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Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#571

Post by vundercind »

znpy wrote: post #328
bitcoin_anon wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just failed the test.

I wanted to post something similar. It's crazy how many people essentially jumped at their throat with obnoxious comments and even outright ridiculing the poster (see the "checkers/chess" comment as an example). Quite literally the author explained the whole reasoning and they still "failed the test". I haven't even read atlas shrugged but I guess at this point I'm curious to read it and possibly adopt a similar stra…

If you’re gonna do just one, I hear Anthem is the closest to being a decent novel. But I’ve only personally managed The Fountainhead (oh my god, don’t) and part of Atlas Shrugged (after the priming of Fountainhead, I could not get far), plus way too many of the essays and enough of her book on epistemology to know I didn’t need to keep reading (“ok so the fiction is terrible as literature and is entirely unconvincing, but maybe the non-fic is better?” I reasoned. Nah.)

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#572

Post by kaladin-jasnah »

loufe wrote: post #389
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #362

These threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars. I prefer junky fantasy books. I'm really too old and cynical to give a damn what y'all think of me. I probably liked David Edding's Belgariad series, along with the Mallorean series, the most. I reread them, regularly, and go through all ten books, in a couple of weeks. They are an easy read. Also, Glen Cook's Black Company books ar…

I second the Black Company. I recently turned some friends onto it and got back in as a consequence. It was such a great twist on how a dark fantasy reads. Totally agree for Garret PI. I'll have to add my other fantasy favourites : The Kingkiller Chronicles (though be prepared to be left hanging) and the Stormlight Archives are truly excellent.

Came here just to search for the Stormlight Archive. I mean, my username is a reference to that series (:

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#573

Post by aktau »

Vegenoid wrote: post #284

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. It's hilarious, absurd, and surprisingly thought-provoking. There are many philosophical questions and lessons that are not really presented as such (though they aren't hidden, either). I read it when I was young, it really shaped my sense of humor and got me thinking about some of life and the universe's big questions.

Me too. I still cherish the black hardcover I got on my first trip to the US for $20 (must've been around 2006). This one: "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story".

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#576

Post by WillAdams »

5555624 wrote: post #63

The Count of Monte Cristo -- I've read it a few times and I know I'll read it again. While there are a few books I've read more than once, I can't think of any I know I will read again.

To expand on one's enjoyment of this, be sure to look up the historical biography of Dumas père's father, _The Black Count_.

For even more fun, if one enjoys fantasy, Steven Brust's _The Baron of Magister Valley_ is TCoMC w/ all the names changed and the serial numbers filed off in a fantasy setting (and _The Phoenix Guards_ is _The Three Musketeers_, _Five Hundred Years After_ is _Five Years After_, and _The Viscount of Adrilahnkha_ is _The Man in the Iron Mask_).

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#577

Post by WalterBright »

swasheck wrote: post #406
bee_rider wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is political, but it is also not a good book. Like, it has a gigantic monologue in the middle where one of the main characters just stands there and expounds on the theme of the book, for many pages. It is not well written. If somebody said they liked… some books by Heinlein or whatever, there’s a guy with some Political Opinions. But he can write . It is believable, picking a Heinlein book isn’t an obvious politi…

my feeling is that it's a "badge" book and by that i mean, you wear it as a badge in order to signal your fluency in pro/anti objectivism conversations. conversations about it remind me of my post-high school experiences with peers while discussing movies. people always chose apocalypse now, the crying game, or the usual suspects as the "best movie in recent memory" and the reasoning was generally because they wanted…

When I was younger "2001" was my favorite movie. As I grew older, "The Wizard of Oz" moved into the front. There's never been another movie remotely like it, before or since. It stands alone.

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#578

Post by csours »

rodolphoarruda wrote: post #433

Dune Chronicles, the 8 books, as I consider them one single long story told in +4000 pages. The God Emperor of Dune (4th book) I consider to be the apex of the story.

I'm kind of shocked that anyone would recommend anything after book 4. (Book 4 is the last one I would recommend. As far as I'm concerned you can get everything you need from summaries for everything after that.)

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#579

Post by WillAdams »

xlii wrote: post #546

When I’m asked about best book I always bring up „The Last Ringbearer” by Yeskov. It’s a fanfic in LOTR universe, and it wasn’t very interesting when I was reading it but it revolved around a twist that helped me develop critical thinking skills. In short and without too much of a spoiler - it’s about relativism of everything, including history and importance of narrative in shaping perspectives. Somewhat similar to…

"History is written by the victors" would be the succinct way to describe it.

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#580

Post by andrepd »

lolinder wrote: post #483
cactacea wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dunno, testing people like that is such an incredibly unhealthy and misguided way to talk to people that I have a very hard time thinking I'm missing out here. Maybe that's just me though

Yeah, it's likely that the two of you wouldn't get along. I think that's the point, though. They want to associate with people who would respond with curiosity to a controversial statement, you don't want anything to do with someone who likes Atlas Shrugged and you aren't interested to know more. The filter worked and neither of you waste your time!

No! That is not at all what is happening here!

>respond with curiosity to a controversial statement

It's not about being a "controversial statement" (the implication being anyone who reacts against it is a close-minded woke or something like that). It's about "I read it in 8th grade" + "it changed my life and it's still my favourite book". Honestly swap out for any book and it would be equally cringe to boast about how your thinking has not evolved or matured since you were 12.

> you don't want anything to do with someone who likes Atlas Shrugged

No, I don't like anything to do with someone who boasts about being immature in such a crass manner. For that matter, I also don't like anything to do with people who would intentionally lie and manipulate their interlocutor on their first meeting.

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