
Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2013? - fraqed
Ok this question is a shameless attempt to find out what the HN community has been reading in 2013 but the caveat is that the book must have had a meaningful impact in the way you live your life. That&#x27;s fairly open ended and can include anything such as new programming languages learned, health and fitness, investment philosophy, relationships and so on. Choosing one book is an artificial constraint but it does help with focusing on that one big change.   Also the book doesn&#x27;t have to be from 2013 only that you read it during the year and it in some way changed your life.<p>The most significant book for me was in the area of health and fitness as I finally read The 4-Hour Body (2010) by Tim Ferris. I&#x27;d read about many of the topics he covers before but they just didn&#x27;t stick until The 4-Hour Body. What I like about Tim&#x27;s approach is that one should experiment to see what works rather than following a rigid plan. I tried many of his suggestions and some worked for me while others didn&#x27;t. The binge day was particularly bad so now I just follow the same plan every day; as well I had to increase the amount of carbs before my last meal of the day to get a better sleep. But experimentation and tracking my results has made all the difference from other diet and exercise changes I&#x27;ve attempted in the past. It&#x27;s definitely worth the read even if experimentation and tracking are the only things you get from the book.<p>Thanks for a great community and I look forward to your suggestions.
======
Evgeny
It's hard to choose a single book, as I've read (or listened to) a number of
books this year.

I'll choose Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow
([http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman-
ebo...](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman-
ebook/dp/B005MJFA2W)).

The way it changed my life was to make me actually think more about the way my
mind operates, the decisions I make and the way these decisions affect my
life. As a consequence, there were a few books I read later that were loosely
related to this one in the way that they all refer to the way people think.

Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice

Steven Pinker - How the Mind Works

Nassim Taleb - The Black Swan; and Fooled by Randomness

Leonard Mlodinov - The Drunkard's Walk (quite similar to Fooled by Randomness)

Carol Dweck - Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Neil Postman / Andrew Postman - Amusing Ourselves to Death

Rolf Dobelli - The Art of Thinking Clearly (just started)

On my reading list now:

Quiet by Susan Cain - mentioned already

The Better Angels of Our Nature - Steven Pinker

Jared Diamond - Guns, Germs and Steel

Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash

Jared Diamond - The World Until Yesterday

Also, did not quite change my life, but very recommended:

Neal Stephenson - Anathem.

You may have to struggle through the beginning, but as soon as I understood
the way the world he devised operates, I was thrilled completely.

~~~
capkutay
I was thinking about reading 'Thinking, Fast and Slow', but I couldn't tell if
it would really be useful or if it would just be another glorified self-help
book. But if people here like it, I will probably give it a shot.

Also, Drunkard's Walk was excellent.

~~~
Codhisattva
Thinking is not a self help book. It's a memoir of sorts about a nobel prize
winning economist and the way he and his mentor changed the field of decision
theory through the combination of economics, psychology and statistical
mathematics. It truly is eye opening and life changing.

~~~
jaibot
Technically, Daniel Kahneman is a psychologist who just happens to have a
Nobel Prize in Economics because his work in the field has been amazingly
usefil to economists.

~~~
Codhisattva
Well "just happens to" is strange attempt to diminish his accomplishments.
We're talking about the life work of a brilliant polymath.

------
trentnix
How to Win Friends and Influence People

I had avoided this one for years due to its age and because reading it seemed
to imply one has no friends and no influence. It gets long-winded in parts
with a few too many examples, but it's excellent. Definitely something
everyone should read once, no matter what type of job or lifestyle one leads.

~~~
city41
This is a good book. The simple tip of asking people about themselves when
unsure of what to talk about does work in a pinch. I also found it interesting
that Susan Cain (see my comment in this thread) largely derided this book and
the others like it that came out at the same time.

------
city41
__Quiet by Susan Cain __

This book profoundly affected me because she convinced me that many of my
mannerisms and preferences are completely normal, and even positive. She also
confirmed a lot of my suspicions that open offices, group work and the like
are not as beneficial as they may seem.

Her TED talk[0] hits most of the major points in her book. If you enjoyed
that, her book is a must read.

[0] --
[http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts....](http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html)

~~~
mark_l_watson
+1 thanks. I just listened to her TED talk then bought her book. What she said
resonated because sometimes I like busy social scenes, but usually I like
quiet contemplation and work. BTW, I dislike open office layouts intensely.
The first company that I worked for had private offices for everyone,
technical, managers, and secretaries - a big productivity booster in my
opinion. When we needed to talk in groups then a walk outside, getting a snack
in the cafeteria, or grabbing a conference room was more than sufficient for
people to get together and share ideas and information. Private offices are
better for one to one communication also (compared to grabbing a conference
room).

------
rickdale
Two years ago I was lucky enough to read a comment here about the 4 Hour Body
and how it changed someones life. I downloaded it and read it that night. Lost
50lbs. Never looked back.

This year the book that shaped my year has to be The Motivation Hacker by Nick
Winter. Great read, teaches you how to motivate yourself to get shit done. Has
worked really well for me.

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Motivation-Hacker-Nick-Winter-
eboo...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Motivation-Hacker-Nick-Winter-
ebook/dp/B00C8N4FNK)

~~~
thinkersilver
I got this book 3 weeks ago. I agree it is a good book on motivation. It isn't
very polished though, like some of the other popular psychology books out
there. It isn't embellished with eloquent flowery writing or mind-blowing
feats of accomplishments. This isn't a criticism but a strength. It reads more
like a series of blog posts where the authour is discovering how to amp up his
motivation using a set of hacks to tackle goals. The format makes it easy to
walk away from the book and apply it to those unfinished tasks that have been
hanging over your head for months. It's a great find and ranks high on the
books I've read this year.

