{ "meta": { "source": "Public comments on Hacker News (news.ycombinator.com), 2007-2026", "method": "Keyword search, then AI extraction (Claude Sonnet) and a strict second AI pass. An independent AI check (Claude Opus) on a random sample found about 93% correct. Stories shown on the website were then re-read in full by Claude Opus; column second_check says kept/removed. Stories not shown on the site were not checked a second time. No human check. Expect errors.", "note": "Quotes are short verbatim excerpts; copyright stays with the comment authors. Not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator.", "count": 1784 }, "stories": [ { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "burnout", "quote": "I hate self-help books, but Atomic Habits was surprisingly helpful.", "hn_user": "throwaway_66786", "date": "2020-06-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23540899", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Be Here Now", "book_author": "Ram Dass", "category": "burnout", "quote": "After a 2 year long burn-out his book ‘Be Here Now’ brought back balance, a peace of mind, and incredible love and joy in my life.", "hn_user": "gawin", "date": "2018-11-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18564318", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology", "book_author": "Eric Brende", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Better Off inspired me to move to a small cabin on Vancouver Island; for the past year and a half", "hn_user": "tkiley", "date": "2012-08-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4424669", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Boundaries", "book_author": "Henry Cloud and John Townsend", "category": "burnout", "quote": "\"Boundaries\" helped me learn that it's actually good to be able to say no to some things. I used to feel that if I didn't say yes to everything, that made me a bad person.", "hn_user": "milesf", "date": "2011-01-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2139473", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Because of the book, I was able to make changes in my work, life and personal priorities and I’m far, far happier and less stressed.", "hn_user": "dkersten", "date": "2020-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23846411", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "burnout", "quote": "calendar - preallocating time for various tasks I want to do, and committing to doing them without distractions (phone set to silent, mail program closed, etc.) for that period of time", "hn_user": "TeMPOraL", "date": "2016-09-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12581230", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Ego Is the Enemy", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "burnout", "quote": "I read \"Ego is the Enemy\", which helped me a lot in identifying why I stayed so long in a position that was bad for me (I was addicted to the title).", "hn_user": "notjustanymike", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19095378", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Emotional Equations", "book_author": "Chip Conley", "category": "burnout", "quote": "it's not perfect, but the frame of reference in a math like state helped me identify what to DO when I felt a certain way.", "hn_user": "tedmcory77", "date": "2022-07-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32255622", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Energityvene", "book_author": null, "category": "burnout", "quote": "The book helped me tremendously and was life changing.", "hn_user": "disabled", "date": "2021-05-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27004487", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Essentialism", "book_author": "Greg McKeown", "category": "burnout", "quote": "The one book that's been helping me a lot is Essentialism by Greg McKeown.", "hn_user": "thisismyusernam", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19095771", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "burnout", "quote": "I also found the book Feeling Good by David D. Burns MD helpful. He has several ways to retrain your inner voice to recognize when you're self sabotaging.", "hn_user": "amozoss", "date": "2023-10-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37927576", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals", "book_author": "Oliver Burkeman", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Doubting every second if you're making good use of time isn't a great way to live. Both of those books helped me appreciate having a decent carefree life", "hn_user": "shubhamjain", "date": "2023-06-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36429801", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Last year I got busy with lots of small organizational things that were overwhelming. I read and implemented GTD and it helped me out a lot.", "hn_user": "imp", "date": "2010-07-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1507684", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "High Output Management", "book_author": "Andrew S. Grove", "category": "burnout", "quote": "It didn't help save my job. But it did help me see what competent management looks like and helped me preserve a bit of my sanity.", "hn_user": "klenwell", "date": "2016-03-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11334181", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "burnout", "quote": "I started actively reframing worries using some of the exercises in the book “Learned Optimism” (Martin Seligman, 2006). This book also made me realize how deeply hardwired my pessimistic defaults were", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2023-05-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36030471", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Meditations", "book_author": "Marcus Aurelius", "category": "burnout", "quote": "This translation [2] of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations is powerful as a daily reminder that no matter the year or station in life, the struggles are universal.", "hn_user": "simple10", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32902723", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Personification", "book_author": "John Rowan", "category": "burnout", "quote": "The table blew my mind. I think it was in the book Personification (ISBN: 9780415433464).", "hn_user": "arafalov", "date": "2026-03-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47314720", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Self Discipline in 10 Days", "book_author": "Theo Gold", "category": "burnout", "quote": "helped me get over a few of those inevitable slumps/burnout periods and prevented them for the most part since then.", "hn_user": "firefoxman1", "date": "2011-09-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2985819", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "So Good They Can't Ignore You", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "burnout", "quote": "It helped me climb out of burnout cycles by doing some longer-term career planning and slowing down to figure out my values.", "hn_user": "surprisetalk", "date": "2024-07-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40923733", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", "book_author": "Richard P. Feynman", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Both of those books helped me appreciate having a decent carefree life, where doing things matter without expecting (i.e, following your creative spirit).", "hn_user": "shubhamjain", "date": "2023-06-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36429801", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Tao Te Ching", "book_author": "Lao Tzu", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Every time I'm feeling down, tired and burned out, I find something in there that helps me let go a bit.", "hn_user": "specproc", "date": "2021-06-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27412550", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 28 Laws of Attraction", "book_author": "Thomas Leonard", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Two things that have completely changed my perspective that I suggest is reading two books, \"The Secret of Letting Go\" by Guy Finley and \"The 28 Laws of Attraction\" by Thomas Leonard.", "hn_user": "Brimstone", "date": "2012-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3729716", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Artist's Way", "book_author": "Julia Cameron", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Started Journaling - (The Artist's Way (book) helped me)", "hn_user": "aatopil", "date": "2022-06-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31677935", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "burnout", "quote": "the book helped me to understand that I was feeling overwhelmed about the gigantic ideas and the unrealistic deadlines I was imposing to myself.", "hn_user": "myth2018", "date": "2018-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18770047", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Power of Full Engagement", "book_author": "Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz", "category": "burnout", "quote": "I read The Power of Full Engagement (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743226755) and it really helped frame the problem for me.", "hn_user": "jkaunisv1", "date": "2014-09-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8373351", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook", "book_author": "Martha Davis", "category": "burnout", "quote": "This book, with its practical, actionable suggestions, saved my sanity.", "hn_user": "quantisan", "date": "2021-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29678128", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Secret of Letting Go", "book_author": "Guy Finley", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Two things that have completely changed my perspective that I suggest is reading two books, \"The Secret of Letting Go\" by Guy Finley and \"The 28 Laws of Attraction\" by Thomas Leonard.", "hn_user": "Brimstone", "date": "2012-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3729716", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Truth About Burnout", "book_author": "Christina Maslach", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Reading books like \"The Truth About Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress\" (Christina Maslach) helped me identity the stressors in my corporate environment and move away from these.", "hn_user": "grepLeigh", "date": "2021-06-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27414742", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "What Should I Do with My Life?", "book_author": "Po Bronson", "category": "burnout", "quote": "Had a run-in with serious burn-out about 12 years ago and had considered leaving software entirely and starting a landscaping business. This book was inspirational in that it helped me figure out what I might LOVE doing", "hn_user": "jayroh", "date": "2016-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12244953", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "7L: The Seven Levels of Communication", "book_author": "Michael J. Maher", "category": "connection", "quote": "Made me understand the importance of certain communication levels to use on certain situation to get better results.", "hn_user": "MrVu", "date": "2021-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27042606", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "A Manual for Creating Atheists", "book_author": "Peter Boghossian", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book has completely changed the way I approach interactions with people of faith.", "hn_user": "kaiwen1", "date": "2013-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6979626", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "ADHD Is Awesome", "book_author": "Penn Holderness", "category": "connection", "quote": "reading this book helped me see him and understand him better instead of just getting frustrated with him.", "hn_user": "ClayShentrup", "date": "2026-01-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46625651", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex", "book_author": "Angela Chen", "category": "connection", "quote": "Really helped me understand my ace friends better.", "hn_user": "JackMorgan", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37162231", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "All About Love", "book_author": "bell hooks", "category": "connection", "quote": "hooks's book \"all about love\" changed my life. How can I begrudge her choice?", "hn_user": "3pt14159", "date": "2019-03-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19291169", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Anna Karenina", "book_author": "Leo Tolstoy", "category": "connection", "quote": "It made me realize how great books should help improve your empathy towards others, and being more understanding to behaviour you'd normally just vilify.", "hn_user": "mihaic", "date": "2022-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30244154", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Anti Dump's Machine", "book_author": null, "category": "connection", "quote": "They helped me mature in that aspect and give some good advice.", "hn_user": "taopai", "date": "2024-01-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39041533", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "connection", "quote": "It has motivated me to start a business and to connect more with my loved ones, changed my perspective on research, what's important and the power of the passing of time.", "hn_user": "superpermutat0r", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088759", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Articulating Design Decisions", "book_author": "Tom Greever", "category": "connection", "quote": "It has definitely helped me in dealing with more difficult management types who don't understand the design or technical side of product building.", "hn_user": "vogt", "date": "2015-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9716636", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Assertiveness at Work", "book_author": "Ken Back, Kate Back", "category": "connection", "quote": "The way I walk now to Hack passive agressive behavior", "hn_user": "oerb", "date": "2015-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10790780", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Becoming the Kind Father", "book_author": "Calvin Sandborn", "category": "connection", "quote": "This really helped me connect with my internal voice and taught me that it's ok to create a group of people you can communicate your upset feelings with and how to manage that.", "hn_user": "rednerrus", "date": "2021-07-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27766397", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Boundaries", "book_author": "Henry Cloud", "category": "connection", "quote": "helped me to step back from taking responsibilities for people & things that are not mine. It also helped me to face choices I’ve made.", "hn_user": "angmarsbane", "date": "2020-12-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25380488", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life", "book_author": "Henry Cloud and John Townsend", "category": "connection", "quote": "The book Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend is what helped me work through this.", "hn_user": "igneo676", "date": "2020-07-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24009103", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life", "book_author": "Henry Cloud and John Townsend", "category": "connection", "quote": "Learn to set boundaries with people. It was easy for me to think I was just being \"nice\" when in reality I was just bad at setting boundaries.", "hn_user": "jameshush", "date": "2022-10-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33065520", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Buddhism Without Beliefs", "book_author": "Stephen Batchelor", "category": "connection", "quote": "Batchelor's _Buddhism Without Beliefs_ and some fairly existential stories by authors like Osamu Dazai really helped me explore the conscious-existential side of life without so much of a self-help / philosophical-didactic conversion aspect.", "hn_user": "themodelplumber", "date": "2023-05-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35806161", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Charisma", "book_author": "Marcia Grad", "category": "connection", "quote": "Charisma by Marcia Grad - helped me become less shy as a