Summer Reading List • Hacker News Board

Re: Summer Reading List

#11

Post by Jemaclus » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:10 PM UTC

kilroy123 wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, but how many books do you all read a month? I have a hard time getting past 1 a month.

I read about 1-2 books per week... but I also have a 45 minute commute by train each way, so I get a solid 90 minutes of reading in. I'm also a fairly fast reader, though, and I love to read more than just about anything, so maybe that contributes.

I also have a 10-15 minute walk in the commute for podcasts, which, combined with walking the dog and running, gives me about an hour of listening in. I haven't listened to any audiobooks in the last few years, but it's definitely an option for if I suddenly lost my commute or had to drive myself (and thus couldn't read).

Re: Summer Reading List

#12

Post by cschmidt » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:10 PM UTC

cschmidt wrote: post #3

It looks like an interesting list. Anyone else remember the Global Business Network (GBN) book club, with Stewart Brand? It was a great resource for so many years. Sadly, it seems to have dropped off the internet with the demise of GBN.

Here's a list of the books from the glory days.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120916000422/http://www.gbn.co...

The book club had nice reviews of each of these books.

Re: Summer Reading List

#13

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:12 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Summer Reading List

#14

Post by hoorayimhelping » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

kilroy123 wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, but how many books do you all read a month? I have a hard time getting past 1 a month.

Since moving to NYC and not driving to work, probably 2-4, a mix of technical and fiction. I'm actually reading them, not listening to them. Before that, in NC and Florida, maybe one book every two or three months. Usually I read a technical book, then a novel to keep things interesting for me.

Re: Summer Reading List

#15

Post by misiti3780 » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

kilroy123 wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, but how many books do you all read a month? I have a hard time getting past 1 a month.

I have read 4-6/month basically consistently for the past 3 years - I don't believe in audiobooks because you don't retain the same amount of information as you do from read words. I live in NYC and read about 2 hours a day

Re: Summer Reading List

#16

Post by dustingetz » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:13 PM UTC

kilroy123 wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, but how many books do you all read a month? I have a hard time getting past 1 a month.

One work book (read before work or weekends) and one self help book (read before sleep). Each highlighted, and then a second pass to type the highlights into a document, and a third pass to organize the document into a summary with key ideas broken down with quotes. And about 7h/wk of podcasts while jogging.

Re: Summer Reading List

#17

Post by joeskyyy » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:16 PM UTC

kilroy123 wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, but how many books do you all read a month? I have a hard time getting past 1 a month.

I'm in the same camp. It's hard for me to focus on an audiobook, even though I listen to plenty of podcasts and am able to focus quite easily on those. I really do want to read more, it's just finding the time ):

Re: Summer Reading List

#18

Post by evgen » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:20 PM UTC

idlewords wrote: post #4

Pretty cool to see Sheck Exley on this list. He's a pioneer of cave diving, which has a lot of great (and terrifying) lessons about safety, risk, and human factors for programmers to steal.

Also worthwhile for programmers who read the book to remember that Sheck died diving a cave, so even the experts get it wrong with catastrophic consequences.

Re: Summer Reading List

#19

Post by criddell » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:21 PM UTC

vm wrote: post #10

kilroy123 wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, but how many books do you all read a month? I have a hard time getting past 1 a month.

I was the same way until I realized reading fiction before bed helps me sleep better. Turns off the mental to do list. Now I'm at 3/month fiction. For non-fiction, I need to be stuck on a plane or have a clear weekend morning.

I regret starting the routine of reading before bed. I think I've conditioned myself to sleep anytime I read something more than a couple of paragraphs long.

Re: Summer Reading List

#20

Post by TheSpiceIsLife » Thu, Aug 03, 2017, 6:22 PM UTC

kilroy123 wrote: post #6

Slightly off topic, but how many books do you all read a month? I have a hard time getting past 1 a month.

Near continuous 56 hour weeks at work (structural steel workshop) has me at under 1 a month the past couple years.

I used to read a lot more books ... but over the past couple years I've achieved intermediate levels of rock climbing and skiing a built a mobile coffee trailer, so there's that.