Ask HN: Good literature for a technical guy

Post by mquander » Fri, Jun 18, 2010, 5:37 AM UTC

shipstar wrote: post #10

ghotli wrote: post #6

You're going to enjoy spending time with Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. It's mostly metaphor, his writing style is quite vivid. The interactions of people and things in his fictional cities touch on many facets of what it is to be alive. It's short. You can read it in one sitting.

Heavily second the Italo Calvino recommendation. Although I love Invisible Cities, I think "If on a winter's night a traveler" is probably even better for the technically minded. It's somewhat recursive in structure, as the book is actually about reading itself. Highly recommended.

Post by jackfoxy » Fri, Jun 18, 2010, 3:17 PM UTC

m1k3r wrote: post #5

jackfoxy wrote: post #3

Articles about Apple censoring the illustrated Ulysses have made it to HN lately. It took Joyce 7 years to write Ulysses. Ken Kesey wrote Sometimes a Great Notion, a favorite of mine, in about 3 months. It struck me that Kesey touches on some of the same themes as Joyce. I consider it an overlooked masterpiece.

Thanks for the advice, i'll try to look for a copy of Ulysses at the library to give it a shot!! thanks!,