Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#211

Post by shantly » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 4:54 PM UTC

criddell wrote: post #70

0kl wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Re Aurelius: preview a couple different translations if you can - I have found there to be significant differences. If you have the time/inclination and haven’t already I’d also suggest reading Epictetus and Seneca first. NB: My favorite of all the available Aurelius translations so far is Martin Hammond (Penguin Classics)

Is Hammond's your favorite because it's the best read or because it's the most faithful to the source material?

I surveyed a ton of translations a few years ago and found Maxwell Staniforth's to be the best balance between readability and fidelity to the original text. Older translations (as is typical of older translations of ancient works) tend to use needlessly "elevated" language, while a lot of newer ones seem to be convinced the Greek is even more simple and informal than it actually is, for whatever reason.

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#212

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 4:54 PM UTC

sriacha wrote: post #195

dcchambers wrote: post #188

The Winds of Winter ...I hope!

We can dream.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#213

Post by wishinghand » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 4:58 PM UTC

I don’t have a list handy but I do intend to read a lot. Every year I make the same New Year’s Resolution: read one book a week. The closest I came to 52 was in 2011 when I read 36. I do this because I calculated that if I met my goal from the age of 16 to 90, I’d only read 3,900 books. I grew up an avid reader and the decline in my intake bums me out. So here’s to 52 in 2020!

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#214

Post by omosubi » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:01 PM UTC

pjmorris wrote: post #98

I hilariously overestimate the number of books I can get through when I make these lists, but my current list for 2020 is as follows: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution Book of Proof Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems Seeing Like a State: How Certa…

I absolutely love the power broker - incredibly fascinating and so well researched. I can't praise it enough. You will love it

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#215

Post by sbolt » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:03 PM UTC

Ozumandias wrote: post #158

sbolt wrote: post #75

I'm hoping to tackle this list in 2020, I've been wanting to read Caro's LBJ series for a while now. ===== Robert Caro - Lyndon B. Johnson series & The Power Broker S.C Gwynne - Empire of the Summer Moon Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Black Swan & Antifragile Graham Hancock - America Before Jared Diamond - Guns, Germs and Steel Safi Bahcall - Loonshots

The entire LBJ series and The Power Broker? Ambitious! Caro has a fantastic voice in his writing but by golly he sure does know how to fill a thousand pages!

Yes, it's an ambitious list, Caro is my priority for 2020 so I don't mind spending a large portion of the year on his books. Are there any other books you'd recommend?

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#216

Post by sbolt » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:04 PM UTC

yboris wrote: post #138

sbolt wrote: post #75

I'm hoping to tackle this list in 2020, I've been wanting to read Caro's LBJ series for a while now. ===== Robert Caro - Lyndon B. Johnson series & The Power Broker S.C Gwynne - Empire of the Summer Moon Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Black Swan & Antifragile Graham Hancock - America Before Jared Diamond - Guns, Germs and Steel Safi Bahcall - Loonshots

Start with Guns, Germs and Steel ;)

I've had this book recommended to me so many times, I might try and tackle it over the Christmas break.

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#217

Post by criddell » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:04 PM UTC

crimsonalucard wrote: post #210

douglaswlance wrote: post #73

My top priority books: Software Requirements - Karl Wiegers Programming TypeScript - Boris Cherny Associate Cloud Engineer Study - Dan Sullivan Design Patterns - Gang of Four Refactoring - Kent Beck, Martin Fowler Programming Pearls - Jon Bentley Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture - Martin Fowler The Pragmatic Programmer - David Thomas, Andrew Hunt CSS: The Definitive Guide - Eric A. Meyer, Estelle Weyl…

Skip design patterns, I think it locks developers into a sort of religious loyalty towards OOP abstractions. When you understand the pattern it describes you get a sort of catharsis for discovering a new interesting thing. In reality, any of these patterns are just bad despite the cleverness. Modern programming is heading in a different direction already so it'd be better to move forward without it.

I disagree because people often don't have the luxury of working on greenfield projects.

When you are working with an old codebase, you are going to run across design patterns. You will see terms like factory, builder, observer, decorator, pool, flyweight, etc... and it's going to be helpful to know what those are. A lot of the value of design patterns was in the terminology.

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#218

Post by criddell » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:06 PM UTC

douglaswlance wrote: post #99

ronyfadel wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you’re diving head first into web development? Or taking it to the next level? Careful not to burn yourself out, that is a long list of technical books, that have nothing to do with the books you’ve read and enjoyed in the past that are from other genres.

Long story short, I am an entrepreneur who sold a company and am transitioning into maximizing my engineering knowledge before diving back into entrepreneurship. I've spent a considerable amount of time studying top performers and learned how to manage stress levels effectively. I do exercise, meditation, yoga, stretching, forest bathing, mindfulness, journaling, and other activities that battle against burnout. I am…

No time for fiction?

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#219

Post by pjmorris » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:07 PM UTC

the_watcher wrote: post #186

goodmattg wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The description of Caro's books as "Harry Potter for adults" is accurate. Highly accessible, no preparation necessary

I just wish there were a Kindle edition. Eventually I'l break down and buy it but I do so much of my reading on commutes that I strongly bias towards a digital copy.

Same here. I've heard, and may implement, a suggestion; Buy a paperback copy, rip it into thirds, and carry the third that you're reading. Buy a hardback copy when you're finished. I've got the paperback copy, I'm not sure I've got the nerve.

Re: Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?

#220

Post by pjmorris » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 5:08 PM UTC

techstrategist wrote: post #106

pjmorris wrote: post #98

I hilariously overestimate the number of books I can get through when I make these lists, but my current list for 2020 is as follows: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution Book of Proof Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems Seeing Like a State: How Certa…

Depending on your current habits, starting with Digital Minimalism will help get through the others in one year.

Yeah, I suspect success with the overall goal may come down to better digital discipline. Starting with commenting on HN threads :)