Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently? - samblr
======
merryandrew
1984, followed directly by Brave New World. Our world resembles a lot from
each of these books. Much like in 1984, we have devices and companies
constantly monitoring us (iOS, Android, Facebook, etc.), we have “news
programs” and websites seemingly modeled after the “two minutes hate”, and we
clearly have some Ministry of Truth-like misinformation getting spread around
while accurate information gets lost or ignored. Much like in Brave New World,
we have soma-like drugs, distractions and trivialities occupying people while
they accept the world as it is and even shy away from wanting to change
things. Really, we live in a world that blends together much of what was
described in 1984 and Brave New World. Neither book predicted the future
accurately, but together the picture these books painted is pretty damn
accurate, and disturbing.

~~~
eli_gottlieb
>Much like in Brave New World, we have soma-like drugs, distractions and
trivialities occupying people while they accept the world as it is and even
shy away from wanting to change things.

Now hold on. There are millions of people in the streets demonstrating on a
regular basis these days. How many have to be _trying_ to change things before
we stop labeling them all distracted, sleeping, over-amused sheeple?

~~~
unicornporn
"We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't,
thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal
democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had
not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.

But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another -
slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's
Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and
Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome
by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is
required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw
it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that
undo their capacities to think.

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that
there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted
to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley
feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity
and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley
feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we
would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial
culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and
the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited,
the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose
tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for
distractions." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting
pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In
short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what
we desire will ruin us."

— Neil Postman (Author of Amusing Ourselves to Death)

~~~
danblick
I first learned about Neil Postman in the last year from Alan Kay's reading
list. I've found myself wishing he were still alive to champion his ideas
today - they seem just as relevant in the era of Facebook as they did in the
era of television.

[http://www.squeakland.org/resources/books/readingList.jsp](http://www.squeakland.org/resources/books/readingList.jsp)

------
manlio
* The Doors of Perception, by Aldous Huxley. [0]

So famous it became a bit of a cliche. I read it years ago and it didn't make
any sense to me. But now that I've been studying Buddhism and practicing
meditation for a while I picked it up again and I found it nothing short of
brilliant, packed with interesting insights on philosophy, the arts, theology,
the history of mysticism and the quest for the meaning of life. I know it
sounds trite, but I simply wasn't ready for it the first time.

* The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera. [1]

I read this 10 years ago. It touched my heart back then and it did it again
this time. It's one of the few works of fiction that changed, a little or a
lot, the way I think about love, relationships, loneliness and happiness.

I can't wait to re-read it a third time, in 10 years.

[0]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5128.The_Doors_of_Percep...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5128.The_Doors_of_Perception_Heaven_and_Hell)

[1]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9717.The_Unbearable_Ligh...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9717.The_Unbearable_Lightness_of_Being)

~~~
tonyhb
Island by Huxley is also a fantastic book with great social commentary on the
west vs. an idealistic society. It's interesting to see, for example, his
early take on preventative vs curative medicine in "modern" society, or how
education needs to be reformed. One of my all time favourites.

------
libraryatnight
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

“A child free from the guilt of ownership and the burden of economic
competition will grow up with the will to do what needs doing and the capacity
for joy in doing it. It is useless work that darkens the heart. The delight of
the nursing mother, of the scholar, of the successful hunter, of the good
cook, of the skilful maker, of anyone doing needed work and doing it well, -
this durable joy is perhaps the deepest source of human affection and of
sociality as a whole.”

~~~
hoodwink
That's a wonderful quote echoing some of my thoughts regarding the post-work
economy. Does one need to read the entire "Hainish series" to enjoy this book?
Or can I just jump right in?

~~~
david-given
They're not really a series --- just a shared setting that gives her an excuse
to have curious but almost human aliens visit strange worlds populated by
almost humans. In fact, the Ekumen barely get a cameo in _Dispossed_.

Read it; it's really good, and works well as a pair with _The Left Hand of
Darkness_.

Oh, yeah --- the Old Hainish were Not Nice People.

------
neotek
Small Gods.

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34484.Small_Gods](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34484.Small_Gods)

It's the 13th book of Terry Pratchett's superb Discworld series, but it's the
perfect entry point for anyone who hasn't read any of them because it doesn't
require any exterior context, and it's pure Pratchett in his prime.

I honestly can't recommend it, and the rest of the series, highly enough. If
you haven't experienced Pratchett's work then I implore you, beg you, to get a
copy of this book _today_.

~~~
Cyph0n
Say I read this entry in the series. If I end up liking it, would you
recommend that I then go back and start from the beginning?

~~~
neotek
Ah, well, this is a bit of a contentious question in the Discworld community,
with no clear correct answer.

Discworld has a number of major story arcs which are generally able to be read
separately although they often overlap, and so some people prefer to follow
one of the many Reading Guides out there to determine which books to read and
when.

