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Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#41

Post by bawolff »

SECProto wrote: post #37
nerbert wrote: post #15

I read the foundation series by Asimov. Its title of the best sci-fi series of all times isn’t a hyperbole.

I read a couple of the series about 15 years back and found the writing style and characterizations so dated, that I really had trouble getting anything enjoyable or insightful out of it. I feel the same amount most Golden age SciFi, with Dune being a notable exception.

He's a brilliant author, but his characters are not well developed (esp. The older stuff). If that's what you need in fiction you're probably better off reading something else.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#42

Post by randlet »

serjester wrote: post #20

438 days. A memoir of a Mexican fisherman that spent over a year drifting across the Pacific Ocean. I’m a sucker for a good survival story and finished it in a day.

You've likely already read it at this point, but "Endurance: Shackletons Incredible Voyage" by Lansing is an amazing survival story.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#43

Post by muzani »

shaftoe444 wrote: post #11

The Odyssey, translation by EV Rieu. Made an effort to read a bunch of the Classics at the start of the year and the Illiad and Odyssey were very enjoyable.

I've been trying to get into the Homer stuff, but procrastinating because translation quality make such a big difference. Thanks for mentioning the translator.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#44

Post by surajs »

muzani wrote: post #39

Aristotle's Poetics. Yes, it was published before 2021. A lot of writers try to set their own rules, but according to the best, you need limitations to be creative. Just like you would play sports with rules. That rulebook is Poetics. It's the kind of book that's so information dense that you have to read it slowly. Summaries are often as long as the book itself. There's some aging in there. Notably the concept of ha…

"you need limitations to be creative", who sold you that? this whole genre of "adversity builds character" type of advice is a backwards rationalisation at its purest. no, adversity does not build character but merely reveals it, just as limitations don't make you creative, rather creativity forces you to find newer ruts. also, you lost me at aristotle ;)

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#45

Post by jasonkester »

bryan0 wrote: post #24

Children of Time and the sequel Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Best sci-fi I’ve read in a while.

I read both of these based on several independent recommendations here. The first was ok, and the second was barely readable.

Certainly not anywhere near as bad as the Three Body Problem, as far as HN recommended books go, but I think I’m still going to have to start avoiding books recommended here.

To answer the original question (and remain within sci-fi), then new Andy Weir book Project Hail Mary was pretty good. Not quite on the level of The Martian, but good enough to recommend to others.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#46

Post by zellyn »

candiddevmike wrote: post #36

The Library at Mount Char came from a Reddit recommendation for weird/bizarre fiction, and it did not disappoint. It's about kids who were abducted by a very powerful person, and that's all I'll say about it. If you like house of leaves or some of the strange chuck palahniuk stuff, you'll like this.

+1 wish there were a sequel.
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