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Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored

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Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored

#61

Herman Hesse - Steppenwolf. Actually everything by Hesse.

Hesse is timeless, there's a reason he resonated with so many people in the 60s movements.

Siddhartha is a great meditation on life in its entirety. For startup-focused professionals it can be hard to imagine satisfaction with a life lacking "accomplishment" but Hesse paints a thoughtful picture.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored

#62
post #50

I like understanding where I am located in space and time, that is why I love reading about science & science fiction ; it is indirectly related to religion in the sense that it makes you think about your world, about yourself. Buddhism / Religion / ... : - Siddartha - Hermann Hesse - The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho Science: - A brief history of time - Stephen Hawking (space, time) - The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawki…

have you read Siddhartha? did you like it.

It's an amazing book. Apparently, the author had to stop writing it for a few years, since he needed to reach another level of "enlightenment" before he could accurately describe the last part of the book.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored

#64

I like understanding where I am located in space and time, that is why I love reading about science & science fiction ; it is indirectly related to religion in the sense that it makes you think about your world, about yourself. Buddhism / Religion / ... : - Siddartha - Hermann Hesse - The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho Science: - A brief history of time - Stephen Hawking (space, time) - The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawki…

I recently read Tingworld for the first time and honestly I found it pretty painfully outdated. I mean obviously the imagination involved was significant at the time but I don't feel like it has aged well.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored

#65
post #18

I binge-read Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. If you're looking for something religious-y, start with the brilliant Small Gods.

Small Gods is a wonderful little book, and it's a great introduction the the humor of the series since it pretty much stands by itself.

Hah, relevant username!

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored

#68
I just finished this: http://www.amazon.com/The-Antidote-Happiness-Positive-Thinki...

I think you will like it. It paints Buddhism and Stoicism in a very pragmatic light.

I second the Discworld recomendation. The series is fantastic. Read everything Pratchett has written, it is worth it.

Also: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn: the only book to truly explain the genesis scripture.

The prophet by Khalil Gibran: One of the most beautiful books I've read.

And please ignore Paulo Coelho books. Paulo Coelho is to Richard Bach what Dan Brown is to Humberto Eco.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored

#69

Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano (the one Chavez gave to Obama in 2009), from 1971. "In the book Galeano analyzes the history of Latin America as a whole, from the time period of the European settlement of the New World to contemporary Latin America, describing the effects of European and later United States economic exploitation and political dominance over the region." The main takeaway (I'm not finis…

Even Eduardo Galeano himself dismisses that book as shortsighted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/24/books/eduardo-galeano-disa...

If you want a good view of the matter, please read Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored

#70

I really enjoyed "The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles". I've have it recommended a few times but the title sounded a bit self help-like so I avoided it. Eventually I did ready and it's pretty great. It covers how people manage to get work done, which is pretty important for everyone. Last year I read The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt. It's non-fiction…

Vernor Vinge is fantastic. If you can read True Names before any other cyberpunk book, do it.

And read it before watching 'Her'. It's worth it.

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