Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

291–300 of 529 posts

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

#291

Post by morgante »

swframe wrote: post #263
tnecniv wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are all great. I've also given Dune, the Forever War, and The Stars my Destination.

I used to give Dune to my teenage relatives and it usually turned them into avid readers; they would thank me later. I noticed that it doesn't hold the interests of the recent teenagers in the family; it is hard to get them to start and even harder to get them to finish. I think competition from the internet, youtube and cellphone is just too strong. That is horrible because developing a passion for reading helps lot…

I recently read Dune (again). In my opinion, it hasn't held up well with the times.

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

#292

Post by engi_nerd »

mindcrime wrote: post #66

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is one I've given adults. For kids, every year a local group called Book Harvest does a thing with Barnes & Noble where if you go in a B&N store, you can donate a book straight to Book Harvest which gives books to disadvantaged kids. For them, I usually grab a few books like A Wrinkle in Time or some Choose Your Own Adventure books or something. I also semi-frequently buy (by accident) a…

The only reason I can see that you've been downvoted is your mention of The Fountainhead. Come on, people, you may not like the book or its author, but let's be civil. This is a perfectly fine comment.

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

#294

Post by morgante »

matwood wrote: post #228
cyphar wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exploitation of the public's fear, promises to make the country great again, rejection by their own party once they figured out that they might come to power. Those spring to mind as examples.

>Exploitation of the public's fear, >promises to make the country great again, So any politician running for an election? > rejection by their own party once they figured out that they might come to power. You mean, the basic reason the democrats invented the super delegate to begin with? Not sure how old you are, but when Bush 2 was in power the same comments were made. I guess Bush didn't turn into Hitler so now it…

> Not sure how old you are, but when Bush 2 was in power the same comments were made.

I'm sure there are some who complained of that, but nobody I know did. There is a categorical difference between merely having a different policy agenda (most Republicans) and outright rejecting basic Constitutional principles (ex. religious equality, free press, no torture).

I didn't vote for Romney in 2012, but I certainly didn't think he was a fascist.

Pretending that all politicians are equivalent is rather ignorant. After all, Hitler was also a politician and clearly he was in fact different, as were dozens of other leaders who around the world who have shared his approach.

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

#297

Post by syngrog66 »

old-gregg wrote: post #52

"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany" by William L. Shirer. It's a classic history book of our century which, despite its title, primarily focuses on Hitler's raise to power in the early 30s and the long, painful and ultimately futile international attempts at avoiding WW2 in the late 30s. It's a book I wish everyone would read, particularly everyone in a public office and the media. It's…

wow. thought I'd be the only one to cite that here on HN, and I just did over in my own top-level comment, along with Hackers.

and agreed, it's particularly relevant today in helping to think about Trump and whether it's wise for Americans to vote him into power

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

#299

Post by Jemaclus »

sooper wrote: post #74
Jemaclus wrote: post #59

"I Will Teach You To Be Rich" by Ramit Sethi ( http://amzn.to/2aF1vjF ). It's a fantastic, easy read that takes you step-by-step into automating your finances and making smart decisions toward not necessarily being rich, but being rich er and having some financial security on a month to month basis. Every once in awhile, I'll have a conversation with friends about finances, and they'll complain about how much work it…

How much of this book applies in a non-US context? Is it worth reading anyway?

I don't know how finances work in the rest of the world, but at least the half that deals with bank accounts, savings, and automating your finances should still be applicable. There's a sizable chunk that has to do with stocks and retirement stuff that may not be applicable to you, but the rest of it should be!
Post reply on HN