My Summer Reading List | Hacker News Reader

My Summer Reading List

thegatesnotes.com

172 pointsjonbaer36 comments

This is most likely off most HN readers' radar screens...

Shantaram: A Novel - this was a most unlikely recommendation from a most unlikely person

http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-Roberts/...

Sounds interesting, think I'll get that. There are never enough non-scifi fiction recommendations on HN for my taste

This book is actually amazing. It's fairly large in scope, and it has a ton of interesting outsider observations about Indian culture. Plus it's thoroughly enjoyable. I'm looking forward to GDR finishing the second book (you know how trilogies go)

I recommend How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character and Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings for people who have kids.

Thanks, much appreciated.

Might as well add How Children Fail by John Holt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Children_Fail

cool. Thanks.

I'm going to repost my collection of Hacker News threads that contain book recommendations: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4185504

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Hacker News stories which contains plenty of book recommendations (sorted by points, labeled by topic):

Science Fiction: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2978027

Computer Science: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3595599

General: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1752139

Design: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3276986

Computer Science: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1636275

Developing mental models and increasing cognition: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3277457

Quant finance: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3177815

General: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=663662

General (non software): http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1226736

Math: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=665029

General: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=875686

Entrepreneur: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2928211

Statistics: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=902074

Philosophy: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1503137

General: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1865350

Math for beginners: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=755043

Military strategy: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=456275

General: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=797070

Investing: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=248469

"I want to start a web company": http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1567456

There's enough material on the web at this point that a list of other peoples lists and personal collections probably has more value on average than a news aggregator.

The strategy this implies is going a further level up, which implies going a further level up, etc etc.

EDIT: I changed my mind, but don't feel like going into detail here. The problem with these lists is that there's a lot of repetition. If everybody would list their books in the same format you could get rid of the repeats and leave only the books that have been recommended by a HN member. Bonus if you can put the descriptions into a structured format as well.

I agree that it would be nice to have this nested (meta-)lists on a service that would treat them as sets, merge them together and as a cherry on top would show you the overlaps.

Just to note, the OP linked at

Computer Science: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1636275

Is dead and robots.txt kept it out of archive.org .

Of course, the HN discussion is still, if not primarily, worth the reference.

I wonder if I'm alone in trying to read mostly good old literature instead of recent utility works? These days I read Jules Michelet and it is a pleasure for the eyes and the brain.

I try to read a bit of everything. My current long term project is "Paradise Lost" (so far I've read it by bits over the past year or so -- still not half way through).

Lately I've also finished "Voices" by Ursula Le Guin (recommended), "The Steel Remains" by Richard Morgan (ok), "The Unberable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera (very good, and also very relevant right now) and I'm reading "From the Dust Returned" by Ray Bradburry (so far great).

"real books, utility books, classics"...Really? Again? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4527506

I try to mix it up now and then. I usually go for at least one "classic" a year, although I don't think I finished one last year. I started Crime and Punishment but set it aside and never finished it. Somewhere around here there is also a copy of Madame Bovary that's half read, that I need to revisit at some point.

That said, last year, my big thing - outside of "utility" books, were books on running and bike racing. I read things like Running Through The Wall, Born To Run, Slaying The Badger, Running on Empty, Racing Through The Dark, Eat & Run, The Belgian Hammer, Run!, It's Not Just About The Bike and The Secret Race. Fascinating stuff, for anyone who is interested in either running or bicycle racing.

Looks like a pretty good list. I saw another reference to The Box somewhere recently (actually, I think it was here on HN) and I kinda want to read that.

FWIW, I'll share a short list of my own, including stuff I've already read, am reading, or plan to read soon:

1. How To Create A Mind - Ray Kurzweil. (already read) Not a literal "how to" on creating a mind, but an interesting read from an AI pioneer. Coming at it as an "AI layman", I found it thought provoking and suggestive of other topics to explore and books to read. Which leads to:

2. On Intelligence - Jeff Hawkins. (reading now) - I've seen some reviews of the Kurzweil book suggest that his material is very derivative of Hawkins' HTM, and - to be fair - Kurzweil does mention Hawkins' work in HTCAM. Since I'd been planning to read On Intelligence for, like, forever anyway, now seemed like a good time to go ahead and read it, to compare/contrast it and the Kurzweil book. So far I can see that they are going down some similar paths, and between the two of them, I feel like they may be onto something. This is really whetting my appetite for getting more into AI stuff again.

