Blood Meridian. Beautifully written. The violence of technological disruption as the central theme.
Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
61–70 of 111 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#62Three Scientists and their Gods: This book foreshadows the meaning and purpose of science+tech https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214570.Three_Scientists_...
Scifi: The Three Body problem (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20518872-the-three-body-...) for its whole encompassing narrative about human future and some of it will be real (fusion instead of chemical fuel, pulse propulsion and other social consequences)
Ardor: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20931250-ardor if you ever wanted to understand ancient indian philosophy. Heavy read, not recommended for fun but more as quest
FoxTales: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/412167.Foxtales about how software was developed in the midwest free of all the fashion/hipsterism currently in vogue and building a community of users for your software
The elements of networking style: If you ever wanted to know the politics of how networking RFCs are made: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2298785.The_Elements_of_... and design choices made to build modern day internet
Unwritten Laws of Engineering: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13122143-unwritten-laws-... is an old and timeless way detailing what it means to engineer
High Performance Browser Networking: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17985198-high-performanc... if you ever wanted to know what happens inside a browser
The Computer and the Brain: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/358880.The_Computer_and_... where the master compares the machine with our brain
The Grammatical Man: If you ever wanted to know the importance of structure and constraint in everything: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/722028.Grammatical_Man
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#631. Thinking fast and slow - Kahneman 2. Godel, Escher and Bach - Hofstadter 3. On Intelligence - Jeff Hawkins
I second Godel, Escher and Bach.
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
I liked Name of the Wind because it's a perfect counterpoint to Lord of The Rings, in a way. LOTR reads like a classical history book, sometimes literally. Everything is true, everything is tied together. The narrator disappears for omniscience. Name of the Wind is an obvious post-modern slant with an unreliable narrator. The story Kvothe himself tells obviously makes him seem like a superhero and Rothfuss manages to…
Kvothe being awesome at everything irritated me, it actually went over my head that he might be an unreliable narrator... I liked Name of the Wind for the most part but some of the characters were flatter than pancakes. That bad guy student (Ambrose?) has no motivation beyond just being a deliberate antagonist
> That bad guy student (Ambrose?) has no motivation beyond just being a deliberate antagonist
Ambrose is a bully. You've never met a bully?
"The researchers found that children who bullied were often motivated by a desire to increase their popularity and that they chose generally unpopular victims to avoid losing social status... Bullies tend to be aware of the social hierarchy within the class and are seeking the admiration of specific people." [0]
Amrbose (unknowingly) thwarts Kvothes QUEST as part of a petty prank to put him in his place. Kvothe fights back. Once that antagonistic relationship is established, it gets out of hand and there is plenty of motivation to keep it going.
[0] https://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20100325/what-motivates...
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#65Meditations - Marcus Aurelius - A Roman emperor's private thoughts to himself. He was a philosopher and practiced stoicism. He had everything a human could want, money, women, power and yet he reminded himself daily how fleeting it all was. How easily a man can be swayed from his purpose. How not to look down on others. It's my all time favorite book for keeping life in perspective.
The Road Less Traveled - M. Scott Peck - When I was struggling with depression and not feeling worth anything and generally a piece of shit someone pointed this book out to me. It talks about how no one can shoulder your psychology burdens for you and fix them. You have to take the work on full force and fix yourself. You may have suffered wounds in your childhood and be playing them out in your adulthood. It's all subconscious behavior.
The Game - Neil Strauss - I was struggling to understand women and relationships. This book fundamentally changed the way I understood myself and relationships with other people. Another great book for understanding that external forces can't bring you the happiness or fill the void you're hoping for.
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#66Benjamin Lee Whorf - Language, Thought, and Reality https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/language-thought-and-reality-... This little collection of essays from the 20s by a chemical engineer is astounding. For anyone interested in cognition, engineering, language, there are mind-blowing insights packed throughout.
He's the guy for whom the Sapir-Whorf hypotheis - that the languages we use can themselves shape what we say and even how we think, an idea I think is 100% true. Which brings me to one of my favourite scifi epics - the Culture series, the titular people (and machines) of which consciously designed their language Marain to encode desirable aspects of reasonableness and peaceableness according to that very hypothesis.…
Agreed, I think it's very hard to deny at this point. Careful what you say :D
Thank you for reminding me to read the Culture series. I've put it on my list for many other reasons, and now I have a new one :)
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#67In my youth, my favorite book is The Count of Monte Cristo, in college it is The Mind's I by Hofstadter and Dennett. (Actually for both I read their Chinese translations as I was in China).
My favorite English book is The Fall of Hyperion.
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Kvothe being awesome at everything irritated me, it actually went over my head that he might be an unreliable narrator... I liked Name of the Wind for the most part but some of the characters were flatter than pancakes. That bad guy student (Ambrose?) has no motivation beyond just being a deliberate antagonist
> That bad guy student (Ambrose?) has no motivation beyond just being a deliberate antagonist Ambrose is a bully. You've never met a bully? "The researchers found that children who bullied were often motivated by a desire to increase their popularity and that they chose generally unpopular victims to avoid losing social status... Bullies tend to be aware of the social hierarchy within the class and are seeking the ad…
Every bully has a back story. Or should have.
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#69Siddhartha by Herman Hesse for its portrayal of a spiritual journey / life that was not a ‘religious’ one. This was a book I read in my early twenties that really helped me come to terms with a religious upbringing that no longer resonated with me, as well as a spiritual void in my life that needed to be filled. Seriously life changing stuff and so easy to read. Definitely the most accessible Hesse. I’d be curious if…
It's an excellent book that I am fond of. I don't come from a religious upbringing, but that doesn't mean I don't wrestle with spiritual questions.
Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?
#70Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny. Great protagonist, characters and universe. Written in the 70’s but still holds up well by today’s standards. Rumor has it that Robert Kirkman of Walking Dead fame has optioned it for TV.
The Amber series is excellent.