Which book did you read this summer? Can you share a glimpse of the impact it(they) made on you and your work?
Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
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Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#2The Wayfinders by Wade Davis
If you're interested in what living 20k years ago would have been like this is a pretty good place to start.
Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#37 habbits of effective people was well worth the read.
Too early to speak about benefits but I have a feeling it was very beneficial long term.
Don't expect something about getting things done it's not really about that.
Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#4I read two books recommended here, and one that wasn't. The Idea Factory, by Jon Gertner, was absolutely fantastic; How the Laser Happened was also very interesting. I also read (still reading, actually) Mason and Dixon by Pynchon. Really good so far.
Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#5Madame Bovary: beautiful book, but also somewhat scary. Warning against idealism and condescension (the 'Belle' complex from Beauty in the Beast, ie too good for someone or some society). With it is an oddly inspiring ability to romanticize and imagine heights and a life different from reality, to dream big dreams. It maps well, though exaggerated in a fatalistic sense, onto the types of people today as it relates to love and relationships (the nice guy who is clueless and mistreated, the neighborhood wife who is motherly but not sexy, -- similar to Susan in the Waves -- the social climber whose credibility is self-fabricated and manages to achieve high renown and accolades despite being an imposter, the mysterious bachelor ie the ladies man who has accumulated his aura and attractiveness by focusing on himself rather than on a woman, the creepy old rich guy who offers money for sex to attractive women in financial/general distress or life threatening circumstances)
Lots to say about, and lots to learn, it's a short book but it is packed with substance. Honorable mentions for its depiction of the swings of neuroticism and depression, the allure and mystery of the feminine, how it characterizes art/theater, and all around creating a beautiful, rich, vibrant world. Apologies for the run on sentences; I don't want to get too caught up in this unless people are interested
Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#6Still shook by John Carreyrou's Bad Blood. Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes chronicle. No discernible "style" to the writing. But the facts are chilling enough. Scale of the deception is pathological and systemic.
Seeing trusting people treated scandalously will make you a more conscientious founder.
Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#7"Why We Sleep", by Matthew Walker [1]. I've read a lot about sleep over the years, but I still found it fascinating and comprehensive.
I've mentioned the book on several other thread [2], so there's plenty of opinions there if you're interested in knowing more.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501...
Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#8Still shook by John Carreyrou's Bad Blood . Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes chronicle. No discernible "style" to the writing. But the facts are chilling enough. Scale of the deception is pathological and systemic. Seeing trusting people treated scandalously will make you a more conscientious founder.
I know exactly what you mean! It is astonishing that Holmes and her love toy could perpetrate such fraud. That fact that they could fool the caliber of people that they did fool is mind boggling. The only thought in my head once I finished the book was that I hope these two spend a good part of the rest of their lives in prison.
Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#9The 'Dune' series by F.Herbert, and continuation by his son. God emperor of dune is definitely worth reading up to.
Re: Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?
#10"Chasing New Horizons: Inside the First Epic Mission to Pluto" by Alan Stern and David Grinspoon
Fascinating tale of the history and triumph of one of the most amazing scientific marvels of the age of robotic space exploration. Nine years and 7.5 billion miles to arrive at a place that, up till then, was usually seen as a few pixels and a blurry image.