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The Need to Read
21–30 of 108 posts
Re: The Need to Read
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is a quote from one of Roger Ebert's movie reviews: "No one with a feeling for literature and poetry can read the typical best-selling business or self-help book with a straight face, because their six rules or nine plans or 12 formulas are so manifestly idiotic, and couched in prose of such insulting simplicity."
I always try to find good business books, but can rarely stomach them. I'm planning "The Snowball"[0] as my next try, but any recommendations for business books that are not "manifestly idiotic" would be welcome!
That's obviously a massively wide field - any particular business topic that you're interested in? Given we're on HN, the VC world is often of interest - I can recommend Brad Feld's 'Venture Deals' if you want to get an easy to digest "anatomy of a venture deal" book. If you want something more geeky on the finance side, you'd be hard-pressed to overlook the Allen & Brealey bible 'Principles of Corporate Finance.'
Re: The Need to Read
#23I am usually reading 3-5 books at a time but I only read computer/math books now a days. I wonder if the benefits that the author and other people mention apply to technical books. Maybe I should pick up a fiction book or finally start reading "Gödel, Escher, Bach" again (which has been sitting on my shelf for too long).
I think and there's a plenty of technical books, which are fun and/or philosophical at the same time. I still remember one of most poetic phrases I read was a comment to a proof in mathematical textbook.
It was in Polish and translation is something like that: "One probably has no soul, who - after reading this proof - can be totally free from a delicate thrill, which decent men used to feel after seeing something really beautiful."
Re: The Need to Read
#24The part about self help books is absolutely true-- I find much more useful "advice" and guidance from narrative nonfiction (e.g. memoirs, biographies, etc.) and great fiction than I ever did with conventional "motivation" books.
Self-help books is philosophy for the feeble minded.
Not necessarily.
Self help books have the potential to introduce new better(?) perspectives to the not-so-feeble minded too.
Re: The Need to Read
#25I've moved most of my reading activity from books to long-form journalism articles, Stratfor, HN, and Quora. That said, books have not completely left my life. There's a certain cross-section of really really smart people, who encode their ideas only in books. These ideas are foundational, they provide the bedrock on which I understand the rest of it.
These ideas, you think you've read half a book and gotten the gist, but as time wears on, the ideas take on new life. Take, for example, a book like Guns, Germs, and Steel. I'm not going to go back and reread that book, but the underlying idea of geography as a fundamental determinant of society, is worth revisiting as time goes on. Because you miss things. You miss the full depth of what and how.
I find myself reading fewer books, and spending more time with each one. I savor each chapter, considering the implications over the next day before I read the next. The latest book I've read is The Dictator's Handbook, and I've found it pivotal. It places so much in perspective. The idea that corporate governance and small-country tyranny would have so much in common is something you just agree with because it sounds so right, but the book actually walks you through how and why.
That's what I'm looking for in a book. Something that totally changes how I look at a certain aspect of the world. Anything else just isn't worth the time.
Re: The Need to Read
#26I agree with the gist of this article, but it feels like the details are trying too hard. Books are great, and do add value to your life and help you educate yourself. But the improvements they make in your life are not automatic - you need to actively engage with the content. Neither are they unique - if you engage with meaningful content, of any kind, you can learn and improve yourself. Books are wonderful. But the…
> Neither are they unique - if you engage with meaningful content, of any kind, you can learn and improve yourself. Youtube has been godsend for me last couple of years. It exposed my own ignorance about how little I knew about the world. Now I usually type in 'BBC documentary' into youtube every night and watch it in bed. Also helps me get rid of some of the self-centered pre-bed anxiety.
May I suggest you watch Alain de Botton's Status Anxiety next time? Might hit two birds with one stone.
Re: The Need to Read
#27I don't read entire non-fiction books anymore but just search for it's summaries or notes. Most non-fiction books revolve around a few central ideas. Once you internalize this you realize it isn't necessary to read the entire book. You just need to read the summary and notes that someone else has written. For eg : I'm currently going through the book notes that Derek Sivers has written and just posted this last night…
Strange that this got downvoted since it makes an arguable point and has links to relevant resources. Reading full books gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to beat the need to do it over anyone's head as long as they're getting the information they need. I agree with the sentiment of this comment. The central ideas expressed in many non-fiction books (business especially) are often found within the first 30 pages only to be repeated ad nauseam through the remaining pages.
Re: The Need to Read
#28I don't read entire non-fiction books anymore but just search for it's summaries or notes. Most non-fiction books revolve around a few central ideas. Once you internalize this you realize it isn't necessary to read the entire book. You just need to read the summary and notes that someone else has written. For eg : I'm currently going through the book notes that Derek Sivers has written and just posted this last night…
Strange that this got downvoted since it makes an arguable point and has links to relevant resources. Reading full books gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to beat the need to do it over anyone's head as long as they're getting the information they need. I agree with the sentiment of this comment. The central ideas expressed in many non-fiction books (business espe…
Sometimes I'll read books which argue some point I already agree with, where the first half of the book tries to convince the reader the point is valid, and the second half spends time debunking counter-arguments. In such cases, jumping to the end can be the best use of time.
It all depends really. In fact, there's a whole science-of-sorts behind reading non-fiction: http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtoread.pdf
Re: The Need to Read
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is a quote from one of Roger Ebert's movie reviews: "No one with a feeling for literature and poetry can read the typical best-selling business or self-help book with a straight face, because their six rules or nine plans or 12 formulas are so manifestly idiotic, and couched in prose of such insulting simplicity."
I always try to find good business books, but can rarely stomach them. I'm planning "The Snowball"[0] as my next try, but any recommendations for business books that are not "manifestly idiotic" would be welcome!
The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder. In general, books about the ups and downs of a particular business are better than books about business in general. That said, The Personal MBA is a good primer on the basic concepts of microeconomics. Just in case anyone reading this thread could use that!
Re: The Need to Read
#30I am usually reading 3-5 books at a time but I only read computer/math books now a days. I wonder if the benefits that the author and other people mention apply to technical books. Maybe I should pick up a fiction book or finally start reading "Gödel, Escher, Bach" again (which has been sitting on my shelf for too long).
Have started reading GEB so a few times.