My choice: Delivering Happiness because Ton Shieh outlines a phase he went through after selling his first company. It really made you think about startups, goals and life.
Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
1–10 of 211 posts
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#2"Programming in Scala" by Martin Odersky, Lex Spoon, Bill Venners.
Very easy read, explains a lot of functional programming concepts. This book made me a fan of Scala and functional programming.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#3My choice: Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace
I was actually very surprised on how insightful this book was. It is a great look into the inner mind of a prolific writer and the anguish he felt by in genius.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#4Easy.
Informative, in a space I am interested in, and im already applying the techniques. Probably something everyone on this site should read.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#5I think you mean Tony Hsieh?
I haven't finished it, but the Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs was by far my favorite book that I've been reading this year. It really opened my eyes to a lot of new ideas, as it apparently has for so many other people.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#6The Black Swan (unrelated to the Natalie Portman movie)
A great look behind some of the pseudo-science and psychological principles behind decision-making, rationality, and markets.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#7Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure by Jerry Kaplan
Jerry started "GO," the company that was the first to bring to market "pen computing." His company raised over 75M and spent it all on a product that the market did not want. It is a great read. A time before the concept of "product/market" fit had entered main-stream vocabulary
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#8Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos by Seth Lloyd.
It made me think about reality in a very novel way, and the nature of what a tautology really is, and it was extremely readable considering how cerebral it is.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#9The Joy of Clojure - Michael Fogus and Chris Houser (http://www.manning.com/fogus/) Riveting look at the language and functional programming - covers edge cases, gives lots of idiomatic examples, and goes deep into the really interesting parts.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why
#10"A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195374614?ie=UTF8&tag=...
It taught me (reminded me mostly) what kinds of attitudes I have when I am happiest and kicking ass with my projects. Over time I had somehow lost myself. This book helped me get back to the person I liked the most. I think it's also helping me do a lot better on my current startup, so it's not just a touch-feely book, it is having a lot of real, immediate, positive impact, at least to me.