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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?

#881

Post by hluska »

tb_technical wrote: post #755
hluska wrote: post #741

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No of course not. You're not dangerous...if so, uh, I am logged into a random stranger's Hacker News account. :) Kidding aside friend, I get the feeling you've been hurt in the past and that's really sad. I can't change any of that. But I can tell you that you're a pretty cool person in the present and you can attract other cool people by being authentically you. Consider your list of favourite books - you're frickin…

Well, thanks! That's much appreciated. I was being a little whimsical with the parent comment, by the way. The entire comment tree is honestly really baffling to me. From people claiming I'm a secret fan of Rand, to people claiming I'm antisocial, or a sociopath - it's been a wild ride. From my perspective, it would be worse to subject myself to people who hate me. And just because I'm not friends with someone doesn'…

Dude…you need to stop justifying this bullshit. This is too much - holy fuck. What you’re doing is wrong. Thats a full stop and there’s no room for debate. What you are doing is wrong. Functional people don’t lie when they’re asked about their favourite book. And you chose a lie that hurts the most people.

It may be bizarre to you. But you’re actually the most bizarre person I’ve met in a very long time.

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

#884

Post by syncbehind »

moduvyas wrote: post #883

Bhagat Gita. Never found a book more correct and applicable to life for the big things in life.

I know this is considered by some to be a religious text. However, I have read some bits of it and know that there are gems there. Still, could I ask you to expand on why you think so?

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

#885

Post by OnACoffeeBreak »

ljhsiung wrote: post #203

East of Eden by Steinbeck really changed my college mindset on what it means to be "good" and "evil", "right" and "wrong". It's really hard to describe what the book's about. It's an epic, through and through, and all epics are hard to detail precisely. Inter-generational trauma? Handling one's "sin"? Making a livelihood after repeated failure, be it yourself or external factors? Contrary to my first sentence, there…

That's my favorite book as well. I came to it much later than college, and still found so much wisdom in it.

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

#886

Post by OnACoffeeBreak »

why5s wrote: post #276

Mistakes Were Made by Carol Tarvis and Elliot Aronson. It's a long discussion on the mechanics of cognitive dissonance and self-justification. -- "A man travels many miles to consult the wisest guru in the land. When he arrives, he asks the great man: 'O wise guru, what is the secret of a happy life?' 'Good judgement,' says the guru. 'But, O wise guru' says the man, 'how do I achieve good judgement' 'Bad judgement,'…

The book has been on my shelf for a long while, and I haven't read it yet, but I really like the full title "Mistakes Were Made, but Not by Me: Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts"

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

#887

Post by The_Colonel »

tb_technical wrote: post #745
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

Unhealthy for who, exactly? People who I won't get along with? Isn't it better that we don't interact, in this case? People aren't infinitely malleable - and I have no right to demand behavior from others. So, in my mind, it's better for everyone if we're separated from each other. Do you hang around people that dislike talking to you? I don't recommend that. I don't think anyone recommends that.

Perhaps it's that you're filtering out people who don't like to be lied to while those who pass the reverse test don't have problem with lies.

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

#888

Post by The_Colonel »

mgkimsal wrote: post #267
cactacea wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saying it is your favorite book is one thing. Saying it "changed your life" is another and yes, I'd think anyone who's life was changed by that particular book is indeed an idiot. I just don't see myself wanting to continue to engage with that person after a comment like that. Maybe I'm just impatient shrug

Cactacea Shrugged Before I made a judgement about someone making that claim, I'd need to know in what way it 'changed their life'.

Certainly worth asking, but in case of Atlas Shrugged like 90% predictable.

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

#889

Post by The_Colonel »

carabiner wrote: post #508
krupan wrote: post #294

Nobody has mentioned: - The Lord of the Rings. It is the secret gateway for us nerds to get into literature and poetry (do not skip the poems!). Read all the reference materials like The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, J.R.R.'s letters, the books his son Christopher edited and published, etc. If the poems seem weird or don't make sense, research why they are worded and structured the way they are. - The Master and Margarit…

Obscure wtf? It's a classic of Russian literature and taught in every Russian lit class.

Obscure also means "difficult to understand" which seems fitting to me - I've read it, but didn't really understand it.

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

#890

Post by smrq »

red-iron-pine wrote: post #135
djkivi wrote: post #14

Godel Escher Bach is the best book I've read. Very interesting topics and the sheer creativity of the writing is amazing.

NGL, GEB was a slog. There is a free MIT course that covers it, and I'm glad I made use of that. "I Am a Strange Loop" by the same guy covers the same concepts, albeit without the whimsey or color.

It was a slog, all three times, and yet it's still probably my favorite book. Sometimes slogging through is just worth it, I guess!

(I also enjoyed Joyce the one time I read him, so it's possible that I can just appreciate a good slog...)

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