
Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer? - chha
I&#x27;m coming up on my summer leave, and have absolutely no plans other than doing various things related to house maintenance or renovation. Evenings are mostly free. If you could recommend one book I should plan on reading this summer, what should it be and why. No limitations on genre, it doesn&#x27;t have to be related to CS.
======
doomlaser
Patrick Collison, co-founder of Stripe, keeps a cool reading list with tons of
books, color coded by the impact they had on him. He's clearly a voracious
reader on a wide range of topics. I happened to find it yesterday and found
tons of books and authors to add to my Amazon wishlists:
[https://patrickcollison.com/bookshelf](https://patrickcollison.com/bookshelf)

If you're interested in games / startup stories, I have to recommend Masters
of Doom, about the early days of id. It's thrilling and exciting to read:
[https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-
Cult...](https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-
Culture/dp/0812972155) \- It's also in the news that USA has ordered a pilot
for a TV adaptation. Here's hoping it's good!

~~~
pimmen
_Masters of Doom_ had a much bigger impact on me then I thought it would. Can
really recommend it!

~~~
ElCapitanMarkla
I read that a year or two ago and find myself quite often thinking about it.
It really is very good

------
jefim
My to-go favorite for relaxed summer evenings is "The Master and Margarita" by
Bulgakov.

It is a literature masterpiece that magically adjusts to my current inner
state. It can be both easy reading when I'm tired and just want to unwind, and
thought provoking when I'm ready to be thoughtful.

[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117833.The_Master_and_Ma...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117833.The_Master_and_Margarita)

~~~
rdeboo
I started reading "The Master and Margarita" this year after seeing this title
pop up on HN so often. I could not finish it, I found it rather boring. I'm
curious, am I the only one? What does everyone find so great about this book?

~~~
deneb150
I read it earlier this year and also can't understand why it's so highly
recommended. If I were living in the Soviet Union during the time it was
written it would probably be the greatest book I had ever read, but as someone
just looking for something to read nowadays, I mean, so, so many other better
choices.

~~~
kirso
That is an incredibly limited view. How many amazing books written in "add
country" during "add time" which are classics and amazing books. Sure, there
is always an opportunity cost, but what does it have to do where you are
living and the time it was written? Does it mean you can only read books
written after the new millennia?

------
waitingkuo
I always think that learning probability can not only help you to gain more
intuition when dealing with scientific relative subjects but also empower you
to think the daily life things in a different way. I recommend Introduction of
probability [1] since it's easy to study and provides great free video
lectures [2].

[1] - [https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Probability-Dimitri-P-
Be...](https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Probability-Dimitri-P-
Bertsekas/dp/188652940X)

[2] - [https://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-6-012-introduction-to-
prob...](https://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-6-012-introduction-to-probability-
spring-2018/)

~~~
sAbakumoff
yeah, statistics rocks! One area which I am fascinated about is Bayesian
methods and here is the excellent book [https://gumroad.com/l/empirical-
bayes](https://gumroad.com/l/empirical-bayes)

~~~
kaushikt
What about the Bayesian has been fascinating?

I have a very rough idea about it and i wanted to learn more. Is this book
based out on Baseball statistics any good when i don't know anything about
baseball?

~~~
sAbakumoff
it's just the fact that one simple formula drives everything and there is the
infinite number of applications - from A/B testing to deriving poker play
strategies against opponents based on the small number of observations. I
don't think that lack of knowledge about baseball can prevent anyone from
reading this book. The author explains everything by using very simple terms.
But you need to have some knowledge of R programming language to run the code
samples.

------
djaychela
I'd have to recommend 'A deepness in the sky' and 'A fire upon the deep' by
Vernor Vinge. Both really good science fiction books where your initial
perception is slowly shown to be incorrect as more details appear about the
characters, and with great storylines. Despite being thick tomes with small
print, I got through both reasonably quickly as they were so addictive to read
- 'just one more chapter', etc...

~~~
Pepe1vo
If you enjoyed those books, I'd recommend _Children of Time_ by Adrian
Tchaikovsky as well! It explores the concept of a race of spiders evolving
into sentience and how wildly different it's civilization and technology would
be.

~~~
KineticLensman
> I'd recommend Children of Time

I agree! Like the Vinge books mentioned by the GP, the interactions between
aliens and humans are well written, and nicely bring out the quirks of the
different species.

------
bemmu
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" and "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out",
also by Richard Feynman.

He worked on the Manhattan Project among other things, writes in a very
engaging way and shares a huge number of funny anecdotes. Yet he is also
thought-provoking, for example introducing the idea of nanotechnology,
explains why he is against pompous titles and posing, and how he struggled
with staying creative.

Besides funny stories and grand ideas, there's also a heartbreaking personal
struggle. One of those books years after reading I find myself randomly
thinking about sometimes.

~~~
Gairm
Richard Feynman inspired Ralph Leighton to get curious about Tannu Tuva, an
area in central Asia. Which led Leighton to write, "Tuva or Bust!" about his
travels there.
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60349.Tuva_or_Bust](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60349.Tuva_or_Bust)

------
kreetx
I've really enjoyed Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila by
Robert M. Pirsig.

EDIT: Also, The Phoenix Project is very very good if you are into IT
management: funny, and although a novel then the content will make you want to
fix your company and perhaps even think bigger about your carrer. But this one
won't last you a summer since if you read it that slow you'll forget what was
going on. :)

~~~
ElCapitanMarkla
After reading recommendations everywhere I read Motorcycle Maintenance but I
just didn’t get what all the fuss was about. I was completely bored all the
way through and still have no idea what it is people see in it.

~~~
clarityPhone
I felt exactly the same way, and this as someone who spent their entire life
surrounded by motorcycles. The philosophical insights just felt a bit...
corny? And the rest was just plain boring.

------
smsm42
Blindsight by Peter Watts Very strong hard sci-fi with mind-bending approach
to the question of conscience. And vampires (not the Twilight kind, the scary
kind).

[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48484.Blindsight](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48484.Blindsight)

Fair warning: it's kinda pessimistic on the future of humankind.

If you like it, proceed to Echopraxia. More hard sci-fi, more vampires, even
worse news for humankind.

~~~
CosmicShadow
Someone posted this on a previous book list and I read it and I'm so glad I
did, now I've read Echopraxia, and I've bought all his other books and I'm on
those as well, totally awesome. I still think about this series and the
vampires and hive minds.

------
jor-el
Thinking, fast and slow - by Daniel Kahneman

It is a great book and talks about two systems in which we can divide the
working of our brain. Kahneman also talks exposes the extraordinary
capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the
pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior.

[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-
fast-a...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-
slow)

~~~
hannob
Others already wrote that lots of the studies this book is based on have been
called into question, here's a summary:
[https://replicationindex.com/2017/02/02/reconstruction-
of-a-...](https://replicationindex.com/2017/02/02/reconstruction-of-a-train-
wreck-how-priming-research-went-of-the-rails/)

Please note also that Kahneman himself left a comment there stating: "I accept
the basic conclusions of this blog."

~~~
tootie
Kahneman, like any scientist, can only really present our best thinking at the
time of writing. It's not like anything he wrote about was conjecture or
pseudoscience. There are studies to back everything he wrote about. In most
cases, there was and still is ample evidence. Some are now considered
questionable after contrary evidence was found. None have really been
"disproven" but are much less certain. And I don't think he presented any of
it with an air of mathematically certainty. Still a great book.

~~~
smsm42
It is important to separate wrong results from the person who does or
publishes them. There's always chance that some research fails to reproduce.
Proper controls and methodology reduce it, but it's still there. Especially in
fields where the science just begins to understand the basics and where the
matters are as complex and diverse as human behavior. We shouldn't be afraid
to question the conclusions if they don't reproduce because it might imply
that it was "conjecture or pseudoscience". Sometimes it is, but often it isn't
- it's just this particular theory proven to be not true. Happens all the time
to the very best of scientists.

------
peteforde
Perhaps the most important book I've ever read is Difficult Conversations, by
Douglas Stone. It's possible that my life is 10-20% easier since I read it,
with zero hyperbole.

It's not a breezy quick read, but my favourite sci-fi is always likely to be
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson.

