Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009? - <AUTHOR> I got a Kindle halfway through 2009 and I've been reading a lot more but I'm always on the lookout for great books. I'd love to hear about what books others in the HN community enjoyed during the last year and would recommend. I'm primarily looking for non-programming books, but if anything really blew you away, I'd love to hear about it.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Note: I'm not trying to start a flamewar, as I didn't agree with all the books below, just that I found them interesting and they inspired further research and exploration on my part.
The Family, by Jeff Sharlet - Fascinating overview of the intersection between American fundamentalist Christianity and conservative ideology and how they gave birth to the "Religious Right".
The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand - Philosophical novel that uses architecture as a metaphor to introduce the tenants of Objectivism.
His Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik - Alternate-history fantasy set in the Napoleanic Wars. The entire series was very enjoyable, and I don't usually enjoy fantasy.
The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollen - Overview of our food, how it is grown, and the things we should know about it. I found it very persuasive without being preachy and it completely revolutionized the way I eat and view food in general. <comment><USER8> I finally finished "Godel, Escher, Bach" in 2009, after starting and giving up on it a few times previously. A great book, but it does require a lot of time and some serious thinking with a pencil and pad to do some working out (or at least it did for me).

The best book I read in 2009 (and possibly ever!) was "Fooled By Randomness" - a fantastic book that I can't recommend enough. I also read the sequel, "Black Swans", that was interesting but not in the same league.

"Made to stick" was also a great book, with lots of great marketing advice that is simple to follow.

<comment><USER9> I agree that Fooled By Randomness was a good read, but since then Taleb has become too wrapped up in self-aggrandizement, and he now thinks way to highly of himself and his abilities.

He lost me when he started writing articles like Ten Principles for a Black Swan-Proof World (<http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/tenprinciples.pdf>). Isn't the point about Black Swans that they're impossible to protect against?

<comment><USER10> _Isn't the point about Black Swans that they're impossible to protect against?_

No, actually. The point about Black Swans is that they are impossible to predict. But one can plan to avoid the severe CONSEQUENCES of unpredictable events. The illustration that Taleb gave in a conference talk video once posted to HN was that a resident of Florida doesn't know when the next hurricane will come, but can build a house that is more resistant to hurricane damage than the typical house. Similarly, some investment strategies can be genuinely hedged against rare events that will happen at unknown times, while other investment strategies expose the investor to debts greater than the original investment.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> _The Bet_ by Anton Chekhov

You can read it here: <http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short- stories/UBooks/Bet.shtml>

It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. It's so fantastically misanthropic, I cannot recommend it enough.

The prisoner's polemic against society at the end is just legendary.

</comment><comment><USER12> Judea Pearl's _Probabilistic Reasoning in Intelligent Systems: Networks of Plausible Inference_. I'm not finished with it yet, though. (It might be superceded by his _Causality_ which I'd also like to read.) It's provided some "aha", scales falling from eyes moments. I'd guess it's the most important book - for me - I've read in years, perhaps ever. Highly recommended (with the caveat about his other book perhaps being better).

<comment><USER13> Seconded _hard_.

If you have to read only one of these, read _Probabilistic Reasoning in Intelligent Systems_.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> The best book I read in 2009 was _The Selfish Gene_ by Richard Dawkins. It's surprisingly accessible (I've never taken a biology class), and talks a lot about evolutionary game theory which I found fascinating.

Some other books I read last year:

 _How the Mind Works_ by Steven Pinker. It was a great book, Pinker's writing is accessible and entertaining. Much more so than _On Intelligence_ by Jeff Hawkins.

 _More with Less: Paul MacCready and the Dream of Efficient Flight_ by Paul Ciotti. I really enjoyed this one, it was the story of the first team to cross the English channel with human-powered flight.

 _What the Dog Saw_ by Malcolm Gladwell. I liked this one better than Gladwell's other books. There is less theorizing and arguing a point and more telling stories, which is what Gladwell excels at.

 _The Mind's I_ by Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett. If you are patient with what is sometimes (in my humble opinion) pointlessly arguing semantics, some of the sections are interesting.

<comment><USER15> If you liked "The Selfish Gene" you might also consider reading Kevin Davies' _Cracking the Genome_. The book describes the race to sequencing the full human genome and the implications of that research. Fascinating.

Made me wish I had taken biology...

<comment><USER14> Thanks, I've added it to my list. I feel the same way about wishing I had taken biology. At least there's always books.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> The Machinery of Freedom (David Friedman) -- Great book on a potential anarcho-capitalist society and how we could push the US government in that direction.

The Game (Neil Strauss) -- See nopassrecover's response; he explained it well.

Little Brother (Cory Doctorow) -- A fantastic novel about freedom and technology.

Makers (Cory Doctorow) -- A great novel about people who create, whether technology or business models. Perhaps the best book I read this year.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (Cory Doctorow) -- The story of a man working in Disney World, which is now part of the Bitchun Society (a post- scarcity, post-death society). A story of love, betrayal, and death; how can you go wrong? Worth it for the concept of Whuffie (you'll need to read it to really get it) alone.

Diamond Age (Neal Stephenson) -- The evolution of a society towards post- scarcity, written around the story of a young girl's growth into an adult. Best post-cyberpunk book written thus far, IMO.

<comment><USER17> I'm a huge Stephenson fan, but I felt let down by the Diamond Age's ending. It felt like it was missing 30 pages.

<comment><USER18> None of Stephenson's books really have much of an ending (or in some cases much of a coherent plot)... the closest I can think of (in the way of endings) is Snow Crash.

But he writes with wonderful detail and humor, and seems really great at writing believable near-term futures, which I imagine are much harder than writing about the distant future (where everything can be fantastical).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> A bunch of books by _Kahlil Gibran_. Read _The Prophet_ twice.

 _One Hundred Years Of Solitude_ by _Gabriel Garcia Marquez_

 _Love In The Time Of Cholera_ by _Gabriel Garcia Marquez_

 _The Problem Of Pain_ by _C S Lewis_

 _Disgrace_ by _J M Coetzee_

 _The Road_ by _Cormac McCarthy_

 _Blood Meridian_ by _Cormac McCarthy_

 _The Piano Teacher_ by _Elfriede Jelinek_

 _On Writing_ by _Stephen King_

 _Atonement_ by _Ian McEwan_

 _Dictionary Of The Khazars_ by _Milorad Pavic_

 _Candide_ by _Voltaire_

 _The Labyrinth Of Solitude | Life And Thought In Mexico_ by _Ocavio Paz_

I finished that last one today. Read this:

All men, at some moment in their lives, feel themselves to be alone. And they are. To live is to be separated from what we were in order to approach what we are going to be in the mysterious future. Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone, and the only one who seeks out another. His nature -- if that word can be used in reference to man, who has "invented" himself by saying "No" to nature -- consists in his longing to realize himself in another. Man is nostalgia and a search for communion. Therefore, when he is aware of himself he is aware of his lack of another, that is, of his solitude.

I recommend this old book.

</comment><comment><USER20> I just finished reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It's really long and a little digressive (1079 pages, took me 3 months to finish), but was one of the most entertaining and brilliant books I've ever read. I highly recommend it.

</comment><comment><USER21> _Good Calories, Bad Calories_ by Gary Taubes. He starts with a takedown of the dietary fat-heart disease hypothesis, moves on to the dietary fat-obesity link. Finally he makes a convincing argument that neither eating less nor exercising more are good ways to lose weight.

<comment><USER22> "... and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing."

<comment><USER23> Would it really matter? I mean, you could still detect the contrast between the two and walk safely across.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis [http://www.amazon.com/Liars-Poker-Rising- Through-Wreckage/dp...](http://www.amazon.com/Liars-Poker-Rising-Through- Wreckage/dp/0140143459/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262387407&sr=1-1)

In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan [http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food- Eaters-Manifesto/dp/01431...](http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eaters- Manifesto/dp/0143114964/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262387387&sr=1-1)

When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management - <USER2> Lowenstein [http://www.amazon.com/When-Genius-Failed-Long-Term- Managemen...](http://www.amazon.com/When-Genius-Failed-Long-Term- Management/dp/0375758259)

</comment><comment><USER25> Game Theory At Work [http://www.amazon.com/Game-Theory-Work-Outmaneuver- Competiti...](http://www.amazon.com/Game-Theory-Work-Outmaneuver- Competition/dp/0071400206/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262387005&sr=1-1)

PayPal Wars [http://www.amazon.com/PayPal-Wars-Battles-Media- Planet/dp/09...](http://www.amazon.com/PayPal-Wars-Battles-Media- Planet/dp/0977898431/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262386990&sr=1-1)

Stealing MySpace [http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-MySpace-Control-Popular- Websi...](http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-MySpace-Control-Popular- Website/dp/1400066948)

Predictably Irrational [http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Hidden- Forces-D...](http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Hidden-Forces- Decisions/dp/006135323X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262387095&sr=1-1)

</comment><comment><USER26> I basically discovered Vernor Vinge.

 _A Fire Upon the Deep_ , by Vernor Vinge

 _A Deepness in the Sky_ , by Vernor Vinge

 _The Peace War_ , by Vernor Vinge

 _Marooned in Realtime_ , by Vernor Vinge

 _Hyperion_ , by Dan Simmons

 _Mrs. Perkins's Electric Quilt_ , a fun book about some math and physics problems

<comment><USER27> _The Peace War_ and _Marooned in Realtime_ are also in a one volume _Across Realtime_ , which also includes his entertaining novella _The Ungoverned_ which introduces some of the characters, including W W Brierson (sp?) of _Marooned_.

</comment></comment><comment><USER17> _Death of a Salesman._ This is yet another book that you are forced to read prematurely in middle or high school. At the time, it was a frustrating exercise; upon rereading it at age 25, I thought it was fantastic.

I also enjoyed _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time_. It was very creative.

Sadly, I had no books that yielded a personal intellectual epoch this year.

