The Count of Monte Cristo, hands down. Published 1844 by Alexandre Dumas, one of the greatest writers to have ever lived.
I’m an avid reader and I always laughed at the idea of having a “favorite” book.. until I found mine. I loved the book so much, I resolved to learn French (et je l’ai fait!) just so I could someday read it in the original French.
I remember your comment from four years ago (!) [0] and it really stuck with me. However, I could never find the thread, so when I saw this thread, I simply had to check if you wrote a comment again; and here we are! I recently began reading it and is really enjoying it. Thanks for the recommendation!
I love this book too. Funnily enough, I also picked up the French version, and forced myself to read it despite not knowing French (but my native language is Spanish, so being familiar with the story, I could follow relatively well).
Something that really stood out for me was the description of the finances of the characters. It's like back then everyone understood that the goal was to live off investments, and that working for a living was an unfortunate, hopefully temporary condition. Seems like nowadays it's such a central part of everyone's default life philosophy (at least that of mere plebs like me) that few people question it.
Out of curiosity, did you watch the 2002 movie? If so, what did you think? That's how I discovered the story in the first place.
This. I remember when I started reading the tome (1800 pages IIRC) someday, 30 years ago. I simply couldn't put it down, literally. I went on reading almost non stop for 2 days and 3 nights, barely sleeping.
Monte Cristo is also my favorite novel by Alexandre Dumas, but I enjoyed many other books he wrote — he used to have assistants that wrote part of his books, and, IIRC, one of them claimed that he was the main author of some novels.
I'd recommend reading "Les 3 mousquetaires", where the Lady is one of the most interesting characters I've ever met. The book was a huge success, and is still famous in France nowadays, like its main character, D'Artagnan. The two sequences are okay, "Vingt ans après" and "Le vicomte de Bragelonne".
Other good historical novels by Dumas are "La reine Margot", "Joseph Balsamo", "Le collier de la reine". For the fans, there are dozens of lesser novels, like "La tulipe noire" (which I know I've read, but can't remember at all).
2 years ago, I replied a similar question by saying The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book in my youth. I finished reading the Chinese version on one day when I was 16. Since that comment my son was given the book (English) at the same age for his English class last year, he finished it in more than 1 month. I think I have failed as a parent (by not forcing him to learn to read).
Maxwell's book on electromagnetism, it shows his hindsight perspective on interpreting the phenomena. One can look at the papers and works he wrote that led up to it, but they are full of detours and unbalanced attention with small dead ends. When he writes his book he tries to convince the audience of his time in one comprehensive work.
What I love especially, is that he is very careful and systematic about his conclusions, splitting up in cases, instead of simply producing the solution and then proving it is a valid solution.
For example he does not assume that every point in space has a single value for total potential. First he describes how it is at least theoretically conceivable to follow a path and observe the total potential to vary continuously, and arrive back at the point of departure but end up with a different value of the total potential. He is effectively describing the possibility of wormholes (which didn't bear the name "wormhole" yet back then), or "charge without charge" (think Wheeler). But after this part of the book he assumes that the total potential is singlevalued (not because he proved so, but because describing physics in spaces with complicated topologies is far from straightforward, even today).
Which book is this? I believe reading the original masters who came up with the discoveries is the way to understanding. It is said that when the Great Mathematician Gauss was asked as to how he made his discoveries, replied; "By studying the Masters and not their Students". There is something about the process of trial and error, testing various hypothesis', going down dead ends and then doubling back and finally lighting upon the answer which clarifies and provides intuitive understanding that can only be conveyed by the person who went through the experience i.e. The Discoverer himself. Everybody else is just parroting the end results without understanding (there are always a few exceptions of course).
I really like books written by Jules Verne. Those books were really ahead of its time. He was a prolific and best Sci-fi writer. I would like to mention few of his works like 20,000 leagues under the sea, journey to the center of earth and Around the World in Eighty Days.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne
When I was a child, I loved Jules Vernes' novels. My favorite were "L'île mystérieuse" et "Michel Strogoff". I've read them again after a few decades, and I enjoyed them both.
