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Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#21

Post by loughnane »

thehealthycoder wrote: post #10

I'm a big fan of rereading the same books that I found super helpful/useful, vs reading a lot Used to do the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge for multiple years, until I felt I was just padding my stats with books that weren't useful Then I saw a Naval tweet that was: "I would rather read the best 100 books over and over again until I absorb them rather than read all the books.” And I adopted that strategy, which has b…

I made this comment above, but it fits here too. I totally agree with rereading books.

I can’t remember the source, but I like the saying “if a book isn’t worth reading twice it’s probably not worth reading once”

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#22

Post by redelbee »

murrkeys wrote: post #5

I'm a library fanatic, so I usually end up browsing at the local library until I find one or two books that look interesting. My local library actually has an "Undiscovered Gems" section that has lead me to some interesting reads from authors I'm not familiar with. I also keep a running list of interesting titles on my library account, putting holds on them as I finish books. I'm like you, I usually bounce around bet…

I love browsing libraries (and bookshops) but I haven’t been able to go as much this year because of pandemic-related reasons. I will definitely be going more often once things have calmed down though!

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#23

Post by redelbee »

thismodernlife wrote: post #4

120+ books a year! I’m astonished. How do you achieve this? I struggle to read one a month. I should probably turn off WiFi. I browse indie bookshops, talk to colleagues and friends, read reviews and I’m on GoodReads. People know I like books so they buy or loan me books sometimes. I keep a list of loads of books that sound good, then chip away at it. The list is always growing so things fall off it, unread, eventual…

I read both ebook/physical books and audiobooks, which has increased my yearly count from about 60 or 70 to where I am now. And I’m a fast reader, though I don’t “skim” or anything like that.

Your process seems almost identical to mine. Maybe I should just be OK with doing it based on mood and what I have around or on my list. It works, but could it work better?

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#24

Post by redelbee »

stakkur wrote: post #8

1. Hacker News, Reddit 2. Recommendations from public figures I trust (e.g., Tim Ferriss, Derek Sivers, others) 3. References in books I've read 4. Random references in conversation

I love sive.rs/book but I’m mostly through everything with high recommendation numbers. I do check back periodically to see what’s new though

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#25

Post by snarkypixel »

Hack for you: add all the books you want to read in blinkist, listen to the summary (2-10m in 2-3x mode), then you can classify them as:

A) Not interested --> nice, you saved yourself some time B) Interesting, but feel like the summary is more than good enough, so no need to read the book C) Interesting and you want to learn more because it just scratched the surface --> Read the book!

You can test this framework by listening to the summary of books you've already read that fit into these buckets.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#26

Post by dilippkumar »

stakkur wrote: post #8

1. Hacker News, Reddit 2. Recommendations from public figures I trust (e.g., Tim Ferriss, Derek Sivers, others) 3. References in books I've read 4. Random references in conversation

+1 for the books recommended on HN. The books recommended here have been top notch.

There's even a website that aggregates books recommended on HN[0]. I have found good books from there on multiple occasions.

[0]. https://hackernewsbooks.com/

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#27

Post by antognini »

I won't claim my method is any good, but what I do is keep track of every book I come across in Goodreads if I have the slightest inclination to read it. As you might imagine, this ends up being a lot of books (more than 5000 at the moment I think).

When it comes time to choose a new book to read, I'll select a category (e.g., history, fiction, etc.), sometimes just by picking one, other times by randomly choosing. Then I randomly select 20 books from that category and decide which of the 20 books I am most interested in reading. I also roll a die and 1/3 of the time I will use the same method to pick a book that I've already read to reread. I feel like it gives me a nice diversity in the books I read, but gives me enough choice where I am really interested in the books that I'm reading.

I will follow threads, too. If I liked a book by an author I may continue reading a few more books by the same author. Or if I liked the subject I may read a few more related books on the same subject.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#28

Post by redelbee »

thundergolfer wrote: post #7

129 books in one year is quite something. Is reading part of your job? I felt like I spent a decent amount of my free time reading this year, but I’ve completed only 23 books so far. A very strong input into my book choices is reading the ‘classics’ in various domains. I will make frequent use of “Top 100 X books in Y” and “best X book of all time” queries. I very much subscribe to the idea that selected books form a…

Reading isn’t a part of my job, unless you count being well-informed or well-read part of any job. I am self employed but not in a 4-hour workweek kind of way (I enjoyed that book way more than I expected and only read it at the urging of a friend whose taste I trust).

I definitely agree about the classics and I’ve considered devoting an entire year to only reading in that category. Maybe 2021 is the year for it!

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#29

Post by redelbee »

User23 wrote: post #3

For non-fiction I'd usually go to the bookstore and pick the thinnest book on the subject. I don't like filler in nonfiction books. My favorite thing about them is if I don't understand a difficult passage I can go back and read it again until I do. Among others, this technique has gotten me Relativity[1] and QED[2] to name just a couple. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15852.Relativity [2] https://www.goodre…

Oh wow I never would have thought of doing it this way. I definitely choose books for their covers at times, but this makes way more logical sense. Although I do feel a good cover is a decent signal because it’s nontrivial to get that right, and if they were able to do that then they probably got other things right in the book too.

Re: Ask HN: How do you decide what books to read?

#30

Post by nevdka »

One way I've found fiction books that I wouldn't have otherwise read is to find High School curricula and go through the required/authorised/recommended books. Neighbouring school districts, other states, and even other Anglophone countries will give you a broad list.
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