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YC’s Summer Reading

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Re: YC’s Summer Reading

#21

Post by wyldfire »

ztravis wrote: post #14

I'm consistently surprised to hear people saying positive things about "Ready Player One" - to me it was one of the most hackneyed and silly books I've read in a long time. My review at the time of reading (originally for private consumption only): Terrible modern sci-fi about easter egg MMO quest for game creator’s fortune. Childish plot/dialog, cliches everywhere (e.g. ‘L337 Hax0r Warezhouse’), absolutely atrocious…

I really enjoyed it myself. It was a big nostalgia fest. I wonder -- are you significantly older or younger than the audience that would've spent time enjoying these games?

Re: YC’s Summer Reading

#22

Post by elevensies »

pdq wrote: post #20

I'm in the middle of Chaos Monkeys, and am enjoying the author's excellent prose, while walking through the sausage factory of startups. There's also some interesting YC insights, as the author's startup went through it. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Monkeys-Obscene-Fortune-Failure...

I finished this recently and liked it as well. My "policy" is to read every technology company related memoir or corporate history that I can get my hands on, and I found this one more interesting than most as a narrative.

Re: YC’s Summer Reading

#23

Post by Vexs »

I finished the expanse series in about a week- it's a fantastic sci-fi, but it's really not for people who go in expecting action. Most of the series is space politics, as well as an annoying tendency to just vaguely hint at alien stuff, flip flopping between space magic and dumb ol' block.

That being said, I really liked it, and I would recommend it. Also, if they're not your thing, the first book is the only one with zombies.

Re: YC’s Summer Reading

#26

Post by MichaelGG »

wyldfire wrote: post #21
ztravis wrote: post #14

I'm consistently surprised to hear people saying positive things about "Ready Player One" - to me it was one of the most hackneyed and silly books I've read in a long time. My review at the time of reading (originally for private consumption only): Terrible modern sci-fi about easter egg MMO quest for game creator’s fortune. Childish plot/dialog, cliches everywhere (e.g. ‘L337 Hax0r Warezhouse’), absolutely atrocious…

I really enjoyed it myself. It was a big nostalgia fest. I wonder -- are you significantly older or younger than the audience that would've spent time enjoying these games?

I spent time on some of it. I'm only 35 so perhaps a bit young; or maybe I didn't spend enough time in arcades.

I found it heavy handed. Just dumping tons of references all over the place. Felt like he printed out a list of games and stuff and just made sure to check each one off.

Re: YC’s Summer Reading

#27

Post by GradysGhost »

ztravis wrote: post #14

I'm consistently surprised to hear people saying positive things about "Ready Player One" - to me it was one of the most hackneyed and silly books I've read in a long time. My review at the time of reading (originally for private consumption only): Terrible modern sci-fi about easter egg MMO quest for game creator’s fortune. Childish plot/dialog, cliches everywhere (e.g. ‘L337 Hax0r Warezhouse’), absolutely atrocious…

Not to mention the love interest relationship, which is basically, "Love interest doesn't trust protagonist until the story reaches a climax and all of a sudden she's protag's girlfriend despite not having any new reason to be that."

Re: YC’s Summer Reading

#28

Post by schlupp »

r_smart wrote: post #11
schlupp wrote: post #7

Nice, 2 out of 20 authors are women. Nothing like a balanced reading experience.

I feel like your comment would be more useful if you were to raise your concern (which you did) and suggest some books written by women you think warrant inclusion on the list. Otherwise you're just complaining.

I don't work for free, but I'd be happy to consult for YC on coming up with a more diverse reading list

Re: YC’s Summer Reading

#29

Post by natdempk »

pdq wrote: post #20

I'm in the middle of Chaos Monkeys, and am enjoying the author's excellent prose, while walking through the sausage factory of startups. There's also some interesting YC insights, as the author's startup went through it. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Monkeys-Obscene-Fortune-Failure...

I just read this recently, and the gonzo account of working in tech was very well done. I just wish the writing wasn't so boorish in parts. It seemed like the author felt the need to exaggerate some of the already ridiculous at face value tales of working in ad-tech and at Facebook. All of the crude metaphors and comparisons throughout the book didn't add much for me, but his story was interesting enough to keep me going.

Re: YC’s Summer Reading

#30

Post by johnwheeler »

ztravis wrote: post #14

I'm consistently surprised to hear people saying positive things about "Ready Player One" - to me it was one of the most hackneyed and silly books I've read in a long time. My review at the time of reading (originally for private consumption only): Terrible modern sci-fi about easter egg MMO quest for game creator’s fortune. Childish plot/dialog, cliches everywhere (e.g. ‘L337 Hax0r Warezhouse’), absolutely atrocious…

Yeah - the part where he walks in the room and starts playing Joust against the boss was where I gave up.
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