~~~
rickdale
I agree with all of your points. And I think we both have the same view of the
book, which is that it is good, not AMAZINGLY GREAT, but I thought it was
appropriate for this list because its not a best seller or something, but a
little bit of an unknown, but useful.

~~~
nwinter
I also agree with all these points. (I wrote this one.)

------
Patrick_Devine
I read a significant amount of fiction and non-fiction in 2013, including
books on founding start-ups, marketing, psychology, english lit (even
Shakespeare, Dickens and Jane Austin), and sci-fi.

Surprisingly (at least to me), the most interesting and profound was an
obscure sci-fi book called Permutation City by Greg Egan. It was surprising
because it was written in 1994 and pretty much nails HPC and cloud computing.
It also plays on the ideas of intelligence, consciousness, artificial life and
longevity, all of which I think we're right on the precipice of making some
pretty significant inroads within the next decade.

The cloud computing aspect of the novel though really blew me away. Most parts
seem almost like throw away paragraphs which help support the plot, but you
don't have to squint very hard to see the similarities between it and
something like the Amazon Spot Market. For me, in 1994, I couldn't even
imagine cloud computing. The PC was so completely dominant at the time (I had
a 486DX2-50) and the internet might as well have not existed for most people.
The web consisted of a handful of sites and only a few people had even heard
of NCSA Mosaic.

I realize others might not find this profound, but for me, working in cloud
infrastructure and virtualization, it really struck a chord.

~~~
Ironballs
Greg Egan is a great visionary, his ideas and ingenuities are profound and
intelligent. His works exude a kind of brilliance, a technological devotion to
the big ideas, but at a cost: sometimes the ideas take the stage, and
characters and plot are bystanders. Overall, they are still excellent, and
they're big on the ideas. A warning: it's the hardest hard sci-fi out there,
for example, the book _Schild 's Ladder_ is full of hardcore mathematics and
physics.

------
blendergasket
I think "The Kingdom of God is Within You" by Tolstoy was the most life
changing book I read this year.

It made me start thinking about the idea of sin, which I haven't given much
thought about before since I was not raised as a Christian and do not identify
myself as one. But sin is such a powerful concept for understanding my own
weakness and shortcomings and the evils that come about when I let them
control my life.

It is also a very powerful message against the corruption of Church and State
and the necessity of peaceful rebellion against these corruptions if they do
not allow the living of a Christian life.

------
Nekorosu
The book is Hold Me Tight: Your Guide to the Most Successful Approach to
Building Loving Relationships. It's a book from the creator of emotionally
focused therapy which is based on the insights brought by the attachment
theory.

The attachment theory was completely new to me and it let me have a new look
on the way I act in the close relationships. It cut a lot of shame I had about
the way I act when the relationships didn't go the right way. The rest of the
book related to the therapy itself was good too. It shifted my focus from
solving relationship problems the rational way (it didn't work out) to
something more aware of the emotional reality of the process.

In the end I feel like I perceive all the interhuman relations a little bit
different then I did before.

------
radex
The one that made the biggest impression (and, hopefully, impact) on me was
definitely The Power of Habit. tl;dr: on a fundamental level, habits of all
sorts shape much of our days and lives. It's like setting up automation
scripts — it takes some time, but makes your life better and easier once you
do. And they're like a sharp knife — a powerful tool, but be careful not to
cut yourself. Good habits make you do things right without any effort, bad
habits will ruin you. The book shows you how.

~~~
radex
Oh and the thing that impressed me is that it's not just the typical BS-filled
self-help book. The Power of Habit appears to be very well-researched and
doesn't promise wonders, just shows you how habits work and how you can
influence them.

------
incision
Given the criteria, this would come closest:

* A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy - [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195374614/](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195374614/)

Honorable Mention:

* Anything You Want - [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00506NRBS](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00506NRBS)

* On Intelligence - [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003J4VE5Y/](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003J4VE5Y/)

* Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow - [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00555X8OA/](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00555X8OA/)

Related:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6901046](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6901046)

~~~
obstacle1
Those interested in Stoic philosophy would do well to just skip to the primary
sources. Not to say the guide you posted isn't a good book (I'll take your
word that it is!) but Stoicism is one school of thought that I'd say rewards
reading from a blank slate. As opposed to, say, certain domains in analytic
philosophy wherein understanding is impossible without years of prior reading.

Seneca's various _Letters_ [1], Marcus Aurelius' _Meditations_ [2], Epictetus'
_Discourses_ [3] are all good places to start. There are a variety of
translations for those titles available for free (see links).

[1] -
[https://archive.org/stream/Seneca/Seneca_djvu.txt](https://archive.org/stream/Seneca/Seneca_djvu.txt)
[2] -
[http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html](http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.html)
[3] -
[http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/discourses.html](http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/discourses.html)

------
grimtrigger
"The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion"

If you're like me and love debates, this book is awesome. It'll show you how
to find common ground and understand implicit values behind arguments.

Link for the lazy (non-affiliate): [http://www.amazon.com/The-Righteous-Mind-
Politics-Religion/d...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Righteous-Mind-Politics-
Religion/dp/0307455777)

~~~
Stronico
That was on my top three for last year.

------
lpolovets
I read about a book a week this year, and the one that I loved most was "Give
and Take" by Adam Grant. The book discusses two opposite approaches to work
and life: being a taker (where you always try to use people and situations to
your advantage) and being a giver (where you try to help others out before
yourself). The book included a nice combination of anecdotes and research that
all pointed to giving being a more effective road to success than taking. The
first half of the book is spent building a compelling case for the main thesis
(i.e. that giving is better); the second half talks about a few pitfalls that
should be avoided and offers tips on how to be a more effective giver. Some of
the lessons that I learned included tips for learning when I'm being taken
advantage of and tips on how to keep from burning out on generosity.

I loved the combination of research + practical applicability and I think the
book encapsulates many parts of the startup/tech community where people will
help others -- even strangers -- very generously. I've given (no pun intended)
about half a dozen copies of this book as gifts to friends.

~~~
maxaf
How the hell do you manage to read one book per week? I can barely manage to
read one every two months while working sixteen hour days.

~~~
lpolovets
\- I have a Kindle, so I'm never without a book.

\- I read whenever I'm waiting somewhere for >5 minutes: at the subway
station, in line at a busy restaurant for lunch, etc.

\- When I go on a long drive, I'll use text-to-speech to listen to books. Some
of the older Kindles have this feature, as do some phone apps if you're
willing to convert your Kindle books to a non-DRMed format.

Also, working 8-hour days helps =\\.

