Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately? • Hacker News Board

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

#441

Post by benterix » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 5:38 PM UTC

hknmtt wrote: post #306

benterix wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Genius of The Few by Christian and Barbara Joy O'Brien, an alternative take for garden of eden and Anunnaki compared to Sitchin Is there anything that you found convincing in it? Or is it just a fantasy without foundations (or, worse, fake foundations like Daniken)? I find Anunnaki fascinating but people who start writing about them usually stray into their pet theory away from facts.

Your premise that it's just fantasy without foundations is subjective. I have read all Sitchin's bibliography and find the Anunnaki idea of our history the most in line with my own observations ever since I was a kid. So I did not had to be convinced of anything. As for the book, I liked their different take on the Anunnaki, although they focused on very niche part of the written history and had a different take on t…

I don't claim it's a fantasy, I'm asking. As a kid I loved Daniken and it was a great disappointment when I discovered later that several discoveries (but not all) he based his books on were fake. Those that are debatable are perfect because it is thanks to debate and research that progress is made.

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

#442

Post by rrrrrrrrrrrryan » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 5:38 PM UTC

Attempt to steer the discussion a bit: has anyone read any good fiction novels lately?

I like to always be reading one fiction and one non-fiction book. (My brain can't do two fiction books at once).

I already have a bottomless list of recommendations of nonfiction books from threads like this.

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

#443

Post by marai2 » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 5:41 PM UTC

jedberg wrote: post #396

Master's of Doom . Yes, I know I'm a few decades behind. I read it in part because it gets mentioned here so much. So here's another mention! If you haven't read it, it's a great story and informative too if you're a founder (on how not to run a company).

I'll upvote this as well, but from a different angle. I never listen to audio books, I don't think I've ever listened to an audio book - except this one time.

Last year I was doing a 14-hour drive from Seattle to the Bay Area and somehow ended up downloading this book to my phone. Well this book sent me through a time-warp, the hours rolled by while I was completely absorbed in the book and didn't feel the drudgy long drive at all. But kudos also to Wil Wheaton, he does an excellent job of narrating this book.

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

#444

Post by bakuninsbart » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 5:41 PM UTC

seer wrote: post #84

yla92 wrote: post #22

Finished reading The Three-Body Problem (Book 1) and it's such a fascinating read! https://www.amazon.com/Three-Body-Problem-Remembrance-Earths...

I really enjoyed the whole trilogy, and highly recommend it to my friends. But its more for the different perspective of a chinese writer talking about western events, and the general outlook of how events progress - the downplay of individuality, the scope of things, and some history of the chinese point of view. However what I didn’t like throughout all 3 books is just how predictable the antagonists are … like the…

Regarding Chinese fantasy/sci-fi novels, I really enjoyed Lord of Mysteries. Given that it is a web-novel, the style is rather bad, "hasty", but it has really outstanding, almost unmatched world-building. Started it as a guilty pleasures for those times were the brain isn't really working anymore, but quickly became quite addicted.

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

#445

Post by marai2 » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 5:46 PM UTC

AareyBaba wrote: post #55

jryb wrote: post #9

Just finished my third reading of The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. It really ruined most other history books for me by setting the bar so high.

You might like the 'The Prize' by Daniel Yergin on the history of petroleum and which also won the Pulitzer Prize.

This is the book that got me into realizing history can be so interesting. This was my first history book that I bought on my own!

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

#446

Post by acconrad » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 6:00 PM UTC

Don't Think of an Elephant will completely change how you view politics and what anyone in politics says and how to interpret it.

Aristotle's Ethics helped me reconcile my desire to constantly strive to do more and what to make of it when it seems never-ending.

Plato's Republic goes deep into virtue in a way that somehow doesn't (and might need to) get explored more often today.

Excellent Sheep is the book that got me to read the above books in the first place.

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

#447

Post by NextHendrix » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 6:04 PM UTC

Airborne Electronic Hardware Design Assurance: A Practitioner's Guide to RTCA/DO-254 by Randall Fulton and Roy Vandermolen

Might sound a bit niche, and it is, but even if you ignore the stuff about actually certifying stuff to fly, it has some extremely useful and interesting tidbits about how to go about running very large and highly complex hardware/firmware projects in safety critical industries.

The chapter on requirements is especially useful, and the whole thing is written in a (relatively, for the topic) light-hearted way.

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

#448

Post by bubblehed » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 6:08 PM UTC

hsuduebc2 wrote: post #145

Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall. Fascinating story about how borders and geography shape nations. For example why would russians attack Ukraine and why are African nations less developed. Book is from 2017. I actually heard it as audio book. Very interesting.

I just finished this one. It is an excellent book. He really improved my understanding of geopolitics and why maps look like they do. I also recommend!

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

#449

Post by elteto » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 6:28 PM UTC

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #293

gsatic wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

What do you mean "to deal with"? There's a lot of misconceptions about marriage, having to "manage" your spouse is one of them. You don't, they're their own person, they can take care of themselves, and if they're dependent on you it's not a healthy marriage.

Each day only has 24 hours, regardless of the number of wives one might have.

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

#450

Post by ianyanusko » Thu, Aug 17, 2023, 6:30 PM UTC

A trilogy of books from Reza Aslan: God: A Human History, Zealot, and No god but God.

These follow 1) the evolution of human conceptions of God, 2) the historical Jesus, and 3) the historical Muhammad, respectively. They're extremely accessible and have deeply influenced my thoughts on religion.