Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? • Hacker News Board

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

#431

Post by mch82 » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:26 AM UTC

halhen wrote: post #13

I've given Alan Watts The Book to at least five people I thought could use it. Four of them never mentioned it again. I'm marrying the fifth next month.

Fantastic book! I got my copy from my grandmother and have given away multiple copies since.

My favorite concepts from "The Book" are the Wiggles and the Net, exploring the idea that so many modern pressures and stresses are human created and are therefore open to change.

His live lectures, recorded in the 1960s, are great as well. Audible carries various collections: http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_search_c4_1_16_1_srAuth?...

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

#432

Post by qwertyuiop924 » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:26 AM UTC

Radiant wrote: post #336

qwertyuiop924 wrote: post #44

I don't have any friends who haven't read it who would appreciate it, but Clifford Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg is both a highly entertaining thriller, a fascinating look at how computer security was, and is, viewed, and a highly personal story about a man trying to figure it all out. It's very funny, entirely true, and taught me a lot. Oddly, a lot of people hated the various more personal aspects of the book, as you se…

That's a really good book, indeed. Cliff in the book is much less annoying than Cliff in real life, though. I didn't expect him to be such a conservative anti-technology person. A good example is this[1] newspaper article of his. At times, he just seems like a typical attention-seeking contrarian. [1] http://www.newsweek.com/clifford-stoll-why-web-wont-be-nirva...

He wrote some other books about that. Most of the points he gives are pretty reasonable (tech isn't a panacea, tech for its own sake in an professional/educational environment is bad, PowerPoint is the devil (that's actually true)), but I still wouldn't invite him over for dinner.

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

#433

Post by qwertyuiop924 » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:28 AM UTC

dahart wrote: post #275

qwertyuiop924 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nah. if you haven't read GEB, your brain won't evaluate the previous statement correctly, and you won't gain any information. Neurolinguistic hacking! (it works, just ask Stephenson)(JOKE)

Yeah, right, I know, your comment was hilarious! I was adding joke to joke, but I guess I failed, someone else even downvoted my bad joke. Did my smiley make it feel snarky?

Look, I don't know. I didn't down you.

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

#434

Post by mattsouth » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:29 AM UTC

I love this thread. One that hasnt been mentioned and that I've enthusiastically gifted is The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin.

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

#435

Post by serb348 » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:33 AM UTC

justifier wrote: post #55

i play a game where i have duplicate copies of some books to give to anyone interested who has yet to have heard of one here's a incomprehensive list in alphabetical order: a people's history of the united states; howard zinn a rebours; joris-karl huysmans alcestis; euripides apology; plato belaya staya; anna akhmatova die verwandlung; franz kafka elements; euclid epic of gilgamesh; unknown ficciones; jorge luis borg…

a rebours is sick.

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

#436

Post by hkhall » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:42 AM UTC

The most recent is Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold[1]

[1]https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Intelligence-Science-Perfect-C...

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

#437

Post by kidster » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:45 AM UTC

The Little Prince and The Alchemist. Whenever I make new friends I give them either of these books if they haven't read them yet. These two have changed my point of view significantly -- and I've read them at an adult age already.

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

#438

Post by steinsgate » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:50 AM UTC

nikmobi wrote: post #284

steinsgate wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was skeptical at first too. But man, was I wrong! I have recommended it to about four or five friends so far. Only one read it till the end. And it didn't work so well on him, even though he reduced smoking. Did the book work on your friends who read it completely?

I have one other friend (the only one of them all to actually read) and it was just as effective for him as it was me. I'm now trying to get my sister to read it. The hard part seems to be getting people to pick it up and stick it through.

Best of luck getting your sis to quit :-)

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

#439

Post by mch82 » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:54 AM UTC

[Rework][] from DHH and Jason Fried.

Rework explains the "life beyond work" and "make a dent in the universe" philosophy behind Basecamp and Rails and is a valuable counterpoint to the popular media narrative of the startup IPO mindset. The book also explains how to apply the philosophy with actionable examples and it's fun to read.

[Rework]: https://37signals.com/rework

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

#440

Post by parkersweb » Mon, Aug 08, 2016, 11:58 AM UTC

EliRivers wrote: post #26

Books by David Mitchell. Possibly the finest modern literature author alive.

It wasn't as highly rated as 'Cloud Atlas' but I particularly loved 'The Bone Clocks'. Something about his vision of a post-apocalyptic future seemed very plausible - and very memorable.