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Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

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Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#181

Post by loxias »

mrexroad wrote: post #74

Diaspora [0] by Greg Egan. A fun dive into post-human civilization published in late ‘90s. Great read if you like hard sci-fi. Tao of Wu [1] by RZA. Because, perspective. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora_(novel) [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tao_of_Wu

Woo! Diaspora!

The opening of that book is such a well put and apt description of... that, I've forced it on plenty of my friends.

Schild's Ladder also fantastic (yet similar.. like 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt? Still fun, but kinda "i've seen this before").

I think Permutation City was overrated.

I haven't read any of his other novels, have you?

Iain M Banks (Excession), Greg Egan (Diaspora, Dark Integers), and Charles Stross (Accelerando) are like a drug I'm still chasing that first high...

Recommendations welcome.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#182

Post by lewisflude »

Ultralearning by Scott H. Young

https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/ultralearning/

> Combining stories of dramatic ultralearning feats with the detailed science on how to learn anything effectively, ULTRALEARNING will transform how you work, live and learn.

It made me realise that for most of my life, the things I was doing to try and learn new skills, techniques or technologies was actually more akin to entertainment than actually learning the thing.

It also helped me understand why I have been able to learn really specific things really effectively, and use those patterns to intentionally learn other things that I'd usually find really hard to crack.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#183

Post by hikingsimulator »

jemmyw wrote: post #53

Blindsight and Echopraxia by Peter Watts [1] I enjoyed the ideas in these books. The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again [2] by M. John Harrison. Beautiful writing. His descriptions give me vivid dreams if I read before bed. The Thursday Murder Club [3] by Richard Osman. Light reading, amusing, beginning of a series. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echopraxia_(novel) [2] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49201192-…

I really like Blindsight for how some of the questions it sets may apply to how we might face artificial general intelligence.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#184

Post by simonbarker87 »

lloydatkinson wrote: post #89
simonbarker87 wrote: post #77

Double Cross is the story of how the British turned, relied on and managed German double agents through World War Two. Not spoiling anything when I say that reading about one person running a fictitious group of spies across the UK from a flat in London, feeding thousands of pages of fake intelligence to the Germans amazes me. The creativity and mental capacity to stay on top of all those lies is astounding. Oh and E…

I think I’ll add that to my list! I am currently reading (well, I ended up trying out Audible so listening now) to The Splendid and the Vile which is another WW2 book that’s quite fascinating. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0008274983/ref=tmm_pap_swat...

Thanks for the suggestion, I went on a bit of a WW2 binge recently and went through:

The Second World Way by Anthony Beevor (it's a tough but very interesting listen) SAS: Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre (very enjoyable, assume slightly exaggerated) as well as Double Cross

All great books.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#186

Post by esperent »

SubGenius wrote: post #49
esperent wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wodehouse is amazing. Tied with Pratchett for the best humorist writer in my opinion. I've searched a lot to find more humorist writers but it's a very limited genre. Most comedy writing is too cynical for me. By contrast Wodehouse and Pratchett manage to be funny while also being uplifting. Does anyone have any recommendations for not-too-cynical humorist authors beside these two?

Have you read 'Three Men in a Boat' by Jerome K Jerome? It's a classic. I love how fresh and contemporary it still is. Perpetually re-readable as well. There is a follow-up book that's great too.

I have, many many years ago. Thanks for the suggestion, I'm sure it's time for a reread.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#187

Post by spacebanana7 »

gsatic wrote: post #165
baron816 wrote: post #46

It’s been probably a year since I read The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich, but the ideas in there have really stuck in my head. The WEIRD acronym stands for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. The thesis is that the Christian Church inadvertently created modern society by prohibiting polygamy and cousin marriage. The topic of polygamy is what’s really stuck in my head. Polygamy is…

Ya right. Like any one in their right mind wants to have 10 wives to deal with. Dont get confuse hooking up with marriage. I think Esther Perel has written the best stuff on modern relationships. Read her.

Polygamy was the norm for most of ancient/imperial China, Ottoman Empire, Mongols, Ancient Jews etc.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it was the norm for most people at most points in history, but considering the populations of the above civilisations it wasn't uncommon either.

Re: Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?

#189

Post by spacebanana7 »

baron816 wrote: post #46

It’s been probably a year since I read The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich, but the ideas in there have really stuck in my head. The WEIRD acronym stands for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. The thesis is that the Christian Church inadvertently created modern society by prohibiting polygamy and cousin marriage. The topic of polygamy is what’s really stuck in my head. Polygamy is…

Dating apps have created a kind of dynamic polygamy in the West, where a minority of 'single' men have many sexual partners per year, women have fewer, and the majority of single men have very few sexual partners.
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