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Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#191

Post by chx »

alfor wrote: post #148

Atlas Shrugged: the danger of communism/socialism and how close we are to a collapse. It’s easy to see the excess of the right and capitalisms, not so easy to spot when it’s going too far left. a hunter-gatherer’s guide to the 21st century: How the hyper-novel environment that we build for ourselves is not serving our physical and mental health. Very interesting to see how the downside to our technological progress.…

Teens often like Atlas Shrugged. Then most people grow out of that. Beware if you are not.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#193

Post by gfody »

the__alchemist wrote: post #132

The final section of The Baroque Cycle. Clever, detailed historical fiction epic about the 1600s and 1700s in Europe, The Middle East, and a bit of North Americas east coast. Interactions between fictional and real characters, without anything that can be proved didn't happen (like The Thee Musketeers). And, just a hint of magic. See Isaac Newton as a precocious Cambridge student probing the universe by maneuvering a…

(I) think of the baroque cycle as fictionalized history rather than historical fiction

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#194

Post by afpx »

michaelbarton wrote: post #63

“How to change your mind” by Michael Pollen. I read a lot of books, and this is one that caused a change in my life. The succinct summary is that psychedelics are misunderstood and there is more and more research showing their potential, especially in the treatment of trauma. I had a difficult childhood. It’s something I still struggle with personal interactions because of this, even after years of therapy. After rea…

How long has it been since you did it? Have the effects waned?

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#195

Post by micmankos »

beltsazar wrote: post #181

Hands down, the most fascinating book I read in 2021 (and I will have read for a long time!) is "The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood" by James Gleick: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400096235 Those who have a computer science background will almost definitely love the book. It connects many dots that are previously seemingly unrelated. My jaw dropped for literally every few pages of most chapters.

Claude Shannon had quite the mind.

"A Mind at Play" is a good book on Shannon's life and "The Bit Player" is a good partner movie to watch :)

"A Mathematical Theory of Communication" and "A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits" paved the way for much of modern computing.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#196

Post by digianarchist »

Kluny wrote: post #86

I read Sapiens by Yuval Harari this year. It was long and fascinating, incredibly well researched, and easy enough for "light reading" that I had time for between writing research papers. A couple things that stuck with me were stories of giant land mammals that used to exist, many more than I realized, alongside humans. Wherever humans colonized, the large mammals were killed off soon after. This happened in Austral…

Not a fan of Harari’s pop science books. Lots of theories and opinion presented as fact.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#197

Post by _1100 »

bawolff wrote: post #41
SECProto wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a couple of the series about 15 years back and found the writing style and characterizations so dated, that I really had trouble getting anything enjoyable or insightful out of it. I feel the same amount most Golden age SciFi, with Dune being a notable exception.

He's a brilliant author, but his characters are not well developed (esp. The older stuff). If that's what you need in fiction you're probably better off reading something else.

I remember reading an interview where Asimov is asked why the books of the Foundation trilogy are so different.

The short answer is that the first book was inspired by an idea he had while talking to a professor about the rise and fall of civilizations.

The others were inspired by pressure by publishers to repeat success, and so he tried to improve and continue the story. This lead him to try and carry the story with characters, which was ironically not why people liked the first book.

The Mule was alright though, even if a little forced.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#198

Post by vchynarov »

Fiction:

"The Lies of Locke Lamora"

I found this book because I just finished playing Dishonored 2 and I wanted to read a book with a dystopian steampunk alternative-Victorian vibe.

The events take place in a gritty, corrupt city of waterways and canals controlled by different factions. The factions represent either the legitimate nobility or the extensive underground criminal empire. A charismatic leader of a small young group of thieves and pickpockets comes up with an epic, layered con that will break sacred agreements and make him enemies with everyone - and pulls it off.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#199

Post by _ugfj »

wahnfrieden wrote: post #146

The new Graeber, Dawn of Everything Completely tears apart recent trendy anthro books like Sapiens for ignoring both old and very new research and tries to set a new framework for understanding humanity’s potential

This book is lovely.

It made me reflect on our current state of affairs.

Covid was and still is a test of the value systems of the so called "Western" or "first world" societies.

We have failed this test through and through.

On a local level, many people didn't care about their communities enough to mask and vaxx and in turn the communities had no way to pressure them. Many, many people have mental health problems -- and I only mean the pandemic induced ones -- and are suffering alone because we do not help each other. Parents were forced to navigate this modern life with kids suddenly at home trying to distance learn. And, again, there was no help.

On a global level, these richer countries didn't supply the poorer countries with vaccines and help to distribute them. More than 80% of the population of Africa is not vaccinated. As humanity, we didn't help each other.

Complete failure.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?

#200

Post by mudil »

gigantecmedia wrote: post #172

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb. Changed my life and my perspective on doing business, building company and understanding luck. Such a classic. Also honourable mention: Super Pumped by Mike Isaac. Great read on the legendary Travis' journey.

Two thumbs up for every book by Nassim Taleb!
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