I've been reading The Roman Empire in Crisis by Paul N Pearson. It summarises a lot of fairly recent discoveries (a palimpsest of Dexippus, archaeological evidence of battles etc) to give a more detailed account of the Crisis of the Third Century in Rome. Pretty dry stuff, but reminds you that event ancient history is still a living thing.
Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
151–160 of 532 posts
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#152The Dawn of Everything, by Graeber and Wengrow. Refutes most of the claims made by Harari in Sapiens, and shows everything you though you knew about prehistory is plain wrong. It's a great book, very well written and well informed. Made me think that humanity's history isn't an arrow pointing in the direction of progress; we make experiments. Our current way of life is not the "best so far", it's but one arrangement…
There is a good review of the book you might like: https://www.theintrinsicperspective.com/p/the-gossip-trap
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#153I recently started reading House of Leaves, I'm not done with it but I'm captivated by it so far. It's a very weird horror/love story that is unlike anything I have ever read before.
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#154A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy
It’s a collection of quotes from various influential people along with Tolstoy’s own thoughts. The book is arranged in a daily reading sort of format but I found reading it normally fascinating.
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#155A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy It’s a collection of quotes from various influential people along with Tolstoy’s own thoughts. The book is arranged in a daily reading sort of format but I found reading it normally fascinating.
I personally prefer Leo’s work “War - What Is It Good For?”
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#156The sea of fertility tetraology by Mishima. The Sailor who went to sea is one of his shorter works if you're looking to give him a read with less commitment.
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#157Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents I'm a person that struggles with boundary-setting and have spent numerous years in relationships that have left me as less-than I was before. Imagine people-pleasing to an absolute fault, and being more of a chameleon that adapts to avoid conflicts. This has led to problems of identity, and deriving my sense of worth through others which isn't healthy. Fortunately, I do…
This is a good book. Another one I would recommend from this genre is "The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now".
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#158"This is how you lose the time war". It's by two authors. Light read.
I bought it because it was inexpensive and I the title was a "me-shaped" hook. :)
I chuckled after a few pages, after about 1/3rd I couldn't put it down, or read it fast enough. Challenging, as it started to rain during my walk to work (as evidenced by the dozen wrinkly pages towards the end). The next day as I read, I was pacing around my apartment, alone, gesticulating, with a VERY SPECIFIC flavor of happy that, gosh, I hadn't felt since well before she left me so... 4 years? Longer? A flavor of happy I had almost forgotten existed.
The only bad part is the book was finished the next day. :(
If your brain has a certain shape and polarization it's likely to bring great joy. (tho I have no idea how rare we are)
I also finished reading Annihilation by VanderMeer, what a friend insisted in exchange for him reading TIHYLTTW. It was .... good, I guess? I donno. Solid B-. I mean, I enjoyed it I think. Very simple, straightforward read. Some of the characters didn't feel ... relatable?
But wow, TIHYLTTW... felt like the authors had root on my brain or something. At numerous times I joked to myself that I must have been compromised. Hidden cameras.
If you're going to read it, don't google or read any commentary or anything :) I did not, and, looking at the commentary and comments, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I did otherwise.
The other two people I convinced to read the book did not have nearly as strong a response as I. I think it requires a certain brain polarization. Or brokenness. :)
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#159Proving Ground: The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World’s First Modern Computer (by Kathy Kleiman)
I enjoy reading up on computer history, and this is a pretty good retelling of an important story. However, the parts that really struck me are the personal accounts of the author in trying to recover this history. The ENIAC 6 played an important role in the history of the first computer and of programming as a vocation, but their story was almost forgotten. To the point that these women were not even invited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ENIAC. That's shameful, and I'm happy that they finally have started to get the recognition they deserve.
If you're interested in this history, Jean Jennings Bartik also wrote an autobiography, that tells the story from her perspective.
Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
I enjoyed most of book 1, then it suddenly went "slapstick" with the alien engineers at the end. That really turned me off to the rest of the series. However, for those who have read books 2 and beyond, does the writing return to serious and deep or does a slapstick element remain?
Book 2 was my fav. Book 3 was fine but was kinda like RTJ to ESB.
Thanks for the input. I might go back and give book two a try then! :-)