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The Best Books I Read in 2013

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Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#51

Post by mixmastamyk »

spenuke wrote: post #38
mixmastamyk wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this Gladwell character brought up so often? I'd never had known he exists if it wasn't for his detractors.

How many college-educated liberal folks with a non-engineering background do you know? It's all but impossible to avoid him in these circles. (I say this as a philosophy degree-holding liberal pinko who is is exasperated by Gladwell. To be fair, I'm more exasperated with the culture of cherry-picking near-banalities wrapped in an engaging narrative that he and the TED folks have propagated rather than their work itse…

I know a few, but perhaps they're not close enough to New York?

Sounds like you're complaining about style over substance... I suppose I'd find it annoying as well.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#52

Post by evanrich »

MichaelGG wrote: post #50

I see he mentioned Catcher in the Rye . I read it after hearing so many people say how it was such an influential book for them. John Lennon was even killed by a guy supposedly inspired by this book, and it's been often banned (some of the scenes might be unsuitable for a conservative school, I suppose). Can any technical-types here explain if they found it particularly impressive? It's well written but I didn't thin…

I am in the same boat as you. People who love it are crazy about it. I started it on a plane flight and the guy next to me chatted my ear off about how it changed his life for 20 mins. My current theory is that if you read it in your childhood, it resonates with you. I was 25 when I read it and it did not.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#53

Post by gbog »

onedev wrote: post #47
gbog wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mine: Good books teach you about the world and about yourself.

What are some books you deem as good based on that criteria?

No, the "teach me about the world and myself" is not a criteria for being a good book, quite the opposite. It is not because a book teaches you something that it is good, it is because it is good that it teaches you something.

But why or how is it good, then? Well, usually because the writer is a good writer (but not always, some books have no writers, or are good despite their bad writers).

And a good writer is just someone who has a very itchy scar somewhere and would die if not using writing as a bloodletting.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#55

Post by tokenadult »

Jun8 wrote: post #6

"But I read mostly nonfiction because I always want to learn more about how the world works." Boy oh boy, if I had a quarter every time I heard that probably I could get a tall Starbucks latte. Many, many people are under the assumption that fiction is stuff that somebody made up and hence useless while non-fiction gives you information about the world; so if you're a busy person, read non-fiction (it's of, course de…

Well, if you compare the whole genre of "great fiction" to "another Gladwell book," that gives the initial advantage to "great fiction," for sure.

I read some of fiction and some of nonfiction, but definitely skew to reading more nonfiction. One nonfiction book, which I think someone on HN told me isn't even the best book on its specific topic, was very meaningful to me and helped me learn a lot about myself. I read the entire book out loud to my dad when he was paralyzed, about three years after his paralyzing accident (which was about three years before he died). The book is The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition,[1] entirely nonfiction, but nonetheless a way to be transported into an earlier time and a place that I am unlikely ever to see in my lifetime. The characters were all real, but they all got me thinking about how I think and about how I get along in life. Great nonfiction can can provide more information about the world, humanity in general, and what's even more important, yourself, then you can ever glimpse by reading another science-fiction novel.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Endurance-Shackletons-Legendary-Antarc...

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#56

Post by tokenadult »

gbog wrote: post #46
jmduke wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mantra: Non-fiction teaches you about the world. Fiction teaches you about yourself.

Mine: Good books teach you about the world and about yourself.

I agree with the first comment posted to your comment here that it would be helpful to readers here to provide examples of good books.

EDIT: I see below that you have your own top-level comment in which you mention a history of France you have read, and comment more generally that reading history is generally a good idea. I agree.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#57

Post by Negitivefrags »

Jun8 wrote: post #6

"But I read mostly nonfiction because I always want to learn more about how the world works." Boy oh boy, if I had a quarter every time I heard that probably I could get a tall Starbucks latte. Many, many people are under the assumption that fiction is stuff that somebody made up and hence useless while non-fiction gives you information about the world; so if you're a busy person, read non-fiction (it's of, course de…

Why does reading have to be about learning? Can we not just read to have fun.

I don't know how we got to the point where so many see entertainment for it's own sake as a negative thing.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#58

Post by jackbravo »

dudurocha wrote: post #36
jmduke wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd recommend Steinbeck's East of Eden and Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov .

thanks! I've been delaying the read of Brothers Karamazov. I'll look for the Steinbeck's.

I second the Karamazov suggestion, and would say also War & Peace by the other great Russian, Tolstoi. One of the bests books I've read.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#59

Post by onedev »

gbog wrote: post #53
onedev wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are some books you deem as good based on that criteria?

No, the "teach me about the world and myself" is not a criteria for being a good book, quite the opposite. It is not because a book teaches you something that it is good, it is because it is good that it teaches you something. But why or how is it good, then? Well, usually because the writer is a good writer (but not always, some books have no writers, or are good despite their bad writers). And a good writer is just…

Ok, I'd still like some examples if you have any. I think that'd help me better understand.

Re: The Best Books I Read in 2013

#60

Post by calbear81 »

MichaelGG wrote: post #50

I see he mentioned Catcher in the Rye . I read it after hearing so many people say how it was such an influential book for them. John Lennon was even killed by a guy supposedly inspired by this book, and it's been often banned (some of the scenes might be unsuitable for a conservative school, I suppose). Can any technical-types here explain if they found it particularly impressive? It's well written but I didn't thin…

It was more interesting to me as a teenager and is normally found on the required high school reading canon. It's been so long so I'm going simply by memory here (instead of going to Wikipedia and quoting verbatim) but what's stuck after 15+ years has been the themes of individualism, independence, and desire to map out one's own destiny.
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