
My Summer Reading List - jonbaer
http://www.thegatesnotes.com/Personal/Summer-Reading-List-2013
======
wallflower
This is most likely off most HN readers' radar screens...

Shantaram: A Novel - this was a most unlikely recommendation from a most
unlikely person

[http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-
Roberts/...](http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-
Roberts/dp/0312330537)

~~~
alanctgardner2
This book is actually amazing. It's fairly large in scope, and it has a ton of
interesting outsider observations about Indian culture. Plus it's thoroughly
enjoyable. I'm looking forward to GDR finishing the second book (you know how
trilogies go)

------
dyinglobster
I recommend _How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of
Character_ and _Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots
and Wings_ for people who have kids.

~~~
siddboots
Might as well add _How Children Fail_ by John Holt.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Children_Fail](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Children_Fail)

~~~
dyinglobster
cool. Thanks.

------
judofyr
I'm going to repost my collection of Hacker News threads that contain book
recommendations:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4185504](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4185504)

\---

Hacker News stories which contains plenty of book recommendations (sorted by
points, labeled by topic):

Science Fiction:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2978027](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2978027)

Computer Science:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3595599](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3595599)

General:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1752139](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1752139)

Design:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3276986](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3276986)

Computer Science:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1636275](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1636275)

Developing mental models and increasing cognition:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3277457](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3277457)

Quant finance:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3177815](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3177815)

General:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=663662](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=663662)

General (non software):
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1226736](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1226736)

Math:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=665029](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=665029)

General:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=875686](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=875686)

Entrepreneur:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2928211](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2928211)

Statistics:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=902074](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=902074)

Philosophy:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1503137](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1503137)

General:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1865350](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1865350)

Math for beginners:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=755043](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=755043)

Military strategy:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=456275](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=456275)

General:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=797070](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=797070)

Investing:
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=248469](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=248469)

"I want to start a web company":
[http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1567456](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1567456)

~~~
unimpressive
There's enough material on the web at this point that a list of other peoples
lists and personal collections probably has more value on average than a news
aggregator.

The strategy this implies is going a further level up, which implies going a
further level up, etc etc.

EDIT: I changed my mind, but don't feel like going into detail here. The
problem with these lists is that there's a lot of repetition. If everybody
would list their books in the same format you could get rid of the repeats and
leave only the books that have been recommended by a HN member. Bonus if you
can put the descriptions into a structured format as well.

~~~
no7hing
I agree that it would be nice to have this nested (meta-)lists on a service
that would treat them as sets, merge them together and as a cherry on top
would show you the overlaps.

------
gbog
I wonder if I'm alone in trying to read mostly good old literature instead of
recent utility works? These days I read Jules Michelet and it is a pleasure
for the eyes and the brain.

~~~
mindcrime
I try to mix it up now and then. I _usually_ go for at least one "classic" a
year, although I don't think I finished one last year. I started _Crime and
Punishment_ but set it aside and never finished it. Somewhere around here
there is also a copy of _Madame Bovary_ that's half read, that I need to
revisit at some point.

That said, last year, my big thing - outside of "utility" books, were books on
running and bike racing. I read things like _Running Through The Wall_ , _Born
To Run_ , _Slaying The Badger_ , _Running on Empty_ , _Racing Through The
Dark_ , _Eat & Run_, _The Belgian Hammer_ , _Run!_ , _It 's Not Just About The
Bike_ and _The Secret Race_. Fascinating stuff, for anyone who is interested
in either running or bicycle racing.

------
mindcrime
Looks like a pretty good list. I saw another reference to _The Box_ somewhere
recently (actually, I think it was here on HN) and I kinda want to read that.

FWIW, I'll share a short list of my own, including stuff I've already read, am
reading, or plan to read soon:

1\. _How To Create A Mind_ \- Ray Kurzweil. (already read) Not a literal "how
to" on creating a mind, but an interesting read from an AI pioneer. Coming at
it as an "AI layman", I found it thought provoking and suggestive of other
topics to explore and books to read. Which leads to:

2\. _On Intelligence_ \- Jeff Hawkins. (reading now) - I've seen some reviews
of the Kurzweil book suggest that his material is very derivative of Hawkins'
HTM, and - to be fair - Kurzweil does mention Hawkins' work in HTCAM. Since
I'd been planning to read _On Intelligence_ for, like, forever anyway, now
seemed like a good time to go ahead and read it, to compare/contrast it and
the Kurzweil book. So far I can see that they are going down some similar
paths, and between the two of them, I feel like they may be onto something.
This is really whetting my appetite for getting more into AI stuff again.

