Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#1

Post by sadiq » Sun, May 25, 2008, 9:02 PM UTC

I'm heading off on holiday in a fortnight, for a week break. I've decided to leave my laptop behind, to avoid the week long hotel hacking session, that was last year's 'holiday'.

Since this year i'm going to force myself to relax by the pool with a book or two, I was wondering what things people would recommend?

I'd prefer things not directly technical (since I tend to read many of them while working) though not necessarily fiction.

Thanks!

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#2

Post by rsa » Sun, May 25, 2008, 9:13 PM UTC

Fountain head by Ayn Rand.

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#3

Post by senthil_rajasek » Sun, May 25, 2008, 9:15 PM UTC

As a hacker you will like this non-technical fiction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog...

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#4

Post by LPTS » Sun, May 25, 2008, 10:29 PM UTC

Cryptonomicon is great if you haven't read it. I think it's a canonical piece of scifi. It's two generations of nerds from a family. One is a WW2 codebreaker, and his grandson is a startup tech guy. The book tells the story by switching between 1940s and 1990s. Lots of historical people, alternate timeline stuff. Lots of interesting ideas about economics and information. A great read.

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#5

Post by bigtoga » Sun, May 25, 2008, 10:34 PM UTC

rsa wrote: post #2

Fountain head by Ayn Rand.

egads - he didn't say he wanted to be bored and made to feel like *&$% ;)

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#6

Post by bigtoga » Sun, May 25, 2008, 10:37 PM UTC

How about these:

Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works: http://tinyurl.com/3ftxva

Founders at Work:http://tinyurl.com/4cytwa

(links are to amazon.com)

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#7

Post by lbrandy » Sun, May 25, 2008, 10:49 PM UTC

> I'd prefer things not directly technical though not necessarily fiction.

Sounds exactly like me. I strongly suggest:

1. The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins)

2. The Demon-Haunted World (Carl Sagan)

...or if you need a little inspiration...

3. Founders at Work

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#8

Post by rokhayakebe » Sun, May 25, 2008, 10:57 PM UTC

Take "no books". Use this time to physically get in touch with the rest of the world. Spend time with you, then with total strangers. Now if you are an introvert like me, this will look scary, but I think it will do you more good then reading. Enjoy your vacation.

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#9

Post by JacobAldridge » Sun, May 25, 2008, 11:37 PM UTC

Mister God, This is Anna

A short book that shows the awesome power in looking at things in a new light (in this case, through the eyes of a child). Not directly religious as the title may seem. Warning: I can't get to the end of Page 1 without crying.

Re: Ask YC: Good books to take on a week away?

#10

Post by xirium » Sun, May 25, 2008, 11:44 PM UTC

See http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=191715 for audio book suggestions

See http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=176710 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=110899 and http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=85840 for favourite books.