Godel,Escher,Bach by Douglas Hofstadter.
Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
291–300 of 313 posts
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#292Earlier quoted context omitted.
My only major inaccuracy is re: Sansa Stark. I found her to be a well-intentioned yet manipulated and confused child in the books. She just wants to be a quintessential 'Lady' - courteous, artful, etc. In the show they made her out to be... American. Rude, spoiled, etc. Other than that I just wish they had the time and the audience to tell the FULL story in all it's glory. Of course it's expected that the sub-plots h…
Out of curiosity, what makes you define "american" as rude and spoiled?
Fair question. After initially seeing Sansa represented this way, I began to ask myself "Why would they do this? What advantage does it serve?"
Using the common motive of "making the show appeal to a wider [American] audience," it seemed to me that they wanted her character to hit closer to home than a polished young lady would. Of course, my opinion is just a shallow one - a thought in passing.
Thinking on it now you are probably right to question me on my association of 'rude and spoiled' with 'American,' but that was just my gut reaction. FWIW, I'm an American with minimal knowledge of the demeanor teenage girls from other societies, Western or otherwise.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#293Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who's made the transtion from muslim -> atheist, I was disappointed, confused and terrified when I first read a translation of the Koran. I'm genuinely curious as to what you've learned from it that's of any use, apart from perhaps, a deeper understanding of the thought-process and ethos of Islamic fundamentalists.
I am genuinely curious what you gleamed from your reading that made you atheist. I made the transition from atheist -> Muslim a few years back, though this was not solely from reading the Quran it certainly played a large role in it.
> I am genuinely curious what you gleamed from your reading that made you atheist
On it's own it didn't, but there was enough in there that a) I didn't agree with, b) didn't engage me on a spiritual level and c) that was just downright weird that I knew this wasn't the holy book that I should be looking to for guidance.
Reading it alone got me to 'looking for an alternative' but not quite the atheist I am now (or more specifically secular humanist).
If you'd like to discuss this more via email feel free to drop me a line at ali dot najaf at gmail dot com.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#294Hmm... there have been a few, and I'd have to look through my "read books stack" to remind myself exactly which ones fell into 2011 and not prior years... but offhand, I'd mention: Fiction: Mona Lisa Overdrive - William Gibson Zero History - William Gibson 11/22/63 - Stephen King The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss Non-fiction: Ghost in the Wires - Kevin Mitnick The Elegant…
Reamde, non-fiction?
Heh, no; the "started but not yet finished" section was meant to be independent of the "fiction" and "non fiction" headings. :-)
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#295Let's see... in no particular order: * Thinking, Fast and Slow: http://amzn.to/sXQGSR - probably makes my list because I just finished it, and as he says "what you see is all there is" - we're biased towards things that come to mind easily. Actually, it is a pretty good book even looking through all the others I've read. * 1491: http://amzn.to/uaR0yf - about the Americas prior to the arrival of "Cristoforo Colombo".…
I recommend reading The Lean Startup. I found it full of good ideas. One example: cohort analysis. You might already be familiar with all the concepts and ideas in the book, but even then I think the various examples of real companies doing some of these things will be inspiring.
The Lean Startup is good but I found Running Lean to be much more tactical. Plus the guy who wrote it, Ash seems to be very active in providing content beyond the book in his newsletters, blog posts, and his Lean Canvas.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#296Let's see... in no particular order: * Thinking, Fast and Slow: http://amzn.to/sXQGSR - probably makes my list because I just finished it, and as he says "what you see is all there is" - we're biased towards things that come to mind easily. Actually, it is a pretty good book even looking through all the others I've read. * 1491: http://amzn.to/uaR0yf - about the Americas prior to the arrival of "Cristoforo Colombo".…
I recommend reading The Lean Startup. I found it full of good ideas. One example: cohort analysis. You might already be familiar with all the concepts and ideas in the book, but even then I think the various examples of real companies doing some of these things will be inspiring.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3287ICLQ9STI3/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt...
The top rated review of The Lean Startup basically trashes it, saying it never gets very specific, and is sort of a vehicle for Eric Ries to sell himself.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#297The Exodus Case
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#298On the fiction side, I absolutely loved Shogun by Clavell. I didn't know what to expect, and I found an epic that was captivating in many ways. I also started Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. I realize I'm about 10 years behind everyone else, and I've found it most deserving of all of the hubbub. With respect to nonfiction, I enjoyed Schroeder's recent biography of Warren Buffett, entitled the Snowball. It was much less…
Not sure if you will see this but have you read any of Clavell's followups to Shogun yet? I recently read Shogun as well and really loved it, but haven't had the courage to tackle the other books in the series - as they sound so different (and take place hundreds of years later).
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#299Not tech related, but I loved Devil in the White City by Larson and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig. Also, I reread Rework about 3 times this year. Always a good and quick read.
Ah, but Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig is very much tech related!
Ahh true... That book is really deep. I love it.
Unrelated comment, but I feel compelled to mention... I just moved to SF and read that book right when I got here, only to find out that Pirsigs son (who is one of the main characters of the book) was stabbed and killed at roughly 22 (I am 25) a few blocks from where I work. For some reason, that story really affected me and has changed the way I look at life. I highly recommend the book to anyone in any field.
Being an engineer amplifies its meaning.
Re: Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011
#300It's not from this year, but I have to say it: I read Rework quite a few months back and it honestly changed my life. Other than that, The Thank You Economy is a good one as well.