teenager", "hn_user": "gadders", "date": "2018-09-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17988395", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage", "book_author": "Haruki Murakami", "category": "connection", "quote": "I changed my attitude toward all of my old friends after reading this book. I started calling them more, and trying to be more in their lives.", "hn_user": "unclesaamm", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717655", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Compersion", "book_author": "Hypatia From Space", "category": "connection", "quote": "It help remove limits to how I can love and care for the people that are important to me.", "hn_user": "xutopia", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088532", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Conscious Loving", "book_author": "Gay Hendricks", "category": "connection", "quote": "I've told my girlfriend that I find other women attractive. I told my girlfriend that I slept with someone else when we first started dating. In the end I believe she respects me more for telling her.", "hn_user": "aantix", "date": "2010-05-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1360419", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Conscious Loving", "book_author": "Gay Hendricks and Kathlyn Hendricks", "category": "connection", "quote": "I finally found a book that helps me peal back those layers and helped me figure out why I had been fucking up over so many years...", "hn_user": "aantix", "date": "2010-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1227291", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Conscious Loving", "book_author": "Gay Hendricks and Kathlyn Hendricks", "category": "connection", "quote": "Just wanted to demonstrate what had worked for me to rekindle intimacy.", "hn_user": "aantix", "date": "2022-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30000423", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Conversationally Speaking", "book_author": "Alan Garner", "category": "connection", "quote": "Saved my relationship with my brother, improved my relationships with my friends, helped me making many more friends", "hn_user": "hunglee2", "date": "2022-07-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32234846", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Crucial Accountability", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson et al.", "category": "connection", "quote": "they've helped me figure out how I want to structure conversations so they don't go weird.", "hn_user": "i_dont_know_", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17050562", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson et al.", "category": "connection", "quote": "they've helped me figure out how I want to structure conversations so they don't go weird.", "hn_user": "i_dont_know_", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17050562", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson et al.", "category": "connection", "quote": "I feel like this book gave me the tools to have differing opinions and express them successfully.", "hn_user": "tayo42", "date": "2022-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34056110", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson et al.", "category": "connection", "quote": "Crucial Conversations has helped me to see how many more ways there are to speak up more often and more effectively.", "hn_user": "stoolpigeon", "date": "2015-02-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9073319", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson et al.", "category": "connection", "quote": "Since reading this book I notice elements it describes in basically every meaningful conversation I have.", "hn_user": "mawise", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089772", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, Kerry Patterson", "category": "connection", "quote": "It was especially helpful to help me deal with people who were very confrontational and tried to create conflict", "hn_user": "BrunoBernardino", "date": "2024-10-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41834407", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler", "category": "connection", "quote": "reading this and trying to apply it was probably the inflection point in my relationship with my wife.", "hn_user": "hosh", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17048951", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson et al.", "category": "connection", "quote": "The techniques I've picked up have helped me build stronger relationships with my spouse, my children, my customers, my employees, and my peers.", "hn_user": "cniemira", "date": "2017-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15762046", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson et al.", "category": "connection", "quote": "I read \"Crucial Conversations\" around the time I turned 35 and it changed how I manage conflict in my relationships.", "hn_user": "notjustanymike", "date": "2021-06-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27652726", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler", "category": "connection", "quote": "the one thing that stuck is the advice to \"start with heart\" during your crucial conversations.", "hn_user": "cyode", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740439", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson et al.", "category": "connection", "quote": "Allowed me to understand the other side before talking", "hn_user": "MrVu", "date": "2021-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27042606", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler", "category": "connection", "quote": "Saved my failing relationship", "hn_user": "ilovwindows", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740910", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Daring Greatly", "book_author": "Brené Brown", "category": "connection", "quote": "For most of my life, I could not distinguish between the feeling of anxiety and the feelings of guilt, shame, and vulnerability, nor did I understand or see all the different forms of armor I donned", "hn_user": "smaddox", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089768", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Difficult Conversations", "book_author": "Douglas Stone", "category": "connection", "quote": "I used to believe that I was great at communication and bad at negotiation, but the opposite was true; DC has literally changed my life more than any other non-fiction book", "hn_user": "peteforde", "date": "2019-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19496113", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Difficult Conversations", "book_author": "Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading the book, I had powerful new tools to understand and correct the problem.", "hn_user": "peteforde", "date": "2019-07-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20348320", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Difficult Conversations", "book_author": "Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen", "category": "connection", "quote": "A learned habit to stop and empathize with the motivations behind people's emotional upset has completely changed the way I interact with everyone in my life.", "hn_user": "peteforde", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092785", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Difficult Conversations", "book_author": "Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen", "category": "connection", "quote": "I realized I have \"Difficult Conversations\" many times a day. I wish I had read it years ago, it's a relationship changer.", "hn_user": "Diesel555", "date": "2022-04-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31019555", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Difficult Conversations", "book_author": "Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen", "category": "connection", "quote": "helped me learn to embrace being genuinely curious and accept + explain different, sometimes conflicting, emotions.", "hn_user": "BrunoBernardino", "date": "2024-10-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41834407", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Difficult Conversations", "book_author": "Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen", "category": "connection", "quote": "after reading it I immediately felt like I had levelled-up in all of my communications. It made giving feedback much simpler.", "hn_user": "peteforde", "date": "2014-05-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7762266", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most", "book_author": "Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen", "category": "connection", "quote": "I read it in my early 20s and feel like I've been using the recommendations ever since (I'm 36 now).", "hn_user": "yboris", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606294", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "EQ 2.0", "book_author": "Travis Bradberry", "category": "connection", "quote": "I went through some difficult experiences in my life, that made it at some point really difficult to make new friends, feel happy or reasonably successful at work. That book helped me a lot.", "hn_user": "blablabla123", "date": "2017-08-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14942142", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "East of Eden", "book_author": "John Steinbeck", "category": "connection", "quote": "It helped me see both myself and others with more clarity.", "hn_user": "ellius", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22721418", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Educated", "book_author": "Tara Westover", "category": "connection", "quote": "both have taught me to approach individuals with the true ignorance of their lives that I have.", "hn_user": "Saturdays", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087688", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Emotional Intelligence", "book_author": "Daniel Goleman", "category": "connection", "quote": "it instantly clicked with me and gave coherence to a lot of half-formed ideas I had. It gave me an agenda of concrete items I could improve on.", "hn_user": "dkarl", "date": "2010-06-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1414683", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Emotional Intelligence 2.0", "book_author": "Travis Bradberry", "category": "connection", "quote": "dramatically increased my ability to understand and predict emotionally driven behaviors. Drama in movies and in life started to make sense.", "hn_user": "king07828", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088937", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Emotional Vampires at Work", "book_author": "Albert J. Bernstein", "category": "connection", "quote": "Helped me to discover the passive agressive behavior I never noticed as what it is before.", "hn_user": "oerb", "date": "2015-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10790780", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Emotions Revealed", "book_author": "Paul Ekman", "category": "connection", "quote": "after reading this book it has helped me better to understand and connect with people's feelings", "hn_user": "semerda", "date": "2014-01-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7086933", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Endgame", "book_author": "Logan", "category": "connection", "quote": "It changed my mind about being a happier and more fulfilled person by myself, and don't stress over being liked by other people, which in turn makes you more likeable.", "hn_user": "ajot", "date": "2020-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25531723", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Finite and Infinite Games", "book_author": "James P. Carse", "category": "connection", "quote": "I’ve found the book useful in understanding activities in a way that reduces my stress and helps me interact with people. Specifically, I don’t take things as seriously and try not to get wound up in arbitrary or not important rules.", "hn_user": "prepend", "date": "2020-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22093983", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Free Will", "book_author": "Sam Harris", "category": "connection", "quote": "At the very least it has helped me in personal relationships and encouraged me to try to understand where another persons opposing viewpoint is coming from rather than feel negativity or superiority towards them", "hn_user": "martinraag", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089444", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Game Over: From Pick-Up Artist to Social Heartist", "book_author": null, "category": "connection", "quote": "He literally helped me go out of an infinit loop in life when it came to interactions with women and humen connections", "hn_user": "Eido95", "date": "2016-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12418715", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Games People Play", "book_author": "Eric Berne", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book helped me figure out that, in personal relationships especially, I could raise the discussion by one level and talk about the game I was playing", "hn_user": "drhayes9", "date": "2015-03-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9184883", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Gendered Lives", "book_author": "Julia T. Wood", "category": "connection", "quote": "it helped me understand other people a lot better. It made me feel less like a weirdo to know that everyone else is kinda the same", "hn_user": "mneil", "date": "2021-07-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27750697", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Greatness: Who Makes History and Why", "book_author": "Dean Keith Simonton", "category": "connection", "quote": "On a personal level, the idea of a \"window of comprehension\" has helped me a lot. I used to get frustrated as a kid when people didn't see the same solutions", "hn_user": "csa", "date": "2016-12-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13149122", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour", "book_author": "Susan Perrow", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book changed how I parent: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6162649-healing-stori...\n\nThe ability to modify behavior by singing a couplet from a story I read -- no raising of voices, or wagging of fingers -- was revelatory.", "hn_user": "guest2143", "date": "2019-06-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20178161", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Argue & Win Every Time", "book_author": "Gerry Spence", "category": "connection", "quote": "There are many times when being right is actually the worst thing to be and made me consider if winning an argument was worth (potentially) damaging a long term relationship.", "hn_user": "SomaticPirate", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089823", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Be a 3% Man", "book_author": "Corey Wayne", "category": "connection", "quote": "It has profoundly made my relationships with women better in every way.", "hn_user": "vecter", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735752", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Measure Your Life", "book_author": "Clayton M. Christensen", "category": "connection", "quote": "I sincerely believe that \"How to measure your life\" is a great book which has a piece of logical advice which did change my interpretation of it (so much so that I wrote the entire page and pasted it on my front desk).", "hn_user": "Imustaskforhelp", "date": "2026-10-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50271091", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Speak, How to Listen", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler", "category": "connection", "quote": "if it's worth talking about, even if the conversation sucks or the other person doesn't understand, any bit of advancement and understanding is worth the effort. Really helped me increase my patience when talking to people.", "hn_user": "billybatson", "date": "2018-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18665060", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk", "book_author": "Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish", "category": "connection", "quote": "It has helped me tremendously as a parent – and in every other aspect of my life.", "hn_user": "rbonweb", "date": "2026-10-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49964730", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk", "book_author": "Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book has been life-changing with regards to my relationship with my 3-year-old.