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Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?

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Re: Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?

#181

Post by jesterson »

throwawaaaaay17 wrote: post #171
pgoat wrote: post #35

Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace: It includes so many sides of life: terrible misery and humor, both spicy and tender, sometimes simple, sometimes absurd, then politics, society, love, cynicism, - and poetry. And it predicted, by the way, shockingly many developments of today's (American) society. And the language, of course, is opulent and wild, it won't get boring any time soon.

pgoat - lol Kind of a miserable book to reread a lot. The author killed himself, the one person I know of who figured it all out also killed himself http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/ijend

There is no miserable or joyful books out there - it's all subjective interpretations.

Whether to kill yourself or go on with living is a personal choice, the book does it best to make the said choice an informed one.

Re: Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?

#182

Post by astoilkov »

thinkpad13 wrote: post #168
astoilkov wrote: post #154

Thinking Fast and Slow This book changed my life. It's content is based on an entire life of research. I think I will learn new things every time I read it. I like this question because I started re-reading a few books already. I find it valuable as I already know they are good and I can extract more from them the second/third/forth time.

its on my reading list queue any words or gist about the book maybe so that I could put it on my next read?

I would recommend going through the most popular quotes on Goodreads — https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/16402639.

You also read the reviews of other people.

Both of these things can give a good sense if that book is for you.

Re: Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?

#183

Post by astoilkov »

snickersnee11 wrote: post #156
astoilkov wrote: post #154

Thinking Fast and Slow This book changed my life. It's content is based on an entire life of research. I think I will learn new things every time I read it. I like this question because I started re-reading a few books already. I find it valuable as I already know they are good and I can extract more from them the second/third/forth time.

https://retractionwatch.com/2017/02/20/placed-much-faith-und...

I've read the article. I remember when something similar happened with Why We Sleep. I'll take the time to readjust my views. Thank you.

Re: Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?

#186

Post by kpozin »

snickersnee11 wrote: post #156
astoilkov wrote: post #154

Thinking Fast and Slow This book changed my life. It's content is based on an entire life of research. I think I will learn new things every time I read it. I like this question because I started re-reading a few books already. I find it valuable as I already know they are good and I can extract more from them the second/third/forth time.

https://retractionwatch.com/2017/02/20/placed-much-faith-und...

Note that this concerns the studies cited in just one chapter (of 38 total) in Thinking, Fast and Slow. The chapter is about implicit priming.

Re: Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?

#187

Post by andrei_says_ »

imartin2k wrote: post #135
ebb_earl_co wrote: post #98

Sam Harris’ Waking Up. I’m sure that some of the neuroscience in it will become outdated, but its effect on my worldview and life trajectory can’t be understated. Perhaps this is apocryphal, but when Richard Feynman was asked what one sentence would contain the most information to bootstrap science after apocalypse, he said “everything is made of atoms”. Sam Harris parallels this with his one sentence for spiritual p…

Have you tried “I Am That” by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj? That would probably be my choice, but it’s very related (Harris praises it too). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_That

This is the book I came to recommend. It is different from almost anything else I've read in its causing an immediate shift of awareness which is beyond the intellectual / thinking process.

It consists of conversations which modify being and a different state of being changes everything, instantaneously.

This is my book - I open it almost every day. Not a story to re-read but a state of being to dissolve into.

Re: Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?

#188

Post by karmakurtisaani »

Prophasi wrote: post #111
lcuff wrote: post #43

James Clavell's Shogun: The contrast between the Japanese and European cultures in 1600 are delicious, the characters and plot both well developed. I've read it at least a dozen times over four decades. As I age, I find I experience it very differently.

Shogun's a milestone in my reading history - it's so extraordinarily engrossing. It deflated me more than any other book as I turned each of the final, waning pages because I didn't want to leave its world behind. I was briefly elated to see there are "sequels" but just as quickly disappointed to learn they're set centuries apart; it ended up feeling like I was clinging to the only album ever made by an amazing band.…

For what it's worth, the sequels are very good as well. They just take place in a different, but still very similar context.

Re: Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?

#189

Post by sen »

Jaruzel wrote: post #67

If I was forced to only pick one, or at least one set of books it would be: The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. There are many better books I've read, but I grew up with these, and would want access to copies at all times in my life. Now... I'm off to make a Perfectly Normal Beast sandwich and ponder why Eddie is in the space time continuum.

Absolutely HHGTTG for me. Not the "best" books I've ever ready but easily the ones I can re-read the most and still get a laugh or discover something new (or something I at least forgot and get to re-enjoy).
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