Y Hacker News Books

Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer? ↗

The books people recommended

2019-07-02 · 341 points · 296 comments · 105 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. 6

    Cryptonomicon

    Neal Stephenson

    6 here · 106 all-time · #23 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 8,425 ratings on Amazon
  2. 6

    Masters of Doom

    David Kushner

    6 here · 69 all-time · #53 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 3,851 ratings on Amazon
  3. 6

    The Master and Margarita

    Mikhail Bulgakov

    6 here · 67 all-time · #57 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 4,777 ratings on Amazon
  4. 5

    Thinking, Fast and Slow

    Daniel Kahneman

    5 here · 178 all-time · #6 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 48,679 ratings on Amazon
  5. 4

    Never Split the Difference

    Chris Voss

    4 here · 62 all-time · #60 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 51,660 ratings on Amazon
  6. 4

    Bad Blood

    John Carreyrou

    4 here · 44 all-time · #105 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 33,871 ratings on Amazon
  7. 3

    Snow Crash

    Neal Stephenson

    3 here · 119 all-time · #16 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 20,720 ratings on Amazon
  8. 3

    Why We Sleep

    Matthew Walker

    3 here · 68 all-time · #54 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 34,551 ratings on Amazon
  9. 3The Code Book

    The Code Book

    Simon Singh

    3 here · 28 all-time · #204 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 2,217 ratings on Amazon
  10. 3The Obstacle Is the Way

    The Obstacle Is the Way

    Ryan Holiday

    3 here · 17 all-time · #371 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 24,886 ratings on Amazon
  11. 3Difficult Conversations

    Difficult Conversations

    Douglas Stone

    3 here · 15 all-time · #438 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 822 ratings on Amazon
  12. 3The Story of Civilization

    The Story of Civilization

    Will Durant

    3 here · 12 all-time · #533 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 427 ratings on Amazon
  13. 3Confessions of an Economic Hitman

    Confessions of an Economic Hitman

    John Perkins

    3 here · 8 all-time · #877 overall

  14. 2

    Sapiens

    Yuval Noah Harari

    2 here · 197 all-time · #4 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 133,705 ratings on Amazon
  15. 2

    The Selfish Gene

    Richard Dawkins

    2 here · 178 all-time · #7 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 8,966 ratings on Amazon
  16. 2

    Meditations

    Marcus Aurelius

    2 here · 165 all-time · #10 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.8 out of 5, 21,552 ratings on Amazon
  17. 2

    Neuromancer

    William Gibson

    2 here · 117 all-time · #17 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.3 out of 5, 20,213 ratings on Amazon
  18. 2

    Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

    Richard Feynman

    2 here · 90 all-time · #35 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 13,344 ratings on Amazon
  19. 2The Brothers Karamazov

    The Brothers Karamazov

    Fyodor Dostoevsky

    2 here · 69 all-time · #51 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 3,359 ratings on Amazon
  20. 2

    Ready Player One

    Ernest Cline

    2 here · 69 all-time · #52 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 155,485 ratings on Amazon
  21. 2

    Brave New World

    Aldous Huxley

    2 here · 67 all-time · #55 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 48,055 ratings on Amazon
  22. 2

    Ulysses

    James Joyce

    2 here · 55 all-time · #71 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.2 out of 5, 3,819 ratings on Amazon
  23. 2

    Shoe Dog

    Phil Knight

    2 here · 52 all-time · #79 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 63,714 ratings on Amazon
  24. 2

    Nonviolent Communication

    Marshall B. Rosenberg

    2 here · 47 all-time · #92 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 12,436 ratings on Amazon
  25. 2

    The Beginning of Infinity

    David Deutsch

    2 here · 38 all-time · #128 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 2,382 ratings on Amazon
  26. 2

    On the Shortness of Life

    Seneca

    2 here · 22 all-time · #273 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 3,385 ratings on Amazon
  27. 2

    Into Thin Air

    Jon Krakauer

    2 here · 22 all-time · #275 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 26,031 ratings on Amazon
  28. 2Master and Commander

    Master and Commander

    Patrick O'Brian

    2 here · 8 all-time · #857 overall

  29. 2Introduction to Probability

    Introduction to Probability

    Bertsekas and Tsitsiklas

    2 here · 6 all-time · #1229 overall

  30. 2Circadian Code

    Circadian Code

    Satchin Panda

    2 here · 5 all-time · #1496 overall

  31. 1

    Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas Hofstadter

    1 here · 347 all-time · #1 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 2,713 ratings on Amazon
  32. 1

    Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

    Harold Abelson

    1 here · 316 all-time · #2 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 742 ratings on Amazon
  33. 1

    Dune

    Frank Herbert

    1 here · 250 all-time · #3 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 104,032 ratings on Amazon
  34. 1

    How to Win Friends and Influence People

    Dale Carnegie

    1 here · 175 all-time · #8 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 106,505 ratings on Amazon
  35. 1

    The Mythical Man-Month

    Frederick Brooks Jr.