But a lot of us disagree and say that you should go to the very first book,
The Colour of Magic, start there, and read the whole series in order, because
it lets you experience Pratchett as he evolves from a pretty good writer into
one of the best fantasy authors of all time. Plus you get to experience the
Discworld itself evolving, as the Disc is broadly an allegory of Earth in the
1700s / 1800s with many of the same technological progressions.

It's important to note, though, that the first few books in the series can be
tough to get through if you don't already have an appreciation for what's
coming, and some readers are put off by them, but please, please don't give
up, you have no idea what you're missing right now.

God, I envy you so much. If I had three wishes, I would genuinely spend the
third one on forgetting the Discworld series just so I could once again
experience the joy of reading it for the first time.

~~~
Cyph0n
We have a winner, folks! I'll order the first book this week and take it from
there. I've read quite a bit of sci-fi and I can appreciate good world
building, so I won't be giving up that easily. Thanks for the advice.

~~~
neotek
Fantastic, I'm so excited for you!

I would also highly recommend reading The Annotated Pratchett[1], which
provides insight into the many fascinating real-world events, objects, people,
myths, legends, and more that Pratchett subtly (or not so subtly in some
cases) referenced in his work.

Don't get ahead of yourself of course, wait until you've finished reading the
entire book before you read its corresponding APF entry so as to avoid
spoilers :)

[1] [https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/](https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/)

------
smcleod
Cryptonomicon -
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/816.Cryptonomicon](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/816.Cryptonomicon)

~~~
iNate2000
Probably my favorite novel. And, unfortunately, more relevant than ever.

A quote: If the entire world were to become a police state obsessed with
recovering old secrets, then vast resources might be thrown at the problem of
factoring large composite numbers.

------
BatFastard
Daemon - AI, AR (or MR), 3D printing, crowdsourcing, this book brings them and
more together in a facinating manner.
[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6665847-daemon](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6665847-daemon)

and the second in the series
[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8488830-freedom](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8488830-freedom)

~~~
MarketingJason
Just finished Daemon and about to start Freedom. Great read, and it's amazing
how quickly it ramps up near the end! I hadn't been hooked to a book like that
since "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Dune"

~~~
caseysoftware
I just re-started this one recently too. If you enjoy those, check out one of
Suarez's other: Influx.

It's not a sequel but has some common threads.

~~~
btschaegg
I have read Daemon, Freedom and Kill Decision so far. A thing I noticed with
Suarez' books is that they very much remind me of the two books of Dan Brown
that I've read, yet not having to cringe hard at every scene that involves
technology makes them infinitely more readable to me. The settings and plot
with both are ludicrous at times, but yet Suarez manages to put some
interesting ideas in. I got a similar vibe off of Stephenson's Snow Crash.

By the way: I'm not the only one for whom Sobel's bio screamed "John Carmack"
from the first page he's mentioned, am I?

------
evplv
Deep Work by Cal Newport. [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-
work](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work)

Eye opening reading for everyone who works in IT, science or any industry that
requires long chunks of deep attention.

~~~
henrik_w
+1 for Deep Work, especially in this easily distracted world (get off Twitter
and do deep work instead).

------
qntmfred
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a
Good Life

[https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-
Counterintuitiv...](https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-
Counterintuitive/dp/0062457713)

~~~
fcanela
I can not recommend enough Mark Manson work. Also, if you are into stoicism,
you may love Ryan Holiday books too.

------
towndrunk
How to get Rich - Felix Dennis

[https://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-Greatest-
Entrepreneurs/d...](https://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-Greatest-
Entrepreneurs/dp/1591842719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486214516&sr=8-1&keywords=How+to+get+Rich+-+Felix+Dennis)

~~~
Jugurtha
For those put off by the title, Felix Dennis is/was a billionaire and makes a
point of differentiating himself from people becoming wealthy giving advice
about how to become wealthy.

He dropped out of high-school and bummed cigarettes and crashed at friends,
apparently. He talks about several lessons and how he remained associated with
several people who've helped him when he was "nothing". The case of a banker
who agreed to open a bank account for him despite being broke out of
sympathy/pity.

Dennis likes to write poetry and some of the passages are intense and tear
worthy (van Gogh passage). The style is to the point, tells it as it is (He
doesn't hesitate to state that his employees are not likely to become wealthy
working for him and that he encourages them to fly on their own. He also talks
about the less flattering aspects of doing business and says that even between
friends, they were on good terms because none of them depended on the venture
to survive. He also says never to give shares of your company to anyone and to
remain in control).

In his subsequent book, 88, he states that people didn't get that "How to Get
Rich" was a cautionary tale about what it takes to become wealthy, which is
obvious from many passages in the book. [One of which is when he says he'd
rather have stopped at £30 million and wrote poetry while young, instead of
pursuing becoming rich at an old age).

It's a worthy read in style and content.

Dennis is buying forests the Government can't take care of in a philanthropic
effort to save them.

