Ask HN: What books have been worth your time?
62 comments
Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice series.
Culture, gender identity, hive mind, all rolled up into one extremely dense universe with a rich history told through warfare and cutting remarks, humanising potentially inhuman central characters with a vague number of limbs.
It takes ten pages to get used to the dense yet clipped writing style, but once it clicks, you cannot put the book(s) down: the plot moves forward at breakneck speed.
Culture, gender identity, hive mind, all rolled up into one extremely dense universe with a rich history told through warfare and cutting remarks, humanising potentially inhuman central characters with a vague number of limbs.
It takes ten pages to get used to the dense yet clipped writing style, but once it clicks, you cannot put the book(s) down: the plot moves forward at breakneck speed.
Another story involving many of these topics is told in Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota series. Very different (less space opera, more history) but quite interesting too.
In general the Incerto series by Nassim Taleb (Black Swan, Antifragile, and Skin in the Game) was worth it. The Selfish Gene, System thinking A primer, I am a strange loop, Sapiens are some books that I read recently that had a lasting impression.
Incerto is great. I’m constantly amazed by how people identifies completely opposite black swans though to justify completely opposite things when I see it quoted in public though.
The Bed of Procrustes is great too, and easy to reread as a summary of the other books once you've already read them a few times individually.
Taleb also wrote a forward to the recent edition of Cipolla's The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity, which predates Taleb's books but is "Taleb-adjacent".
Taleb also wrote a forward to the recent edition of Cipolla's The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity, which predates Taleb's books but is "Taleb-adjacent".
i just picked up an edition of “The Evolution of Cooperation” that has a foreword by richard dawkins. was cool to see his take, from writing the selfish gene, on axelrod’s contributions to the study of cooperation. by any chance, did your edition of his book mention those cooperation studies? dawkins said he updated a later edition in this foreward i just read
It was a old edition of the book. But I had enough of the Prisoner dilemma on it to have an introduction.
The Complete Yes Minister, a novelization of the TV show, but probably more approachable. A kind of "high brow" skewering of politics and government. There's a lot of interplay between politicians and civil servants that mirrors some play between politicians and people, especially in the case of "systemic lag".
Erasure by Percival Everett. A book on racial conformity and expectations. A weird case where the movie (American Fiction) might be better than the book. Pretty easy and quick read however. I don't know what it was but this book has stuck with me ever since I've read it.
The Code Book by Simon Singh. This is the book that got me into cryptography. It's a bit old and outdated now (published in 1999) but it was responsible for forming a lifelong interest in me.
Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door by Christopher Mims. The premise was supposed to be tracking a product from production to consumer, but then the COVID happened. The book turns into an exploration of how just in time production and supply lanes work today.
The Dictator's Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. I had a professor who was friends with BBM, so when we were discussing selectorate theory we actually got to meet him. At it's core this is a cynical book about realpolitik, talking about how leaders get in power, stay in power, get money and foreign aid, and deal with revolutions and war. It is very political focused but the theory can be abstracted out to most big organizations. It fundamentally changed the way I look at interactions between countries. This is 100% a more mass market appeal book than the original paper (and imo a bit dumbed down) but everyone I've recommended it to has come back appreciative about it.
Erasure by Percival Everett. A book on racial conformity and expectations. A weird case where the movie (American Fiction) might be better than the book. Pretty easy and quick read however. I don't know what it was but this book has stuck with me ever since I've read it.
The Code Book by Simon Singh. This is the book that got me into cryptography. It's a bit old and outdated now (published in 1999) but it was responsible for forming a lifelong interest in me.
Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door by Christopher Mims. The premise was supposed to be tracking a product from production to consumer, but then the COVID happened. The book turns into an exploration of how just in time production and supply lanes work today.
The Dictator's Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. I had a professor who was friends with BBM, so when we were discussing selectorate theory we actually got to meet him. At it's core this is a cynical book about realpolitik, talking about how leaders get in power, stay in power, get money and foreign aid, and deal with revolutions and war. It is very political focused but the theory can be abstracted out to most big organizations. It fundamentally changed the way I look at interactions between countries. This is 100% a more mass market appeal book than the original paper (and imo a bit dumbed down) but everyone I've recommended it to has come back appreciative about it.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
This book has stayed with me for years. It's a quiet, deeply reflective journey about self-discovery, the search for meaning. What resonated most was this idea that true understanding can't be taught—it must be lived and experienced.
It’s a short read, but one that invites you to slow down. Each time I return to it, I take away something new depending on where I am in life.
