651–660 of 980 posts
- The Goal, Eli Goldratt - changed the way I thought about getting things done. The Theory of Constraints is important to anyone who makes things.
Fiction:
- Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - I love me some Sherlock Holmes, and nothing is more Sherlock Holmes than Hound of the Baskervilles. Terrific writing, great story, spooky setting. Love it.
Several immediately come to mind. Short stories: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (Ken Liu); Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation (Ted Chiang); The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury) Novels: The Monk (Matthew Gregory Lewis); Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
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I can like a book without agreeing with it.
Absolutely. You could say the ideas are well presented or it provided a contrast that clarified your own thinking. But, if someone asks "What's your favorite book?" and you say "The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life." then... come on. You either like it or are quite the tricky communicator. "Someone dropped it off a bridge, hit my abusive step-dad and killed him dead. Soft spot…
I love hard sci-fi and I keep going back to Blindsight: https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm Making a distinction between intelligence and consciousness was interesting and I think applies to current AI systems, at least that what came to mind when seeing ChatGPT for the first time. Also vampires being real apex predators brought back from extinction with a decent explanation as to why they don't like crosses…
It's the only textbook I really read during my university education (sad to admit). Even though I consider it a textbook and not pop-sci, it's incredibly approachable and teaches a framework about dynamical systems which was completely missing from all other courses I took.
Sounds like a humble brag. But it being the only book I managed to read really makes it stick out for me!
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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
Stopped clocks and all that.
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Why? What redeeming qualities does it have that make you prefer it to less mediocre books?
Not the person you were responding to, but if you ignore the hundred-page speech (which isn't that difficult to do) it's a fairly serviceable pulp sci-fi romance novel. It's far from Shakespeare and far from my favorite thing I've ever read, but it'll do in a pinch. I don't care for the philosophy/politics, but I've read a lot of good sci-fi that I didn't care for the philosophy behind. I like Starship Troopers, whic…
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This is fine. People don't have to be friends, you know? And it's ok not to be friends with everyone. I just know what types of people I like to hang out with - and they're typically people patient enough to put up with my dumb ass.
The only thing wrong with this whole thing is that you think it’s okay to start relationships with a lie. Thats not okay. It demonstrates a lack of integrity. Your friends deserve better.
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This is fine. People don't have to be friends, you know? And it's ok not to be friends with everyone. I just know what types of people I like to hang out with - and they're typically people patient enough to put up with my dumb ass.
The only thing wrong with this whole thing is that you think it’s okay to start relationships with a lie. Thats not okay. It demonstrates a lack of integrity. Your friends deserve better.
Maybe they don't.
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.
Update: his other magnificent sci fi series, "The Gap" also deals with extreme abuse. His works are not comfortable, but they are great stories.