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Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

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Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#371

Post by xkgt »

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…

The challenge of reading Borges for a wider audience is to find appropriate translation. The ones he sanctioned, translated collaboratively by Giovanni is out of the market due to copyright tussles with the estate. The translations available in market are by Andrew Hurley which do not quite capture the brilliance of Borges. I started with Hurley's translation of a short story and later chanced upon Giovanni's for the same. The difference was stark. I cannot force myself to read other translation any more, even if it means denying myself further works of Borges.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#372

Post by ProfDreamer »

larntz wrote: post #355
ProfDreamer wrote: post #208

"The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage" by Clifford Stoll is my all time favorite for vacation reading.

I read this book about 20 years ago when I was in high school. It was one of my favorite books at the time. I think I read it 3 times during my high school years. It was a great read at the time. I haven't read it recently but anyone that lived experienced technology of the 80s/90s or wants a realistic feel for what it was like should read this. It's a great story about how a guy from Berkley (I think) tracked down a…

Same for me. I first read this during high school in the early 90s and read it several times again in the following years.

There's also a movie about the story which is worth watching: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308449/ You can easily find it (and quite a few talks and interviews by/with Clifford Stoll about the subject of the book) on Youtube if you search for "Cuckoo's Egg".

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#373

Post by arenaninja »

Here's my reading list so far:

1. Principles of Likability: Skills for a Memorable First Impression, Captivating Presence, and Instant Friendships

By Patrick King. I struggle with soft skills so I found it insightful without being shallow

2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

By Stephen R. Covey. I think this predates the previous book, and it's not a "read once then forget" type of book; it's about continuous self-improvement. I got a lot from it, didn't enjoy the religious/spiritual overtones but I will come back to this one

3. The Algorithm Design Manual

By Steven S Skiena. I'm halfway through; I found the first chapter dense but the rest are very approachable (go figure). I don't have a CS degree so it helps to see problems classified into "this or that problem can be approached with X algo"; some of this stuff I've worked through already but now I have a name for a lot of these things. Definitely highly recommend this if like me you don't have a CS education and occasionally wonder what the gap is between you and CS graduates (IMO not much unless they really grok graphs). I wish I had read it the second year of my career, but better late than never

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#374

Post by sone3d »

paraschopra wrote: post #35

- The Origin of Wealth. Fantastic book on the new field of complexity / evolutionary economics - The Language Instinct. How mind creates language. - The Elephant in the Brain. I’ve posted notes here https://invertedpassion.com/notes-from-the-elephant-in-the-b... - Existential Cafe. History of existential thought. Excellent book. - 12 rules of life. Highly opiniated but well argued book on how to live life - Skin in t…

For your like on language check:

Surfaces and Essences by Douglas Hofstadter & Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#375

Post by divan »

guiambros wrote: post #83

"Why We Sleep", by Matthew Walker. One of the best books I've read in a while. I've commented before [1][2]; but pasting here: the author presents a vast amount of scientific evidence amount pretty much every corner of why we sleep, from its evolutionary roots thousands of years ago, to the importance of dreams and REM sleep for your memory, reasons and impact of insomnia, to what happens in the neurochemistry in you…

I've also started reading this book after one of your recommendations, and I agree that it would be beneficial for people who have never questioned what sleep is and how it works. But if someone is interested in sleep (has basic understanding of what is jet-lag, circadian rhythms, melatonin, REM phases etc), the amount of new information would be pretty low. I'm halfway through the book and I can't say I've read something you can't find in popular articles on sleep – i.e. how caffeine works and why jet-lag is more bearable eastwest.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#376

Post by stochastic_monk »

anacleto wrote: post #173
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…

> 1: Hero With A Thousand Faces Unusual. The first time, I - happily - see someone on HN mentioning Joseph Campbell and this book. As a following up lecture, I'd recommend: The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life & Work. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242530.The_Hero_s_Journe...

In case you’re curious as to why I read it, a good friend of mine gave me a copy after he read House of Leaves upon my recommendation a few years ago because it provided further insight into the book.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#377

Post by stochastic_monk »

wellpast wrote: post #307
moretai wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably a result of Jordan Peterson becoming famous. He mentions Campbell a lot.

Had the same thought. On this note, Peterson's reading list [1] is worth pursuing, however I'd dovetail it with less serious books for the sake of levity -- his reading list, like himself, can be pretty serious + severe. [1] https://jordanbpeterson.com/books/book-list/

I came to read it by way of a fellow House of Leaves enthusiast’s recommendation. I don’t remotely care for Jordan Peterson.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#378

Post by guiambros »

divan wrote: post #375
guiambros wrote: post #83

"Why We Sleep", by Matthew Walker. One of the best books I've read in a while. I've commented before [1][2]; but pasting here: the author presents a vast amount of scientific evidence amount pretty much every corner of why we sleep, from its evolutionary roots thousands of years ago, to the importance of dreams and REM sleep for your memory, reasons and impact of insomnia, to what happens in the neurochemistry in you…

I've also started reading this book after one of your recommendations, and I agree that it would be beneficial for people who have never questioned what sleep is and how it works. But if someone is interested in sleep (has basic understanding of what is jet-lag, circadian rhythms, melatonin, REM phases etc), the amount of new information would be pretty low. I'm halfway through the book and I can't say I've read some…

Fair enough. After all, several of the popular articles on sleep are written over slices of study covered by (or some led by) the author, so not surprisingly there's a lot of similar content. But I still saw a lot of value, particularly on Alzheimer's, the significance of dreams, the effect of alcohol, sleep disorders, why doctors usually don't care about sleep.

Above all, I appreciate his perspective on the importance of sleep for public health, and how transformative it could be for society. And how bad we're doing, by not enforcing public education and health policies to counterbalance the side effects of modern society - blue light, addiction-forming social media, school classes starting too early and others.

Concrete example:I did a routine physical exam last week, and my (new) doctor spent 20 minutes asking me questions about my family history and current behaviors, from food to favorite pastime to overall mental state. Incredibly comprehensive -- but not a single word about sleep. Simply didn't cross her mind to ask me how many hours on average I sleep per day/week -- despite many of the symptoms she was interested in assessing can be eventually caused by poor sleep - weight, mood, performance, memory, etc.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#379

Post by ohmatt »

"The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe (RIP). One of my all time favorite book, one of my all time favorite authors.

"The World According to Garp" by John Irving. Again, one of my favorite authors, one of his best books, but I really recommend almost all of his books.

"Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein. Just read this a couple weeks ago, highly recommended.

"A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. Just another of my favorite authors, I recommend any of his books if you like travel books. Very witty and well written stuff. A Walk in the Woods is probably his best known book about his attempt to thru-hike the AT.

"Story of Your Life and Others" - Ted Chiang. Really really good sci-fi short stories. Some great stuff. The movie Arrival is based on the title short story, Story of Your Life.

Honorable Mentions (from things I've read in the past year): "Meddling Kids" by Edgar Cantero "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by H.G. Wells "Furiously Happy" by Jenny Lawson

I could keep listing books, but this is probably already excessive.

Re: Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?

#380

Post by ohmatt »

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.…

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" is an amazing book. Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors, and even though the book can get a little slow at times (for me, at least) in some of the later chapters, his wit and writing style still make it entertaining.

If you haven't read A Walk in the Woods, or In a Sunburned Country by him, I highly recommend those as well.

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