This book has stayed with me for years. It's a quiet, deeply reflective journey about self-discovery, the search for meaning. What resonated most was this idea that true understanding can't be taught—it must be lived and experienced.
It’s a short read, but one that invites you to slow down. Each time I return to it, I take away something new depending on where I am in life.
A relative had to pass a "non Western" book for a high school class. She came to me because I was a known reader.
I suggested Siddhartha. Her friend picked War and Peace.
My credibility went waaaay up:)
(Siddhartha is very thin, like the book)
I suggested Siddhartha. Her friend picked War and Peace.
My credibility went waaaay up:)
(Siddhartha is very thin, like the book)
Funny I reread it again recently after reading it in college. Having a kid and rereading it adds a different dimension to the story.
Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction by Edward Fesser
I stumbled across this completely by accident while doing research for a history of science class I was designing years ago. It took... a while... to stop saying "but why does this matter!" every two seconds while reading it, but eventually I was able to open my mind to metaphysics as a discipline and get it into my head exactly what he was talking about, and why it was useful. After that, it was smooth sailing. I owe a lot to this book.
I stumbled across this completely by accident while doing research for a history of science class I was designing years ago. It took... a while... to stop saying "but why does this matter!" every two seconds while reading it, but eventually I was able to open my mind to metaphysics as a discipline and get it into my head exactly what he was talking about, and why it was useful. After that, it was smooth sailing. I owe a lot to this book.
Feser's very good at explaining Thomistic/Aristotelian metaphysics clearly. His _Aquinas: A Beginner's Guide_ is a good introduction.
The point of Thomistic/Aristotelian metaphysics it not that it's useful for building things; it isn't, which is why the early moderns mostly abandoned it. But physics and the quantitative/mechanistic view of the world that it fosters is an abstraction from reality--an extremely useful and productive one, granted, but still an abstraction. It leaves things out that Thomistic metaphysics retains; and while Aristotelian science has been left in the dust, his metaphysics still has important things to say.
Modern philosophy embraced the mechanistic view of the world with Descartes, leading to a number of philosophical problems (the mind-body problem, the problem of other minds, how to account for qualia and consciousness, and so forth) that are amply accounted for in the older philosophy.
The point of Thomistic/Aristotelian metaphysics it not that it's useful for building things; it isn't, which is why the early moderns mostly abandoned it. But physics and the quantitative/mechanistic view of the world that it fosters is an abstraction from reality--an extremely useful and productive one, granted, but still an abstraction. It leaves things out that Thomistic metaphysics retains; and while Aristotelian science has been left in the dust, his metaphysics still has important things to say.
Modern philosophy embraced the mechanistic view of the world with Descartes, leading to a number of philosophical problems (the mind-body problem, the problem of other minds, how to account for qualia and consciousness, and so forth) that are amply accounted for in the older philosophy.
Leibniz wrote "I have often said: 'Aurum latere in stercore illo scholastico barbarico'; {there is gold hidden in all that barbaric scholastic crap} and I wish that some skillful man could be found, versed in this Irish and Spanish philosophy, who would have the inclination and ability to extract what is good from it. I am sure his work would be rewarded with many beautiful and important truths".
I'm not pasting the walltext full quote, but there's also in it mention of Perennis quaedam philosophia. The first one? Don't have the book in digital, for the full quote in Spanish, Google sent me here: http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Vico.2020.i34.03.
[1] New Essays on Human Understanding, 1704
I'm not pasting the walltext full quote, but there's also in it mention of Perennis quaedam philosophia. The first one? Don't have the book in digital, for the full quote in Spanish, Google sent me here: http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/Vico.2020.i34.03.
[1] New Essays on Human Understanding, 1704
A short list of books that cost some candles after I reached 40 (has been very picky about books since then). I not only read them into late night but also went back to them whenever I need some mental boost.
- The Soul of a New Machine
- Showstoppers
- iWoz
- Athens and Jerusalem (Shestov)
I'm devouring many F & SFs (right now reading Arthur Clarke) but so far nothing really sticks. A lot of them are interesting but I'm keeping counting the pages I read. I used to burn candles reading them back in the day, but the magic was lost. I'm going to try out some recommendations I got on HN and see what happens.
- The Soul of a New Machine
- Showstoppers
- iWoz
- Athens and Jerusalem (Shestov)
I'm devouring many F & SFs (right now reading Arthur Clarke) but so far nothing really sticks. A lot of them are interesting but I'm keeping counting the pages I read. I used to burn candles reading them back in the day, but the magic was lost. I'm going to try out some recommendations I got on HN and see what happens.
