mine:
1. The Dark Tower 2. You Are Not So Smart
Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012
221–227 of 227 posts
Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
OMG, I was going to put an Any Rand book on there as a joke and I see one seriously posted one here. If you like Rand books now, you probably newly "discovered" her and her books and philosophy. Strong probability you are around college age, plu or minus a few years. Circle back when you are wiser and compare what you think then to what you think now.
Nope, I'm 39 and discovered Rand some time ago. I only wish I had discovered her stuff when I was younger. Also, just because you don't like Rand doesn't mean you should go around insulting people who happen to enjoy her work. It kinda makes you a dick. Reasonable people can disagree on things, you do realize this, right? If not, come back when you're a little wiser and maybe we can talk.
Yes, I agree that reasonable people can disagree. BTW, I used to like Rand, but then I became older and wiser. My experience is typical of many, not not all, of course. Same thing with Santa. I never actually believed in him, but many did when they were younger. Some still do. Most grew older and wiser (some not so much, same with religion, I guess). That's all. No need to get angry :) Anyway, like I said, "Circle back when you are wiser and compare what you think then to what you think now." If you are "normal," you will grow wiser with age, you do realize this, right? :)
Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012
#223The Iliad, I had high expectations but it was even better than I expected.
Fagles translation?
Of the translations, I've read only Robert Fitzgerald's. Might I recommend, as elsewhere in the comments, War and the Iliad, an NYRB collection of essays by Simone Weil, Rachel Bespaloff, and Herman Broch? The Weil essay, which I first read long ago, strikes me now as saying more about Weil than about the Iliad; Bespaloff's essays I think excellent, and blurb quotes Robert Fitzgerald to that effect. Broch's essay is fascinating, but less focused on the poem.
Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012
#224100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People - Susan Weinschenk. This is the book from which I learned the most this year. It provides the reader with 100 applicable and up to date insights into human psychology: how people see, read, think, decide, etc. Very useful and well organized.
http://www.amazon.com/Things-Designer-People-Voices-Matter/d...
Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn't class Ready Player One as the best book of 2012, but it was certainly enjoyable (when I read it in 2011). I prefer This Is Not A Game and Pattern Recognition in this genre; also worth checking out is Tad Williams' Otherland series.
In what way is Pattern Recognition similar to Ready Player One? I was intrigued by the description of RPO, but when I read you talking about Pattern Recognition being in the same genre, I was really confused. I thought Pattern Recognition was truly awful and couldn't finish it.
I classify them all as kind of cyberpunk/ARG fiction. Pattern Recognition takes place more in the physical world than Ready Player One, but they are both digital treasure hunts. As an ARG junkie, they naturally feel the 'same' to me. The style of writing is quite different though, and Gibson's style in Pattern Recognition isn't as fun to read as Ready Player One.
Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012
#226I just finished reading a really great spiritual/thriller novel titled, "Quest for the Lost Name" by George Makris. It is one of those books that grabs you from the first page and keeps you going til the end.
Re: Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012
#227The Millionaire Fastlane, don't let the title fool you. Great advice and insight from the founder of limos.com