Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#211

Post by lanestp » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 10:58 AM UTC

1: 12 Rules for life, Jordan Peterson Ignore the controversy, this book will change your life for the better. Get the audio version Peterson narrates and it adds an extra dimension.

2: The Obesity Code, Dr Fung Probably the most eloquent and effective breakdown of how and why obesity comes to be and what to do about it. As a bonus, it’s really funny!

3:Not Alone, Craig Falconer I picked this up on a whim and enjoyed it more than any other work of fiction in the past year. It’s a first contact story that focuses on the media and politics.

4:Measure what matters, John Doer This book has transformed how my team runs. Anyone in any kind of management role should read this book.

5:Win Bigly, Scott Adams I’m going to be controversial with this one. It’s an interesting story that provides more practical tools for persuasion than any book I’ve ever read (and I’ve read every popular book on the topic). If you want to know how to apply influence read this book.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#212

Post by jeanmichelx » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:03 AM UTC

I'm currently reading "Dark Continent - Europe's Twentieth Century" by Mark Mazower, and I found it thoroughly interesting.

It highlights that democracy was absolutely not a clear path for Europe, and why fascism worked.

I had no idea how much of the welfare state (government housing, children benefits, etc) had fascist and imperialist roots.

Recommended read, it's thought-provoking.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#213

Post by AllegedAlec » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:04 AM UTC

sdevoid wrote: post #160

AllegedAlec wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ursula K. Le Guin I tried reading her Earthsea series once, but I found her writing style rather awkward. It all felt rather emotionless and descriptive, with much detail left out. In fact, now I think about it, it rather reminded me of the writing style of the Old Testament. Are her other books also like that?

Her Hainish novels (SF) may be more to your liking, but I think all of her works are informed by the kind of mysticism that informed her translation of the Tao Te Ching . What made A Wizard of Earthsea dry for you?

Much of it was written in the way of "The wizard went here and this this, and it was pretty damn cool". It wasn't necessarily dry, but it was so differently written from the fantasy I normally read I couldn't get used to it on my first time reading it. It should probably try again at some point, however. The setting was really cool.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#214

Post by dumb2223 » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:06 AM UTC

rayalez wrote: post #123

Here are the best books I've read over the last few months: - Lost and Founder - the founder of Moz shares his advice and experience from building a 40M/year company. I found the things he says about building a startup extremely insightful and practically useful. Reading it feels like having a dinner with a friend who shares with you the things he has learned in a very honest, down to earth way. Highly recommend it.…

I followed your advice and read chapter 9 of Rationaly from Ai to Zombies. This chapter title is "Expecting Short Inferential Distances", my summary is that if you are using a scientific language and your audience is not used to it then you should explain basic terminology. So from this piece I should estimate content with low density of information.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#215

Post by voska » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:07 AM UTC

1) Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling.

This book really changed my perception of the world and how I look at market dynamics. It's also a Bill Gates must read.

2) High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil

This is supposed to be released next week and looks really good. Some of our investors have been raving about it online.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#216

Post by pimmen » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:17 AM UTC

0: Ray Dalio, Principles

I'm halfway through it right now, I like it a lot. It's good for helping me reflect on how I learn through my experience and how I best form habits.

1: Daniel Yergin, The Quest

I loved The Prize and will follow it up with Yergin's other book on energy.

2: Thomas S. Mullaney, The Chinese Typewriter: A History

I love tech history and in this case I go into it with all these prejudices about how awful it must be for Chinese people to use modern keyboards, without any real knowledge about it. I will keep an open mind and see how culture and tech clashed and what solutions were spawned from this conflict.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#217

Post by stochastic_monk » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:18 AM UTC

dandare wrote: post #182

stochastic_monk wrote: post #152

As for me —- 0: Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths Anyone interested in information theory, intelligence (artificial or otherwise), many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics, metafiction, the nature of art, or even probabilistic sequence modeling should read Borges’ short stories. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. 1: Hero With A Thousand Faces A classic book collating world mythologies and psychoanalytical tho…

Could you compare Malone Dies with Joseph Heller's Something Happened?

I unfortunately cannot as of yet, having not had the pleasure. I will add it to my list, however!

If you’ve perhaps read any of Beckett’s plays, especially Krapp’s Last Tape, that might be a proper frame of reference. The recollections and musings all take place in a single room where a man is preparing for death, undisturbed apart from nurses or maids who never talk to him.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#218

Post by KodiakLabs » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:25 AM UTC

toomanybeersies wrote: post #103

I'm going to do something a bit different from everyone else and suggest some poetry. 1) Songs of Innocence and of Experience from William Blake. 2) The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde 3) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge I've started to enjoy reading poetry again. The education system managed to extinguish any love I had for poetry. It's been a bit over half a decade since I was in sch…

The podcast 'In Our Time' by the BBC did an hour long discussion on William Blake's poems:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gh4pg

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#219

Post by Kuzutsukake » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:26 AM UTC

stochastic_monk wrote: post #152

As for me —- 0: Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths Anyone interested in information theory, intelligence (artificial or otherwise), many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics, metafiction, the nature of art, or even probabilistic sequence modeling should read Borges’ short stories. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. 1: Hero With A Thousand Faces A classic book collating world mythologies and psychoanalytical tho…

Your description of Malone Dies reminds me of Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky. I found it hard to get into at first because the prose was different from most books I've read (might be the translation, but the Narrator is also crazy). After starting and restarting the book a few times to get into the flow, it definitely turned out to be one of my favorite books.

Also, for sci-fi I'd recommend Hyperion by Dan Simmons. This is the first in a trilogy but can be read and be satisfied with not reading the other two (although the second one, The Fall of Hyperion, is very good).

I read the first (Hyperion) one on a recommendation and I think the guy who recommended it to me was also read it based on a recommendation. It makes me wonder what the longest "recommendation streaks" are and what books they could be for.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#220

Post by wazoox » Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 11:26 AM UTC

Here is a quick list of the last great books I've read which are available in English (some 'Ive read in other languages):

- History of Western Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell : This is a wonderful book. Read it.

- Why the West rules -- for now, Ian Morris : How geography drives history. really deep and thought-provoking.

- the Strange Defeat, Marc Bloch : A gripping, living narration of the French armies collapse in 1940, from the inside (Marc Bloch was an officer). With a very deep analysis of the long maturing reasons for this defeat.

- Histories of Alexander the Great, Quintus Curtius Rufus : The title says it all. Very elegant Latin prose.

- The Golden Ass, Apuleius : A funny story and an immortal classic.

- The Blitzkrieg Legend: The 1940 Campaign in the West, Karl-Heinz Frieser : For true military history geeks :)

I notice that these are either classics, or history. Well, so be it :)