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Ask HN: What are the most thought-provoking books that you have read? ↗

The books people recommended

2015-10-03 · 40 points · 28 comments · 53 books named by at least one person here and at least 3 people overall. The number on the left is how many people named it in this thread.

  1. 5

    Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas Hofstadter

    5 here · 347 all-time · #1 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 2,713 ratings on Amazon
  2. 3

    The Selfish Gene

    Richard Dawkins

    3 here · 178 all-time · #7 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 8,966 ratings on Amazon
  3. 3Permutation City

    Permutation City

    Greg Egan

    3 here · 73 all-time · #45 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.2 out of 5, 2,604 ratings on Amazon
  4. 2

    Atlas Shrugged

    Ayn Rand

    2 here · 173 all-time · #9 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 22,012 ratings on Amazon
  5. 2

    The Lord of the Rings

    J.R.R. Tolkien

    2 here · 114 all-time · #18 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.9 out of 5, 14,620 ratings on Amazon
  6. 2

    Blindsight

    Peter Watts

    2 here · 70 all-time · #48 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.2 out of 5, 8,527 ratings on Amazon
  7. 2Glasshouse

    Glasshouse

    Charles Stross

    2 here · 12 all-time · #517 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 875 ratings on Amazon
  8. 2Last and First Men

    Last and First Men

    Olaf Stapledon

    2 here · 7 all-time · #954 overall

  9. 2Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets

    Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets

    David Simon

    2 here · 3 all-time · #2497 overall

  10. 1

    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

    Robert Pirsig

    1 here · 193 all-time · #5 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 13,921 ratings on Amazon
  11. 1

    Neuromancer

    William Gibson

    1 here · 117 all-time · #17 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 20,213 ratings on Amazon
  12. 1

    Black Swan

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    1 here · 110 all-time · #19 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 8,277 ratings on Amazon
  13. 1Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

    Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

    Eliezer Yudkowsky

    1 here · 101 all-time · #27 overall

    Buy on Amazon
  14. 1

    Antifragile

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    1 here · 100 all-time · #29 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 8,430 ratings on Amazon
  15. 1

    Siddhartha

    Hermann Hesse

    1 here · 97 all-time · #31 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 18,150 ratings on Amazon
  16. 1

    The Fountainhead

    Ayn Rand

    1 here · 90 all-time · #36 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 12,667 ratings on Amazon
  17. 1

    Fooled by Randomness

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    1 here · 81 all-time · #41 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 6,682 ratings on Amazon
  18. 1

    The Righteous Mind

    Jonathan Haidt

    1 here · 57 all-time · #66 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 12,156 ratings on Amazon
  19. 1

    A Guide to the Good Life

    William B. Irvine

    1 here · 53 all-time · #74 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 6,528 ratings on Amazon
  20. 1

    Nineteen Eighty-Four

    George Orwell

    1 here · 43 all-time · #108 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 15,224 ratings on Amazon
  21. 1

    The Wheel of Time

    Robert Jordan

    1 here · 43 all-time · #109 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 45,874 ratings on Amazon
  22. 1

    The Four Steps to the Epiphany

    Steve Blank

    1 here · 36 all-time · #137 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 673 ratings on Amazon
  23. 1

    Predictably Irrational

    Dan Ariely

    1 here · 35 all-time · #144 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 11,450 ratings on Amazon
  24. 1

    Accelerando

    Charles Stross

    1 here · 33 all-time · #162 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.2 out of 5, 1,553 ratings on Amazon
  25. 1

    Chaos

    James Gleick

    1 here · 31 all-time · #181 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 3,339 ratings on Amazon
  26. 1

    The Game

    Neil Strauss

    1 here · 26 all-time · #224 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 6,899 ratings on Amazon
  27. 1Principles of Mathematical Analysis

    Principles of Mathematical Analysis

    Walter Rudin

    1 here · 25 all-time · #239 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 723 ratings on Amazon
  28. 1

    Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

    Shunryu Suzuki

    1 here · 22 all-time · #278 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 3,757 ratings on Amazon
  29. 1

    Cosmos

    Carl Sagan

    1 here · 20 all-time · #309 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 8,712 ratings on Amazon
  30. 1Time Enough for Love

    Time Enough for Love

    Robert A. Heinlein

    1 here · 17 all-time · #373 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 2,709 ratings on Amazon
  31. 1Illusions

    Illusions

    Richard Bach

    1 here · 14 all-time · #468 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 7,139 ratings on Amazon
  32. 1Heart of Darkness

    Heart of Darkness

    Joseph Conrad

    1 here · 13 all-time · #479 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.0 out of 5, 11,723 ratings on Amazon
  33. 1The Origin of Wealth

    The Origin of Wealth

    Eric Beinhocker

    1 here · 11 all-time · #565 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 135 ratings on Amazon
  34. 1The Singularity Is Near

    The Singularity Is Near

    Ray Kurzweil

    1 here · 10 all-time · #622 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 2,109 ratings on Amazon
  35. 1Society of Mind

    Society of Mind

    Marvin Minsky

    1 here · 10 all-time · #673 overall

  36. 1Artificial Life

    Artificial Life

    Steven Levy

    1 here · 9 all-time · #702 overall

  37. 1The Trial

    The Trial

    Franz Kafka

    1 here · 9 all-time · #711 overall

  38. 1A New Kind of Science

    A New Kind of Science

    Stephen Wolfram

    1 here · 9 all-time · #756 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 688 ratings on Amazon
  39. 1The Law

    The Law

    Frédéric Bastiat

    1 here · 8 all-time · #787 overall

  40. 1How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World

    How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World

    Harry Browne

    1 here · 7 all-time · #960 overall

  41. 1A Wrinkle in Time

    A Wrinkle in Time

    Madeleine L'Engle

    1 here · 7 all-time · #961 overall

  42. 1The Shockwave Rider

    The Shockwave Rider

    John Brunner

    1 here · 7 all-time · #1000 overall

  43. 1Big Bang

    Big Bang

    Simon Singh

    1 here · 6 all-time · #1090 overall

  44. 1Democracy: The God That Failed

    Democracy: The God That Failed

    Hans-Hermann Hoppe

    1 here · 6 all-time · #1149 overall

  45. 1The World Is Flat

    The World Is Flat

    Thomas Friedman

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1239 overall

  46. 1The Library of Babel

    The Library of Babel

    Jorge Luis Borges

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1378 overall

  47. 1The One Thing

    The One Thing

    Gary Keller, Jay Papasan

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1418 overall

  48. 1Time Reborn

    Time Reborn

    Lee Smolin

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1557 overall

  49. 1The Mating Mind

    The Mating Mind

    Geoffrey Miller

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1662 overall

  50. 1Soft Skills

    Soft Skills

    John Sonmez

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1663 overall

  51. 1Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies

    Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies

    Douglas Hofstadter

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1813 overall

  52. 1Emergence

    Emergence

    Steven Johnson

    1 here · 3 all-time · #1980 overall

  53. 1The Trouble With Physics

    The Trouble With Physics

    Lee Smolin

    1 here · 3 all-time · #1986 overall