</comment><comment><USER28> Some books that stood out this year (many not for their intended reasons)

The 4 Hour Work Week (Tim Ferriss) \- In parts entertaining, interesting, self-promoting, educational, inspirational, attractive and undesirable. Definitely worth the read and a great call to action. Will make you consider what you want and how you can achieve it.

The Game (Neil Strauss) \- Truly interesting story and an interesting view on human dynamics and hacking one of the more important systems (dating). A great view on what is most important - ends or means. Will make you consider how people work, what motivates them and whether success cures emptiness.

Losing my Virginity (Richard Branson) \- The awesome and entertaining story of Virgin with lots of great advice and startup David vs Goliath inspiration. Will make you consider what determination and the little guy can achieve.

Business Stripped Bare (Richard Branson) \- Branson's more focused take on business advice and patches on bits of the Virgin story since the first book. Will make you consider the power of being genuine and growing a company with people treated as smart humans.

On Writing (Stephen King) \- Most inspirational and compelling book on writing I've read. Half writing advice half King biography all awesome. Will make you consider becoming a novelist.

Coders at Work (Peter Siebel) \- Haven't finished yet but great interviews of leading coders. I didn't enjoy Founders at Work (personally found it a bit indirect/not deep enough) but in Coders at Work you really feel the connection between interviewer and interviewee while at the same time getting a lot of incidental startup advice as these coders have all had decent roles to play in Silicon Valley etc. history. Will make you consider if you're actually a better coder than you thought.

Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill) \- Reads a bit like a bad Internet ad at times but that's because they stole that technique from here. This book summarizes the techniques that lead to success based on numerous interviews of most of the greatest leaders of the early 20th century. Pretty good bits in here and again inspiration fuel. Will make you consider how you can take charge of your self and your life.

Letters From a Stoic (Seneca) \- Decent musings on living life and mastering oneself. As relevant today as 2 thousand years ago. Will make you consider how you can master your self and what you will let affect you.

Here Comes Everybody (Clay Shirky) \- The best book on online community I've read. Shirky makes you want to make a difference and communicates his enthusiasm for the power of the masses with ease. Will make you consider how to enable communities to achieve unthought of goals.

</comment><comment><USER29> (The links here bring you to my notes from each book, and the ISBN number for each so you can find it easily at your favorite library/store/whatever.)

How We Decide - by Jonah Lehrer: Brilliant book with one clear message: our emotional brain is faster and usually smarter than our logical brain. Our emotions are trained by years of logic and experience, retaining it all for real wisdom. Many decisions are better made by going with the gut feeling. Gets a little too technical with deep brain/neuro/cortex talk, but brings it back to usable points. <http://sivers.org/book/HowWeDecide>

The Investor's Manifesto - by William J. Bernstein: Absolutely my favorite author and advisor on the subject of investing. Anyone with any money to invest (or already invested) please read this book. Such clear thinking, using only facts, and using numbers not guesses. Modern portfolio theory: use passive indexes of the entire market, no speculation, no stock picking, and avoid the entire fee-sucking financial industry. <http://sivers.org/book/InvestorsManifesto>

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives - by David Eagleman: Fiction. Awesomely creative think-piece of 40 different short stories of what happens when you die. To be clear: the author is not pretending this is fact! The framework is inspiring for anyone: coming up with 40 different answers to any one question. <http://sivers.org/book/Sum>

The Talent Code - by Daniel Coyle: A great book showing that deep practice - (struggling in certain targeted ways - operating at the edges of your ability, where you make mistakes - experiences where you're forced to slow down, make errors, and correct them) - is what really makes you improve at anything. <http://sivers.org/book/TalentCode>

Influence - by Robert Cialdini: Classic book on the psychology of persuasion. I read it 15 years ago, thought about it ever since, and re-read it now. How to get a 700% improvement in volunteers. How to sell more by doubling your prices. How to make people feel they made a choice, when really you made it for them. <http://sivers.org/book/Influence>

The Time Paradox - by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd: See my in-depth article about this book at <http://sivers.org/time> <http://sivers.org/book/TimeParadox>

</comment><comment><USER30> Atlas Shrugged - finally got around to reading it after dozens of recommendations from good friends. Shocking how relevant and prophetic it is, especially with respect to the events of 2009.

<comment><USER31> *eye roll

<comment><USER32> It's the reaction everybody has with Rand. To be completely fair to her, she introduces a lot of people to ideas they haven't grappled with before. I'm still glad I read her, even if, three years after, I disagree with all but a strand of her ideas.

I doubt it's worth having another HN debate about Rand, though. We've thoroughly exhausted that discussion.

<comment><USER33> I would be interested in reading up on those. Could you perhaps give a link? I tried googling, but I didn't get very interesting results. Maybe you can think of a few memorable discussions that?

<comment><USER32> Two memorable discussions here in which I played a seminal part:

<http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=359551>

The link died, but it was a comparison between Rand and Gladwell, and provoked a lot of interesting conversation/drama. That's pretty old; I was actually still arguing in _favor_ of Rand.

<http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=499109>

This one has some of the most elegant denunciations: This was one of the few arguments that wasn't overridden by one side or another.

But if you want a really terrific online discussion, I'm going to abandon ship and give you a link to MetaFilter instead, which starts with a series of critical articles and leads on to one of the most lucid, multifaceted discussions of Rand's many flaws I've ever seen. This was the discussion that severed the last of my connections to Rand and her philosophy.

[http://www.metafilter.com/86325/She-screamed-You-have- reject...](http://www.metafilter.com/86325/She-screamed-You-have-rejected-me- You-have-dared-to-reject-me-Me-your-highest-value)

rdtsc's link is thorough, but dry reading. I found it harder to digest than the community conversations.

<comment><USER34> _But if you want a really terrific online discussion, I'm going to abandon ship and give you a link to MetaFilter instead, which starts with a series of critical articles and leads on to one of the most lucid, multifaceted discussions of Rand's many flaws I've ever seen._

I'm not defending Rand, but is it really intellectually honest to judge her stated principles by her behavior, as most of her critics do? Many of the most influential philosophers in all schools of thought have proven to be either hypocritical or downright nuts.

It's easy to attack someone as flawed as Rand, and it's even easier to attack strawmen fashioned from bits and pieces of her work. Neither of these facts tell you anything about the quality or relevance of her overall message.

<comment><USER32> Actually, the linked discussion mentions that also. When discussing such an inherently flawed philosophy, it's important to really think about the origins of Rand's thoughts. Why did she think the way she did? Who inspired her? Objectivism is not a stand-alone philosophy.

In particular, the talk about her and the mass murderer horrified me. When her ideal of humanity cut a young girl to pieces, you have to wonder if the sadomasochism in her philosophy was more a personal kink than it was some step of logic.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER35> American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin.

\- Captivating and well researched. This book not only captures the life of a genius, but also exposes the politics and propaganda of WWII, the Cold War and nuclear proliferation (which were conveniently omitted from my government-set high school curriculum), as well as raising issue of morality and the ethical responsibilities of scientists. Interested in start-ups? They don't come bigger than the Manhattan Project. Most of the guys in Los Alamos at the time were in their 20s.

Two books by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and For The Good of the Cause.

\- Both are brilliant. Solzenitsyn's language is powerful and descriptive yet simple and concise. Since reading his books, I consciously look at the entropy of other writers.

Ambedkar and Buddhism by Sangarakshita

\- An interesting account of the life of a great man, who's philosophy should be read by anyone who hails from the Indian sub-continent.

A Fraction of The Whole by Steve Toltz.

\- A book lover's book, Toltz's novel made me laugh out loud at numerous times. A fun read, made better by the fact that he's Aussie.

</comment><comment><USER36> I just finished a _ton_ of great books, some that immediately come to mind:

The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris - Really made me think about life and the work I do

Tribes by Seth Godin - Love this book.

The Dip by Seth Godin - read it before, reread it again this year

Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina - really had to struggle to get past the beginning, was fantastic once I did

Find Your Great Work by Michael Bungary Stanier - I liked this one a lot, motivational

The Power of Less by Leo Babauta - no surprises here, I enjoyed the book, it reads like you would expect it to. Some new insights that aren't on the blog

Superfreakonomics by Stephen Levitt and Dubner

Blink, The Tipping Point and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (I liked The Tipping Point the best out of those 3)

Free by...Chris Anderson (?) I forget. Very interesting.

Team Up by Pete Mockaitis - Great read about accountability groups, subset of a mastermind group IMO.

Collapse by Jared Diamond - Very interesting looks at patterns in civilizations. Some people I spoke to get bored after a few examples, it is a little repetitive but I enjoy the parallels

My old faves are of course Gettings Things Done, 7 Habits, Greatest Salesman in The World, and How to Win Friends and Influence People.

More details here: [http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/best-personal- deve...](http://sidsavara.com/personal-development/best-personal-development- books-reading-list)

I regularly (and will be posting a bunch in the next couple weeks) post reviews of books I read here: <http://sidsavara.com/product-reviews>

</comment><comment><USER37> Risk, the science of politics and fear by Dan Gardner (absolutely fantastic book, I already mentioned it on here earlier in the year).

The Game (again). I read this regularly to remind me of a few things - it's the book that originally got me fascinated in human interaction.

Nemesis (Richard Mullers theory) after a recommendation on HN.

A couple of Obama's books (seemed logical to read up on him)- dreams of my Father I especially liked.

Snowball (though still chugging through that).

In Search of Schrodinger's Cat - a book all about the evolution of quantum theory (and one that gives me my favourite quote of the year: _In 1905 Einstein actually published 5 times. The fifth being his PHD dissertation; yes those three individually genius works, which shook the very foundations of physics, were published my a man called Mr Einstein._ Despite the artistic license I still love it as a quote :))

</comment><comment><USER10> My favorite read in early 2009 was What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought by Keith Stanovich

[http://www.amazon.com/What-Intelligence-Tests-Miss- Psycholog...](http://www.amazon.com/What-Intelligence-Tests-Miss- Psychology/dp/030012385X/)

which is full of helpful information on developing the kind of cognition missed by IQ tests that constitutes rationality, very important information for parents, educators, and business leaders.