3. NOS4A2 - Joe Hill (already read) - very fun bit of summer fiction. A neat re-invention of the vampire tale. This was my first Joe Hill novel, and I enjoyed it. The Stephen King influence does show through pretty strongly, but this is still very original in it's own right. Joe Hill may never becomes as prolific or famous as his father (or maybe he will, who knows?) but he's a pretty good writer. Fun book if you're looking for fiction and like "horror" themed stories.

4. Summa Technologiae - Stanislaw Lem (reading now) - it's hard to give a good description of this, as I haven't read much of it. How about I just give the Wikipedia link, and you can get the summary from there. I'll just say that I'm enjoying this so far. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Technologiae

5. Who Owns The Future - Jaron Lanier (reading now) - I had already bought this and had it queued up, and then the author came up in a recent HN thread (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6067921), which prompted me to move it up the stack a bit. I think I disagree with the author on a number of things, but the thing is, it's probably good to read books by people you disagree with, to help avoid tunnel vision.

6. Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think - Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler - (planning to read) - I get the feeling that Lanier would consider his work something of a counterpoint to this one, as he touches on the idea of "Abundance" in what seems to be a dismissive way, early in WOTF. From the description on Amazon.com:

We will soon be able to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman and child on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp. This bold, contrarian view, backed up by exhaustive research, introduces our near-term future, where exponentially growing technologies and three other powerful forces are conspiring to better the lives of billions. An antidote to pessimism by tech entrepreneur turned philanthropist, Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler.

7. Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization - K. Eric Drexler - (planning to read) - I know, there's sort of a theme going on here. A lot about the future and what effect technology will or won't have. This particular title focus specifically on nanotech. From the Amazon description:

K. Eric Drexler is the founding father of nanotechnology—the science of engineering on a molecular level. In Radical Abundance, he shows how rapid scientific progress is about to change our world. Thanks to atomically precise manufacturing, we will soon have the power to produce radically more of what people want, and at a lower cost. The result will shake the very foundations of our economy and environment.

8. Infinite Progress: How the Internet and Technology Will End Ignorance, Disease, Poverty, Hunger, and War - Byron Reese (planning to read) - Another book on this theme about technology and the future. From amazon:

For years we've been inundated with bleak forecasts about the future. But in this electrifying new book, author Byron Reese debunks the pessimistic outlook as dangerous, and shows instead how technology will soon create a dramatically better world for every person on earth, beyond anything we have dared to imagine. With the art of a storyteller, Reese synthesizes history, technology, and sociology into an exciting, fast-moving narrative that shows how technological change has had dramatic effects on humanity in the past. He then looks forward at the technological changes we know are coming--from genetics, nanotechnology, robotics, and many other fields--and explores how they will vastly increase wealth, prolong our lifespans, redefine human rights, and alter the social fabric of the world.

Reese explains how the Internet, human ingenuity, and technological innovation will help us forever end the five historic plagues of human existence: ignorance, disease, poverty, hunger, and war. With a rational and researched optimism, Reese sees the future not as a world in a downward spiral, but as destined for progress beyond our imaginations.

9. Creative Intelligence: Harnessing the Power to Create, Connect, and Inspire - Bruce Nussbaum (planning to read) - This caught my eye at Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago, and is queued up waiting to be read. From the amazon.com description:

Offering insights from the spheres of anthropology, psychology, education, design, and business, Creative Intelligence by Bruce Nussbaum, a leading thinker, commentator, and curator on the subjects of design, creativity, and innovation, is first book to identify and explore creative intelligence as a new form of cultural literacy and as a powerful method for problem-solving, driving innovation, and sparking start-up capitalism. Nussbaum investigates the ways in which individuals, corporations, and nations are boosting their creative intelligence — CQ—and how that translates into their abilities to make new products and solve new problems. Ultimately, Creative Intelligence shows how to frame problems in new ways and devise solutions that are original and highly social.

10. Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking by Daniel C. Dennett (planning to read) - c'mon, it's Daniel Dennett!

11. Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking - Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander (planning to read) - c'mon, it's Douglas Hofstadter!

Interesting list, thanks for sharing. Do you have any recommendations for science fiction books?

Of the stuff I've read recently, I'd say "anything by Charles Stross".

Check out Daemon by Daniel Suarez, it's a great thrilling read but the tech he mentions actually exists in some form

Not, op, but..:

For something relatively new, and related to hn, I'd recommend Bruce Sterling's latest: "Zenith Angle". Although, that's not quite sci-fi, more just fiction.

All I've read of Stanislaw Lem I'd recommend (for some classic sci-fi), also Roadside Picnic (Strugatsky brothers) is very good.

