Ask HN: What is the most gripping thing you have read recently?
Books, papers, articles, anything.
22 comments
The Count of Monte Cristo.
Lots of people might dismiss it due to its old style and being a "stuffy classic" but it's one of the most gripping books I've ever read, from the beginning to the end. I'm not sure how Dumas managed to pull it off, honestly. Be sure to read the unabridged version, not the abridged version.
Lots of people might dismiss it due to its old style and being a "stuffy classic" but it's one of the most gripping books I've ever read, from the beginning to the end. I'm not sure how Dumas managed to pull it off, honestly. Be sure to read the unabridged version, not the abridged version.
Recently someone shared this sci-fi short story [1], which I had to read several times as it's fascinating and at the same time uncannily horrific while being written in the style of a popular science article.
1: https://qntm.org/mmacevedo
1: https://qntm.org/mmacevedo
If you liked it, you may like "FAQ on LoadBear's Instrument of Precommitment" (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nRSRWbAqtC48rPv5NG6kzggL...), which is also about mind uploading, and "Basilisk collection" (https://suricrasia.online/unfiction/basilisk/), which is a fictional Wikipedia article about SHA-256. You may also enjoy the book The Age of Em; it is nonfiction futurism, albeit increasingly unlikely.
Discussed 7 months ago:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32696089 (17 comments)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32696089 (17 comments)
Thanks for that. Very enjoyable. I so wished it were longer, though that is also part of the appeal.
If you haven't yet, check out the sci-fi horror videogame called "Soma" :)
Lev Shestov. A wonder read for anyone struggling with some existential problems. I'll quote:
"We stand between two "madnesses" - between the madness of a reason for which the "truths" which it reveals about the horrors of real being are ultimate, definitive, eternal truths, obligatory for all, and the madness of Kierkegaard's "Absurd," which ventures to begin the struggle when, on the testimony of reason and self-evidence, struggle is impossible, is foredoomed to humiliating failure. With whom should we go - with the Hellenic symposiasts, or with Job and the prophets? Which madness is preferable? The book of Job, the lamentations of Jeremiah, the thundering of the prophets and of the Apocalypse leave no doubt that the horrors of human existence were not hidden from the "private thinkers" of the Bible, and that they had enough courage and fortitude to gaze squarely into the face of what is customarily called reality. Nevertheless - unlike the great representatives of philosophia perennis - they do not feel compelled by reality and its horrors to submit to the inevitable. At that point where speculative philosophy sees the end of all possibilities and submissively folds its hands, existential philosophy begins the great and final struggle. Existential philosophy is not Besinnung, "interrogating" reality and seeking truth in the immediate data of consciousness; it is a surmounting of what to our understanding seems insurmountable. "For God," Kierkegaard repeats unceasingly, "all things are possible," summing up in these few words what had hitherto reached men s ears from scriptural sources. Possibilities are not determined by eternal truths inscribed by a dead or dying hand in the structure of the universe; possibilities are in the power of a living, all-perfect being who has created and blessed man. Whatever horrors being may reveal to us, and despite the assurances of reason, these horrors do not exhibit "truth" nor preclude the possibility of their own eradication. "
"We stand between two "madnesses" - between the madness of a reason for which the "truths" which it reveals about the horrors of real being are ultimate, definitive, eternal truths, obligatory for all, and the madness of Kierkegaard's "Absurd," which ventures to begin the struggle when, on the testimony of reason and self-evidence, struggle is impossible, is foredoomed to humiliating failure. With whom should we go - with the Hellenic symposiasts, or with Job and the prophets? Which madness is preferable? The book of Job, the lamentations of Jeremiah, the thundering of the prophets and of the Apocalypse leave no doubt that the horrors of human existence were not hidden from the "private thinkers" of the Bible, and that they had enough courage and fortitude to gaze squarely into the face of what is customarily called reality. Nevertheless - unlike the great representatives of philosophia perennis - they do not feel compelled by reality and its horrors to submit to the inevitable. At that point where speculative philosophy sees the end of all possibilities and submissively folds its hands, existential philosophy begins the great and final struggle. Existential philosophy is not Besinnung, "interrogating" reality and seeking truth in the immediate data of consciousness; it is a surmounting of what to our understanding seems insurmountable. "For God," Kierkegaard repeats unceasingly, "all things are possible," summing up in these few words what had hitherto reached men s ears from scriptural sources. Possibilities are not determined by eternal truths inscribed by a dead or dying hand in the structure of the universe; possibilities are in the power of a living, all-perfect being who has created and blessed man. Whatever horrors being may reveal to us, and despite the assurances of reason, these horrors do not exhibit "truth" nor preclude the possibility of their own eradication. "
Aprenticed to a Himalayan Master (A Yogi's Autobiography) by Sri M. I've completed reading this book few hours back. Growing up in India, it's common to hear many fantastical stories of great Himalayan Yogi's and their super powers. Last such book was "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Sri Paramahamsa Yogananda. This book is written by a great Yogi who left his house around 19 years old in search of a Master and traveled to Himalayas. Author warns that lot of people will be skeptical of what he is about to share, but he wrote it for benefit of many and let the skeptics work it out themselves.
