

Ask HN: What book should I read next? - matthodan

I'm looking for a new book to read.  Any genre is OK, but above all I want to read something that will give me a new perspective on an old problem.
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yolesaber
I would heartily recommend "The Mezzanine" by Nicholson Baker. It is an
excellent written account of an unnamed mid-level corporate employee riding
the escalator to his office after getting some lunch. The large majority of
the novel is set inside his thoughts as his ruminates over the minutiae of
everyday life.

What makes the book so brilliant is that Baker has an incredibly inquisitive
mind. Ordinary things like straws or shoelaces become the subject of several
pages worth of digression on manufacturing processes, design decisions,
economics, human relationships, and so on and so forth. He is really able to
look at devices that we take for granted and explore the history behind them
and what makes them so interesting yet so forgettable despite being
ubiquitous.

It is a beautiful book and splendidly written. I read it in one sitting I was
so captivated by it.

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australis
_Guns, Germs and Steel_

[http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-
Societies/dp/03...](http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-
Societies/dp/0393317552)

 _Life of Pi_

<http://www.amazon.com/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/0156027321>

 _Billions and Billions_

[http://www.amazon.com/Billions-Thoughts-Death-Brink-
Millenni...](http://www.amazon.com/Billions-Thoughts-Death-Brink-
Millennium/dp/0345379187)

 _The Ancestor's Tale_

[http://www.amazon.com/Ancestors-Tale-Pilgrimage-Dawn-
Evoluti...](http://www.amazon.com/Ancestors-Tale-Pilgrimage-Dawn-
Evolution/dp/061861916X)

Sorry for suggesting so many, I couldn't help myself

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tokenadult
The Checklist Manifesto, recommended by multiple HN participants. I read it
and learned a lot, and it's an enjoyable read besides giving you new
perspectives on old problems.

[http://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-
Right/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-
Right/dp/0312430000)

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brudgers
James Joyce, _Ulysses_.

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Mz
_Seeing like a state_

<http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0300078153>

 _Riches for the poor: The Clemente course in humanities_

[http://books.google.com/books/about/Riches_for_the_Poor.html...](http://books.google.com/books/about/Riches_for_the_Poor.html?id=ltZXCvg4ubAC)

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IgorP
[http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Lao-
Tzu/dp/1613822421/?_e...](http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Lao-
Tzu/dp/1613822421/?_encoding=UTF8&keywords=Tao%20Te%20Ching&tag=produc05-20&linkCode=ur2&qid=1357172353&camp=1789&sr=8-1&creative=9325)

