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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?

#431

Post by samglover97 »

A few books I enjoyed:

- The Case against Education by Bryan Caplan, discussing the merits of signalling theory (the point of education is to signal your intelligence and conscientiousness) as opposed to human capital theory (education genuinely makes you a better worker with more skills). Didn't find it totally convincing but it was a fun and interesting read.

- The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality by Kathryn Harden, a wonderful book on how hereditary IQ is, and why that is a good case for redistribution, given that IQ is so predictive of wealth/income

- The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson, a biography of Jennifer Doudna, the woman who founded CRISPR and won the Nobel prize. Great read, thrilling.

- My Struggle book 1, by Karl Ove Knausgård. Haven't finished this yet, just started it a few days ago - about 300 pages in. Great, great novel, one of the best I've read in a while.

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

#432

Post by graaben »

michaelbarton wrote: post #63

“How to change your mind” by Michael Pollen. I read a lot of books, and this is one that caused a change in my life. The succinct summary is that psychedelics are misunderstood and there is more and more research showing their potential, especially in the treatment of trauma. I had a difficult childhood. It’s something I still struggle with personal interactions because of this, even after years of therapy. After rea…

I had a similar reaction after reading this book. I spent a good part of 2020 and 2021 in a deep dive of learning about psychedelic culture, science, and cultivation/synthesis. Regardless of how the science relating to mental health develops, I think these substances are crucial tools of personal exploration and should me more widely (and responsibly) used.

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

#433

Post by graaben »

BatteryMountain wrote: post #308
michaelbarton wrote: post #63

“How to change your mind” by Michael Pollen. I read a lot of books, and this is one that caused a change in my life. The succinct summary is that psychedelics are misunderstood and there is more and more research showing their potential, especially in the treatment of trauma. I had a difficult childhood. It’s something I still struggle with personal interactions because of this, even after years of therapy. After rea…

I'm in a similar headspace as you - not a druggy but went that shamanic route. 2x Ayahuasca ceremonies and 5 grams of mushrooms a few years ago... changed my life. I recommend only doing mushrooms once or twice a year at most for larger dosages and once or twice a month at most if doing 2g or less. If you do it more regularly you may have diminishing returns. Cannabis I'd do at most once a month if at all. San Pedro…

What would you say a good dose is for San Pedro? Have you ever tried a higher dose?

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

#435

Post by mongol »

janvdberg wrote: post #297

Here are all books I read (this year so far I read 50 books): https://books.j11g.com/search.php?log=3 Three books from 2021 stick out: - If This Is a Man by Primo Levi. I would urge everyone to read this. This history should be known to everyone. - Defying Hitler (the story of a German 1914 - 1933) by Sebastian Haffner. Masterfully written autobiography that explains the rise of nazi Germany more than any other histo…

How much time do you read per day? How long time to finish a book? I really should pick up reading more but there is so much that distracts me. This website for example.

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

#436

Post by elidourado »

Where is My Flying Car? by J. Storrs Hall.

The flying car is both literal and metaphorical. If you’ve ever wondered why technology has stagnated, this is the book for you. If you doubt technology has stagnated, this book will challenge that view. If you’ve ever wondered why literal flying cars have taken so long to appear, this book is for you.

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

#437

Post by jfax »

tehnub wrote: post #157

Fiction: Berserk. Not a book, but a long-running manga that began in 1989 by then-22-year-old Kentaro Miura, and which was ongoing until his tragic death this year in May. It is a fantasy; some parts are grim, some immensely tragic, but at its core it is human and uplifting, and we see moments of incredible beauty and deep emotion. On top of this, the art is absolutely gorgeous and is in a class of its own. If you're…

I'm pretty sure Beserk is a book.

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

#438

Post by segu »

tappio wrote: post #277
Kluny wrote: post #86

I read Sapiens by Yuval Harari this year. It was long and fascinating, incredibly well researched, and easy enough for "light reading" that I had time for between writing research papers. A couple things that stuck with me were stories of giant land mammals that used to exist, many more than I realized, alongside humans. Wherever humans colonized, the large mammals were killed off soon after. This happened in Austral…

These books are fun, but should be taken with some skepticism. This particular story with large mammals is a good example. The assumed causality does not hold closer scrutiny. Climate was also changing into something that works better for humans, and into worse for large mammals. There were many things at play. Humans may had or may not have had a role. However, it is very unlikely that humans had a defining role. Go…

The fact that the first human skeletons in isolated areas (Australia, North America, Cuba) almost always coincide with the last ones of large mammals is troubling though… well explained in the book.

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

#439

Post by bratwurst3000 »

This years best book is the brothers karamazov. An excellent book with a deeply human and philosophical viewpoint. This is the last bool I read from dostojewski and after crime and punishment his best work.

Atm I read „against the day“ from pynchon. Also very excellent and compared to gravitys rainbow sooo easy to read. That could be a good start to the pynchon universe for beginners.

Whish you all a good time at the end of the yeat

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

#440

Post by melling »

elidourado wrote: post #436

Where is My Flying Car? by J. Storrs Hall. The flying car is both literal and metaphorical. If you’ve ever wondered why technology has stagnated, this is the book for you. If you doubt technology has stagnated, this book will challenge that view. If you’ve ever wondered why literal flying cars have taken so long to appear, this book is for you.

Classified under: Aerospace Propulsion Technology

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Flying-Car-Storrs-Hall/dp/19539...

Looks like he covers why nuclear energy is so expensive today.

I’ve wondered why we have 100 nuclear power plants but can’t build any more.

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