~~~
StavrosK
Audiobooks are a godsend. Driving around went from being a chore to being a
way to relax with a good book.

------
arash_milani
What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More
Successful By Marshall Goldsmith

I came to realize that sometimes to improve your teams' performance you don't
need another tip to add into the behavior of the team members. actually the
problem with mature team members is not that they don't know what to do; The
problem is that they don't know what to STOP doing. And there is another thing
that makes the situation even worse: Most of the time the team member who
hurts others in the team don't realize that. But everyone in the room knows
that something is wrong as the heat in the room rises. And this heat raise
certainly will affect the team overall performance and unity. So this is a
serious business.

------
curiouslurker
Understanding Michael Porter on Strategy by Magretta. Porter is a well known
thinker on business strategy but most people misunderstand him. He has also
been derided because his own company (Monitor) failed but his work in strategy
still remains the best.

This book by one of his former students and proteges lays it out clearly. Too
many people don't really know what strategy is about. The bottom line is that
if you have a strategy it should show up in your profits and the examples/case
studies of Southwest, Ikea and Zara are really insightful. If you are serious
about business or entrepreneurship this book is a must read.

~~~
jacques_chester
I remember reading a tell-all autobiography of a literature major who got
sucked into management consulting. He basically summarised Porter thus: the
economics department discovered all the ways that a monopolist can misbehave.
The business school began teaching those misbehaviours as "strategy".

------
mindcrime
I've read a lot of books this year[1], but if I had to pick one to fit your
criteria, I'd lean towards _The Origin of Wealth_ by Eric Beinhocker.

TOoW presents a case for a new view of Economics, rooted in evolution as the
primary engine behind endogenous growth[2], and modeling the economy as a
complex adaptive system[3].

In the end, his theories may or may not be correct, but I've learned a TON
about economics from reading this book, and if the "Complexity Economics"[4]
guys are right, it has some interesting implications.

Personally, I suspect that the CE folks _are_ onto something, but this book is
worth reading just for the history lesson it presents, vis-a-vis the
development of modern economic thought. And for a book featuring a ton of
history and on a topic (economics) that some people might find dry, it's very
accessible and reads more like a novel than a textbook. I churned through the
whole thing in about 2 days, it was so engrossing.

Anyway, I only just read it last week, so it may be too early to call it a
"book that changed my life", but I can say that as soon as I finished it, I
immediately started re-reading it, this time to take notes and jot down
thoughts about some of the implications and actionable aspects of this
thinking. It definitely gets a +1 from me.

Outside of that, _The Discipline of Market Leaders_ would probably be the
other candidate. I only discovered this one because it was referenced in a
different book I was reading, but it's turned out to be quite interesting. The
authors present a pretty strong case for a very specific approach to business
strategy that resonates with me.

[1]:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6964841](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6964841)

[2]:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogenous_growth_theory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogenous_growth_theory)

[3]:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_adaptive_system](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_adaptive_system)

[4]:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexity_economics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexity_economics)

------
dcolgan
Test-Driven Web Development with Python.

Very well written and engaging. The prerelease version is available free
online at
[http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000000754](http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000000754).
I've known for a long time that I wanted to do unit testing on my web dev
projects but never really understood the how part. I'm almost done with the
book, and am super excited to try TDD on my projects now.

------
davidw
Looking through my list, none jumps out as a 'life changer':

[http://davids-book-reviews.blogspot.it/](http://davids-book-
reviews.blogspot.it/)

Although there are several good ones there:

* Nathan Barry's Authority: [http://blog.liberwriter.com/2013/11/21/nathan-barrys-authori...](http://blog.liberwriter.com/2013/11/21/nathan-barrys-authority/)

* Worthless, Impossible and Stupid: [http://davids-book-reviews.blogspot.it/2013/09/worthless-imp...](http://davids-book-reviews.blogspot.it/2013/09/worthless-impossible-and-stupid-how.html) \- not one for the ages, but I thought his take on entrepreneurship was interesting.

* [http://davids-book-reviews.blogspot.it/2013/08/pathfinder-jo...](http://davids-book-reviews.blogspot.it/2013/08/pathfinder-john-charles-fremont-and.html) \- biography of John Fremont. Interesting guy in an interesting period of American history.

* [http://davids-book-reviews.blogspot.it/2013/02/innovation-an...](http://davids-book-reviews.blogspot.it/2013/02/innovation-and-entrepreneurship.html) \- Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Drucker. Still a very relevant book in a lot of ways.

------
egypturnash
[The one I self-
published]([http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/52397119/decrypting-
rita...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/52397119/decrypting-rita-
volume-2)).

It's the second volume of three. The change is still ongoing; book 1 has
garnered me some new fans at the top of the comics game, some cool short-form
opportunities, and some tentative little beginnings of nibbles from
publishers. I figure bringing book 2 to cons will keep that going; I'm pretty
confident that by the time I run out of copies of book 3 and want to publish
an omnibus, I'll have someone interested in taking care of that and the
distribution for me.

Oh, wait, you want books we _read_ , not any books, huh? I'd have to say [The
Primal
Blueprint]([https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982207786?tag=egypurna-20&camp=0&...](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982207786?tag=egypurna-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=0982207786&adid=0MV7FA1YES7EWVFRK3EP&)),
which got me seriously thinking about what I put in my body and how I use it.
I've been backsliding from the fabulous shape I was in during the year I was
taking burlesque class, and while I haven't gotten it back, reducing my carb
intake and trying to regularly remind myself to just run around for the hell
of it! has been keeping things mostly under control.

I mean, I've actually started eating salads, made from awesome locally-
produced ingredients that actually have flavor. I still eat a decent amount of
junk, I'm nowhere near following a hardcore Primal diet, but I'm doing better
than I was a couple years ago.

------
kaiwen1
A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian. This book has completely
changed the way I approach interactions with people of faith. It's an
incredibly important, useful and practical book.

[http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Creating-Atheists-Peter-
Boghoss...](http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Creating-Atheists-Peter-
Boghossian/dp/1939578094)

------
petarb
How to Win Friends and Influence People

I was skeptical at first due to how old the book is but the advice is truely
everlasting and extremely effective.

