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Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

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Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#27
Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. I pay it forward.

Stopped smoking six years ago and haven't had the desire to start again since. it feels great.

I actually played the nintendo DS adaptation of the book, which was also available on ios for a while.

it turned all the points the book was trying to make into a series of minigames that really illustrated the principles beautifully.

Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#28
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. I've given it to just about everyone I've known who seriously wanted to be a writer, journalist, etc. as well as some folks who just wanted to write better. It's a small, beautiful, book about writing better. This is the book I've gifted the most.

Several scifi books have also been gifted to friends, mostly Asimov (both the Foundation and Robots series), Herbert's Dune, and Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama.

Also, gifted a copy of Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, which is my favorite book about my favorite bands (and the American punk scene of the early 80s). The recipient was too young to remember the scene from that era, but was open to understanding why "punk" isn't so much a style of music, but an ethos.

Every book I've gifted is because I really love the book, and really like the person I'm giving it to.

Re: Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?

#30

Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. I pay it forward. Stopped smoking six years ago and haven't had the desire to start again since. it feels great. I actually played the nintendo DS adaptation of the book, which was also available on ios for a while. it turned all the points the book was trying to make into a series of minigames that really illustrated the principles beautifully.

Yes that's a great book. I am still amazed how well it worked for me. I was a chain smoker smoking 40 cigs a day, and then I read the book and poof! I stopped for good.
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