every time I read it, I’m newly impressed.
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#35I'm wary of labels such as "must read" - but a couple of books I'm glad I read:
"Dahlgren" by Samuel Delaney (and most everything else I've read by him as well).
"Earthsea" by Ursula LeGuin - and "Powers".
"Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson.
"Holy Fire" by Bruce Sterling (I also enjoyed Islands in the Net, Zenith Angle and Schismatrix).
"Foundation" trilogy + prequel by Isaac Asimov.
"Brave New World", Aldous Huxley.
"Deepness in the Sky" / "Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge.
"Something wicked this way comes" by Ray Bradbury.
And a couple of comics/visual novels:
"V for Vendetta" and "Watchmen" by Alan Moore (David Lloyd/ Tony Weare and Dave Gibbons / John Higgins).
Dave Sims: "Cerebus" (I don't think I've finished this yet, but the first ten volumes or so is.. Something else).
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#36The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#37Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is as timeless as ever.
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#38People take issue with them, but picking something off Adler's or Harvard's (five-foot-shelf) or Bloom's Great Books lists will almost never lead you wrong. But, here we go anyway (and yeah, some of these are just off those lists): 1) Shakespeare's big four tragedies are, in fact, out-fucking-standing. Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth. IMO Hamlet reads the best of those. Any would be fine to watch, as well, and ma…
For non-Americans, this is basically the US high school required reading list.
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#39Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Factfulness by Hans Rosling et al.
Both of these books profoundly changed the way I look at the world.
Re: Ask HN: What are some must read books?
#40Any of P G Wodehouse's major works (ignore his incunabula, anything before 1915, though early Psmith is still amusing), if you want some laughter to lighten the pains of life.
The Jeeves & Wooster series, of course, but also any of the Blandings Castle series. And the glorious Golf Omnibus. (Always used to think of golf as utterly boring, but PGW can make it hilarious.)
See https://wodehouse.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_books_by_P._G._Wod....