Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
161–170 of 980 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#162The absolute best for me: The Malazan book of the fallen. Book 1 is really hard to get into and doesn't reward as much. But if you stick with it, as early as the end of Book 2, you'll know what you're in for.
I was skeptical but after a rough start I enjoyed book 1 by the end. Not generally into fantasy and dropped Way of Kings, Wheel of Time and others.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#163Zero to One
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#164I think you can only answer this at a point in time - the book you loved at 20 may not carry the same weight at 50.
For now, though, I really enjoyed Plutarch's Parallel Lives. He compares the life of an ancient Greek and Roman - EG Alexander vs Caesar.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#165Stanislaw Lem's "Solaris." Really got me into a lifetime of thinking about what comprises life and our relationship, as humans, to other life forms. Has informed my personal philosophy ever since.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#166Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#167"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,…
> "The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged in 8th grade. Changed my life." "huh, ok" > Really, I'm just looking for people who won't jump down my throat on a faux pas. I think you're dismissing the people such as myself that would note you as an idiot without comment and move on wanting nothing to do with you. Edit: tests and trick questions with people you just met is an ineffective way to navigate the world…
You just failed the test.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#168The 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
> Fiction: Neuromancer I've tried twice to read this, but it looses me about 10% in for some reason. Is it worth continuing past that? Does it get "better"? Or does that just signal that the whole book isn't for me?
I was in your boat. I revisited later and powered through and it does indeed get better. The narrative forms into something more cohesive and you start being less exhausted by all the lingo because you've learned it. You settle in. You have to sort of try to immerse yourself. I'd recommend trying to read in larger chunks of time and really absorb the aesthetic of the world.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#169Henry George’s Progress & Poverty conducted what can only be described as a coup on my worldview, and I am not alone in that experience. It is an incredible argument that will just utterly transform how you understand a walk down the street. If you’ve been seeing references to the Land Value Tax (LVT) here on HN, this is the book that originated the concept. Like most conceptual breakthroughs, it didn’t emerge solely…
In a similar vein, when I first got an e-reader I downloaded the old English version of Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations. It was eye opening. While I’ve forgotten a large amount of the detail the overall themes are embedded in my mind.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#170"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,…
Have you considered that someone who hears Atlas Shrugged is your favourite book might react similarly?
I'd be polite, but note you down as either an immature thinker or someone who likes to provoke. With a little more prodding, possibly also one of those people who has to be right about everything, and this is their hill.
I guess I'm on passive radar and you are on active.