2009, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book On the Origin of Species, has been a banner year for new books on evolutionary biology. Some of my favorites include

Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne

[http://www.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry- Coyne/dp/0670...](http://www.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry- Coyne/dp/0670020532/)

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins

[http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Show-Earth-Evidence- Evolution...](http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Show-Earth-Evidence- Evolution/dp/1416594787/)

and

Evolution: The First Four Billion Years edited by Michael Ruse and Joseph Travis.

[http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-First-Four-Billion- Years/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-First-Four-Billion- Years/dp/067403175X/)

All are full of up to date information about biology, which, as Thedosius Dobzhansky said, only makes sense in the light of evolution.

SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

[http://www.amazon.com/SuperFreakonomics-Cooling-Patriotic- Pr...](http://www.amazon.com/SuperFreakonomics-Cooling-Patriotic-Prostitutes- Insurance/dp/0060889578)

is enjoyable and thought-provoking, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, for all the usual reasons applying to collaborations by those two authors.

</comment><comment><USER38> Although actually released in late 2008, my favorite book for 2009 was Neal Stephenson's _Anathem_.

</comment><comment><USER39> I like that you ask for "Great books you read in 2009," as opposed to great books published in 2009, as so many newspapers do. The question as you formulate it will probably lead to more of the same books popping up over and over again, but that's probably okay.

I actually wrote about the topic here: [http://jseliger.com/2009/12/27/the- years-best-in-reading-not...](http://jseliger.com/2009/12/27/the-years-best- in-reading-not-in-publishing) . Of the books on the list, I'd say that Daniel Gilbert's _Stumbling on Happiness_ and Lev Grossman's _The Magicians_ were my favorite. Both might not qualify as "great," but they both moved me and made me think, which few books accomplish.

<comment><USER29> Hell yeah: Stumbling on Happiness is one of my favorite books I've ever read in my life. It profoundly changed the way I look at the world, and how I make decisions about what to do. I really like your essay about it! As you say: it "ought to be required reading for those who are alive"

[http://jseliger.com/2009/04/23/stumbling-on- happiness-—-dani...](http://jseliger.com/2009/04/23/stumbling-on- happiness-—-daniel-gilbert/)

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> _introduce the tenants of Objectivism_

How much rent do they pay? And what kind of landlady is Ms Rand.

<comment><AUTHOR> Touché.

</comment></comment><comment><USER41> Finally got around to reading 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' Blew me away. So much better than the film adaptation.

<comment><USER42> I think that the screensaver adaption is just right, though :)

<comment><USER43> Most definitely.

<http://community.electricsheep.org/>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER44> _Revelation Space_ , by Alastair Reynolds - Quirky sci-fi novel with a xenoarchaeology angle

 _Hunters of Dune_ , by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - I'm not recommending this one on the basis of the writing. I'd recommend it only to those who read all of Frank Herbert's original Dune series and have been hanging in suspense ever since because the cliffhanger ending of Chapterhouse Dune was never resolved due to Frank's untimely death. They based the book on Frank's outline, but it clearly would have been a better book if it had been written by Frank. Nonetheless, it is satisfying to resolve the unanswered questions: Who the heck are these Honored Matres and what were they running away from?

 _Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings_, by Jorges Luis Borges - <USER3> is kind of a quirky collection of short stories that are all mindbenders of one variety or another. The best description I can give of Borges is that reading him is kind of like solving puzzles.

 _Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori_ , by Lain Hearn - Historical fiction set in feudal Japan with lords and their retainers, assassins, etc.

 _The Lost Symbol_ , by Dan Brown - If you liked The Da Vinci Code or Angels & Demons, you'll probably like this one as well. While Dan Brown will probably never write anything that matches the utter genius of Umberto Eco's _Foucault's Pendulum_ , he is entertaining in his own way and worth a read.

<comment><USER45> The Lost Symbol sucked - I was entertained by Vinci Code and Illuminati, even though some of the riddles seemed chilidish. But Lost Symbol adds an unnecessary esoteric, New Age angle ("Twitter is god"), and the riddles have become too ridiculous. One of them is turning some letters on their head to make them readable. Another thing were "magic squares" - so I guess because they have "magic" in the name they have to be something deep and conspirational...

</comment></comment><comment><USER46> My favorite book of 2009 was The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki:

[http://experimentgarden.blogspot.com/2009/12/critical- analys...](http://experimentgarden.blogspot.com/2009/12/critical-analysis- wisdom-of-crowds-by.html)

The book shows how groups can work together to do great things. It also shows why some groups fail miserably. Overall I found it very helpful and enlightening in that it helped my understanding of group dynamics and how to take advantage of the full power of groups.

</comment><comment><USER47> _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time._ by Mark Haddon ([http://www.amazon.com/Curious-Incident-Dog-Night- Time/dp/140...](http://www.amazon.com/Curious-Incident-Dog-Night- Time/dp/1400032717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262422668&sr=8-1)) - engaging story written from the point of view of an austistic teenager. One of my favorite characters in any book I've ever read.

 _Crashing Through_ by Robert Kurson ([http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812973682/ref=ox_ya_oh_pro...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812973682/ref=ox_ya_oh_product)) - inspiring story of sight restoration to a lifelong blind man. Fascinating exploration on vision, learning, and a lot of other stuff we take for granted.

 _The Tao of Pooh_ by Benjamin Hoff ([http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140067477/ref=ox_ya_oh_pro...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140067477/ref=ox_ya_oh_product)) - Taoism and Winnie the Pooh. 'nuff said.

 _Life Entrepreneurs_ by Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek ([http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787988626/ref=ox_ya_oh_pro...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787988626/ref=ox_ya_oh_product)) - applying and expanding the principles of entrepreneurship to your life as a whole, not just your business.

 _Revolutionary Road_ by Richard Yates ([http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307454622/ref=ox_ya_oh_pro...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307454622/ref=ox_ya_oh_product)) - I thought the movie was great, and this book is great too, in a different way. The writing is clean and evocative, the dialogue is provoking and realistic. I'm a fan of Richard Yates after reading this book.

</comment><comment><USER48> Charles Stross, 'Accelerando'

Stephenson, 'Anathem' (first 150 pages slow)

<comment><USER49> Re Anathem first 150 pages- if the story had stayed in the Concents then the level of detail may have been justified, but in the end I was annoyed that he spent so long creating the Concents just to throw them away. Editor fail.

</comment></comment><comment> brown9-2 Non-fiction:

 _Coders at Work_ by Peter Siebel and _Founders at Work_ by Jessica Livingston - I loved reading about the founder's stories and first-hand perspectives of notable programmers.

 _The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work_ by Alain de Botton - really interesting perspective on "work" and various types of careers and people that find happiness in them/work itself.

 _Superfreakonomics_ by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner - even if you don't agree with their arguments or think that the authors are all fluff, I think that their writing style is exceptionally clear and easy to understand.

 _The Black Swan_ by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - some really interesting ideas and analysis, although the book could have been 1/2 as short

Fiction:

 _Anathem_ by Neal Stephenson - starts out slow but after the first 200 pages it became a really great story that I couldn't put down.

 _Life of Pi_ by Yann Martel - loved the main story of the book, the controversial ending didn't bother me too much because I don't feel like it takes away from the story at all.

 _The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo_ and _The Girl Who Played With Fire_ by Stieg Larsson - cheap fun and suspenseful

 _The Road_ by Cormac McCarthy - I don't think much needs to be said about this book

 _White Tiger_ by Aravind Adiga - extremely interesting and gripping novel about a side of the world most of us Westerners never see

 _Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy_ by Douglas Adams - finally read this classic. I read the "Ultimate Edition" which contains all 5 of Adams' novel, loved the first one but the story felt like it started to putter out by the third.

<comment><USER50> I have to second The Road. Any book that I finish in a single sitting has a special quality. I would say it is my favorite book of the past 5 years and in my top 10 of all time.

</comment></comment><comment><USER51> "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values" - <USER4> M. Prisig

I wouldn't say I agree with all of it, but its a great read nonetheless.

<comment><USER52> Definitely a great read. By the way, if you find Pirsig on the sophists interesting, you might look up Lev Shestov, _Potestas Clavium_.

</comment></comment><comment><USER53> Recently I've been reading books about different facets of human nature. Some of my favorites:

\- Spent, by Geoffrey Miller (evolutionary psychology, sex, consumerism)

\- Gang Leader for a Day, by Sudhir Venkatesh

\- Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely

Here's a short blog post about these books and a few others.

[http://ogeid.com/weblog/2010/01/some-books-about-human- natur...](http://ogeid.com/weblog/2010/01/some-books-about-human-nature/)

</comment><comment><USER54> The War of Art (again) - I reread this book at least once a year. IMHO one of the best books ever written on the creative process, no matter what you're creating.

In Defense of Food - Best criticism of the problems with reductionist "nutrition-ism" I've read.

They Made America - Good, quick history of some of America's most revolutionary inventors, businessmen and women.

</comment><comment><USER55> _Sperm Wars_ \- A fascinating evolutionary biology book focusing on sperm competition.

 _Caesar_ by Christian Meier - Got totally hooked on this, wonderful read.

 _Happy Hour is for Amateurs_ \- Novel by web author Philalawyer. Drugs, Alcohol and the Lawyering profession, written in a gonzo-style.

 _War of Art_

</comment><comment><USER52> Some on this list are great, some just good:

_The Critique of Pure Reason_--got about halfway through 30 years ago, set it aside, picked it up again. Probably shorter than The Fountainhead but takes a long time to read.

_The Vindication of Tradition_, Jaroslav Pelikan, theology, very short quick read.

