

Ask HN: What should I read next? - grease

(This is a selfish ask, but I posted it thinking it might help others too)<p>A few months ago, I started reading Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" and fell in love with it. I went on read the rest of books in the Foundation Series. Sidenote: The books get progressively worse and the last one is a drag. Anyway, the reading was a good break from my startup in 2 ways: (1) I wasn't in front of yet another screen (tv, browsing, movies), and (2) It was, in some way, intellectually stimulating. It made me think.<p>So, fair HN, can you suggest what should I read next? Preferably fiction (I feel most non-fiction is worth a blog post). Something that fits a short attention span. Something a geek would like (I've already read "hitchhikers guide to the galaxy").
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jonafato
I'd highly recommend _Little Brother_ by Cory Doctorow. I read it last weekend
and simply couldn't put it down. It's along the lines of _1984_ but less
extreme and thus more believable. The (free) ebook can be found at
<http://www.craphound.com/littlebrother/download/>. The author offers the
ebook for free and asks that you donate a copy (explained on the site) instead
of emailing him and offering to pay him directly for it (or anything of the
sort).

~~~
grease
Thanks! Am (already) beginning to read it

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mquander
It would be nice if you provided a lot more detail. I like recommending people
books, but when all you say about your preferences is "I like Foundation and
Hitchhiker's Guide" (like every other nerd in the universe) there's not really
much space for figuring out what you would enjoy and what you wouldn't.

~~~
grease
Sorry for being vague. I haven't been much of reader (until recently). That
also makes it difficult for me to describe my preferences (or predict what
I'll like).

Point taken, though, that it is difficult to suggest books in a scenario such
as this.

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nimrody
May I suggest Roger Zelazny's classic "Nine Princes in Amber"? Short easy read
and very well written.

Otherwise, when you can affort more than a "short attention span" come back
for more recommendations.

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narag
It seems that most recomendations fall in the sci-fi genre. I'll add my
personal favourite: Stanisław Lem (the author of Solaris). The Star Diaries
and Cyberiad are _a lot_ of fun mixed with really interesting ideas.

But if you want to read a very actual story, including an anticipation of the
Internet, take a look at this 1961 story:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_from_the_Stars>

~~~
deafmetal
I also heartily recommend "Cyberiad", a timeless collection of short stories.

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nathanielksmith
I alluded to this in <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1865350> , but want
to respond to your comment about reading "making you think."

I had a major breakthrough in my creative (programming, music) life when I
realized that my most intensely creative periods were fueled by reading.

What would happen is that I would work tirelessly drafting ideas, hacking or
making music until I burned out and got very depressed. I stayed like this
and, through some accident, started reading as a way to pass time. Before I
got through more than one or two books, I'd have forgotten the depression and
be back to creating stuff again.

Now, I try to make time for reading daily (instead of binging/purging). It
helps me avoid burnout on creative projects and gives me new ideas all the
time.

For the past two years I've been reading a handful of authors and will
recommend them instead of specific books: HP Lovecraft, Jorge Luis Borges,
Haruki Murakami, Philip K Dick, Neal Stephenson, William Gibson, Franz Kafka.

I also very much enjoyed a book called Science and Society in the 16th and
17th Centuries that I picked up at a college library booksale. I don't recall
the author, unfortunately.

------
wlievens
Read the Cryptonomicon. It's an awesome work of fiction, and it involves lots
of geek interests. Alternative suggestions are Microserfs and JPod.

~~~
nissimk
the first 150 - 200 pages are kind of slow, but power through because it will
be worth it.

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mzl
As others have said, with just foundation and hhgg as guiding points, it is
not that easy to give good recommendations. Stephenson has fun ideas, geek
themes, and interesting scope. Pratchett is enormously entertaining, and very
easy to read.

One book series that I really love is The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.
It is a speculative fiction in a (hopefully alternative) far future. They are
not too long, but incredibly packed with interesting stuff which makes them a
bit of a slow (but rewarding) read. The first time I read the books I was
blown away, and my immediate reaction was "Wow, that was cool. I have to read
them again right now". Once I was hooked, I had to read all of Gene Wolfe's
other stuff as well :)

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sintesoro
Heinlein is one of the masters of scify. I think Asimov is like a child,
Heinlein imagination is overwhelming.

