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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?

#211

Post by t-writescode »

I've got 3 different non-fiction books for me:

Thinking Fast and Slow. This book discusses how we think and at what level and where some of the shortcuts we use when thinking occur and what impact they have on us. It really was one of the best books I've ever read; and like many books on that subject, you don't have to read the whole thing to get a lot out of it.

The Dictator's Handbook. This is the book that spawned the video essay series by CGP Gray: Rules of Rulers ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs ). It has been a strong recommend for me on how and why the political world is the way it is.

Brain Lock: This is a book about OCD and it discusses a method of helping manage the symptoms and manifestations of OCD that creates a measurable and material change on the brain itself. Like self-help books, it does repeat itself quite a bit over the second half of the book. If you struggle with OCD, I do recommend it.

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

#213

Post by cactacea »

pc86 wrote: post #183
cactacea wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good. I don't want anything to do with people that "test" others like this. You cannot do so without making assumptions about intent.

I'm of two minds on this. On one hand, yes you probably don't want to go through life "testing" people in this way as I'm sure there are some unintended consequences of doing so and you probably end up with kind of a boring circle of people around you. On the other hand, I would never want to be friends with someone who thinks someone is an idiot because they liked a particular book. "You liked this thing I don't lik…

Saying it is your favorite book is one thing. Saying it "changed your life" is another and yes, I'd think anyone who's life was changed by that particular book is indeed an idiot. I just don't see myself wanting to continue to engage with that person after a comment like that. Maybe I'm just impatient shrug

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

#214

Post by grecy »

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,…

> The best book I've ever read was Atlas Shrugged

I didn't read it until I was well into my 30s, but I very much enjoyed it. Not the best I've ever read, but I have read it a few times now.

I don't agree with a lot of it, and I can't relate to some of the characters personally, I just think it is extremely well written. The characters and their motivations are very well laid out, and we get to go on a journey with them.

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

#215

Post by cactacea »

anonymoushn wrote: post #184
cactacea wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "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…

> Edit: tests and trick questions with people you just met is an ineffective way to navigate the world. My 2c Then it sounds like you won't ask someone their favorite book and write them off entirely if they say it's a raunchy romance novel about industrialists?

I love how all the replies are focusing on how this is supposedly their favorite book and not the bit about "it changed my life"

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

#216

Post by araes »

edanm wrote: post #73
djkivi wrote: post #14

Godel Escher Bach is the best book I've read. Very interesting topics and the sheer creativity of the writing is amazing.

I prefer his autobiography ( https://xkcd.com/917/ ). Seriously though, this question is unanswerable, but your answer is probably one of the few books I'd get behind as an answer to this.

In the end, we are self-perceiving, self-inventing, locked-in mirages that are little miracles of self-reference.

— Douglas Hofstadter, I Am a Strange Loop, p. 363

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

#217

Post by soufron »

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,…

Man, what an ass way of choosing your friends... I doubt it's optimal.

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

#219

Post by kbelder »

EFreethought wrote: post #186
pc86 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm of two minds on this. On one hand, yes you probably don't want to go through life "testing" people in this way as I'm sure there are some unintended consequences of doing so and you probably end up with kind of a boring circle of people around you. On the other hand, I would never want to be friends with someone who thinks someone is an idiot because they liked a particular book. "You liked this thing I don't lik…

I am guessing you have never met someone who actually did like "Atlas Shrugged". The fact is, some people deserve harsh judgement. Including people who lie to someone and think they are morally superior for doing so.

I liked Atlas Shrugged.

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

#220

Post by ta1243 »

I remember reading "One Day", quite a long way through the book. I was sat in economy on an Emirates flight back from Islamabad, it was 4th November 2010, and it hit my like a truck when I got to that bit.

Might not be a "good book", but it was certainly memorable.

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