~~~
quickpost
In what ways did reading Difficult Conversations make your life easier? Very
curious to learn more (it's been on my list for a while, but need to motivate
myself to get around to it)!

On that note, have you ever read Non-violent Communication? Seems like another
book in the same vein.

~~~
peteforde
I'm making this as a separate comment so that if there's one thing you take
away, it's this:

 _Whatever someone says they are upset about is only rarely what they are
actually upset about._

This seems simple and obvious in hindsight, but to truly internalize it has
changed my life experience. They aren't sad that you forgot to call; they are
concerned that you don't love them. It's almost like when someone is upset,
you should try dropping down at least one level of Maslow's hierarchy to
interrogate "what's really going on, here" because the upset person is
frequently not consciously aware of what they are really upset about, either.

To that end, if you practice consoling people by addressing what they are
feeling instead of what they are saying, it might as well be like gaining a
superpower. And _that_ is why I put this book at the top of any list. It is
the real deal in this regards.

------
gordon_freeman
I would recommend Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Hays Translation) along with
On the Shortness of Life by Seneca. These 2 books together will introduce you
to the Stoic philosophy which I just found a couple of years ago and it has
made my life much better.

~~~
0kl
I have always been of the opinion that you ought to read the stoics in the
order of:

1\. Epictetus (foundational with the enchiridion) [trans Robert Dobbin] 2\.
Seneca’s letters (eloquent exhortations from one person to another) [trans
Robin Campbell] 3\. Aurelius’s meditations (powerful self-reflections not
meant for publication) [trans Martin Hammond]

I found that, going back, both Seneca or Epictetus were lesser reads than
Aurelius, but I’m still glad I read them.

[These are my preferred translations, but I did see this comment and just
ordered the translation mentioned
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717216](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717216)]

------
kashyapc
A special book that I'm thoroughly enjoying right now: "Meetings with
Remarkable Manuscripts"[1].

Why? I'll let the abstract speak:

 _" [...] The idea for the book, which is entirely new, is to invite the
reader into intimate conversations with twelve of the most famous manuscripts
in existence and to explore with the author what they tell us about nearly a
thousand years of medieval history - and sometimes about the modern world too.
Christopher de Hamel introduces us to kings, queens, saints, scribes, artists,
librarians, thieves, dealers, collectors and the international community of
manuscript scholars, showing us how he and his fellows piece together evidence
to reach unexpected conclusions. He traces the elaborate journeys which these
exceptionally precious artefacts have made through time and space, shows us
how they have been copied, who has owned them or lusted after them (and how we
can tell), how they have been embroiled in politics and scholarly disputes,
how they have been regarded as objects of supreme beauty and luxury and as
symbols of national identity. The book touches on religion, art, literature,
music, science and the history of taste.

"Part travel book, part detective story, part conversation with the reader,
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts conveys the fascination and excitement of
encountering some of the greatest works of art in our culture which, in the
originals, are to most people completely inaccessible. At the end, we have a
slightly different perspective on history and how we come by knowledge. It is
a most unusual book."_

    
    
        - - -
    

PS: Get the hardcover edition—absolutely worth it, especially given the
subject matter; it's about 600 pages (don't let the page count discourage you)
and is beautifully bound, with lots of educating pictures of internals of
manuscripts, calligraphic masterpieces and much more.

[1] [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/213/213069/meetings-with-
rem...](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/213/213069/meetings-with-remarkable-
manuscripts/9780141977492.html)

------
sho
I mainly read SF to relax (biased towards hard space opera) and have
accumulated a "best of the best" list of my own:

Leviathan Wakes - James S. A. Corey (TV show The Expanse is loosely based on
this, but IMO doesn't even come close)

Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds

Three Body Problem (all 3 books) - Liu Cixin

Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks (your gateway drug into the Culture universe)

Genuinely wish I could experience all the above for the first time again. And
looking forward to checking out some of the others mentioned here.

~~~
lawlorino
> Three Body Problem (all 3 books) - Liu Cixin

These are great and helped me re-discover my love of sci-fi from when I was a
kid, they are often recommended in these HN book threads. I just ordered the
other 3 books that you mentioned so thanks for the recommendations!

~~~
psychometry
TBP is probably the worst sci-fi book I've ever read. It's hard to say how
much one should blame Cixin vs. the translator regarding the inept, wooden
dialogue, but we can certainly blame Cixin for terrible character development
and absurd plot points.

~~~
sho
Well, there's no accounting for taste I suppose - needless to say I disagree,
but if it wasn't for you, so be it. I do note the books seem a little
divisive; people either love them or hate them, much like Stephenson.

I do understand how some people might find the dialogue somewhat strange,
especially if they haven't had much exposure to foreign media before. The
translator always has a choice as to how much they "westernize" the dialogue.
This translator did indeed try to keep as much of the Chinese "tone" in there
as he could, and as such if you were expecting totally normal English, I can
see how you'd be disappointed.

So yes, anyone thinking about picking this up should be aware - it doesn't
read like a Tom Clancy novel. If that doesn't scare you off, though, I think
you'll find it most rewarding.

~~~
psychometry
My specific complaint with the dialogue is that nearly every character talks
in the same way: robotic and professorial. It's a symptom of Liu's poor
character design, especially when it comes to female characters. His
characters' motivations are often opaque so their actions are inexplicable.

I could forgive this (even Arthur C. Clarke wasn't much interested in
characters) if it wasn't for some of the laughably absurd plot points the
novel hinges on.

~~~
LBarret
This way of speaking is believable for Chinese scientists and militaries. The
cop had a very different tone.

------
Improvotter
Why everyone is recommending even more work for on your summer leave is beyond
me. I'd personally recommend Ready Player One, perhaps use an audiobook (I
love them). I personally listened to the one voiced by Wil Wheaton and it was
fantastically done. Definitely recommended! It is a lot better than the movie
in case you're wondering.

~~~
nikk1
You have every right to enjoy this book. But for anyone who has read Ready
Player One and absolutely hated it as much as I did, there is a hilarious
podcast called 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back (from the guys of Mystery
Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax) that mocks the book chapter-by-chapter.

~~~
Improvotter
Why did you finish the book? I just don't finish the books that I find a drag
to read. I won't listen to the podcast, but everyone is free to have their own
opinions.

~~~
nikk1
I promised a friend. It was a pretty short book as well so it was easy to blow
through.

