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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?

#491

Post by pahool »

rory wrote: post #477
bratwurst3000 wrote: post #439

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…

As a PSA: this book is old enough to be public domain, the audiobook is (legally) available for free on LibriVox: https://librivox.org/the-brothers-karamazov-by-fyodor-dostoy... . The written version is available on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28054 . I listened to it while swimming laps. The readers have great, rhythmic pacing.

What headphones do you use while swimming? I've been looking into getting a pair for swimming, and am interested in recommendations.

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

#492

Post by fullstackchris »

mckirk wrote: post #51

That would be either 'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown, or 'All Systems Red' by Martha Wells. Though I have to add a cautionary remark: I found the books in Wells' "Murderbot Diaries" to be short enough and gripping enough that it is very hard not to trade a night of sleep for finishing them in one setting.

Red Rising is great, I love the whole capture-the-flag esque storyline - it might be my most favorite out of the whole series.

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

#493

Post by beeboop »

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…

Worth noting the dose amounts vary wildly with the mushrooms and batches. The stuff I have (grown by a friend) would barely do anything for you at 2g. 3g was really the minimum, and 4g if you wanted anything other than feeling happy and high.

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

#494

Post by finiteseries »

kgm wrote: post #58

I just finished a re-read of the "Commonweal" series by Graydon Saunders, which begins with The March North : https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=MoIOAwAAQBAJ I've never been sure how to sum up these books. They're thoroughly strange fantasy books, oddly written and frequently chewy reads. They have an interest in politics and metaphysics; but they also have magical railguns, the sorcerous application of F…

You’ve done much better in summing them up here then I’ve ever seen elsewhere or done myself personally. Well sluiced.

Will note the writing style is almost weirder and more niche than the rigidly strange content though if that’s possible. It’s not difficult to get past and without a doubt enhances the general vibe & chewiness of it all, but man the sentence structures are just downright convoluted at times. Totally fitting.

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

#495

Post by alecst »

wahnfrieden wrote: post #146

The new Graeber, Dawn of Everything Completely tears apart recent trendy anthro books like Sapiens for ignoring both old and very new research and tries to set a new framework for understanding humanity’s potential

I'm interested in anything that tears Sapiens apart, partly because I loved that book so much and need something to temper my enthusiasm.

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

#496

Post by arvinsim »

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…

It's just sad that I am in a country where drugs are illegal and we are in a pandemic where travel is hard.

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

#497

Post by ryanar »

vchynarov wrote: post #198

Fiction: "The Lies of Locke Lamora" I found this book because I just finished playing Dishonored 2 and I wanted to read a book with a dystopian steampunk alternative-Victorian vibe. The events take place in a gritty, corrupt city of waterways and canals controlled by different factions. The factions represent either the legitimate nobility or the extensive underground criminal empire. A charismatic leader of a small…

I enjoyed this book as well, but wasn't as enthralled by the subsequent books in the series. I think it just sort of lost me after a bit.

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

#498

Post by jjice »

posharma wrote: post #291

Designing data intensive applications by Martin Klepmann. The best engineering design book I’ve read in my 20 yrs of experience.

I forgot I read this book since I read it in January, but you're absolutely right. It's hard to learn about large scale architectures since such scale isn't something every company gets to deal with. I like when a book teaches me a lot, but also makes me realize how much more there is that I don't know, and this book did that for sure.

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

#499

Post by ryanar »

not-my-account wrote: post #96

An old one, but I read "The Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoevsky. I was expecting it to be dense and difficult to read, but I found it incredibly engaging - easily the best book that I have read, ever.

Loved discussing this one as part of a book club, drew so many more insights out of the book by hearing what others gleaned from it.

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

#500

Post by scruple »

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…

I love your log and I'm inspired to build one for myself. I also read quite a bit but I have not been taking care to log my reading. I found the page describing the details of the application. Thanks so much!
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