3\. _NOS4A2_ \- Joe Hill (already read) - very fun bit of summer fiction. A
neat re-invention of the vampire tale. This was my first Joe Hill novel, and I
enjoyed it. The Stephen King influence does show through pretty strongly, but
this is still very original in it's own right. Joe Hill may never becomes as
prolific or famous as his father (or maybe he will, who knows?) but he's a
pretty good writer. Fun book if you're looking for fiction and like "horror"
themed stories.

4\. _Summa Technologiae_ \- Stanislaw Lem (reading now) - it's hard to give a
good description of this, as I haven't read much of it. How about I just give
the Wikipedia link, and you can get the summary from there. I'll just say that
I'm enjoying this so far.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Technologiae](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Technologiae)

5\. _Who Owns The Future_ \- Jaron Lanier (reading now) - I had already bought
this and had it queued up, and then the author came up in a recent HN thread
([http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6067921](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6067921)),
which prompted me to move it up the stack a bit. I _think_ I disagree with the
author on a number of things, but the thing is, it's probably _good_ to read
books by people you disagree with, to help avoid tunnel vision.

6\. _Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think_ \- Peter H. Diamandis and
Steven Kotler - (planning to read) - I get the feeling that Lanier would
consider his work something of a counterpoint to this one, as he touches on
the idea of "Abundance" in what seems to be a dismissive way, early in WOTF.
From the description on Amazon.com:

 _We will soon be able to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman
and child on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp. This bold,
contrarian view, backed up by exhaustive research, introduces our near-term
future, where exponentially growing technologies and three other powerful
forces are conspiring to better the lives of billions. An antidote to
pessimism by tech entrepreneur turned philanthropist, Peter H. Diamandis and
award-winning science writer Steven Kotler._

7\. _Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change
Civilization_ \- K. Eric Drexler - (planning to read) - I know, there's sort
of a theme going on here. A lot about the future and what effect technology
will or won't have. This particular title focus specifically on nanotech. From
the Amazon description:

 _K. Eric Drexler is the founding father of nanotechnology—the science of
engineering on a molecular level. In Radical Abundance, he shows how rapid
scientific progress is about to change our world. Thanks to atomically precise
manufacturing, we will soon have the power to produce radically more of what
people want, and at a lower cost. The result will shake the very foundations
of our economy and environment._

8\. _Infinite Progress: How the Internet and Technology Will End Ignorance,
Disease, Poverty, Hunger, and War_ \- Byron Reese (planning to read) - Another
book on this theme about technology and the future. From amazon:

 _For years we 've been inundated with bleak forecasts about the future. But
in this electrifying new book, author Byron Reese debunks the pessimistic
outlook as dangerous, and shows instead how technology will soon create a
dramatically better world for every person on earth, beyond anything we have
dared to imagine. With the art of a storyteller, Reese synthesizes history,
technology, and sociology into an exciting, fast-moving narrative that shows
how technological change has had dramatic effects on humanity in the past. He
then looks forward at the technological changes we know are coming--from
genetics, nanotechnology, robotics, and many other fields--and explores how
they will vastly increase wealth, prolong our lifespans, redefine human
rights, and alter the social fabric of the world.

Reese explains how the Internet, human ingenuity, and technological innovation
will help us forever end the five historic plagues of human existence:
ignorance, disease, poverty, hunger, and war. With a rational and researched
optimism, Reese sees the future not as a world in a downward spiral, but as
destined for progress beyond our imaginations._

9\. _Creative Intelligence: Harnessing the Power to Create, Connect, and
Inspire_ \- Bruce Nussbaum (planning to read) - This caught my eye at Barnes &
Noble a few weeks ago, and is queued up waiting to be read. From the
amazon.com description:

 _Offering insights from the spheres of anthropology, psychology, education,
design, and business, Creative Intelligence by Bruce Nussbaum, a leading
thinker, commentator, and curator on the subjects of design, creativity, and
innovation, is first book to identify and explore creative intelligence as a
new form of cultural literacy and as a powerful method for problem-solving,
driving innovation, and sparking start-up capitalism. Nussbaum investigates
the ways in which individuals, corporations, and nations are boosting their
creative intelligence — CQ—and how that translates into their abilities to
make new products and solve new problems. Ultimately, Creative Intelligence
shows how to frame problems in new ways and devise solutions that are original
and highly social._

10\. _Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking by Daniel C. Dennett_
(planning to read) - c'mon, it's Daniel Dennett!