"L'île mystérieuse" is the survival adventure of a small and disparate group, but the main theme is how science can dominate nature. The mystery part is better enjoyed if the reader knows a bit of Jules Verne' other books.
"Michel Strogoff" is a pure and romantic adventure in Russia, at the time of the Tatar invasions. It was sometimes brutal for a child reader, but I could still remember many scenes thirty years later.
Other good novels are "Voyage au centre de la terre", "Vingt-mille lieues sous les mers", "Cinq semaines en ballon", "Le tour du monde en 80 jours", "Les indes noires". I've a few others which I enjoyed at a lesser point.
I love that his books are so approachable for youth (especially in some translations). He paints such a beautiful picture of a world waiting to be explored, ripe for the taking. (Personally however, I would rank Journey to the Centre of the Earth above 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.)
I second the votes for War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Brothers Karamazov ... but I think I can add a unique (and very special to me) entry with:
Chesterfield's Letters to His Son:
"Begun in the 1737 and continued until the death of his son in 1768, Chesterfield wrote mostly instructive communications about geography, history, and classical literature, – with later letters focusing on politics and diplomacy – and the letters themselves were written in French, English, and Latin, in order to refine his son's grasp of the languages."[1]
Since many other people have mentioned ancient essays I like, I'll go for something more "modern". Some of Bertrand Russell's earlier works are well worth a read even though they're obviously dated.
Something that’s always fascinated me - Bertrand Russell’s life covered many years and massive change, making for a good biography. His grandfather met Napoleon when in exile and I believe recounted this experience to a young Bertrand Russell (I can’t find a source for this currently). Bertrand Russell also watched the moon landing on TV. These events seem so far apart but are separated by just 2 (long) lifetimes.
It was the first book I read for school that made me laugh out loud and realize that some of these old boring books were actually pretty awesome (which is why people are still reading them centuries later)
Both have been mentioned a bunch of times, but I also find that the Tao Te Ching [0] and The Prince [1] both pop into my head, in fragments, from time to time when I'm thinking about the modern world and the humans in it.
Also, if you're wondering where things like genome editing lead us, they lead us to The Island of Dr. Moreau [2] (H.G. Wells, 1896).
It's been a long time since I was acquainted with Uncle Tom's Cabin. I remember clearly how the opening presented an idyllic scene that could have been written by a proponent of slavery, but things went quickly downhill precisely because the slaves were not free. I was struck by how this was a judo-like persuasion technique. I don't remember the rest of the book well, but my curiosity is piqued by controversy surrounding the book that I found trying to verify a quote. I wish I had time to pick it up again. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0030.104/--lincoln...
Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Nietzsche (esp. Walter Kaufmann preface edition). It's an energetic, angry, poetic, and often rambling tour de force on mankind overcoming its smallness. Halfway through you'll start wondering if Nietzsche is a genius or a lunatic, and the answer is Yes.
On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin. It's pretty dense, dry, and can require a bit of a commitment, but there's some pretty interesting bits and pieces in there aside from just proposing evolution.
I've seen Meditations being mentioned a lot on this thread but for me, 'letters from a stoic' (or 'moral letters to lucillius' ) by Seneca has been more approachable than Meditations.
'Letters from a Stoic' is indeed a masterpiece, and I've found that the Penguin Book's translation is fantastic. It made me feel like I was reading my own grandpa's letters with warm-hearted instructions on how to be a good person when I become a grown-up.
Les Misérables. First read it when I was in elementary school. It was a beautiful, touching piece. Not only did it tell a story, but also it presented the whole cultural background upon which the story occurred. Every time I read the book, I learn something new. In elementary school, I was mostly moved by Jean Valjean's resilience, calmness, and competency. Later on, I started to appreciate the humanity shown in other characters as well. Then, I read into the culture. It was most interesting to compare this book to A Tale of Two Cities.