~~~
claudius
I read it a few years ago and found it quite helpful, too – the most important
bit being that (most) people like to talk about themselves.

------
pearjuice
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Such an immense story about love, friendship and the evil in all of us.

------
eudoxus
Godel, Escher, Bach -
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach](http:...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach\]\(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach\))

Made me view, and think about every day to day problem or decision making in a
completely new light.

------
neilk
Most of what I read is related to startups or economics, but for the short
list of change-my-life books:

This year I read a lot about what you might loosely call the Paleo movement /
anti-carbs and sugar movement. _The New Evolution Diet_ , _The Primal
Blueprint_ , books by Gary Taubes, and so on. I think this is going to change
how I eat and exercise forever.

 _The Gift of Imperfection_ and other works by Brené Brown. Lately this is
being promoted by Oprah, which isn't usually a good sign. I think it stands
apart because it's not theory or poetry; it's based on some solid research on
what people living more productive and satisfying lives are actually doing. If
nothing else, her books have made me a better friend when my friends are in
pain.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw)

~~~
Evgeny
Sounds like a book I will enjoy, that goes now on my reading list for 2014!

------
Thiz
\- Anatomy of the State by Murray Rothbard

\- Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt

then couldn't stop reading all there is to read at Mises.org

~~~
etherael
You're doomed to be exasperated by the actions of humanity if you continue
along this path. Be forewarned.

------
daphneokeefe
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big -- Scott Adams (of Dilbert
fame)

Super Rich -- Russell Simmons (hip-hop magnate)

Choose Yourself -- James Altucher

Edit: forgot about Walt Isaacson's bio of Steve Jobs

~~~
handzhiev
Thumbs up for James Altucher's book. I liked a lot "I was blind but now I see"
by him. I don't think a book can be a life changer at my age (who knows), but
it was a great read.

------
infinotize
I have to name two in a tie: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, and Masters of
Doom by David Kushner. Both Jobs and John Carmack have been huge sources of
inspiration since I've read these books, and in very different ways. And that
effect has lasted long since I finished the books, which is rare.

~~~
city41
The Jobs bio was a great read, I really enjoyed it. I'm currently reading Jim
Henson's bio. It's really interesting how both of them accomplished a lot and
had a lot of incredible influence within their domains, but in completely
different ways. Jobs was demanding and a tyrant, where Henson was gentle and
compassionate. It's interesting to see where these traits worked and didn't
work for each of them.

------
jjindev
I suspect this will be a long-tail answer, but what the heck:

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

It is not a perfect book, but it did get me running, and in that sense
literally changed my life.

~~~
gbog
You know that running is as bad for health than staying on a chair all day
long, right? For example the marathon is extremely stressful for the body and
my friends w who do it all admit they are sick for one month afterwards.

~~~
hanley
> You know that _eating bananas_ is as bad for health than staying on a chair
> all day long, right? For example _eating an enormous amount of bananas at
> once_ is extremely stressful on the body and my friends who do it all admit
> they are sick for one month afterwards.

Your friends are likely not fully prepared for the marathon. Saying something
and then trying to prove it true with a hear-say based example of an extreme
case is ridiculous. Please don't post comments like this on HN.

~~~
gbog
Posting unconventional views is ok in HN, in fact it is the only place I know
where it is possible. My unconventional view is that sport is bad for health.
If you count all the injuries, the health issues, etc that can be attributed
to sport... The problem is that most people mistake sport for exercise， which
is good. E.g. walking or cycling at normal speed for the commute is good,
lifting weight or running like crazy is bad.

As so many people suggested books related to fitness, I suppose this
unconventional view has its place here.

------
aaron695
Rainbows End, Vernor Vinge, 2007

Random review - [http://boingboing.net/2007/11/28/vinges-brilliant-
rai.html](http://boingboing.net/2007/11/28/vinges-brilliant-rai.html)

Fiction, near future. Not a biggie but an easy read and changed my opinion on
possible futures.

~~~
Patrick_Devine
Rainbows End is great. It pretty much predicts wearable computing and Google
Glass. I'd recommend reading just about anything from Vinge as he's got a lot
of great ideas.

------
sciguy77
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Read it twice now, absolutely
fantastic.

------
Wonnk13
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Took me about five months and I already
want to reread it. Brilliant masterpiece. Read it right after my friend's
suicide and help me think about my own addiction to success.

------
psibi
Real World Haskell

This book has completely changed my view on programming. Also now I appreciate
the whole functional paradigm concepts.

------
innertracks
Choose Yourself by James Altucher. I was already heading in the direction of
the books theme. Reading it though gave me the extra push and had some good
ideas for making the necessary changes. Basically, getting enough sleep,
exercise, gratitude, mental challenge, and bringing people you love and who
love you closer are what he found to be keys to happiness. And I have to
agree. I was even able to get back into programming, after experiencing severe
burnout years ago, by setting my priorities in a like manner. Choose Yourself!

------
ryan112
"Seeking Wisdom - From Darwin to Munger" \- by Peter Bevlin

What struck me about this book is that it's a summary of insights about how to
think better from some of the best thinkers ever (Munger to Twain to Einstein
to Feynman).

If you're looking for more book recs, Farnam Street (blog dedicated to
extracting wisdom from the best of what other people have figured out) is
another great resource -
[http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/)

~~~
arkitaip
Seeking Wisdom is very hard to come by, especially if you live outside the US.
Any idea where it can be purchased online?

