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Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

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Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#61

Post by benjohnson »

Scalestein wrote: post #49
jasonkester wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still openly debated, but the generally accepted Best Order to read the Dune Novels is as follows: Dune, followed by a 1-5 year pause, followed by Dune. Repeat until death. You may, if you wish, throw in the first hundred pages of a different Dune novel every ten years or so, just to remind you of the correct sequence.

Oh man, I feel like Dune Messiah (dune 2) is such a fantastic compliment to the original. It is about half the length and has such a different tone that makes the original even better.

Messiah is just good enough to make you think that the thrid book will be ok... it's is indeed ok. The third book is ok enough to make you think the fourth book will be ok. It's not. It's rotten.

My advice: Even though Dune 2 is a good book - it's best to stay off the slide downwards or you'll wind up like me reading all of them and wondering if I could get the time back.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#62

Post by fgandiya »

This year I read:

1. The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer - A steampunk graphic novel about Ada Lovelace and Charlie Babbage. Fun story with loads of research to back it up. Got even better when I got to go the UK and explore the places they worked at in their livetimes

2. The Hardware Hacker - A compilation of storis by bunnie focused on the hardware/maker(ish) ecosystem. Also discusses the Chinese manufacturing ecosystem and answers questions that most people have about it.

3. Technically Wrong - A book about how tech can sometimes leave lots of people behind for one reason or another and how we can fix them. A very quick read.

4. The Masters of Doom - The story of id Software, the company which spawned an entire genre with games like Doom and Wolfenstwein in its early days.

5. Blood, Sweat and Pixels - The book looks into how video games are made and the many challenges along the way. Focuses on ten games from solo all the way to AAA titles. Really good if you want to know why video games turn out the way they do. After reading this, you'll double take whenever you hear of a delayed game, cancelled project, E3 demos and buggy releases. It also has some uplifting moments.

6. My textbooks :).

Hopefully I can also read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Deep Work and CODE.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#63

Post by kej »

rprameshwor wrote: post #60

Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer If you like reading adventurous books, i'd recommend it. This one is about the Mt. Everest expedition of a group of people and the disaster that fell upon them. You're Surely Joking Mr. Feynman - Richard Feynman This one is collection of events in the life of Feynman. He's mostly known for being a scientist, but he's equally talented in few other areas as well. An interesting and fun book…

The sequel to Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, titled What Do You Care What Other People Think? is also really good, and includes his account of investigating the Challenger disaster which is worth the read just for that chapter.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#64

Post by rlease »

The full list: https://gitlab.com/rlease/Books

My list lines up with a lot of books that people have recommended here, so I'll try to add a few favorites that haven't been mentioned so far.

Fiction:

1. Ubik - I read a bunch of Philip K. Dick this year, but this was my favorite. It's delightfully mind bending and left me thinking about it long after the book was done.

2. All the Pretty Horses - Beautifully written. McCarthy has an uncanny ability to paint with words.

3. Cannery Row - Short, witty, and full of interesting characters.

Nonfiction:

1. The Idea Factory - A dive into how Bell Labs became such an innovation powerhouse and gives a rounded picture of the figureheads that brought it so much fame.

2. Moonwalking with Einstein - A fun read about a journalist who took researching a memory competition a bit too seriously.

3. Countdown to Zero Day - A fascinating look at the development and deployment of Stuxnet -- the virus built to set Iran's nuclear program back.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#65

Post by demygale »

rlease wrote: post #64

The full list: https://gitlab.com/rlease/Books My list lines up with a lot of books that people have recommended here, so I'll try to add a few favorites that haven't been mentioned so far. Fiction: 1. Ubik - I read a bunch of Philip K. Dick this year, but this was my favorite. It's delightfully mind bending and left me thinking about it long after the book was done. 2. All the Pretty Horses - Beautifully written. Mc…

If you liked The Idea Factory, you should read Kitten Clone. Kind of a dark sequel.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#66