I believe him. And boy, what a ride it is.
Teleportation, talking to beings from other planes, Yeti, walking through doors, etc Yet, for true spiritual seeker, all these super powers are distraction and insignificant.
Definitely recommend reading it.
I believe him. And boy, what a ride it is.
Teleportation, talking to beings from other planes, Yeti, walking through doors, etc Yet, for true spiritual seeker, all these super powers are distraction and insignificant.
Definitely recommend reading it.
Teleportation? Talking to beings from other planes? Walking through doors... How do you believe him? lol
Blindsight, by Peter Clark - interesting sci fi on conciousness and prey/predator relationships
I'm currently re-reading Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy - I find it to be incredible throughout and I understand why some call this the best american book written.
The latest IPCC report, released a month ago.
I'm currently re-reading Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy - I find it to be incredible throughout and I understand why some call this the best american book written.
The latest IPCC report, released a month ago.
> Blindsight, by Peter Clark
* Peter Watts
* Peter Watts
https://www.thewhitereview.org/feature/chains-or-whips/
An interesting long read about 2000s pop culture, and how modern day female stars like Taylor Swift/Beyonce have been able to avoid the tabloid sensationalism/vilification that older stars like Britney Spears/Janet Jackson endured.
An interesting long read about 2000s pop culture, and how modern day female stars like Taylor Swift/Beyonce have been able to avoid the tabloid sensationalism/vilification that older stars like Britney Spears/Janet Jackson endured.
• Confederacy of Dunces : An indescribable rube-goldberg story about a "neckbeard" and his mother in New Orleans.
• Solaris: A novella that reads as a Lovecraftian space horror.
• The Summer People : A short modern fairy tale by Kelly Link.
• Metamorphosis : Kafka's famous short work about waking up as a giant insect.
• Ubik : Fantastic sci-fi that interleaves a bunch of cool premises.
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow : An emotional book about love and game design.
• Solaris: A novella that reads as a Lovecraftian space horror.
• The Summer People : A short modern fairy tale by Kelly Link.
• Metamorphosis : Kafka's famous short work about waking up as a giant insect.
• Ubik : Fantastic sci-fi that interleaves a bunch of cool premises.
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow : An emotional book about love and game design.
The Exhalation story by Ted Chiang
Full text link for anyone curious: https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/exhalation/
brave new world. never read it in my country when growing up and friend recently told me it is one of 10 books to read if me want to read english.
do not read books but i could not put it down. had to google some chapters and website called cliff notes was good guide to understand some chapters that were hard for me to follow because me english not that good.
do not read books but i could not put it down. had to google some chapters and website called cliff notes was good guide to understand some chapters that were hard for me to follow because me english not that good.
The wound that never heals: https://nautil.us/ptsd-the-wound-that-never-heals-235381/
I am currently reading George Mills by Stanley Elkin which is quite good so far, before that it was Freedom by Jonathan Franzen which surprised me and I am looking forward to rereading it eventually.
The podcast episode "Googling Strangers and Kentucky Bluegrass" from the Anthropocene Reviewed. Short but powerful episode that made me cry.
Germline by T C McCarthy
It's been a few years since I read it, but the single most gripping piece of fiction I've read in the last 15+ years
It's been a few years since I read it, but the single most gripping piece of fiction I've read in the last 15+ years
"A Short Stay in Hell" by Steven L. Peck
A man called Ove.