~~~
segmondy
You write as if he is alive, he died over 2 years ago.

~~~
Jugurtha
I forgot. The information is still relevant, I hope.

------
madhadron
I separate my books into levels. Level 0 are the books that I reread steadily
over the years (also the ones that I pack in my suitcase when I'm moving as
opposed to shipping), so I'll just post that list here, in no particular
order: 'Good Poems' edited by Garrison Keiller; 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane
Austen; 'Persuasion' by Jane Austen; Fitzgerald's translation of 'The
Rubaiyat'; Ford Madox Ford's 'Parade's End'; Hafiz, 'The Gift'; Modesitt,
'Gravity Dreams'; Heinlein, 'Time Enough for Love'; Bulgakov, 'Master and
Margarita'; 'Ovid in Love' (Guy Lee's translation of the Amores).

I've been revisiting a lot of Le Guin's novellas ('The Found and the Lost' is
a great collection) and Borges's stories since the election. They have been a
source of great comfort.

I find that I don't reread nonfiction. I'll reference something I remember in
it, but I can't think of a work of nonfiction I've reread in the past few
years.

~~~
a3n
> Heinlein, 'Time Enough for Love'

Not within the last year, but I've probably re-read that between five and ten
times. I think I first read it as a teenager in the early 70s, or in the Navy
in the late 70s.

------
hunvreus
Siddhartha -
[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2500](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2500)

3rd time; learned something knew every time.

~~~
boca
Excellent book. The first time I started reading it, I couldn't grasp it and
stopped after a few pages. But then picked it up again in 2015 and read it in
one sitting. It's a wonderful little book. To be honest, I don't think I can
sum up how it felt but it was liberating. I remember keeping the book on my
chest and getting lost in thoughts about what the purpose of life is. It was
really deep, I was on a totally different plane with my thought process. I
read it again last year on a flight but couldn't finish it and it didn't evoke
the same emotions but it has a very special place in my heart.

------
cvoss
_Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead_ , Tom Stoppard. This is a hilariously
clever play so packed with verbal and physical humor that you almost have to
read it aloud to yourself and move about your own living room to fully digest
it. It explores the sensation that supposedly random events are somehow
orchestrated into a purposeful coherence by an unseen force (Stoppard?
Shakespeare?) More than one character has an existential crisis involving,
though not explicitly invoking, the fourth wall. And the commentary on death
is quite thoughtful and thought-provoking.

~~~
greydius
This was made into a movie a while back as well. It really liked it.

------
brudgers
Most notably, _Blood Meridian_. It had probably been more than fifteen years
since I last reread it. What was unusual was that as soon as I reread it, I
turned around and reread it again.

[edit] Among programming books: _How to Design Programs_...I've got a print
copy. There's a lot of sophistication and relevant experience behind its
programming fundamentals content (e.g. tests and documentation before (2002)
tests and documentation became the new black).

------
tio00
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seveneves](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seveneves)

One of the few books, that when I'm finished, I just want to turn it over a
start again.

Covers a wide range of important and relevant topics in technology,
biology/genetics, ethics. My only problem is it is too short! Could easily
have been a triology like the Baroque Cycle (another favorite)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle)

~~~
solipsism
It very clearly was set up to be the first of a series.

~~~
celticninja
Except by all accounts it wasn't and there are no plans to continue it.

~~~
solipsism
_by all accounts_

Oh really? Please share one such account. Because this is a statement from
Stephenson himself:

 _There’s nothing currently in the works. A lot depends on what happens in the
next few months, how people respond to the book, if there’s any interest in
doing media adaptations_

That's pretty clear it depends on how well it sells, whether film rights get
bought and how that goes, etc.

~~~
DanBC
> There’s nothing currently in the works.

That seems clear enough.

~~~
solipsism
"Set up to be part of a series" and "Nothing currently in the works" are not
mutually exclusive. It's not uncommon for the decision to invest in a sequel
to hinge on sales.

Have you read the book? There's no way someone could read this book and not
think, "Yeah, the author clearly purposefully left room for this to be a very
large series."

~~~
celticninja
I thought as much myself but shortly after finishing it I went looking through
interviews and there was one from Neal Stephenson where he explicitly stated
that he had no intention of doing a sequel when he was writing it, hence my
initial statement. Due to the minimal information we have on the last few
chapters it seemed like it was created intentionally but the author said
otherwise.

------
chc4
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. Really, anything by Gibson is worth
reading multiple times, simply for the great writing style. Pattern
Recognition also does something special: have you really ever /thought/ about
brands and advertising? Lots of commentary on culture, memetic fashion, and
what it means.

Recursion by Tony Ballantyne is a book that I didn't actually like all that
much, but reread anyways. It covers a lot of topics I love (global AIs, Von
Neumann Machines, tulpas, trusting trust, and a totalitarian utopia). The plot
leaves a lot to be desired, but the concepts are worth it.

~~~
Synaesthesia
Pattern recognition was great. William Gibson can make some very compelling
characters.

------
forzo
Man's search for meaning by Victor Frank

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man's_Search_for_Meaning](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man's_Search_for_Meaning)

~~~
aytekin
Re-listened many times the audio version. He reads it himself in a nice
consumable speed.

