Ask HN: What are some Good Books you have read in past one year or so..
21 comments
I like this thread very much.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=663791
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=663791
"Running with Kenyans"- Adharanand Finn
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens). It grows on you after you've read through the first part.
Shantaram by Gregory Roberts.
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow.
That's Me in the Middle by Donald Jack.
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow.
That's Me in the Middle by Donald Jack.
If you like sci-fi - try the Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy. Not exactly recent, but I thought quite good.
A varied assortment:
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The Lifecycle of Software Objects
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
What Is Property
The City of Dreaming Books
Born to Run
Gödel, Escher, Bach
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The Lifecycle of Software Objects
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
What Is Property
The City of Dreaming Books
Born to Run
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Regenesis by George Church and Ed Regis.
Mind-blowing future possibilities for synthetic biology from one of the main leaders in the field. I wrote a full review here: http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/11/george-church-and-the-poten...
Mind-blowing future possibilities for synthetic biology from one of the main leaders in the field. I wrote a full review here: http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/11/george-church-and-the-poten...
The Seven Mysteries of Life I read last November over the span of a month, and this book is probably the one that has most-defined who I am today, even though it's been just a year. The author, Guy Murchie, spent 15 years writing it. From it I learned the most anybody is from me is 50th-cousin. I also learned that there are insects so small they don't feel gravity, and for them flying through the air feels like swimming. Seriously, get this book, it is earth-shattering.
I'm also going to recommend another book but I hope not to undermine my first recommendation. It was written by Joseph Campbell and it's called The Hero with a Thousand Faces. I read it in January. In it Campbell writes of many mythological stories and then ties their common themes back to the journey the 'hero' must take. And from this journey the hero must take I got insights that were profound. I'm not kidding when I say I hold a deep reverence for this book.
I hope you check 'em out. :)
Edit: Here are the links to the books on Amazon:
The Seven Mysteries of Life: http://www.amazon.com/The-Seven-Mysteries-Life-Murchie/dp/03...
and The Hero with a Thousand Faces: http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbe...
I'm also going to recommend another book but I hope not to undermine my first recommendation. It was written by Joseph Campbell and it's called The Hero with a Thousand Faces. I read it in January. In it Campbell writes of many mythological stories and then ties their common themes back to the journey the 'hero' must take. And from this journey the hero must take I got insights that were profound. I'm not kidding when I say I hold a deep reverence for this book.
I hope you check 'em out. :)
Edit: Here are the links to the books on Amazon:
The Seven Mysteries of Life: http://www.amazon.com/The-Seven-Mysteries-Life-Murchie/dp/03...
and The Hero with a Thousand Faces: http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbe...
I've slowly been working my way through Kitab Al-Hikam by Al Iskandari. It's pretty interesting, reminds me of eastern philosophies, zen koans and the inter connected nature of religions or philosophies which don't seem to share any apparant connection.
The power of habit by Charles Duhigg.
Whether its getting up early in the morning, going to the gym, learning new skills - it all comes down how good a person is in forming new habits and sticking to them.
This book helps get into the mechanics of how habits are formed, and the elements that will help make them stick. The best part is that the book is loaded with specific case studies for both personal use as well as case studies relevant for product-based organization.
I loved it! Not that I'm going to the gym any more regularly though :)
Whether its getting up early in the morning, going to the gym, learning new skills - it all comes down how good a person is in forming new habits and sticking to them.
This book helps get into the mechanics of how habits are formed, and the elements that will help make them stick. The best part is that the book is loaded with specific case studies for both personal use as well as case studies relevant for product-based organization.
I loved it! Not that I'm going to the gym any more regularly though :)
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho.
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Moore and Gillette
The lean startup
Paul Graham how to start a startup
Mark Hyman Ultimate Mind Solution
Tribal Leadership
Wheel of Time
Think and Grow Rich
Superior Man David Deida
The Fountain Head
Eckhart Tolle New Earth
50th Law
Good to Great
Jed Mckenna
Earl Nightengale
Long Walk to Freedom
Outliers
Good to Great
Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz (Self-image)
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey(Being awesome)
Wealth of Nations
Wayne Dyer The Tao
System of the World
Origin of Species
Brave new world
Thank you economy
Crush it
Built to Last
Who Moved my Cheese
Stillness Speak Eckhert Tolle
Mastery George Leonard
Steve Jobs Biography
The Last Lecture
Steve Pavlina Books
Iacocca
Striking Thoughts Bruce Lee
Carlos Castaneda
Ghost in the Wires
Richest Man in Babylon
Way of the Superior Man
Losing My Virginity
Think and Grow Rich
Delivering Happiness
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Moore and Gillette
The lean startup
Paul Graham how to start a startup
Mark Hyman Ultimate Mind Solution
Tribal Leadership
Wheel of Time
Think and Grow Rich
Superior Man David Deida
The Fountain Head
Eckhart Tolle New Earth
50th Law
Good to Great
Jed Mckenna
Earl Nightengale
Long Walk to Freedom
Outliers
Good to Great
Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz (Self-image)
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey(Being awesome)
Wealth of Nations
Wayne Dyer The Tao
System of the World
Origin of Species
Brave new world
Thank you economy
Crush it
Built to Last
Who Moved my Cheese
Stillness Speak Eckhert Tolle