I’m intrigued by the scarce mention of Spanish authors, particularly those from the Golden Age. Other than Cervantes, I haven’t seen any of his coevals listed: Lope de Vega, Francisco Gómez de Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, Calderón de la Barca and many others.
What are the reasons for this phenomenon, which is not unique to HN? Are the the works too archaic for modern taste? Are the translations just not good enough to convey the virtuosity of the originals? Lack of exposure? I’m truly curious to hear from this audience of why this phenomenon.
Amazon or Barnes and Noble don't feature their books, librarians don't mention their works, and most folks have probably just never been exposed to them (even in college).
I think, unless you are taking a class specializing in Spanish literature, Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote unfortunately overshadows the rest in literature curricula.
I would almost considered quoting the great ancient literature a cheat-code but I still do really like the Ecclesiastes.
From the other end of the spectrum, "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" is the book/story that inspired my interest in cryptography. In the end I never worked in infromation-security but I did enjoy it from my 10 years til I left college, and I still do enjoy going for puzzle-hunts with some of my friends :)
[+] [-] ComputerGuru|6 years ago|reply
I’m an avid reader and I always laughed at the idea of having a “favorite” book.. until I found mine. I loved the book so much, I resolved to learn French (et je l’ai fait!) just so I could someday read it in the original French.
[+] [-] henrikeh|6 years ago|reply
I remember your comment from four years ago (!) [0] and it really stuck with me. However, I could never find the thread, so when I saw this thread, I simply had to check if you wrote a comment again; and here we are! I recently began reading it and is really enjoying it. Thanks for the recommendation!
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12245036
[+] [-] ggambetta|6 years ago|reply
Something that really stood out for me was the description of the finances of the characters. It's like back then everyone understood that the goal was to live off investments, and that working for a living was an unfortunate, hopefully temporary condition. Seems like nowadays it's such a central part of everyone's default life philosophy (at least that of mere plebs like me) that few people question it.
Out of curiosity, did you watch the 2002 movie? If so, what did you think? That's how I discovered the story in the first place.
[+] [-] wazoox|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] idoubtit|6 years ago|reply
I'd recommend reading "Les 3 mousquetaires", where the Lady is one of the most interesting characters I've ever met. The book was a huge success, and is still famous in France nowadays, like its main character, D'Artagnan. The two sequences are okay, "Vingt ans après" and "Le vicomte de Bragelonne".
Other good historical novels by Dumas are "La reine Margot", "Joseph Balsamo", "Le collier de la reine". For the fans, there are dozens of lesser novels, like "La tulipe noire" (which I know I've read, but can't remember at all).
[+] [-] wensheng|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Hoasi|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ainiriand|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aguzzi94|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DoctorOetker|6 years ago|reply
What I love especially, is that he is very careful and systematic about his conclusions, splitting up in cases, instead of simply producing the solution and then proving it is a valid solution.
For example he does not assume that every point in space has a single value for total potential. First he describes how it is at least theoretically conceivable to follow a path and observe the total potential to vary continuously, and arrive back at the point of departure but end up with a different value of the total potential. He is effectively describing the possibility of wormholes (which didn't bear the name "wormhole" yet back then), or "charge without charge" (think Wheeler). But after this part of the book he assumes that the total potential is singlevalued (not because he proved so, but because describing physics in spaces with complicated topologies is far from straightforward, even today).
[+] [-] rramadass|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ASlave2Gravity|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] earthicus|6 years ago|reply
https://store.doverpublications.com/0486668959.html
[+] [-] achilleslinux|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] idoubtit|6 years ago|reply
"L'île mystérieuse" is the survival adventure of a small and disparate group, but the main theme is how science can dominate nature. The mystery part is better enjoyed if the reader knows a bit of Jules Verne' other books.
"Michel Strogoff" is a pure and romantic adventure in Russia, at the time of the Tatar invasions. It was sometimes brutal for a child reader, but I could still remember many scenes thirty years later.