------
iNate2000
_The Diamond Age_

Even more than Star Trek, this novel caused me to think about a post-scarcity
world. If we could have anything and everything, what should we do with it?

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age)

~~~
eli_gottlieb
>If we could have anything and everything, what should we do with it?

Really? I always thought of _The Diamond Age_ as being about class conflict
and social hierarchy in a _partially_ post-scarcity world.

~~~
db48x
Yea, there'd be less scarcity in that one if it weren't for all the DRM.
Possibly a lot more anarchy though. I think the agrarian-nanotech society that
Dr X wants would be hard to establish and harder to maintain.

------
nickcw
I wanted some light relief so I started re-reading Charles Stross' Laundry
files, starting with The Atrocity Archives.

[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101869.The_Atrocity_Arch...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101869.The_Atrocity_Archives)

There are 7 books in the series now, and hopefully I'll finish the re-read not
too long before the next one comes out!

------
josscrowcroft
_What I Talk About When I Talk About Running_ by Haruki Murakami. I'm on at
least my third reading and imagine I'll read it again.

Also re-listened to _Getting Things Done_ by David Allen. This could also be
any number of times.

Sort-of related, currently re-watching _Westworld_. I burned through ten
episodes in two sittings first time around and wanted to properly appreciate
it this time at a more leisurely pace.

------
visakanv
Nassim Taleb's Antifragile. First read it when it came out in 2012, and I was
still unmarried and unemployed. Interesting to re-read it now that I'm married
and have been working for 4+ years.

~~~
trapperkeeper79
I've read a few of Taleb's other books. He seems to have a few brilliant
points with lots of supporting materials and rants. Can you summarize the new
insights you got after being married/employed?

~~~
visakanv
I wouldn't say there are any new insights per se; I'm maybe just more
intimately acquainted with them. Ie when I first read it, most of the
descriptions about things like how a paycheck influences your
thinking/behavior were just intellectual ideas for me, but having had a
mortgage + paycheck for 4 years I've come to personally witness how it's
'domesticated' me in a way, made me more fragile, however you want to describe
it

------
Shorel
Godel, Escher, Bach.

But I'm not fully re-reading it, because the first time I only got to one
third of it.

So, until I get to that first third, I'm re-reading, and after that, it is all
new.

~~~
corysama
I'm looking forward to starting GEB a third time. It is by far my favorite
book I've never finished.

------
henrik_w
"How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie. Timeless wisdom
that is good to be reminded of regularly.

------
Ernestas
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

~~~
deepaksurti
Hats off to you. Most don't even complete this once, you have re-read it. It
will be great if you can tell what made you re-read this one?

~~~
hueving
A recurring interest in recursive programming to break out of an iterative
lifestyle.

------
criddell
Neil Strauss' _Emergency_ and Peter Heller's _The Dog Stars_.

I read the piece in the New Yorker about rich tech guys and their bug out
plans for the apocalypse (including Reddit's Alex Ohanian).

I love Strauss' journey from survivalist to community volunteer. It changed
the way I think about preparedness.

Heller's book is one of only a few that I find myself thinking about all the
time. I'm a sucker for any book with a dog in it though, so that might color
my opinion.

~~~
secfirstmd
You might also like "The Knowledge" by Dr Lewis Dartnell.

~~~
criddell
Looks pretty interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.

~~~
nekopa
If you like dogs, you should read "The Art of Driving in the Rain" it's a
surprisingly good novel.

~~~
criddell
Oh jeez, that looks good. Added to my wishlist. I really wish I either had
more time to read or could read faster.

------
kmichaels
Just started re-reading the Baroque cycle and plan to follow with
Cryptonomicon. Re-reading really reveals a lot that was a bit of a mystery the
first time.

~~~
iNate2000
I noticed the same thing.

The second time through I was much better able to keep the characters
straight.

------
AkshayD08
The Fountainhead. Makes me a better person Everytime.

~~~
mindcrime
Agreed. In fact, I think it's about time I should start a re-read of _The
Fountainhead_ myself. It's been a few years since I've read it.

------
snowpalmer
I've read two books recently:

* Contact by Carl Sagan

I had previously seen the movie. The book (or rather the movie) takes a bit of
a departure. The backgrounds on all the different characters as well as the
political parts weren't that interesting to me. But overall the book was
great.

* We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse) by Dennis Taylor

I'd suggest listening to it on Audiobook. Excellent read. Makes me want to buy
the book and read through it again. I can't wait until the next one comes out
in (March?)

[0] [https://www.amazon.com/Contact-Carl-
Sagan/dp/0671004107/ref=...](https://www.amazon.com/Contact-Carl-
Sagan/dp/0671004107/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486236067&sr=8-1&keywords=contact+book)

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Legion-Bob-
Bobiverse/dp/168068...](https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Legion-Bob-
Bobiverse/dp/1680680323/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486235995&sr=8-1&keywords=we+are+legion+we+are+bob)

------
rvpolyak
Creativity Inc.

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18077903-creativity-
inc](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18077903-creativity-inc)

------
malhaar
Cry The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. Whenever I feel short of compassion,
this books helps me gain some senses and completely change the way I look at
the world - literally everytime.

------
KingOfMyRoom
The Martian

I love it. It's about doing the impossible, one step at a time