~~~
Grokit
There are some listed on Amazon.com. Not sure if you can request international
shipping on that or not though

------
hvd
I would say 3 books did it for me: 1\. How to Fail at Almost Everything and
Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott adams
[http://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-
ebook...](http://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-
ebook/dp/B00COOFBA4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388289158&sr=8-1&keywords=scott+adams)
2\. Choose Yourself! - James Altucher [http://www.amazon.com/Choose-Yourself-
James-Altucher-ebook/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Choose-Yourself-James-
Altucher-
ebook/dp/B00CO8D3G4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388289250&sr=8-1&keywords=choose+yourself)
3\. Anti Fragile -Nassim Taleb [http://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-that-
Gain-Disorder-...](http://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-that-Gain-
Disorder-
ebook/dp/B0083DJWGO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388289334&sr=8-1&keywords=antifragile)
The first two as the names suggest are more on self-improvement and creating
systems that increase the probability of long term success. The third one
talks more about the things that gain from disorder thus increasing my
understanding of how the world works.

------
roymckenzie
Of all the books I read (or listened to) The Trauma of Everyday Life: A Guide
to Inner Peace by Mark Epstein was the most life changing in that it made me
more conscious of myself and my emotions, both of which I find difficult to
understand.

Some other great ones:

The Neurobiology of We - Daniel Siegel (lots of stuff on interdependence here)

Zealot - Reza Aslan (a great book detailing the life of the man, Jesus of
Nazareth)

1984 - George Orwell (I think very topical)

The Field - Lynne McTaggert (some "woo" but thought provoking)

------
ceceron
I've read many great books but... "Bible", I think, had the greatest impact.

~~~
trendoid
I am curious, impact How?

~~~
ceceron
What could I say? The Bible won't teach you about software development,
social/psychological/mind controlling techniques, artificial intelligence,
cognitive science, astronomy, time management, quantum physics or s-f
predictions. It will not help become "more successful". It's not even funny,
it's rather boring and hard to read (especially historical books in the Old
Testament). But I believe it's not less worthy of reading than all the "wise"
books I have read. I assume you're not a Christian, but even then it tells the
unique story of the nation and the religion, it's tragic and beautiful. But it
is not mere historical book, it concerns spirituality and morality of the
mankind. I believe it's much more valuable than any other knowledge and only
such a wisdom can make a man happy. If you've an allergy to the "religious
stuff", read some philosophers like Plato or Kant, I'm not assuming that the
Bible has some kind of monopoly on wisdom ;) So to answer your question about
the impact... I believe that Bible made me happier and better man or in the
other words that "I've developed spiritually".

PS I agree with @juliend2 that New Testament is a better place to start, it's
much more readable and less controversial.

~~~
trendoid
Interesting. I was curious because how can the era which had slavery, didn't
treat women equal to man and killed homosexuals could possibly teach something
unique. There are bunch of atheist ethics philosophers who talk about good and
bad. I read Practical Ethics by Peter singer and even left eating mammalian
meat after that. And I totally realize that person who wrote Bible could not
have possibly thought about these eternal truths(which are always evolving) :

1) Love people unconditionally without keeping them in shackles. 2) Males and
females(of all races) as it turns out have equal right to learn, earn and
decide. 3) Fuck conformity, think for yourself and accept who you are even if
different. 4) Don't condemn people for their inborn nature because genetics!
5) Understand anything in the world(including humans) without bias.

~~~
ceceron
1) Hmm. Do you claim that old books can teach you nothing unique? It would be
sad. Of course, you can read some modern books about Plato, not read Plato at
all and learn the same, but... These books were created in different times, I
don't believe that any moral treatise could replace it. They're much more
unique than any modern book.

2) What is the source of atheist ethics? Humean "Is–ought problem" AFAIK has
not been plausibly resolved. I believe that Christians would agree with all
the rules, maybe with some restrictions like: Think for yourself but don't
think than you're smarter than other (especially God ;); Understand anything
if it doesn't violate other laws.

~~~
trendoid
is-ought problem is a false problem. Hume says u cannot derive an ought from
an is. So if science tells us that a society which treats women as
subordinates, kills homosexuals, inhibits dissenting opinions is not a healthy
society, you saying we cannot say its not what we ought to strive for? And i
guess you can see which sort of society I am hinting towards.

~~~
ceceron
You've given a radical example. It's less obvious when you compare egoistic
and altruistic attitudes, as in Gorgias. The evolution itself, as scientific
theory, is blurring the border between good and "efficient" behavior. There
must be some scientifically proved scoring rule for comparing "bad" and "good"
societies, if science can tell us what is wrong. Otherwise it would not be a
science ;) I don't claim that you're wrong, but it is very hard to preserve
moral values in an atheistic ideology. Of course, you can identify "good" with
"pleasant" or "increasing probability of reproduction", but IMHO it can't give
you a proper view of morality. BTW your reasoning (why is-ought is false
problem) didn't give ma a positive solution about source of the moral values
in human actions.

~~~
trendoid
I highly recommend 'Practical Ethics' by 'Peter Singer'. You will start seeing
how you can apply critical thinking to various moral questions in life without
clinging to any religious book. If there are facts to learn about human
happiness then 'science' only(this includes economics, history, philosophy
etc, basically all forms of rational discourse which are open to criticism and
change) should suffice.

There is some good advice in Bible but there is lot of crap too and if you
choose to cherry pick, its fine. Just keep in mind that your innate morals
themselves are making you pick and choose. It was not written for a person in
21st century whose world is unfathomable for the Bible's author.

> I don't claim that you're wrong, but it is very hard to preserve moral
> values in an atheistic ideology

What do you mean by 'preserve'? Why can't moral values evolve overtime? At
this moment, people eat mammalian meat happily without concerning about
torture that those animals go through. I have no doubt that 100 years from
now, people will look at this tradition similar to how we find slavery now.
Slavery was so prevalent(and useful) that there seemed to be nothing 'wrong'
with it. No surprise, that Bible didn't mention anything against it. But
society evolved and soon it became something unthinkable. Some act which was
not wrong, suddenly became very wrong. Similarly many moral values were not
'preserved'. I hope you see my point(literally and metaphorically).

------
user_235711
I must submit a third vote for Susan Cain's _Quiet_ [1]. This book is a great
revisitation (and arguably a more diplomatic treatment) of the topic of Anneli
Rufus' 2003 book _Party of One: The Loner 's Manifesto_[2]: introversion,
lonerism, individualism, etc. While the latter - as its subtitle intimates -
is far more geared toward introverts/loners, Cain's book is effectively an
overview and comparison of both the inward as well as outgoing personality
types.

For those who do not label themselves as loners or introverts I would
recommend reading _Quiet_ and perhaps skipping _Party of One_ altogether.
However, for the loner/introvert I would recommend _Party of One_ as the
prerequisite to _Quiet_.

[1] [http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/about-the-
book/](http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/about-the-book/)

[2]
[http://www.annelirufus.com/partyofone/](http://www.annelirufus.com/partyofone/)

------
rangibaby
Quien Fuckin Sabe by Patrick Carlin (brother of George). Lots of funny
anecdotes and thoughts from someone who has lived a very full life.

------
bcbrown
Data Intensive Text Processing with MapReduce. It was a key reason I got my
current job, which is my dream job at this point in my career.

