
Ask HN: What book are you reading? - pibefision
Years ago, I discovered many great books to read here in HN. I wonder if asking this question again, some new books or interesting lectures can pop up. TKS!
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tomcam
"Start Small, Stay Small" by Rob Walling. Discusses how to get a one-person
business going for the least possible cost & time.
[http://goo.gl/ztkc3t](http://goo.gl/ztkc3t)

"web2py Complete Reference Manual, 6th Edition Prerelease", by far my favorite
Python framework and being used for my new startup--see above!
[http://goo.gl/2kdl6O](http://goo.gl/2kdl6O)

"Field of Prey", John Sandford, a well-written thriller.
[http://goo.gl/F8QCoe](http://goo.gl/F8QCoe)

------
akg_67
The (mis)Behavior of Markets, A Fractal View on Risk, Ruin, and Reward by
Benoit B. Mandelbrot and Richard L. Hudson.

You may enjoy this book if you are interested in Financial Markets, have some
knowledge of Efficient Market Theory, and aware of existence of Fractal
Geometry.

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Misbehavior-Markets-Financial-
Turb...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Misbehavior-Markets-Financial-
Turbulence/dp/0465043577/)

------
tempestn
Just started _The Power of Full Engagement_ by Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr. I
believe it was recommended here a while ago. Starts off a bit weak, spending
too much time almost trying to sell you the book it feels like, rather than
getting down to what it's actually all about - you know the type, like those
"motivational" videos that spend an hour talking about how great it works and
how many people have changed their life without ever actually saying what the
___ "it" _is_. But it's not as bad as those, and I'm hopeful that as it gets
into the real content it will be useful, since their general framework makes a
lot of sense. (The key tenant being to focus on managing energy rather than
time.)

I'm also eagerly awaiting the next Patrick Rothfuss Kingkiller Chronicle book.
(Despite the low-fantasy sounding name, the series is _excellent_. I think
it's probably the only fantasy series I would strongly recommend people pick
up despite the fact that it's not finished yet.)

~~~
mindcrime
_I 'm also eagerly awaiting the next Patrick Rothfuss Kingkiller Chronicle
book._

You and me both... I'm champing at the bit for this book to come out. I
haven't been this annoyed waiting for a book since the wait for book four of
Stephen King's Dark Tower series to come out.

------
dangrossman
A Canticle for Leibowitz

> In the depths of the Utah desert, long after the Flame Deluge has scoured
> the earth clean, a monk of the Order of Saint Leibowitz has made a
> miraculous discovery: holy relics from the life of the great saint himself,
> including the blessed blueprint, the sacred shopping list, and the hallowed
> shrine of the Fallout Shelter. In a terrifying age of darkness and decay,
> these artifacts could be the keys to mankind's salvation. But as the mystery
> at the core of this groundbreaking novel unfolds, it is the search
> itself—for meaning, for truth, for love—that offers hope for humanity's
> rebirth from the ashes.

[http://www.amazon.com/Canticle-Leibowitz-Walter-Miller-
Jr/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/Canticle-Leibowitz-Walter-Miller-
Jr/dp/0553273817)

------
ccvannorman
Love and Math - Edward Frenkel

A very powerful book, both for its insights into incredible symmetries across
all fields of mathematics (touching on QM and fields), and for the appeal to a
positive and engaging attitude towards an incredibly rich fabric of math
everywhere in the world

========================================

Godel Escher Bach - Douglas Hoffstadter

Using isomorphisms between genetics, programming, and math to understand why
it doesn't make sense to fully formalize a system, and that logic itself
always breaks when you attempt to be rigid, by the very nature of its logical
contsruction. Also a VERY readable book, complete with anecdotal fantasy
stories about animals.

------
cmaxwe
[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/233649.The_Great_Hunt](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/233649.The_Great_Hunt)

Book two of the wheel of time.

Have never read them before...it is a lot of books.

~~~
tempestn
One thing to be aware of with that series is that the pace and.. quality take
a serious dip around books 6 to 9. If you find yourself getting bored or
bogged down at that point, it's worth skimming, reading synopses, whatever, to
keep with it, then pick it back up around book 10. Or just be aware that it
gets better again. (Although the first few books were still the strongest IMO,
except for possibly some of the Sanderson stuff. Here's a guide:
[http://jasonrpeters.com/2012/12/11/the-complete-guide-to-
rer...](http://jasonrpeters.com/2012/12/11/the-complete-guide-to-rereading-
wheel-of-time-before-a-memory-of-light/)

~~~
cmaxwe
I am already finding it a bit slow/boring. If 6 to 9 are that bad then I might
end up quiting on it.

~~~
microsby0
Get through book 3 before you give up. The dip in 6-9 isnt great but its not
awful. The series builds slowly, if you really arent into it by book 3, when
most of the story lines have really accelerated, then you can decide

------
brickcap
I just finished Right ho Jeeves by PG wodehouse[1].

I am reading essays in the art of writing by RL stevenson.[2]

I want to read an adventure story next. Moby dick[3] seems to be one of the
most popular ones on gutenberg so it will probably be my next choice.

[1][http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10554](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10554)

[2][http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/492](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/492)

[3][http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2701](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2701)

------
alina24
Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" \- historical fiction.
Brilliantly imagined life of Thomas Cromwell -
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cromwell,_1st_Earl_of_Es...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cromwell,_1st_Earl_of_Essex)

------
natedawg
Flash Boys by Michael Lewis So far so good, it gets a little complicated at
times when he's trying to describe the different problems in the stock market
(I don't have prior stock market knowledge). All in all, I'm enjoying this
book very much and have less than 100 pages left to go.

------
applecore
_Human Universals_ by Donald Brown. Identifies the traits common to all
humans, all societies and cultures.

[http://www.amazon.com/Human-Universals-Donald-
Brown/dp/00700...](http://www.amazon.com/Human-Universals-Donald-
Brown/dp/007008209X/)

------
mindcrime
Fiction: _Infinite Jest_ by David Foster Wallace

Non-Fiction / Science: _Our Mathematical Universe_ by Max Tegmark

Non-Fiction / Business: _Predictable Revenue_ by Aaron Ross

Non-Fiction / Programming / Tech: _OSGI in Action_ by Richard Hall, Karl
Pauls, Stuart McCulloch, and David Savage

------
wj
Zero History by William Gibson. Half way through.

Pattern Recognition, the first of the trilogy, was my favorite.

------
aruss
_Welcome to the Monkey House_ by Kurt Vonnegut. It's a collection of his short
stories, often funny, sometimes touching, and always insightful.

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sudheendrach
Just started reading Founders at Work --
[http://www.foundersatwork.com/](http://www.foundersatwork.com/)

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Ryel
Just finished "Eloquent Ruby"

I usually re-read chapters of Crockford's "Javascript: The Good Parts" until I
find another book to get into.

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sgy
Founders at Work
([http://www.foundersatwork.com/](http://www.foundersatwork.com/))

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prateek_mir
Fooled by Randomness - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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sk314
Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking by Daniel Dennett

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cfredmond
Seven Concurrency Models in Seven weeks - Paul Butcher

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kovrik
Neal Stephenson - "REAMDE"

and "Clojure Programming"

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navyad
Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott

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resist_futility
iOS Programming: BNR

Foundation series by Asimov

