What are you reading? • Hacker News Board

Re: What are you reading?

#111

Post by jksmith » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 4:59 AM UTC

apotheon wrote: post #104

electronslave wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oops. I just thought it was an amusing anecdote, but this isn't a constructive direction.

It was an amusing anecdote that started with a harsh indictment of anyone who likes Ayn Rand's writing. Are you sure you didn't expect people to be offended at what you said? Are you, perhaps, being a little disingenuous here?

Ah, but if one aspires to an ego the size of Howard Roark's, he wouldn't be offended by anything whatsoever.

Re: What are you reading?

#112

Post by dragonquest » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 4:59 AM UTC

tel wrote: post #59

Ulysses , haha.

I also started reading the same sometime ago. After 60 pages or so I put it down. It may be a good book (everyone keeps telling me that) but life's too short to try everything I don't like. :)

Currently on Simoqin Prophecies and the Camel book ( a fre chapters). Both are highly recommended.

Re: What are you reading?

#113

Post by huhtenberg » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 5:00 AM UTC

bkovitz wrote: post #87

Computational Pharmacokinetics by Anders Källén Secrets of Consulting by Gerald Weinberg Le Ton Beau de Marot by Douglas Hofstadter Born to Win by Muriel James and Dorothy Jongeward

> Computational Pharmacokinetics

Woa, this sure sounds geeky. What is it about ?

Re: What are you reading?

#114

Post by rodrigo » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 5:10 AM UTC

bkovitz wrote: post #87

Computational Pharmacokinetics by Anders Källén Secrets of Consulting by Gerald Weinberg Le Ton Beau de Marot by Douglas Hofstadter Born to Win by Muriel James and Dorothy Jongeward

Le Ton Beau de Marot by Douglas Hofstadter

How is it? please share your impressions.

Re: What are you reading?

#115

Post by anigbrowl » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 5:23 AM UTC

Why's (poignant) guide to Ruby. I have no interest in Ruby, I just wanted to read why's thing on paper instead of on the screen. Though with hindsight, it might have been cheaper to just print it.

Fisher vs. Spassky: inside the 1972 world chess championship. It is crushing me with brute force.

consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. War is hell.

Re: What are you reading?

#116

Post by anigbrowl » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 5:26 AM UTC

rodrigo wrote: post #114

bkovitz wrote: post #87

Computational Pharmacokinetics by Anders Källén Secrets of Consulting by Gerald Weinberg Le Ton Beau de Marot by Douglas Hofstadter Born to Win by Muriel James and Dorothy Jongeward

Le Ton Beau de Marot by Douglas Hofstadter How is it? please share your impressions.

If you're interested enough to ask, then you'll probably like it. If you've read and liked any other Hofstadter, then just just go get it. A bit weird at first, but ultimately superb.

Re: What are you reading?

#117

Post by adityakothadiya » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 5:39 AM UTC

Maverick - By Ricardo Semler of Semco. It's a must read book for every entrepreneur. I've read few business books, but this is one of those books I'll always recommend everyone with Founders at Work and Art of the Start.

It's a real story of Semco with great business lessons.

Re: What are you reading?

#118

Post by latortuga » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 5:39 AM UTC

carbon8 wrote: post #23

Omnivore's Dilemma. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Omnivore%27s_Dilemma

On the (sort of) same topic, I'm in the middle of Good Calories, Bad Calories.

Re: What are you reading?

#119

Post by silvio » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 5:44 AM UTC

bmunro wrote: post #65

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

That is such an excellent book. If you like it, you may also enjoy "Foucault's Pendulum" by Eco as well.

Re: What are you reading?

#120

Post by tremendo » Tue, Sep 01, 2009, 5:48 AM UTC

leif wrote: post #52

roryokane wrote: post #42

I'm reading Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson for the third time, and understanding it more than the second time. It has wonderful technical digressions that seem aimed precisely at geeks/hackers. In fact, on the the main characters is a programmer, and another is a code-breaker in the military who sees an opportunity for geeky analysis in everything he sees. (There are also many accounts of military battles from a so…

I'm about halfway through this. Not sure I liked it at first, because his style seemed a bit too heavy-handed, as if he were a 16 year old with a really big thesaurus, trying to allude to as many different things as possible. It's grown on me though, over the last far-too-many pages. Still not totally happy, but it's interesting.

A third of the way in. While I find it definitely entertaining, and like both the military adventures and geeky bits, I do not—so far—feel actually engaged with it. However this could be because it's hard to read while in bed: tiny type and bulky (at 900+ pages).

Recently read "On Intelligence" by Jeff Hawkins. The middle part was quite dense for me, but in the end I gained new appreciation for the AI field, which before really seemed like much pie in the sky nonsense, and after reading this book I am a believer.

Gearing up for something completely different now as the 12th installment of the WoT series is coming out in a few weeks.