~~~
n1ghtmare_
Congrats. What job would that be (if you don't mind me asking) ?

~~~
bcbrown
The team description: The first part will focus on enhancements to core
algorithmic, modeling, and optimization components. The second part of the
work will focus on the data architecture that brings all the data we collect
into the hands of all data consumers, so that we get the right data in the
right place feeding the right algorithms in as many cases as possible.

We're hiring another 1-2 people for this team. Contact info in profile.

------
ssprang
"The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty" by Peter Singer.
After reading this I dramatically increased the amount of money that I donate
and began supporting several new charities.

"Lying" by Sam Harris. This is really just a long essay, but it changed the
way I think about communication. It convinced me that honesty really is the
best policy.

~~~
a3n
> After reading this I dramatically increased the amount of money that I
> donate and began supporting several new charities.

I've been in a dilemma for years about this. I look at the world and how
systemically fucked up it is for so many people, and feeding the charity
machine seems so indirect and ineffective. Although I do acknowledge that
charities probably do improve peoples' lives in a band-aid sense.

As old as I am, I'm still emotionally a teenager and would like to figure out
a way to wipe out war and poverty and intolerance. I wish I knew ...

~~~
ssprang
Singer's book talks about finding and supporting effective charities. Here's
one I now support that seems pretty direct:
[https://www.fistulafoundation.org](https://www.fistulafoundation.org)

It also made me rethink what I am doing with my life/career. Is creating apps
for well-off people with iPads the best use of my time? Is getting rich and
donating most of your wealth a good strategy? What's the biggest problem I can
personally solve?

I'm still trying to figure it out.

~~~
ozziegooen
One group that's spending some attention to this is 80,000 Hours, a group that
Peter Singer recommended. They are researching and advising people on how to
do as much good as possible through their careers.

There are quite a few people doing "Earning to Give", or earning as much money
as possible and giving away 10-60% of it to the most efficient known causes.
One can do quite a bit of good this way, it's actually quite difficult compete
in the direct work you do.

Disclaimer: I'm currently doing an internship here. Think their take is quite
unique in this way though.
[http://80000hours.org/blog](http://80000hours.org/blog)

------
siegs
Steven Pressfield's 'The War of Art' helped me view my own work in a new light
and get shit done by removing my ego from the outcome. It's very complimentary
to modern startup ethos in that it is better to focus on the art of production
than to become mired in the outcome of one attempt.

------
toddh
Life's Ratchet: How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos by Peter M.
Hoffmann

Just an amazing book giving what seems like the secret details how of the
world works at a physical level.

"Thus, the nanoscale is truly special. Only at the nanoscale is the thermal
energy of the right magnitude to allow the formation of complex molecular
structures and assist the spontaneous transformation of different energy forms
(mechanical, electrical, chemical) into one another. Moreover, the conjunction
of energy scales allows for the self-assembly, adaptability, and spontaneous
motion needed to make a living being. The nanoscale is the only scale at which
machines can work completely autonomously. To jump into action, nanoscale
machines just need a little push. And this push is provided by thermal energy
of the molecular storm."

"At the nanoscale, nothing can escape the molecular storm. As Astumian and
Hänggi point out, every molecular machine in our bodies is hit by a fast-
moving water molecule about every 10−13 seconds. Each collision delivers on
average 4.3 × 10−21 joules of energy (the energy is determined by the product
of Boltzmann’s constant and body temperature measured in degree Kelvin). This
translates into an average power input of more than 10−8 watts. Remember that
a molecular machine generates only about 10−16 watts in power."

"Where do molecules obtain the needed activation energy? From the molecular
storm! The impetus needed to make it across the transition state is provided
by small, fast molecules (typically water molecules) fortuitously colliding
with the reacting molecules to give them the right push. If lucky, the push
causes the molecules to snap into their new shapes. Of course, not every
colliding water molecule will have enough energy or hit the reacting molecules
in the right way. Chemical reactions take time— we have to wait for the right
push to come along, and the higher the activation energy needed, the more time
it takes, as higher-energy collisions are much less frequent than low-energy
collisions."

------
gmuslera
I read a lot of books this year, a lot that were great. But the one that gave
me a stronger impression in my real life and the future of it is Accelerando,
from Charles Stross (you can read it here
[http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-
static/fiction/accelera...](http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-
static/fiction/accelerando/accelerando.html) or buy it from amazon).

The always increasing rate of change in technology, from a close and
foreseable future to a not so far away but almost not recognizable one made me
rethink how fast are things changing now, and how much they will change pretty
soon. Probably we won't get "there", but got the impression that a lot will
change the next 1, 5 and 10 years.

------
msutherl
Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of The Thing One Sees, on Robert Irwin's life:
[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0520256093?tag=morgasuthe-20](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0520256093?tag=morgasuthe-20)

Many lessons in discipline, joy, and taking time to see.

------
ramgp
Software development related reads with a strong focus on proven practices
that enhance software quality in terms of readability and maintainability (and
other software ~ilities) to ease the process of changing the software later
on.

