Here's two books that will change the way you understand the non-Western world.
1. Coup d'Etat A Practical Handbook. I know, you never intend to organize a coup, why would you need a practical handbook? Well, coups or attempted coups are surprisingly frequent. Wikipedia has a list [1] of 60 attempted coups worldwide since 2010, a stunning 18 of which (30%) were successful.
2. The Dictator's Handbook. Yet another handbook. I think these titles, with their weird attempt of humor, are quite unfortunate. It's a shame. The content is great, but I wonder how many people don't buy the book because they feel insulted by the idea that they'd ever need a handbook to be a dictator. I know I felt that way. Well, don't take that title as an insult, just ignore it. The majority of the countries worldwide are led by dictators. It's quite important to understand how they think. This way it's easier to understand what's going on in the world.
“Man is something that shall be overcome. Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman — a rope over an abyss. What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end.”
“You say 'I' and you are proud of this word. But greater than this- although you will not believe in it - is your body and its great intelligence, which does not say 'I' but performs 'I'.”
I thought The Gay Science was much better than Zarathustra. I feel like I got a lot more insights out of it. If you go into Nietzsche with Zarathustra I think you'd be kinda confused about his whole schtick.
If you are open to fiction - I came across an entire genre called LitRPG which is combination of RPG-game style elements in the form of a book. It is mostly written by young gamers so the writing quality is pretty basic but various authors explore different gaming-related creative elements very well. Couple of books to start with in this genre are "Defiance of the fall" and "Dungeon Crawler Carl". The latter is even better as an audiobook vs regular book.
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. Recently got around to finally reading it. I know Snow Crash is considered his best sci-fi novel (and it’s amazing, too), but I think I liked this one even better.
Snow Crash is funny and weird and action packed, but its light-hearted tone diffuses the tension. The Diamond Age, by contrast, had a lot of hair-raising moments and characters I was really invested in.
Agatha Christie's 'Hercule Poirot Series' books are always good. (Actually most of the Agatha Christie's crime series are good.) Bear in mind that most of those are set in the 1920s-1930s period.
The Count of Monte Cristo, it is over 1300+ pages in the English translation I read, and it is fun and interesting read, almost every single page of it.
I love TCMC, its my favorite story, but I enjoy reading the abridged version more. I find that every time I read the unabridged I end up feeling like it was slightly too long.
This book came out not too long ago and is really good.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
What does a misanthropic octopus have in common with Tova, a widowed aquarium employee? Not much, until a friendship develops following a daring tank rescue, and Marcellus McSquiddles happily uses all eight of his tentacles, his three hearts, plus his sharp brain, to solve the soul-scarring mystery of Tova’s son Erik’s disappearance thirty years ago. Utterly original, funny, wise, and heartwarming (be warned: there’ll be tears as well as giggles), Remarkably Bright Creatures will have readers falling hard for an acerbic invertebrate whose intervention in his new friend’s life sets her up for healing lessons in love, loss, and family. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
If you're interested in what life in ancient Greece / Rome was like. The author does a very good job at not going into too much detail and boring the reader, while still telling you all the important events and changes that took place.
Personally I’m a sucker for a beat-the-odds survival story and 438 days is in a tier of it’s own. It takes a special kind of human to survive in the open ocean for over a year.
With no exaggeration, everyone I’ve recommended it to finished it the same day they started it.
It was an interesting look at this period of history, and even more fascinating insight into the wellspring from which Dumas drew for his stories.
It's esp. interesting when contrasted w/ the pastiche of _The Count of Monte Cristo_ by Steven Brust, _The Baron of Magister Valley_, which I also highly recommend if you're interested in literate fantasy.
I read a lot, usually history but I've been getting back into fiction
I really liked The Three Body Problem, I've over a thousand pages in the last month in this series. I also enjoyed The Poppy War and Dune.
The best nonfiction I read recently was Blackshirts and Reds and A People's History of the Supreme Court.