\n\nIt also changed the way I communicate with adults.", "hn_user": "pwenzel", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717715", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Talk to Anyone", "book_author": "Leil Lowndes", "category": "connection", "quote": "It helped me not just make sense of how to navigate social situations, but also how to view them as a game that can be played strategically", "hn_user": "tinco", "date": "2022-11-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33596187", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships", "book_author": "Leil Lowndes", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book helped me handle introductions, small talk, and getting to know people better at a deeper level with so much less anxiety than I ever had before.", "hn_user": "karmelapple", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30739897", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "I found the book 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' pretty helpful to understanding how important emotions are when working with people.", "hn_user": "arendtio", "date": "2022-05-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31252848", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "that book literally changed the way I communicate with people.", "hn_user": "mathattack", "date": "2014-04-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7660345", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "I started university somewhat socially awkward and feel the book helped me better capture social nuances.", "hn_user": "jkkorn", "date": "2013-04-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5549026", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading this book, I try to make every conversation I have into a little game, where the goal is to get the other person to talk more, and about themselves, than I do.", "hn_user": "OGiR", "date": "2014-11-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8661021", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "I treated it like a text book, and it changed my life completely. I was happier, more able to be sociable, and I could get along with people.", "hn_user": "RiderOfGiraffes", "date": "2010-12-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1971350", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "already after 4 chapters it has changed how I think about how I interact with people.", "hn_user": "pkhamre", "date": "2013-10-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6603637", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "How to Win Friends and Influence People which is an old and amazing book that reframe interpersonal interaction, which influenced my self esteem dramatically.", "hn_user": "whiddershins", "date": "2020-01-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22096079", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It fundamentally changed how I viewed debates etc. from a young age so I never really sea-lioned that much hopefully.", "hn_user": "Imustaskforhelp", "date": "2025-12-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46395930", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "I learned about this from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, which is a great book you should read. I read this book in 7th grade and it changed my life.", "hn_user": "BobbyH", "date": "2010-07-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1498695", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "that book changed how I’ve approached such situations dramatically.", "hn_user": "dilippkumar", "date": "2019-08-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20789760", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "How to Win Friends and Influence People. I was lacking in this area and my career improved greatly after reading it.", "hn_user": "throwaway35777", "date": "2024-04-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40107574", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "it helped me a lot with making friends and my career.", "hn_user": "delbronski", "date": "2026-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48566469", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It really changed how I try to approach disagreements. I find myself rereading it periodically and trying to implement more and more of the suggestions.", "hn_user": "erhserhdfd", "date": "2022-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30258942", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "that book brought me from a depressed cynic to someone who takes an interest in others and basically the whole world is my friend", "hn_user": "randycupertino", "date": "2020-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22262812", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It helped me immensely, especially points like not criticizing people and thinking it’s helpful.", "hn_user": "y-curious", "date": "2025-11-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45958057", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It was hard for me to overcome my shyness and look people in the eye and smile, but with constant practice I got better at it.", "hn_user": "drumhead", "date": "2026-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48568259", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "for a younger me, it taught me just how much we as a species think only of ourselves, how you can never win an argument, how you cannot browbeat someone into submission.", "hn_user": "helmholtz", "date": "2023-06-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36194622", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "Those two books completely changed my life. They helped me become more confident, less socially anxious and be able to connect with people in a much deeper way than I was capable of before.", "hn_user": "ta1234567890", "date": "2018-07-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17547375", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "\"How to Win Friends and Influence People\" really helped me understand where I was running into problems when interacting with people.", "hn_user": "defertoreptar", "date": "2019-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21922968", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It served as a guideline on how to interact with people when I didn’t have a role model to look up to.", "hn_user": "ameliap24", "date": "2024-10-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41795652", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book taught me that the way you put forward your thoughts also matters. You can be right without being a dick and without screwing up your relationships with others.", "hn_user": "6ak74rfy", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088678", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "Dale's book helped me go from virtually no friends to having many treasured relationships in my life, across interests and divides that I never would've even bothered to have explore if not for that book.", "hn_user": "solardev", "date": "2022-12-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33845754", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It helped me realize how selfish I was in some ways when interacting with others and how little changes (that aren't slimy/creepy) can make me get along better with others.", "hn_user": "c0nsumer", "date": "2024-02-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39419532", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book has changed how I talk to people.", "hn_user": "jakobegger", "date": "2017-04-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14160161", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It made me look at human nature more objectively, take it less personally, and navigate it more effectively.", "hn_user": "johnwheeler", "date": "2021-06-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27409197", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "The title may be a bit offputting, but I found the book to be the catalyst that led to a lot of positive self-change.", "hn_user": "koliber", "date": "2022-10-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33092798", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "How to Win Friends and Influence People (great book with awful title) helped me develop the empathy necessary to solve real problems.", "hn_user": "surprisetalk", "date": "2024-07-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40923733", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "I read \"How To Win Friends And Influence People\" by Dale Carnegie when I was a teen, and it changed my life.", "hn_user": "WalterBright", "date": "2024-01-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38897500", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It changed how I viewed social interactions and made me realise it’s just another skill you can work at, with guidance even.", "hn_user": "captn3m0", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33671129", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "that book literally changed the way I communicate with people.", "hn_user": "chadillac", "date": "2014-04-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7653347", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "I haven't had to job hunt in 9 years and it's solely because that book made me more likable and personable.", "hn_user": "randycupertino", "date": "2026-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48565214", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "reading this book drove me to reflect on what a pedantic jerk I was being sometimes.", "hn_user": "bwh2", "date": "2022-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30254060", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "One book which really helped me in learning to get along with people is Dale Carnegie's \"How to Win Friends and Influence People.\"", "hn_user": "blogimus", "date": "2008-08-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=286468", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "It really helped me become a more positive, likable person.", "hn_user": "randycupertino", "date": "2021-10-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29061494", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "Go read the book. I did. It changed how I interact with people.", "hn_user": "bridgetroll", "date": "2008-05-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=186211", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "Helped me understand the dynamics of relationships in a unon manipulative and empathetic way.", "hn_user": "lmolina", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29605793", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "the book made me realize how 'utilitarian' and sometimes selfish I was in communication with others.", "hn_user": "DoingIsLearning", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32896846", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "The definitive guidebook to interpersonal relations. Taught me empathy.", "hn_user": "komali2", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089780", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "internalizing the core message of that book has helped me throughout life to connect with people and step outside my comfort zone consistently.", "hn_user": "poulsbohemian", "date": "2022-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32691759", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "it really helped me change how I interacted with people.", "hn_user": "c0nsumer", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33670563", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "How to Win Friends and Influence People - stopped me from being pedantic and argumentative", "hn_user": "bwh2", "date": "2021-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26583078", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "connection", "quote": "Reading this book really changed my personality in interviews and the office for the better.", "hn_user": "slickdork", "date": "2022-07-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31969952", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Hunt, Gather, Parent", "book_author": "Michaeleen Doucleff", "category": "connection", "quote": "The book Hunt, Gather, Parent helped me improve a lot as a parent. First step was not reacting when a spill or mistake or misbehavior happened, just staying super chill and calm.", "hn_user": "glassjoseph", "date": "2025-01-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42679343", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "I Hate You—Don't Leave Me", "book_author": "Jerold J. Kreisman", "category": "connection", "quote": "The book I Hate You - Don't Leave Me helped me a lot, especially the SET communication skills.", "hn_user": "Regardsyjc", "date": "2018-09-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18070996", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Infinite Jest", "book_author": "David Foster Wallace", "category": "connection", "quote": "I definitely came away from it feeling like it was a bit more acceptable to share what I really thought and felt with others.", "hn_user": "jdpigeon", "date": "2016-12-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13239780", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Infinite Jest", "book_author": "David Foster Wallace", "category": "connection", "quote": "It changed my life. This book taught me empathy and the truth in ordinary things...", "hn_user": "nappy", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805461", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Leaders Eat Last", "book_author": "Simon Sinek", "category": "connection", "quote": "I think Leader Eat Last explains this brilliantly and actually significantly changed the way I am trying to approach leadership as well as how I work with other people in general.", "hn_user": "abhiyerra", "date": "2019-12-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21713523", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Les Misérables", "book_author": "Victor Hugo", "category": "connection", "quote": "Les Mis - helped me love the less fortunate", "hn_user": "sethc2", "date": "2021-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26589132", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Life Would Be Easier If It Weren't for Other People", "book_author": null, "category": "connection", "quote": "Arguably any value I have in communicating with people comes from the lessons of, or derived from using, these books.", "hn_user": "hammmatt", "date": "2011-07-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2733672", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Love Factually", "book_author": "Duana Welch", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book really helped me understand the psychology of finding a partner and getting married", "hn_user": "joshuakcockrell", "date": "2020-06-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23477573", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor E. Frankl", "category": "connection", "quote": "I realized it's also about finding and connecting with others and that helped me think about interacting with people on a romantic level", "hn_user": "prepend", "date": "2023-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38568557", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Metaphors We Live By", "book_author": "George Lakoff and Mark Johnson", "category": "connection", "quote": "It also helped me understand people, conversation, and intent in an especially eye opening way.", "hn_user": "sambroner", "date": "2020-07-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23858979", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Models: Attract Women Through Honesty", "book_author": "Mark Manson", "category": "connection", "quote": "I've found it helpful for making regular friendships and connecting with my own family as well.", "hn_user": "UniverseHacker", "date": "2024-10-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41813386", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Never Eat Alone", "book_author": "Keith Ferrazzi", "category": "connection", "quote": "One of the books I recommend to everyone is \"Never Eat Alone\" - It truly changed the way I see every relationship and helped me tons along the way.", "hn_user": "raju", "date": "2011-10-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3109240", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Never Split the