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Ask HN: What are you reading right now?

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Re: Ask HN: What are you reading right now?

#172
post #44

Omnivore's Dilemma I tried Godel Escher Bach but after a few pages of his pq system I couldn't take it any more and walked away. Is this something I need to endure or am I not "getting it"?

It's not _all_ like that. Skip it and keep going. The most important stuff is in plain English.

That's great news. The chapters before that were great. I'm ignorant of anything above HS math and figured I would be lost in the rest of the book if I was having trouble in the first few pages.

Re: Ask HN: What are you reading right now?

#174
I'm also reading Gödel, Escher, Bach

The first few chapters were invaluable to me with discrete maths - it was far easier to think inside a fixed formal system when I had experienced it within the book first.

The remaining chapters are all fascinating as well. Only bad point is I find it very tiring to read, I can't manage more than a couple of chapters in one sitting.

Re: Ask HN: What are you reading right now?

#177
Unquiet Earth by Denise Giardenia. I think I may have liked Storming Heaven, which this book is a sequel to a little better, but both are excellent.

They're both historical fiction centered around the coal mining industry in West Virgina. Storming Heaven covers the years during the WV mine wars/Battle of Blair Mountain, and Unquiet Earth spans years beyond that, up into the 1980's.

Another good one along the same vein is Strange as the Weather Has Been by Ann Pancake.

Re: Ask HN: What are you reading right now?

#178
Making Our Democracy Work, by Justice Stephen Breyer

The Koran (Just five minutes here and there. Honestly, I find it excruciatingly boring.)

The Elements of Statistical Learning (Just started.)

Plus fun stuff. I have a Simenon on my bedside table plus The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Not sure which is next.

Re: Ask HN: What are you reading right now?

#180
Reading for half an hour before going to sleep really helps me clear my mind after a long day's work. Try to do it every evening.

Currently reading:

Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman - Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia) - traces his journey from lifestyle business to super fast growth. Some excellent thoughts on leadership in there.

Also re-reading The Elementary Particles by Michel Houellebecq. Highly recommended.

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