

Ask HN: Fiction books that entertain and educate? - tehayj

Know this situation? You are tired and have this awesome non fiction book you want to finish reading but because you are tired it is hard to process the information.<p>This happens to me all the time before I sleep. I read to further my knowledge and it would be awesome if I could find some easy reads (most likely fiction books), with great stories that also help me learn something new.<p>The topics don't matter.<p>Do you know any fiction books that entertain &#38; educate?
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pizza
Kurt Vonnegut's _Cat's Cradle_! I read it yesterday afternoon. "Science" (i.e.
what other people think of it) has a big role in it, but there are a lot of
facts in it, too. It's a well-written book that'll leave you thinking for
sure..

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tehayj
Wow, I just read some reviews and this seems to be great. Getting it right now
on my Kindle. Thank you very much!

One book I recently read and I can recommend is "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary
Lives in North Korea"

It's pretty interesting to hear the real life stories of 6 people living under
the North Korean regime (and then escaping it).

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fbuilesv
Neil Stephenson's Cryptonomicon (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon>)
is not only great science fiction, it'll also teach you a bit about math,
integration properties, cryptography and even Perl!

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pasbesoin
I convinced my mother, a small business owner, to read partway through it.
Explaining security concerns vis à vis their systems has become increasingly
easy. (She doesn't know all the details, but gets better than ever that
she/they need to pay close and timely attention to these things -- and
contract/hire competent people to manage them.)

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AutoCorrect
The Goal, by Eliyahu Goldratt. It's a great book on manufacturing clothed in a
fictional story.

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viviantan
Haruki Murakami:

 _1Q84_ \-- title's a nod to Orwellian dystopia; awesome mystery with a dash
of sci-fi that takes place in a parallel universe sort of Tokyo; the English
editon's 3 books in one so it's quite looong

 _Wind Up Bird Chronicle_ \-- another 3-books-in-one psychological thriller,
but the plotline's really just a device for telling the story of the Soviet-
Japan border clashes during WWII and the atrocities committed by both sides; I
loved the story but it's long and really weird, even for Murakami

 _Hardboiled Wonderland And The End Of The World_ \-- really fun and
imaginative book about a guy who can encrypt data by passing it through his
subconsciousness, and ends up getting stuck there himself; I think this was
the book that made Murakami famous in the US

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nopassrecover
It's worth checking out Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
(<http://hpmor.com/>). I know I avoided it for too long due to fanfic stigma
but it really is a great read that makes you reflect on the way you think.

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murtza
Here are two fiction books that I really enjoyed and learned from:

1) Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. This book is an emotional roller
coaster. After reading it, you will better understand what life is like for
the mentally challenged.

2) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. You will get a glimpse into the life of
Russian aristocracy in the 19th century. More importantly, you will learn
about love and human relationships.

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amair
_Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture_ ([http://www.amazon.co.uk/Petros-
Goldbachs-Conjecture-Apostolo...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Petros-Goldbachs-
Conjecture-Apostolos-
Doxiadis/dp/0571205119/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352673792&sr=1-1))?

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lsiebert
I find good biographies can both entertain and educate. Try surely you are
joking mr feynman.

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tokenadult
The Chosen by Chaim Potok.

<http://www.amazon.com/Chosen-Chaim-Potok/dp/0449213447>

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gadders
Sophie's World: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophies_World>

Atlas Shrugged.