    1 here · 137 all-time · #13 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 1,811 ratings on Amazon
  36. 1

    The Martian

    Andy Weir

    1 here · 103 all-time · #25 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 187,449 ratings on Amazon
  37. 1

    Antifragile

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb

    1 here · 100 all-time · #29 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 8,430 ratings on Amazon
  38. 1

    Man's Search for Meaning

    Viktor Frankl

    1 here · 95 all-time · #32 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 100,360 ratings on Amazon
  39. 1

    1984

    George Orwell

    1 here · 94 all-time · #34 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 126,118 ratings on Amazon
  40. 1

    The Phoenix Project

    Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

    1 here · 67 all-time · #56 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 14,975 ratings on Amazon
  41. 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
  42. 1

    The Alchemist

    Paulo Coelho

    1 here · 52 all-time · #77 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 184,313 ratings on Amazon
  43. 1

    Influence

    Robert Cialdini

    1 here · 50 all-time · #84 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 13,065 ratings on Amazon
  44. 1

    Principles

    Ray Dalio

    1 here · 49 all-time · #88 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 19,363 ratings on Amazon
  45. 1

    Animal Farm

    George Orwell

    1 here · 48 all-time · #90 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 94,716 ratings on Amazon
  46. 1

    Catch-22

    Joseph Heller

    1 here · 46 all-time · #96 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 14,669 ratings on Amazon
  47. 1

    Outliers

    Malcolm Gladwell

    1 here · 44 all-time · #103 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 39,353 ratings on Amazon
  48. 1

    Ishmael

    Daniel Quinn

    1 here · 44 all-time · #104 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 7,045 ratings on Amazon
  49. 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
  50. 1

    War and Peace

    Leo Tolstoy

    1 here · 41 all-time · #117 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 3,710 ratings on Amazon
  51. 1

    The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

    Robert A. Heinlein

    1 here · 38 all-time · #127 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 9,404 ratings on Amazon
  52. 1

    East of Eden

    John Steinbeck

    1 here · 36 all-time · #141 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 23,886 ratings on Amazon
  53. 1

    Red Rising

    Pierce Brown

    1 here · 35 all-time · #147 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 111,087 ratings on Amazon
  54. 1

    Don Quixote

    Miguel de Cervantes

    1 here · 33 all-time · #161 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 3,758 ratings on Amazon
  55. 1

    Accelerando

    Charles Stross

    1 here · 33 all-time · #162 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.2 out of 5, 1,553 ratings on Amazon
  56. 1

    Factfulness

    Hans Rosling

    1 here · 32 all-time · #179 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 28,138 ratings on Amazon
  57. 1The Dream Machine

    The Dream Machine

    M. Mitchell Waldrop

    1 here · 31 all-time · #184 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 307 ratings on Amazon
  58. 1

    Fahrenheit 451

    Ray Bradbury

    1 here · 28 all-time · #199 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 61,227 ratings on Amazon
  59. 1

    A Canticle for Leibowitz

    Walter M. Miller Jr.

    1 here · 28 all-time · #205 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 5,243 ratings on Amazon
  60. 1

    Crucial Conversations

    Kerry Patterson

    1 here · 27 all-time · #215 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 12,373 ratings on Amazon
  61. 1

    A Song of Ice and Fire

    George R. R. Martin

    1 here · 26 all-time · #219 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 83,380 ratings on Amazon
  62. 1

    No More Mr. Nice Guy

    Robert Glover

    1 here · 23 all-time · #265 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 17,153 ratings on Amazon
  63. 1Shantaram

    Shantaram

    Gregory David Roberts

    1 here · 18 all-time · #345 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 41,148 ratings on Amazon
  64. 1Radical Candor

    Radical Candor

    Kim Scott

    1 here · 16 all-time · #392 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 10,178 ratings on Amazon
  65. 1The Book of Why

    The Book of Why

    Judea Pearl

    1 here · 16 all-time · #408 overall

    Buy on Amazon
  66. 1Dark Matter

    Dark Matter

    Blake Crouch

    1 here · 14 all-time · #458 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 92,485 ratings on Amazon
  67. 1Enchiridion

