Ask HN: What recreational books related to programming can you recommend?

2 pointsby boogdan11년 전5 comments

I'm going on a holiday and I'll have a lot of time dedicated to reading so I want to take a book related to programming. Since I won't carry my computer with me but only my Kindle, I'm looking for a book that doesn't require code practice.

I just started to play with Swift for a few months as a hobby so I'm either interested interested in something related or into something generic (such as a book about algorithms or data structures).

I would love to read a book that helps novices to understand concepts, problems, etc...it doesn't matter as long as it improves your thinking.

Thanks!

5 comments

NY_hudson11년 전

Coders at Work: Reflections on the Craft of Programming - Peter Seibel

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1430219483

great book, easy reading, inspiring and insightful, highly recommended!

a3n11년 전

The Emperor’s New Mind, Penrose.

The Mind's I: Fantasies And Reflections On Self & Soul, Hofstadter and Dennet.

The Society of Mind, Minsky.

Martin Gardner. http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G/ref=sr_ntt...

Donald Knuth. http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Gardner/e/B000AP8X8G/ref=sr_ntt...

Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About, Knuth.

e: The Story of a Number, Maor.

The Pythagorean Theorem: a 4000-year history, Maor.

Flatland, Abbot.

Snowcrash, Stevenson.

Johnny Mnemonic, Gibson.

boogdan11년 전

Also found this, for those who are interested: "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum", by Alan Cooper: http://www.amazon.com/The-Inmates-Are-Running-Asylum/dp/0672...

informatimago11년 전

The best book of last century: GEB. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach

More challenging: Fun With Algorithms: http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319078892

boogdan11년 전

Thanks, the first one looks extremely interesting.