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Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
711–720 of 980 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#712Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be clear, both are fiction, it’s just that one is fantasy and the other is set in modern reality.
Hmmm I don’t believe so? Zen is at least portrayed in its conclusion as a true, autobiographical story (with obviously dollops of philosophical musings).
It is a fictionalised autobiography.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_...
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#713Henry George’s Progress & Poverty conducted what can only be described as a coup on my worldview, and I am not alone in that experience. It is an incredible argument that will just utterly transform how you understand a walk down the street. If you’ve been seeing references to the Land Value Tax (LVT) here on HN, this is the book that originated the concept. Like most conceptual breakthroughs, it didn’t emerge solely…
In a similar vein, when I first got an e-reader I downloaded the old English version of Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations. It was eye opening. While I’ve forgotten a large amount of the detail the overall themes are embedded in my mind.
How is Wealth of Nations surprising for a modern reader? My (perhaps incorrect) intuition is that these sorts of old foundational books tend not to be too surprising because their ideas have permeated society already, which is why I’m curious to hear your take.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#714Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#715Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#716Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s on my to-read list, but starting is daunting. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again (the essay collection) was amazing. I think about it often.
I read this and didn't find it all that interesting, although it was quite funny in parts. I'm curious to know what you found amazing about it?
There were a number of essays that influenced my world view and a story that left a strong lasting impression.
The essay on why we consume mass media was insightful at the time and particularly prescient given the rise of influencers, streaming, and short form video.
The essay “Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness” influenced me greatly. It made me realize how much pure artistry and mastery there is in the world. And most of it goes entirely unappreciated.
Incarnations of Burned Children was an amazing piece of literature in a harrowing and terrifying way. To this day, years later, I experience extreme l’appel du vide when carrying hot water around my children.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#717Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
I don’t want to pass this test. Someone who uses one of our first interactions to test how tolerant I am of Objectivism removing themselves from my life is an ideal outcome.
It wasn't a test about Objectivism. It was about ideological intolerance and zealotry in general. Note that you could fail it by whether you're pro or con Objectivism.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#718As a subset of "best" I read "The Daughter of Time" because it was voted the best crime novel ever.
It was good. A modern (well, 1951) detective solves a historical mystery while bedbound.
As for things that might be "Best" with a capital B I Loved pretty much everything by Umberto Eco.
Neal Stephenson used to feature an NYT quote on his website that described his works "bogging down into lectures like Umberto Eco without the charm", so if you like the historical lectures in Neal Stephenson, check him out.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#719Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know almost nothing about Atlas Shrugged, besides that it is very political, but this seems a strange and deceptive way to interact with people. I can't imagine it is very good for establishing trust with someone even if they "pass the test". I would think that many level-headed people you seek to select for would not appreciate being tested in this way, but I suppose you are selecting for a very specific kind of p…
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…
Honestly I would probably ask OP whether they re-read it as an adult and whether it held up on second reading. I know I've gone back to things I liked in 8th grade that seem very cringe to me today.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#720Earlier 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…
Consider Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle". A looong, socialist monologue takes up a big chunk of the book. It's the socialist version of "Atlas Shrugged".
The West Wing is this for American liberals.