11\. _Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking_ \-
Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander (planning to read) - c'mon, it's
Douglas Hofstadter!

~~~
Subuatai
Interesting list, thanks for sharing. Do you have any recommendations for
science fiction books?

~~~
e12e
Not, op, but..:

For something relatively new, and related to hn, I'd recommend Bruce
Sterling's latest: "Zenith Angle". Although, that's not quite sci-fi, more
just fiction.

All I've read of Stanislaw Lem I'd recommend (for some classic sci-fi), also
Roadside Picnic (Strugatsky brothers) is very good.

Keeping with the theme of the other books listed above, I'd recommend Bruce
Sterling's "Holy Fire", or maybe "Babel-17" by Samuel R. Delany (although I
prefer his youth fantasy novel "Neveyona" which deals with some of the same
themes). Also, you can't go wrong with his "The Einstein Intersection".

Finally, if you haven't read anything of Vernor Vinge, I have a look at "A
Fire Upon the Deep".

Hm, I guess there are a few too many Nebula Award winners in there for the
recommendations to be really useful... here's one more: "Speed of Dark" by
Elizabeth Moon.

Perhaps a bit haphazard, but maybe you'll find something you like there :-)

~~~
mindcrime
Funny that you would mention Vernor Vinge... as well known and highly regarded
as he is, I've never read any of his books to date. So I recently picked up _A
Fire Upon The Deep_ , _A Deepness In The Sky_ , and _Rainbow 's End_ and plan
to read those sometime soon. I've heard so much good stuff about his work that
I'm really looking forward to getting into those.

------
peter303
I finished reading Jaron Laniers on Who owns the Future and waiting for a copy
of Eric Schmits book on the digital future. Jaron makes some very good points
about inequalities in internet content economics, which I had not considered
before. "Free" is not always free. I heard Eric speak at Denver panel on
Tuesday. He travels the world a lot as a google ambassador and has some
interesting insights which I hope to read more about in his new book. no, he
was not wearing google glasses on July 16.

------
pawn
A book I recently read and really enjoyed was _The Sentinels_.

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Sentinels-James-J-
Layton/dp/147870...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Sentinels-James-J-
Layton/dp/1478708123)

------
pavs
Here is a list of books I have read so far since I started logging them in
2009 [http://www.manvsgoals.com/books/](http://www.manvsgoals.com/books/).
Book recommendations are welcome.

~~~
e12e
If you haven't read "Diamond Age" yet, I highly recommend it. I loved "Snow
crash" too, but DA is arguably his best book. Let me know if you ever finish
anything he wrote later than that, to be honest I think he is in dire need of
a strict editor that cuts his books in at least half.

I see we disagree on "The Unberable Lightness of Being", but that is fine, I
guess.

I think Murakami is at his best in "Norwegian Wood" and "South of the Border"
\-- in different ways. You might also enjoy "Chrome Yellow" by Huxley.

For something a bit different, try: "American Essays" edited by Shaw
([http://www.amazon.com/American-Essays-Charles-B-
Shaw/dp/B000...](http://www.amazon.com/American-Essays-Charles-B-
Shaw/dp/B000NPX2PC)).

If you enjoyed the books on Steve Jobs, you might enjoy "The new new thing" by
Lewis (on the founder of SGI and Netscape).

I don't know if you've read any William Gibson, if not, at least read "Burning
Chrome" (and everything else he's ever written ;-).

Finally, you should read "The Code Book" by Singh.

~~~
pavs
Wow, thanks for taking the time for the recommendation, will definitely check
them out.

I am a slow reader and so its a good investment of time for me to read a book,
which is why I value book recommendations over randomly picking up books.

Regarding TULOB, I have found that fiction or books of philosophical nature
tends to be highly subjective. It also depends on my state of mind during
reading. For instance, I tried couple of times to read "The Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance", and I stopped reading after few chapters. Which is very rare, I
usually force myself to complete horrible books, but for some reason I
couldn't read it. I will give it another shot this year.

Cheers.

------
dantheman
I read The Box when it was first released and I highly recommend it; it's
fascinating.

~~~
ckozlowski
I just finished it recently, and will add to your recommendation. It's a great
read for what seems like would be dull subject matter. A great analysis and
history of the often overlooked but just as important other half of
globalization: logistics. =)

------
platz
Nice list; a little stuffy for summer though. May I suggest Infitite Jest?

------
piratebroadcast
Check out The Last Policeman trilogy- Pretty great.

