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Ask HN: What is the best book you read on 2017?

61 points| zwrt | 8 years ago | reply

45 comments

order
[+] mindcrime|8 years ago|reply
Non-fiction:

Tough to call. I got a lot out of Deep Work by Cal Newport, The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday, How To Win At The Sport Of Business by Mark Cuban, Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, and The Engines of Creation by Eric Drexler, as well as the three Grant Cardone books I read: The 10x Rule, Sell or Be Sold and Be Obsessed or Be Average.

Fiction:

I'll go with The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami was also pretty good.

You can see the entire list of what I've read lately (and further back) on my Goodreads profile:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/33942804-phillip-rhodes

or, if this link is visible publicly, on this "2017 in books" page:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2017/33942804

[+] kirubakaran|8 years ago|reply
scifi: https://kirubakaran.com/bookshelf/columbus-day/

nonfic: https://kirubakaran.com/bookshelf/data-science-from-scratch/

fiction: https://kirubakaran.com/bookshelf/everyone-burns/

Here is my full list: https://kirubakaran.com/bookshelf/

[+] lastofus|8 years ago|reply
For anyone looking for a DS primer, I have to say I was really disappointed with "Data Science from Scratch". It was all breadth with little depth. It felt more like a suggested list of topics to further research w/ other material.

I personally got way more value and insight out of "Data Science for Business" and would highly recommend it.

[+] pmdulaney|8 years ago|reply
Nice bookshelf page! It would be nice if you could somehow box in red, say, the best book for each year...
[+] sunilgiri|8 years ago|reply
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck [Mark Manson]

Its an easy & enjoyable book on subject : A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life.

[+] zodiac|8 years ago|reply
I don't normally read him but yudkowsy's book Inadequate Equilibria was a really good look at how he analyzes "market failures" in society at large. And it's freely available from https://equilibriabook.com

2017 was also the year I read classics like 3-body problem and ready player one

[+] drunkencarolina|8 years ago|reply
I normally only read books to help me sleep and usually that book is "Lord of The Rings". However, I did branch out in 2017 with "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman which I quite enjoyed until near the end where it got a little too crazy.
[+] jfaucett|8 years ago|reply
1. Thinking fast and slow - Kahneman

2. Outliers - Malcom Gladwell

3. How to read and do proofs - Daniel Solow

All of these were packed with great insights and are books I'm sure I will return to in the future for multiple re-reads.

[+] mattmanser|8 years ago|reply
I enjoyed Outliers when I read it a while ago, but have since realised it's just a bunch of anecdotes.
[+] chamoda|8 years ago|reply
Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts [Stanislas Dehaene], interesting book about up to date neuroscience.

Book of Proof [Richard Heath Hammack], great books on maths. gives a head start on proofs.

Mastery [Robert Greene], best self help book I've read.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2017/5980292

[+] qrv3w|8 years ago|reply
Non-fiction: Illumination in the Flat-woods by Joe Hutto, an amazing story about raising turkeys.

Fiction: Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, a new great magical realism book, great if you like Stephen King / Clive Barker / Robert McCammon.

My list: https://schollz.github.io/books-2017/

[+] jf|8 years ago|reply
Fiction: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor - the first of a very enjoyable SF trilogy

Non-Fiction: Chasing the Harvest: Migrant Workers in California Agriculture by Gabriel Thompson - a collection of detailed and moving stories from people who work in the fields in California.

[+] kevindeasis|8 years ago|reply
I've read over 100 books this year, but mostly non-fiction. I'm kinda surprised that my favourite book ended up being a fiction book, which is: 'Ready Player One'
[+] gt2|8 years ago|reply
Do you have a speed reading technique or just read for a long time per day?
[+] correlation|8 years ago|reply
Martin Kleppmann's "Designing Data-Intensive Applications" is one of the best books in computing I've read in a very long time (and thus the best book of 2017).
[+] andersthue|8 years ago|reply
The best book I have ever read I read in 2017, it’s the book “The Anatomy of Peace” (and it’s twin Leaders and Self Deception) from the Arbinger Institute.