------
bshimmin
_War and Peace_ by Tolstoy (I like the Volokhonsky and Pevear translation,
though I first read a different one that I also liked and now can't remember).
If you read it casually, it'll take you most of the summer; if you race
through it, you might be done in a few weeks. It's funny, it's tragic, it's
moving, it's educational.

~~~
huevosabio
Strongly second this. However, it starts very slow, so, if you do read it,
make sure to force yourself through the first handful of chapters.

------
Fnoord
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, SF from 1992. Goodreads entry here [1]

[1] [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40651883-snow-
crash](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40651883-snow-crash)

~~~
laputan_machine
Recently finished this, I enjoyed it a lot but I admit it's not... quite what
I expected with the heavy religious aspect of the book. Deliberately
irreverent, almost tongue-in-cheek (Hiro Protaganist...). Neal Stephenson had
an incredible eye wrt the capabilities limitations of software, especially if
you view it through the lens of 1992

------
Tokiin
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

The ride to the top and then rock bottom for Theranos is a wild one, and the
author does a great job of not letting you put this book down once you start.

~~~
dandare
I would recommend this book to every young person just entering the workforce.
Many companies are outright built on lies and many managers, C levels
especially, are manipulative psychopaths. Don't sell your soul, don't lose
your sanity, don't doubt your skills, even if a whole room of wealthy and
venerable yesman point finger at you - there is a good chance it is not you
who is crazy, it is them.

------
cannonedhamster
Books on interacting with people.

How to Win Friends and Influence People. - Dale Carnegie

Influence - Robert Cialdini

Books on understanding how to push through adversity

The Obstacle Is The Way - Ryan Holiday

Man's Search For Meaning - Victor Frankly

Books on process improvement

The Phoenix Project

The Four Hour Work Week - Tim Ferriss (ignore the outsourcing bit, listen to
his podcast)

Books on breaking out of your thought bubble.

Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

Ishmael - David Quinn

Books for understanding how sales works

Ultimate Sales Machine - Chet Holmes

Negotiate As If Your Life Depended on It - Chris Voss

Any of these books are great starts. If the leadership big bites you there's
way more I can suggest. Most of these are a mix of classics and new stuff.
I've read them all and they want have their own style and provide their own
insight. The trick is to find out what parts work with how you do and
incorporate them into your flow. The learning process never ends.

~~~
dash2
I'll disagree with Viktor Frankl, not because I've read the book - but it is
worth knowing the man was a questionable person and his ideas have some
questions over them too:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl#Controversy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl#Controversy)

~~~
cannonedhamster
There's valid criticisms that can be made of any book and any author. The
question isn't whether the reader gets benefit or not in my eyes. We read
books from Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Marcus Aurelius, and all sorts of historical
people who have advocated or committed actual atrocities. Many of our heroes
are warriors with imperfect lives that history has white washed. General
Patton for example was a brilliant general who knew what it took to win a war,
but was harsh on his troops often to the point of cruel. General Sherman
burned civilian cities to the ground and let slaves drown in his mission to
end the civil war. Rev. Martin Luther King was a womanizer. To take the
important lessons one can learn from a person who has failed in one way but
succeeded to find the positive aspects of life and shared them is what allows
for all human advancement. We don't succeed because we are without fault, but
because we overcome that fault.

~~~
Fnoord
Thanks for your point and great examples.

They succeeded because they [somehow, for one reason or another] got away with
their bad traits (or what we perceive as bad trait nowadays), and they became
famous because of their good traits.

------
EKemp
That has to be Factfulness from Hans Rosling :-)

Why: Where journalists continuosly provide the trees of human progress, this
book provides the forest.

------
berbec
"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein. A wonderfully in depth look
at a society that grew up in the harshest conditions, and their revolution
against tyrannical oppression.

------
milansm
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence [by Max Tegmark]

> When they launched, Prometheus was slightly worse than them at programming
> AI systems, but made up for this by being vastly faster, spending the
> equivalent of thousands of person-years chugging away at the problem while
> they chugged a Red Bull. By 10 a.m., it had completed the first redesign of
> itself, v2.0, which was slightly better but still subhuman. By the time
> Prometheus 5.0 launched at 2 p.m., however, the Omegas were awestruck: it
> had blown their performance benchmarks out of the water, and the rate of
> progress seemed to be accelerating. By nightfall, they decided to deploy
> Prometheus 10.0 to start phase 2 of their plan: making money.

~~~
HNLurker2
I always found that book shallow. I only read it because of Elon Musk being
mentioned

~~~
julian55
I found the name dropping (Elon Musk etc) rather tedious. The book wasn't as
good as I expected it to be.

~~~
HNLurker2
Yes and that's the only reason I picked up the book. Because back in the day I
was obsessed (2017-2018) with him and the book literal advice is getting a job
not like musk but a special skill that automation can't replace

------
tmaly
I really enjoyed Never Split the Difference. The stories are good, and I still
use the practical tips on negotiation and conversation all the time.

~~~
shuaib
+1

I am glad this is mentioned here, as I was about to. One of the most useful
book I have read. Lots of practical advice.

------
kuu
I'd recommend _The selfish gene_ , quite interesting book, it gave me a new
perspective in how the evolution and life works.

~~~
w4tson
Plus one. I’m reading this now. I have little interest in biology/zoology but
already I’m gripped by it. I can’t believe how old it is, yet still feels
fresh

------
hiisukun
Carter beats the devil, by Glen David Gold. It is sort of a mystery-thriller
fiction novel, set in a real-ish historical context of stage magicians, when
technology is entering the scene.

I found it very enjoyable, rarely read books in that kind of fictional
setting, and have successfully recommended it to a number of friends and
family. I can't recommend the author's other books though. It has nothing to
do with CS.

I should add that this is not a book you will see commonly recommended, since
it isn't on many people's top 10-20 lists. However, I originally read it on a
summer holiday from work - and I hope others will share in enjoying it too.

------
pmoriarty
_On the Shortness of Life_ by Seneca.[1]

[1] - [https://tripinsurancestore.com/4/on-the-shortness-of-
life.pd...](https://tripinsurancestore.com/4/on-the-shortness-of-life.pdf)

~~~
manjana
On the genre of Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius has intrigued me for some time. I
have yet to read any of Seneca's work though but imagine that it is any bit as
much quality(!).

I would like to add a candidate for the recommendation on Stoic philosophy -
"Meditations by Marcus Aurelius".

~~~
Scarblac
Meditations disappointed me, it was so obviously never meant as a coherent
whole. Just long lists of notes in more or less random order, lots of
repetition, not everything intelligible, few things applicable.

I think reading a randomly selected 1/6th of Meditations gives more or less
the same experience as reading all of it.

~~~
andyjohnson0
I find it great to dip into. Open at random and read a page. Like you said,
it's just not meant to be read as a whole.

------
gbuk2013
Inner Engineering by Sadhguru. For me it was an unexpectedly transformational
when I read it 6 months ago.

Unlike the stoicism books that teach you to condition yourself to be
unaffected by external events, this is a method for taking charge of what goes
on inside the body and (in my case) in the mind and emotions.

As an aside, if you haven’t tried audiobooks, I would recommend trying. I find
that after a while day of staring at the screen I really don’t want to stare
at anything else, so my book consumption dropped considerably. With audiobooks
I was able to restore it somewhat (and it’s great for filling in lost time
during driving).

~~~
yangikan
Not to take away anything from your experience. Obviously Sadhguru and his
teachings worked for you.

To me Sadhguru comes across as a person who made a good living for himself by
telling others what they want to hear. As a person of science, I can't
tolerate his 'scientific' theories which are downright wrong. This is person
who said he can figure out if a food is spoiled by looking at the direction of
rotation of a rudhraksha necklace held above it!

You can find more examples here: [https://scroll.in/article/927625/opinion-
the-disturbing-irra...](https://scroll.in/article/927625/opinion-the-
disturbing-irrationalism-of-jaggi-vasudev)

~~~
gbuk2013
Your perspective is yours to chose.

I chose to see him as a great human being who inspires many people to do a lot
of good for his country and the world. [1] Really, the state the world is in,
the fact that he is really big on planting trees means I don’t care if he’s
into Xenu - just keep planting those trees man! ;)

Jokes aside though, my perspective allowed me to benefit from his teaching and
yours precludes you from doing so. Interesting, isn’t it?

As for “science”: the only thing I care about is what I know through direct
experience. So I follow the simple rule of practicing something for 3 months
without questioning and evaluating the results. If it works, I keep at it - so
I’m keeping at it. I also recently took the opportunity to meet Sadhguru in
person. This to me is better “science” than theoretical discussions.

