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Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

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Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#141

Post by nop_slide »

- A Random Walk Down Wall Street: I got much more interested in personal finance this year, and definitely recommend this book as a stepping stone for learning about investing.

- Frankenstein: Highly recommend! It is nothing like it is portrayed to be in pop culture and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

- Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in America: It is literally unbelievable. It follows Katy Tur, a reporter tasked with following Trump leading up to the election. If you aren't already fed up with Trump, then give this a whirl.

- Dune: 5/5 sci-fi

- The Society of the Spectacle: I had trouble with this one. I think some things get lost in translation, and the philosophical arguments are so abstract it was a bit hard to follow along. I had a few key take-aways but to be honest it was kind of a chore to read.

- How Not to Die: Argues for prioritizing a plant-based diet, and definitely changed my relationship with food.

- East of Eden: My wife's favorite book and is now one of my favorites.

- Sapiens: Very enjoyable, but some of it can feel pseudo-sciency and gets a bit nihilistic in the end.

- Man's Search for Meaning: Also very enjoyable, a good reminder to appreciate the people and things around you.

- A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy: Very accessible intro to Stoicism

- Red Notice: A True Story of Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice: Very interesting and reads like a fiction thriller. TLDR Russia doesn't fuck around

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#142

Post by johnstorey »

I read alot on Kindle Unlimited, but mostly it's garbage. Fills the time while waiting in lines. My better quality reading is on Audible as I have one of those long Silicon Valley commutes each day.

I'm sure 10s of books, or more, passed my eyes this using Kindle Unlimited. Most are mind candy that pass odd moments of time. Two books caused me to rethink how I work and actually take notes with time to stop, reflect on how it applies to my world. They are:

_High Output Management_ by Andy Grove (from 1983!) _The Phoenix Project_

These have led to spirited discussions with the two co-founders of the startup where I work, and eventually to changes in process. There are some clashes, but logical ones, between the Scrum and Kanban approaches that are hot now and some ideas here. Mostly it's another way to think about the same core issues -- another tool in the toolbox.

Also, as time allows I am slowing going through _Blockchain Revolution_ by Don & Alex Tapscott. I'm a few years late on this one, but loving the updated 2018 version.

I've also enjoyed numerous offerings from Audible, especially:

_The Addictive Brain_, a Great Courses series of lectures. An overview of current thinking; dopamine does not play the role I thought it did in addiction.

_How Emotions are Made_, by Lisa Feldman Barret. The end of the book seems to be her preaching her political views with the theories she develops in the first 75% of the book. Her thinking and information is so excellent that it's worth putting up with her moralizing towards the end. Completely fascinating research by a top rate mind.

_The Girl with All the Gifts_, by M. R. Carey. Why did no one ever tell me this was a zombie story? Excellent!

_Unfu*k Yourself_, by Gary John Bishop. Offensive title; great book. Advice is dead on, if not new. People need to review a book like this once every year, and the narrator has the right voice for it.

_Judges for You_, by Timothy Keller. I used to really study the Bible; now I rarely get in deep. Keller always has something to say that's worth hearing.

_Elon Musk_, by Aslee Vance. Hate or love him, he's a major factor in moving human civilization forward in what I think are good ways. The wife and I got a few lively conversations while listening to this book.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#143

Post by CalRobert »

squish78 wrote: post #131
CalRobert wrote: post #62

The Market Gardener - a guide to profitable high-end vegetable growing on 1.5 acres (organic, niche, supplying CSA's, farmer's markets, and restaurants). Seriously considering doing it myself. The Autumn of the Middle Ages - A discussion of the mindset of peoples as the medieval period ended and the renaissance begain. Bit dense, translated from Dutch. But really interesting to focus on what was going on inside peopl…

The Market Gardener is incredible. It's so information dense I need to read it 5 more times though. I'm going to some of the principles on my small suburban lot and scale up someday

I find myself in a remote job and it was part of why I thought "hell, let's go for it" when looking at 3.5 acres of loamy land in the country. Discussions here about practices like desiccation didn't hurt.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#144

Post by zengid »

marrowgari wrote: post #138

Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark - great glimpse into the current and potential future of AI Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Issacson - fascinating look into the real life of Leonardo, demystifying the genius Excession by Iain M Banks - a bit of a let down Bluets by Maggie Nelson - lyrical and philosophical and explicit ruminations on the color blue How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan - a lot of already known and rehashed i…

I just started Leonardo, really excited about it!

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#145

Post by ColinWielga »

madmax108 wrote: post #134

My recommendations from books I read this year: Bad Blood : Man, this book really does read like a Hollywood movie screenplay. The rise and fall of Theranos, documented through interviews with hundreds of ex-employees by the very author who came up with the first expose of Theranos. Truly shows the flaws in the "fake it before you make it" mindset and how we glorify "geniuses". Shoe Dog : Biography of the founder of…

+1 for Bad Blood and Shoe Dog

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#146

Post by corodra »

madmax108 wrote: post #134

My recommendations from books I read this year: Bad Blood : Man, this book really does read like a Hollywood movie screenplay. The rise and fall of Theranos, documented through interviews with hundreds of ex-employees by the very author who came up with the first expose of Theranos. Truly shows the flaws in the "fake it before you make it" mindset and how we glorify "geniuses". Shoe Dog : Biography of the founder of…

+1 on Master Algorithm

Like OP said, not a tutorial. It talks about different thought processes and techniques. Extremely good stuff to know. Take notes on it. It's dense in things you should probably research more in depth.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#148

Post by hypertexthero »

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. Surprised at the amount of wisdom about life succinctly communicated on so many of the pages. Recommended.

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#149

Post by elhudy »

chrisherd wrote: post #82

- The Prince (get's a bad press, thought provoking) - Apex [Nexus 3] (prose is meh, inevitable life goes this way) - Factfulness (Awesome, most important book I read this year) - Prisoners of Geography (why nations act the way they do) - Crux [Nexus 2] (prose is meh, inevitable life goes this way) - Debt: the first 5000 years (slog to get through but interesting) - Nexus [Nexus 1] (prose is meh, inevitable life goes…

Neuromancer is always at the top of scifi lists but I found it to be astonishingly strange and dull. I'm surprised I was even able to finish the read.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?

#150

Post by corodra »

chrisherd wrote: post #82

- The Prince (get's a bad press, thought provoking) - Apex [Nexus 3] (prose is meh, inevitable life goes this way) - Factfulness (Awesome, most important book I read this year) - Prisoners of Geography (why nations act the way they do) - Crux [Nexus 2] (prose is meh, inevitable life goes this way) - Debt: the first 5000 years (slog to get through but interesting) - Nexus [Nexus 1] (prose is meh, inevitable life goes…

Yea, the book "The Prince" is different than the pop-culture ideas of it. I blame English literature snobs for making mountains out of mole hills from this one.
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