Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#21

Post by pomian » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 4:59 PM UTC

Non fiction: The Hundred-Year Marathon, by Michael Pillsbury. A very nice review of China's foreign and domestic policy, written by a retired, senior national security advisor to various (USA) Presidents from Nixon on. He was the China expert, who started young, and learned much over his forty(?) year career.

Fiction: Saturn Run, by John Sandford. Very exciting, great characters, science fiction with great science. I would call it a modern science fiction novel. Very Refreshing.

Science/history/cool: Sunburst and Luminary, by Don Eyles. An Apollo Memoir; very exciting, great explanations about programming and designing the navigation and landing computer of the lunar module, with a neat view into the characters and history of the time. Thanks to other HN posts for these suggestions. Happy New Year!

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#22

Post by iainctduncan » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

Ruth Ware - One by One.

Not only is it a fantastic locked room mystery thriller, but a hilarious satire of entitled tech bros and startup culture. :-)

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#23

Post by frombody » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 5:35 PM UTC

Non Fiction: The War on Normal People - Andrew Yang

Fiction: Name of the wind - Patrick Rothfuss

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#24

Post by michalu » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 5:49 PM UTC

Fiction: The Leopard - Giuseppe Di Lampedusa

Non-fiction: My Life in Christ - St John of Kronstadt

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#25

Post by JHonaker » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 5:55 PM UTC

frombody wrote: post #23

Non Fiction: The War on Normal People - Andrew Yang Fiction: Name of the wind - Patrick Rothfuss

Wise Man's Fear is also excellent. The Slow Regard of Silent Things was... interesting. I wouldn't say it was bad, but I definitely think it's a love it or hate it kind of book/novella. I liked it, but your enjoyment of it isn't necessarily a reflection of your enjoyment of the rest of the series.

Welcome to the long wait for Doors of Stone.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#26

Post by AS37 » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 6:03 PM UTC

Alchemy - Rory Sutherland. Written by an advertising executive, it's filled with little gems, especially about signaling.

Honorable mention to The Elements of Eloquence - Mark Forsyth, which is a delightfully light read about the patterns in English phrases, but I finished it 2 days before the start of 2020.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#27

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 6:08 PM UTC

sieste wrote: post #7

David Deutsch: The Fabric of Reality

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#28

Post by JHonaker » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 6:08 PM UTC

I'm about halfway through both of these, but I think they're both great.

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson (Book 4 in the Stormlight Archives series)

Love him, or hate him, BS is prolific. He somehow maintains a superhuman level of efficiency in writing. This is the 4th of a planned 10 book epic fantasy series. I can't possibly summarize the 3.5 books I've read in the series so far, since each is approximately 1200 pages. Really they're about 3-4 of an average sized trade paperback each. That's not to say they are too long either, with the exception of the first book (a common/unavoidable problem the with epic fantasy genre, there's just a lot you need to say to get people fully invested), they pick up from the first word on interesting storylines and just keep churning.

and

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert (Book 3 of the Dune series)

Dune is one of my favorite books of all time. SOmehow, I've never read the rest of them. I re-read Dune this year, and decided to continue the story. I really wasn't a huge fan of Dune Messiah. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but let's just say it's probably because flaws of the main character are too humanly frustrating to watch unfold. Children of Dune is, so far, as good or better than Dune in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#29

Post by 1retep » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 6:18 PM UTC

Some of my favorites from this year:

- The Brothers Karamazov

- The Catcher in the Rye

- Ender's Game

- Dune

Re: Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

#30

Post by bemmu » Thu, Dec 31, 2020, 6:21 PM UTC

Two books that describe what it's like to be somewhere else, living a different kind of life. I love these books that really transport you there, like having a really good friend explain things to you casually.

First of these is "Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road". What it's like to grow up while having family in a labor camp. What it's like to have your entire business or house confiscated. How hard it is to be a student. Also just plenty of interesting little tidbits on day-to-day life.

Second one is "The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery". It's about a foreigner who leaves his life behind and joins a zen monastery in Japan. It covers in detail the day-to-day experience of it, such as collapsing on temple grounds from lack of sleep during particularly demanding meditation sessions. But monks are human too, and on some occasions sneak over the temple walls for some fun outside.

Both of these transfer to you the "feel" of these places.