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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?

#591

Post by msg »

Because Anna Karenina is already listed,

I'll plug Scandal by Shusaku Endo. It is by a Japanese Catholic novelist and was written near the end of his career (lifetime achievement award timeframe).

It is about a Japanese Catholic novelist near the end of his career, who is accepting an award when he is accosted by reporters asking about rumors that he has been seen carousing in the red light district. He decides to investigate the rumors, but he isn't ready for what he's going to find.

It's a kind of meta, semi-autobiographical interrogation of the author and the pillars on which he built his life, that in some ways would be impossible to adapt to any other medium.

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

#592

Post by WillAdams »

MattPalmer1086 wrote: post #84

Although I'm not generally into fantasy, I found "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" by Stephen Donaldson to be fantastic. I tried to start it twice and gave up (there are some disturbing elements) but once I got into it I was hooked. Loved that the hero wasnt into being a hero and was deeply flawed. For non fiction, "Godel, Escher and Bach" is right up there, along with The Selfish Gene.

Thomas Covenant is only acceptable to readers who will accept a protagonist who rapes an innocent girl quite early in the work.

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

#593

Post by creature_x »

flenserboy wrote: post #369
creature_x wrote: post #173

Steppenwolf By Herman Hesse. It's remarkable how a fictional character written by someone a century ago can resonate so deeply with a modern person. But then again, that's a common thread amongst great literature. I recommend this book to anyone struggling with loneliness or feeling like they haven't found their footing in this world. “Learn what is to be taken seriously and laugh at everything else.”

Give his Glass Bead Game a try; it is dense, delightful, & its content would appeal much to the denizens of this site.

I actually started with The Glass Bead Game, but I found it too dense. Perhaps I'll give it another try!

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

#594

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #442
allturtles wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars I see a wide variety of answers ITT. Some are very "literary" fiction e.g. Ulysses , others are lighter fare like Harry Potter , there's also a wide variety of non-fiction works from self-help to electronics manuals to philosophy. Have you considered that other people might actually have different tastes than you, and aren't trying…

C'mon. This is HN. People are trying to posture and prove all kinds of things. Of course folks have different tastes (I'm the redneck engineer, in my family. Most of my other siblings think James Joyce is da thang , but they are also into posturing). But it also intimidates folks into not sharing some really good stuff.

That is probably the saddest part that good things don't have enough time/chance to spread. I like to think that there are more Adams, Pratchetts out there, but they remain largely undiscovered due to this society pre-approved list of things you can 'consume'.

And good here does not automatically mean "Ulysses" ( which I hated -- and quite possibly misunderstood ). Some stuff can be just lazy popculture level navel gazing, but it does not mean it can't be fun as it revels in excess at the same time ( Rick and Morty comes to mind -- yes, it is not a book, but I am making a point.. how many kids you see reading for fun ).

Agreed, but it still does not seem as bad as other internet locales. And maybe it comes with socialization. At certain point we learn no one really cares. I know I stated some mildly pretentious stuff before. Seemed like a big deal then; now it is just an amusing memory.

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

#595

Post by hinkley »

jechasteen wrote: post #551

I want to answer this question as if you asked which book had the biggest impact on me, that I remember with the most fondness, the one I wish I could forget so I could experience again from zero. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Long and sometimes tedious, as his books can be, but the characters are so memorable. Bobby Shaftoe is one of my all-time favorites. The book takes place on two timelines, involving two gen…

I still use Stephenson’s definition of “failing an intelligence test” from those books. I’d heard the term before, but the example he uses is concise.

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

#596

Post by WillAdams »

aquir wrote: post #416

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin She was a great visionary and turned the Science Fiction genre upside down. This book is a thought provoking story; an "An Ambiguous Utopia" (this is the subtitle of the book. It really makes you think but also a mocking glass for our society. Close second is The Left Hand of Darkness from the same author.

I would seriously have to consider her _The Lathe of Heaven_ as my nomination.

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

#597

Post by bradleyy »

tb_technical wrote: post #142

"The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life." Not because I remember anything about it, or believe anything it espouses, or even like it all that much, but because it's a useful filter for obnoxious people in meatspace. If someone I don't know too well asks me what my favorite book is, I say Atlas Shrugged. If they react inappropriately, I'll be cordial and treat them with respect,…

I just have to say, "A Canticle for Leibowitz" shook me for a really, really long time afterwards. I'm not saying it's a bad book, it's quite thought provoking, but I took about 99 points of psychic damage from it.

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

#598

Post by jrflowers »

tb_technical wrote: post #525
jrflowers wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“I lie to people’s faces to conduct a test around a mundane question in order to safeguard myself from the ‘meatspace’ ruffians that don’t like Ayn Rand” is a hilarious strategy. As an aside, it kind of seems like Atlas Shrugged actually is your favorite book. You don’t appear to care what others think about Neuromancer or The Dying Earth but you literally require a specific and narrow set of feelings about Objectivi…

I don't like Atlas Shrugged and you can't convince me otherwise. The most interesting paragraphs in that book were rants about cigarette brands, and even that was a total bore. Neuromancer is enjoyable, but mostly because I enjoyed cyberpunk inspired media before reading it. Seeing all the influences Neuromancer had on books, movies, anime/manga, and even half life mods was a real treat. That and I empathized with Ca…

>I don't like Atlas Shrugged and you can't convince me otherwise.

> I lost too much time in my youth trying to keep people, who I thought were my friends, like you happy.

This is pretty much a summary of John Galt’s long speech.

Also,

https://fablesofaesop.com/the-fox-and-the-grapes.html

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

#599

Post by edanm »

kemko wrote: post #486
edanm wrote: post #119

Impossible to pick just one. I'll give a few that haven't appeared yet: Fiction: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (Eliezer Yudkowsky) Non-fiction: Rationality - from AI to Zombies (Eliezer Yudkowsky) Probably no books have impacted me quite as much as these two, barring early-childhood books that have impacted me from a young age. Fiction: Worm (by Parahumans) Best "superhero" fiction ever created. Just on…

HPMoR and Worm? Try Mother of Learning.

I've heard of it many times but never gotten around to reading it. Apparently an audiobook version exists, so I'll bump it up my list and read it soon.

Thanks!

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

#600

Post by travisjungroth »

dmitrygr wrote: post #491
cactacea wrote: post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And have it change your life?

> And have it change your life? Yes, a literary work can both be life-changing and not something you agree with. EG: I do not at all agree with Marx. Me and others reading his works changed my life irrevocably. Ditto for Hitler.

But you do get that if you said "The best book I've ever read was Mein Kampf in 8th grade. Changed my life." then some people very reasonably won't want to be your friend, right?
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