[1]
[https://isha.sadhguru.org/sites/default/files/uploadpdf/OUT1...](https://isha.sadhguru.org/sites/default/files/uploadpdf/OUT18_Anukampa-
IshaOutreachReport-Interactive.pdf)

------
olau
Read an intro book on biology at university level. I think I read this one,
but feel free to grab a newer one:

[https://www.amazon.com/Zoology-Robert-
Dorit/dp/0030305047/re...](https://www.amazon.com/Zoology-Robert-
Dorit/dp/0030305047/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=zoology+Dorit+walker&qid=1562059433&s=books&sr=1-1)

I used to read books on physics, but I think I learned an order of magnitude
more about the world we live in from the above book, and it didn't require
more than a high school level understanding of chemistry and biology. I read
three more books on various topics in biology afterwards.

Otherwise, if you are the sort of person who can stomach a theoretical book,
Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have
Failed is really the kind of book that takes a while to get through, but you
start seeing things differently afterwards. It discusses how large
organizations can mean well and do evil.

------
fvztdk
Strange not to found it here yet:

Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

What's better than to have a good laugh, even if already read it, is always a
nice book. And if you finish it fast, you have the rest of the series ahead.

------
chha
The list looks great so far, with lots of books and authors I would never
otherwise hear about. A big thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.

Please keep it coming, but try to stick to one book each. This isn't as much
about keeping the list short, more to make you decide on one title which is
more interesting than the others you've read.

------
13of40
When I was a pre-teen/teen, I grew up in a pretty nerdy family with a
scientist dad, a brother who eventually became a linguist, and stacks of Byte
Magazine, Omni, Particle Physics Digest, etc. as far as the eye could see. I
couldn't stomach the fantasy stuff my brother was into, and I was a bit on the
technical side, so I decided my genre was Sci Fi. I followed this to the point
that I felt deeply guilty for reading anything else, until one summer I found
myself at a cabin somewhere with nothing to do but lay in a hammock and read
_Double Whammy_ by Carl Hiaasen. Oh my God, it went down so easy compared to
the Sci Fi. It really made me realize a joy in recreational reading that's
stuck for 30 years. Now I'm not saying that Florida Humor Noir is right for
you, but don't feel obligated to spend your summer reading something like
_Nudge_ or _Crucial Conversations_.

------
m4n
Last year a friend showed me trailer of a game called The Witcher 3: Wild
Hunt, I found its story so fascinating that I ended up reading all of its 8
books in a single month. If you like reading fantasy, do not miss it.

~~~
mlang23
I just recently stumbled across the "The Wichter" series and found it
interesting. I haven't read all of them yet though. They sort of remind me of
"Wheel of time" but with a sort of different twist.

------
baal80spam
Lots of great mentions here, book-related HN threads are fantastic.

As for my recommendation:

\- technical - "Mythical Man-Month", if you haven't read it yet, \- "Dune" by
Frank Herbert - I just love re-reading it in the summer!

------
abstrct
In the wake of new attempts to "ban encryption", I'd recommend reading Crypto
by Steven Levy (2001).

[https://www.stevenlevy.com/index.php/books/crypto](https://www.stevenlevy.com/index.php/books/crypto)

~~~
segfaultbuserr
_The Code Book_ [0] by Simon Singh (1999) is another famed popular science
book that offers a non-technical introduction to cryptography and its history,
there's also an indie game [1] _Cypher_ by Matthew Brown (2018) inspirited by
the book.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Code_Book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Code_Book)

[1]
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/746710/Cypher/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/746710/Cypher/)

------
meigwilym
Someone recommended Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss here recently. I
read it and found it invaluable.

Packed full of quality advice and techniques that you can use out of the box.
The real-life stories he had from his FBI negotiating days make it an easy
read.

------
ljf
Regardless of your religious beliefs (I'm a very happy aethist) I found
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth hugely interesting.

As a tool to understand the people of the time, the stories that grew and the
'person' behind the dominant religion of the Western World - there is no book
that comes close.

Don't expect to have fun chats with religious (Christian) friends after
reading this though, as much of what you learn will differ from the bible that
they were taught, or the uniqueness of Jesus as a prophet/zealot.

Still - a book that I found a hugely interesting historical/religious read
last summer, and one I recommend to my friends.

~~~
olah_1
I don't find Zealot any more damning than The DaVinci Code.

Jean Danielou wrote a book about the Dead Sea Scrolls, Qumran, and the Essenes
way back in the 80's that explains how it's all related and what it means for
Christianity.

I personally had a "not fun" chat with an atheist friend about Zealot because
I pointed out how much silly conjecture and assumptions are underlying the
book.

~~~
ljf
Like religion, it is heavily based on conjecture and assumption - but one that
I heartily read and enjoyed. It is nice to get a different point of view and a
challenge to the stories that I'd been told were 'true' as a child - eg Joseph
returning to Bethlehem

What specifically did you find silly, if you don't mind me asking?

I'll look out for the Dead Sea Scrolls book, I listened to a hugely
interesting series of lectures about them on Audible and was left wanting
more, but hadn't found a good book yet.

------
jonwinstanley
I found “Sapiens” absolutely fascinating and incredibly dense in information.

~~~
ozim
I found it 50% of things I already knew. I got dissapointed with author lack
of knowledge how farming works. He just keeps going on how those hunter
gatherers had it all good and farming started to break people backs and stuff.
When farming you work hard 2 times a year, rest of the year you just check out
on stuff and myabe round up some animals. But it is not 365 days a year back
breaking labor.

I was dissapointed with that book, maybe because everyone was saying it is
great book, so I had high expectations.

~~~
lelima
The hype is ruining me some movies and books as well..

------
void__
If you like sci-fi, I would recommend Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. It really
had some weird twists ! :))
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27833670-dark-
matter](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27833670-dark-matter)

------
michelpp
The Book of Why, by Judea Pearl.

[http://bayes.cs.ucla.edu/WHY/](http://bayes.cs.ucla.edu/WHY/)

~~~
beefield
I'm in the middle of it and I feel - maybe weird could be a right word,
regading the book.

It is very verbose in explaining how stupid statistics and statisticians were
before the causal revolution orchestrated mainly by the author were. And how
magnificiently efficient and simple these new concepts with causation diagrams
are for uncovering causal relationships.

But for some reason I have completely missed how you come up with these
diagrams in the first place, and how you actually, practically use the data to
validate if the diagram you have come up with is correct. In other words, the
book has completely failed to help me build any kind of mental model how I
should apply this magnificent new idea in practice.

Is that just me being dumb or would there be some other sources worth reading
for yhe same concepts? (Yes, I _am_ intrigued with the question how to
evaluate causal statements)

~~~
merlinsbrain
I think you’ll enjoy this piece titled “Bayesian Networks without Tears”.

[https://www.cs.ubc.ca/~murphyk/Bayes/Charniak_91.pdf](https://www.cs.ubc.ca/~murphyk/Bayes/Charniak_91.pdf)

The author of this paper/article attempts to make Judea Pearl’s concepts
digestible while keeping a good balance between using math (not much) but
still referring to the relevant mathematical concepts.

I’m currently (re-)exploring these concepts (specifically Bayesian networks)
and would be happy to chat (check profile) if you end up reading this paper or
finding different sources which help you grok the field!

------
PeterWhittaker
"What is Real" by Adam Becker. He presents the sociology of why the Copenhagen
interpretation persisted for so long, despite strong opposition early on and
refutations of Von Neumann's work on why it had to be true.

Once into the modern world, he provides an overview of current interpretations
and their experimental support.

Becker's book is, I think, the best lay person's explanation of the problems
QM was invented to solve, the Copenhagen Interpretation itself, and several of
the more modern interpretations.

Great, mind bending read.

------
l8mr4
If you like Michael Lewis (the big short, moneyball, etc) try his favorite
novel: The Confederacy of Dunces. The main character is an antihero. This can
bother some people. The story about the book which is usually in the prelude
is interesting and tragic. Really good fiction.