~~~
hueving
The attention to technical detail in this book is awesome. Mentioning the
priority inversion bug on the lander made me smile.

------
Isamu
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William Shirer. Many arguments about why
and how are answered in that

~~~
osullivj
"This is Berlin", Shirer's collection of transcripts of his CBS radio
broadcasts from the Nazi capital 1938-40 is excellent.

------
gtt
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. The Guards is my favorite arc in Discworld
and Samuel Vimes is my favorite character among all the fiction I've read.

------
donohoe
Excession - Iain M Banks. Going through the whole Culture series again.

------
nfriedly
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

I understood a lot more of the jokes this time through, I think I was in
Elementary school the last time I read it :)

~~~
stevekemp
Took me two reads to realize that the magical word people didn't understand,
described as "reflected sound of underground spirits", was economics.

That moment of realization; d'oh!

~~~
nfriedly
Hah, yea, same here. He _almost_ explains it in the book, but not quite.

~~~
trapperkeeper79
Heh .. my fav book in the discworld series is Going Postal, and its sequel. I
highly recommend them.

------
andyjohnson0
_State of the Art_ by Iain M Banks

~~~
AndrewNCarr
Consider Phlebas is one of the few books I have read more than once. The
Culture series is unparalleled. Surface Detail is probably my pick for #1, as
Consider Phlebas isn't really set within the Culture proper, so stands in its
own category in a sense.

~~~
kbob
Maybe you can advise me. I read Consider Phlebas, and I didn't like it at all.
I rarely like war fiction.

Is Phlebas typical of the whole Culture series, or are the other books a
different kind of story?

Thank you.

~~~
andyjohnson0
Banks often used conflict as a plot device, but (from memory) only _Consider
Phlebas_ and _Use of Weapons_ include much actual warfare.

You could try _The Player of Games_ (my personal favourite) or _The Hydrogen
Sonata_ , which has a fairly peaceful storyline. And _The State of the Art_ \-
a collection of short SF stories - is very good too.

------
varunsaini
Code - [https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-
Softw...](https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-
Software/dp/0735611319)

------
dominotw
I read this every year

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040JHNQG/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040JHNQG/)

~~~
Sundiata
Great book!

------
periphrasis
Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

------
jaggednad
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. I highly recommend it. Takes only 4-5 hours cover
to cover

------
ohjeez
In the last several weeks, I read all of the Harry Potter series. Because I
wanted to fall into another world, where I knew things would end well. And
I've been re-reading Laurie King's Mary Russell series, because I want to be
surrounded by smart people.

In fact I'm doing a lot of re-reading. The world is full of so much
uncertainty, these days, that I can't even cope with not knowing how a book
ends.

------
more_original
I'm currently reading Neuromancer again. Still doesn't feel dated.

~~~
Arkaad
Feels the opposite too me. It shows it's been written in the 80's. Would "The
sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." make
sense to young people nowadays?

~~~
db48x
Or the "3 megabytes of hot ram" :)

Still a good story though.

------
felixbraun
The Arabs: A History

[http://amazon.com/dp/B007TV0PJE](http://amazon.com/dp/B007TV0PJE)

------
loumf
I just reread _On Writing Well_ by William Zinsser -- a book with a lot of
great advice for writing non-fiction (creative mostly, but also technical and
business writing).

It's a little dated, but a lot of what he says is timeless.

About a year ago I reread Faulkner's _As I Lay Dying_ which is one of my
favorite books. I can't explain why, but I think about it often.

------
jimmahoney
Ready Player One.

Though the recent second time was as an audio book on a long car trip.

------
keyboardhitter
Hyperion

Reading this book is a nice way to step into another universe for a while.

------
evpv
48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1303.The_48_Laws_of_Powe...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1303.The_48_Laws_of_Power)
Recommend for techies struggling to "play the game"

------
komaromy
Use of Weapons - Iain M. Banks

------
bbrian
I'm in love with Rethinking Innateness. I'm posting half in the hope someone
suggests an up to date version, but it's brilliant and fascinating itself. It
was prescribed when I was studying my CS MSc and I've read it three times now.

I got initially into computers because I would press something on the keyboard
and knew there was a sequence of commands that directed the graphics card to
output something – I needed to understand that. Now, as I assume applies to so
many people here, my curiosity has expanded to human development, this books
is _the bridge_ between CS and psychology.

