Cosmos by Carl Sagan, which I read I think in college. It changed the way I look at reality, giving me a much more materialistic perspective on life, meaning that I started to require material evidence as pre-requisite for any kind of certainty. Overnight it became impossible for me to believe in any religion.
Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
101–110 of 234 posts
Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#102I can recommend all books written by Robert Anton Wilson, especially the Cosmic Trigger series, Quantum Psychology and The New Prometheus. Another book that's definitely worth a read, or two, is "The Goal", which teaches you how to think goal-oriented while not being a bore to read.
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Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#103Dune, by Frank Herbert.
Bear with me on this. It was a bridge into politics, ecology, religion, and economics, as well as an amazing world-building narrative. It got me interested in philosophy and literature, and the roles they play in creating, describing, or influencing cultures. It is my keystone book.
Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#104Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows, Diana Wright
It's short and easy to read, yet gives you a really valuable addition to your mental toolkit for understanding the world
Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#105- Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl - Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman - Debt by David Graeber - Extreme Ownership by Jocko Wilink - Genesis and the Big Bang by Gerald Schroeder - The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila
I just finished "Bullshit Jobs" by Daniel Graeber. Excellent read. Maybe I'll try the Debt book next.
Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#106I see more than a couple of books I've read in the comments, but I found them negative ROI on time invested in them, they should have been 20 pages not 300, and I didn't learn anything profound, often they could be summarized as a list of statements. In the end, I feel 99% stuff out there is just time wasting simple ideas rehashed into 300 page stories.
Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#107It depends on what you're after? For me I would say The Lean Startup, On Writing Well, and Atlas Shrugged for very different reasons.
Lean Startup was a surprisingly great book; as many in this topic space are nonsense.
Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#108A Master's Secret Whispers: For those who abhor the noise and seek The Truth about life and living https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Secret-Whispers-those-living/... Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735211299/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness https://www.amazon.com/Alman…
Are there other people who think Naval Ravikant has zero original ideas and his real competence is speech?
"I've never read anything that wasn't a bad regurgitation of ideas better presented elsewhere from this guy, and I have to wonder why he has amassed such a following."
I wrote this 2 months ago, my opinion hasn't changed. I guess there are worse charlatans out there (ribbonfarm springs to mind) but why should one waste his/her time reading chewed takes by someone who doesn't seem to have a single original thought-idea streak in him.
Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#109Perhaps I just never read that kind of book, but I don't believe that a single book can significantly change your life.
There's a few recommendations made here that I have read, for instance Nassim Talebs Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness, both of which I honestly didn't find to be all that good. They're interesting, but not that useful and I don't feel that he's all that good at explaining his ideas.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius have some rather good parts, while others are just rambling and repetitive. It's not enough to be life changing. It can guide you in some specific situation, but that's about it.
Atomic Habits: Again interesting, very pratical, but long winded and by no means a guaranteed way to changing your life/habits.
Don't get me wrong, the books recommended, at least those I've read, are interesting, and worth a read, but they won't change your life.
Re: Ask HN: Life Changing Books?
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are there other people who think Naval Ravikant has zero original ideas and his real competence is speech?
I'm wary of most entrepreneurs, investors, and "thought leaders" offering advice as they tend to either be self-serving, productivity porn, or deep-seeming ideas that are easily said but impossible to implement. And, all too often, they only have a platform or "success" because of a huge head start from family wealth or from being an outright sociopath (or both).
Naval was born poor.