Difference", "book_author": "Chris Voss", "category": "connection", "quote": "Fundamental things that have improved my relationships with many people in my life.", "hn_user": "ericskiff", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32898255", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Never Split the Difference", "book_author": "Chris Voss", "category": "connection", "quote": "I negotiate a lot at work, and that book helped me quite a bit.", "hn_user": "AmericanChopper", "date": "2019-01-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18802798", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Never Split the Difference", "book_author": "Chris Voss", "category": "connection", "quote": "The book changed the way I handle communication. There are actionable practical tips and tools for communication and it shaped how I think about a hard phone call, how to prepare for a meeting", "hn_user": "croo", "date": "2018-12-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18764230", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Never Split the Difference", "book_author": "Chris Voss", "category": "connection", "quote": "it shifted just about all of my conversations from starting with \"you're dumb and here's why\" to \"let's make sure we agree on what the problem is\"", "hn_user": "goostavos", "date": "2021-06-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27633284", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Never Split the Difference", "book_author": "Chris Voss", "category": "connection", "quote": "\"Never split the difference\" has made a huge difference for my communication style.", "hn_user": "CardenB", "date": "2018-05-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17128908", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Never Split the Difference", "book_author": "Chris Voss", "category": "connection", "quote": "Gave me the technique to understand what I have to know on the other side, to come out making a win-win situation", "hn_user": "MrVu", "date": "2021-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27042606", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Never Split the Difference", "book_author": "Chris Voss", "category": "connection", "quote": "Basically the book (and other tools) has helped me become a better listener (I have always been decent at the talking side).", "hn_user": "SunlightEdge", "date": "2025-08-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44862286", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "No More Mr. Nice Guy", "book_author": "Robert Glover", "category": "connection", "quote": "one book that really helped me be assertive, certain, spontaneous, and happy in the social arena", "hn_user": "itmag", "date": "2012-01-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3528077", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "No More Mr. Nice Guy", "book_author": "Robert A. Glover", "category": "connection", "quote": "it completely changed my perspective on personal relationships, made me realise my own behaviour was part of the reason for my failed relationships in the past.", "hn_user": "jamaicahest", "date": "2020-09-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24563655", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "No One Understands You and What to Do About It", "book_author": "Heidi Grant Halvorson", "category": "connection", "quote": "I was oblivious how much I was negatively impacting my colleagues. I read No One Understands you and What to do About it and the No Asshole Rule. Both helped me to improve.", "hn_user": "dmourati", "date": "2015-06-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9751523", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "This one literally changed who I am as a person and how I show up for others.", "hn_user": "ericskiff", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32898255", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I benefited more from the mentality that you can communicate the same message in multiple tones and receive different results.", "hn_user": "josephmosby", "date": "2018-11-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18496075", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "\"Non-violent Communication\" helped me a lot. It will simplify the issues. It's not about blaming the kid or blaming yourself, but learning ways to shift focus away from blame/judgement to needs.", "hn_user": "jd78", "date": "2019-03-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19397982", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "the techniques in Non Violent Communication changed a particular breakup I went through for the better by making it clearer to me what the other person's feelings were", "hn_user": "Glench", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13804585", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "NVC changed my life! It's helped me gracefully navigate little relationship difficulties that could have otherwise ballooned into moments of sabotage.", "hn_user": "macawfish", "date": "2018-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16333216", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I have found this to be a life changing book. I've read it easily a dozen times and listened to the 8 hour audio version almost as many times.", "hn_user": "gotrythis", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19095647", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading this book, the way I related and communicated with people completely changed.", "hn_user": "Glench", "date": "2018-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17983250", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I have very low native empathy, and the techniques in that book have helped me learn to understand and interact better with more emotionally-responsive people.", "hn_user": "NateEag", "date": "2021-10-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29050298", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "It has definitely changed how I interact with (or see) others (and myself), and I am trying to put more of it in practice; currently on a second reading.", "hn_user": "svat", "date": "2018-09-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17984834", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "After I read it, I had some of the best communication with romantic partners I ever had.", "hn_user": "Glench", "date": "2018-05-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17170311", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I feel more in touch with my feelings and more empathetic as a direct result from following what the book is teaching.", "hn_user": "stocktech", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21900968", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "The book which helped me the most is *non violent communication*. Its like an universal protocol, but still filter the bullshit.", "hn_user": "jplr8922", "date": "2021-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29748607", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "But it's been tremendously helpful for me in engaging with people across ideological gaps (chasms these days). And it may have saved my life on occasions when conversations got especially heated", "hn_user": "solardev", "date": "2022-12-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33845754", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "That and reading the book Nonviolent Communication changed how I think about and deal with people forever.", "hn_user": "unoti", "date": "2024-01-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38984401", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "It helped reinforce the importance of listening and communicating in a way that the other person knows they’ve been listened to.", "hn_user": "nindalf", "date": "2022-07-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32248682", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "Essentially, this book has been teaching me how to human for the past year. I've read it 5 times and may read it again this week.", "hn_user": "crawfordcomeaux", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13969078", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "NVC gave me a framework to communicate in a healthier way. This wasn't just something that helped at work, it had an enormous effect on my personal life as well and I credit it to having strong relationships now.", "hn_user": "nicpottier", "date": "2019-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19491499", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I think I practice it almost daily for the past years now and I helped me to express a whole set of \nemotions from anger to doubt to fear and helped me with connecting with others, enabling a better understanding.", "hn_user": "technicolorwhat", "date": "2020-11-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25140148", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "the works of Marshall Rosenberg on the NonViolent Communiction (NVC) [1] had a profound impact on my perception of feelings of others.", "hn_user": "jugjug", "date": "2021-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26524032", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "The techniques I've picked up have helped me build stronger relationships with my spouse, my children, my customers, my employees, and my peers.", "hn_user": "cniemira", "date": "2017-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15762046", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "Changed how I think about the language we use in everyday communication with other people, and more importantly, the language I use with myself.", "hn_user": "mystickphoenix", "date": "2021-12-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29463061", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book helped me with empathy, boundaries, and self-criticism.", "hn_user": "angmarsbane", "date": "2020-12-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25380488", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I think it's really helped me understand some of my own communication tendencies and given me a lot of tools to help curb my own shit.", "hn_user": "rodhilton", "date": "2019-07-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20359859", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I could see how important it is to observe the context of any conversation with someone, and to react based on an empathic curiosity of their feelings & needs.", "hn_user": "canadaduane", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740444", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I think for me it was about a year of trying before my first successful use of it in a hostile conversation.", "hn_user": "BeetleB", "date": "2018-05-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17013340", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life", "book_author": "Marshall B. Rosenberg", "category": "connection", "quote": "I deescalated a nasty dispute between two people close to me after reading only the first few chapters. I was impressed because I wasn't the type of person to emotionally connect with people so effectively.", "hn_user": "nur0n", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21902055", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On the Road", "book_author": "Jack Kerouac", "category": "connection", "quote": "it motivated me to do a big road trip alone across USA/Canada/Mexico. I met many awesome peoples, became more confident, more adventurous, more open to people and new experiences.", "hn_user": "kalagan", "date": "2014-01-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7060985", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "People Skills", "book_author": "Robert Bolton", "category": "connection", "quote": "It helped me look at how I reacted to people and often times shut down and got defensive.", "hn_user": "analogmemory", "date": "2017-10-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15528861", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Playful Parenting", "book_author": "Lawrence J. Cohen", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading this book, it gave both my wife and I new ideas on how to interact with our son (now 3).", "hn_user": "chrisgd", "date": "2015-06-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9739326", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Potty Training in 3 Days", "book_author": "Brandi Brucks", "category": "connection", "quote": "I'm being completely honest when I say this book made me a better leader and project manager - having a better understanding of the motivations of others", "hn_user": "tolleydbg", "date": "2022-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33799920", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "connection", "quote": "What helped me to accept myself was the book", "hn_user": "amai", "date": "2022-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30820621", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "connection", "quote": "Helped me better understand myself and others, highly recommend", "hn_user": "dcolgan", "date": "2015-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10783498", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "connection", "quote": "It was a paradigm shifting book for me, made me understand some people in my life in profoundly new ways, and helped me discover stuff about my own personality.", "hn_user": "gdubs", "date": "2017-01-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13376750", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading that book and realizing how widespread introversion is, I became more and more comfortable in my own skin.", "hn_user": "vickychijwani", "date": "2018-09-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17993817", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "connection", "quote": "I wouldn't say it's 'changed my life', but it has made a few relationships with close friends and colleagues a lot better.", "hn_user": "nichodges", "date": "2012-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4967179", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Radical Candor", "book_author": "Kim Scott", "category": "connection", "quote": "They helped me a lot to connect with the people in my team, to create an environment of positive communication, but most importantly it helped me shift the way I communicate with other people in the company.", "hn_user": "baytelman", "date": "2019-03-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19350737", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Real Time Relationships: The Logic of Love", "book_author": "Stephen Hotchkiss", "category": "connection", "quote": "the best self-knowledge book that I've read so far. Helped me with better communication with my loved ones.", "hn_user": "id02009", "date": "2022-09-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32778073", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Science and Human Behavior", "book_author": "B. F. Skinner", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book changed the way I view humans (myself included). It made me more empathic.", "hn_user": "miltondts", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089509", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Songmaster", "book_author": "Orson Scott Card", "category": "connection", "quote": "Being straight it helped me see things' from the other side' so to speak.", "hn_user": "effingwewt", "date": "2023-03-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35250154", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Start with No", "book_author": "Jim Camp", "category": "connection", "quote": "it did change my mind about everything related to negotiating.", "hn_user": "apo", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089722", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Steppenwolf", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "connection", "quote": "Helped me out of my sort of self-inflicted isolation and to heal .", "hn_user": "weldedtogether", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735953", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Stranger in a Strange Land", "book_author": "Robert A. Heinlein", "category": "connection", "quote": "Stranger in a Strange Land certainly changed my life and thinking for the better, and certainly made me a more accepting individual.", "hn_user": "ohithereyou", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19091464", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters", "book_author": "Meg Meeker", "category": "connection", "quote": "our relationship moved from a cold father-daughter-we-don't-understand-each-other to a thriving friendly