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Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

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Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

#401

Post by therealdrag0 »

ar_lan wrote: post #390
Intermernet wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read 3 different versions of the bible and it converted me from an agnostic to an atheist. I think GP may have been predisposed to religion (or at least to the social aspects of joining a church) as the bible, as interesting as it is, is only as interesting as any other selected and vetted collection of philosophy and story telling. Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam also have very interesting texts worth rea…

> it converted me from an agnostic to an atheist I don't think these are necessarily mutually exclusive, but treating them as if they are, I'm curious why. I would presume your definitions, based on this, that: * agnostic = "I don't know if there is anything" * atheist = "I do know that there is nothing" I have mostly met agnostic atheists, being "I don't know if there is anything, but I believe there's nothing", whe…

Philosophically I call myself agnostic. But colloquially I call myself an atheist. Also while I'm agnostic about there existing _any_ powerful being (god), I'm pretty dang confident that the gods described in religious texts do not exist. So in that sense, I am atheist (towards human religions). And it is in this last sense that I could see someone going from agnostic-to-atheist by reading the Bible or in other ways learning more about religion/psychology/history.

Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

#402

Post by mjrbrennan »

The best books I've read in the last decade (that I can remember, I've only been keeping reading lists since ~2015) are mostly important because they have contributed to my inspiration and style as a writer.

* The Road - Cormac McCarthy

* Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy

* No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy

* On Writing - Stephen King

* 11/22/63 - Stephen King

* The Stand - Stephen King

* Hell's Angels - Hunter S. Thompson

* East of Eden - John Steinbeck

* Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joan Didion

* In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

#403

Post by andrei_says_ »

emodendroket wrote: post #220

From a few angles: * I read the Bible out of curiosity and ended up joining a church, so that's pretty consequential. * Moby Dick and Journey to the West were probably the most sheer enjoyment I got out of books * Learning C# 3.0 by Jesse Liberty is extremely dated at this point, and was dated even when I read it, but was the first book that made me "get" many basic OO concepts and taught me a language I've gotten a…

Question about the Bible — is Jesus a real person or could it be that he is a symbol of and an invitation for, choosing love, to the best of one’s abilities, in every present moment and choice on one’s life?

What is your take on this? What about the Church’ take?

Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

#404

Post by derwiki »

mke wrote: post #66

2010 - Outliers, Malcom Gladwell 2011 - In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan 2012 - Born to Run, Christopher McDougall 2013 - Four Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss 2014 - Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon 2015 - Awaken the Giant Within, Tony Robbins 2016 - Black Swan, Nicolas Taleb 2017 - Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman, Richard Feynman 2018 - The Prophet, Khalil Gibran 2019 - Three Body Problem (series), Liu Cixin These…

Fell in live with Three Body Problem series, and recommend it quite often

Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

#405

Post by bustadjustme »

andrei_says_ wrote: post #403
emodendroket wrote: post #220

From a few angles: * I read the Bible out of curiosity and ended up joining a church, so that's pretty consequential. * Moby Dick and Journey to the West were probably the most sheer enjoyment I got out of books * Learning C# 3.0 by Jesse Liberty is extremely dated at this point, and was dated even when I read it, but was the first book that made me "get" many basic OO concepts and taught me a language I've gotten a…

Question about the Bible — is Jesus a real person or could it be that he is a symbol of and an invitation for, choosing love, to the best of one’s abilities, in every present moment and choice on one’s life? What is your take on this? What about the Church’ take?

The way I read it, the Bible makes it a point to communicate that Jesus was/is a real person (and that his importance actually hinges on that fact). AFAIK, this is and has always been the Church's position.

Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

#407

Post by Harzza »

tajd wrote: post #287
palerdot wrote: post #227

The Count of Monte Cristo - This is one breathtaking epic. I have been putting off reading this novel for quite some time and occasionally see this name popping up in HN too, but never gave a serious thought for giving it a go. Was I wrong! This is an epic in its true sense, and you will feel a sense of amazement as you progress through the novel. I'm quite a reader, and I have not experienced such amazement when rea…

The Master and Margarita is one of the best novels I've read this year too. It is funny and is so fresh with its humour, despite being several decades old.

Funny coincidence. I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo and started reading The Master and Margarita after that few days ago. Nice to see that they are well recommended here.

Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

#409

Post by sdfin »

jaxOLantern wrote: post #313
sdfin wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read Crime and Punishment after reading The Brothers Karamazov . I found Crime and Punishment shallow in it's story and characters when compared to The Brothers Karamazov.

Did you read "Crime and Punishment" just after "The Brothers Karamazov"? Or could you have outgrown this type of book?

Yes, I read Crime and Punishment about one year after The Brothers Karamazov. I think The Brothers Karamazov is a great book.

Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?

#410

Post by jiscariot »

digianarchist wrote: post #162
briga wrote: post #94

Out of Control by former Wired editor Kevin Kelly. This book was a labor of love and it shows--every chapter explores some fascinating new topic on the intersection of biology and technology. Even though the book was written 25 years ago it feels completely fresh. I'm sure anyone who reads this site would enjoy it. David Deutsch's The Beginning of Infinity. If you know him, it's probably because Deutsch did some pion…

Didn't care for Sapiens. Very pop-science with the author's opinion littered throughout alongside wild predictions on AI, automation. The only other book I read this year was Evicted by Matthew Desmond. It was an excellent account of poverty cycles as it relates to housing.

I felt the same way. Romanticizing hunter/gatherer society and downplaying positive effects of agrarian society or any notion of evolutionary psychology. It started OK and about halfway through it seemed like he was just giving thoughts and theories on various things, without any references.

Though more focused on cultural evolution, I much preferred Joseph Henrich's "The Secret of Our Success".

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