Post by csnewb »

fgandiya wrote: post #62

This year I read: 1. The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer - A steampunk graphic novel about Ada Lovelace and Charlie Babbage. Fun story with loads of research to back it up. Got even better when I got to go the UK and explore the places they worked at in their livetimes 2. The Hardware Hacker - A compilation of storis by bunnie focused on the hardware/maker(i…

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck is a cringy read, I couldn't get past the first chapter. Deep Work as a whole can be summarized in a sentence. My interpretation is: put away distractions and focus on getting things done. There's other advice there but none of it is anything you haven't heard of before. CODE is great on the other hand. Just skip the nonsense self-help stuff.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#67

Post by wink »

blueside wrote: post #51
hukola wrote: post #13

1. How to Win Friends and Influence People - I recommend because I apply every day at work and reap the results as well, somebody should have recommended this book to me ten years ago; 2. Children of Time - a science fiction book that I enjoyed, I notice that fiction, in general, helps me deal with stressful work, as I disconnect easier and put myself in an imaginary world while reading; 3. Meditations by Marcus Aure…

I'm sure I have an unpopular opinion on this, I have read How To Win Friends And Influence People a few times and I can't get over the fact that the skills taught feel very disingenuous and superficial. "act interested, use the person's name, etc". It's extremely cringe inducing when you see somebody blatantly using the tactics. If there's a reason that everyone should read this book, it's more so that they are aware…

I think it's a mix of "do some bullshit smalltalk", "be nice" and common sense.

I really need to re-read it, but my basic takeaway was "Don't be a dick" - and maybe my suspicion is right that it (although it is very old) still play on subtle differences of American and European (to be more specific: German) work culture. I'd absolutely say we're not as nice and polite, but more direct - also more honest. But that could also be my limited experience in a non-significant amount of companies and fields. :P

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#68

Post by wink »

1. Off to Be the Wizard (Scott Meyer) - Very good.

2. Ready Player One (Ernest Cline) - I liked it although it's kinda ridiculous and one-sided.

3. The Bloodline Feud (Charles Stross) - Actually part 1&2 of a series. Really need to continue, very good. I'd say this was not "oh I know what will happen next" which is kinda rare.

4. The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman) - It's ok, but not as good as I had hoped.

5. Coraline (Neil Gaiman) - It's a children's book, and very short, but I liked it a lot.

6. Accelerated C++ (Koening/Moo) - Not finished, I was under the impression it's "C++ for programmers well-versed in other languages" and for that it's a bit slow-starting, but not bad I guess

I really need to read more. :|

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#69

Post by knrz »

blueside wrote: post #51
hukola wrote: post #13

1. How to Win Friends and Influence People - I recommend because I apply every day at work and reap the results as well, somebody should have recommended this book to me ten years ago; 2. Children of Time - a science fiction book that I enjoyed, I notice that fiction, in general, helps me deal with stressful work, as I disconnect easier and put myself in an imaginary world while reading; 3. Meditations by Marcus Aure…

I'm sure I have an unpopular opinion on this, I have read How To Win Friends And Influence People a few times and I can't get over the fact that the skills taught feel very disingenuous and superficial. "act interested, use the person's name, etc". It's extremely cringe inducing when you see somebody blatantly using the tactics. If there's a reason that everyone should read this book, it's more so that they are aware…

It absolutely is, but it depends on where you're coming from.

You have to work to cultivate those actions to be genuine. I've been following the Buddhism path, and it's helped me become more genuine.

Source: Read that book this year. Thought about the same thing.

Re: Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?

#70

Post by rlease »

demygale wrote: post #65
rlease wrote: post #64

The full list: https://gitlab.com/rlease/Books My list lines up with a lot of books that people have recommended here, so I'll try to add a few favorites that haven't been mentioned so far. Fiction: 1. Ubik - I read a bunch of Philip K. Dick this year, but this was my favorite. It's delightfully mind bending and left me thinking about it long after the book was done. 2. All the Pretty Horses - Beautifully written. Mc…

If you liked The Idea Factory, you should read Kitten Clone. Kind of a dark sequel.

Interesting, thanks for the recommendation!
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