Mastery George Leonard
Steve Jobs Biography
The Last Lecture
Steve Pavlina Books
Iacocca
Striking Thoughts Bruce Lee
Carlos Castaneda
Ghost in the Wires
Richest Man in Babylon
Way of the Superior Man
Losing My Virginity
Think and Grow Rich
Delivering Happiness
Man's Search for Meaning - ViktorFrankl
Endgame (Biography of Bobby Fischer) - Frank Brady
Walt Disney - Bob Thomas
The Given Day - Dennis Lehane (Fiction)
Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane (Way better than movie)
Michael Lewis - The Big Short
Churchill - Paul Johnson (faster read than the others)
Endgame (Biography of Bobby Fischer) - Frank Brady
Walt Disney - Bob Thomas
The Given Day - Dennis Lehane (Fiction)
Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane (Way better than movie)
Michael Lewis - The Big Short
Churchill - Paul Johnson (faster read than the others)
Some old that I have re-read, some new, all worth your time:
Old Man And The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
IQ84 - Haruki Murakami
The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
On Writing - Stephen King
When Bad Things Happen To Good People - Harold Kushner
Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger
Notes To Myself - Hugh Prather
Old Man And The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
IQ84 - Haruki Murakami
The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
On Writing - Stephen King
When Bad Things Happen To Good People - Harold Kushner
Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger
Notes To Myself - Hugh Prather
I re-read Julius Caesar's Commentaries at least five times a year. I find them some of the most absolutely fascinating texts that exist. Discovered them when I was maybe 15 and they sparked my love of ancient history.
Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations" is interesting in some similar ways.
Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations" is interesting in some similar ways.
Coders at work
The numbers behind Numb3rs
Statistical methods in counterterrorism
Total recall (the biography by Schwarzenegger)
From dictatorship to democracy (available for free here: http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations98ce.html)
The miracle of mindfulness
The design of everyday things
Escape from camp 14
The numbers behind Numb3rs
Statistical methods in counterterrorism
Total recall (the biography by Schwarzenegger)
From dictatorship to democracy (available for free here: http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations98ce.html)
The miracle of mindfulness
The design of everyday things
Escape from camp 14
Last month I read "Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig and just completed reading "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" by Dan Ariely. I would recommend both of these books. I have just started with 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' by Daniel Kahneman.
I quite liked the following
1) Angelmaker
2) Gone away world
3) The Hobbit
4) Fables the comic seriers
Non fiction
1) Steve Jobs
2) Thinking fast and slow
Have a look http://blog.kaipakartik.com for the books I enjoyed reading
Have a look http://blog.kaipakartik.com for the books I enjoyed reading
I found the book "The definitive book of body language: How to read others's thoughts by their gestures" by Allan and Barbara Pease to be a great read.
The greatest show on Earth - Richard Dawkins was an excellent read.
Surely you're joking Mr Feynman by Richard p.Feynman was terrific read by a very small bit can considerred offensive or at the least dated in its outlook but if you can get past that its great!
I recently finished a book on ID called "Masters of doom" by David Kushner which I rather enjoyed as well.
I also love reading about crackers from the (mostly) 80's and I can recommend.
Cuckoo Egg by Cliff Stoll Masters of deception We are anonymous - Inside the hacker world of lulzsec, anonymous and the global cyber insurgency by Parmy Olson
I loved "Underground Hacking Madness and the obsession on the electronic frontier" once I got past the first 2 or 3 chapters (also it was researched by Julian Assange before wikileak and has a chapter about his hacking) An Ebook copy can be found on the authors website http://www.underground-book.net/download.php3
Ghost in the wire Kevin Mitnick
The greatest show on Earth - Richard Dawkins was an excellent read.
Surely you're joking Mr Feynman by Richard p.Feynman was terrific read by a very small bit can considerred offensive or at the least dated in its outlook but if you can get past that its great!
I recently finished a book on ID called "Masters of doom" by David Kushner which I rather enjoyed as well.
I also love reading about crackers from the (mostly) 80's and I can recommend.
Cuckoo Egg by Cliff Stoll Masters of deception We are anonymous - Inside the hacker world of lulzsec, anonymous and the global cyber insurgency by Parmy Olson
I loved "Underground Hacking Madness and the obsession on the electronic frontier" once I got past the first 2 or 3 chapters (also it was researched by Julian Assange before wikileak and has a chapter about his hacking) An Ebook copy can be found on the authors website http://www.underground-book.net/download.php3
Ghost in the wire Kevin Mitnick
I just read The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. It's a beautifully written book. It's fiction.
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Everything Is Obvious: *Once You Know the Answer by Duncan J. Watts
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson
The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely
The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars by Shankar Vedantam
The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry) by Siva Vaidhyanathan
In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy
Idea Man: A Memoir by Paul Allen
The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson
The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely
The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars by Shankar Vedantam
The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry) by Siva Vaidhyanathan
In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy
Idea Man: A Memoir by Paul Allen
The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
I have some free time coming up next month and wanted to know if you have some good books to recommend.
I'm looking for not-strictly-technical books. After a whole year of going through programming related books, it would be great if I can unwind with some non-technical mind opening stuff.
Thanks in Advance! :)