Other good novels are "Voyage au centre de la terre", "Vingt-mille lieues sous les mers", "Cinq semaines en ballon", "Le tour du monde en 80 jours", "Les indes noires". I've a few others which I enjoyed at a lesser point.
[+] [-] ComputerGuru|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Fnoord|6 years ago|reply
Jules Verne - Around The World In 80 Days I read a translation of.
Immanuel Kant - An Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment?
In the end, there is a lot of old text which I haven't read. Probably too much...
[+] [-] rsync|6 years ago|reply
Chesterfield's Letters to His Son:
"Begun in the 1737 and continued until the death of his son in 1768, Chesterfield wrote mostly instructive communications about geography, history, and classical literature, – with later letters focusing on politics and diplomacy – and the letters themselves were written in French, English, and Latin, in order to refine his son's grasp of the languages."[1]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_C...
[+] [-] ChrisSD|6 years ago|reply
* The Problems of Philosophy (1912) gives a short introduction to philosophy that he at the time considered "positive and constructive". https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5827/5827-h/5827-h.htm
* Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays (1901 to 1915) is an anthology of his ideas that were still evolving even then. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25447/25447-h/25447-h.htm
[+] [-] lostlogin|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wazoox|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ioman|6 years ago|reply
It was the first book I read for school that made me laugh out loud and realize that some of these old boring books were actually pretty awesome (which is why people are still reading them centuries later)
[+] [-] kthejoker2|6 years ago|reply
Essays by Michel de Montaigne
Self Reliance by Emerson
Theory of Moral Sentiment by Adam Smith
A Treatise of Human Nature by Hume
And the memoir of my vote for the most interesting man who ever lived, Humphry Davy's Consolations in Travel
[+] [-] cryptozeus|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] misternonki|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] biztos|6 years ago|reply
Also, if you're wondering where things like genome editing lead us, they lead us to The Island of Dr. Moreau [2] (H.G. Wells, 1896).
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau
[+] [-] altharaz|6 years ago|reply
On The Shortness of Life, Seneca => An essay about how to handle life and how to see what is really important
On War, Clausewitz => An important essay about strategy and war, politics and management
The Prince, Machiavelli => A little bit cynical but quite realistic about the nature of power in the hands of humans
Thirty-Six Stratagems, multiple authors => A list of strategies that can be used in any situation, whether when winning or losing
[+] [-] m_t|6 years ago|reply
Essays, by Michel de Montaigne
In English (Vol. 1), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3581
In French (Vol. 1), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48529
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius
English translation by George W. Chrystal, 1902 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55317
English translation by George Long, 1957 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15877
Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo
In English (Full), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/135
In French (Vol. 1), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17489
20000 leagues under the sea, by Jules Vernes
In English (slightly abridged), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/164
In French (with illustration), https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54873
[+] [-] brlewis|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] khazhou|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jmts|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gjango|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] soldeace|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tonyedgecombe|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] powersnail|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vo2maxer|6 years ago|reply
What are the reasons for this phenomenon, which is not unique to HN? Are the the works too archaic for modern taste? Are the translations just not good enough to convey the virtuosity of the originals? Lack of exposure? I’m truly curious to hear from this audience of why this phenomenon.
[+] [-] danesparza|6 years ago|reply
Amazon or Barnes and Noble don't feature their books, librarians don't mention their works, and most folks have probably just never been exposed to them (even in college).
[+] [-] ComputerGuru|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] oyebenny|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andrenth|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jeffdavis|6 years ago|reply
https://irl.cs.ucla.edu/papers/right-size.html
Only 90 years old, but it came to mind and it was close enough that I needed to check the date.
[+] [-] m0xte|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jedberg|6 years ago|reply
Basically the first science fiction, and the warnings of the perils of technology are still just as relevant today.
[+] [-] a-saleh|6 years ago|reply
From the other end of the spectrum, "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" is the book/story that inspired my interest in cryptography. In the end I never worked in infromation-security but I did enjoy it from my 10 years til I left college, and I still do enjoy going for puzzle-hunts with some of my friends :)