Taking a break from tech books and stumbled across...
This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It.
Ask HN: What book are you reading?
21–30 of 30 posts
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#22Cipolla's Before the Industrial Revolution (again).
Hey Paul, Do the lessons economic history that these books teach still have relevance today? Technology (as a term to describe innovation) back then would have a very different meaning to technology today.
See the last section of http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html.
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#23Hacking - The next generation. I'm in the middle of developing my first web app, so I'm desperately trying to get up to speed with security. I find that there is a lot of 'I don't know what I don't know' for me with regards to security and crypto, so I'm using this book as a springboard to get a feel for the different areas of security I will need to dive into to make some informed decisions about the tech I use. (I already know not to roll my own security, but I am sick of making cargo cult decisions re sec, so I am trying to get a good foundation set up, any recommendations will be appreciated, I may even do a ask HN post about it)
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#24Currently, the old testament. I am not church-goer or anything, and still I find it quite impressive the amount of surprising stuff (good and bad) you can find in there. It's actually as cool as the Iliad, and you may even find some good advice in there :). Hey, who said everything had to be around software/startups.
I've read some Plutarch, Seutonius, Tacitus (in translation) and always wondered how the Old Testament measured up as a work of ancient literature.
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#25Currently, the old testament. I am not church-goer or anything, and still I find it quite impressive the amount of surprising stuff (good and bad) you can find in there. It's actually as cool as the Iliad, and you may even find some good advice in there :). Hey, who said everything had to be around software/startups.
I've read some Plutarch, Seutonius, Tacitus (in translation) and always wondered how the Old Testament measured up as a work of ancient literature.
I read lots of old greak and roman records too (among others, Sun Tzu was chinese :)).
I am amazed every night how much the old testament can be different from what I was taught back in school.
Like the "eye for an eye" saying for example. Never taught it would be cited in the book.
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#26Code Complete second edition
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#27[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#28Other books that I've found helpful are the many socioeconomics books out there:
Malcolm Gladwell - Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers Tim Harford - The Undercover Economist Nassim Taleb - The Black Swan
I enjoyed the Steve Jobs book too, I liked the fact that he believed in what he was working on (no matter how crazy or disruptive) and saw so much beauty in perfection. There's a lot we can learn from his persistence and attitude towards persevering in the face of failure.
And for entertainment, I like profound books: The Alchemist, The Little Prince
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hey Paul, Do the lessons economic history that these books teach still have relevance today? Technology (as a term to describe innovation) back then would have a very different meaning to technology today.
See the last section of http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html .
Thats an interesting read. Getting a technical developer to think as holistically as you laid out in that essay is a challenge. Its a challenge that I find very difficult, when I just want to dig into code, I have to continually tell myself to step back and see the bigger picture.
Re: Ask HN: What book are you reading?
#30How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie