Read the Christian Bible. Even if you are not religious its worthwhile to read it from cover to cover.
Agreed - like it or not it's the foundation of our civilization and not having read it is more of a hindrance than anything
Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
41–50 of 70 posts
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#42Buy "Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari.
Seconded. This is the book I read in my thirties where I thought. “Damn, I wish I’d read this when I was 18”
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#43Everything in this thread is good. You’ve got a list that will last you years. Get thee to a library!
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#44Read the Christian Bible. Even if you are not religious its worthwhile to read it from cover to cover.
Can you say more about this pick?
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#45"A Confession" by Leo Tolstoy [1]. An autobiographical story of Tolstoy's "search for meaning" when he was, I believe, around the same age. A masterpiece in around 80 pages.
From a more practical angle, I wish I had had "Early Retirement Extreme" by Jacob Lund Fisker [2] in my shelf at that age. Don't get fooled by the title, this is by no means a "highway to financial independence" book; rather, it's a really deep book about, well, sensible living strategies, considering the world we're in.
The author holds a PhD in theoretical physics, and by living with around $7,000 a year as a scientist and postdoc, he retired in around 5 years in his early 30s.
It's a book on thoughtful frugality, if you will.
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#46"The Little Book That Beats The Market", by Joel Greenblatt.
Why? Because hopefully it will get you interested in saving and investing.
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#47I have a list books on my mind but if I have to choose one, I would say "The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn" by Richard Hamming. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Doing-Science-Engineering-Learnin...
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#48Without doubts - "Animal Farm" and "1984" from Orwell.
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#49This is a very interesting book: "Quantum Economics: The New Science of Money"
It covers economics, finance, history and quantum physics in an engaging way.
[0] https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/40051046-quantum-econ...
Re: Ask HN: What book should I buy for my 18th birthday?
#50I expect I'll get a lot of flak for this one, but I'd like to suggest the "4 hour work week" by Tim Ferriss. I've read it at about the same age and it had a profound effect on me.
Another book I'd suggest is the Enchiridion of Epictetus. If you ever intend to have kids, "Summerhill" by A.S.Neill is a good choice.