loving respecting listening relationship where she ASKS to actually spend time with me.", "hn_user": "HenryBemis", "date": "2023-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38557134", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Teacher and Child", "book_author": "Haim Ginott", "category": "connection", "quote": "A primer on nonevaluative feedback that changed my life (not to mention my teaching style) is Teacher and Child, by Haim Ginott.", "hn_user": "delish", "date": "2016-03-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11276088", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thanks for the Feedback", "book_author": "Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book gave me great insight into how I handle feedback and what I can do to make the most of it.", "hn_user": "cjcenizal", "date": "2022-02-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30498292", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 33 Strategies of War", "book_author": "Robert Greene", "category": "connection", "quote": "Before that I'd avoid conflicts, especially by more aggressive people. After reading that book, I started actively finding ways do deal with conflicts.", "hn_user": "muzani", "date": "2020-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24361350", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 48 Laws of Power", "book_author": "Robert Greene", "category": "connection", "quote": "Now I put more energy into understanding others points of view, and understand others better as a result. Much of my old behavior was childish.", "hn_user": "krp", "date": "2015-12-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10767627", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 5 Love Languages", "book_author": "Gary Chapman", "category": "connection", "quote": "made me understand a lot more about how people express and receive love, and the problems that arise from mismatched languages in relationships", "hn_user": "MikeCapone", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088692", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 5 Love Languages", "book_author": "Gary Chapman", "category": "connection", "quote": "Very good lessons for how to strengthen important relationships in my life. Before, I didn't realize how much more I prefered one kind of love language over some others.", "hn_user": "juliend2", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092613", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "connection", "quote": "Years ago I found habit 5 of Steven Coveys \"7 Habits of highly effective people\" a great (\"idiot's\") guide to listening.", "hn_user": "cmarschner", "date": "2016-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12308319", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen Covey", "category": "connection", "quote": "Concepts like the emotional bank account and seeking first to understand (then to be understood) have been the key things that have helped me find a partner, develop a relationship with her", "hn_user": "lolinder", "date": "2024-10-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41769120", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Anatomy of Peace", "book_author": "The Arbinger Institute", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book teaches me how to stay out of interpersonal conflicts and become a person pthers want to be together with.", "hn_user": "andersthue", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17046886", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Communicating", "book_author": "Thich Nhat Hanh", "category": "connection", "quote": "Great good for networking, which opened alot of doors for me getting new clients and making friends", "hn_user": "MrVu", "date": "2021-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27042606", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Awakening", "book_author": "Kate Chopin", "category": "connection", "quote": "“The Awakening” has been one of the more empathy expanding things I’ve read.", "hn_user": "SeanBoocock", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22722001", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Bhagavad Gita", "book_author": null, "category": "connection", "quote": "It helped me develop depersonalised thinking and to some extent the ability to view people equanimously.", "hn_user": "kk58", "date": "2022-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31733425", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Birth Order Book", "book_author": "Kevin Leman", "category": "connection", "quote": "Few things helped me more understanding people and family than knowledge of birth order.", "hn_user": "losteverything", "date": "2018-01-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16106295", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Book of Mormon", "book_author": null, "category": "connection", "quote": "it has lots of moving stories that have helped me understand how to get along better with people I disagree with or with difficult life circumstances.", "hn_user": "ashton314", "date": "2020-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25531603", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Book of Pook", "book_author": null, "category": "connection", "quote": "They helped me mature in that aspect and give some good advice.", "hn_user": "taopai", "date": "2024-01-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39041533", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Brothers Karamazov", "book_author": "Fyodor Dostoevsky", "category": "connection", "quote": "It implanted the idea that people, all people can be understood explicitly, through empathy (and that all people can be empathized with).", "hn_user": "jcranberry", "date": "2019-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19102946", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "Try the book The Charisma Myth, it has some great exercises to help you do stuff like talking to strangers. You have to do the exercises though", "hn_user": "nico", "date": "2023-09-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37627264", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "The key insight for me was realising that you can come across as both powerful/serious and as warm/compassionate/friendly, and that people who do this are described as charismatic.", "hn_user": "chris_j", "date": "2021-07-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28017752", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book worked well at helping me overtime social anxiety. It helped me see how others saw me.", "hn_user": "betenoire", "date": "2017-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16004705", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "when I started doing only those 3 things, weird things happened that completely changed the behavior of other people towards me and then how I felt about other people.", "hn_user": "ta1234567890", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23155462", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "Had the same issue, this book changed my life: The Charisma Myth.", "hn_user": "ta1234567890", "date": "2019-05-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19960350", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "They helped me become more confident, less socially anxious and be able to connect with people in a much deeper way than I was capable of before.", "hn_user": "ta1234567890", "date": "2018-07-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17547375", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "Personally, it helped me be able to get into, the situations that the first book assumes the reader is already in, or comfortable with (like talking to strangers)", "hn_user": "nico", "date": "2026-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48010269", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "I didn't used to be a people person until I read this book.", "hn_user": "chris_j", "date": "2021-06-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27409031", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "connection", "quote": "I went from being extremely uncomfortable in pretty much any social situation, to being able to hold a conversation with almost anyone, including strangers on the street, to then people wanting to be with me and to lead them", "hn_user": "nico", "date": "2025-03-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43402935", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Coaching Habit", "book_author": "Michael Bungay Stanier", "category": "connection", "quote": "Coaching Habit improved my 1:1s drastically (I basically stopped talking or advice giving and just listened -- profound, I know, but the book helped smack me in the face with it)", "hn_user": "dimitrios1", "date": "2026-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48564804", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Coddling of the American Mind", "book_author": "Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book helped me emphasize better with some of the college debacles that seem batshit crazy to me.", "hn_user": "nverno", "date": "2021-05-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27071124", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes", "book_author": "Bill Watterson", "category": "connection", "quote": "I have two kids and it helped me numerous time approaching their silliness in a more constructive and patient way.", "hn_user": "jurgenaut23", "date": "2026-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48569452", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Conquest of Bread", "book_author": "Peter Kropotkin", "category": "connection", "quote": "I started putting more trust in others and totally changed the way I confront people. At that time I was a team leader in a really chaotic company and the change of approach did wonders.", "hn_user": "davidpires", "date": "2021-09-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28452262", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Discovery of Slowness", "book_author": "Sten Nadolny", "category": "connection", "quote": "It really helped me understand myself and also other people better.", "hn_user": "blankton", "date": "2020-03-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22726021", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Eyes of the Dragon", "book_author": "Stephen King", "category": "connection", "quote": "It made me feel more equal to everyone else, and made me feel sympathy with every other human.", "hn_user": "scandinavegan", "date": "2020-03-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22726953", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Field Guide to Human Error", "book_author": "Sidney Dekker", "category": "connection", "quote": "Even with things like CR comments. I now ask myself \"_why_ do they think that's the right approach?\"", "hn_user": "goostavos", "date": "2021-06-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27633284", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Game", "book_author": "Neil Strauss", "category": "connection", "quote": "I've noticed that many of the tips have helped me within my own social circle, when speaking with professionals, meeting new people, etc.", "hn_user": "kyro", "date": "2007-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30715", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Game", "book_author": "Neil Strauss", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book fundamentally changed the way I understood myself and relationships with other people.", "hn_user": "k4ch0w", "date": "2017-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15630608", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Game", "book_author": "Neil Strauss", "category": "connection", "quote": "Read \"The Game\" by Neil Strauss. Changed my life. Primarily, I realized my model for interacting with women was based on familial roles e.g. empathy, sharing emotions etc.", "hn_user": "alexpotato", "date": "2018-08-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17871619", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Game", "book_author": "Neil Strauss", "category": "connection", "quote": "I was painfully shy of girls until grad school, and this book gave me much needed confidence to talk to the opposite gender.", "hn_user": "throwawaybbq1", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737632", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists", "book_author": "Neil Strauss", "category": "connection", "quote": "reading the book gave me some tips to help talk to women, and people in general.", "hn_user": "pappyo", "date": "2015-05-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9517509", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists", "book_author": "Neil Strauss", "category": "connection", "quote": "I've learned a ton since reading The Game and joining some of the PUA forums and reading some of their material.", "hn_user": "mindcrime", "date": "2011-01-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2148160", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists", "book_author": "Neil Strauss", "category": "connection", "quote": "many of the \"whys\" and \"hows\" that they teach have helped me a great deal.", "hn_user": "sebg", "date": "2008-04-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=169628", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Gift of Imperfection", "book_author": "Brené Brown", "category": "connection", "quote": "If nothing else, her books have made me a better friend when my friends are in pain.", "hn_user": "neilk", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6976140", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Glass Castle", "book_author": "Jeannette Walls", "category": "connection", "quote": "both have taught me to approach individuals with the true ignorance of their lives that I have.", "hn_user": "Saturdays", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087688", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Great Good Place", "book_author": "Ray Oldenburg", "category": "connection", "quote": "the concept has helped me immensely in being purposeful and direct in adopting a 'third' place.", "hn_user": "eclipticplane", "date": "2022-09-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32720776", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Happiness Project", "book_author": "Gretchen Rubin", "category": "connection", "quote": "It teaches you to do a lot of little things that over time make a huge impact on your well being and the people around you.", "hn_user": "bwb", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29603708", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Hungry Brain", "book_author": "Stephan Guyenet", "category": "connection", "quote": "It changed my perspective on this topic and made me much more empathetic to people who struggle with weight issues.", "hn_user": "hattar", "date": "2023-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36368517", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Last Lecture", "book_author": "Randy Pausch", "category": "connection", "quote": "it changed me as a parent. I have a son who turned 13 this year.", "hn_user": "suchoudh", "date": "2020-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24996248", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Little Prince", "book_author": "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry", "category": "connection", "quote": "I got a lot out of the encounter with the fox, specifically, and that helped me in how I relate to a lot of my friends and lovers.", "hn_user": "scarecrowbob", "date": "2025-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46093919", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Lost Art of Listening", "book_author": "Michael P. Nichols", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book helped me learn how to be a better listener, I highly recommend it", "hn_user": "MrAwesome", "date": "2022-02-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30415882", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mystery Method", "book_author": "Mystery", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading this, it's like the veil was lifted and I could see the fnords.", "hn_user": "WildUtah", "date": "2010-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1227449", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The New Science of Adult Attachment", "book_author": "Amir Levine and Rachel Heller", "category": "connection", "quote": "this was really useful for understanding relationships and how I and others respond to relationships, love, work, etc. was rather eye opening to me.", "hn_user": "prepend", "date": "2023-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38568557", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The