It's not quite HN material, but I also absolutely loved The Nix. It's a book I described to my friends as "nothing happens" by which I mean all character stuff.
Hah! I came here to recommend Blindsight. "vampires in space" sounded silly, but it was unexpectedly intelligent and creative — some real mind-opening perspectives on consciousness.
Meanwhile, I've read every Neal Stephenson & William Gibson book multiple times... anyone have suggestions for other authors to read, before I just loop again?
Shattered Sword, by Anthony P. Tully and Jonathan Parshall. An in-depth analysis of the battle of Midway, primarily from the Japanese perspective, covering everything from the organizational culture of the IJN and its impact on Japanese doctrine and planning to the minute-by-minute events of the battle.
Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller Chronicles
Naomi Novik - Scholomance
Michael J. Sullivan - Riyria
Ilona Andrews - many books
Caution: Be aware that the last book of the Kingkiller Chronicles "the doors of stone" is not out yet and may never happen[1], so although it is one of the greatest fantasy books of all time (in my opinion), it's kind of unsatisfying after part 2 :-)
The Selfish Gene by Dawkins is a fascinating (to me mind-blowing) look at biology and evolution. There are some subtle popular misunderstandings about evolution that he thoroughly debunks.
Thinking Fast and Slow by Kahneman is basically a summary of his life's research in behavioral economics and is super fascinating. There has been some scrutiny about some of the claims but still an amazing, enlightening book.
Expecting Better by Osler is basically a summary of things to expect with pregnancy but she takes skeptical view to any and all conventional wisdom and summarizes the actual research behind various recommendations. Very educational and refreshing read for me.
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo had a big impact on me when I read it recently. I wouldn't call it horror, but it's a disturbing and yet compelling read.
credit_guy|3 years ago
1. Coup d'Etat A Practical Handbook. I know, you never intend to organize a coup, why would you need a practical handbook? Well, coups or attempted coups are surprisingly frequent. Wikipedia has a list [1] of 60 attempted coups worldwide since 2010, a stunning 18 of which (30%) were successful.
2. The Dictator's Handbook. Yet another handbook. I think these titles, with their weird attempt of humor, are quite unfortunate. It's a shame. The content is great, but I wonder how many people don't buy the book because they feel insulted by the idea that they'd ever need a handbook to be a dictator. I know I felt that way. Well, don't take that title as an insult, just ignore it. The majority of the countries worldwide are led by dictators. It's quite important to understand how they think. This way it's easier to understand what's going on in the world.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coups_and_coup_attempt...
fsociety|3 years ago
- Tracer in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency by Andy Greenberg https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60471288-tracers-in-the-...
- This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race by Nicole Perlroth https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/49247043
anavette|3 years ago
alexashka|3 years ago
“Man is something that shall be overcome. Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman — a rope over an abyss. What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not an end.”
“You say 'I' and you are proud of this word. But greater than this- although you will not believe in it - is your body and its great intelligence, which does not say 'I' but performs 'I'.”
wry_discontent|3 years ago
wobbly_bush|3 years ago
somebody123|3 years ago
anavette|3 years ago
cainxinth|3 years ago
Snow Crash is funny and weird and action packed, but its light-hearted tone diffuses the tension. The Diamond Age, by contrast, had a lot of hair-raising moments and characters I was really invested in.
xmonkee|3 years ago
in9|3 years ago
wry_discontent|3 years ago
grantc|3 years ago
jvanderbot|3 years ago
Diamond Age and Anathem are far better.
simonblack|3 years ago
Agatha Christie's 'Hercule Poirot Series' books are always good. (Actually most of the Agatha Christie's crime series are good.) Bear in mind that most of those are set in the 1920s-1930s period.
