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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?

#371

Post by surajs »

muzani wrote: post #54
surajs wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"you need limitations to be creative", who sold you that? this whole genre of "adversity builds character" type of advice is a backwards rationalisation at its purest. no, adversity does not build character but merely reveals it, just as limitations don't make you creative, rather creativity forces you to find newer ruts. also, you lost me at aristotle ;)

"who sold you that?" Specifically, David Mamet and Aaron Sorkin, who directly tells everyone to read Poetics. But also anyone who engages in poetry and lyrics; the whole idea of poetry is adding limits and seeing what you can do with it. Think of it like chords in music, or moves on a game. If you play tennis and anyone can just kick or throw the ball, that's not very fun.

Great, did they also make you sign somewhere which bound you in servitude to their opinion and testimony?

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

#373

Post by _cfnt »

Prisoners of Geography.

It's an insightful book into geopolitics, looking at the present through analysis of the past and the geography that influences it. In much the same way, it discusses the future and what might come next. If you're already engrossed in geopolitics literature you might not learn much, but if not - and you're interested - I recommend it. It gives a level of analysis that news reports don't go anywhere near, and it's given me a much wider perspective of the world and more nuanced view of current events. Its also well written.

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

#374

Post by mijoharas »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #343

If you like science fiction, there were a few books published this year worth picking up: - The Hail Mary Project by Andy Weir (of the Martian). Nice page turner and he's back to form with his third novel. - Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson. Enjoyable and fun; though arguably not his finest work. I might pick up his earlier work for re-reading over Christmas. Anathem probably, which I would recommend to anyone. -…

I'd second the recommendation of anathem, which is one of my favourite books.

Thanks for pointing out the new book by Neal Stephenson, I didn't know he'd released that and will probably check it out.

I also read the hail Mary project which I thought was an enjoyable light read, but nothing too special.

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

#375

Post by kabdib »

JoeMayoBot wrote: post #177
kabdib wrote: post #22

Walter Isaacson's The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race . Reading about how the Crispr and mRNA vaccine development happened was gripping.

I like Walter Isaacson's books and this one was so timely. It was also fascinating to learn about the competition/cooperation in scientific research and how one discovery builds on top of others.

My dad was a scientist (an ecologist), and growing up I got second-hand exposure to the scientific community through his friends, cow-orkers and the stories he brought home. The weird, somehow collegial "you scratch my back and I'll stab you in yours" made sense to me, and Isaacson's book brought back memories of my parents discussing lab politics.

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

#376

Post by mekoka »

slap_shot wrote: post #68
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…

Did the mushroom trip enlighten you? Did it change how you view the world? Were you worried about a bad trip?

> Were you worried about a bad trip?

Many therapists and scientists have documented their personal experience guiding hundreds, sometimes thousands of trips with strong psychedelic doses (e.g. 20mg+ synthetic psilocybin, 200mcg+ lsd). They've written entire chapters on bad trips in the context of specifically psychedelics, what are their cause, how to avoid them, and how to handle them when they occur. Research papers, books, articles, etc. It's all in there. Sometimes, even reading just a single chapter from a single book is enough (James Fadiman's The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide is quite accessible. https://tripsafe.org/ also offers good advice)

Acquiring that knowledge requires to actually sit down and read the stuff. Sadly, what we have around us is people usually just spewing anecdotes and opinions.

If you're considering taking the journey, do yourself a favor and research the topic a bit before. You might be surprised at the amount of misinformation that's out there (and in these very threads).

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

#377

Post by sixstringtheory »

AlexanderTheGr8 wrote: post #250
marttt wrote: post #243

"My Struggle" series by Karl Ove Knausgård [1]. The whole series is 3600 pages in six books, and I read four of them this year. Why on earth am I reading ridiculously detailed reports on some Norwegian guy's personal life, I thought. His divorce, parenting struggles, creative aspirations as a writer, sexual aspirations as an adolescent, in-depth descriptions on how his dad became an alcoholic, etc. Why am I reading t…

Sunk cost fallacy [1]? Or was there something actually interesting in the book? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost

I'm finishing up volume 5 soon and in addition to marttt's description of how well it's written, I think I enjoy it simply because it resonates so deeply with my own experiences. Loss, self harm, substance abuse, complex relationships with family, making mistakes and having to live with them, talking about music, making friends and love, aimlessness. It's an existentially entertaining read for me, the stuff of life as I know it. He derives insights from even banal events. And still, plenty of surprises, shocks and laughs. It's all presented with clarity and bravery.

I'm looking forward to reading some of his fiction–I'm interested to see what it's like to read the work of someone I already feel like I know so much about. Received The Morning Star as a gift this holiday season. I'm honestly a bit afraid it won't live up to what I've already read by him.

The original reason I picked up his autobiography was simply that I saw a book review about it and it filled a spot in a larger goal I have: to read a book by an author from every country. I hadn't read Norway yet, and I also was on an autobiography kick.

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

#378

Post by simonbarker87 »

All three foundation books. I read them before watching the series and they were incredibly good. Although you can watch the series first if you want, the TV series and the books cross over about as much as the Harry Potter books and LOTR do, there’s wizards and baddies, that’s about it

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

#379

Post by wiredfool »

simonbarker87 wrote: post #378

All three foundation books. I read them before watching the series and they were incredibly good. Although you can watch the series first if you want, the TV series and the books cross over about as much as the Harry Potter books and LOTR do, there’s wizards and baddies, that’s about it

I reread the first one and was struck by how much smoking was included. (H. Beam Piper too) Between that and the nucleics, it really felt like 50's era SF, admittedly one that held up better than the bulk of them.

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

#380

Post by wiredfool »

strangus wrote: post #175
mylons wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the first chapter of snowcrash is one of my favorite chapters in any book i’ve ever read. the rest of the book is great and goes into some really bizarre territory on how to manipulate humans, as well as looking at the effects of a truly decentralized economy + metaverse. it’s really forward looking and prescient for a book that was written in 1988-91.

The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory....

I'm so glad I didn't read that book before being a pizza delivery driver.
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