The Art of Readable Code by Dustin Boswell & Trevor Foucher

Don't Make Me Think 2ed by Steve Krug

Remote: Office not Required by Jason Fried & DHH

The Art of Unit Testing by Roy Osherove

Code Complete 2 by Steve McConnell

Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code by Martin Fowler

The Practice of Programming by Brian Kernighan & Rob Pike

JavaScript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford

Code Simplicity by Max Kanat-Alexander

An Introduction to Programming in Go by Caleb Doxsey at [http://www.golang-
book.com/](http://www.golang-book.com/)

Also read: How To Be Black by Baratunde Thurston

~~~
kojoru
The Art of Unit Testing by Roy Osherove is indeed amazing.

Thanks to it I now write much better unit tests, and as a result of removed
frustration I do it much more often.

------
vermasque
I've listened to a few books this year (Audible saves me time), but I
read/listened to a book that actually changed my life in the summer of 2012
(close enough). I had wanted to become an entrepreneur, but then I read The
Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco. He described some of the things that I
really don't want to do deal with: hiring non-engineer employees, using the
services of lawyers, marketing, and other business responsibilities. It wasn't
that I hadn't heard these themes before, but he said it in a way that made me
recognize what I don't want. I just want to be a great engineer. I didn't give
up on a dream; I found a better one.

------
piratebroadcast
Ready Player One and The Postmortal were really rad.

~~~
pawn
I'll 2nd Ready Player One as a great book. It and The Sentinels by James
Layton were my two favorite reads this year.

------
jmduke
Looks like I get to be the first one to throw out a fiction book:

 _Winesburg, Ohio_ by Sherwood Anderson.

~~~
noname123
I remember reading two pieces of the book from an anthology many moons ago;
how did it affect you? Is it because it's a book about a young man's discovery
of his sexual yearnings or a the zeitgeist of the life of the adults around
him? Thanks, I'd like to very much read it.

~~~
jmduke
Definitely the latter: to be honest, I wasn't super drawn to the protagonist
(it's kind of set up as a bildungsroman, which isn't bad or anything but I
think I'm past the point in my life where that stuff is super-applicable) but
more the overall depiction of adult life in the town. There's a pervading
sense of loneliness (or, more accurately, lonesomeness) and how that affects
the town as a whole.

All in all, I thought it was pretty modern stuff considering the settings.

------
busterarm
Bill Walsh - The Score Takes Care of Itself

~~~
contextual
Seconded. I listened to the audiobook about a year ago and am ready to listen
to it again - and I never do that.

------
nationcrafting
Non-fiction: Antifragile by Nassim Taleb was very good. Reminded me of Hayek's
deep insight into chaotic, organic systems (e.g. human interaction systems).
Also helped me to find out what direction I should take after my own book
([http://www.nationbydesign.com](http://www.nationbydesign.com))

Fiction: re-read Milan Kundera's Immortality and The Book of Laughter and
Forgetting. Still lifetime favourites after all these years.

------
epsylon
Quiet by Susan Cain The Art of Meditation by Mathieu Ricard (I've read it in
French, though)

The first changed profoundly how I view myself, the second shows me how I can
improve.

------
nadiac
"The design of Everyday things" Donald A. Normann

------
zw123456
Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and
Profitable Innovation. [http://www.amazon.com/Red-Thread-Thinking-Connections-
Profit...](http://www.amazon.com/Red-Thread-Thinking-Connections-
Profitable/dp/0071808213) The Author Debra Kaye, presents market driven
innovation and product development in a way that is engaging and fascinating.

------
orsenthil
The pattern on the stone by Daniel Hillis changed the way I look at computing
and software. It is just simple book, but explains the computers in the
initial pages using sticks and stones, in all seriousness and leads the reader
to appreciate how the "principles" of the machine we use is no different than
built using stick and stone. This outlook changed the way, I look at
computers.

------
daemonk
I read every short story written by Ted Chiang. His science fiction stories
are, for me, the best I've read. As a biologist, I especially enjoyed "72
letters"
([http://web.archive.org/web/20020202192832/http://www.tor.com...](http://web.archive.org/web/20020202192832/http://www.tor.com/72ltrs.html)).

------
pmcpinto
For me, there were two books that I consider complementary: Thinking, Fast and
Slow - Daniel Kahneman The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg

~~~
venomsnake
The power of habit is amazing - thanks to it I am finally getting fit -
managed to make it from 60 to 180 pounds on the benchpress in two months just
by creating a habit of getting to the gym.

Also I have now a cleaner desk.

~~~
pmcpinto
That's really great!

------
kushti
"Types and Programming Languages" by Benjamin C. Pierce "Principles of Program
Analysis" by Nielson, Nielson, Hankin

------
dubeye
No More Mr Nice Guy. Dr Glover. I met this book thinking it was a self help
book related to the the downsides to seeking approval in our personal lives,
but I was surprised by the positive impact on my work also. I became a more
assertive manager, stopped seeking approval in various 'David Brent'ish ways,
and ultimately become a better manager.

------
exue
Antifragile - Nassim Nicholas Taleb. His other books Fooled By Randomness and
The Black Swan are more accessible - all incredibly great discussions of risk,
probability, complex systems such as the global financial and banking
industries, and how many attempts at risk modeling fail to recognize important
unpredictable "black swan" events.

