I'd like to know which books HN read in 2016. Which of these would you recommend? Which of these surprised you, because they are not the usual suspects.
Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
1–10 of 333 posts
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#2Deep work by Cal Newport, great book on how to develop intense focus to be creative/get more done. Highly recommended.
Race Against The Machine - a concise and informative discussion of the impact of technology on employment, income distribution and macro economics. Highly recommended as well.
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#3Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon, 1963-1972
by David West Reynolds. Good account of one of humanity's greatest technological achievements.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16072775-apollo
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#4I just started to read more and more, that's why some classics are in my list:
- The Power of Habit - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12609433-the-power-of-hab...
- The Greatest Salesman in the World http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/356896.The_Greatest_Sales...
- Originals http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25614523-originals
- The One Thing http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16256798-the-one-thing
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#5My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DWWCBEK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...
Rosemary's Baby https://www.amazon.com/Rosemarys-Baby-Ira-Levin-ebook/dp/B00...
Make: Analog Synthesizers https://www.amazon.com/Make-Analog-Synthesizers-Ray-Wilson-e...
Android UI Design with XML https://www.amazon.com/Android-UI-Design-XML-Tutorial/dp/147...
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#6My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DWWCBEK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...
Rosemary's Baby https://www.amazon.com/Rosemarys-Baby-Ira-Levin-ebook/dp/B00...
Make: Analog Synthesizers https://www.amazon.com/Make-Analog-Synthesizers-Ray-Wilson-e...
Android UI Design with XML https://www.amazon.com/Android-UI-Design-XML-Tutorial/dp/147...
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#7- The Prize, by Daniel Yergin (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prize-Epic-Quest-Money-Power/dp/184...)
It's a history of oil over the last 150 years. Sounds boring. It's not. It's one of the best books I've ever read.
This book has made me realize that the history of the world over the last century and that of oil are almost one and the same.
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#8The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi - Arthur Osborne
Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman
The Prince - Nicollo Machiavelli
Being Mortal - Atul Gawande
High Output Management - Andrew Grove
Elon Musk - Ashlee Vance
Red Plenty - Francis Spufford
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari
The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
The Inner Game of Tennis - W. Timothy Galleway
My Gita - Devdutt Pattanaik
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Istanbul - Orhan Pamuk
The Stranger - Albert Camus
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#9I read almost all of Brandon Sanderson's novels. I'd heard of him before, but I was hesitant to jump into his huge universe. I'm really happy I did, though. In roughly 2 months I binged on all the Cosmere novels and Steelheart.
He's creating a truly magnificent universe with the Cosmere. As I understand it, he expects it to reach 32+ books total. It's all centered around Stormlight Archive, which is an ongoing 10 novel series.
The killer detail that helped win me over as a big fan was the fact that he communicates with his fans. He's a fast writer, but he still gives updates. After a few years of following GRRM, having an author that so openly speaks with his fans is a breath of fresh air. I think everyone is usually aware that estimates are never truly accurate, but at least it gives you an idea of what the author expects to accomplish. If he says he's hoping to get the next Stormlight Archive book by the end of next year, I know that doesn't mean it's definitely going to happen. But that's fine, at least he's being open and communicating with his followers.
Honestly, I think Stormlight Archive has blow away pretty much everything else I've read.
This year I discovered a genre called LitRPG [0] and picked up all the major books in the genre. It's very light reading, for when you just wanna go off on a brief adventure. I enjoy videogames but I tend to find myself too tired or busy to want to go into the grind myself, so this made for an entertaining proxy.
[0] http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/28/11801040/have-you-heard-ab...
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#10Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Be prepared to have your mind blown to hell up. No you don't have to be a geek or hold a doctorate in quantum mechanics to enjoy this book.
This is something that you will find impossible to put down or stop thinking about long after you have turned the last page.
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Matter-Novel-Blake-Crouch/dp/110...