The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
114 people recommended it in 52 threads, 2007–2025.
2 commenters pushed back on it — worth reading the threads.
What people on Hacker News said
When I re-read it (to be able to discuss with my 11 year old son), I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.
It is a gem, and there's good reason that it has become a part of our cultural bedrock. Its exploration of purpose, challenge, and choice is quite moving.
Then there was LOTR, later on Silmarillion, and to this day I remember sometimes surprising amounts of trivia from them. A definitive positive impact.
As a person who devoured the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a teenager, I always liked this quote: "There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."
LOTR - By the time I finished it I already forgot details of the beginning, probably have read it 4 or 5 times over 3 decades.
My life has been so uplifted by reading. I cannot imagine what it would be like without.
Lord of the Rings: The other bible. Not even the very wise can see all ends; be of good cheer.
Where it comes up
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