I just finished recommending 1491 by Charles Mann in a previous thread, and I'll do so again here: http://amzn.to/2hKn6Ly
Surprising how innovative and densely populated the people of ancient americas were back then.
Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
41–50 of 333 posts
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#42- A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression
Will most likely end up being the best nonfiction book I've read all year.
Fiction:
- Limbus, Inc. - Book III (I liked I and II better tho)
- Sleeping Giants (Themis Files) - a sleeper recommendation by a coworker that I KNOW will end up as a movie.
- Underground Airlines (Modern day, but the Civil War never happened)
- The Nightmare Stacks (A Laundry Files Novel)
- Lovecraft Country
I read a LOT more than what's listed here, but these are the noteworthy ones. I read a book every couple of days. Lots of military monster-hunting fiction, zombie apocalypse pulp, manly adventure novels, self-help stuff, etc.
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#43Science and the City by Laurie Winkless was a fun read. Some parts of it are a bit hype-y, and some parts are a bit obvious, but overall it's a great read to find out the mechanics behind things we take for granted
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#44One book which I'd like to mention here is:
p53: The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code by Sue Armstrong. Its a well written book on a very complex topic. [1]
[1] https://www.amazon.com/p53-Gene-that-Cracked-Cancer/dp/14729...
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#45These are the ones I read this year that I really loved: Genghis Khan https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93426.Genghis_Khan_and_t... Mistakes were made (but not by me) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/522525.Mistakes_Were_Mad... Sapiens - a brief history of humankind https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23692271-sapiens A little history of the world https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61505.A_Little_History_o... T…
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#46I really enjoyed reading "The Disaster Artist" by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. It's about making of the movie "The Room" and it's writer/director/producer/leading actor Tommy Wiseau. It's one of the funniest books I've ever read (about one of the funniest movies I've ever watched) and I would highly recommend reading it to anyone who's curious how this movie came to exist or is just looking for a good laugh.
Other than that I found "1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed" by Eric Cline a very interesting read, especially when it comes to methods described to figure out what happened over 3000 years ago. Contrary to it's title it's not very sensationalistic and it doesn't appear to make any claims it cannot back with some sort of evidence (and it tries to present both sides of the argument if something is uncertain).
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#47I am glad to announce that I am almost finished my reading challenge this year, here is the list -> https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2016/5288302
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#48Probably the single most important thing I've read in years: Marshall B. Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life . Also: Irvin Yalom, Love's Executioner Gavin Extence, The Universe vs. Alex Woods
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#49The view from the cheap seats by Neil Gaiman http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24331386-the-view-from-th... - lots of good content about books, music, comic books history, etc. There's over 80 other books mentioned inside and it makes you want to read all of them.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - because it was mentioned in the previous one and it's amazing how many elements we borrowed / changed / rewritten in the new works compared to the original.
Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?
#50I've been reading through the Discworld series and I've really liked the commentary on various social structures throughout.