_Netherland_ by Joseph O'Neill, via the neighborhood book club. Interesting picture of New York, thin characterization.

_The Library at Night_, Alberto Manguel, actually a gift to my wife from a friend of hers. Good browsing book.

_Untimely Thoughts_ by Nietzche. Probably not a great place to start Nietzche, but at least the first essay is interesting.

_The Spectator Bird_, Wallace Stegner. Good novel, though maybe not my favorite Stegner.

_Germany 1866-1945_ by Gordon Craig. Long, very readable.

</comment><comment><USER56> is fiction ok? i live in chile and stumbled across bolano's books (particularly the savage detectives and 2666) in spanish just as they became popular in english in the usa (2666 was released in translation).

savage detectives is a funny account of adolescent "poets" in mexico; 2666 is a much darker, somewhat rambling tome that addresses "evil". they're very different, but both great books.

for non-fiction the book i've used most this year is an old classic - <USER5> & steele's "c a reference manual". it's invaluable (if you're writing c). i don't know how people can prefer kernighan & ritchie...

<comment><USER57> I think that K&R works better as a tutorial, as an introduction to C programming. Once you're generally comfortable with C, Steele's book is a much better reference.

</comment></comment><comment><USER58> The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Green -- vulgarizes relativity and quantum theories and touches upon string theory, emphasizing the consequences of those theories on the properties of space and time.

</comment><comment> adam-_- Flat Earth News - Nick Davies: An interesting discussion about falsehood and PR in newspapers and the media generally.

Hackers & Painters - Paul Graham: Read it this year and enjoyed it a lot.

Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts: Awe inspiring "true" story about a convict who escaped to India. Really made me want to take a trip to India. Perhaps not the highest quality prose but a gripping story never-the-less.

A Simple Act of Violence - R J Ellory: I'm reading this right now and it's the first book in a while that has really grabbed me. Well written crime/thriller type book.

</comment><comment><USER59> 1\. Shantaram (Gregory David Roberts): So good that mom stayed up until 3AM to finish it.

2\. Mistborn trilogy (brandon sanderson): Gripping storytelling and by far one of the best fantasy books i've ever read.

3\. Millennium trilogy (steig larsson): Hard to slot this book. On its face it is a thriller but the book is merely the medium through which the author lashes out against crimes toward women and corruption.In 2008, he was the second-best selling author in the world

4\. American Shaolin (Matthew Polly): An exciting read but still do not know what is fact and what is fiction. .

</comment><comment><USER60> I actually just written a post about it: <http://bearwithclaws.com/the-best- books-ive-read-in-2009>

</comment><comment><USER61> _Zeitoun_ by Dave Eggers. A sad story about a guy named Zeitoun in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

 _Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places_ by Paul Collier. Someone smart thinks about how to move failed states toward democracy in such a way that it sticks.

 _Dreams from My Father_ by Barack Obama. A good memoir, but particularly interesting because he wrote it before he was famous.

 _Cliff Walk_ by Don Snyder. An English professor gets fired and becomes a carpenter. Great if academia irritates you.

</comment><comment><USER62> Anyone read 'Crush It'? Gary Vee seems like a scamster to me, but it seems really popular in the wider tech community right now. I'd trust HN better than my Twitter contacts...

<comment><USER63> Yes and I thought it was great. It only takes a few hours to get through which is a big bonus. My co-worker was a big "anti-veynerchucker", thinking he was all talk with no real message. But he had a read of it on my Kindle and is now a complete convert. He ended up dragging me to a talk by Gary and starting his own video blog too.

</comment></comment><comment><USER64> I got a Kindle as a gift too and I love it as well. I highly recommend you play with it or at least borrow someone's (if they'll let you) if you doubt you'll like it.

"Inside Steve's Brain" - Great book on the history of Apple, and the inner workings of the company and the philosophy.

"Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferrazzi on the importance of networking and building relationships.

"Trade-Off, Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don't"

"The Pixar Touch" Great history of Pixar and how they came about.

"Call me Ted" - Ted Turner's autobiography

"How the Mighty Fall" Jim Collins

</comment><comment><USER65> Thomas Hardy's Jude The Obscure, absolutely brilliant. Its littered with literary goto statements, referencing every imaginable literary text. Its really pretty cool, Its hard to follow along with, and harder to catch all of the references but the norton edition fills half of each page with footnotes. I really liked this book. <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039397278X?tag=safet-20>

</comment><comment><USER52> Four I had forgotten:

_Warrenpoint_ by Denis Donoghue. Memoirs of youth, beautifully written.

_The Great Melody: A Thematic Biography of Edmund Burke_ by Conor Cruise O'Brien.

_Autobiographies_ by W. B. Yeats. This was I think the first time reading it through, though 25 years ago I read a fair bit in a housemate's copy. There are sentences that you will want to reread to see how he does it. And in the art of payback, Yeats on George Moore makes Hemingway on Fitzgerald/Ford/Stein/etc look amateurish.

_The Italians_ by Luigi Barzini.

</comment><comment><USER66> I'm a fan of reading biographies and Open, Andre Agassi's biography, was a very intriguing, enjoyable, and surprisingly well-written book.

The only other book I read this past year that stood out to me was GK Chesterton's The Man Who was Thursday. I thought this was a very well written allegorical spy novel that had some very quippy dialogue.

Next on my reading list I would like to read some Vladimir Nabokov since I've never read any of his work. Has anyone else here read any of his books?

<comment><USER10> _Next on my reading list I would like to read some Vladimir Nabokov since I've never read any of his work. Has anyone else here read any of his books?_

I read a lot of Nabokov beginning in high school and continuing into my university studies (when I was initially a Russian language major). Nabokov is very interesting to read. I like Speak, Memory

[http://www.amazon.com/Speak-Memory-Everymans-Library- Cloth/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Speak-Memory-Everymans-Library- Cloth/dp/0375405534/)

and his essays on literary criticism (which I'm not turning up just now as I do an Amazon search, but which you should be able to find in a library). I'm not such a big fan of his most famous novel, Lolita. I read it once and have never reread it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER67> Influence, Predictably Irrational, Fooled by Randomness, The Blank Slate, House of Cards, and Planar Microwave Engineering come to mind.

</comment><comment> Asa-Nisse Recommendations:

\- Collapse by Jared Diamond, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_%28book%29> about how we over-exploit our planet.

\- The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom, psychological and cultural explanations of how humans react to "memes" amongst other gems of knowledge.

\- The Eschaton series by Charles Stross (sci-fi).

</comment><comment><USER68> "Maverick" by Ricardo Semler - This book is about the company Semco in Brazil and challenges everything you think you know about business. Semler advocates radical ideas like public self-set salaries and workplace democracy. I don't necessarily agree with everything in the book, but the ideas sure are interesting.

</comment><comment><USER69> "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy "What to Listen For in Music" by Aaron Copland

</comment><comment><USER70> Two of my favorite books that are freely available online, both in the genre of post-singularity utopian science fiction:

<http://www.kuro5hin.org/prime-intellect/>

<http://craphound.com/down/download.php>

</comment><comment><USER71> Capitalism and Freedom - Milton Friedman

</comment><comment><USER72> For non technical easy reads you might try:

River of America Books (History of specific Rivers)</comment><comment> American Trails Series (History of specific Trails)</comment><comment> Great Game - Peter Hopkirk</comment><comment> Black Lamb & Gray Falcon - Rebecca West - About Yugoslavia---- Lyndon Johnson - Robert Caro - (3 books)

</comment><comment><USER73> Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin - a great blow by blow account of the financial crisis shortly after the fall of Bear Stearns. A really amazing look at how decisions are made under extraordinary pressure. It is fast paced and reads almost like a movie.

<comment><USER74> I second that - 2/3 through and have a hard time putting it down. It's written in a way that outsiders can understand the hour-by-hour details of the crisis. While some of his opinions are clear, it seems mostly objective.

</comment></comment><comment><USER75> _Born to Run_

A book which touches on how we evolved to be super distance runners and "persistence" hunters.

</comment><comment><USER76> Maybe not as high brow as some of the other suggestions here but I really enjoyed Stephen King's Under The Dome. It's basically a story of small town political corruption and the human tendency to be easily exploited by dictatorial types in a crisis.

</comment><comment><USER77> I made a google spreadsheet for those who didn't want to sort through the list:

[http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tmL5TmhKKDQahw1tPQcrk...](http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tmL5TmhKKDQahw1tPQcrk-w&output=html)

</comment><comment><USER78> Guns, Germs and Steel - still reading it but one of the best I 've read so far..

<comment><USER79> After that you should read "Collapse", it's even better than Guns,Germs and steel imo.

<comment><USER80> no it's not. It's a good read, but not as seminal or breath taking as Guns, Germs and Steel, a true modern classic.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER81> _Anathem,_ by Neal Stephenson

 _Consider Phlebas,_ by Iain M. Banks

 _Selfish Gene,_ by Richard Dawkins

 _Business Stripped Bare,_ by Richard Branson

 _Programming Collective Intelligence,_ by Toby Segaran

 _Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,_ by Robert Pirsig

<comment><USER79> +1 for Selfish Gene, read a few years ago.

</comment></comment><comment><USER49> Interesting/Recommended: The Snowball, Alice Schroeder

Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts

The Art of Happiness, HH Dalai Lama

Getting Things Done (I know I'm late to the party...)

Shop Class as Soulcraft, Matthew Crawford (I heard about that one here, thank- you HN)

On Writing, Stephen King

</comment><comment><USER82> I got myself a Sony Reader mid-2009 and started reading about twice more than I had been before. 2009 was also the first year in which I wasn't too lazy to document which books I read (I'm really glad I wasn't). Here're some of the favourites this year:

Classics:

Kafka's _The Process_ and _America_ \- both stunning novels that deserve to be read as much as his most famous, _The Castle_.

