Do you read? • Hacker News Board

Re: Do you read?

#41

Post by matthavener » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 3:17 PM UTC

hardik wrote: post #19

I love reading; to the point that I avoid buying books when I am in middle of any important projects, just get too obsessive about it. In fact I remm as a teenager I used to have "reading marathons", would finish entire book in one go sitting on my window for 12-15 hours. I used to be a fiction guy and only recently have started to heavily dabble into non-fic also. At the moment I am reading The Black Swan by Nasim N…

Is the black swan worth reading? The first couple pages were fairly interesting in b&n

Re: Do you read?

#42

Post by hardik » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 3:28 PM UTC

matthavener wrote: post #41

hardik wrote: post #19

I love reading; to the point that I avoid buying books when I am in middle of any important projects, just get too obsessive about it. In fact I remm as a teenager I used to have "reading marathons", would finish entire book in one go sitting on my window for 12-15 hours. I used to be a fiction guy and only recently have started to heavily dabble into non-fic also. At the moment I am reading The Black Swan by Nasim N…

Is the black swan worth reading? The first couple pages were fairly interesting in b&n

I have completed 2/3rd of the book and so far have found the content quite interesting. It does give a new perspective to think about. Though not a big fan of NNT's smart-alec style of writing; but then again, it is his book. :)

Re: Do you read?

#43

Post by aagnihot » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 3:45 PM UTC

Before reading pg's essays, I believed that any problem that can be solved using C, must be solved using C. However, after reading pg's arguments in his essays, I decided to study language design and functional programming. So currently, I am reading "The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs".

Re: Do you read?

#44

Post by lux » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 4:06 PM UTC

Definitely. Aside from reading anything I can online, and coding-related stuff, neither of which I really count as legit reading, I always have a book on the go.

I never know where to start with new books, so I just stick mainly to classics and lately non-fiction as well. My problem lately is I don't find enough time to read, so I only get through a few pages a day and then "catch up" in spurts here and there, as opposed to having a set time to sit and really dig in...

Re: Do you read?

#45

Post by lacker » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 4:13 PM UTC

hardik wrote: post #40

ajkirwin wrote: post #11

Right now, I am chewing through The God Delusion. I both read and buy a lot of books. Infact, most of my funny money goes on books, as I go through them fast. I have a reading speed of around 6 ppm for fiction and 3-4ppm for non-fiction. $100 of books barely lasts a few days :(

do they have second hand book shops where you live? :)

They have buy-it-used-from-Amazon pretty much everywhere. Although at some point, the cost of the space to store your books exceeds the cost of the books themselves, so you need a way to get rid of them without feeling guilty. I recommend BookMooch....

Re: Do you read?

#46

Post by feverishaaron » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 4:25 PM UTC

I just finished a 1,000 page novel. It took me 2 weeks. A nice break after reading 2 or more business books a month.

Re: Do you read?

#47

Post by aptimpropriety » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 4:36 PM UTC

A read I found both insightful and interesting:

"How to talk about books you haven't read" by Pierre Bayard

Not only as a result of this book, but during the time of its reading (in my first year of college) I progressed to a 'style of schooling' in which I no longer read assigned texts for classes. Call it what you will, but I find myself learning a lot more, and having many more interesting things to say when I skip reading the textbook.

Re: Do you read?

#48

Post by msg » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 4:52 PM UTC

I read all the time, no matter what my schedule is. It is an anchor in my life. Mostly sf and time-tested classics.

I'm starting to read Aubrey-Maturin by Patrick O'Brian. I finished Master and Commander and I'm on the next one, Post Captain.

I'm reading Bad Money by Kevin Phillips, which basically called the market failures early this year.

I've got A Canticle for Leibowitz and Anathem, which I'm doing as a pair.

I started reading Stephen King in chronological order a while back, and I'm up to Pet Sematary (early 80s).

Also, Crockford's JavaScript book.

Re: Do you read?

#49

Post by sonink » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 5:00 PM UTC

skim one, once in a while - mostly directly in the book store and only non fiction. Severe ADD for fiction - can't stand long prose.

Re: Do you read?

#50

Post by zandorg » Tue, Nov 04, 2008, 5:01 PM UTC

My favourite ever book as a film buff: High Concept by Charles Fleming. He mercilessly ribs high-charged, deceased producer Don Simpson and I couldn't stop laughing.