    Enchiridion

    Epictetus

    1 here · 14 all-time · #473 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 557 ratings on Amazon
  68. 1The Martian Chronicles

    The Martian Chronicles

    Ray Bradbury

    1 here · 13 all-time · #486 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 8,036 ratings on Amazon
  69. 1The Undoing Project

    The Undoing Project

    Michael Lewis

    1 here · 13 all-time · #507 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 12,094 ratings on Amazon
  70. 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
  71. 1Artemis

    Artemis

    Andy Weir

    1 here · 11 all-time · #603 overall

    Buy on Amazon4.2 out of 5, 52,884 ratings on Amazon
  72. 1Commonwealth Saga

    Commonwealth Saga

    Peter F. Hamilton

    1 here · 10 all-time · #651 overall

  73. 1Middlemarch

    Middlemarch

    George Eliot

    1 here · 10 all-time · #652 overall

  74. 1Fermat's Last Theorem

    Fermat's Last Theorem

    Simon Singh

    1 here · 10 all-time · #662 overall

  75. 1Money: The Unauthorised Biography

    Money: The Unauthorised Biography

    Felix Martin

    1 here · 9 all-time · #695 overall

  76. 1The Body Keeps the Score

    The Body Keeps the Score

    Bessel van der Kolk

    1 here · 9 all-time · #719 overall

  77. 1Boyd

    Boyd

    Robert Coram

    1 here · 9 all-time · #720 overall

  78. 1Jurassic Park

    Jurassic Park

    Michael Crichton

    1 here · 8 all-time · #782 overall

  79. 1Blood Sweat and Pixels

    Blood Sweat and Pixels

    Jason Schreier

    1 here · 8 all-time · #899 overall

  80. 1Darwin's Dangerous Idea

    Darwin's Dangerous Idea

    Daniel Dennett

    1 here · 7 all-time · #909 overall

  81. 1Incognito

    Incognito

    David Eagleman

    1 here · 7 all-time · #941 overall

  82. 1Fall; or, Dodge in Hell

    Fall; or, Dodge in Hell

    Neal Stephenson

    1 here · 7 all-time · #947 overall

  83. 1The Neverending Story

    The Neverending Story

    Michael Ende

    1 here · 7 all-time · #971 overall

  84. 1The Godfather

    The Godfather

    Mario Puzo

    1 here · 6 all-time · #1061 overall

  85. 1Big Bang

    Big Bang

    Simon Singh

    1 here · 6 all-time · #1090 overall

  86. 1House of Suns

    House of Suns

    Alastair Reynolds

    1 here · 6 all-time · #1164 overall

  87. 1Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants

    Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants

    John D. Clark

    1 here · 6 all-time · #1169 overall

  88. 1Zealot

    Zealot

    Reza Aslan

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1247 overall

  89. 1Killer of Men

    Killer of Men

    Christian Cameron

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1248 overall

  90. 1The Problems of Philosophy

    The Problems of Philosophy

    Bertrand Russell

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1290 overall

  91. 1Life 3.0

    Life 3.0

    Max Tegmark

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1342 overall

  92. 1Crypto

    Crypto

    Steven Levy

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1454 overall

  93. 1The Ultimate Sales Machine

    The Ultimate Sales Machine

    Chet Holmes

    1 here · 5 all-time · #1458 overall

  94. 1The Bitcoin Standard

    The Bitcoin Standard

    Saifedean Ammous

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1550 overall

  95. 1The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

    The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

    Richard Feynman

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1652 overall

  96. 1Neurosis and Human Growth

    Neurosis and Human Growth

    Karen Horney

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1692 overall

  97. 1The Four Hour Work Week

    The Four Hour Work Week

    Tim Ferriss

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1804 overall

  98. 1Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts

    Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts

    Christopher de Hamel

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1825 overall

  99. 1Nudge

    Nudge

    Richard H. Thaler

    1 here · 4 all-time · #1878 overall

  100. 1Platform Revolution

    Platform Revolution

    Geoffrey G. Parker

    1 here · 3 all-time · #1972 overall

  101. 1How Emotions are Made

    How Emotions are Made

    Lisa Feldman Barret

    1 here · 3 all-time · #1973 overall

  102. 1The Holy Quran

    The Holy Quran

    1 here · 3 all-time · #1974 overall

  103. 1The Periodic Table

    The Periodic Table

    Primo Levi

    1 here · 3 all-time · #2049 overall

  104. 1The World According to Garp

    The World According to Garp

    John Irving

    1 here · 3 all-time · #2280 overall

  105. 1Norstrilia

    Norstrilia

    Cordwainer Smith

    1 here · 3 all-time · #2595 overall