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YC's Winter Reading List

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Re: YC's Winter Reading List

#31

Post by anigbrowl »

tomcam wrote: post #5

In case you're wondering about how we knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing, sexist, racist, homophobic conservatives really think, "Strangers in their own land" is not a good representation. Anything by bestselling authors such as Mark Steyn Dinesh D'Souza, Mark Levin, or Ann Coulter would be a much closer approximation. Reading "Strangers in their own land" would be like one of those people writing a book about why Hil…

In case you're wondering about how we knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing, sexist, racist, homophobic conservatives really think

Spare us the martyrdom schtick.

Mark Steyn Dinesh D'Souza, Mark Levin, or Ann Coulter would be a much closer approximation

Oh come, you have much greater intellectual heavyweights on the right. Why not cite William S. Lind or Paul Weyrich, or the brilliant strategic analysis of the Council for National Policy?

Re: YC's Winter Reading List

#32

Post by anigbrowl »

protomyth wrote: post #20

My disagreement with the placement of "Strangers in Their Own Land" is basically that it really is well loved by Mother Jones[1], NYT[2], etc. but not at all liked by the people it claims to report on[3]. I guess if you hold liberal beliefs and want some reinforcement, then its a good book, but I would think you probably want to read books by people who actually are the people being talked about. 1) http://www.mother…

not at all liked by the people it claims to report on

That's rich considering the popularity of conservatives books with titles like 'Liberalism is a mental disease' and 'Liberal fascism.'

How about Victoria (2014) by William S. Lind? There's a good conservative author for you. I would recommend everyone interested in politics to become familiar with his ideas.

Re: YC's Winter Reading List

#33

Post by siavosh »

My personal picks as I continue to try to understand global economic trends since the 1980's through the prism of the 2008-crash:

The Global Minotaur: America, Europe and the Future of the Global Economy by Yanis Varoufakis [1]

The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future By Stiglitz, Joseph E. [2]

The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War by Robert J. Gordon [3]

1. https://www.amazon.com/Global-Minotaur-America-Economic-Cont...

2. https://www.amazon.com/Price-Inequality-Divided-Society-Enda...

3. https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-American-Growth-Princeton/d...

Re: YC's Winter Reading List

#34

Post by haliax »

protomyth wrote: post #20

My disagreement with the placement of "Strangers in Their Own Land" is basically that it really is well loved by Mother Jones[1], NYT[2], etc. but not at all liked by the people it claims to report on[3]. I guess if you hold liberal beliefs and want some reinforcement, then its a good book, but I would think you probably want to read books by people who actually are the people being talked about. 1) http://www.mother…

I'm about 25% of the way through Strangers.

The negative review you've given seems to be a content-free screed: most of what the writer criticizes is fairly innocuous phrasing (e.g. "my Tea Party friends" rather than "my friends"). The only substantive point is the claim that she lumps people into overly broad categories, but honestly, I've yet to see that. Do you have any sources that dislike the book and point out flaws in her analysis?

Re: YC's Winter Reading List

#35

Post by ThomPete »

Creativity INC is one of the best books I have ever read on creativity and I have read a lot to know how much most of them really suck.

It has the added bonus of providing an alternative biography of Steve Jobs which in itself is interesting.

It's much more than a story about Pixar. It's a great insight into some of the very problems you deal with as you build and try to maintain a culture.

I can't recommend it enough.

If you want a peek into the books content Ed Catmul did a great talk at Standford.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhzXNJumqpo

Re: YC's Winter Reading List

#37

Post by protomyth »

crucini wrote: post #27
protomyth wrote: post #20

My disagreement with the placement of "Strangers in Their Own Land" is basically that it really is well loved by Mother Jones[1], NYT[2], etc. but not at all liked by the people it claims to report on[3]. I guess if you hold liberal beliefs and want some reinforcement, then its a good book, but I would think you probably want to read books by people who actually are the people being talked about. 1) http://www.mother…

Can you recommend an alternative?

I did in an earlier thread[1], but that's the last book I read on the subject (more technical books in the last while). Its a broad set of beliefs that get classified in the same bucket and the US is a big area. I personally identify more with a writer from rural Missouri than one from New York City. I'm not a big Ann Coulter fan, but I would guess many on the left aren't big Bill Maher fans either, and I would put the two of them in the same category.

1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12239123#12239625

Re: YC's Winter Reading List

#38

Post by ashark »

overcast wrote: post #29
crucini wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think he's eternally mediocre, or is his recent stuff worse? Is all scifi mediocre? Is the problem that Stephenson "crossed over" and got more mainstream credibility? Is Gibson also mediocre?

My first experience with Stephenson was Snow Crash, and it was an abomination. I tried Cryptonomicon next, and while slightly more coherent, it was the end of the line for me and this guy. Stephenson likes to write like he's smarter than he really is, plots that are literally everywhere, and characters I really don't care about. Let's not forget the third person present tense writing style. Regarding Gibson, I only r…

If you didn't care for Cryptonomicon, you're probably right to stop. I've read four of his novels and that's the only one that didn't fit the pattern of [promising first 1/3], [2/3 section is bad but I'm holding on that it'll go somewhere], [3/3 goes off the rails entirely, no payoff for suffering through the middle third]. Cryptonomicon was consistently OK, at least.

The Diamond Age was the most frustrating of them, because it starts off so good, but by the end it's a total mess. There's a whole scene in the last third that exists just to have one character tell you what another's motivation has been since a few chapters in, since it's entirely obscure to the reader. Not in a big reveal kind of way, but in a "uh oh, I let some friends read a draft and they are really confused by this major character, better fix it, but, like, without working very hard" way. I mean, at least he bothers to tell us, but wow.

Like you, I enjoyed Neuromancer quite a bit (and I read it after Stephenson—only last year, in fact). The other two in that trilogy are somewhere on my mental to-read list.

Re: YC's Winter Reading List

#40

Post by vram22 »

CalChris wrote: post #17

The Grossman translation of DQ is a fine read. I read it in a seminar which is the academic equivalent of a book club. That was awesome. If you get into it, it's a great discussion book. I'd recommend Marryat's Mister Midshipman Easy over Forester's Mister Midshipman Hornblower . Marryat speaks from authority when he speaks of the sea and of naval warfare. Neither Forester nor Patrick O'Brian sailed.

I really enjoyed reading Midshipman Easy and other similar books as a kid. That particular series by Marryat was good too.
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