[https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Innateness-
Connectionist-P...](https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Innateness-
Connectionist-Perspective-Connectionism/dp/026255030X)

------
patal
Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome

I consider this timeless humour, because it gets me to laugh out loud in
public. People get startled by this. Also, I read episodes from the book to my
7 year old, who loves it. Occasionally, I need to explain a very dry joke, but
some I leave for him to discover later.

~~~
htk
“I can't sit still and see another man slaving and working. I want to get up
and superintend, and walk round with my hands in my pockets, and tell him what
to do. It is my energetic nature. I can't help it.” This kind of humor on a
book from 1889 is just unbelievable, I have to read this. Thank you for the
recommendation.

------
dejv
Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

[https://www.amazon.com/Schiit-Happened-Worlds-Improbable-
Sta...](https://www.amazon.com/Schiit-Happened-Worlds-Improbable-Start-Up-
ebook/dp/B00Z5IFTYO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486216491&sr=1-1&keywords=schiit+happened)

Goldmine of information about practical things you have to deal with when
starting HW startup.

All the content of the book + extra chapters are available in forum format and
you can read it here: [http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/schiit-happened-the-
story-of...](http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/schiit-happened-the-story-of-the-
worlds-most-improbable-start-up)

------
pjmorris
I re-read 'The Hobbit', which made me marvel again at such a delightful,
thoughtful story, the world and characters that Tolkien wrought, and the
morals of self-discovery and self-sacrifice... and sad for what the movie(s)
could have been instead of what they were.

~~~
henrik_w
I re-read it two years ago, and was blown away by how good it was. A really
good read!

------
anabisengrin
I am re-reading "Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury, it made a strong
impression on me four or five years ago, with its pessimistic yet poetic view
of the Mars colonization. My new boss is an annoying Mars colonization
enthusiast so I'm counterbalancing.

------
winter_blue
_Peopleware — Productive Projects and Teams_

[https://amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Tom-
DeMarc...](https://amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Tom-DeMarco-
ebook/dp/B00DY5A8X2/)

------
jcahill84
The Hard thing About Hard Things, but Ben Horowitz. Before that was The
Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen. I've been on a business book
kick lately, but currently took a break and am reading Amy Schumer's book for
kicks.

------
stevekemp
The Dune series. The Lord of the Rings. All the Amber books, by Zelazny.
Pretty much the same books I read every year or two.

I'm going to start re-reading the Steven Brust Vlad-series, in the near
future. Mostly to anticipate his forthcoming novel.

------
adentranter
People Over Profit. Really enjoyed it both times.

[https://www.amazon.com/People-Over-Profit-Purpose-
Successful...](https://www.amazon.com/People-Over-Profit-Purpose-
Successful/dp/0718021746)

------
DCoder
* Steven Levy – _Crypto_

* Stephen King – _11 /22/63_

* Michael R Underwood – _Geekomancy_ series

11/22/63 in particular is hard to put down, King doesn't need the supernatural
to create a thrilling story.

------
psyc
Permutation City. Immediately before that, I had read Ready Player One, and
felt I needed something rich in nutrients to balance out the refined sugar
high.

------
xevb3k
Cryptonomicon, very dense almost requires a second reading to fully understand
how everything ties together.

Considering it was written in 1999 still feels very contemporary.

------
d23
House of Leaves. I read it in college and thought it was okay, but I had some
ideas about the world I think I was trying to project on it, and I didn't
really "get it." Some stuff happened in my life recently, and for some reason
I remembered it and felt compelled to re-read. I'm glad I did. I felt like I
understood and identified with it a great deal more.

------
db48x
HPMoR

~~~
mrfusion
I loved that book more than the original. I think they should make it a movie.

How do you continue learning more types of stuff that the book teaches you?

~~~
bgrohman
Check out [http://lesswrong.com/](http://lesswrong.com/)

Also, Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote a book called Rationality: From AI to Zombies.

