What to read?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4530022

by dennisvdvliet • 14 years ago

12 12 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Going on a long (4 week holiday) and wondering what to read. Last books I read include, Steve Jobs, Imagine and the Lean Startup.

Let me know what non fiction books you would bring.

Roelven• 14 years ago

Here are some of the top of my head, assuming you already read some:

- The New Capitalist Manifesto - Umar Haque

- Net Smart - Howard Rheingold

- Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh

- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

dennisvdvliet• 14 years ago

+1 for the first book. Already read the other three.

msh• 14 years ago

4 hour work week, if it counts as non-fiction (there are quite a bit of bullshit in it, but it makes you think differently about things most people takes for granted).

dholowiski• 14 years ago

>if it counts as non-fiction

Barely, but I still think it's a great read. Along the same lines but less fiction is the art of non conformity, since it talks about a similar subject, without going too off-the-rails crazy.

alid• 14 years ago

Richard Branson's books (e.g. 'Business Stripped Bare' & 'Like a Virgin') are brilliant for the themes of branding, big picture thinking and leadership. Have a great holiday!

idoh• 14 years ago

Some favorites from my bookshelf: Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, Thinking Fast and Slow, Fooled by Randomness / Black Swan, SICP, Zen Mind Beginner's Mind

dysoco• 14 years ago

You can try some Kevin Mitnick's books.

"Ghost in the wires" is his biography with a lot of fun stories, recommended.

"The art of intrusion" is about more technical hacking, lot of war stories from all over the world.

"The art of deception" is about Social Engineering, I have not read it yet... but looks amazing.

mgallivan• 14 years ago

I wasn't a huge fan of "Ghost in the Wires"... The book was a decent read but Mitnick comes off as uncaring and short-sighted.

EvanKelly• 14 years ago

May be a little bit outside of the typical start-up fair, but you didn't specify.

"Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl

Short read, but great perspective from a really inspiring figure.

davidxc• 14 years ago

If you're not too familiar with hardware or how computers work at a low level (assembly language, instruction sets, etc), then I would think about reading Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software.

It starts off with a story of two kids communicating to each other with flashlights in Morse code, and slowly builds up into how a computer works.

martinvebber• 14 years ago

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saurabh• 14 years ago

I have been reading "Zen & the art of motorcycle maintenance" since I got it couple of days back. I must say that the first chapters of the book are teaching me a few new things. The ability to see things for not "what they are" but "what they mean" is some new gum for me to chew on.

What to read?

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