mtmail|3 years ago
billfruit|3 years ago
0xJRS|3 years ago
daltont|3 years ago
anavette|3 years ago
01arjuna|3 years ago
What does a misanthropic octopus have in common with Tova, a widowed aquarium employee? Not much, until a friendship develops following a daring tank rescue, and Marcellus McSquiddles happily uses all eight of his tentacles, his three hearts, plus his sharp brain, to solve the soul-scarring mystery of Tova’s son Erik’s disappearance thirty years ago. Utterly original, funny, wise, and heartwarming (be warned: there’ll be tears as well as giggles), Remarkably Bright Creatures will have readers falling hard for an acerbic invertebrate whose intervention in his new friend’s life sets her up for healing lessons in love, loss, and family. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
https://a.co/d/cKptjQl
TylerLives|3 years ago
If you're interested in what life in ancient Greece / Rome was like. The author does a very good job at not going into too much detail and boring the reader, while still telling you all the important events and changes that took place.
unraveller|3 years ago
For another epic collection of history tidbits for the following period check out From Dawn to Decadence - Jacques Barzun
anavette|3 years ago
Kaibeezy|3 years ago
Homemade dashi, ftw.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31823606-mastering-the-a...
serjester|3 years ago
With no exaggeration, everyone I’ve recommended it to finished it the same day they started it.
hot_gril|3 years ago
WillAdams|3 years ago
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13330922-the-black-count
It was an interesting look at this period of history, and even more fascinating insight into the wellspring from which Dumas drew for his stories.
It's esp. interesting when contrasted w/ the pastiche of _The Count of Monte Cristo_ by Steven Brust, _The Baron of Magister Valley_, which I also highly recommend if you're interested in literate fantasy.
wry_discontent|3 years ago
I really liked The Three Body Problem, I've over a thousand pages in the last month in this series. I also enjoyed The Poppy War and Dune.
The best nonfiction I read recently was Blackshirts and Reds and A People's History of the Supreme Court.
It's not quite HN material, but I also absolutely loved The Nix. It's a book I described to my friends as "nothing happens" by which I mean all character stuff.
vlod|3 years ago
Next is Blindsight by Peter Watt [0], which looks interesting.
[0] https://smile.amazon.com/Blindsight-Peter-Watts/dp/125023748...
kipple|3 years ago
Meanwhile, I've read every Neal Stephenson & William Gibson book multiple times... anyone have suggestions for other authors to read, before I just loop again?
xmonkee|3 years ago
sprkwd|3 years ago
DylanSp|3 years ago
jboynyc|3 years ago
acdanger|3 years ago
dunefox|3 years ago
sandreas|3 years ago
[1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/wdoiq2/in_december_r...
w0m|3 years ago
I'll second it probably the best Fantasy I've read. The sequal is still solid.
<3 Pat but I wouldn't expect the series to be finished at this point.
3minus1|3 years ago
Thinking Fast and Slow by Kahneman is basically a summary of his life's research in behavioral economics and is super fascinating. There has been some scrutiny about some of the claims but still an amazing, enlightening book.
Expecting Better by Osler is basically a summary of things to expect with pregnancy but she takes skeptical view to any and all conventional wisdom and summarizes the actual research behind various recommendations. Very educational and refreshing read for me.
varunsharma07|3 years ago
vector_rotcev|3 years ago
mindcrime|3 years ago
[1]: https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Speaks-Numbers-Reveals-Natur...
hot_gril|3 years ago
wisie|3 years ago
The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War by Craig Whitlock.
Enjoyed both a lot over the Christmas break.
ilrwbwrkhv|3 years ago
roydivision|3 years ago
fm2606|3 years ago
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Got_His_Gun_(film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM8bTdBs-cw
skibidibipiti|3 years ago
mindracer|3 years ago
warrenm|3 years ago
Nudge
Thinking Fast and Slow
Without Remorse
Cuckoo's Egg
The Intellectual Lives of Children
Why Johnny Still Can't Read or Write or Understand Math
Technopoly
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Leviathan (Dolin)
wry_discontent|3 years ago
sprkwd|3 years ago
vladsanchez|3 years ago
steponlego|3 years ago
anavette|3 years ago
ahoya|3 years ago
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