Peter Bevelin's Seeking Wisdom.
The other day someone on here recommended The Philosopher's Toolkit, and I ordered a copy based on that recommendation. I've only started to dip into various parts, but I can already confirm that it is a good introductory compendium of the basics of philosophy, logic, and argumentation. In the same vein is Daniel Dennett's Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking.
A personal favorite is Frances Yates's The Art of Memory (think: intersection of rhetoric, mnemonic systems, philosophical systems, and the occult during the Renaissance).
Matthew Butterick's Practical Typography and Typography for Lawyers. Bryan Garner's The Winning Brief.
Umberto Eco's How to Write a Thesis. Adler's How to Read a Book. Pierre Bayard's How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read.
I could go on. Book posts are my favorite posts on HN, but they always lighten my wallet and at home I'm surrounded with ever-growing piles of great material.
The other day someone on here recommended The Philosopher's Toolkit, and I ordered a copy based on that recommendation. I've only started to dip into various parts, but I can already confirm that it is a good introductory compendium of the basics of philosophy, logic, and argumentation. In the same vein is Daniel Dennett's Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking.
A personal favorite is Frances Yates's The Art of Memory (think: intersection of rhetoric, mnemonic systems, philosophical systems, and the occult during the Renaissance).
Matthew Butterick's Practical Typography and Typography for Lawyers. Bryan Garner's The Winning Brief.
Umberto Eco's How to Write a Thesis. Adler's How to Read a Book. Pierre Bayard's How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read.
I could go on. Book posts are my favorite posts on HN, but they always lighten my wallet and at home I'm surrounded with ever-growing piles of great material.
_How to Read a Book_ is excellent. I don't apply Adler's method precisely in my reading, but many of his notions are simply now part of my mental toolkit, particularly his notion of "coming to terms", AKA "make sure you understand how the author is using the words he's using, and what precisely he means by them."
This is especially important when reading philosophical or technical material, especially material from another era.
This is especially important when reading philosophical or technical material, especially material from another era.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Siddhartha Mukherjee
It's an inherently interesting subject but (and it's been more then 10 years since I read it) it's a history of people innovating. I remember really enjoying the way it tries to get at the whys and the hows of people coming up with good ideas.
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 Christopher Clark The origin of WWI is a story that's been told repeatedly. This version is delightfully depressing. I can't quite describe the book. If you say X happening was the fault of everyone it's easy to imagine that's synonymous with saying it's no one's fault. That's not what's being argued - here it's that it's literally everyone's fault.
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 Christopher Clark The origin of WWI is a story that's been told repeatedly. This version is delightfully depressing. I can't quite describe the book. If you say X happening was the fault of everyone it's easy to imagine that's synonymous with saying it's no one's fault. That's not what's being argued - here it's that it's literally everyone's fault.
The 1632 series by Eric Flint changed my perspective on what it takes to keep modern civilization going. In the book (which became a series) he extensively studied the town of Mannington, West Virginia, and it became Grantville, a town which was thrown from the year 2000 back into the summer of 1631 and the middle of the 30 years war in Thuringa, Germany.
Their struggle to comprehend the new world into which they were thrust, coping with war and loss of modern supply chains, and a full blown war... make for interesting reading. There were a lot of details about infrastructure in the book and throughout the series that really made me ponder just how hard it is to keep this all afloat.
Their struggle to comprehend the new world into which they were thrust, coping with war and loss of modern supply chains, and a full blown war... make for interesting reading. There were a lot of details about infrastructure in the book and throughout the series that really made me ponder just how hard it is to keep this all afloat.
Crafting Interpreters, by Robert Nystrom. One of the best, perhaps the best, programming text I've read--and I started reading them in the late 70's.
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer. The amazing courage shown by the US Navy sailors as their tiny 2,000 ton Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts faced a Japanese fleet of Battleships, Cruisers, and Destroyers at The Battle Off Samar. Inspiring and horrifying, the DDs and DEs of the US navy were protecting "Escort Carriers" which were smaller aircraft carriers made from cargo ship hulls. Warning, may inspire you to learn a whole bunch more about world war 2.
And 2 books that sort of go together:
Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway by Walter Lord, and Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully. Read Incredible Victory first, learn about the luck, good and bad, that led to a much-needed victory in the Pacific. Then read Shattered Sword and get a fuller picture of events, especially from the Japanese side. Learn about how hubris and dogma led to the Japanese Navy's defeat. Then learn about how saving face led to history not being accurately told by the witnesses on the Japanese side.