------
holografix
I can’t recommend “Into thin air” by John Krakauer enough.

A true story written with naked emotion by someone who experienced the life
altering disaster on Everest.

It’s all too relevant right now with another recent calamity on Everest.

An excerpt from the opening words:

“The Everest climb had rocked my life to its core, and it became desperately
important for me to record the events in complete detail, unconstrained by a
limited number of column inches. This book is the fruit of that compulsion...

Several authors and editors I respect counseled me not to write the book as
quickly as I did; they urged me to wait two or three years and put some
distance between me and the expedition in order to gain some crucial
perspective. Their advice was sound, but in the end I ignored it—mostly
because what happened on the mountain was gnawing my guts out. I thought that
writing the book might purge Everest from my life. It hasn’t, of course.
Moreover, I agree that readers are often poorly served when an author writes
as an act of catharsis, as I have done here. But I hoped something would be
gained by spilling my soul in the calamity’s immediate aftermath, in the roil
and torment of the moment. I wanted my account to have a raw, ruthless sort of
honesty that seemed in danger of leaching away with the passage of time and
the dissipation of anguish.“

~~~
Japhy_Ryder
He does have an incredible writing style ("voice"). Compelling read,
admittedly I only finished half - thanks for the reminder.

------
pps
If you don't sleep 8+ hours every night: Matthew Walker - Why We Sleep

~~~
leethargo
Also, the Circardian Code by Satchin Panda.

I have read both recently, and there is a lot of overlap, but the Circardian
Code goes beyond sleep into nutrition and execise, as well.

~~~
pps
Oh yes, definitely. Another one from these experts is Valter Longo with his
book "The Longevity Diet". All three of them were interviewed by Rhonda
Patrick
[https://www.youtube.com/user/FoundMyFitness/videos](https://www.youtube.com/user/FoundMyFitness/videos)
for people who like to watch/listen before reading. Matthew was also a guest
in Joe Rogan Experience
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwaWilO_Pig)

~~~
leethargo
I found only one point in which Satchin Panda and Matthew Walker were
disagreeing:

Satchin said that there were no (genetic) sleep types among humans (who prefer
to get up and go to bed early, or late) referencing a paper in which a group
of students went on a hiking and camping trip where they all synchronized to
the same rhythm after a few days of exposure to all natural light.

Matthew, on the other hand, says that there are definitely variations in sleep
time preference in humans, with a genetic base and recommends to find out so
that the ideal time windows for work and sleeps are chosen. Does not give a
reference, sadly.

Not sure what to make of it, really.

------
drej
Basically anything by Simon Singh, I mostly enjoyed the Code Book and the Big
Bang, Fermat's Last Theorem was also solid.

Detailed yet extremely readable for a very wide audience.

------
charleshan
A few people already recommended this already but I'll add some of my
thoughts.

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. It's a memoir by the founder of Nike. The book goes
deep into his emotional rollercoaster, starting from nothing to eventually
going IPO.

~~~
lelima
I read it this year, one of my favorites for sure.

------
agotterer
If you have the whole summer to read a book, check out The Power Broker by
Robert Caro. It’s the story about the rise and fall of Robert Moses. His
accumulation of power and how he basically built modern New York and his
impact on the 20th century.

I’m in the middle of reading it, it’s very good. It’s long though. Something
like 1400 pages or 66 hours of audio. So you'll need the summer to finish it!

------
honzzz
Neurosis and human growth by Karen Horney

Neverending story by Michael Ende

It is interesting to read these two together - they are basically the same
book, just expressed differently.

------
KaiserPro
I personally hate self improvement books/management, so here are some
narrative books that I loved and got lost in

1) The tiger's wife - To me it has a brilliant full universe. Its comprised of
a overarching narrative broken up with lots of short stories.

2) night watch/ making money / going postal - terry pratchett Fun stories with
full characters.

3) THe pigeon tunnels - john le carre, Again composed of short stories, not
overly spy-y just fascinating character studies, with a bit of history.

4) differently morphous - Yahtzee croshaw this one is a scifi comedy, 100%
worth getting in audiobook form

5) rivers of london - ben aaronovich, policeman who was all set for a life of
being a desk clerk accidentally becomes a wizard policemen.

6) harry potter, obviously :)

~~~
mlang23
I just read "A hat full of stars" yesterday evening. I can recommend _all_
discworld books. But this one was especially moving. Now that I know that
Terry was a advocate for assisted dying, I finally understand the alegory at
the end of the book. Moved me to tears.

------
stepvhen
If you only read one book, I suggest Don Quixote, the Grossman translation
particularly, if only for the higher quality footnotes (compared to Lathrop's
which is very well translated but poorly commented). The advantage here is DQ
is really like four or five books of various types, and has a Yale Open
Courseware series attached to it, so for any chapters you want to know more
about, the resources are at hand. Through this book you can learn so, so much
about literature.

But also, watching Don Quixote and Sancho's friendship develop is
heartwarming. It was a book written for entertainment first, and just happened
to be saturated in intense philosophical and literary quality.

~~~
bookofjoe
I've started and failed to complete this book many times. Yet I've loved what
I read. There are many who believe this is the greatest novel of all time.

------
pfalafel
Anything by W. G. Sebald for instance The Rings of Saturn
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rings_of_Saturn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rings_of_Saturn)

------
nl
_Shoe Dog_ , by Phil Knight (Nike). The best business book I've read in 5
years (maybe more). Really well written, too.

The Undoing Project, Micheal Lewis. The story behind "Thinking Fast and Slow"
but much easier to read.

------
dade_
Both are a major investment of time, but have paid off:

VOLTAIRE’S BASTARDS: THE DICTATORSHIP OF REASON IN THE WEST
[http://www.johnralstonsaul.com/non-fiction-
books/voltaires_b...](http://www.johnralstonsaul.com/non-fiction-
books/voltaires_bastards/)

The Penguin History of the World
[https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316944/the-
penguin-...](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316944/the-penguin-
history-of-the-world-by-j-m-roberts/9781846144431/)

~~~
icebraining
Haven't read the book, but his interview on Econtalk was interesting:
[http://www.econtalk.org/john-ralston-saul-on-reason-
elites-a...](http://www.econtalk.org/john-ralston-saul-on-reason-elites-and-
voltaires-bastards/)

------
kr4
Kundalini — An Untold Story by Om Swami [https://www.amazon.com/Kundalini-
Untold-Story-Himalayan/dp/0...](https://www.amazon.com/Kundalini-Untold-Story-
Himalayan/dp/0994002793)

If you fancy about metaphysical and mystical stuff, If you think there's more
to a living being than blood and tissues, and if you want to keen on not just
entertaining but possibly learn to experience the truth (if any)s behind the
claims of superhuman faculties, then read this book.

>>> Kundalini is your polar opposite within you. When it awakens, you realize
how immensely powerful you already are. You experience how there is a whole
universe within you. It is your feminine energy if you are a man and your
masculine energy if you are a woman. It is your passage, your path to eternal
fulfillment within you.

>>> Awakening of the kundalini is realization of your pure abstract
intelligence, the type that is not conditioned by your fears, emotions and
worries. It is your pristine nature. When you are able to tap into this latent
source of energy, you truly become the master of your universe. You can
manifest whatever you wish in your life because your scale of consciousness is
no longer limited to your body alone; it envelops the whole universe.

------
b3b0p
Probably not able to completed during a single 3 months unless you do it full
time, but I picked up a copy of SICP [0] and started reading through and
working through every-single-problem. I got stuck so far on one problem in the
first chapter toward the end at the moment. I will say, Scheme is fun! The
problems can be challenging, short, and very rewarding.

