7 ms·

Ask HN: What is the best book you read in 2020?

12 points by enan 6y ago

enan 6y ago
For me it was: * Exhalation by Ted Chiang * Ride of a lifetime by Bob Iger was a close second
- codq 6y ago
  'Exhalation' is a revelation, and reminded me how good fiction could be. The first story in the collection, 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate', instantly rose to the top of my all time favorite short stories.
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    Concur. That’s the kind of writing that makes me want to sit down and write myself.
  - enan 6y ago
    Yeah that was my favorite as well. And the one about perfect recall memory (remem) was perfect too. He's so good at examining all human implications of a single technological idea. And the prose is quite remarkable for sci-fi.
- ArtWomb 6y ago
  Ah thanks for reminding me about the Bob Iger memoir! Caught an interview with him on Bloomberg last night and he was remarkably cool and confident given the current uncertainty about the future of theme parks ;)
jelliclesfarm 6y ago
I read(/listen to) 3-4 books/week. For fiction, 2020 has been a blur of Murakami.
mimixco 6y ago
Critical Path by R. Buckminster Fuller
throwaway98432 6y ago
How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable About Anything: Yes, Anything by Albert Ellis
nkb_ 6y ago
Already Free by Bruce Tift
401chan 6y ago
I like mature and well-written horror stuff reminiscent of the likes of Clive Barker. Instead of reading them, I decided to start listeing to them on youtube this year. "The Show Goat" written by Geoff Sturtevant and narrated by Drew Blood [0]. The most hilarious story I heard in all of 2020. I love Jason Hill performances. His voice acting and accents he does are spectacular (and often hilarious). I link to a few here: [1] "I Am Not I" written by G.V Anderson [2] "Alterations" by Micah Edwards [3] "Snow Devils" by T.W. Grimm [4] "In The Summer of '79" by T.W Grimm [5] "Swole" by T.W. Grimm [6] "Wuurzuum" by T.W Grimm One of the very first stories that got me hooked on youtube horror reading channels is "How To Survive In Hell" by Ratrotted [7] as read by MrCreeps. Speaking of this subject, another one that was absolutely epic is ''The Harrowing: A Quick Bus Ride into Hell'' written by rebecca_rjwriter and read by Dr. Creepen[8] --------- [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sVmVo70mg0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sVmVo70mg0 [1] https://youtu.be/cnDWV3cbxX4?t=3082 https://youtu.be/cnDWV3cbxX4?t=3082 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvN4eOjY3xQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvN4eOjY3xQ [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrNyy6fzH-Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrNyy6fzH-Y [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq9WrSWYD58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq9WrSWYD58 [5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSGyNPvOqqk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSGyNPvOqqk [6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN3aMURTHog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN3aMURTHog [7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWM4bCeHE1Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWM4bCeHE1Y [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-tstT_BGy4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-tstT_BGy4

12 points by enan 6y ago

enan 6y ago

For me it was: * Exhalation by Ted Chiang * Ride of a lifetime by Bob Iger was a close second

codq 6y ago
'Exhalation' is a revelation, and reminded me how good fiction could be. The first story in the collection, 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate', instantly rose to the top of my all time favorite short stories.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  Concur. That’s the kind of writing that makes me want to sit down and write myself.
- enan 6y ago
  Yeah that was my favorite as well. And the one about perfect recall memory (remem) was perfect too. He's so good at examining all human implications of a single technological idea. And the prose is quite remarkable for sci-fi.
ArtWomb 6y ago
Ah thanks for reminding me about the Bob Iger memoir! Caught an interview with him on Bloomberg last night and he was remarkably cool and confident given the current uncertainty about the future of theme parks ;)

jelliclesfarm 6y ago

I read(/listen to) 3-4 books/week. For fiction, 2020 has been a blur of Murakami.

mimixco 6y ago

Critical Path by R. Buckminster Fuller

throwaway98432 6y ago

How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable About Anything: Yes, Anything by Albert Ellis

nkb_ 6y ago

Already Free by Bruce Tift

401chan 6y ago

I like mature and well-written horror stuff reminiscent of the likes of Clive Barker. Instead of reading them, I decided to start listeing to them on youtube this year. "The Show Goat" written by Geoff Sturtevant and narrated by Drew Blood [0]. The most hilarious story I heard in all of 2020. I love Jason Hill performances. His voice acting and accents he does are spectacular (and often hilarious). I link to a few here: [1] "I Am Not I" written by G.V Anderson [2] "Alterations" by Micah Edwards [3] "Snow Devils" by T.W. Grimm [4] "In The Summer of '79" by T.W Grimm [5] "Swole" by T.W. Grimm [6] "Wuurzuum" by T.W Grimm One of the very first stories that got me hooked on youtube horror reading channels is "How To Survive In Hell" by Ratrotted [7] as read by MrCreeps. Speaking of this subject, another one that was absolutely epic is ''The Harrowing: A Quick Bus Ride into Hell'' written by rebecca_rjwriter and read by Dr. Creepen[8] --------- [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sVmVo70mg0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sVmVo70mg0 [1] https://youtu.be/cnDWV3cbxX4?t=3082 https://youtu.be/cnDWV3cbxX4?t=3082 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvN4eOjY3xQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvN4eOjY3xQ [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrNyy6fzH-Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrNyy6fzH-Y [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq9WrSWYD58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq9WrSWYD58 [5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSGyNPvOqqk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSGyNPvOqqk [6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN3aMURTHog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN3aMURTHog [7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWM4bCeHE1Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWM4bCeHE1Y [8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-tstT_BGy4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-tstT_BGy4