Y Hacker News Books

YC's Winter Reading List ↗

The books people recommended

2016-12-12 · 494 points · 214 comments · 39 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. 4

    Creativity Inc.

    Ed Catmull

    4 here · 43 all-time · #107 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 10,683 ratings on Amazon
  2. 4Titan

    Titan

    Ron Chernow

    4 here · 12 all-time · #536 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 4,201 ratings on Amazon
  3. 3

    Cryptonomicon

    Neal Stephenson

    3 here · 106 all-time · #23 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 8,425 ratings on Amazon
  4. 3

    The Diamond Age

    Neal Stephenson

    3 here · 64 all-time · #58 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 5,358 ratings on Amazon
  5. 3

    Shoe Dog

    Phil Knight

    3 here · 52 all-time · #79 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 63,714 ratings on Amazon
  6. 3

    The Name of the Wind

    Patrick Rothfuss

    3 here · 30 all-time · #190 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 89,463 ratings on Amazon
  7. 3The Lies of Locke Lamora

    The Lies of Locke Lamora

    Scott Lynch

    3 here · 14 all-time · #469 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 30,742 ratings on Amazon
  8. 3Hillbilly Elegy

    Hillbilly Elegy

    JD Vance

    3 here · 10 all-time · #658 overall

  9. 2

    Snow Crash

    Neal Stephenson

    2 here · 119 all-time · #16 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 20,720 ratings on Amazon
  10. 2

    Neuromancer

    William Gibson

    2 here · 117 all-time · #17 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 20,213 ratings on Amazon
  11. 2

    Anathem

    Neal Stephenson

    2 here · 83 all-time · #40 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 5,275 ratings on Amazon
  12. 2

    Seveneves

    Neal Stephenson

    2 here · 58 all-time · #64 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 31,865 ratings on Amazon
  13. 2

    Don Quixote

    Miguel de Cervantes

    2 here · 33 all-time · #161 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 3,758 ratings on Amazon
  14. 2

    The Way of Kings

    Brandon Sanderson

    2 here · 21 all-time · #305 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.8 out of 5, 89,508 ratings on Amazon
  15. 2The First Law

    The First Law

    Joe Abercrombie

    2 here · 18 all-time · #349 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 29,733 ratings on Amazon
  16. 2Grit

    Grit

    Angela Duckworth

    2 here · 16 all-time · #395 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 20,854 ratings on Amazon
  17. 2Manna

    Manna

    Marshall Brain

    2 here · 3 all-time · #2624 overall

  18. 1

    Stranger in a Strange Land

    Robert A. Heinlein

    1 here · 55 all-time · #70 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 12,077 ratings on Amazon
  19. 1

    The Hobbit

    J.R.R. Tolkien

    1 here · 53 all-time · #75 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 82,135 ratings on Amazon
  20. 1Reamde

    Reamde

    Neal Stephenson

    1 here · 26 all-time · #218 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 5,708 ratings on Amazon
  21. 1

    The Prize

    Daniel Yergin

    1 here · 20 all-time · #314 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 2,705 ratings on Amazon
  22. 1The Idea Factory

    The Idea Factory

    Jon Gertner

    1 here · 19 all-time · #333 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 1,862 ratings on Amazon
  23. 1Malazan Book of the Fallen

    Malazan Book of the Fallen

    Steven Erikson

    1 here · 18 all-time · #344 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 16,649 ratings on Amazon
  24. 1Peak

    Peak

    Anders Ericsson

    1 here · 18 all-time · #358 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 3,635 ratings on Amazon
  25. 1When Breath Becomes Air

    When Breath Becomes Air

    Paul Kalanithi

    1 here · 16 all-time · #388 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 119,433 ratings on Amazon
  26. 1Chaos Monkeys

    Chaos Monkeys

    Antonio Garcia Martinez

    1 here · 13 all-time · #510 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.2 out of 5, 3,904 ratings on Amazon
  27. 1The Fifth Season

    The Fifth Season

    N. K. Jemisin

    1 here · 11 all-time · #589 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 42,847 ratings on Amazon
  28. 1Weapons of Math Destruction

    Weapons of Math Destruction

    Cathy O'Neil

    1 here · 8 all-time · #830 overall

  29. 1Free to Choose

    Free to Choose

    Milton Friedman

    1 here · 8 all-time · #832 overall

  30. 1The Rent Is Too Damn High

    The Rent Is Too Damn High

    Matthew Yglesias

    1 here · 7 all-time · #1054 overall

  31. 1The Attention Merchants

    The Attention Merchants

    Tim Wu

    1 here · 6 all-time · #1080 overall

  32. 1Ego Is the Enemy

    Ego Is the Enemy

    Ryan Holiday

    1 here · 6 all-time · #1097 overall

  33. 1The Rise and Fall of American Growth

    The Rise and Fall of American Growth

    Robert Gordon

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1243 overall

  34. 1The Willpower Instinct

    The Willpower Instinct

    Kelly McGonigal

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1394 overall

  35. 1Red Notice

    Red Notice

    Bill Browder

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1480 overall

  36. 1The Witcher

    The Witcher

    Andrzej Sapkowski

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1594 overall

  37. 1Imperium

    Imperium

    Robert Harris

    1 here · 3 all-time · #1996 overall

  38. 1And the Weak Suffer What They Must?

    And the Weak Suffer What They Must?

    Yanis Varoufakis

    1 here · 3 all-time · #2294 overall

  39. 1The Price of Inequality

    The Price of Inequality

    Joseph Stiglitz

    1 here · 3 all-time · #2392 overall