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Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

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Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#244

Post by untothebreach »

wsc981 wrote: post #124

I recently read 'The Lean Startup' and 'The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy'. I would recommend both books. I think 'The Lean Startup' is not just a good read for startups in the usual sense; it's also a great advise on how to handle personal projects. With regards to 'The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy' I think the stoic view of life is great and fits well into our western mindset while still being somewhat 'zen' like. I plan to…

Can't recommend "Meditations" highly enough, it is a great read. The first part takes a little bit of discipline to get through (at least, for me it did), but stick with it if it puts you off, it gets better. You should check out Seneca and Epictetus as well.

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#245

Post by candeira »

I'm reading Españopoly, a book by investigative researcher and "data journalist" Eva Belmonte on the social networks that link the people who hold the power in Spain, my native country. I assume some HNers will read Spanish, but hail from a different part of the world. This book will really explain modern Spain to you.

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#246

Post by grey-area »

prezjordan wrote: post #19

Started Flatland on the train yesterday - lots of fun so far. I'm looking for more Sci-fi if HN can recommend anything! I've been reading a lot of historical non-fiction over the years, but recently finished Snow Crash and the Diamond Age. Love the genre, but don't know much about it.

Flatland is great.

Try Ian M Banks if you haven't already for some cerebral sci-fi, also Vernor Vinge.

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#247

Post by wainstead »

mcgaffin wrote: post #47
nemo1618 wrote: post #29

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid , and I'm loving it. Some parts are funny, some are dry, and some are truly mind-blowing. As someone who loves wordplay, self-reference, and multiple layers of meaning, this book is like crack. Every chapter surprises me with something new. Its reputation is well-deserved.

I've had that book for over 10 years, but haven't read more than a chapter of it. I should give it another try.

I think it took me four tries before I finally read it all the way through. Eventually the text on formal systems becomes quite heavy and that's where I stopped in my previous tries... once I got past that hump it was downhill all the way. Highly worth the effort; one of the best books I've ever read.

Re: Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?

#249

Post by loudmax »

Stories of Your Life and Others is a collection of short stories by Ted Chiang. The stories explore wildly different topics, but every one of them is amazing.

Someone on HN had recommended The Box by Marc Levinson. It's a history of the shipping container. That sounds dreadfully prosaic, but the book is well written and the shipping container's influence on our modern global economy cannot be overstated.

Not reading per se, but Dan Carlin's WWI podcasts on the Hardcore History blog are well worth listening to. http://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/

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