Jan Potocki, _The Manuscript Found in Saragossa_ \- a trippy collection of tales organised in multiple nested frames.

Scott Fitzgerald, _The Great Gatsby_.

Leo Tolstoy, _Anna Karenina_. Still as breathtaking as I'd remembered it from the previous reading five years ago.

Science Fiction:

Gene Wolfe, _The Book of the New Sun_. Wolfe, whom I hadn't read before, turns out to be in a class of his own. It's literary SF, overwhelmingly masterful and beautiful in its prose and characters, yet it could give any hardcore SF novel a run in terms of its ideas. It demands and richly rewards a close reading. I'll be reading more Wolfe in 2010.

Ted Chiang, collected stories. Chiang writes only stories, and has written just a few of them, but nearly every one is a gem. Read _Understand_ on the web (<http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/under.htm>) to see if you like his style - I do.

Vernor Vinge, _A Deepness in the Sky_ , _The Peace War_ , _Marooned in Realtime_. All great novels, but start from _A Fire Upon the Deep_ (I read that in 2008) if you haven't read Vinge before, it's the best introduction.

Greg Egan, _Diaspora_ , _Quarantine_ , _Distress_. Egan is the best hardcore SF author out there. _Diaspora_ is a fascinating take on shared simulated reality that's very different from the usual fare. _Quarantine_ will appeal to your inner quantum mechanical geek.

Contemporary fiction:

Pynchon, _V_. Pynchon is the best novelist we've got. I recommend _The Crying of the Lot 49_ as the best Pynchon to start from; _V_ is more difficult and much longer, but rewards the patience. I still can't get over the fact that Pynchon wrote and published this novel when he was 26.

Orhan Pamuk, _The Black Book_.

Annie Proulx, _Fine Just The Way It Is_. A new collection of stories from the best writer about rural America out there. Three are extraordinary, two so-so, the rest very good.

Non-fiction:

W. Sidney Allen, _Vox Graeca_ and _Vox Latina_. If you want to know how ancient Greek and Latin sounded, these are the books to read.

Elizabeth Lloyd. _The Case Of The Female Orgasm_. An interesting study into how available evolutionary explanations of female orgasm fail in various ways. This is a book about evolutionary biology and its methodological soundness as much as it is about explaining female orgasm.

Computer-related:

Peter Seibel, _Coders at Work_. A fantastic collection of interview with great programmers. The one 2009 book no hacker should be without.

 _Squeak by Example_. Does a great job of explaining Smalltalk in general and Squeak in particular.

<comment><USER83> I'm amazed at the number of books you read in one year. Where do you get all the time ?

<comment><USER82> I read a lot in high school and college. After that, I continued to think of myself as reading a lot, but the reality slowly diverged from the self-image. A few years ago, I noticed the gap and decided to fix it. I realized that while I absolutely loved reading, and never needed to convince myself to read, the time I had to devote to it just kinda slipped through the cracks here and there.

What fixed it for me was promising myself I'd try to read at least 40 pages a day. The number itself isn't very important, but it roughly translates to one book a week. Books can be thicker and thinner of course; I don't consciously try to finish one every week, but I do consciously try to read 40 pages a day - and more than that is even better. It seemed like a tacky thing to do at first; if I love reading, would I really need to try and force myself to? But the point of the resolution is not to force yourself, it's to keep reading in the list of desired activities as you go through the day. It works to keep the thought closer to the foreground, as a kind of a mental hack. The other part of this "method", and it's absolutely essential, is not to "punish" yourself by assigning yourself the double dose if you fail to read at all one day. Keeping an account of "debts" this way is too forced and quickly leads to abandoning the whole idea. If I read just a little or not at all one day, for whatever reason, I just try to read 40 pages the next day.

Results: I read about 50 books in 2008 (didn't keep tabs). In 2009, I got a Sony Reader in May and switched to reading books mostly on the device. I read a bit over 80 books in 2009, and will probably read about a hundred this year. The time to do is mostly the time I would waste here and there on the net relatively meaninglessly (like checking my email, Google Reader, HN and reddit twice as often or something; with reading many books, I'm still able to do all that, and write a high-traffic blog, and work full-time). I also try to find little chunks of time here and there: I read in a cafe, in the lavatory, sometimes at lunch. I carry my ebook reader with me nearly all the time, and if someone's late to a meeting at work and everybody's waiting, I read for a few minutes; and so on.

TL;DR: Nah, just read it all :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER84> Finally got around to reading some Tolstoy -- Anna Karenina.

It was terrific. Great book!

</comment><comment><USER85> Not a 2009 book but my first book of 2010: _Drive_ by Daniel H. Pink. A book about the science of motivation that I found so engaging that I read it in one day.

</comment><comment><USER18> Programming in Haskell by Graham Hutton

A.I. A Modern Approach (ch 13-16) by Russell and Norvig

A Tunnel In The Sky by Robert Heinlein

The Revelation Space series (3 of the 5 books) by Alistair Reynolds

Eon/Eternity (both by Greg Bear)

</comment><comment><USER23> The Game (Neil Strauss), hands down. Not so much that I found it useful but rather that it was very interesting to watch a guy hack society and attraction.

</comment><comment><USER86> Harmony Silk Factory - Tash Aw

Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdi

Old Man and the Sea - <USER6>

<comment><USER56> have you read midnight's children? if so, how does satanic verses compare to that? i thought _children_ was wonderful, but everything i've read since by rushdie has been a disappointment (often flat our boring). i often wonder if i give him another chance and take on satanic verses....

<comment><USER34> Both _Grimus_ and _Midnight's Children_ are great. _The Satanic Verses_ is worth a read but not before the first two IMO.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER87> "Great Gatsby" by F.S.Fitzgerald. Really awesome book.

</comment><comment><USER58> Vehicles by Valentino Braitenberg -- a study of theoretical robots whose behavior is interpreted as more and more biologically plausible.

</comment><comment><USER58> The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris -- a zoological study of homo sapiens. A classic nicely supplemented by Our Inner Ape by Frans der Waal.

<comment><USER44> _The Human Animal_ is another fantastic book by the same author. Morris really has a fascinating perspective on human behavior and its biological origins.

</comment></comment><comment><USER88> Haven't quite finished it yet, but Robin Buss' modern, unabridged translation of Alexander Dumas' _The Count of Monte Cristo_.

</comment><comment><USER89> Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell - page turner

</comment><comment><USER90> How to win friends and influence people.

</comment><comment><USER91> _The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin_

 _Economics in One Lesson_ , by Henry Hazlitt.

 _The Baroque Cycle_ , by Neal Stephenson.

<comment><USER92> I second "Economics in One Lesson" recommendation. Economics explained in an understandable way for non-economists.

</comment></comment><comment><USER93> Started and finished Super Freakonomics on a flight just recently. I enjoyed it a lot.

</comment><comment><USER94> The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. I love basketball. And Bill Simmons.

</comment><comment><USER95> Black Hole War

</comment><comment><USER96> Fiction, mostly.

 _Declare_ , by Tim Powers. Cold war espionage with black magic. Entertainingly bleak, and probably did a lot more weirdness with real history than I knew how to appreciate.

 _Producing Open Source Software_ (<http://producingoss.com/>), by Karl Fogel. A very thorough look into all sorts of practical matters in running a large open source software project.

The _Engines of Light_ trilogy by Ken MacLeod. Entertaining, though a bit erratic. Makes a bunch of Forteana fit in a hard SF framework. Also the second MacLeod book I've read that has a weird pixie dust immortality treatment that seems incongruous with the rest of the technology level.

 _Matter_ by Iain M. Banks. Culture again after _Algebraist_. Still good.

 _The Dark Side of the Sun_ by Terry Pratchett. Finally got around to reading this one. Was surprisingly fresh. It would have been interesting to see Pratchett write more science fiction after this and _Strata_ around 30 years ago.

 _The City and the Stars_ by Arthur C. Clarke. Another old SF book. This one wasn't very fresh, seemed like two or three different novels stapled together, with bits and pieces that might work pretty well if it weren't for the other bits and pieces.

 _Crooked Little Vein_ by Warren Ellis. Not a lot of surprises, if you know what Warren Ellis tends to write. Basically a road trip novel through various degeneracies in America. Fun, but tends to go for gross-out warrenellisisms in favor of overall coherence.

 _Neuropath_ by Scott Bakker. A technothriller about all sorts of fun things you can do by directly rewiring peoples' brains with near-future neurosurgery. Bakker's chilly philosophical outlook doesn't pack quite the same punch in an already mostly rationalistic setting as it did in the _Prince of Nothing_ fantasy books. Sticks with a single not particularly unsympathetic viewpoint character and therefore avoids the problem in Prince of Nothing where you'd often end up in the head of someone you really don't want to be anywhere near.

 _The Tao is Silent_ by Raymond Smullyan. Smullyan writes various essays inspired by Taoism. Quality varies, but Smullyan is generally fun to read.

 _On SF_ by Thomas Disch. Beautifully acerbic essays by someone who takes science fiction literature seriously and doesn't let it off easy. And just plain likes to insult people. Representative, though noticeably dated sample: <http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472068968-1.pdf>

_Denner's Wreck_ by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Watt-Evans has an specific style of writing from what follows from the setting and premises rather than going for the most dramatically obvious plot. The results are hit-and-miss with his fantasy novels I've read, but work a lot better here, where the legends of a bronze-age civilization end up emerging from a science fiction setting. Watt- Evans' narrative style supports the plot where the traditional stories end up not really being what they seem to be.

 _The Official Book of Ultima_ by Shay Addams. It tells how Richard Garriott's obsession with programming in high school lead to the Ultima game series, which were one of the most notable computer games in the 80s and became the flagship product of Garriott's Origin Systems company. Also documents how the games grew from Ultima I being programmed by Garriot alone learning as he went along into Ultima VI developed by a large team. There is much detail about Ultima VI, which was being developed as the book was written. Much of it also conflicts with the game that ended up being released, and I ended up wondering whether this was about the game changing during production or just Addams getting his facts wrong.

</comment><comment><USER97> _Redliners_ by David Drake. Burned out soldiers are sent to baby-sit a planetary colonization. Fortunately for the story it turns out to be a planet full of monsters. Baen Free Library.

 _Accelerando_ , _Iron Sunrise_ , and _Singularity Sky_ by Charles Stross. Singularity stories.

 _House of Leaves_ by Mark Danielewski. Supernatural meta-fiction with half the story in the footnotes. Reminiscent of the movie _Donnie Darko_.

 _Crooked Little Vein_ by Warren Ellis. Private eye gets retained by the White House to track down the _other_ U.S. Constitution. To quote William Gibson, "Stop It. You're frightening me."

 _Hurry Down Sunshine_ by Michael Greenberg. Story of his teenage daughter's descent into manic psychosis.

 _A Hat Full of Sky_ and _Wintersmith_ by Terry Pratchett. Kids' stories, so they have wall-to-wall story, unlike some of his more situational adult books.

James H. Schmitz science fiction stories. Available from the Baen Free Library of digital books.

</comment><comment><USER98> Gangleader for a Day - Sudhir Venkatesh's illuminating story about the housing projects, crack gangs and community dynamics of south side chicago in the '90s.

Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely explains a lot of the idiosyncracies in everyday human behavior

Thoughts Without a Thinker - Mark Epstein's enjoyable tale about buddhism and psychotherapy

Worst:

SuperFreakonomics - Superficial, poorly written, overly patriotic cocktail party factoids

</comment><comment><USER99> Great books i read in 2009

-The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort - <USER7>

-Inside Steve's Brain

-Paypal Wars - old book but still very informative and relevant

-Viral Loop by Adam L. Penenberg</comment>


Node.js – Blog for the Casual Blogger - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/jorgermduarte/Node-Blog <comment><AUTHOR> This project is a simple and easy to use blog for the casual blogger.

For those who wish to setup an operable blog in minutes, this is the project for you.</comment>


The Greatest Elevator Pitch You've Ever Seen - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/07/jamie-walters/

<comment><USER2> I guess it was meant to be funny? I want my 2:34 back.

<comment><USER3> I'm glad I went here, first., and saved myself the time.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Oh no, please don't rip off Will Ferrell. He's God - <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVu8jfhcO9k>

</comment><comment><USER5> There's no way this isn't a clever campaignto ultimately promote a different, as yet unrevealed, startup. The production and the concept is just a little too slick.

</comment><comment><USER6> The real pitch, of course, is this unfunny video. Still, it managed to amass some points on HN!</comment>


We need beta testers for our Twitter Growth Hacking tool - <AUTHOR>

TweetFavy is a simple growth hacking tool for Twitter. It's a great and cheap alternative to twitter ads to gain targeted followers and web-traffic.
Here's how it works:
1. You add some targets (Twitter search terms) in your dashboard. 2. Our system will start looking for tweets related to those targets. It will then use an algorithm (uses a simple form of Artificial Intelligence to get better over time) to rank all the tweets it finds, and will then proceed to mark the top few as a 'favorite' using your Twitter account. 3. Both the author of the tweet and all people tagged within it will receive a notification, and will then view your Twitter profile. We call this an 'Impression'. 4. Some of those people take a look at the website in your Twitter bio and/or they will start following you on Twitter, we call this a 'Conversion'. You will get an overview of all these people including some useful details and statistics.
If you're interested, you can sign up for the open beta here:
http://www.TweetFavy.com
Thanks! <comment><USER2> You do realize this is what got FollowGen banned from their API right?...

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for sharing this! I had never heard of them before. It's weird though, there are some other similar services which are still running and it's not against Twitters TOS to automate favorites..</comment></comment>


Ask HN: What movie have you recently watched? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER2> I don't watch movies often and do not really keep track of what I watch, but the latest one I saw is Frontier(s) for whatever it's worth. Its rating is NC-17 and it's included with Amazon Prime. As for a movie I wanna see soon, it is "The Platform". Looks really interesting. Also excited for new Saw, Candyman & Purge. All coming soon. I am not sure what kind of genres you're into, but I watch the following youtube channels to catch up on what's hot from time to time:

\-- spookyastronauts:

[https://www.youtube.com/user/spookyastronauts](https://www.youtube.com/user/spookyastronauts)

\-- Flick Connection:

[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT09qC2vwlbJvofZRIdLalg](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT09qC2vwlbJvofZRIdLalg)

\-- Top 5 Scary Videos:

[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChE2XVkaaQBR- ly3LaDjheA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChE2XVkaaQBR-ly3LaDjheA)

\-- WhatCulture:

[https://www.youtube.com/user/whatculturevids](https://www.youtube.com/user/whatculturevids)

For hilarious reviews, I like:

\-- Decker Shado

[https://www.youtube.com/user/DeckerShado](https://www.youtube.com/user/DeckerShado)

The last youtube rec'd video I liked is

\-- 50 movies to distract you from the corona

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4joWeYHjogg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4joWeYHjogg)</comment>


Startup Law 101 - Why not to incorporate your startup in Delaware - <AUTHOR> http://www.grellas.com/faq_business_startup_002.html

<comment><USER2> One of the reasons people do Delaware instead of their home state is that nobody knows how psycho their home state incorporation laws are going to be. For instance, several states require you to run ads in the paper announcing your incorporation. At least one --- New York --- allows individual shareholders of a company to be held liable for wage claims by employees!

<comment><USER3> If that's the worst the other states have to offer — a requirement to publicly announce your incorporation and piercing of the corporate veil in exceptional cases — they don't sound very "psycho".

<comment><USER2> Personal liability for corporate salary claims is psycho.

<comment><USER3> You might be able to make a case that the institution of the limited liability corporation, as it currently exists in some particular place or time, produces more good than harm; but you cannot make that case by declaring minor variations in the institution to be "psycho".

<comment><USER2> Hm. Disgruntled former employees in failed New York startups can go after the founders houses. Can I call that "psycho"? Hey, I just did!

<comment><USER4> I only hire people I know I can pay, and when I have the money to pay them. And if that money dries up then their employment ends as well.

I don't think it's unreasonable for employees to have some claim on the assets of their employer in certain circumstances. It certainly isn't psychotic. Although it might be psychotic to hire people, use their labor to buy yourself a house, then fold the company and claim your assets are beyond reproach.

<comment><USER2> Nice. So, if I have a house, and I start a company, and something goes wrong, and you lose your job, you think coming after my house is reasonable. Because after all, we shouldn't hire people unless we're sure we'll always be able to pay them. Because that's how business works.

Thankfully, all this really means is that people will incorporate somewhere else where crazy rules like this don't apply.

<comment><USER4> Respectfully, if something goes wrong you should get rid of your employee before you rack up a huge debt to them in unpaid wages, yes.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Can anyone with experience say something about this? I would be interested in knowing what kind of difference it makes.

<comment><AUTHOR> Missed the exchange involving the deleted comment but I want to emphasize that the point of my article is to _think it through_ rather than just being reflexive about Delaware. I am not anti-Delaware. Just don't do Delaware unless it really makes sense.

The reason I used the title "why not to incorporate" in Delaware was just to emphasize that those who read the article will hear the other side of the argument as well as the usual pro-Delaware argument.

We incorporate many of our clients in Delaware when they desire it after understanding the trade-offs and issues. We just don't herd them into it without explanation.

<comment><USER3> Someone was saying that California almost didn't let them have the share structure they and the VCs had agreed on, and it almost killed the deal.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> For the few interested in Delaware vs. Pennsylvania, here is another article from a PA-based firm:

[http://www.barley.com/publications/article.cfm?article_ID=21...](http://www.barley.com/publications/article.cfm?article_ID=216)

</comment><comment><USER7> Going along with this "Incorporating in Delaware" thread, does anyone have information with the differences between incorporating in Delaware versus Nevada (or other states)?

<comment><AUTHOR> Nevada is favored as a state with no income tax and with stricter privacy protections.

If you actually run your business from Nevada, you can get the benefits of both.

Delaware, in contrast, offers no particular advantages with respect to tax or privacy. If mainly offers what might be called corporate efficiency - it is a well-oiled machine for mature companies wanting to place a premium on control of the company's affairs. It also has a well-developed corporate law enabling public companies who are sued over complex corporate transactions to have excellent and well-developed legal authority around which to plan their legal affairs.

Concerning Nevada, though, if you do not have a true presence there, you get no special tax advantages because you have to pay state income taxes in the state from which you conduct your business. As noted by skmurphy, you would also have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

I believe a good number of people go the Nevada route via online services and then simply ignore the rules (i.e., they don't pay state income tax in their home state in the belief that a Nevada corporation does not need to). As a lawyer, of course, I can't advise this even though it may be a common practice. It is plainly illegal and, if it catches up with you, you will significant tax and other troubles.

There are cottage industries set up about the Nevada (and Delaware) incorporation process, mostly consisting of online filing services. They have a motive not to disclose the problems associated with out-of-state filings and often promote misinformation on these issues.

This is not to say that incorporating in Nevada or Delaware is not good for some companies. It is. It just has to be the right situation.

<comment><USER8> We have had a few folks come to Bootstrappers Breakfasts that went the Nevada route because of encouragement by third parties. At least for CA companies it has always ended in no savings and in some cases worse.</comment></comment></comment>


Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2019 - <AUTHOR> https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2019/07/16/next-billion-dollar-startups-2019/ <comment><USER2> Couple of observations i had from reading about all the companies.

1)I wonder if we will begin to see more and more "billion dollar" companies have products which are more abstract in nature than previous generations, there seems to be a shift from previous "billion dollar" companies which had relatively simple to understand products (social network, search, eCommerce, taxi, housing)

2)No real relation between projected income next year and investment taken

3)Most founders seem to be veterans of the industry rather than "straight out of college" types, i wonder if this goes with point # 1, where a specialization in a domain is more and more required for founders of the next "billion dollar" company.</comment>


Ask HN: Are you saving for retirement? - <AUTHOR> This is for all the self employed hackers. Are you saving for retirement?
We don't have company 401(k) options, so what are you doing to save/invest?
I opened a Roth-IRA and just learned about Solo 401(k)s and SEP-IRAs. I think I'll keep contributing to the Roth, but look into other options as well.
Where are you putting your money? <comment><USER2> I subscribe to the John Bogle school of passive index fund investing (Rebalancing once a year) - Currently have a 401k that I max out using Vanguard funds. I'm also working on saving a 12-month 'emergency' fund. When the emergency fund is complete, I'll move on to adding more funds to my taxable account that I have with Scottrade.

For whatever it worth, my current asset allocation is:

Vanguard Institutional Index VINIX 25%

Vanguard Extended Market Idx Instl VIEIX 15%

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Inst VFWSX 35%

Vanguard Inst Total Bond Market Index VBMPX 25%

I use the following site and forums for my investing questions and info:

<http://www.bogleheads.org/>

I've found it to be very informative and the forum participants to be helpful.

<comment><USER3> You are all bonds and equities. This is betting on the previous 30 years of financial history going forward. You will be wiped out in a deflationary environment or in a very high commodities inflationary environment.

Harry Browne's "Permanent Portfolio" is a wiser mix. You need at least some precious metals and commodities specific exposure.

Personally, I've been thinking a couple acres of black walnut saplings might be one of the best long term investments.

<comment><USER4> Harry Browne can work but it takes amazing patience that most investors will never be able to muster.

Wild about Harry William J. Bernstein <http://www.efficientfrontier.com/ef/0adhoc/harry.htm>

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I'm skeptical of the Roth IRA.

I think many people will get along on a lowered income in retirement and will be paying taxes in a lower bracket than they do as working people. This is an argument against the Roth (compared to a traditional IRA).

Tax rates are likely to go up in the next few decades, which is an argument for the Roth. On the other hand, if the tax burden shifts from income taxes to a VAT or a national sales tax, then the Roth might come out equal or a loser compared to a traditional IRA. I think a VAT is likely.

There's also the possibility of retirement accounts being regulated in terms of what investments are allowed. For example, requiring a certain percentage of your account to be in U.S. government bonds. These ideas have been floated around Washington a little bit. This is a minus for both the Roth and the traditional IRA.

I still invest in my SEP-IRA (which is hella good if you want to really sock it away) and a little bit in my Roth (hedging), but I don't max either of them out any more.

<comment><USER6> _I think many people will get along on a lowered income in retirement and will be paying taxes in a lower bracket than they do as working people._

You're right about that...most people will work for 40 years and then retire, cutting off their main source of income and dropping to a lower tax bracket. My parents, on the other hand, have made more money since retiring 5 years ago than they made in the 30 years prior (mainly through real estate investments). I think entrepreneurial types will likely fall into this category, where they continue to make more year after year, even into retirement, and so the Roth IRA makes sense at least for now.

I'm predicting a VAT within the next 15 years, but hopefully there will be some grandfather (pun intended) clause that phases it gradually for IRAs opened now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> I'm 39 now. I saved obsessively (single, crap apartment, very little days off, no vacations) between 2001 and 2007, buying almost exclusively gold stocks. It seemed to me that gold being at <$300 / ounce was a no brainer (which it was), but I decided to invest in mostly junior explorers.

All went well for a while, I had amassed a net worth of aprox $1 Million, and then the bottom fell out in 2008....all my stocks dropped on average 80%. (I'm not joking, 80% was performance for the index).

Meanwhile, gold itself did a little headfake for a few months, and continued to resume hitting new highs. Stocks didn't follow, although they are finally getting a bit better, Maybe someday I'll break even! :)

Anyways, this is just my story to the OP. I had been ranting about the unsustainability of the system for years, but when the shtf, it was my stocks that got creamed, and I went from net worth 1 million to literally 0 (because I had some leverage.

Oh well, thats how she goes. So, let it be a lesson to use a financial advisor, even if they don't know what they're talking about (which they probably won't).

<comment><USER8> why not just buy gold then?

<comment><USER7> Probably a fine idea. The stocks are so hugely undervalued compared to the commodity itself that its just irresistible! Famous last words perhaps? :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> No.

I lost the retirement account in the divorce.

Then again, I kept the businesses.

So, I am planning for retirement by creating businesses with recurring passive income.

<comment><USER10> I'm curious–how old are you? And ... how confident are you that you'll have enough recurring revenue to cover living expenses at your preferred retirement age?

I ask because I'm considering options myself.

<comment><USER9> I am 33.

I currently have almost enough passive income to live. My income comes from retail stores. I am not real confident that they will last another 50 years.

What I am able to invest now is my time. So I spend some time on expanding and diversifying the existing business and some time swinging for the fences with technology. So far I have struck out a couple of times :-/

I don't know how confident I am that these stores would last until retirement age. So my focus is on growth and diversification.

Edit: I should say "mostly passive" income. I am still involved.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> No.

I put as much money as I possibly can into my student loans, and I leave everything else in my checking account. If I carry a balance from one month to the other, then I win. If not, then I try again next month.

Eventually, I'll dump my excess income into my savings account, and once I'm done with paying off my loans, I'll start dumping the money I used to dump into my loans back into my savings.

</comment><comment><USER12> _Disclaimer_ I am a Canuck I have chosen to invest most my saving in income generating Real Estate. This is counter to what a lot my peers in my generation are doing.

I invest in residential properties either suited bungalows or condo townhouses. Even with the economic downturn they have been doing quite well for me.

I plan to grow this portfolio as a side project of sorts while I hack on software during the day. Over time it should be a solid source of "passive income"(investing in real estate is rarely ever truly passive).

<comment><USER7> What city do you buy in? Can you actually buy something today that is cash flow positive. or do you put some work into them to pretty them up after buying before you rent them out?

<comment><USER12> I bought in Edmonton, Alberta. It's not easy to find cash flowing properties. But if you are slow and methodical there are opportunities. Find a system that works for others and try to model yours after theirs. Why reinvent the wheel when you can borrow one!

Pretty much all the properties I have were a little ugly to start. Nothing major just some lipstick and rouge.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> I'd like to ask the question "when do you intend to retire?".

My father is 64 and although he's had an era of poor health a few years ago (since recovered) he has no interest in retiring (he's a highly sought after executive consultant in his field).

He's probably the first generation to actually question the whole notion of stopping work at 65 and quietly going off to die. Like most of us on HN, he is able to work in a career he enjoys that isn't labor intensive (thus capable for older people)

The WorldBank says the average life expectancy in USA is 78 ([http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?cid=GPD_1...](http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?cid=GPD_10)) so if you finally gave up work at 73 that's only an average of 5 years you need to live without an income - and that for most successful professional workers this is probably manageable through savings and/or reverse mortgage on a reasonable sized house.

The pension industry hasn't really changed in 50 years yet the way we live, work, and end our lives has changed (and continues to change rapidly). If the shift is towards us working longer that means we need them less, so there is no reason for them to adapt.

<comment><USER14> _so if you finally gave up work at 73 that's only an average of 5 years you need to live without an income_

Not necessarily. A couple of reasons:

* Life expectancy in developed countries has been increasing by well over a year every decade.

* Life expectancy for someone at age 73 is notably higher; remember that the average of 78 includes everyone who has died before age 73.

Personally, I come from comparatively long-lived ancestors. I have no desire to find out when I'm 78 that I'm likely to live to 90 or 100, but have no money left.

<comment><USER15> Yeah, the fact that life expectancy went up by a year because fewer newborns died doesn't have any effect on you when you're already 25.

This is why I find the life expectancy that people quote pointless as a stat when it comes to personal planning. What I really want to know is: when looking at people who have made it to my age, what is the life expectancy?

<comment><USER16> It's probably higher than most people think (which is scary for their retirement prospects, but otherwise great).

If you're 70 in the US right now, you're a favorite to see 80. <http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4c6.html>

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> The singularity is my retirement plan. It sounds risky but I really can't think of any scenario where it hasn't arrived by 2040.

<comment><USER18> I'm wondering how serious you are about this. You really can't think of a single scenario where it hasn't?

Moore's law shutting down tomorrow, the whole Western world going into a Japan-style Lost Decade, an asteroid strike in the Pacific causing a tsunami wiping out the West Coast, Japan, Korea, and part of China - or just the Big One hitting California* - a demographic apocalypse choking off all major investment, a limited biotech/nanotech plague, limited nuclear exchanges (touched off by Russian adventurism into Georgia, North Korea, Iran...) etc...

Heck, I'm not even trying here. There are tons of scenarios in which no Singularity of any kind has hit by 2040. (Good quip, though.)

* do you live in those areas and expect to not survive any major disaster? then rewrite them to take out the East Coast, England, etc.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> Personally, I'm re-investing everything in to my company. It's high risk, sure, but eh, I'm still under 30, there's time for me to try this several times.

Also, I don't really buy the idea of retirement. Yeah, having enough money would be pretty nice, but I have enough money now. I like working, and I don't really see the point of depriving myself of working capital just to set myself up to live the last years of my life in a nursing home.

<comment><USER20> I think it's quite alright to put aside around 10-20% for raining days in a investment acct/fund/etf. If you need it any time, you could cash out.

<comment><USER19> a backup fund would be a good thing, but I think 10-20% of my income would be quite a lot, I think.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> I've been saving 20% of after tax income into a savings account until I get to 5 months living expenses.

After that, my corporate IRA match will have kicked in (just started a new job a couple months ago) and plan to save 15% overall into retirement accounts, with the other 5% to put into paying down the mortgage and/or starting education funds for the kids.

I'm following the Dave Ramsey "baby steps", by the way.

</comment><comment><USER22> I would stay away from IRAs of any form at this point.

It is quite clear that even if you manage to hold on to your money, there will be additional sales taxes which will be imposed.

As well, the times that people I know have cashed in or taken a distribution were times that they were not earning much and thus they didn't avoid a high tax rate.

I am saving for retirement in the form of actual physical items such as silver and other property I can hold (and possibly some real estate later), and my emergency fund is a number of $100 boxes of nickels - tough to steal, immediately liquid, but just difficult enough to cash in that it forces you to only use it if you have to.

A business can serve as a great way to prepare for retirement, which is what I am focused on at the moment.

<comment><USER23> How many boxes of nickels does it take to make rent for a few months?

<comment><USER22> The boxes stack very nicely, in my case I am in a lower cost part of the country, so under $1K per month rent costs... I think I could store $6K of nickels in a very easy way, perhaps 2 boxes high in a 5x6 grid, under a queen size bed.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I started working full time in 2004 and I put money in the company's 401k back when they matched, but since I change jobs roughly every 15 months (see <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1706920>) it gets annoying having to roll it over into a new 401k. That, plus the fact that companies have stopped matching these days, made me decide to go the Roth IRA route. I think the Roth IRA is the way to go for young people because you put in after tax money (at a lower rate because your salary is lower early in your career), and you take it out tax free (a savings, since we'll all be in a higher tax bracket by then, right?).

<comment><USER3> I have a tough time trusting the 401k and Roth concept. It's _kind of_ your money, but it's also under the control of the government. You just have to trust them.

If you're in your 20s, trusting 401ks/IRAs means having faith there won't be a fiscal crisis and/or a crazy government at any point in the next 45 years. Seems like a somewhat dicey bet to me.

<comment><USER6> You're going to be trusting the government either way. Put your money in the bank, and it's FDIC insured, and you have to trust the bank and the government. If there's a financial crisis, the bank is more likely to collapse than the government, and if the government collapses, what good are US dollars anyway. I'm assuming you have gold bricks and a very large mattress?

<comment><USER3> > You're going to be trusting the government either way

With money not in a 401k or IRA, one can: keep gold bars in a vault overseas (I do); bury cash or gold in the yard; buy woodland or farmland and trust that local property rights will be maintained; open bank accounts overseas. There's just a whole lot of ways to store wealth outside the easy reach of crazy politicians.

When the money is in a 401k or IRA it is firmly in the grip of the IRS and whatever they might arbitrarily choose to do at some point over the decades.

<comment><USER6> _keep gold bars in a vault overseas_ \- You're at risk if diplomatic relations between your country and the other country go south between now and retirement.

 _bury cash or gold in the yard_ \- laughable at best

 _buy woodland or farmland and trust that local property rights will be maintained_ \- a government that you fear will seize your IRA or 401k will likely also seize your land. See Cuba and the Bacardi company.

 _open bank accounts overseas_ \- Overseas bank accounts are not safe from an overzealous US government. As of 2009, you have to report all those Swiss bank accounts.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> I zero out at the end of the month so for the time being no. I'm 25 and with my next salary most likely from a job move I'll start saving then. However its more like that the money will be used towards funding my own business. I am an entrepreneur at heart and do not take the thought of a bootstrapped business lightly. The romantic nature in which viral startups are portrayed do appeal to me but I am a realist and understand that I'll need to do something that charges from day one.

To those who are responsible and do put away a bit of money every month. Smart, very smart.

<comment><USER25> You should really set up an account and get an automatic transfer going, even if it's only $50 a month. While the amount isn't important, the habit is vitally important now while you're still young.

Believe it or not, the period of life you're in right now is when you have the most surplus income. Things will get a lot tougher at some point.

Everyone can take a 10% trim on their disposable income without too much pain, and it's a good habit to get into. Just make sure you can't get at the money without having to go in somewhere and fill out forms. Otherwise it will get spent on something you have to do or have. And in ten years you'll regret both the wasted money and failure to build a habit.

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> Yes, though no retirement accounts yet.

\- Deposited to a high interest savings account until FDIC limit

\- 8% of savings held in physical gold and silver

\- Rest of savings invested in large, old companies that issue good dividends (DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, Excelon, GE...). Many of them bought at very low points, making the dividend yields over 5% per year.

I've only had an income since 2004 (25 y/o), but I lived frugally and used what I made to pay for college and save rather than buy fancy cars, a big house, etc. I have a savings target I'd like to reach, before swit

<comment><USER19> > \- 8% of savings held in physical gold and silver

It sounds like a good idea to me, but if I had that much untraceable wealth laying about, I'd be real quiet-like about it. Maybe keep the bulk of it in insured safe-deposit boxes or the like. I know that this increases the chance of government confiscation, but to me, that risk seems smaller than the risk of sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of completely untraceable assets.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> I started with a SEP-IRA years ago since the limits are much higher (~20% or 25%) than with a regular IRA ($5k). When the Solo 401k came out I got one of those as well as the limits are even higher than with the SEP (100%). The main catch with the Solo 401(k) is that you have create it before the end of the calendar year whereas with the SEP-IRA you can create it up until April 15th.

</comment><comment><USER28> Put away college money for the kids with the Dell buyout. Put the proceeds from the Silicon Valley house sale into a farm in Iowa. Worth about $1M if it doesn't turn into a swamp or desert (pick your global-warming scenario).

Money in the retirement acct never did anything for 15 years, should have put it into gold, buried in a mason jar in the back yard, for all the good the stock market ever did me.

</comment><comment><USER29> I've been contributing to a Roth and 401k since I graduated from college. I'm invested in mostly index funds and bonds, along with one or two emerging markets mutual funds. I figure that if the stock market totally tanks and never recovers in 40 years, then I'll have much bigger problems than an unperforming retirement account.

The rest of my savings goes to an online savings account.

</comment><comment><USER30> no. i spend all my money. not because i am incapable of saving, but because i like taking advantage of what resources i have while i'm relatively young (22). i'm confident i can defer saving until i'm at least 24 without feeling wasteful.

i know this is irresponsible, but i'm making up for my years of passing on irresponsibility in high school. just kidding. kind of.

<comment><USER31> I'm twenty-nine, and regret doing this when I was younger. I spent far more than I earned up until I turned 21 or so, and it took me a few years to pay things off.

What are you spending money on? If you're buying experiences and knowledge, through travel, education, and maybe your own startup, then you're doing it (mostly) right.

If you drive a Mercedes and have a 60" TV, you're doing it wrong.

Even if you're spending wisely, you really want to be stashing money aside in a rainy day fund. Aim for about $10k USD in liquid cash that you can tap at any time. It's enough to cover your car suddenly exploding, or an unexpected medical expense, or even to just support yourself for a year if you have to, as long as you're frugal.

<comment><USER30> trust me... i entirely realize, agree, and am on it. i appreciate the perspective.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER32> I put $10K a month into a savings account until it reached the FDIC limit, then I opened another savings account.

<comment><USER33> First 10K a month! Impressive.

Second why a savings account? Are you actually getting an interest rate that outpaces inflation? I'm curious why this route with that kind of income.

<comment><USER32> I don't know, I never think about it. The account used to have a decent interest rate, I doubt it is now.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> No, I'm betting on my future performance. If I'm broke then so be it. I've been broke before and I'm still here!

<comment><USER35> careful, being broke is fine, but being broke and sick is miserable.

</comment></comment><comment><USER36> I work for a small startup with retirement plan. I just move 10% of my monthly income into a Roth.

The harder question now is what to invest the Roth in? CDs are terrible, T-bills would require like a 5 year investment to see decent return... index funds? I'm stumped here and my old CDs are about to come up soon.

<comment><USER37> If it's in a roth account, isn't your investment horizon decades away (assuming you're not already in your 50's)? Why is "a 5 year investment to see a decent return" a negative?

</comment></comment><comment><USER38> I have been saving since I was a teenager in a regular 401(k) but then I realized that I can get a much better return on investment if I invest in myself. Now I keep it all and am investing it in my business endeavors.

</comment><comment><USER39> My husband and I both have IRAs (don't quality for ROTH) with ShareBuilder, into which we put very little money monthly. I recently started working at a company with 401K matching and do the full match on that.

</comment><comment><USER6> I think the better question is not "where are you putting your money?" but "are you putting money away at all?"

</comment><comment><USER40> 6% of my income finds its way to a very conservative (mostly bonds) Simple IRA.

</comment><comment><USER41> Yes, I'm contributing to my Roth IRA, as well as my wife's Roth IRA.

</comment><comment><USER42> yes! i've been rolling my raises into a 401k. it has grown surprisingly, but i've been doing to good thing and not looking at it unless i have to :D

</comment><comment><USER43> Yeah. I found out that if I deposit 30k in a 12% growth account I'll have $2m by 65.

<comment><USER44> I hear Madoff has a 12% growth account for you.

<comment><USER20> Dun flag me unless you've done the maths first. if u place yr bets on just leading 2 sports teams using Martingale system, u will do pretty ok.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER45> into my startup!

</comment><comment><USER46> Retiring? Never!

</comment><comment><USER47> <http://www.loansavingsusa.com>

        This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and

needs to be appreciated by everyone.

<comment><USER47> This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.

<a href="<http://www.loansavingsusa.com> rel="do follow"> Online Savings Account Rates</comment></comment>


New app is the Duolingo/CodeAcademy of Physics - <AUTHOR> http://physicsisbeautiful.com <comment><USER2> Looks like a nice project. A few remarks.

0\. If it meets the guidelines, this might make a good 'Show HN'. Show HN guidelines: [https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html)

1\. I would prefer to be able to browse the topics rather than be required to work through them linearly. I mean, I don't really want to sit through six exercises of vectors before I do anything else.

2\. I understand the software was developed for a university course, but that's not the context in which I come to it over the internet.</comment>