
Ask HN: What are your favorite books of 2010? - MikeCapone
What are the best books that you've read in 2010 and why did you like them so much?<p>I'm asking because I've picked up many excellent books based on recommendations from HN, and I think it would be great to have a centralized thread to gather recs.
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icco
From last month: "Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why"
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1973516>

~~~
MikeCapone
_blush_ Thanks, I totally missed that.

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DanielBMarkham
This subject keeps coming up so much I made a site just to keep track of books
hn'ers recommend to each other: <http://hn-books.com>

I think out of all the books I read, the stoicism book made the biggest impact
on me -- [http://www.hn-books.com/Books/A-Guide-to-the-Good-Life-
The-A...](http://www.hn-books.com/Books/A-Guide-to-the-Good-Life-The-Ancient-
Art-of-Stoic-Joy.htm) . It really came out of left field and provided
immediately useful advice on how to conduct myself both as a founder and as a
hacker. But "The Sparrow" was the best sci-fi I have read in years, so I can't
exclude that. Terrifically good book. <http://www.hn-books.com/Books/The-
Sparrow.htm>

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bkudria
Reposted from my site: ([http://ben.kudria.net/post/2548785108/my-favorite-
books-of-2...](http://ben.kudria.net/post/2548785108/my-favorite-books-
of-2010)). Affiliate links there, for those inclined.

===

In 2010, every single book I read, I read on my Kindle. Buying a Kindle has
been the best thing I have ever done for my reading addiction. I recently
upgraded to a Kindle 3, and I wholeheartedly recommended you get one as well,
even if you currently have a Kindle 2.

Here are the top books I enjoyed in 2010, and you will enjoy also.

\- The His Dark Materials Trilogy. Start with The Golden Compass.

\- The City & The City by China Miéville. Quite the post-modern detective
story. (Read also his novel Perdido Street Station)

\- Surface Detail, the new novel by Iain M. Banks, who has quickly catapulted
to the very top of my “Favorite Sci-Fi Authors” list. Surface Detail may not
be the best novel for a Banks-unfamiliar reader, however — you may wish to
start with something like Consider Phlebas or Look To Windward.

\- I re-read Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Read this book carefully and it will change your life. (N.B. It’s not really
about Zen, although it kinda is.)

\- The true story Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, about Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a
Syrian-born painting contractor in New Orleans. What Zeitoun does for the
people of New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina is heartwarming and truly
American, and what the US Government does to him and his family is terrifying
and utterly infuriating.

\- The Wind-up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is a fun Thai cyber/gene-punk yarn.
Bacigalupi is a new author, and I look forward to reading more of his stuff.

\- Dan Simmons’ Song Of Kali has an invasive and palpable stench of suspense.
This horror novel set in Calcutta is an excruciating, brutal, and brilliant
read.

\- Kafka On the Shore by Haruki Murakami. I’ve always been a fan of Murakami’s
works, but this novel from 2002 is, in my opinion, one of his greatest. It’s
beautiful, haunting, and superbly thought-provoking.

~~~
runjake
Why do you recommend upgrading to a Kindle 3 even if you have a Kindle 2?

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bkudria
It's smaller and lighter. Its screen refreshes faster. The contrast is better.
It has WiFi.

But mostly, because it's black.

~~~
runjake
This is a content-free reply, but thanks for actually responding. I've been on
the fence of a cheap Kindle or continuing to use my iPad.

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endtime
Not sure how many _new_ books I read last year, but Surface Detail by Iain M.
Banks is the first thing that comes to mind. It's the latest book in the
Culture universe; if you like sci-fi then I highly recommend it (though I
don't know that Surface Detail is the best introduction to the series).

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rosejn
Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life \- Carl Zimmer

* This was one of the best science books I've ever read. Zimmer uses e-coli as the primary actor a tour of genomics and history of the big breakthroughs in micro-biology. I'm a developer, but this book was a page turner that really opened my eyes to to how cells operate, perform logic-like functions, and communicate.

The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves \- Matt Ridley

* Ridley's basic thesis is that specialization and trade are the primary means of the betterment of the human condition, and he has a lot of thought provoking ways of looking at the world that will forever change the way I think about technology and business. A wide ranging and enjoyable read

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petercooper
Michael Kerrisk's _The Linux Programming Interface_ is the best technical book
I've read in _many_ years: <http://nostarch.com/tlpi>

I'm not even much of a Linux systems programmer though my work touches on many
of the topics raised, but the lucidity and total lack of confusion in the text
has blown me away. It's 1500 pages of awesome and I'm not surprised by all the
accolades it's received as being the new "essential" book for UNIX-based
developers of all stripes.

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snitko
"The Promise Of Sleep" by William C. Dement.

It's a complete guide about sleep. If you want to manage your sleep, avoid
various disorders, know how to treat them and stay in good health - you must
have it. Mr. Dement is a pioneer of sleep science and knows a great deal about
it. He's also a wonderful story teller - it feels as if you're reading an
exciting novel, while the book remains very scientific and useful.

Personally, it helped me understand my sleep, I learned (though not
completely) how to manage it and became a much happier person.

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MaxGabriel
My favorite book was Robert Whitaker's Anatomy of an Epidemic.

The book is about how, for a confluence of reasons, psychotropic drugs like
antipsychotics and antidepressants actually, long-term, exacerbate the mental
illness they're trying to cure.

What I love about Whitaker is his approach. He doesn't say 'these drugs are
bad, footnote 11'. He explains the studies he talks about. He indicts other
studies. He's EXACTLY what I look for in an academic paper (he's not an
academic, though). Definitely worth a read.

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davidedicillo
As someone who spend a lot of time designing iPhone apps I have to say that I
really enjoyed Tapworthy ( <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449381650> )

I also finally read "Founders at Work", but I'm sure you all read that
already.

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Beanblabber
Pathfinder - Orson Scott Card

Not only is it written by the author of the epic ender's game series ( which
is a must as well), but it mixes genetic mutations of time control,
ancient(objectively, not subjectively.) civilizations and plain ol good sci-fi
together for one hell of a ride.

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JoshCole
My favorite book was probably "Surely Your Joking Mr. Feynman." I liked it,
because it was fun to read, especially when he played a practical joke.

A bit farther down the list would be the newest Wheel of Time books. Brandon
Sanderson annoyed me at first, but once I got over that I was pleasantly
surprised to discover that it had a very similar style to the original. I
enjoyed it immensely.

Somewhere after that are a few of the slightly more technical books I read.
Maybe Coders At Work? It gave me a better sense of the history of the
industry, but I don't think you should read it if your goal is to learn how to
be a better hacker.

Finally there is The Bible, which I would recommend to anyone.

