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Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

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Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

#211

Post by tablet »

kitbrennan wrote: post #113

`Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance` The book looks at what it means to say something has 'quality'. It didn't teach me any new philosophical methods or theories, but it did make me look at my own work differently and start asking: how can I make something with the highest quality? What compromises that quality? What is a method that leads to the highest quality? Translating that to my business life: in the st…

This book deeply influenced me last year. I think it is one of the best books I've read among 500+ other.

"Do you teach students quality?" is a question I'll remember forever.

Highly recommended.

Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

#212

Post by zo1 »

olifante wrote: post #202
Eleutheria wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So capitalism has problems, he failed to determine the cause (the state) and failed to propose efficient solutions (more taxes, austerity for the people, more interventionism) and you praise it as true science? That book is a marxist pamphlet in a thousand pages. For the love of god, never read Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt or you would consider him the bastard son of Einstein when he was fifteen.

Marxist Pamphlet? What non-sense. It's a book written by an avowed defender of capitalism, worried about its excesses in the age of slowing growth. Piketty is a social-democrat from the mainstream of European politics, not a marxist in any way or shape. Bill Gates gave the book a mixed review with many positive points, and he's not particularly known for being a marxist sympathizer.

And here's me thinking Piketty was all about blaming capitalism for wealth inequality. Care to correct me, and explain why you think he's an "avowed defender of capitalism"?

Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

#214

Post by j-b »

davidchang wrote: post #138
russnewcomer wrote: post #60

Simply Jesus by N.T. Wright. A great historical look at Jesus and 1st Century Judaism. Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller. Made me stop and think a lot about how I interact with family and friends that have gone through struggles. Coders at Work by Peter Seibel. I enjoy learning from the experienced, and Coders At Work is a fantastic walk through the recent history of computing, as told by…

nice :) i've been meaning on reading a historically written book about Jesus (was looking at Richard Bauckham's "Jesus: A Very Short Introduction") and Tim Keller is solid indeed.

I just finished reading Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan and found it quite fascinating.

Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

#215

Post by JSeymourATL »

An unusually thought-provoking book that's impacted my approach to work & daily habits this year-- The Way of The SEAL, by Mark Divine > http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465530-the-way-of-seal

If you read nothing else, Chapter 2: Develop Front-Sight Focus. Solid, practical advice on directing the win in your mind. Here's a good interview with the author> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_bDMEUF7F8

Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

#216

Post by zacharycohn »

Evgeny wrote: post #56

For the mind: http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Good-Life-Ancient-Stoic/dp/01953... A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy - William B. Irvine Not only a description of the Stoic philosophy, which is, unfortunately, not very well known today, but also a great practical guide to a variety of techniques that can be included into daily activities easily, and will increase happiness. For the body: http://www.am…

The five dysfunctions of a team.

This book is now required reading for everyone I work with. Not only is the content some of the most important I've ever read, but 80% of the book is written like a novel, making it a VERY easy read.

Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

#217

Post by leephillips »

j-b wrote: post #214
davidchang wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nice :) i've been meaning on reading a historically written book about Jesus (was looking at Richard Bauckham's "Jesus: A Very Short Introduction") and Tim Keller is solid indeed.

I just finished reading Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan and found it quite fascinating.

Every review of this I've seen by an actual historian says that it's basically fanciful nonsense.

Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

#218

Post by qq66 »

karmacondon wrote: post #145

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey. It describes the daily schedule of almost every famous creative person you can think of in a few paragraphs, from Bach to Tesla to Ayn Rand. Peering into the day to day lives of well known people was fascinating, but I was most interested in how efficient they were with their time. Many of the people featured in the book, especially the writers, sat down and worked for…

If you write one page a day, you would write a ~400-page book every year.

Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?

#220

Post by eli_gottlieb »

zo1 wrote: post #212
olifante wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Marxist Pamphlet? What non-sense. It's a book written by an avowed defender of capitalism, worried about its excesses in the age of slowing growth. Piketty is a social-democrat from the mainstream of European politics, not a marxist in any way or shape. Bill Gates gave the book a mixed review with many positive points, and he's not particularly known for being a marxist sympathizer.

And here's me thinking Piketty was all about blaming capitalism for wealth inequality. Care to correct me, and explain why you think he's an "avowed defender of capitalism"?

Because he's not actually proposing to move to an alternative system.
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