HN Explorer

Ask HN: What are you reading right now?

79 points by rick_2047 ↗ HN
At the end of my first (freshmen) year of engineering I realized I had totally trashed my reading habit (Maybe I because I had to study 8 subjects which were mostly irrelevant to my major i.e. ECE ). I used to read about 50-60 pages per day in my commute to high school (about half hour each way). Even though I commute more now (1&half hour each way) and that too in a much more comfortable bus, I had started reading less. So at the start of this semester(its mostly ended now) I (re)started reading.

I completed the Foundation series and the last two novels of Paulo Coelho. Other than that I completed Makers and FTW. Both were fun. Right now I am reading two books simultaneously (they both require different kind of attention so its no biggie), they are Godel Escher Bach (funny story how I got it, but that would be a big tangent here) and The Elements of Computing systems.

What are you reading right now?

306 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 304 ms ] thread
devmonk
This post.
hfinney
I'm always surprised by the relative dearth of smart-ass comments on this site.
lappet
I just finished reading the Millenium trilogy
jonafato
Just finished Little Brother, in the middle of The War of the Worlds right now, and I plan to tackle Cryptonomicon once the semester starts winding down. I also read You Are Not A Gadget by Jaron Lanier recently, which is a great read.
rick_2047
I liked the description of You are not a Gadget, maybe I will pick it up after I complete one of my current books (its almost definitely going to be TECS, GEB will take year to even be read once and understood superficially and add another few years for my habit of googleing or wiki-ing ever word I don't understand.)
udrr
I've been reading Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" on and off over the course of these last 5 months or so, even though the other book I am reading is "Getting Things Done".
steveklabnik
Very similar thread, three hours ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1864688

EDIT: Not necessarily trying to say that this shouldn't be here, just that the audience for these two threads is probably pretty close, so people here might find the info there interesting/useful.

jcromartie
Yes, but this is on the front page.
rick_2047
To be honest this thread was inspired by that thread. But as the person was asking for suggestions, there is a fundamental difference I think.
Typhon
Language - By Leonard Bloomfield.
jeebusroxors
Omnivore's Dilemma

I tried Godel Escher Bach but after a few pages of his pq system I couldn't take it any more and walked away. Is this something I need to endure or am I not "getting it"?

zasz
It's not _all_ like that. Skip it and keep going. The most important stuff is in plain English.
jeebusroxors
That's great news. The chapters before that were great. I'm ignorant of anything above HS math and figured I would be lost in the rest of the book if I was having trouble in the first few pages.
rick_2047
I think it covers diverse explanation of the same theme i.e. can consciousness be generated out of unconscious (something like that). But I found the pq system quite interesting. BTW if you are having problem with that you can skip it, Hofstadter takes his sweet time explaining what formal systems is.
Palomides
I just read all of Peter Watts' books (Blindsight and the Rifter triology), very hard scifi, you can find them all free online at his website: http://www.rifters.com/
CWuestefeld
I really loved Blindsight. It set me off reading reading a bunch of non-fiction about the mind (e.g., Hofstader' I Am A Strange Loop)

The first Rifter book was pretty good, but in the 2nd he really let loose with anti-capitalist themes to the point where I couldn't stand it anymore.

jcromartie
Mythical Man Month.

Some of Jakob Nielson's usability stuff.

crawshaw
The Forever War - Joe Haldeman

Excellent science fiction.

quickpost
Yes, it is. It's held up surprisingly well considering it's nearly 30 years old at this point.
melipone
Yes, I'm reading that too. Next, I'll read The Forever Peace.
rosser
I keep having to buy new copies of Forever War and Good Omens. I lend them to friends, and never get them back.
csomar
I just finished "How to Write Great Copy for the Web". It's a piece of crap. The design and presentation of the ebook is amazing, but the content doesn't make it. It's not 90 pages, it's only 40 or 35 (Extremely large fonts and lot of white space). It does particularly add nothing to what can be found in a blog post or two.
nhebb 

  - *Built to Last* - Collins and Porras
  - *The Ruby Programming Language* - Flanagan and Matz
  - *_Whys Poignant Guide to Ruby* - _Why the Lucky Stiff
rick_2047
Ruby first "clicked" after I read _Why's Poignant guide to ruby. As zany as it is, some how it clears all the things you need to kick start in ruby
nhebb
I bounce back and forth between the Matz book and _Why's. The Matz book is comprehensive, but _Why's makes sense.
alinajaf
Its strange. Everyone seems to rave about poignant guide but I just couldn't get into it. For me Ruby for Rails by David A Black was an absolute revelation, really made things click for me.
idoh
Regarding Built to Last make sure to check out how visionary the companies profiled later turned to be.
nhebb
Oh I know! The book has been sitting on my shelf for years and I finally cracked it. I looked at the company list (compiled almost 20 years ago) and thought, huh?

But I think there is still some good lessons to be learned - especially when contrast with Positioning. Knowing that Sony's first product was a rice cooker, and HP fumbled for ideas (a bowling gutter ball detector?!?) is oddly comforting.

larsberg
Or read the book by the same author that covers that exact question, _How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In_
ramanujam
Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman

If you work in a UI/UX/Product/Front-end role do read this book some time.

thevinnie
Buyology - Martin Lindstrom The Data Warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit - Ralph Kimball The Grand Design - Stephen Hawking
faz
Loved the book "Buyology". I enjoy shopping more now after knowing how my brain works in buying stuff :)
Mankhool
"The Evolutionary Void" - Peter F. Hamilton. Epic SF on a grand scale.
Robin_Message
Oh, does he solve the Void trilogy with a deus ex machina too, like his other books? I've sworn off Peter F Hamilton for being too damm long for the quality of story you get.
Goladus
Programming Clojure - Stuart Halloway
jasonlotito
Towers of Midnight, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.

Blood and bloody ashes.

landhar
I am reading the same book myself. I highly recommend this series (The Wheel of Time). IMHO it makes the Lord of The Rings seem like a child's book (and don't get me wrong I love the LotR !).
jasonlotito
I'm happy they went with Sanderson, too. His styles fits so well with Jordan's, and his Way of Kings series has started of really well.
landhar
Indeed ! I had never heard of him before The Gathering Storm. But his work on the Wheel Of Time series has fulfilled all my expectations (and they were high!). The Way of Kings series is next in my queue.
jasonlotito
You won't be disappointed. The WoKings was a bit odd at the start. He dumps you right into the middle, and I was somewhat confused by everything changing so fast, but you quickly realise this is in a way intentional, and works well in the long run.

Also, if you haven't read the Mistborn trilogy, I highly suggest it. It's a great, unique setting, and I had a great time with it.

Finally, his other books are great as well. Elantris and Warbreaker, each different, and great for single novel stories. I'm a big fan of the long arcs of great epics, but these one-off's were well worth the time invested.

Basically, he's an author that will require me to buy everything he writes for as long as he's writing.

jaaron
I would be reading it, if Jordan's estate hadn't requested delaying the ebook release by one year. Luckily Sanderson has intervened and the delay is only three months, but I'm still pissed. They could have at least communicated this to people, rather than allowing Amazon to accept ebook pre-orders. I would have paid the hardback price for the ebook to get it now, instead I'm waiting and sorely tempted to look for torrents.
2mur
Per Sanderson's twitter/fb they are now going to release an ebook in February as a compromise (Sanderson was pushing for same-day release, Harriet wanted the year wait). As for myself, I have the hardcover to match the rest of the series on the shelf, but I'll be reading the pirated copy that will undoubtably hit IRC today or tomorrow.
bdittmer
I'm having trouble getting any work done knowing it's waiting for me in my backpack.
jasonlotito
I'm "reading" the audio-book version, with the powerhouse-duo Kramer and Reading doing the reading. Makes the commute very enjoyable, and for some reason, I don't mind washing the dishes as much. =)
lewstherin
Just can't wait until tomorrow when it gets delivered. This is the first time in India we are getting this so quickly.

Regarding Sanderson's books, it is amazing to see so much material come so quickly.

May the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

grillmaster
Just finished Irvine Welsh's Crime (my trainspotting filters are level 6 now) and starting Kipling's Kim.
YakiSauce
"In Defense of Food" - Just finished.

"Long Walk to Freedom" - Currently reading.

"Good to Great" - Up next.

kd0amg
Gödel, Escher, Bach

Types and Programming Languages

6 dozen students' homework

Probably going to start Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said sometime soon (or some other novel... I can't currently remember what I have waiting on my shelf).

agazso
Coders at Work by Peter Seibel.

Very interesting interviews with hackers and/or computer language inventors.