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25131230-rationality](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25131230-rationality)

~~~
inetsee
If you want to jump right in, you can start with The Martial Art of
Rationality, here:
[http://lesswrong.com/lw/gn/the_martial_art_of_rationality/](http://lesswrong.com/lw/gn/the_martial_art_of_rationality/)

------
namenotrequired
Clash of Eagles by Alan Smale, the best novel I read last year. Alternate
history: Rome invades Cahokia.

No affiliate link: [https://www.amazon.com/Clash-Eagles-Trilogy-
Book/dp/11018853...](https://www.amazon.com/Clash-Eagles-Trilogy-
Book/dp/1101885300/)

Edit: corrected author's name

------
jackfoxy
_The Renaissance_ by Will Durant, part of his _The Story of Civilization_
series. I was inspired to review the Renaissance by last year's Burning Man
theme, especially a collection of Renaissance inspired art by an Israeli
photographer.

I'm kind of in a perpetual re-read of Pierce's _Types and Programming
Languages_.

------
lighttower
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. For motivation

------
Mtinie
"Kingmaker", by Christian Cantrell[0]. I needed a dose of anti-plutocrat in my
daily brain food and his novel was a fun near-future fix.

[0]
[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17687575-kingmaker](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17687575-kingmaker)

------
joshstrange
The first 5 books of the Honor Harrington series, I'm on the 6th now and
planning on re-reading all 13 the whole thing.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorverse#Honor_Harrington_se...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorverse#Honor_Harrington_series)

------
EdSharkey
_The Reverse of the Medal_ by Patrick O'Brian. I needed a bit of quality,
mindless fun after 2016.

------
rezna306601261
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

------
hackerkid
Homo Deus - A Brief Bistory of Tomorrow

------
thisone
Rereading my way through the two Dune 'trilogies' now. Currently in the middle
of God Emperor.

This time through it's been shocking to me to see such parallels between the
politics, policies, and consequences there of and the world today.

There's a lot to think about in Dune.

------
msravi
Two books by Simon Singh:

The Code Book

Big Bang

He has an amazing ability to go really deep into what he's explaining. No hand
waving over the details. And yet, it's so very readable.

Unfortunately that wasn't true with his other book - Fermat's Theorem -
probably because the subject matter was too complex?

------
edelans
reinventing organizations
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20787425-reinventing-
org...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20787425-reinventing-
organizations)

------
AlwaysBCoding
I just re-read _Righteous Indignation_ by Andrew Breitbart -- Fascinating in
retrospect as it accurately describes so much about the emergence of new media
and what manifested itself in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

------
hypertexthero
The First and Last Freedom by Jiddu Krishnamurti

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_and_Last_Freedom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_and_Last_Freedom)

~~~
stevekemp
For a moment I thought you were going to say "The First and Last Men" \- but
then I realized I'd mis-remembered the title:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_and_First_Men](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_and_First_Men)

This is an excellent sci-fi exploration of possible future, especially given
the year in which it was written. I've not re-read it since I've only finished
it a few months ago, but it was an excellent read.

------
scrollaway
The Dictator's Handbook:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610391845](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610391845)

Fascinatingly relevant right now.

~~~
hueving
>Fascinatingly relevant right now.

How so?

~~~
trendia
The guy who we liked expanded executive power and now the guy who we don't
like inherited it.

------
sonabinu
The Alchemist

------
wirddin
Zero to One. If I had to highlight the most important parts of the book, I
would end up highlighting the whole book. :S

------
GnarfGnarf
"The Encounter", a National Geographic photographer's meeting with a tribe of
telepathic Amazon Indians.

------
ezechiel
I've been re-reading the aeneid and the summa theologica. And as for tech,
mostly RFCs and wikipedia articles.

------
caaig
The Cuckoo's Egg. Plus ca change.

------
cafard
Not books as such, but I have re-read a fair number of Shakespeare's plays
since about Christmas.

------
jraedisch
Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov

------
JayNeely
The Name of the Wind, and The Wise Man's Fear -- great fantasy books by
Patrick Rothfuss.

~~~
mmanfrin
I just finished reading these for the first time and am disappointed to learn
that the 3rd book was at the _finished manuscript stage_ 4 years ago, but
still no 3rd book :[

------
combatentropy
_The Elements of Style_ \--- well, parts of it. However, I mainly read it for
pleasure.

------
CoryG89
I re-read Fahrenheit 451 recently. I had read it only once when I was young.

~~~
jon-wood
Good call, I read it long ago when I was growing up, cover to cover in one
sitting having picked it up from my Dad's bookshelf with no real idea of what
it was about. I really should reread it and see how I feel about it as an
adult.

------
rmchugh
Matilda by Roald Dahl.

------
faizmokhtar
0 to 1: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

------
prateek_mir
"Flash Boys" \- Michael Lewis

------
ashwanidausodia
The art of multiprocessor programming

------
user_01
"Master Switch" by Tim Wu

------
audace
The Prince by Machiavelli

------
abrkn
Zero to One (audio book)

------
dano
The Machine That Changed The World

Good Prose

Titan

------
anotherevan
Three books I tend to re-read every 3-8 years are: Farmer in the Sky[1], The
Chrysalids[2] and Dune[3][4]. Read them as a teenager and thirty years later
still re-read.

Others I’ve re-read recently are:

* Camouflage [5]

* The Green And the Gray [6]

* The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August [7]

* The Martian [8]

* I Am Not A Serial Killer series [9]

I plan to re-read in the near future:

* Touch [10]

* The Hollow City [11]

* Pulling Up Stakes [12]

Yes, I read a lot. [13]

\---

[1]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50851.Farmer_in_the_Sky](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50851.Farmer_in_the_Sky)

[2]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/826845.The_Chrysalids](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/826845.The_Chrysalids)

[3]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1000049.Dune](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1000049.Dune)

[4] Only the first book in the series. Really disliked all the rest. Last
couple of times I’ve listened to the Audible audiobook version which is
excellent.

