So I’ve read Hitchhiker’s but was always curious about the others he wrote, any thoughts? Thanks!
I tried Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and never really managed to get to the end. I was somewhat disappointed cause I had my expectations up to the Hitchhiker's guide. On the subject of the Hitchhiker's guide, I liked "And Another Thing..." the most(though it was largely written by Eoin Colfer.
You may enjoy the audiobook versions of the Dirk Gently series, which are fully scripted and voice acted like a radio play. It was a really fun experience, and very well acted!
Thanks for the recommendations. I’m feeling old, so I’ll add: Edith Grossman’s translation of Don Quixote (1609! The more things change, the more they stay the same) Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley (I thought I knew the story until I actually read the book—whoah, that opened my eyes to our relationship with technology and industry and how we use energy) Dracula, by Bram Stoker (from Blindboy’s podcast episode “Paddy Dr…
Just to add a counter opinion: I found Moby Dick a real slog to get through
It has very detailed descriptions of whaling which I didn't find interesting
The Harry Potter series remains the most enjoyable books I've ever read. The Pillars of the Earth comes close though. Terrific sci-fi reads were Ender's Game , Speaker for the Dead , Hyperion , Ringworld , and to a lesser extent A Deepness in the Sky . Also Excession, whose human characters are poorly developed and written but whose world-building and AI characters are amazing. Terrific fantasy reads were The Time-Tr…
As a counterpoint to the praise of "The name of the wind" I read it on an HN recommendation and didn't enjoy it. The writing, characters, and story were all boring and poorly constructed, I kept thinking to myself, 'This is starting to get exciting I bet something good will happen' but nothing ever did. The world building and magic system was pretty well thought out but within the confines of 'The name of the wind' i…
Sorry it didn't appeal to you! I actually did read two books of The Stormlight Archives though and found it not too bad but ultimately rather generic sword & sorcery. I forgot nearly everything about the book as soon as I put it down. The only idea that stayed with me was that of a blade that passed through everything unhindered and didn't harm organic matter except to sever the nerves it passed through, that was a neat battle concept.
How to win friends and influence people. Its the book I wish I read in high school and college. I genuinely believe the world would be a better place if everyone were to read that book.
I don't get why this book is so hyped
Did anyone else read it and think "well duh" to most of it?
The Harry Potter series remains the most enjoyable books I've ever read. The Pillars of the Earth comes close though. Terrific sci-fi reads were Ender's Game , Speaker for the Dead , Hyperion , Ringworld , and to a lesser extent A Deepness in the Sky . Also Excession, whose human characters are poorly developed and written but whose world-building and AI characters are amazing. Terrific fantasy reads were The Time-Tr…
If you like Harry Potter, and you're a regular reader of HN, I highly recommend Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (HPMOR).
I'm not a "fan fiction" person, but after seeing it recommended so many times, I gave it a try. It is very good.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’m feeling old, so I’ll add: Edith Grossman’s translation of Don Quixote (1609! The more things change, the more they stay the same) Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley (I thought I knew the story until I actually read the book—whoah, that opened my eyes to our relationship with technology and industry and how we use energy) Dracula, by Bram Stoker (from Blindboy’s podcast episode “Paddy Dr…
Just to add a counter opinion: I found Moby Dick a real slog to get through It has very detailed descriptions of whaling which I didn't find interesting
I second this 100%. I found Moby Dick extremely tedious and mostly boring except for a few highlights here and there. And as the old saying goes "Melville never met a run-on sentence he didn't love."
A lot of "must reads" depend on your background and interest. GEB for example I would classify as a must for anyone with a computer science background, The Glory of their Times for any baseball fan, Democracy in America for anyone into American politics.
Moneyball is another great one for baseball fans.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine is another good one for people interested in American politics.
A lot of "must reads" depend on your background and interest. GEB for example I would classify as a must for anyone with a computer science background, The Glory of their Times for any baseball fan, Democracy in America for anyone into American politics.
I have a solid CS background and tried once to read GEB and while very enthralling I could only get about a quarter through. I will have to try that one again. Cheers.
I stalled out after a couple of the chapters the first time I tried GEB. Let it sit for a year or two, picked it up again and got totally enthralled and just plowed through it. I think maybe you have to be in just the right mood, or at just the right place mentally, to really want to jump into GEB. But when you do... what a rush.
As a counterpoint to the praise of "The name of the wind" I read it on an HN recommendation and didn't enjoy it. The writing, characters, and story were all boring and poorly constructed, I kept thinking to myself, 'This is starting to get exciting I bet something good will happen' but nothing ever did. The world building and magic system was pretty well thought out but within the confines of 'The name of the wind' i…
Sorry it didn't appeal to you! I actually did read two books of The Stormlight Archives though and found it not too bad but ultimately rather generic sword & sorcery. I forgot nearly everything about the book as soon as I put it down. The only idea that stayed with me was that of a blade that passed through everything unhindered and didn't harm organic matter except to sever the nerves it passed through, that was a n…
Maybe try Malazan Book of the Fallen, in terms of worldbuilding and plot/lore depth it is far ahead of any other (modern) fantasy books. Sheer scale of the world and its history might be a bit overwhelming at first, as it is not an easiest read, but often if you don't understand something it means that it will be referenced later in the book (or later in the series).
The Harry Potter series remains the most enjoyable books I've ever read. The Pillars of the Earth comes close though. Terrific sci-fi reads were Ender's Game , Speaker for the Dead , Hyperion , Ringworld , and to a lesser extent A Deepness in the Sky . Also Excession, whose human characters are poorly developed and written but whose world-building and AI characters are amazing. Terrific fantasy reads were The Time-Tr…
If you like Harry Potter, and you're a regular reader of HN, I highly recommend Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (HPMOR). I'm not a "fan fiction" person, but after seeing it recommended so many times, I gave it a try. It is very good.
I actually did check this out about a year ago. It started off beyond hilarious, I thought it was the greatest thing ever. The beginning is worth reading by any measure.
Then it started trying to heavily incorporate elements of the plot of Ender's Game and went a bit off the rails. The poor quality of writing combined with the tediously pointless plot tangents lost my interest. The idea it was getting at was fascinating - finding the source of magic - and I've been meaning to try reading it again by skimming past the Ender's Game nonsense and back to where the plot hopefully gets back on track.