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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?

#441

Post by jrflowers »

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,…

“I lie to people’s faces to conduct a test around a mundane question in order to safeguard myself from the ‘meatspace’ ruffians that don’t like Ayn Rand” is a hilarious strategy.

As an aside, it kind of seems like Atlas Shrugged actually is your favorite book. You don’t appear to care what others think about Neuromancer or The Dying Earth but you literally require a specific and narrow set of feelings about Objectivism to pass The Test. (And obviously, it is the feelings that you mandate, not the lack of social graces, as you have noted that you don’t mind if others politely stop talking to you even after passing The Test. They do not feel positively enough toward Ayn Rand and as such are not worthy of your time)

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

#442

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

allturtles wrote: post #430
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #362

These threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars. I prefer junky fantasy books. I'm really too old and cynical to give a damn what y'all think of me. I probably liked David Edding's Belgariad series, along with the Mallorean series, the most. I reread them, regularly, and go through all ten books, in a couple of weeks. They are an easy read. Also, Glen Cook's Black Company books ar…

> These threads often end up, with everyone trying to prove they are literary scholars I see a wide variety of answers ITT. Some are very "literary" fiction e.g. Ulysses , others are lighter fare like Harry Potter , there's also a wide variety of non-fiction works from self-help to electronics manuals to philosophy. Have you considered that other people might actually have different tastes than you, and aren't trying…

C'mon. This is HN.

People are trying to posture and prove all kinds of things.

Of course folks have different tastes (I'm the redneck engineer, in my family. Most of my other siblings think James Joyce is da thang, but they are also into posturing).

But it also intimidates folks into not sharing some really good stuff.

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

#443

Post by qingcharles »

EvanKelly wrote: post #188
kylecazar wrote: post #99

100 Years of Solitude is my favorite. I majored in Spanish literature in college, that was my first exposure to Gabriel García Márquez (I read it in the original Spanish, but I'm told the English translation is faithful and very good).

I've struggled through 2 or 3 Marquez books in Spanish (I'm far from fluent), and have read all of them in English. Gregory Rabassa was an excellent translator and ,from my unexpert point of view, captured the essence of Marquez' work. Translated literature is interesting and I've recently read a few differing views on the "best" translations of Homer. I've resigned myself that I simply must trust the masses in some…

I rant about this too much, but I urge anyone who is thinking of reading a non-English book to check reviews of the translations first. Translations vary wildly and the quality of the translation makes or breaks your enjoyment and understanding of the text.

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

#444

Post by Amezarak »

ramesh31 wrote: post #262
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,…

>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. Nietzche fills this role for me. Thinking he was right is a big red flag. But not knowing of him makes your opinions on philosophy meaningless.

I find a good follow up question is oh? what do you think he's all about? And if they start talking about master/slave morality or the ubermensch, then change the subject and move on,

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

#446

Post by joshdavham »

The best books I read last year were the "Three Body Problem" books by Cixin Liu.

It's a science fiction series about aliens, space travel and the universe and they're easily the best books I've read in a while.

I genuinely can't remember the last time I got that absorbed in a series. I'd read until the early hours of the morning and sometimes just sit at the edge of my bed for like 20 minutes just contemplating the universe. Highly recommend.

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

#447

Post by tb_technical »

DurtEetr wrote: post #355
toast0 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I liked the parts about the railway signaling, and suffered through all the multi-page anti-regulatory rants in the middle of lovemaking. Looking for recommendations for entertaining tales of signal networks. :P

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett has my favorite entertaining read about signaling networks. In addition to the invention of a working mail system, you’ll read descriptions of semaphore towers working in a way that is similar to the Telegraph, except with light rather than pulsed waves over wire. It’s also hilariously funny and deeply philosophical at times. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Pratchett wrote some amazing books. And if you're into animation (especially older animation), you can find the old discworld animated movies on YouTube.

The first discworld book I read was Thief of Time, and I've been hooked ever since

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

#448

Post by qingcharles »

Dove wrote: post #128

There can be only one answer to that - the Bible . Twenty years ago, I was convinced the content alone justified the claims of a divine origin, which opinion has only grown stronger in the years since. Even if you don't believe in it, it is worth reading as literature - an extraordinarily epic story, and a lot of stuff to say about humanity and divinity along the way. Everything else, comparatively, seems to me like…

I'm atheist-agnostic, but I've read the Bible several times and the Qu'ran twice. I think it is important to have at least a passing knowledge of these books, and TBH, as long as you cherry-pick, there is a lot of good life advice in there.

I'm fascinated by both books for their history and authorship, though. Who wrote them? Why did they write them? How did they write them? What parts of their content is backed by historical record? etc.

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

#449

Post by FrustratedMonky »

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,…

"but because it's a useful filter for obnoxious people in meatspace"

It is surprising that a book can become such a barometer. I liked the book originally, it isn't a bad introduction to some ideas. But even when I was young was able to poke holes in it.

But then many years later, it has become something like a 'flag' or 'rally cry' for certain segments of populating that either haven't read it at all, or have horribly miss-interpreted it, or most likely only idealized it by reading the first half.

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