[5]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21607.Camouflage](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21607.Camouflage)

[6]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216455.The_Green_And_the...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216455.The_Green_And_the_Gray)

[7] [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18295861-the-first-
fifte...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18295861-the-first-fifteen-
lives-of-harry-august)

[8] [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18007564-the-
martian](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18007564-the-martian)

[9] [https://www.goodreads.com/series/49883-john-
cleaver](https://www.goodreads.com/series/49883-john-cleaver)

[10]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23561543-touch](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23561543-touch)

[11] [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13034956-the-hollow-
city](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13034956-the-hollow-city)

[12] [https://www.goodreads.com/series/94696-pulling-up-
stakes](https://www.goodreads.com/series/94696-pulling-up-stakes)

[13] [http://www.michevan.id.au/content/reading-habits-
of-2015/](http://www.michevan.id.au/content/reading-habits-of-2015/)

------
intrasight
Snow Crash

------
krishna2
"Hamilton" by Lin Manuel Miranda. This is the story of how the play came to be
after his first white house performance.

Here is a short post I wrote a few days back:

Hamilton is an absolutely fantastic musical. An amazing history : probably the
most interesting story of a founding-father. It has got everything : rags-to-
riches, heroism, fighting, betrayal, sex scandal, .. you name it. The musical
is based off of Ron Chernow's door-stop sized biography. Lin Manuel Miranda
adapted it to a Broadway play. And if you are like most, you will end up
becoming a huge fan of Miranda. The musical won a Pulitzer as well as a lot of
Tony's including the best musical. What a beautiful way to tell the story of a
founding father with Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B and a bunch of other genres. Mind
blown!

If you can get a ticket to the musical, consider yourself lucky and go watch
it. I haven't. So ended up doing all the other reading / listening before the
musical finale. :)

I got so interested in this that I have now listened to the musical (many
times), read all the coverage of it in NY Times (published as a book) and also
the book that Miranda himself wrote about the genesis of the show and watched
a dozen videos of Lin on youtube.

Here's Lin's first presentation of this idea in a poetry recital at the White
House:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFf7nMIGnE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFf7nMIGnE)

The entire musical is available on many streaming services and on youtube too.

The book by Lin Manuel Miranda : Hamilton : [https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-
Revolution-Lin-Manuel-Mirand...](https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Revolution-
Lin-Manuel-Miranda-ebook/dp/B015X056G4/)

This is the book that covers all articles on NY Times:
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FWP73AM/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FWP73AM/)

A few cool Lin videos:

SNL Monologue:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsupmN90wBk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsupmN90wBk)

Freestyle rapping in the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w31jboLYcH4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w31jboLYcH4)

Freestyle with Ellen:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqhKeIr6Zbc&t=201s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqhKeIr6Zbc&t=201s)

Ron Chernow's book: [https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow-
ebook/...](https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow-
ebook/dp/B000QJLQZI/)

[yet to read this massive tome -> saving it up as the finale].

------
johansch
"Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire" (1992)

[https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-
Empire/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-
Empire/dp/0887306292)

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41611.Hard_Drive](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41611.Hard_Drive)

Mostly re-read the parts of the book that talk about the 80s (the creation of
the PC, DOS, Windows, the PC clones, Microsoft and Intel outsmarting IBM,
Microsoft bullying the rest of the industry, etc.).

~~~
pjmorris
I've not read 'Hard Drive', but I've re-read 'Gates' by Manes and Andrews, and
can recommend it.

~~~
johansch
Well, ditto. I can recommend 'Hard Drive' just by its sheer writing/research
quality. Apparently the book came out of a series of articles in "The Seattle
Times", back when newspapers employed quality writers/researchers.

It gave me

a) a whole new understanding of the computer hardware/ecosystem I grew up with

b) a re-newed insight into why Gates was a horrible, horrible monopolist who
held back software development for the world quite a bit. My best guess is by
about 5 years. (And that estimate is actually quite generous towards Mr.
Gates.)

~~~
pjmorris
I don't think you'd be surprised in the large by anything in 'Gates', though
there may be a story here or there that 'Hard Drive' didn't present, and vice
versa. I'll make a point to read 'Hard Drive' as well, I find the perspective
helpful.

------
SomeStupidPoint
_American Gods_ by Neil Gaiman.

Just because I needed a bit of fun fiction to break up all the non-fiction.
And because it (perhaps accidentally) says something interesting about the
gods of a land of immigrants and future-philes.

------
vgy7ujm
Programming the network with Perl.

[https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Network-Perl-Paul-
Barry/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Network-Perl-Paul-
Barry/dp/0471486701/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486213994&sr=1-5&keywords=Perl+network)

------
ue_
_Wage Labour and Capital_ by Marx.