~~~
pastpartisan
tldr version of his books: stuff can happen that you don't expect

~~~
derivagral
The point is that these things are much more likely to occur than you'd like
to think, not that you don't expect it.

------
vikas5678
Might not be a very popular theme here, but I'm an active investor/speculator.
Michael Covel's book - "Trend Following" was a eye opener.
[http://www.amazon.com/Trend-Following-Updated-Edition-
Millio...](http://www.amazon.com/Trend-Following-Updated-Edition-
Millions/dp/013702018X)

------
fraqed
Thanks for all the great recommendations I’ve compiled a list of the books
mentioned in this post, non-fiction and then fiction by author. Apologies in
advance for any I missed.

[http://flexlists.com/key/0RruJjnHQCKoPckvmqhVfl1yHK0QXL4QikT...](http://flexlists.com/key/0RruJjnHQCKoPckvmqhVfl1yHK0QXL4QikTDcDTm)

------
ch215
For me, the book that instantly jumps to mind is The Alchemist by Paulo
Coelho. Nothing else I've read – let alone this year – comes anywhere even
close to having had such an impact on me.

Yet, the more I think about specifically “how it's changed my life” the more
I'm finding it devilishly difficult to either qualify or quantify.

It sounds ridiculous, I know, but it's almost as-if the book was written for
me. I'd say I'm nothing if not a dreamer so it really speaks to what I want to
believe about life, namely that I can do with it what I want.

For years, I've been mulling over a business idea in my mind. I'd finally put
the fear of failure to bed before but the book has since given me a previously
evasive confidence that I can do something extraordinary if I dedicate my life
to it.

It's full of ideals like: “When you want something, all the universe conspires
in helping you to achieve it,” and other great notions which will never leave
me.

Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts if you've read it too because
this has turned into something of a stream of conciousness and I'm not
entirely sure I'm making much sense any more.

------
wturner
Mastery by Robert Greene is one I mentioned in another post. I don't want to
say its life changing but its extremely good and it's the closest thing I've
found to a self help book that isn't full of fluff. _Edit_ "Who owns the
future" by Jarron Lanier was good too.

------
plainOldText
I don't think there's just a single book that changed my life, however there's
this one book that changed my perspective on procrastination and personal
productivity. And being more productive can be pretty life changing IMHO. The
book's name is __The Now Habit __, BTW.

------
Havoc
None sadly.

2013 was a bit of a write-off in terms of books for me. Didn't read enough &
encountered nothing truly great. I'm thankfully well read compared to my peers
so it doesn't show - but deep down I know it was a bit of a screw-up. Oh
well...kindle is charged for now/2014.

------
lukifer
Not a book, but a blog: Kevin Simler's exploration of consciousness, sacred
experiences, and the sociological underpinnings of religion has turned my
rationalist materialist perspective inside-out.

[http://meltingasphalt.com](http://meltingasphalt.com)

~~~
ciclista
Check out Ken Wilber as well.

~~~
lukifer
Will do, thanks.

------
thomasfedb
I never really thought that reading psychology books by PhDs would change your
outlook on your own life. Turns out, they seem to have PhDs for a reason. This
one made a big impact:

The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's
World

------
quaffapint
I'm jealous of all you reading some useful sounding books. Every time I try
anymore, I lose focus or start falling asleep :P. Anyone else have this issue
and any suggestions? Coffee doesn't work - I've tried.

~~~
xux
Maybe you have ADD [serious]. During the school year, I can't focus on reading
even 5 pages of textbook. It's only after I started taking adderall could I
blaze through 100s of pages per day.

~~~
quaffapint
I'm able to program for hours straight - just books knock me out for some
reason. Even ones I want to read.

------
andersthue
I _have_ to choose between:

Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us and Daring greatly by
Brene Brown

I think Daring greatly will be the winner, since it has had the biggest
influence on how I run my business and where I am going in the future.

------
xijuan
The short story "Runaway" by Alice Munro. Alice Munro is very good at
depicting the complex emotions of people in a relationship. This story has
given me insight about my own relationship.

------
mrmondo
The Phoenix Project - Gene Kim Necronomicon - Neil Stephenson

~~~
rak
Cryptonomicon(no snark intended)? I read that book this year too and it was
definitely a great read. It's aged really well.

------
sieva
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Game changing. Humans are creatures of
habit, and we need to be able to recognize these habits to successfully
control them

------
Glench
_Mindstorms_ by Seymour Papert

 _How Children Fail_ by John Holt

These books literally changed what I was doing with my life. Both are about
how children (and thus people) learn.

------
evanb
"I Am A Strange Loop" by Douglas Hofstadter. I read GEB many years ago, and
this book focuses more on applying those ideas to thinking.

------
redmaverick
1\. Think and Grow Rich - by Napolean Hill

2\. Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story - by Arnold Schwarzenegger

3\. The Motivation Hacker - by Nick Winter.

------
vowelless
If I were to choose one that benefitted me the most, directly, I would pick
"33 Strategies of War" by Robert Greene.

~~~
frankdenbow
Care to elaborate? Fan of Robert Greene's work (his Interviews With Masters is
free on kindle for a bit: [http://www.amazon.com/Interviews-Masters-Companion-
Greenes-M...](http://www.amazon.com/Interviews-Masters-Companion-Greenes-
Mastery-ebook/dp/B00GMOPJKE/))

~~~
vowelless
Its density and breadth took me by surprise. He does a great job analyzing
various wars, battles, political campaigns, career trajectories and finding
common themes among them all. The book, ultimately, is about the importance of
balanced strategy, and how it has been applied and should be applied in the
the real world.

I've heard people compare it to Art of War, but that comparison is not proper.
This book is driven by Greene's interpretation of actual historical events and
literature (Art of War is indeed heavily quoted).

I think this quote by Helmuth von Moltke in the book describes the book's
motivation best:

> [Strategy] is more than a science: it is the application of knowledge to
> practical life, the development of thought capable of modifying the original
> guiding idea in the light of ever-changing situations; it is the art of
> acting under the pressure of the most difficult conditions.

------
GnarfGnarf
"The Long Emergency", James Kunstler (2005). Surviving the converging
catastrophes of the twenty-first century.

------
jeena
[http://www.realtimerendering.com/](http://www.realtimerendering.com/)

------
joubert
Collected Poems ~ federico garcía lorca

------
pcharles
The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco

------
fromdoon
The Mars Trilogy ... it made me come to closer to hard science fiction than
ever before ...

------
krmmalik
The Master Key System by Ruth Miller and Charles F Hannel

Life changing book. Helped every facet of my life.

~~~
krmmalik
Ipad app won't let me edit but i wanted to add "On writing well" by William
Zinsser. What a book!

------
MrOrelliOReilly
'Riders in The Chariot', by Patrick White!!

Big bulking book, worth every minute you put into it.

------
mehdim
"The Box" Marc Levinson

------
misiti3780
AntiFragile - Nassim Taleb

------
rjspotter
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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j2labs
Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital, by Carlota Perez

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cyberneticcook
Siddartha - Herman Hesse

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pkhamre
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

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ca98am79
A Course in Miracles

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mknits
Fooled By Randomness