Keeping with the theme of the other books listed above, I'd recommend Bruce Sterling's "Holy Fire", or maybe "Babel-17" by Samuel R. Delany (although I prefer his youth fantasy novel "Neveyona" which deals with some of the same themes). Also, you can't go wrong with his "The Einstein Intersection".

Finally, if you haven't read anything of Vernor Vinge, I have a look at "A Fire Upon the Deep".

Hm, I guess there are a few too many Nebula Award winners in there for the recommendations to be really useful... here's one more: "Speed of Dark" by Elizabeth Moon.

Perhaps a bit haphazard, but maybe you'll find something you like there :-)

Funny that you would mention Vernor Vinge... as well known and highly regarded as he is, I've never read any of his books to date. So I recently picked up A Fire Upon The Deep, A Deepness In The Sky, and Rainbow's End and plan to read those sometime soon. I've heard so much good stuff about his work that I'm really looking forward to getting into those.

Peter Watts, especially Blindsight, although Starfish is also good. He's the rare writer who combines hard and soft SF in one; keep plowing through the first thirds to halves of his novels, which are confusing but worth the payoff.

I also read Kim Stanley Robinson's 2312 not long ago and didn't dislike it, exactly, and yet felt bored even in the midst of exciting reversals and shocking events in the context of the world.

>technological innovation will help us forever end the five historic plagues of human existence: ignorance, disease, poverty, hunger, and war

We could end ignorance, poverty, hunger, and war pretty easily, but we won't. I might have to read this one, because I don't see any evidence that such optimism for humanity is warranted.

Re: The Box, it may have been my review http://www.petekeen.net/book-review-the-box

I finished reading Jaron Laniers on Who owns the Future and waiting for a copy of Eric Schmits book on the digital future. Jaron makes some very good points about inequalities in internet content economics, which I had not considered before. "Free" is not always free. I heard Eric speak at Denver panel on Tuesday. He travels the world a lot as a google ambassador and has some interesting insights which I hope to read more about in his new book. no, he was not wearing google glasses on July 16.

A book I recently read and really enjoyed was The Sentinels.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sentinels-James-J-Layton/dp/147870...

Here is a list of books I have read so far since I started logging them in 2009 http://www.manvsgoals.com/books/. Book recommendations are welcome.

If you haven't read "Diamond Age" yet, I highly recommend it. I loved "Snow crash" too, but DA is arguably his best book. Let me know if you ever finish anything he wrote later than that, to be honest I think he is in dire need of a strict editor that cuts his books in at least half.

I see we disagree on "The Unberable Lightness of Being", but that is fine, I guess.

I think Murakami is at his best in "Norwegian Wood" and "South of the Border" -- in different ways. You might also enjoy "Chrome Yellow" by Huxley.

For something a bit different, try: "American Essays" edited by Shaw (http://www.amazon.com/American-Essays-Charles-B-Shaw/dp/B000...).

If you enjoyed the books on Steve Jobs, you might enjoy "The new new thing" by Lewis (on the founder of SGI and Netscape).

I don't know if you've read any William Gibson, if not, at least read "Burning Chrome" (and everything else he's ever written ;-).

Finally, you should read "The Code Book" by Singh.

Wow, thanks for taking the time for the recommendation, will definitely check them out.

I am a slow reader and so its a good investment of time for me to read a book, which is why I value book recommendations over randomly picking up books.

Regarding TULOB, I have found that fiction or books of philosophical nature tends to be highly subjective. It also depends on my state of mind during reading. For instance, I tried couple of times to read "The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", and I stopped reading after few chapters. Which is very rare, I usually force myself to complete horrible books, but for some reason I couldn't read it. I will give it another shot this year.

Cheers.

I second Snow Crash reco. I've read Kafka on the Shore and Wind-Up bird chronicle by Murakami and loved both. Wind-Up bird was very hard to finish at points but I'm glad I did. The more I think about the more chills I get. The book is truly a dream. I'm not sure what is largely about but I will never forget how it made me feel. It's impossible to explain.

Singh's code book is an awesome intro to classical crypto. Highly recommend reading it if you have any interest in crypto (which we all should)

I just finished Norwegian Wood a couple weeks ago and loved it, and I loved The Wind-up Bird Chronicle as well, I'll have to check out South of the Border.

I read The Box when it was first released and I highly recommend it; it's fascinating.

I just finished it recently, and will add to your recommendation. It's a great read for what seems like would be dull subject matter. A great analysis and history of the often overlooked but just as important other half of globalization: logistics. =)

Nice list; a little stuffy for summer though. May I suggest Infitite Jest?

Check out The Last Policeman trilogy- Pretty great.

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