However, maybe I'm not very smart and feel like I might have a very hard time
with it. I'm not that great at math I don't think, nor do I consider myself
genius like. Did people who go through this book do every single problem and
figure it out themselves? There are a lot more problems then I expected. They
are also, so far, some to be quite challenging and math heavy. It does really
feel like it helps get my brain thinking differently about a lot of problems
and I love it! But it also feels like I might start grinding a lot and burn
out on it. Any tips or help or suggestions how to get through it successfully,
get a good amount of education out of, and continue to be excited to keep
moving forward?

[0]
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0262510871](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0262510871)

I know it's free online, but I wanted a physical edition.

------
m0zg
If you haven't read it yet, read the Culture series by Iain Banks. It's not a
"book" but a series of books, but once you start you won't be able to put it
down. Just the thing after a long day of manual labor. You'll also understand
where Elon Musk gets names for his barges.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture_(series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture_\(series\))

------
mlang23
It is already 6 years old. I had a great time reading it when a friend
recommended it to me about 3 years ago: The Circle by Dave Eggers:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Circle_(Eggers_novel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Circle_\(Eggers_novel\))

And do yourself a favour, _never_ watch the movie version from 2017. The end
has been butchered which ruins the whole message of the story.

~~~
pedrogpimenta
Horrible, just horrible ending...

~~~
mlang23
I was actually wondering how expensive such a butchered ending might be these
days. Turning a story around like this just smells of manipulation. I guess
Google/FB weren't really happy with how the book ends...

------
Erika23
I highly recommend Isaac Miller’s book, Just Get Up And Manifest Inner Genius.
His real life example of a teenager overcoming extremely overwhelming
obstacles as he fought his way out of a life drugs, crime, and poverty by
becoming an entrepreneur at 17 is very inspiring. I love his 27 Month Plan for
discovering your gifts and dreams. His Limelight Spot Effect theory is genius
and The Octagon Way chapter is just brilliant. You can click on the link below
to preorder a copy of his book. I was privileged to read an advanced reader
copy of his book because I gave him an endorsement quote. His book’s release
date is August 31th but you can preorder a copy. I enjoy his motivational
podcast episodes as well. [http://www.koehlerbooks.com/book/just-get-up-and-
manifest-yo...](http://www.koehlerbooks.com/book/just-get-up-and-manifest-
your-inner-genius/)

[https://youtu.be/NSoc8_BRM74](https://youtu.be/NSoc8_BRM74) (Podcast)

www.isaacsmiller.com (you can go to his website and preorder a copy of his
book from his website or from the publisher’s website. I hope this information
was helpful.

------
caenn
Mindstorms: Children, Computers, And Powerful Ideas
[https://www.amazon.com/Mindstorms-Children-Computers-
Powerfu...](https://www.amazon.com/Mindstorms-Children-Computers-Powerful-
Ideas/dp/0465046746/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1470066484&sr=8-1&keywords=mindstorms+papert&linkCode=sl1&tag=resourcesforprog&linkId=15a6219a33ec8080a67b07fbf30a50bb)

------
usrme
"The Real Happy Pill" by Anders Hansen.

In a nutshell: it goes through the myriad of ways that exercise is good for
your brain, and the author does it in a way that is easy to grok and even
easier to implement in your own life.

To me it really drove home that I need to continue exercising for years to
come and thanks to this book I'll be driving the concept home for people I
care about as well.

------
markvdb
Dead souls, by Nikolai Gogol. Wikipedia article [0] and freely licensed ebook
[1].

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Souls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Souls)
[1]
[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1081](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1081)

------
teekert
In the wake of China's expansion into Africa, I'd recommend "Confessions of an
economic hitman" by John Perkins.

~~~
justaguyhere
I read this long time ago, it was unbelievable and crazy to my naive brain. I
don't know how much of it is true and how much of it is made up, it is
definitely worth a read. I remember reading it in one sitting, shaking my head
along the way multiple times

~~~
teekert
Me too! The most memorable ones are the Iran CIA coup of 1953 which is pretty
much considered the truth. Torrijos "murder" remains a mistery imho. I'm
willing to believe the book...

I also love the way the book is written, like an adventure, very immersive.

------
niklasmtj
Lost Connections by Johann Hari

About the sources of depression and anxiety of the current society.
Interesting book backed with a lot of studies.

------
kdkdkch
Algorithms to live by - Brian Christian

Takes you through the entire CS curriculum again but applies everything to
personal real life situations.

------
Brajeshwar
I recently decided to do all my presentations (work related) by
drawing/sketching (No slides). People love the clarity and interactions.

A really good friend and business partner suggested me Dan Roam and his books.
I'm loving it. Check out his books
[https://www.danroam.com](https://www.danroam.com)

~~~
another-dave
This sounds really interesting — do you mean on a whiteboard in the meeting
room or bringing pre-prepped material?

~~~
Brajeshwar
Yes on Whiteboards, I usually carry a bunch of whiteboard markers (many
colors). In special cases, I include post-it notes.

I also tend to sketch/scribble a lot during meetings. They usually end up
being the meeting notes. People take pictures of them to relate back later.

------
zettacircl
I would say [https://personalmba.com/](https://personalmba.com/)

------
d0ublespeak
The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells - super eye opening.

------
retepnap
If you haven't read it: Factfulness by Hans Rossling The book uncovers our
misconceptions about what is going on in the world in terms of global
population, health and prosperity. It provides you with a sharpened sense of
where the world is going and what factors play a role in this development.

------
AndrewStephens
Lots of disposable scifi in this thread. And there is nothing wrong with that
so let me chime in with the hard stuff: The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin is
one of the best scifi/fantasy (it is hard the classify) novels I have read in
recent years. Fair warning, it gets pretty grim.

I also enjoyed reading Ignition! by John D Clark. It is a dated (written in
the 70s) but fascinating look at all the different chemicals tried to make
rockets during the space race. Very interesting even if, like me, you only
have a simple understanding of chemistry. There are some hair-raising (or hair
razing) anecdotes.

I keep a list of books I've liked to answer questions like this:
[https://sheep.horse/tagcloud.html#book](https://sheep.horse/tagcloud.html#book)

------
murat124
The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by
Martin Gurri.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/Revolt-Public-Crisis-Authority-
Millen...](https://www.amazon.com/Revolt-Public-Crisis-Authority-
Millennium/dp/1732265143)

------
PeterWhittaker
Darwin's Dangerous Idea, by Daniel Dennett, one of the two most important
(IMHO, of course) books I've read (Thinking, Fast and Slow is the other,
already recommended, below.

