The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein and The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes were both great.
I wish everyone would read the Shock Doctrine or at least understand the gist of it.
Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
251–260 of 396 posts
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#252I'm really enjoying Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I started listening to the audiobook version on my commute to work. It's a fantasy series with an incredibly detailed, logical, well-thought-out magic system and world history.
its on my to read list definitely. looking forward to it.
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#253[1] We Are Legion We Are Bob (Bobiverse 1-3) - Just finished this trilogy and really enjoyed it! It's well paced, has a very likable protagonist and has a nice sprinkling of programming/CS humor. [2] Guns, Germs and Steel - Can't believe I waited so long to check this off my list. Very thorough and well written argument about how geography and environment shaped the modern world. [3] Waking Up: A Guide to Spiritualit…
I'll second Waking Up - I've been interested in mindfulness meditation for years, and this book is what finally helped frame it in a way that went down nicely for me. I sometimes enjoy the podcast by the same name as well, though the conversations are more hit or miss.
Have you read any other mindfulness or meditation books? Waking Up wanted me to read more in that area, but I'm not sure what to pick up next.
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#254For a nonfiction book, The Millionaire Next Door was a game changer for how I though about wealth accumulation. It's the findings of a statistical analysis of the life and habits of millionaires. Deep Work had the similar effects on my work habits as the former did on my finances. If you're looking for a fun fantasy read, Elantris by Brandon Sanderson is one of my all-time favorite standalone novels.
> It's the findings of a statistical analysis of the life and habits of millionaires. I have not read The Millionaire Next Door, but that seems fraught. Does it avoid survivorship bias? E.g. Playing the lottery is a 'habit' common to all lottery winners, but it's also common to all lottery losers, of whom there are many more. If you only studied the winners though, the lottery might start to look like a wise investme…
I have read that book, and survivorship bias is not a worry for most of the recommendations.
They find that most millionaires are quite frugal, have stable families, and live modest lifestyles--they have accumulated wealth but don't flaunt it and don't waste it. These are essentially the lowest risk strategies in life, and survivorship bias favors the exact opposite, i.e. the "lottery ticket" decisions.
The exception to the low risk mantra is that many millionaires run their own businesses, and of course entrepreneurship is risky. The authors do note the effects of survivorship bias here.
I'd summarize the book by saying: "work hard, live well below your means, and invest the difference. Also, don't spoil your kids if you want them to build wealth."
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#255'Malazan: Book of the Fallen' by Steven Erikson (that is actually 10 huge books). I've only read 2 books and a half so far and it is brilliant! I'm not a big fan of fantasy books (prefer hard sci-fi), but Malazan just blew my mind. One of the best things I've ever read. Not an easy read though, be prepared!
I tried reading the 1st one of the series (Gardens of the Moon) not once but twice. Both times I was quickly bored and did not make it past page 50. The book (at least in its first pages) is filled with boring descriptions and uninteresting events.
I've heard good things about it (along with that it won't be an easy read as you say) however I don't want to torture myself reading boring stuff for like 1000 pages until something interesting happens.
There are much better books to read and too little time.
Actually, that's more or less a rule I try to follow: If the book can't hook me after some pages and I keep feeling bored and not interesting I just put it away. Other books that I have started but found way too boring to keep reading them:
(* please don't downvote me for this. I know that some of these books are considered classics and many of you won't like this but remember that this is just my personal opinion; I tend to get border easily *)
- The orphan master's son - The man in the high castle - Metro 2033 - Neuromancer - Catch 22 - Digital Fortress (this wasn't so boring but I hated the smart-ass characters)
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#256Science and Sanity - Alfred Korzybski
Steps to An Ecology of Mind - Gregory Bateson
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#257I'm really enjoying Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I started listening to the audiobook version on my commute to work. It's a fantasy series with an incredibly detailed, logical, well-thought-out magic system and world history.
I didn't like at all the first of the series (Mistborn); never got into the other ones. It had some fresh ideas however the story was way too childish (in my humble opinion). Here's my review on that book https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2031838874?book_show_a...
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#258Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'll second Waking Up - I've been interested in mindfulness meditation for years, and this book is what finally helped frame it in a way that went down nicely for me. I sometimes enjoy the podcast by the same name as well, though the conversations are more hit or miss.
Have you read any other mindfulness or meditation books? Waking Up wanted me to read more in that area, but I'm not sure what to pick up next.
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a good place to start.
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#259The Power of Vulnerability, by Brené Brown. Given the amount of imposter syndrome, internalized shame, and unhealthy posturing that I've seen in the startup space, it seems especially relevant for folks here. This really changed my relationship towards vulnerability as a leader. Also, it's quite entertaining. She's very charming in her delivery, and she does a good job exemplifying her findings in the presentation of…
She wrote a book on the subject too:
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
I assume you would be interested.
Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?
#260Im about to fully read Mark Fischer's "Capitalist Realism" [0]. It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. After 1989, capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system - a situation that the bank crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded. The book analyses the development and principal features of this capitalist realism as a lived ideological framework. Using examples from politics, film (Children Of Men, Jason Bourne, Supernanny), fiction (Le Guin and Kafka), work and education, it argues that capitalist realism colours all areas of contemporary experience, is anything but realistic and asks how capitalism and its inconsistencies can be challenged It is a sharp analysis of the post-ideological malaise that suggests that the economics and politics of free market neo-liberalism are givens rather than constructions.
[0] https://duckduckgo.com/?q=zerobooks+capitalist+realism&t=ffa...