All 3 are great books that are well worth your time.
Others that I've enjoyed:
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (near future post-apocalyptic sci-fi).
The non-fiction Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson (more WW2 non-fiction, nice details about North Africa through Italy, then France to Germany).
Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham.
Most Secret War by RV Jones (nerdy, funny history of one scientist's world war 2 experience).
The Discworld City Guard books, starting with Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy fiction satire, hilarious and comforting. Highly, highly recommended!!
Peter F Hamilton sci-fi adventure books: Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are a duo of great space opera stretching across multiple planets and people. Don't spoil yourself by reading any descriptions of Judas Unchained before you read Pandora's Star. Also by the same author, The Night's Dawn Trilogy: The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God. Fantastic big canvas space opera with lots of threads, great world-building, and amazing situations. Both sets of books are highly recommended escapes from reality.
And 2 books that sort of go together:
Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway by Walter Lord, and Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully. Read Incredible Victory first, learn about the luck, good and bad, that led to a much-needed victory in the Pacific. Then read Shattered Sword and get a fuller picture of events, especially from the Japanese side. Learn about how hubris and dogma led to the Japanese Navy's defeat. Then learn about how saving face led to history not being accurately told by the witnesses on the Japanese side.
All 3 are great books that are well worth your time.
Others that I've enjoyed:
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (near future post-apocalyptic sci-fi).
The non-fiction Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson (more WW2 non-fiction, nice details about North Africa through Italy, then France to Germany).
Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham.
Most Secret War by RV Jones (nerdy, funny history of one scientist's world war 2 experience).
The Discworld City Guard books, starting with Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy fiction satire, hilarious and comforting. Highly, highly recommended!!
Peter F Hamilton sci-fi adventure books: Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are a duo of great space opera stretching across multiple planets and people. Don't spoil yourself by reading any descriptions of Judas Unchained before you read Pandora's Star. Also by the same author, The Night's Dawn Trilogy: The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God. Fantastic big canvas space opera with lots of threads, great world-building, and amazing situations. Both sets of books are highly recommended escapes from reality.
> Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (near future post-apocalyptic sci-fi).
If you haven't read it, Parable of the Talents, the sequel, is also worth a read.
If you haven't read it, Parable of the Talents, the sequel, is also worth a read.
_The Code Book_ by Simon Singh changed the course of my life when I read it as a kid.
I'd love an update to cover elliptic curves and lattice based cryptography, and to update the at the time speculative section on quantum computing. But the majority of the book covers historical events and is still just as valid as it was then.
I'd love an update to cover elliptic curves and lattice based cryptography, and to update the at the time speculative section on quantum computing. But the majority of the book covers historical events and is still just as valid as it was then.
"Debt - the first 5000 years"
by Prof. D. Graeber (unfortunately, he died some years ago at a young age)
The book I consistently reread is Notes from the Underground. Anything by Balzac is highly rereadable also. I don't read much fiction anymore but fiction has left the deepest imprints on me. I did just read Jew Sus by Feuchtwanger, I'd recommend it. All of Kafka's works are up there too.
The Soul of a New Machine, by Tracy Kidder
https://archive.org/details/soulofnewmachine0000kidd/page/n6...
https://archive.org/details/soulofnewmachine0000kidd/page/n6...
The City and the City by China Mieville. The cities are very close but very far away.
Understanding Postmodernism. I know there are deeper books out there on the subject but this was accessible and opened the door to many other deeper books of thought that continue to shape me.
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter.
I gift this book at every opportunity and consistently receive overwhelmingly positive feedback, even from those who typically don't read much.
Island by Aldous Huxley
I enjoyed Peter F Hamilton's Exodus: The Archimedes Engine, which I expect is the first of a trilogy per his pattern. Not a short book!
Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn.
One of the few books where you look so differently at the world after reading it that you literally feel like a different person.
One of the few books where you look so differently at the world after reading it that you literally feel like a different person.
The Bible
I made a lot of money understanding and applying _Exploring Requirements_ by Gauss and Weinberg
Can you elaborate?
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.
[deleted]
The Bible.
And the Book of Mormon. They are amazing.
(Thoughtful comments appreciated with any downvotes. Thanks.)
(Thoughtful comments appreciated with any downvotes. Thanks.)