~~~
niqolas
+1 for "Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman". Read it cover to cover in one
sitting!

In addition to being one of the greatest minds of his generation, Feynman also
had a rich life outside of science.

Reading his stories was as close as I'll come to having him share anecdotes as
a guest on my "fantasy dinner party" list.

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InclinedPlane
"Worlds of Exile and Illusion" (Hainish cycle collection) and "The Left Hand
of Darkness" by Ursula K Le Quin

"Singularity Sky" by Charles Stross

"The Player of Games" by Iain M Banks

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bsnyder
I read a lot. But the books that moved me the most were about Greg Mortenson's
adventures building schools in Paksistan and Afghanistan:

Three Cups of Tea (<http://www.threecupsoftea.com/>)

Stones Into Schools (<http://www.stonesintoschools.com/>)

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brudgers
Jose Saramago - _The Cave_ because it the language was so beautiful even in
translation that it made me want to learn Portuguese.

Roberto Bolano - _The Savage Detectives_ because what's not to love about
tough guy poets?

David Bain - _Empire Express_ because it put startups and business in a new
light.

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maguay
Mine are cliché, but they really did help me in 2010 and hopefully will
continue helping me in 2011 and beyond:

 _Rework_ \- Jason Fried and David Hansson

 _Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?_ \- Seth Godin

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kongqiu
2666 by Roberto Bolano - makes you think or reconsider something on every
single page

The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald - a fascinating way of looking at the world

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jgv
Let The Great World Spin - Colum McCann

Freedom - Jonathan Franzen

Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran-Foer

Desperate Characters - Paula Fox

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kunday
Dreaming in Code by Scott Rosenberg, Coder's At Work by Peter Siebel

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fakelvis
Of the twenty-three books I read in 2010, these seven really stand out:

\- _Predictably Irrational_. Everyone here knows this book, right? It had been
on my reading list for too long, and I'm glad I eventually managed to read it.
Much more enjoyable that I expected it to be, even given the fact that much of
the material is well-known already.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictably_Irrational>

\- _Longitude_ follows John Harrison's fascinating, painful and lengthy quest
to win the Longitude Prize by creating a clock that was accurate enough to
determine longitude at sea. Dava Sobel is a great writer and makes this topic
totally engaging (aside: Sobel started her writing career as a technical
writer at IBM). <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude_(book)>

\- _Bad Science_ is Ben Goldacre's essential and extensive criticism of the
media's health care reportage and of various health-related issues
(vaccinations, placebos, etc.).
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Science_(book)>

\- _Sum_ has had a fair bit of press over the last few months. It's a
collection of forty stories on the afterlife, by David Eagleman. It's a novel
exercise in philosophy, and I thoroughly enjoyed five or six of the stories.
It's a very creative and original book (and short, too) and is a good lesson
in constrained thinking.

\- _The PayPal Wars_ is the story of PayPal's early years from the viewpoint
of former PayPal marketing executive, Eric Jackson. I found it a riveting read
on the trials and tribulations of a startup in a difficult market.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_PayPal_Wars>

\- _Made to Stick_ is interesting in many ways (such as marketing, psychology
and rhetoric, to name a few) and is extremely well-written. Chip and Dan Heath
really know their subject and explain how to make ideas or concepts memorable
in this captivating book. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_to_Stick> Tip:
Read the extensive excerpts on the official website —
<http://www.madetostick.com/excerpts/> — and, if you enjoy them, read the full
book.

\- _Lolita_ is one of those books everyone knows about, even if they haven't
read it. I decided to sit down with this beast of a book and am glad I did.
It's a great story and will really get your moral cogs ticking over. As well
as that, Nabokov has an amazing way with the English language, and from very
near the beginning I become a lifelong fan of his style.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita>

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jdp23
Share This -- Deanna Zandt

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zackattack
Julian Jaynes, _Origin of Consciousness in The Breakdown of the Bicameral
Mind_ ~ edifying implications about human nature

