
Ask HN: What ONE book would you recommend? - rubicon33
If you could recommend ONE book with the goal to get someone who doesn&#x27;t read regularly, to become a regular reader....  What would that one book be?
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Kaibeezy
Orwell’s _Animal Farm_

How the world has always worked, in an allegorical nutshell.

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seren
Maybe I am a bit grumpy because it is Monday morning, but I don't think that
question makes much sense because it is too broad. There isn't a universal
single book that everyone will enjoy.

It depends what the person like : rather a novel or an essay, something easy
to read or hard to grasp but ultimately satisfying, something to read on the
beach or in a quiet library, something soothing or terrifying...

Since this person does not read, arguably you don't have the answer, but at
least you should provide a list of broad interests. And also likely the
recommendation won't be for an 8 or a 50 years old.

It is a bit like asking, what is the single piece of technology you should
know. Well, it depends..

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rubicon33
Well, the question is being asked on a forum which (at least historically) has
been tech minded entrepreneurial folks. So asking the question to that type of
audience would naturally garner an answer heavily skewed by that audience.
Assume that the asker of the question understands and accepts that, so you are
free to simply answer whatever comes to mind.

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quietthrow
Looks like you need a page turner. I would say I had that experience with The
DaVinci Code.

Not to discourage you but books don’t make you a reader because they (their
content) are largely relative (to the readers interest) . Let your curiosity
lead the way and set a small achievable goal like ready 20 mins a day but hold
yourself accountable to reading regularly

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2rsf
actually I have found the whole Robert Langdon Series fascinating and fun to
read (with the exception of the last book- Origin, for some reason it's less
flowing)

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partisan
I am having trouble getting through this book as well. I had hopes, but I may
have to “lose” the book on the train.

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ldoc
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

It's a mind blowing book that's best read if you're a 30+ y/o individual.

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vips7L
That was my least favorite of his books tbh. I've read Siddartha, Demian, and
Narcissus and Goldmund as well.

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Kaibeezy
Hesse’s _Glass Bead Game_ made a huge impression on me in my early 20s. A
favorite professor had recommended it when I was struggling with “how the
world works” (see also _Animal Farm_ , above)

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beatgammit
I absolutely love The Little Prince, and it's very short, so it makes a good
first book. I think that would be my top recommendation.

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jryb
More of a meta suggestion: I hadn't read for fun in a decade, but once I got a
subscription to an audio book service, I've been reading (listening?)
constantly. It's not worth it to me to just read, but it's great to have on
when doing chores or monotonous things at work.

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slipwalker
audible or anything else ?

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jryb
Audible, yes. I haven't tried any others though.

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RaceWon
Stephen King short stories. I mean, if you don't like any of those, you do Not
like to read. I'd probably go with "Everything's Eventual", but so many of his
short stories are Epic and his Novella's too.

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phaus
Steven King has his own style of writing and it's quite possible to dislike it
while enjoying reading in general.

I read Insomnia, some short stories and about 100 pages of Needful Things.
Needful things is on the very short list of about 5 fictional books I disliked
so much that that I gave up on them.

He's a great guy that gives a lot back to the community in Maine (where I grew
up), but I don't care for his writing.

His book on writing, however, is pretty great.

~~~
rubicon33
I assume that's true of all writing - It's subjective, whether or not you'll
enjoy that particular piece.

That's why I was hoping to hear many answers from this community of like-
minded people as well as (hopefully) some justification for their answers.

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phaus
I wouldn't try to talk you out of giving Steven King a shot. He's a good
writer, I just don't like his writing.

As for my own recommendation, Phillip K. Dick has a ton of great short story
compilations if you're into Science Fiction. Technically he's not the most
gifted writer, but he was good enough and his ideas were very creative.

To give an example, he wrote the stories that inspired Total Recall, Blade
Runner, Imposter, A Scanner Darkly, Paycheck, The Minority Report, and many
others.

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eb0la
"One hundred years of solitude" \- Garcia Marquez masterwork is really
absorbing, and a great introduction to Magic Realism genre
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_realism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_realism)
(Marquez, Isabel Allende, Laura Esquivel).

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kashyapc
I wouldn't recommend _One Hundred Years of Solitude_ for a novice reader --
that's quite a heavy book to start with. You (I had to) have to also
constantly refer to the large family tree at the beginning of the book, as
people are given the _same_ two names, generation after generation. There's a
good reason for it, though; still, confusing and tedious.

I tried it in my initial years of reading, some 13 years ago. I gave it up
after some 90 pages. Maybe the current, disciplined me, should give it a
retry.

As for the OP's question, I would suggest a book like _Sapiens_ , by Yuval
Harari. It's written in uncomplicated language, a broad topic, engagingly
written. FWIW, I gave out at least seven copies of it as a present to friends
(who are not serious readers). Most of them really appreciated it.

~~~
eb0la
Maybe a bit thick, i agree with you...

But... I think I read it only once about 10 years ago and I can remember the
first paragraphs about the coronel and the ice.

If you are into storytelling, there are some great Little books from Garcia
Marquez script workshop.

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yesenadam
I think it totally depends on who the someone is. But something for
everyone...hmm how about: a diary. It also teaches you to write.

 _I never travel without my diary. One should always have something
sensational to read in the train._ \- Oscar Wilde

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mortivore
Probably something shorter, easier to read, and in a genre that they like. If
they like horror, then maybe something from Stephen King. If they like sci-fi,
then Isaac Asimov. Romance? Nicholas Sparks.

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a-saleh
Depends.

I had some success with Terry Prattchet's Discworld? Especially Moist von
Lipwig series or The Watch.

Like, if you get hooked, suddenly you are reading the rest of the series and
you kinda have to become a regular reader :D

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true_tuna
It really depends on interest. What does your target audience care about? I’d
recommend Sapiens to anyone, but it’s more of a thinking book than an escaping
book.

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snyena
Roald Dahl's stories

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open-source-ux
Interesting choice! Dahl wrote quite a few short stories for adults, but of
course he's most well known for his children's stories.

There should be no embarrassment for adult readers to read (or re-read) his
children's stories. They are a masterclass in writing - full of inventive and
imaginative prose. He knows how to write fluidly without excess verbiage.
These are qualities we'd all love to have in our writing.

All of this makes his stories very easy to read, but satisfying and enjoyable
too.

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jugjug
I would recommend a shorter book with an easy-to-follow plot for a start.
Popular young adult books or an easy to read memoir. I loved Trevor Noah
memoir.

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SamReidHughes
If it's a man? Jack Reacher. If it's a woman? Janet Evanovich, but there might
be better recs.

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DoreenMichele
A compendium of excerpts from good books on a topic of interest to them.

I had an urban planning book of that sort at one time.

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michelinman
In the true DA tradition I recommend the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy
trilogy - Read the fourth one.

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hunterjumper06
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

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dusted
Since 1984 was mentioned, I will mention Brave New World.

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srge
The Godfather. Such a brilliant and addictive book.

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croh
surely you're joking Mr Fenyman !

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oldsklgdfth
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler

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tangbao
How about Harry Potter?

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highhedgehog
George Orwell - 1984

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ghettolabs
Python Crash Course