Imagine a world where Joseph Smith had chosen to lean into his undeniable skills as a writer of historical fiction.
Instead he chose the path of religious charlatan, and western literature is all the lesser for it.
Instead he chose the path of religious charlatan, and western literature is all the lesser for it.
I have determined for myself that the book is what it says it is. Details at my web site (in profile), and in the last chapter of the book itself. Anyone can put it to the test and receive an answer to prayer as to its validity.
ps: The Church that Joseph Smith led now has 17.5 million members around the world and is a great thing in my life. My ancestors knew Joseph Smith and were convinced he was not a charlatan. They helped build schools and cities. Now there are programs like https://justserve.org to freely coordinate efforts between charitable organizations with volunteers in many locations; BYU Pathway Worldwide (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYU_Pathway_Worldwide), which provides English instruction and accredited higher education far less expensively than traditional universities for those who could never afford it otherwise; extensive worldwide humanitarian efforts; https://familysearch.org for free genealogy tools, etc, etc. One can be happy about all the good that is being done.
ps: The Church that Joseph Smith led now has 17.5 million members around the world and is a great thing in my life. My ancestors knew Joseph Smith and were convinced he was not a charlatan. They helped build schools and cities. Now there are programs like https://justserve.org to freely coordinate efforts between charitable organizations with volunteers in many locations; BYU Pathway Worldwide (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYU_Pathway_Worldwide), which provides English instruction and accredited higher education far less expensively than traditional universities for those who could never afford it otherwise; extensive worldwide humanitarian efforts; https://familysearch.org for free genealogy tools, etc, etc. One can be happy about all the good that is being done.
Imagine a world where Joseph Smith had chosen to lean into his undeniable skills as a writer of historical fiction.
Instead he chose the path of religious huckster, and western literature is all the lesser for it.
Instead he chose the path of religious huckster, and western literature is all the lesser for it.
The Machinery of Life by David Goodsell. It's a short book with beautiful diagrams and explanations of microbiology.
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Its thesis is that everything is built up of smaller things that are all trying to replicate or get replicated.
Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein. I haven't read the book, but reading about the book's argument that language is a type of multiplayer game, along with the aforementioned ideas about things being built out of smaller things that are trying to replicate changed how seriously I take ideas in general. I'm not looking for a universal truth anymore, I'm watching different collections of ideas compete with each other based on how well they replicate and how well they compete once they've entered a brain.
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Its thesis is that everything is built up of smaller things that are all trying to replicate or get replicated.
Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein. I haven't read the book, but reading about the book's argument that language is a type of multiplayer game, along with the aforementioned ideas about things being built out of smaller things that are trying to replicate changed how seriously I take ideas in general. I'm not looking for a universal truth anymore, I'm watching different collections of ideas compete with each other based on how well they replicate and how well they compete once they've entered a brain.
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman
I am a lifetime avid reader but there are very few books I come back to and re-read. I guess the books which impact you the most aren't the ones you'd expect. Here are some that come to mind:
*Novels in Three Lines* - Felix Feneon; like clever sarcastic haiku
*Riddley Walker* - Russell Hoban; It's written in an imagined language making it completely and utterly immersive
*Waiting for Nothing* - Tom Kromer; Great depression era destitution, and travel
*Days of Life and Death and Escape to the Moon* - William Saroyan; In an era of great writers, Saroyan remains wildly under appreciated.
*Really the Blues* - Mezz Mezzrow; Written in 1920s jive slang, it's emblematic of an era
*The KLF* - John Higgs; The book is subtitled "Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds" All those things are true and Higgs brilliantly tells the tale.
*Novels in Three Lines* - Felix Feneon; like clever sarcastic haiku
*Riddley Walker* - Russell Hoban; It's written in an imagined language making it completely and utterly immersive
*Waiting for Nothing* - Tom Kromer; Great depression era destitution, and travel
*Days of Life and Death and Escape to the Moon* - William Saroyan; In an era of great writers, Saroyan remains wildly under appreciated.
*Really the Blues* - Mezz Mezzrow; Written in 1920s jive slang, it's emblematic of an era
*The KLF* - John Higgs; The book is subtitled "Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds" All those things are true and Higgs brilliantly tells the tale.
[deleted]
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
Having been a reader approxumately all my life, approximately all the books have been worth my time.
Though the best book is far and away Three Little Pigs which my now grown-ass-man child called “the wolf book” when requesting it at bedtime at the age of incredible. I highly recommend it — time spent with your child I mean,
But if you want an HNish book recommendation?…The Art of Computer Programming is well worth trying to read because it will be challenging for as long as you keep at it. Good luck.
