Ask HN: What books have you not finished?

That’s a way of suggesting that the compulsion to finish each book started is a young person’s vice. And virtue…I was well served at the time I read the Florida Building Code front to back…but the main utility was that it was easier to look up the right information than to rely on memory (doing the right thing was easier than the alternatives).

The greatest benefit of not finishing books is with good books. I can set something good aside to read later. I can savor short books.

Sam Shepard’s Motel Chronicles is the latest. It’s undergone something akin to exponential backoff.

On the other hand, I probably won’t finish the collection of Steinbeck essays I was reading in April, May, and August. The first part consisted of Steinbeck writing for the joy of writing. But the next is making arguments, and I can get all the arguments I want and then some on my iPhone.

I do read books twice. But only because they are so good. Brautigan’s Trout Fishing in America most recently. And that was two in a row. So good I gave it away to someone I love.

I read Dawkins’ Consciousness Explained in the ‘90’s. I guess that might make me an early adopter of the memes meme…not that that pays any bills.

What, so far as I can see, is different between that book and the one you have is that the argument for memes is a novel way of thinking in general. A new canal for thought to flow down from n general. It’s not rewarmed polemic.

However, recently the central thrust of The God Delusion has given me an historical perspective on the concept of “fake news”. I am not hopeful it will be combatted.

Of course, God Delusion is in an important category of books. Those I can talk about without actually reading by virtue of having read about them. You don’t have to read Moby Dick to know a enough to use it in a metaphor.

Potential spoilers

A couple hundred pages in, the pacing just felt too slow. The "high stakes" that kept me on the edge of my chair felt like they disappeared. Where I stopped reading, Mars was collapsing, Earth had collapsed (something that might be fixed in many generations), and the Belt was divided with Marco facing mutiny. And the Marco character went from seemingly having some grand plan and being 10 steps ahead to seemingly being just a charismatic thug who got lucky. Who really built the Protomolecule? In Holden's vision, who were the people who killed the people that built the Protomolecule? Where did they all go? Are any of those civilizations still alive? The first three seasons of the show and even books had a political/human struggle angle, but the Protomolecule and the alien tech were the glue that kept the story progressing. Even in Book 4 with New Terra from one of the ring gates. But seriously – Book 6 – the pacing of the story just turned me off. They could tell me in one chapter that Inaros and his crew got blown up and we don't have to talk about them anymore, and I wouldn't even be mad.

I know there are more books. At some point between now and when the next season of the Expanse airs on Prime Video, I'll probably finish Book 6 and move on to the remaining books. But seriously – Book 6 has hurt my brain. And I'm sad to learn that it'll be the final season of the show.

I was young and stupid, and I bought this book because of its very high Amazon rating.

It's badly written, same old self-help cringe, and generic good advice packaged as something novel. I also found the depiction of the Yogi community of the Himalayas of very poor taste and far from reality. He and the people who does his PR are master marketers. That's why his books sell so much. Total waste of money.

- How to Win Friends and Influence People

I got this from HN. Sure, I knew about it, but if it was on a highly upvoted comment on HN, it must be good, or at least that's what I thought.

The writing is good, but the book is sexist and classist. "How to be a good wife"? Seriously? And suggesting that they cook different dishes and some such sexist nonsense! Whoa!

I learned some cool facts about Abe Lincoln which I enjoyed. I will read a summary or watch a video some day.

Btw, I have had some really great recommendation from book threads on HN.

- War and Peace

I was really enjoying it. Will definitely finish it someday.

________

I only read a book when it appears on my radar from multiple sources. HN threads, Reddit threads (not r/books pseudo-intellectual, pseudo-origina posts), people that I respect who talk about books (e.g. Paul Graham), books that appear on the bibliography of another book I am reading, etc.

Despite these checks and balances, I am surprised that I spent money for The Monk who Sold his Ferrari and How to Win Friends and Influence People.

The idea was quite good - mess is chaos, but chaos was not always bad. If you have a pile of stuff on the floor, it's efficient to take stuff from the pile and put it back in. Organizing is sort of like overarchitecture.

They used the book as proof of concept. The book was unplanned, there was probably no editing. It was just a dump of ideas and not organized in a coherent fashion.

So in a sense, it disproved the thesis that mess is a better state. It's a good book, but just really hard to read.

I guess for me finishing the book is not the expectation, I like to reflect and sit back and really examine if I agree or not agree with the author.

books that I decided to stop reading :

"You are not a gadget" by Jaron Lanier, it's too negative and has the bias of believing lack of action is equivalent to building and self-correcting, I might return to it one day but right now I don't need more of that academic passive negativity.

kazuo ishiguro "never let me go", the introduction of the novel is gripping, the strange tone of the young protagonist draws you in, but then it starts getting more heavy with London heavy clouds dark sky vibe, and I was feeling like "no thanks, not today".

The one thing in common with the books that I finished more quickly is that they were either inspiring or had concise clear conclusions with satisfying progression and ending.

I was supposed to read this at school, because it's a seminal work of Belarusian literature or something, but I somehow managed to avoid it back then. So I've decided to give it a try now. And... I just couldn’t finish it.

It's a book about nobility. And I just can't associate myself with the nobles, with their rules and ideas about life.

E.g. there is a situation when Aleś starts arguing about politics; he says some things that irritate his classmates, and he knows it. Then three classmates find him alone, tell him some things that irritate him. And he starts a fight, because honour or something. And he's supposed to be in the right here.

I just... it's just so different from my worldview. They way they act, the way they think.

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Ohran Pamuk, İstanbul: Memories of a City

I just can't finish this book. It's just... I don't know, I don't feel compelled to continue reading? It's just a collection of memories, with no real incentive to read them.

Also, I find it difficult to empathise with the grief about the ruined empire, because for me, ruined empires are a good thing. So, a large portion of the book's sentiment is lost on me.

First half was great about wealth and strategies for fast learners. Agreed with most of it. Later parts about meditation and diet and stuff. lost interest, r/fitness is the way.

I had some UI design skills already and intuition about it so I found a lot of the advice common sense. Like don't blame the user, give them a way to undo mistakes. This might be why I couldn't relate to people who say it's mind blowing and makes them see the world in a different way.

I've read Don't Make Me Think as well which is often recommended with the above. I thought this book was great. Concise, actionable, simple to follow. Refactoring UI is like this too.

I know, I know, everybody loves the author. But I couldn’t get into the author’s writing style. Long, drawn out sentences, sometimes so long that it had to be done on purpose. And although I liked the plot, it was kind of exhausting to read. I read about 3/4 of it before putting it down and ultimately giving it away.

Tried As I Lay Dying recently, maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace for it but I really couldn't make head nor tails of it. I was looking forward to reading Faulkner too, and this has soured me for a little bit.

Napoleon by Andrew Roberts defeated me. I was finding it interesting but I guess the sheer size put me off. I don't often read non-fiction so I find those a lot more difficult to get through, I want to work on that.

The Life-Changing Magic Of Not Giving A F*ck. This one was actually good, but after a chapter or two you get the point. It could have been a blog post.

Catch-22. It's funny, but it's not going anywhere. Perhaps that's the point.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. It's really funny, but it's one Deus Ex Machina after the other. After a while it starts to feel pointless.

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance. I actually finished it, but regretted the effort. It taught me to put down books I don't like. I still don't understand what people get out of this book.

I have read other books and finished them. But this one is challenging.

I mostly enjoyed the previous Dune books. Particularly the first three. But God Emperor of Dune was kind of meh (lots of waxing philosophical with Leto...). It was hard to get into Heretics of Dune with none of the original characters to latch onto.

Wealth of Nations - Too much detailed information about grain prices and the like from the time where he wrote the book. It is difficult to follow and I had to stop. It is however a book I think I will give another try at some time, but then ruthlessly skip over the parts I find boring.