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Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#141

Post by [deleted] »

canadianfella wrote: post #139
loveparade wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What people forget to mention is when they have read a book. I read the Selfish Gene when I was a teen and it left a lasting impression. It was published in 1989. How the Mind works was published in 2011. Reading the Selfish Gene today as an adult, when you've probably read a dozen similar books already, is not going to have the same effect. It's going to be pretty boring. That's why asking for book recommendations i…

The Selfish Gene was published in 1976, not 1989. I read it as a teen in the 90s and it is probably my favourite book of all time. Also, Bill Bryson’s “Short History of Nearly Everything”. Brian Greene’s “The Fabric of the Cosmos” (and all of his other books) Richard Dawkins’ “The Ancestor’s Tale” and “The Blind Watchmaker” are also amazing. Fiction: Adrian Czajkowski‘s “Children of Time” and Orson Scott Card‘s “Ende…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#142

Post by tb_technical »

"The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life."

Not because I remember anything about it, or believe anything it espouses, or even like it all that much, but because it's a useful filter for obnoxious people in meatspace.

If someone I don't know too well asks me what my favorite book is, I say Atlas Shrugged. If they react inappropriately, I'll be cordial and treat them with respect, but I don't want to be friends. If they're way too supportive - the same rule applies.

If they're critical in a way I can appreciate, then I know they can either tolerate ideas they hate or have the social accumen to not go too hard in the paint early on in a relationahip. Really, I'm just looking for people who won't jump down my throat on a faux pas.

Later on in the relationship I'll tell them my actual favorite book, "A Canticle for Leibowitz", or "Neuromancer", or "The Dying Earth" (my opinion changes based on my mood).

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#143

Post by brcmthrowaway »

mindcrime wrote: post #26

The truth is, if you ask me this 100 times, you'll probably get 100 different answers, because it's impossible to really pick just one (well two, separating by fiction/non-fiction). But for today I'll go with: Fiction: Neuromancer Non-fiction: The Selfish Gene

How do people read Neuromancer its just technobabble

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#144

Post by jihadjihad »

ruraljuror wrote: post #102
nataliste wrote: post #87

The Consolation of Philosophy by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius. It is a profound synthesis of classical philosophy and personal reflection on the human condition. Boethius, writing in prison while awaiting execution, blends Stoic, Neoplatonic, and Christian ideas to address timeless questions of fate, fortune, happiness, and virtue. It transcends religious dogma and focuses on rational inquiry into how one can f…

Curious if you have read A Confederacy of Dunces? It is how I learned of Boethius, although I can't say I remember much of either.

I'm curious as well, the GP comment immediately made me think of Ignatius, haha.

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#145

Post by jjcm »

twoodfin wrote: post #50

Taking “best” to mean, “About to be banished to a small, rocky island in the North Atlantic, can pack one book”: Ulysses , and it’s not particularly close. The book is fractally intricate and intellectually puzzling in the best sense—something new and special to notice every time you pick it up. But it also wears like old leather, and I find myself returning to favorite chapters simply to sink indulgently into the ch…

This seems to be a very polarizing book. I for one thought it was among the worst I've read, but know plenty who have said it's one of their favorites. It's certainly not a traditional novel.

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#147

Post by lanfeust6 »

brcmthrowaway wrote: post #143
mindcrime wrote: post #26

The truth is, if you ask me this 100 times, you'll probably get 100 different answers, because it's impossible to really pick just one (well two, separating by fiction/non-fiction). But for today I'll go with: Fiction: Neuromancer Non-fiction: The Selfish Gene

How do people read Neuromancer its just technobabble

As a stylish thriller mostly

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#148

Post by gadders »

jihadjihad wrote: post #144
ruraljuror wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious if you have read A Confederacy of Dunces? It is how I learned of Boethius, although I can't say I remember much of either.

I'm curious as well, the GP comment immediately made me think of Ignatius, haha.

It set my pyloric valve off.

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#149

Post by Jcowell »

edanm wrote: post #119

Impossible to pick just one. I'll give a few that haven't appeared yet: Fiction: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (Eliezer Yudkowsky) Non-fiction: Rationality - from AI to Zombies (Eliezer Yudkowsky) Probably no books have impacted me quite as much as these two, barring early-childhood books that have impacted me from a young age. Fiction: Worm (by Parahumans) Best "superhero" fiction ever created. Just on…

+1 on Worm. I’ve read it twice and was captivated both times

Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?

#150

Post by LZ_Khan »

tb_technical wrote: post #142

"The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life." Not because I remember anything about it, or believe anything it espouses, or even like it all that much, but because it's a useful filter for obnoxious people in meatspace. If someone I don't know too well asks me what my favorite book is, I say Atlas Shrugged. If they react inappropriately, I'll be cordial and treat them with respect,…

Ooh I love this take.
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