Though the best book is far and away Three Little Pigs which my now grown-ass-man child called “the wolf book” when requesting it at bedtime at the age of incredible. I highly recommend it — time spent with your child I mean,
But if you want an HNish book recommendation?…The Art of Computer Programming is well worth trying to read because it will be challenging for as long as you keep at it. Good luck.
The Little Prince
Deep work by cal newport.
What did you get from it? I read it, but like most self-help books - I felt like it could've been 1/4 the size. The book could've been 10-20 pages.
Once the message is clear, they become a slog IMO. The author was smart in coming up with something catchy like "deep work" to mean, you get shit done and do some of your best work and learning when you have time set aside being distraction free.
Once the message is clear, they become a slog IMO. The author was smart in coming up with something catchy like "deep work" to mean, you get shit done and do some of your best work and learning when you have time set aside being distraction free.
> What did you get from it?
Beside the obvious "deep work", its the ability to be bored, and shut down time.
> I read it, but like most self-help books - I felt like it could've been 1/4 the size. The book could've been 10-20 pages.
Have to agree. It can be summarized.
Beside the obvious "deep work", its the ability to be bored, and shut down time.
> I read it, but like most self-help books - I felt like it could've been 1/4 the size. The book could've been 10-20 pages.
Have to agree. It can be summarized.
Kallocain by Karin Boye.
Winnie-the-Pooh
The bible
As an atheist, I couldn't agree more. The fastest way to become an atheist, as it's often pointed out, is to read the Bible, which explains why about 95% of the Christians I've known have never read it. When asked, they say things like "the _whole_ thing?" or "cover to cover?" as if it were the unabridged Oxford English Dictionary, instead of just a single volume.
As a work of literature, with an unparalleled influence on Western culture, it's required reading for anyone interested in literature, philosophy, history, or related disciplines. As a blueprint for how to live your life, however, any reasonably ethical person will find its teachings to be at odds with modern ethics. More often than not, it's morally repugnant, and unapologetic about it, too. You won't hear about how backwards its morality is by going to church, though, and so you need to read it for yourself. Even Jesus, one of the most upright citizens in the book, is revealed to be as full of hate and vengeance as he is a "prince of peace."
Of course, as with everything, it really matters what edition you get. The New Oxford Annotated Bible is a good starting point. The Norton Critical editions (in two volumes, the old and the new testaments) are great, too, and include some of the source materials. (Bet you didn't know that a lot of the Bible was plagiar...ahem... adapted from much earlier texts, and from other religions.) The Skeptic's Annotated Bible is a great edition, too, and annotates everything from a secular perspective.
As a work of literature, with an unparalleled influence on Western culture, it's required reading for anyone interested in literature, philosophy, history, or related disciplines. As a blueprint for how to live your life, however, any reasonably ethical person will find its teachings to be at odds with modern ethics. More often than not, it's morally repugnant, and unapologetic about it, too. You won't hear about how backwards its morality is by going to church, though, and so you need to read it for yourself. Even Jesus, one of the most upright citizens in the book, is revealed to be as full of hate and vengeance as he is a "prince of peace."
Of course, as with everything, it really matters what edition you get. The New Oxford Annotated Bible is a good starting point. The Norton Critical editions (in two volumes, the old and the new testaments) are great, too, and include some of the source materials. (Bet you didn't know that a lot of the Bible was plagiar...ahem... adapted from much earlier texts, and from other religions.) The Skeptic's Annotated Bible is a great edition, too, and annotates everything from a secular perspective.
That is a pretty shallow perspective. With all due respect.
In what way is it shallow? I'm advocating for reading the whole Bible, and reading it deeply and critically: by reading the best available scholarly editions, by reading it alongside critical commentary, and by reading it alongside other contemporaneous works of fiction. It seems to me that's a reasonably deep perspective. The shallow perspective is the one usually practiced by Christians: reading the bible piecemeal, cherry-picking passages, reading it in isolation from other fiction of the time, and reading it uncritically as an ethical manual.
Learned Helplessness - Martin Seligman
A Random Walk Down Wall Street - Malkiel
The Millionaire Next Door - Stanley
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Second the Incerto series by Nassim Taleb
Second the Incerto series by Nassim Taleb
[deleted]
The only criteria: the book helped you in some meaningful way—changed your perspective, taught you something valuable, or simply stayed with you long after finishing it.