Dennett is a practical philosopher of science; the book is a detailed analysis
and extension of the idea of "designer-free design", evolution by incremental
random change. Among other things, he thoroughly presents the implications of
Darwinian evolution, discusses the concept of "design space" and how some
evolutions preclude whole swaths of that space, then speculates carefully on
how the idea could pertain to other fields, e.g., the evolution of physical
law (assuming that each "big bang" resulted in a universe with slightly
different physics.

~~~
jacknews
"how some evolutions preclude whole swaths of that space"

If I remember correctly, Kevin Kelly's "Out of Control" introduced me to this
idea, of a kind of but not quite meta-evolution: [https://kk.org/mt-
files/outofcontrol/ch14-a.html](https://kk.org/mt-
files/outofcontrol/ch14-a.html)

------
tempguy9999
An odd one here. 'Chimpanzee Material Culture'[0]. It's getting on a bit (pub
1992) so perhaps others can recommend a more updated study, but it's a
sophisticated presentation of chimps, their culture, how they compare to human
hunter-gatherers (and how difficult it can be to distinguish between crude
stone tools used by one or other), how difficult it is to even phrase the
right question when it comes to comparing chimps and humans, and a list of
open issues. Anyone who wants to talk about limits of nonhuman should read
this.

And with a sense of humour too. Not too heavy, and I found it a genuine page-
turner (rather unexpected that!)

And as I mention humour I just reminded myself of 'The Innocent
Anthropologist'[1] which is kind-of similar in a way but totally hilarious
[1]. It's _really_ funny, also very educational, and would make a very good
complement to the first.

I suppose to continue the theme of _other cultures_ (which fascinate me
because they teach me so much about my own culture and assumptions when I read
how very different other societies can be), 'Aztec'[2]. It tracks the life of
a (fictional) aztec and the destruction of his culture and people as the
conquistadors arrive. The author does take some historical liberties; allow
for that a little. I'll call it the best book I ever read, however it is
_dense_ so it either works for you or it doesn't. But if it works, it is
amazing!

[0] [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chimpanzee-Material-Culture-
Implica...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chimpanzee-Material-Culture-Implications-
Evolution/dp/0521423716)

[1] [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Innocent-Anthropologist-Notes-
Mud-H...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Innocent-Anthropologist-Notes-Mud-
Hut/dp/1906011508)

[2] [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aztec-Gary-
Jennings/dp/0765317508](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aztec-Gary-
Jennings/dp/0765317508)

------
deboflo
Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

------
huevosabio
I _really_ liked the series of A Song of Ice and Fire (the books on which Game
of Thrones is based). Martin does a great job at building a fantasy world
while keeping humans true to their human nature. The combination of morally
ambiguous characters that follow their own motivations with the fog-of-war (in
the sense of making decisions with incomplete information) sets the motion for
a really intriguing plot.

In addition, although not a book, I would strongly recommend the podcast
Hardcore History. In particular, the series on WWI (Blueprint for Armageddon)
is the best audio content I've ever heard, and it is long enough to be
considered an audio book (~23 hours of content broken into 6 chapters).

------
avtar
'The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion' by Christopher Germer
[https://chrisgermer.com/mindful-path-self-
compassion/](https://chrisgermer.com/mindful-path-self-compassion/)

------
yjhoney
If you are open to the possibility to go against society's norms:

1\. A brief history of humankind: This opens your mind to the possibility that
maybe our society is not as good as you think. What if the foundation that our
society is built on is wrong?

2\. A guide to the good life: Perhaps your pursuit of success, comforts, and
convenience is grounded on the wrong foundation. And as a result, a false
sense of happiness.

Then you might realize that core of your happiness starts with the people you
love most (parents, kids, childhood friends, etc). From there, you can
treasure friends (or coworkers or whatever) who support and appreciate your
priorities and keep these people close to heart.

------
playing_colours
I decided to try reading the classic literature this year. The books that
stood the test of time. I started with

    
    
      Brothers Karamazov by F.Dostoyevsky
      Middlemarch by G.Eliot
    

After that I plan to continue with

    
    
      East of Eden by J.Steinbeck
      Ulysses by J.Joyce
    

They all have incredible characters, deep thoughts, delicious language. Sure,
not an easy read after contemporary fiction, but I noticed that the more
classic literature I read the better I understand and enjoy it. Also, I own
Folio Society's copies of last three titles, and it's an an additional
pleasure to hold, touch, and read physical books.

~~~
mlevental
>Ulysses by J.Joyce

you will never be able to read that. i have a friend that did read it and it
took him 10 years just to finish (not even understand!)

~~~
olah_1
This neat little web page might help:
[http://m.joyceproject.com/info/sources.html](http://m.joyceproject.com/info/sources.html)

It allows you to click on things to understand their allusions/references.

------
vmurthy
If you like Science , I’d highly recommend “Our mathematical universe” by Max
Tegmark. I’m halfway through it and find it fascinating. It is more about
physics than mathematics. Think of it like “A brief history of time” advanced
plus.

------
pimmen
I have been spending a lot of time reading English language classics lately
(I'm Swedish, so I only read two classics in my high school English class) so
I will recommend one I recently read, _Catch 22_.

I read it so that I knew what it was about before watching the Hulu show.
Still haven't watched the Hulu show, but absolutely loved the book. It's
funny, very dark and even though most people think they know all about it
without reading it because they understand the term "catch 22", they are
missing out on a very good story that will leave you in want of discussing it
with someone else.

------
RaceWon
The Godfather -Mario Puzo

The Running Man -Richard Bachman (A Stephen King pen name)

Never Split The Difference -Chris Voss

"The Godfather" is a classic that features my 2nd favorite evil genius Don
Corleone (Hannibal Lecter being the 1st). Great character development and a
fine tale to boot.

"The Running Man" isn't Kings best, but there's something about it, well that
book and "The Long Walk"\--also by Bachman, that makes it an entertaining
read.

"Never Split the Difference" is the best negotiating book I've ever read and,
I have negotiated deals for a living at various times in my career.

------
Symmetry
Limiting us to recommending one book is very cruel.

I suppose if I have to recommend one it would be _Consciousness and the Brain:
Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts_ by Stanislas Dehaene. This isn't
a complete scientific explanation of consciousness. This is looking at
questions like how do stimuli we're consciously aware of differ from
subliminal stimuli? How does awareness relate to memory? How do the readings
our instruments give relate to people's descriptions of their experiences?

------
idiocratic
Shantaram is a great novel that is very easy to read regardless of the book
length (it's very long). If you are even remotely interested in India and/or
travelling it is a must.

------
jolmg
Random book with no justification:

Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume 1

by Will Durant

It's in the Internet Archive:

[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.61276/page/n15](https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.61276/page/n15)

The Story of Civilization is an 11-volume set of books[1], by the way.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Civilization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Civilization)

~~~
lordgrenville
I got through the entire set on audiobook. It's a fantastic history of Western
civilisation. We might accent some things slightly differently nowadays, but
overall it's held up really well.

~~~
jolmg
I read a bit of the first one years ago, but didn't get very far since I was
busy with other stuff.

I'm still busy with other stuff. I haven't been able to prioritize such
career-unrelated leisure reading in years. Maybe in one or two years I'll give
it another go.

------
sjtindell
Neuromancer. Utterly cool sci-fi.

~~~
mlang23
Neuromancer and Snowcrash. For some reason, I always think of both at the same
time. The story is kind of similar after all.

------
credit_guy
If you like SciFi, and you didn’t read The Martian yet, then now’s a good
time. In my opinion this is by far the best SciFi book of all time. Hard
SciFi, in the style of Arthur C Clarke, but packed with 10 times the “sci” of
the Odyssey or Rama. If you already read this, go for Andy Weir’s second
novel, Artemis. Not the level of The Martian, but still better than 99.9975%
of all the SciFi books out there.

~~~
playing_colours
On the topic of Mars, may I suggest The Martian Chronicles by R.Bradbury. It's
on the other end of the spectrum from hard SciFi - more like lyrical and
poetic SciFi.

------
pmlnr
Aldous Huxley - Breve New World

~~~
arien
I only started reading this one yesterday. I honestly know nothing of this
book other than everybody always mentions it (along with 1984, Animal Farm and
Farenheit 451). The first few pages made me raise a few eyebrows already,
looking forward to finishing it.

