
YC's 2015 Reading List - 0x54MUR41
http://themacro.com/articles/2015/12/yc-2015-reading-list/
======
AVTizzle
Great share!

I noticed something funny about myself after reading Ayn Rand - I found her
writing influenced my mindset and made me (personally - not casting this on
all Rand fans) more isolationist, individualist, and just a little bit more of
an asshole.

Interested by that phenomenon, I've been on the lookout for books that might
subtly influence my perspective in ways that would make me warmer, kinder,
more sympathetic/empathetic.

Two of these recommendations look spot-on for that. Purchased:

 __The Road to Character

"Focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Responding to what
he calls the culture of the Big Me, which emphasizes external success, Brooks
challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “résumé
virtues”—achieving wealth, fame, and status—and our “eulogy virtues,” those
that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, or
faithfulness, focusing on what kind of relationships we have formed."

 __Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

"Cheryl Strayed was an advice columnist called Dear Sugar, and this collection
of her essays is a guide to finding inner strength through tenderness. She
masterfully links the problems of her readers to her own painful experiences,
and the result will cling to you with its vulnerability, sweetness, and
intimacy. I’ve been in love with this book all fall."

~~~
pjmorris
I've not yet read 'Atlas Shrugged' or 'The Fountainhead', and feel I shouldn't
comment until I do. However, my anecdotal experience is that there is an
association between people who have read Rand and people who are isolationist,
individualist, and, uh, unpleasant. I have wondered about the mindset, about
whether it's the book that develops the mindset, or the mindset that finds the
book, and about whether books might help develop a different mindset. As a
person who devoured the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a teenager, I always
liked this quote:

"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The
Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often
engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an
emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real
world. The other, of course, involves orcs." [1]

I am hopeful for any social discussion of character.

[1]
[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Rogers](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Rogers)

~~~
purephase
I have read both and, at the time, it put me in a position of valuing great
fantastical deeds done by the folks portrayed, the absolutist nature of
objectivism to value the individual over all else really left a bad taste with
me.

I don't think the mindset finds the book, although it would certainly help in
finding the recommendation.

~~~
galtwho
what are you talking about?

I understood Rand as if each of us truly focus on our individual needs then
the world will be a better place.

The world is lot shittier because there are lots of people who seem to think
they know what someone else wants.

------
eroo
Another great source of reading material: FiveBooks[0] interviews "experts"
and asks them to recommend five good books for understanding their field.

E.g., this[1] interview with David Brooks from 2009 is a lot of the source
material/ inspiration for his book.

[0] [http://fivebooks.com](http://fivebooks.com)

[1] [http://fivebooks.com/interview/david-brooks-on-
neuroscience/](http://fivebooks.com/interview/david-brooks-on-neuroscience/)

~~~
dubroff
Vaguely reminds me of this list, where scholars were asked which book changed
their mind the most: [http://chronicle.com/article/What-Book-Changed-Your-
Mind-/14...](http://chronicle.com/article/What-Book-Changed-Your-
Mind-/149839/)

Would love to find more lists of the sort

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delish
Nonviolent communication is a precise and liberating way of talking. You can
be exposed by watching this talk too:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwXH4hNfgPg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwXH4hNfgPg)

It's three hours FYI. But my sales pitch is: Marshall Rosenberg is _funny_
when talks about miscommunication. I haven't laughed out loud at a three hour
youtube video before reading this.

In case you cringe at the term "nonviolent communication": Marshall Rosenberg
dislikes it too, and he coined it!

------
martythemaniak
Why Information Grows is probably the best one I read this year.

It's fairly ambitious and sets out to link information theory, the emergence
of life, evolution and economic growth all in one coherent story. It doesn't
quite hit the mark as it becomes a bit too abstract towards the end, but the
first 3 chapters are the best story of how information theory fits into
thermodynamics and the emergence of life. It's also the best summary of Ilya
Prigogine's work I've read (including, ironically, Prigogine's own books)

[http://www.amazon.ca/Why-Information-Grows-Evolution-
Economi...](http://www.amazon.ca/Why-Information-Grows-Evolution-
Economies/dp/0465048994)

------
henrik_w
+1 for Sapiens. Good overview of the histroy of humanity, and I especially
liked the theory of how shared beliefs enable cooperation among larger groups.

The example of "The Legend of Peugeot" was also great: does the company
Peugeot actually exist, can you point to what it is. No, it only exists as a
shared belief.

Also, Jeeves is great :-)

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beambot
Note that this is different than the YC library:

[https://www.ycombinator.com/resources/](https://www.ycombinator.com/resources/)

The YC library keeps a good list of perennial favorites....

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sxcurry
Before you go looking for "character" in David Brooks' book, remember that he
was an enthusiastic backer of the Iraq War, and belittled and sneered at those
protesting the war.

His comments after the House voted to restrict NSA phone data collection: "I'd
say it's a moral victory for the wingnuts. And, you know, you look at the
moment. What are we faced with? We're faced with a rising libertarianism, both
on the left and the right."

I'd look for my "character" elsewhere.

------
mrharrison
Here is a list of lists: [http://popsnip.com/topic/863/Best-Books-
of-2015-List-of-List...](http://popsnip.com/topic/863/Best-Books-of-2015-List-
of-Lists)

------
jeo1234
'The Prize' is phenomenal. I took an econ class on the petroleum industry and
the prof used it instead of a text book. PBS turn into into a really good
multi-part documentary.

------
kirk21
Best books I have read this year:

\- Shareholder letters of Warren Buffett:
[http://amzn.to/1OgZVh9](http://amzn.to/1OgZVh9)

\- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage:
[http://amzn.to/1Oh09oz](http://amzn.to/1Oh09oz)

------
n3on_net
Bill gates anual reading list is also nice.

For 2015: [http://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Best-
Books-2015](http://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Best-Books-2015)

------
kriro
I've worked halfway through "The Elements of Computing Systems" aka "Nand to
Tetris" and it's fairly high on my already way too excessive todo list for
2016. Great recommendation :)

------
ScottBurson
My recent favorite: _The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the
World_ by Oliver Morton. Engagingly written -- I could hardly put it down! --
comprehensive, thorough, and optimistic without being credulous, this book
contains a wealth of information about the "earthsystem" (as Morton likes to
call it) and the effects we're already having on it as well as those we could
potentially create intentionally. The book makes an excellent case for
expanding research into geoengineering, and I hope it gets widely read.

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r3bl
I've seen Seveneves appearing across multiple lists of best books in 2015
(here, Amazon's top 20, Goodreads' list for 2015...).

I can't wait to grab my hands on it!

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icpmacdo
Does anyone know if The Supermen is available on audiobook?

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birdperson
Nice list. The one by Nisan/Schocken is on my to read list.

Does anyone know of any lists full of new math books?

------
Animats
Nice. I've read four of those. I have some book buying to do.

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roastbeest
Only 1 female author :,(

~~~
DanBC
It's a shame you got so heavily downvoted. You make a reasonable point, and
not in a flame-baiting way.

~~~
Alex3917
It's not really productive though unless you name some that you think should
have been included on the list.

That said I've been enjoying this book a lot, and two of the three authors are
female:

[http://www.amazon.com/Participatory-Culture-Networked-Era-
Co...](http://www.amazon.com/Participatory-Culture-Networked-Era-
Conversation/dp/0745660711/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450629321&sr=8-1&keywords=participatory+culture+in+a+networked+era)

I'd say it's just one piece of a larger body of literature on these issues
rather than the definitive work that stands on its own, but it's also the kind
of thing where when you look at the list of authors and the subject matter
then the burden of proof is on you to justify not reading it.