No Asshole Rule", "book_author": "Robert I. Sutton", "category": "connection", "quote": "I was oblivious how much I was negatively impacting my colleagues. I read No One Understands you and What to do About it and the No Asshole Rule. Both helped me to improve.", "hn_user": "dmourati", "date": "2015-06-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9751523", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work", "book_author": "Alain de Botton", "category": "connection", "quote": "One change I made after reading this book is to respect the jobs that I took for granted, like the clerk at the checkout counter.", "hn_user": "Joeri", "date": "2012-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4981782", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Positive Thinking", "book_author": "Norman Vincent Peale", "category": "connection", "quote": "I read it when I was 14 years old in 1962 and it profoundly changed my life for the better. I wasn't \"born again\" nor did I become religious, rather it abruptly and completely changed for the better how I interacted with others.", "hn_user": "bookofjoe", "date": "2026-09-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49915076", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Positive Thinking", "book_author": "Norman Vincent Peale", "category": "connection", "quote": "I read this when I was in junior high and a real jerk. It instantly ended my jerkitude and put me on a much better path.", "hn_user": "bookofjoe", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087978", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Programmer's Stone", "book_author": "Alan Carter and Colston Sanger", "category": "connection", "quote": "Teaches the concept of Mappers and Packers, I'm a mapper, and I've worked with packers, once I knew this, and used it to help bridge the gap.", "hn_user": "mikewarot", "date": "2023-12-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38550938", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "connection", "quote": "I can't think of one that more transformed my understanding of (and compassion for) my fellow thinking, feeling, moralizing, tribal primates.", "hn_user": "lukifer", "date": "2019-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21903134", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "connection", "quote": "It had a huge impact on me because I feel that it helped me grow as a person, and being able to understand other culture/other principle, even if I don't necessarily agree with that.", "hn_user": "mablopoule", "date": "2023-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37937386", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading the book, my politics are still left of center (but definitely right of Sanders), but I think I understand and appreciate the politics of my right leaning family and friends.", "hn_user": "criddell", "date": "2016-03-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11229815", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "connection", "quote": "Allowed me to understand those around me better and to improve relations with family members who are far over on the right side of the political spectrum better.", "hn_user": "tashoecraft", "date": "2018-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18664111", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Rose That Grew from Concrete", "book_author": "Tupac Shakur", "category": "connection", "quote": "When I was 15 I read Tupac's The Rose That Grew From Concrete, which helped me understand my neighborhood (I was the only white guy).", "hn_user": "bardworx", "date": "2017-12-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16006516", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Rosie Project", "book_author": "Graeme Simsion", "category": "connection", "quote": "it made me realize I have a number of similar patterns to the main character.\n\nMade me more aware of how I should act in a relationship.", "hn_user": "emit_time", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22722616", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples", "book_author": "John Gottman", "category": "connection", "quote": "I love this book for teaching me how to be a better spouse and friend.", "hn_user": "JackMorgan", "date": "2024-05-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40284561", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Secrets of Power Negotiation", "book_author": "Roger Dawson", "category": "connection", "quote": "a negotiation book (The Secrets of Power Negotiation) helped me with the toddler.", "hn_user": "JabavuAdams", "date": "2011-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2184860", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "connection", "quote": "It changed my relationships with people.", "hn_user": "kolleykibber", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088203", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Sociopath Next Door", "book_author": "Martha Stout", "category": "connection", "quote": "\"The Sociopath Next Door\" was a useful read because it better helped me understand and identify people who were very different than I am in terms of their emotional investment in things.", "hn_user": "ChuckMcM", "date": "2019-12-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21714244", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Speed of Trust", "book_author": "Stephen M. R. Covey", "category": "connection", "quote": "Made me realize that trust is essential in human interactions. Helped me through my businesses, career, and community building.", "hn_user": "tyroh", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738885", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Time Paradox", "book_author": "Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd", "category": "connection", "quote": "Because I'm so future-focused, reading this book helped me understand people who are very present-focused.", "hn_user": "sivers", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21902042", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Trial", "book_author": "Franz Kafka", "category": "connection", "quote": "when I first read this book, it helped me realise and gain more compassion towards those who have been treated unfairly by the law.", "hn_user": "kafkaesque", "date": "2014-02-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7171595", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The WEIRDest People in the World", "book_author": "Joseph Henrich", "category": "connection", "quote": "I grew up in India. This book helped me understand so much of the cultural differences between American culture and what I grew up with", "hn_user": "dilippkumar", "date": "2023-06-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36432782", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Way of the Superior Man", "book_author": "David Deida", "category": "connection", "quote": "you don't need to try to solve her every problem[1], just listen and support her in what she does", "hn_user": "embarassed_toss", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13804298", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Way of the Superior Man", "book_author": "David Deida", "category": "connection", "quote": "after reading this book I finally felt like I understood women and relationships, and I met my now-wife a few months after reading it.", "hn_user": "endtime", "date": "2012-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4980252", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading that book, I stopped trying to be silent when I was feeling angry.\nI invested in my relationships with family and friends a lot.", "hn_user": "kumartarun", "date": "2020-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25533946", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", "book_author": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "category": "connection", "quote": "It really made me more confident with women and helped me to follow the \"if you want something, go out and claim it\" philosophy.", "hn_user": "loxs", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805696", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "To Kill a Mockingbird", "book_author": "Harper Lee", "category": "connection", "quote": "the idea helped navigate through some complicated negotiations and social situations at various times.", "hn_user": "_6khi", "date": "2024-03-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39586046", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Tribe", "book_author": "Sebastian Junger", "category": "connection", "quote": "taught me how important it is to be part of a close community, decided to Airbnb all of next year after reading this book", "hn_user": "richardreeze", "date": "2018-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18758733", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions", "book_author": "Bill W.", "category": "connection", "quote": "The single best thing it did for me is that it made me a more honest person, to others and myself.", "hn_user": "songzme", "date": "2020-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22093516", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Undefended Love", "book_author": "Jett Psaris and Marlena Lyons", "category": "connection", "quote": "Personal relationships are definitely my biggest challenge. Already one divorce. :(", "hn_user": "aantix", "date": "2010-05-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1360419", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Unix: A History and a Memoir", "book_author": "Brian Kernighan", "category": "connection", "quote": "Even the culture aspect of his story has influenced how I try to foster teamwork.", "hn_user": "salmo", "date": "2024-03-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39790934", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What Got You Here Won't Get You There", "book_author": "Marshall Goldsmith", "category": "connection", "quote": "The book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” by Marshall Goldsmith helped me become a better, more empathetic, teammate.", "hn_user": "clintonb", "date": "2020-11-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25138283", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What's Our Problem?", "book_author": "Tim Urban", "category": "connection", "quote": "My most-sobering book read in 2025 was Tim Urban's What's Our Problem — it definitely helped me better understand my two lawyerbros", "hn_user": "ProllyInfamous", "date": "2026-01-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46456342", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "When I Say No, I Feel Guilty", "book_author": "Manuel J. Smith", "category": "connection", "quote": "helped me to massively boost my own assertiveness", "hn_user": "endymi0n", "date": "2021-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27848850", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men", "book_author": "Lundy Bancroft", "category": "connection", "quote": "It really shifted how I think about the world, and let me sever connections to people I was kept in my life because they'd had a bad childhood or whatever.", "hn_user": "Rendello", "date": "2024-10-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41767913", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Why Men Love Bitches", "book_author": "Sherry Argov", "category": "connection", "quote": "I stopped being a doormat in relationships and looked for partners with more self confidence.", "hn_user": "kelukelugames", "date": "2017-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15156750", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Yes Man", "book_author": "Danny Wallace", "category": "connection", "quote": "This book made me realize that I was defaulting to \"no\" in many aspects of my life. After this book I changed many things in my life, and ended up meeting and dating my future (now present) wife.", "hn_user": "Joeri", "date": "2012-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4981782", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive", "book_author": "Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin and Robert Cialdini", "category": "connection", "quote": "has reconfigured some aspects of how I deal with people and has helped me in day-to-day life", "hn_user": "grok2", "date": "2017-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15156567", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "connection", "quote": "For letting me know I was/am not alone (even in my alone-ness).", "hn_user": "pasbesoin", "date": "2011-01-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2149583", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "jPod", "book_author": "Douglas Coupland", "category": "connection", "quote": "After reading that, it really changed the way that I looked at all of the coders / sys-admins that I know.", "hn_user": "chuchurocka", "date": "2008-04-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=153153", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Soprano on Her Head", "book_author": "Eloise Ristad", "category": "creativity", "quote": "really helped me with my dance & acting practice. I restructured a lot based on that book (added improvisational elements, reduced forceful drill-like elements, more self-observation, less verbal cues), and my technique and enjoyment both improved a lot", "hn_user": "hzay", "date": "2021-05-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27093985", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Artificial Life", "book_author": "Steven Levy", "category": "creativity", "quote": "When I was a teen I read Steven Levy's book \"Artifical Life\". It captured my imagination in a way that the biomorph program in a Blind Watchmaker also had. Ever since then I've played with toy alife models.", "hn_user": "taliesinb", "date": "2017-03-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13895289", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Calvin and Hobbes", "book_author": "Bill Watterson", "category": "creativity", "quote": "this is one of those things that completely changed my perspective on creativity", "hn_user": "rmnull", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738208", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Children of Time", "book_author": "Adrian Tchaikovsky", "category": "creativity", "quote": "I wrote Adrian after reading it and asked for permission to build a game inspired by it and received his blessing", "hn_user": "SeanAnderson", "date": "2024-02-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39525765", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives", "book_author": "Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler", "category": "creativity", "quote": "I was so amazed I started a company building a CRM from the ground up using graph theory. We launch in Q1 2015.", "hn_user": "MrMattWright", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717380", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Daily Rituals: How Artists Work", "book_author": "Mason Currey", "category": "creativity", "quote": "I've tried to adapt my personal schedule to match some of their habits, and have generally felt better about being able to get a limited amount of creative work done in 24 hours.", "hn_user": "karmacondon", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717647", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Drawing Ideas: A Hand-Drawn Approach for Better Design", "book_author": "Mark Baskinger and William Bardel", "category": "creativity", "quote": "I love having some basic sketching skills to help make my thoughts come to life. When I write blog posts, I try to throw in a sketch or two now.", "hn_user": "breadchris", "date": "2024-10-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41795812", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain", "book_author": "Betty Edwards", "category": "creativity", "quote": "The exercises and approach radically helped me improved my drawing.", "hn_user": "natnatenathan", "date": "2022-02-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30471701", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain", "book_author": "Betty Edwards", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Reading that book helped me gain a lot more confidence and understand a lot of the science behind drawing ability.", "hn_user": "XBigTK13X", "date": "2012-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4853047", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain", "book_author": "Betty Edwards", "category": "creativity", "quote": "It made me realize that I am more creatively skilled than I thought I was — a realization