<http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein>

~~~
JSig
Stranger In A Strange Land is probably my favorite book. Vonnegut is my
favorite author. By the way, if I had the money I would love to buy one of the
screen prints here <http://www.vonnegut.com/art.asp>

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jaredsohn
Go to amazon.com with amazon cookies cleared and click on only the books that
you like and then rate them. See what amazon recommends.

Alternatively, try Shelfari (<http://www.shelfari.com/>) or
WhatShouldIReadNext (<http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com>) and look at their
recommendations. (Note: I haven't used either of these sites but found them
when I was researching using amazon for recommendations.)

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jing
A recent HN post which may be helpful for you:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1752139>

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ww520
If you like Foundation, you might like the Ringworld series by Larry Niven.
Ringworld is a classic.

Robert Heinlein's books are great. Some come to mine are The Moon Is a Harsh
Mistress, Starship Troopers (much better than the movies), Stranger in a
Strange Land, Double Stars, and The Puppet Masters.

Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness is amazing. The Earthsea series
are fun read if you want to get beyond SciFi.

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RiderOfGiraffes
Anything by Terry Pratchett. There are a lot of books, and you might want to
check this:

[http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-
discwor...](http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-
reading-order-guide-20.jpg)

I personally loved "Guards! Guards!" and would recommend it.

Also enjoyed "The player of Games" by Iain M Banks.

Consider also "Snow Crash"

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zipdog
"The Diamond Age" or anything else by Neal Stephenson.

~~~
gigawatt
"Anathem" by Neal Stephenson is the best book I've read in years. The first 50
pages or so are a slog, but after that I couldn't put it down.

"What is the What" by Dave Eggers is also phenomenal.

~~~
andrewce
"What is the What" is one of the most beautifully written books of the last
decade. I wholeheartedly endorse this.

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alec
There's a large volume that contains all of Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction
short stories. They're great because they are indeed short, and while not all
of them are good, a number of them fill me with the same sort of wonder I get
from reading the first Foundation book.

If you're on an Asimov kick, The Caves of Steel is also pretty good, and has a
Foundation-style twist at the end.

------
deafmetal
I recommend "A Fire Upon The Deep" and "A Deepness In The Sky" by Vernor
Vinge. They're epic, emotional, and gripping, but also have some quite
excellent hard science and future culture speculation. Also his book "Rainbows
End" for something a little closer to home...
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_Vinge>

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iterationx
Dune is the best science fiction book ever written.

~~~
epo
Agreed, the friends and family sequels are dire however.

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wglb
Here is what to check out when you are looking for what to read, and the blog
associated with it is worth the read for insight and snarkiness:
<http://www.bookslut.com>. Jessa is as compulsive a reader as you are likely
to find, and publishes a monthly collection of unique reviews and essays.
Highly recommended.

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freemanindia
Charles Stross and Ian McDonald are my new favorite sci-fi authors. I just
finished Accelerando by Stross which had lots of great ideas played out over
the next several centuries. Cyberabad by McDonald is a collection of short
stories that push at the fantastic edges of where tech could be going.

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cgopalan
If you are not too particular about sci-fi, I would suggest Neil Gaiman's
Sandman. Its fantasy, but extremely stimulating. Its a series of 10 graphic
novels, but you need not necessarily read it in order. Some are better than
others, but every book has a very high level of story-telling.

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spacemanaki
You might like CJ Cherryh's science fiction. Her Merchanter books are really
good, and although there is some weird alien stuff, in general the space
travel and combat, as well as economic issues in space, are handled quite
well. I'd start with Downbelow Station.

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nissimk
I just read Daemon and Freedom by Daniel Suarez. The second one is better, but
they're both very entertaining. Also, Matthew Soble, the mastermind character
in Daemon and Freedom reminded me a lot of Hari Selden.

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lazyant
If you liked Asimov you'll probably like other classic SF authors like:

\- More Asimov \- Philip K. Dick \- Heinlein \- Arthur C. Clarke \- Ursula K.
Le Guin \- Larry Niven \- Ray Bradbury

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jeebusroxors
Kurt Vonnegut has some good stuff. Slaughterhouse Five, Cats Cradle and I
really liked A Man Without a Country.

The Discworld series (Terry Prachett) is good if you liked HHG

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absconditus
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1865350>

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gallerytungsten
Try some Philip K. Dick. Get one of his short story collections, they've put
out several of these in recent years.

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frazerb
Read Hitchhikers Guide. Again. Priceless.

"The Timetraveller's Wife" will make you think.

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revorad
Permutation City by Greg Egan

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ljf
check out anything by j g ballard, or some of h g wells early short stories.

just finished 'food of the gods' and loved it.

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steveklabnik
I've always really enjoyed "The Soul of a New Machine" Amazon, non-affiliate:
[http://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-
Kidder/dp/03164...](http://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-
Kidder/dp/0316491977/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288795939&sr=1-1)

It's the story of a team of engineers building a new minicomputer, back in the
late 70s. I couldn't put it down. He manages to make the politics interesting
and the technical details simple.