------
Culmat
"Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas R. Hofstadter A
beautiful multidisciplinary dive into number theory, self-reference,
consciousness art and much more. It's written in the spirit of Lewis Carroll.
Really enjoying it right now

~~~
ozim
I am preparing to read it this summer. But this book is going to be big
project to read and understand for me and I don't think I will make it in 2
months. If you can read it just like novel I totaly envy you.

I started in December and got into like 20% of book or less and then I decided
that I don't get that much out of book by casually reading it.

------
noufalibrahim
A recent book that I read which really helped my outlook on things business
was "Money: The Unauthorized Biography" by Felix Martin. Perhaps my general
lack of knowledge in the general area made me feel that the book was profound
but it's a good read either way.

If you prefer fiction, I highly recommend "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter
M. Miller Jr. One of my alltime favourite books.

------
KKPMW
There is a book I've read at least 6 times:

"The problems of philosophy" by Bertrand Russell.

And for a completely different turn:

"Revolt against the modern world" by Julius Evola.

The first book in my mind is a great read no matter what place you are coming
from. The second one is a bit esoteric and might be controversial from some
people. But for me it offered a biggest shift in perspective out of all the
books I've read so far.

------
chadcmulligan
On my list for summer reading "NASA Saturn V 1967-1973 (Apollo 4 to Apollo 17
& Skylab) (Owners' Workshop Manual)"

[https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0857338285/?coliid=I3TBY9JPJSRS0...](https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0857338285/?coliid=I3TBY9JPJSRS0Z&colid=3C01LUBLHY2ES&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it)

------
shafyy
The History of the Future by Blake J. Harris. It's about the foundation and
subsequent acquisition of Oculus by Facebook. He has done a lot of first-hand
interviews with the involved parties.

It reads like a movie script, and it's full of drama (e.g Palmer Luckey and
FB) and full of little gems and information. Even if you're not intersted in
VR, it's a great read.

------
very_curious
The "Master & Commander" Series by Patrick O'Brian has been a great companion
to me over the years and over many re-reads.

For me it's not about the sea battles -which I don't find particularly
interesting- but rather about the writing style, the character development,
and the fun of ambling through life with Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.

~~~
bookofjoe
This series was the only thing I could read (just barely) while mired in a
1.75-year-long depression in 2014-15.

------
bananatron
"The Body Keeps the Score" taught me a ton about the psychology of trauma, as
it relates to everyone. It really has some jaw-dropping stuff.

[https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-
Trauma/dp/01...](https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-
Trauma/dp/0143127748/)

------
nestorherre
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. Short fiction book with a marvelous message
about following your dreams and believing in yourself.

------
altro
the Baroque Cycle (three large novels, in fact) by Neal Stephenson

------
keiferski
Beyond good and evil, Nietzsche. Probably his best work and one that will
shake up your conception of morality.

------
bwb
Killer of Men - The best historical fiction I've read, you will love it :)

[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GVFY6BM/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?...](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GVFY6BM/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)

------
idlewords
Primo Levi, _The Periodic Table_.

------
ilaksh
Can't pick one sorry.

Entertaining classic; Gibson: Virtual Light, Idoru

Thinking ahead; Marshall Brain: The Second Intelligent Species

Smart reply became reality but luckily it did not turn into SkyNet; W.
Hertling: Avogadro Corp.

Startup advice; Fitzpatrick: The Mom Test

About "value"; Priceonomics: Everything is Bullshit

Entertaining; Ramez Naam: Nexus

------
kishansundar
The Code Book (The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum
Cryptography) By Simon Singh

------
vector_rotcev
Eisenhorn by Dan Abnett.

It's actually a triology (Xenos, Malleus, Hereticus). It comes in omnibus
format now but will not take a long time to get through.

Not a difficut or life changing read - just a good time, with good characters,
doing things you haven't read about before.

------
vixen99
'Licence to be Bad - How Economics Corrupted Us' by Jonathan Alred, a
Cambridge economist, engagingly tells how a group of economic theorists
changed our world' in terms of how wealth maximization became the new
morality. Unputdownable!

------
ivanhoe
Have no particular recommendation as that would very much depend on your own
set of interests, but pick something relaxing and completely unrelated to your
work/everyday life. Our brains need a vacation here and there, too.

------
drcongo
The KLF - Chaos, magic and the band who burned a million pounds
[https://johnhiggs.com/books/the-klf/](https://johnhiggs.com/books/the-klf/)

------
literary_zimbo
Passage by Connie Willis

Passage follows the efforts of Joanna Lander, a research psychologist, to
understand the phenomenon of near-death experiences by interviewing hospital
patients after they are revived following clinical death.

------
kryptiskt
"The Rediscovery of Man" by Cordwainer Smith

There's no other science fiction like this, he had a unique style. It's a
collection with most of the SF he wrote, excepting the novel "Norstrilia".

------
itcheeze
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot who Changed the Art of War

I'm about 2/3's of the way through and its a great read about the guy who
revolutionized fighter pilot tactics and made a number of other big
contributions.

------
packetpirate
Here are a few recommendations based on things I've read this year and last:

\- Infinite by Jeremy Robinson

\- The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (this series is a rabbit hole)

\- Scythe by Neal Shusterman

\- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

\- Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

------
Dowwie
I am struggling to narrow down my selection. I want to read so many. I usually
end up barely finishing just one. I am a slow reader who takes time to
experience the journey.

It will be a classic work of fiction.

------
lunchladydoris
There are some excellent books on this list already. For something different,
try Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight. It's a memoir from the founder of Nike. I just
finished it and it was great.

------
koots
The holy Quran You can read or listen
[http://quran.ksu.edu.sa/m.php?l=en#aya=19_1](http://quran.ksu.edu.sa/m.php?l=en#aya=19_1)

------
w4tson
Non Violent Communication

I found it as a recommendation on HN sometime ago and I would recommend it to
software people especially as we can be an argumentative bunch.

It helped me with relationships at home and at work

------
EliRivers
Anna Karenina.

------
geden
The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa

It’s like the missing manual for your mind.

------
raguinb4u
Antifragile

------
Tinfoilhat666
Cory Doctorow: Little Brother. It shows what kind of dystopian surveillance
world we might live in few years and how to fight back.

------
elwesties
Recommend "radical candor" it has totally changed my management style and it
applicable to both managers and non managers

------
ddggdd
saw numerous pop psychology book recommendations and this one should be read
first

 _how emotions are made_

it is the new new thing, really thought-provoking, a lot of ideas are
speculation, but if it true(I believe most are)

we are seeing a new system to explain our current problems and create a new
path to future

believing is seeing

also the audio book is fun, the voice lady seems capable of triggering a lot
people.

------
Quiza12
The World According to Garp by John Irving. To me, it's the perfect tragi-
comedy. Gotta have a bit of both.

------
jaco8
Something for the long holiday evenings:

Robert C. Ruark - Something of Value

Frisco Hitt - A Coffin Full of Dreams

Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn - The First Circle

------
jboynyc
FWIW, the best book I ever read at the beach was _The Man Who Loved Children_
by Christina Stead.

Enjoy your vacation!

------
shock
Robert Glover - No More Mr. Nice Guy. It's the best book I know on men's
psychological health.

------
aneidon
I'm currently reading the Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton, and would
highly recommend it.

------
BinaryResult
The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous. Amazing insight on the past and
future of money.

~~~
BinaryResult
I also highly recommend The Rational Male by Rollo Tomassi. A must read for
all men.

------
juergenkuebler
War and Peace from Leo Tolstoij is a book that you will have to read once in
your lifetime.

------
justin66
The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing
Personal.

------
sansnomme
On VCs, startups and philanthropy: Accelerando by Charles Stross

------
RocketSyntax
Platform Revolution - explains why two sided marketplaces work.

------
natmaka
The Breakdown of Nations by Leopold Kohr.

------
htamas
The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl

------
52-hertz_whale
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday.

------
juergenkuebler
Or play clash Royale - it’s a lot of fun. Especially if you have a teenager
and you can play in 2v2 mode ;-)

------
ptah
Anti-Fragile by Nassim Taleb

------
peheje
Hyperion

------
druvisc
1984

------
bookofjoe
The Porpoise — Mark Haddon

------
austincheney
Principles by Ray Dalio

------
joshux
Beginning of Infinity

~~~
kitx
An excellent book. David Deutsch is a talented writer and this is one of those
books that shifts the way you look at the world.

------
chrisgd
Jurassic Park

------
abnvp
Incognito

