Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#71

Post by throwaway413 » Wed, May 23, 2018, 3:58 AM UTC

7 Brief Lessons on Physics, Carlo Rovelli

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#72

Post by oceanghost » Wed, May 23, 2018, 4:41 AM UTC

myWindoonn wrote: post #30

The essentials, looking at my non-CS shelves: * "Alice in Wonderland", Carroll * "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", Hofstadter * Either "His Dark Materials", Pullman; or "Illuminatus!", Shea and Wilson * "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Adams (all of its sequels are also good) * "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Lila", Pirsig * Either "Watchmen", Moore and Gibbons; or "1984" or "Ani…

Came here to recommend Zen and the Art. Its either a book that changes your life or utter garbage.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#73

Post by joshka » Wed, May 23, 2018, 5:35 AM UTC

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#74

Post by lebanon_tn » Wed, May 23, 2018, 6:32 AM UTC

Hackers and Painters by pg himself

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#75

Post by gordon_freeman » Wed, May 23, 2018, 6:34 AM UTC

notimetorelax wrote: post #21

Here are some books I listened to on Audible in the last year and a half, listing those that I enjoyed the most. Each of these books changed me in some ways, I never thought how much fun it is to listen to biographies and how many lessons there are. 0. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition 1. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable 2. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and t…

I'd add two here both from Dale Carnegie: 1. How to Win Friends and Influence People 2. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Both of these books helped me immensely when I was down and I think DC's writing style (by examples) is what I found very useful.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#76

Post by akoshodi » Wed, May 23, 2018, 12:10 PM UTC

ryanstorm wrote: post #54

I listen to books during commutes and errands, and give them a letter grade when I'm done. I read a lot of different genres as I believe there's value in all genres (and mediums too). These are some of the books I've given an "A" over the last few years, roughly grouped by genre: Nonfiction: - A Short History of Nearly Everything - Fabric of the Cosmos - Dataclysm - The Righteous Mind - Merchants of Doubt - Dead Wake…

For fantasy, I would add the Malazan Book of the Fallen. http://malazan.wikia.com/wiki/Malazan_Book_of_the_Fallen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malazan_Book_of_the_Fallen

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#77

Post by bg4 » Wed, May 23, 2018, 3:28 PM UTC

The Goal by Eliyaho Goldratt

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#78

Post by leojg » Wed, May 23, 2018, 3:43 PM UTC

ryanstorm wrote: post #54

I listen to books during commutes and errands, and give them a letter grade when I'm done. I read a lot of different genres as I believe there's value in all genres (and mediums too). These are some of the books I've given an "A" over the last few years, roughly grouped by genre: Nonfiction: - A Short History of Nearly Everything - Fabric of the Cosmos - Dataclysm - The Righteous Mind - Merchants of Doubt - Dead Wake…

+1 for the Stormlight Archives I would add the rest of Brandon Sanderson Cosmere books:

Mistborn Trilogies Warbreaker Elantris etc.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#79

Post by ryanstorm » Wed, May 23, 2018, 4:34 PM UTC

akoshodi wrote: post #76

ryanstorm wrote: post #54

I listen to books during commutes and errands, and give them a letter grade when I'm done. I read a lot of different genres as I believe there's value in all genres (and mediums too). These are some of the books I've given an "A" over the last few years, roughly grouped by genre: Nonfiction: - A Short History of Nearly Everything - Fabric of the Cosmos - Dataclysm - The Righteous Mind - Merchants of Doubt - Dead Wake…

For fantasy, I would add the Malazan Book of the Fallen. http://malazan.wikia.com/wiki/Malazan_Book_of_the_Fallen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malazan_Book_of_the_Fallen

Thanks for the recommendation! I've heard so many good things about Malazan. I'm a big fan of the 'grimdark' genre, and Malazan seems like the quintessential series for that genre.

Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?

#80

Post by rimliu » Wed, May 23, 2018, 4:37 PM UTC

EdwardCoffin wrote: post #63

yellowstuff wrote: post #48

A classic that hasn't been mentioned yet is Doug Norman's "The Design of Everyday Things". My main takeaway 10 years after reading it is that a bad user experience, even one so subtle that the user doesn't notice, can usually be prevented by careful design. https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/...

This and The Inmates are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper could go a long way to improving UI abilities, I think.

Inmates Running the Asylum was the book that changed my view on interfaces. Sadly, for some reason is not liked by many developers.