Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

421–430 of 529 posts

Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#421

Post by nrjames »

West with the Night, by Beryl Markham.

This is the autobiography of a woman who grew up on a farm in British East Africa (Kenya) in the early 1900s. She eventually became a bush pilot and the first person ever to fly an airplane solo across the Atlantic Ocean from east to west. It is a beautifully written and interesting story. Note: if you decide to read it, skip the Forward because it sort of spoils the book. Come back to it at the end, however, because it provides some interesting historical context.

Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#422

Post by wazoox »

aas1957 wrote: post #404
vecter wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's fascinating. Could you explain what made you love the book so much?

Dumas originally wrote The Count as a weekly story for the newspaper. Hence, each chapter ended as a cliffhanger enticing the reader to wait and then buy next week's issue. I works like a charm. One of the best I ever read.

I've read it in a nearly uninterrupted reading binge of 3 days and 2 nights. In fact, in my recollection there's a cliffhanger at the bottom of each odd page :)

Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#424

Post by grafelic »

kqr wrote: post #416
grafelic wrote: post #414

I haven't yet gifted a copy of Robert Anton Wilson's and Robert Shea's "The Illuminatus! Triology", but I want to. This book strikes the fine balance of being funny and mindblowingly weird at the same time. Great fun.

I started reading this when I was very young and then eventually trailed off. Thanks for reminding me I gotta try again!

You're welcome! My approach to this book was to stop thinking too much about the numerous "plot lines" and just go with the flow.The fact that I bought the book in a second-hand bookstore in Berkeley and read most of it while exploring the Californian coast, probably put me in that mindset from the get-go. :)

Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#425

Post by runT1ME »

Frogolocalypse wrote: post #351

Non-fiction The Emperors New Mind - Roger Penrose Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglass Hoffstadter Brocas Brain - Carl Sagan The (mis)Behavior of Markets - Benoit Mandelbrot The Black Swan - Nicholas Nassem Taleb Fiction Gates Of Fire - Stephen Pressfield Neuromancer - William Gibson Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson Hardwired - Walter Jon Williams Altered Carbon - Richard Morgan Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson Space - Stephen…

Good list. Define ou haven't read all of these but of the ones you've mentioned I can tell I'd probably like the rest. Have you read Anathem or any of Peter Watts' stuff? If not give them a try.

Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#426

Post by runT1ME »

Frogolocalypse wrote: post #351

Non-fiction The Emperors New Mind - Roger Penrose Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglass Hoffstadter Brocas Brain - Carl Sagan The (mis)Behavior of Markets - Benoit Mandelbrot The Black Swan - Nicholas Nassem Taleb Fiction Gates Of Fire - Stephen Pressfield Neuromancer - William Gibson Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson Hardwired - Walter Jon Williams Altered Carbon - Richard Morgan Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson Space - Stephen…

Good list. Define ou haven't read all of these but of the ones you've mentioned I can tell I'd probably like the rest. Have you read Anathem or any of Peter Watts' stuff? If not give them a try.

Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#428

Post by openfuture »

I buy books that catch my interest when I'm travelling and then give them to people I meet who I think will appreciate them. I'm so tired of giving books to family that then never read them. Anyway, books I've given recently (last 3 months):

The Dominant Man: The Pecking Order of Human Society https://www.amazon.com/dominant-man-pecking-order-society/dp...

__ Completely changed my perspective on social interaction. I've been trying to get people to read this but the title sounds very non-pc. Got it for 1AUD on a second hand book table somewhere, it's very dry though and mostly just presents evidence without drawing conclusions.

Cat's Craddle - Kurt Vonnegut __ I love the word Karass. Lots of travelers like this book.

When Nietzsche wept __ Amazing book, the amount of strategy in their conversations is amazing and the book is just high quality. Best to know some stuff about Nietzsche and that era before you read it though.

Teach us to sit still - Tim Parks __ Not something you'd give to anyone but if the person is a little intrigued by meditation then this book will probably get them to start doing it.

Why the West Rules for Now: The patterns of history and what they reveal about the future __ I had learned the history of certain periods in certain locations but this book brought it all together into a cohesive narrative. Highly recommended if you want to start inquiring into history but don't know where to start.

Carlos Castaneda's series on learning shamanism __ I dunno what to think of this. I can believe that the guy actually experienced what he's writing, it's just too much to make up imo. Anyway I'd recommend it to anyone interested in philosophy, religion or meditation because it's just such a radically different perspective on how to live life and the meaning of enlightenment.

--

I also have a long list of books that I've seen recommended here or recommendations from people I've met all over the world that I use for inspiration when I need to give gifts for Christmas or something but I haven't read them yet so I won't mention them here.

Post reply on HN