Probably "Zorba the Greek"
Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
331–340 of 980 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#332"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,…
What happens later in the relationship when you reveal you lied about your favorite book as some weird social vetting process? It seems the insincerity would turn a lot of people off.
Believe it or not its made quite a few people laugh
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#333"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…
I would do the same. But maybe that's the kind, us?, of person OP doesn't want to do anything with at all.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#334The Courage to be Disliked
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#335"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,…
So, you will lie about your favourite book to socially engineer people? That would be the end of any friendship even if your favourite books are actually good reads. Why would I want to be friends with someone who will lie to qualify me? I don’t put up with that amongst mobile device salespeople and that’s a small investment.
This is fine. People don't have to be friends, you know? And it's ok not to be friends with everyone.
I just know what types of people I like to hang out with - and they're typically people patient enough to put up with my dumb ass.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#336I think this is as meaningful as the question "what's the best food you've ever eaten?", which is to say, it's not a very meaningful question.
Funny thing is, despite being an avid reader, I can't really say what my "best" book is. But I can easily describe the best meal I've ever had: we were on a tour in Chengdu, and they took us to a restaurant without any introduction. The meal was good but nothing special, until halfway through, when that nagging feeling that the flavor wasn't quite right made me realize that this is the Buddhist fake meat I'd heard about. And I only realized because I'd lived in China and eaten lots of meals so I knew what things were supposed to taste like. I have to say, the fish soup was incredible, the fish even flaked properly. To be so good that it took me halfway through a formal meal (which involves multiple courses) to recognize it speaks to how well it was done.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#337"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…
This is the root of why folks did not appreciate those cringy "social experimenter" kids growing up.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#338Earlier 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…
I have to agree. Basing any of your life decisions on quick hacks with bad assumptions seems like a fast way to a mediocre outcome.
Welcome to the techie obsession with heuristics.
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#339I would probably have to say The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I’m a sucker for fat historical fiction books and this one delivered everything I want from that type of book.
Great book. Some other historical fiction recommendations: - The "Welsh Princes" series by Sharon Kay Penman (same era, different perspective) - Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (Black Death) - The "Grail Quest" series by Richard Cornwell (Hundred Years War) - The "Last Kingdom" series, also by Cornwell (Viking invasion, Alfred the Great)
Shogun by James Clavell as well!
Re: Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?
#340Obviously a very reductive question -- even if sharpened slightly to "most influential" book. I will reduce it even further: one of the few books that I have read twice (and the only one that has exerted different, profound influence on me on each read) is Tracy Kidder's "Soul of a New Machine." This is a book that every engineer should absolutely read, though not without an uncritical eye for Tom West and Data Gener…
I finally read it recently (few months back or so) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. One of the many takeaways for me was how similar the SW world is to the HW one when it comes to actual human being behind engineering -- I guess I shouldn't be surprised but for some reason, the book reinforced that notion in my head. I'm sure I will read it again at some point.