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Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

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Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#221

Post by justinpombrio »

qb45 wrote: post #183
Joeri wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rationality is good, but I found Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality to be a much more pleasant read about the same topics by the same author. Both books suffer from the same problem, the lack of an editor. They could be half the size and it would make them a much more convincing and entertaining read.

So there isn't much new stuff in Rationality that one wouldn't already find in HPMOR , for those who have read the latter?

Rationality is much more technical and precise than HPMOR, and covers topics that you couldn't easily cover in fiction. I've read both, and would recommend each even if you've read the other.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#223

Post by steeef »

raybb wrote: post #215
alexilliamson wrote: post #214

"The Silk Roads: A New History of the World" By Peter Frankopan. This book tackles essentially all of human history, tying together the world's major cultural shifts with the socioeconomic forces that brought them to pass. For readers who have implicitly come to believe that the center of the world has always been Western Europe (I had), this book will greatly shift your perspective (Eastward). I've never learned so…

I'm thinking about getting the GTD book now that you've mentioned it. Any chance you could give a TLDR?

It's not a really long read, and it's worth reading it cover to cover, even if you don't follow its advice to the letter.

That said, essentially:

Keep a daily list of all the next actions you want to accomplish, separated by context (e.g., at work, at home, at grocery store)

Break down large projects into next actions. Identify the next thing you need to do to move it forward.

Review your projects and next actions weekly (or more often) to make sure you're not missing anything.

There's other stuff too, but mostly GTD recommends that you write everything down and review it often. Your lists are a way to offload the stuff in your head, so that you can focus on what's right in front of you and not have that nagging feeling that there's something you forgot to do or something more important you should be doing.

It definitely changed the way I approach my day at work, and I feel like I'm able to accomplish a lot more without feeling exhausted at the end of the week.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#224

Post by nazgulnarsil »

alexilliamson wrote: post #214

"The Silk Roads: A New History of the World" By Peter Frankopan. This book tackles essentially all of human history, tying together the world's major cultural shifts with the socioeconomic forces that brought them to pass. For readers who have implicitly come to believe that the center of the world has always been Western Europe (I had), this book will greatly shift your perspective (Eastward). I've never learned so…

I would strongly recommend people read both GTD and The life changing magic of tidying up by Marie kondo and, and this is the important bit, draw parallels between them. This is a pedagogical technique that takes knowledge out of the domain of specificity and into general applicability. In this case, it will help point you to the general move David Allen and Marie kondo are trying to point at and allow you to apply it fluidly.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#226

Post by ms-rm »

zedshaw wrote: post #150

How to See Color and Paint It -- It taught me how to see color and paint it. Also how to use a palette knife which makes my paintings very different and fun. Remembrance of Things Past -- I'm still reading this, as it's a massive stream of consciousness book, but I wish I'd started it when I was younger so that I'd be done with it by now. It's just so weird to read it and experience the writing that I enjoy it for si…

Thanks for sharing! These all look very interesting.

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#228

Post by peternicky »

In no particular order:

- So Good They Can't Ignore You - Deep Work - Hackers by Steven Levy (perhaps my favorite book) - Learning How To Learn - The Person and the Situation - The Art of Money Getting - Make It Stick - The Algorithm Design Manual - Moonwalking With Einstein - Extreme Ownership

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#229

Post by sharmi »

chegra wrote: post #135

Mini Habits - It gave me a new perspective of how to go about making changes in my life, that aren't so burdensome. I have developed several habits: a. Writing a Gratitude Journal b. Going to Gym in the morning c. Programming in the morning d. Reading in the morning I copied some of my highlights here: http://www.chestergrant.com/26-highlights-from-mini-habits-b...

How do you context switch from one activity to the other in the morning? I believe most mental activities need a warm up and cool down period. I would love to know what strategy you use. When do you hit the sack?

Re: Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?

#230

Post by SirLJ »

sthielen wrote: post #80
SirLJ wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov - this is a great book, I am lucky my Mom gave it to me when I was a kid...

+1. An absolutely wonderful read. I've found myself constantly gifting copies. To anyone looking to purchase, the Alma Books[0] translation is the one I would recommend. [0] - https://www.amazon.com/Master-Margarita-Mikhail-Bulgakov/dp/...

Thank you for the link and the idea, I will follow your lead and start gifting to friends and coworkers...
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