which has enhanced my life greatly.", "hn_user": "Wistar", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089672", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain", "book_author": "Betty Edwards", "category": "creativity", "quote": "in a few (two?) weeks I was able to draw still life in a way I never thought I could, and the trick of looking at objects and imagining them flattened on paper burned into my mind", "hn_user": "magv", "date": "2021-03-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26363553", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Effortless Mastery", "book_author": "Kenny Werner", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Then I read a book Effortless Mastery, from which I learnt Never criticize yourself on gigs. The time for that is when you practise. And since then I never do that.", "hn_user": "yesenadam", "date": "2019-12-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21698167", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Friendship Bracelets (Klutz)", "book_author": "Klutz", "category": "creativity", "quote": "That book not only gave me a lifetime hobby, but it also helped me create my first business at the age of 15.", "hn_user": "nstart", "date": "2020-06-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23687065", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution", "book_author": "Steven Levy", "category": "creativity", "quote": "This book inspired me greatly when I read it as a high school sophomore. After reading it, I taught myself Pascal", "hn_user": "davi", "date": "2010-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1062140", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution", "book_author": "Steven Levy", "category": "creativity", "quote": "For me it use to be \"Hackers\" by Steven Levy, I will go on massive coding binges after reading that.", "hn_user": "segmondy", "date": "2018-08-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17814863", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to See Color and Paint It", "book_author": "Arthur Stern", "category": "creativity", "quote": "It taught me how to see color and paint it. Also how to use a palette knife which makes my paintings very different and fun.", "hn_user": "zedshaw", "date": "2017-06-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14480512", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck", "book_author": "Steve Stockman", "category": "creativity", "quote": "helped me competently film a few videos as a volunteer for non-profits that my colleagues were very happy with.", "hn_user": "nohaydeprobleme", "date": "2023-03-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35247305", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Take Smart Notes", "book_author": "Sönke Ahrens", "category": "creativity", "quote": "I’ve now written 1,075 interconnected notes, and no longer feel that I forget 80% of any non-fiction book I read.", "hn_user": "mck-", "date": "2022-11-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33754701", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Impro", "book_author": "Keith Johnstone", "category": "creativity", "quote": "It really helped me to become friends with my subconscious, imagination, destroy some assumptions about myself, reframe my view of children", "hn_user": "unkulunkulu", "date": "2021-11-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29343933", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Invisible Cities", "book_author": "Italo Calvino", "category": "creativity", "quote": "A couple of years ago, after reading the book, I sketched some of them on Procreate with an isometric grid, but not all 55.", "hn_user": "camillovisini", "date": "2026-10-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50005658", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Invisible Man", "book_author": "Ralph Ellison", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Really changed how I thought about books and how I approached writing.", "hn_user": "paulcole", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33670576", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Neuromancer", "book_author": "William Gibson", "category": "creativity", "quote": "After reading this book a few months ago, I had the idea to make an iOS game based on secretly signaling others in a group while others attempt to catch who signals", "hn_user": "sBlomqst", "date": "2014-08-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8157403", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Refuse to Choose", "book_author": "Barbara Sher", "category": "creativity", "quote": "This book helped me fill notebooks where before I would start a notebook and throw it aside after a handful of pages.", "hn_user": "codazoda", "date": "2024-07-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40899921", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Serious Creativity", "book_author": "Edward de Bono", "category": "creativity", "quote": "His book, Serious Creativity changed my mindset and taught me that creativity, the kind we use every day as opposed to artistic creativity like painting/acting etc., is something that one can practice everyday and get better at.", "hn_user": "vivegi", "date": "2022-01-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30095999", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Show Your Work!", "book_author": "Austin Kleon", "category": "creativity", "quote": "It's a short book with a bias toward action that's changed how I interact with my work and share it with others.", "hn_user": "tedmiston", "date": "2015-12-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10773991", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Something Really New", "book_author": "Denis J. Hauptly", "category": "creativity", "quote": "All of my best ideas came from applying the method it teaches.", "hn_user": "profstasiak", "date": "2023-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34692421", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Art Spirit", "book_author": "Robert Henri", "category": "creativity", "quote": "the book helped me develop a new way to see and receive the world. I then applied that into my own life to shape what type of ideas and projects I'd go on to pursue.", "hn_user": "supernormal", "date": "2016-12-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13202191", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses", "book_author": "Jesse Schell", "category": "creativity", "quote": "every few pages I couldn't resist putting it down and working on my designs because I was so overwhelmed with inspiration from its amazing wisdom", "hn_user": "unoti", "date": "2016-10-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12830695", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses", "book_author": "Jesse Schell", "category": "creativity", "quote": "The paradigm he constructs for how all the elements of game design fit together helped me approach game design from angles (or lenses as he calls them) I hadn't considered before.", "hn_user": "miracle_ray", "date": "2015-01-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8861000", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Blind Watchmaker", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "creativity", "quote": "That idea of breeding plants in simulation (and then later music) came in part from \"The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design\"", "hn_user": "pdfernhout", "date": "2020-10-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24705023", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Code Book", "book_author": "Simon Singh", "category": "creativity", "quote": "After reading the book I had the idea of creating a system for sending encrypted messages from one person to another.", "hn_user": "dirktheman", "date": "2012-10-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4613995", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Creative Act: A Way of Being", "book_author": "Rick Rubin", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Reading that book has changed my approach towards work and it has become more relaxed and I have learned to tap deeper into my intuition when engineering.", "hn_user": "galoisscobi", "date": "2023-04-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35754318", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Creative Habit", "book_author": "Twyla Tharp", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Tharp is a genius and she really helped me focus my creativity more.", "hn_user": "lleger", "date": "2009-04-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=567829", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "book_author": "Douglas Adams", "category": "creativity", "quote": "I founded Eksi Sozluk, the most popular social platform from Turkey for the last 25+ years, partly because I was heavily inspired by Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.", "hn_user": "sedatk", "date": "2025-06-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44272226", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Perfect Wrong Note", "book_author": "William Westney", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Reading this permanently changed the way I approach learning the piano (or synth. in my case) and I my playing has vastly improved over the last couple of years because of it.", "hn_user": "dtagames", "date": "2023-03-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35274422", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "creativity", "quote": "this one book really helped me deal with resistance and get stuff done.", "hn_user": "rasmus4200", "date": "2011-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3396186", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "creativity", "quote": "framing the struggle in the way the author does can be inspirational. I have read the book two times so far, and each time it has helped me for a little while at least", "hn_user": "svat", "date": "2018-06-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17291083", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers", "book_author": "Gabriel Weinberg", "category": "creativity", "quote": "the book helped me get into the sales/marketing mindset which helped generate a few ideas of my own.", "hn_user": "maresca", "date": "2014-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8265238", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Visual Complex Analysis", "book_author": "Tristan Needham", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Loved that book ! Got me inspired to do this visualisation after reading it", "hn_user": "ttoinou", "date": "2022-05-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31489638", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Where Good Ideas Come From", "book_author": "Steven Johnson", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Since reading the book, I've made an effort to at least consider the bad ideas and implementations. More than once there has been a nugget of creativity that I would have otherwise glossed over.", "hn_user": "portman", "date": "2010-12-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1975310", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned", "book_author": "Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehman", "category": "creativity", "quote": "Changed the way I search for new ideas. Instead of goal setting and conquer-and-divide approach, I allow myself to be guided by what I find interesting, even if it seems to be wasting time.", "hn_user": "bewe42", "date": "2018-02-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16366840", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "You Can Draw in 30 Days", "book_author": "Mark Kistler", "category": "creativity", "quote": "it definitely helped me get better at perspective and shading.", "hn_user": "dceddia", "date": "2022-02-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30475469", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "A Scanner Darkly", "book_author": "Philip K. Dick", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Philip K. Dick's book \"A Scanner Darkly\" made me reflect on my drug use and helped me to confront who I was and how I was with other people when I was using, which helped kick it", "hn_user": "LordJim", "date": "2022-09-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32979305", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "American Gods", "book_author": "Neil Gaiman", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It also helped me through times of depression and encouraged a love of reading.", "hn_user": "protonimitate", "date": "2018-06-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17340363", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Amusing Ourselves to Death", "book_author": "Neil Postman", "category": "depressed", "quote": "After reading the book, I started selected my news source based on that ratio. Now I only read tech news and local news.", "hn_user": "ahub", "date": "2019-03-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19419788", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding", "book_author": "David Hume", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It showed me that being an optimist isn't stupid, that it's an art and that gloom is not an inevitable consequence of intellect. I was suffering from depression back then.", "hn_user": "yakubin", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33671101", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "As a Man Thinketh", "book_author": "James Allen", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I came across this book during a depressing period 8 years ago and it helped me climb out of my hole.", "hn_user": "dvaun", "date": "2021-09-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28658361", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Awareness", "book_author": "Anthony de Mello", "category": "depressed", "quote": "a friend recommended both of those books and they helped me get back on track", "hn_user": "Saleshooman", "date": "2022-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31356241", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bird by Bird", "book_author": "Anne Lamott", "category": "depressed", "quote": "this is how I live my life, bird by bird and it helped me go from suicidal feelings to being able to feel some pride and acceptance of myself and enjoy life again.", "hn_user": "vcryan", "date": "2022-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34053953", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Blueprint Decoded", "book_author": "RSD (Owen Cook)", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It is an old pickup course that was absolutely life-changing for me (and was one of the few things that really helped me with the whole not-killing-myself thing).", "hn_user": "lumenwrites", "date": "2022-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34052732", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Breakfast of Champions", "book_author": "Kurt Vonnegut", "category": "depressed", "quote": "he inserted himself into the book as a character and stated that writing the book prevented him from killing himself like his mother. It helped me not kill myself as well.", "hn_user": "okareaman", "date": "2019-11-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21594300", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche", "book_author": "Ethan Watters", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I would estimate this book singlehandedly cured 90% of my mental “disorders”.", "hn_user": "usednet", "date": "2022-10-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33382470", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Enchiridion", "book_author": "Epictetus", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I have found that in my own times of trouble and profound sadness that two books have helped me cope.", "hn_user": "metiscus", "date": "2020-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24400564", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Enchiridion", "book_author": "Epictetus", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Epictetus' Enchiridion helped me massively with depression and anxiety over the past few years. I still read a few excerpts from it weekly.", "hn_user": "messe", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606054", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond", "book_author": "Gene Kranz", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Reading has allowed me to settle down internally and then I can sit and do what I was anxious about.", "hn_user": "regretting2", "date": "2013-01-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5120457", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "it helped me tremendously to cope with, and eventually recover from severe depression.", "hn_user": "wwupt", "date": "2021-03-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26349419", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "That book helped me kick some serious depression.", "hn_user": "ericabiz", "date": "2013-01-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5122531", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I read Feeling Good by David Burns, and it did help. It wasn't enough on its own, but a basic understanding of CBT goes a long way.", "hn_user": "CrispinS", "date": "2022-04-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30926865", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I have depression, and Burns' \"Feeling Good\" helped me substantially, specifically by identifying brain-spirals I get into, which lead to depression, and once known can be avoided", "hn_user": "chris_st", "date": "2026-01-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46484168", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I studied the book \"Feeling Good\" that made me understand what depression is and is not, causes, manifestations etc... also in that book there are some self-therapy tools, mostly a special for of journaling.", "hn_user": "SMAAART", "date": "2021-07-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27741014", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "2 months of feeling good probably did as much as a few years of weekly CBT counseling.", "hn_user": "texasbigdata", "date": "2020-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22093323", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "reading the book recommended by my therapist, \"feeling good\" by david burns. It helped me a lot more than any advice from parents, friends, strangers on the internet ever did.", "hn_user": "jyu", "date": "2012-03-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3657193", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I was having severe anxiety when I started doing the cognitive distortion exercises from the book. It's a bit of work, but change sets in immediately", "hn_user": "michaelgrafl", "date": "2013-01-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5120134", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It helped me a lot, in particular in dealing with thoughts something like what the OP's partner apparently had. It has great strategies for first recognizing, and then dealing with such thoughts.", "hn_user": "chris_st", "date": "2022-01-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29780901", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I devoured this book and within a few weeks felts massively better. I now find that depression can start to creep back in, but I can right away use some tools to get myself right again.", "hn_user": "jossclimb", "date": "2022-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32104863", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Read 'Feeling Good' - terrible title, great book. It will probably work better than average on the average HN reader because it takes a 'rational' approach to depression (cognitive-behavioral therapy).", "hn_user": "tst", "date": "2014-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8339948", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "This book changed my life for the better, as well as The Depression Cure by Stephen Ilardi. Both of them combined got me out of a deep multi-yearlong depression and allowed me to get married, get a better job, be more productive, more active and much much happier.", "hn_user": "randycupertino", "date": "2019-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21617351", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "By learning to change my thought patterns, it was like having the hole I was in shrink until I could just step out.", "hn_user": "bougiefever", "date": "2017-04-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14106002", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "\"Feeling Good\" but it probably saved my life from a descent into insanity. It's my \"bible\" now.", "hn_user": "lusr", "date": "2012-09-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4509281", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "his cbt exercises in 'feeling good' have helped me so much that I've turned them into a software for my own personal use. This way I'm able to do his exercises on the phone / laptop very easily. My bdc score dropped from 20 to 5 in 3 months", "hn_user": "superasn", "date": "2020-04-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22847840", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "The \"Feeling Good\" book by David D Burns, which is essentially a fantastic primer on CBT, single handedly helped me conquer my depression in college and helped me graduate with high scores", "hn_user": "webmobdev", "date": "2020-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22262197", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "helped me get out of a hole of anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.", "hn_user": "toastercat", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090176", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life", "book_author": "Steven C. Hayes", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Its scientific approach to understanding our own thought patterns gave me control- coping mechanisms- for dealing with my own feelings instead of ignoring (\"Burying\") them", "hn_user": "geocrasher", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735786", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life", "book_author": "Steven C. Hayes", "category": "depressed", "quote": "ACT helped me turn around my life at a low point in my mid 20s.", "hn_user": "civilized", "date": "2023-04-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35427387", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Both of these books helped me immensely when I was down and I think DC's writing style (by examples) is what I found very useful.", "hn_user": "gordon_freeman", "date": "2018-05-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17131821", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable About Anything: Yes, Anything", "book_author": "Albert Ellis", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Helped me with my depression, enough said.", "hn_user": "throwaway168544", "date": "2021-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26583949", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Both of these books helped me immensely when I was down and I think DC's writing style (by examples) is what I found very useful.", "hn_user": "gordon_freeman", "date": "2018-05-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17131821", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "I Don't Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression", "book_author": "Terrence Real", "category": "depressed", "quote": "My therapist recommended a book to me a few months ago, and reading it honestly changed my life.", "hn_user": "mattdeboard", "date": "2018-08-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17838400", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It helped me a lot, and still does, when I find myself spiraling down.", "hn_user": "f2ender", "date": "2011-04-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2408716", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It reframed pessimism for me in a way that was very important, and helped me see that my pragmatic use of pessimism - while useful - did not require me to maintain a pessimistic outlook.", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2023-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35234881", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "depressed", "quote": "The book claims that “optimism” can be measured, and that there are strategies for improving it, and discusses those strategies. I personally found that they did help me", "hn_user": "braythwayt", "date": "2015-05-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9506156", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Lost Connections", "book_author": "Johann Hari", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Personally, realizing where I have \"disconnected\" from people, values, and truly human experiences has been a large step forward in improving my mental health.", "hn_user": "apollopower", "date": "2020-07-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23859109", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor Frankl", "category": "depressed", "quote": "A book that helped me a lot was Frankl's \"A man's search for meaning\". I realized that I had a bit of fight club nihilism in me because I never chose my purpose in life", "hn_user": "anhedonisticguy", "date": "2015-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10162270", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor Frankl", "category": "depressed", "quote": "it helped me find the inner tools within myself to go on and achieve happiness.", "hn_user": "rosamunda", "date": "2020-11-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25171346", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Maps of Meaning", "book_author": "Jordan B. Peterson", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Maps of Meaning really helped me fling myself out of a depression as an aspie-kind of a guy.", "hn_user": "zwkrt", "date": "2021-04-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26935326", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindsight", "book_author": "Daniel J. Siegel", "category": "depressed", "quote": "years ago I was falling into a deep depression and consumed by panic attacks. I had gone on and off to therapy in the past, but this time I ended up reading a bunch of materials about mindfulness including the book Mindsight. It changed my life.", "hn_user": "jaredcwhite", "date": "2022-10-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33187214", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Self-Compassion", "book_author": "Kristin Neff", "category": "depressed", "quote": "If you like to read, two foundational books that helped me:\n\n- Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff", "hn_user": "ryanwaggoner", "date": "2022-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34055983", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I can think, I can wait, I can fast.\n\nThese became my mantra.\n\nI had the tools I needed. I could find a way out of this hole", "hn_user": "Zoquento", "date": "2025-02-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43114662", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I have found that in my own times of trouble and profound sadness that two books have helped me cope.", "hn_user": "metiscus", "date": "2020-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24400564", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Starting Strength", "book_author": "Mark Rippetoe", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I wouldn't waste one day feeling extremely down in the dumps like I used to (used to be suicidal/suffer from extreme depression). No episodes, just focus.", "hn_user": "rfnslyr", "date": "2013-08-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6291467", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Anger Management Workbook for Men", "book_author": "Aaron Karmin", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I learned how to manage my emotions from a powerful book called \"The Anger Management Workbook for Men\" by Aaron Karmin, and embracing it changed my life and enriched it in ways I absolutely never could have predicted", "hn_user": "avg_dev", "date": "2023-01-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34218914", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Meditation", "book_author": "Matthieu Ricard", "category": "depressed", "quote": "This little book, quick to read, made me realize that our selves are not what we think they are, and that our emotions are impermanent, that we can deal with them by simply acknowledging them instead of letting them overthrow us.", "hn_user": "epsylon", "date": "2015-04-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9352929", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Catcher in the Rye", "book_author": "J. D. Salinger", "category": "depressed", "quote": "As I got older and became familiar with depression in myself and others, the book clicked, and I find myself compelled to reread it.", "hn_user": "maxbond", "date": "2023-01-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34205077", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Consolations of Philosophy", "book_author": "Alain de Botton", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I've been suicidal. Some things that helped me:\n\n1. Reading ancient philosophers. I like Alain de Botton's book The Consolations of Philosophy as a start.", "hn_user": "throwawaylove12", "date": "2023-03-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35289406", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Cyberiad", "book_author": "Stanisław Lem", "category": "depressed", "quote": "the last book to really make me existentially happy and which helped me out of a bout of depression: The Cyberiad by Stanisław Lem", "hn_user": "jakeinspace", "date": "2024-08-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41150632", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Denial of Death", "book_author": "Ernest Becker", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Completely changed how I view life and the world around me. Also launched me on a path that's resulted in me successfully combating depression and anxiety", "hn_user": "wrd", "date": "2014-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8740608", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Depression Cure", "book_author": "Stephen S. Ilardi", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Both of them combined got me out of a deep multi-yearlong depression and allowed me to get married, get a better job, be more productive, more active and much much happier.", "hn_user": "randycupertino", "date": "2019-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21617351", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Depression Cure", "book_author": "Stephen Ilardi", "category": "depressed", "quote": "One of the books I read that helped me finally beat my severe chronic depression has an entire section on engaging work and why it's good for your brain.", "hn_user": "randycupertino", "date": "2019-12-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21799327", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Feeling Good Handbook", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It's helped me tremendously with moderate depression and anxiety. For anyone suffering, I'd highly recommend just giving the book and its exercises a try.", "hn_user": "Trasmatta", "date": "2020-03-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22537270", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Feeling Good Handbook", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I was so depressed I could only read the first chapter or so. And it still changed my life in the end and I live by that first chapter.", "hn_user": "flycaliguy", "date": "2020-03-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22538875", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Feeling Good Handbook", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It's helped me reframe my mind to give me more control over what I think and feel, to separate the true reality of life", "hn_user": "polymathemagics", "date": "2019-12-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21805754", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Game of Life and How to Play It", "book_author": "Florence Scovel Shinn", "category": "depressed", "quote": "One thing that helped me is to read self-development books. I read two, it has literally saved me from sinking.", "hn_user": "jphalimi", "date": "2018-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17312041", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Gay Science", "book_author": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Some three liners aphorisms from Nietzsche made more impact in my life than everything else I read combined. This book literally saved my life.", "hn_user": "julienmarie", "date": "2018-11-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18420249", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Greatest Salesman in the World", "book_author": "Og Mandino", "category": "depressed", "quote": "a friend recommended both of those books and they helped me get back on track", "hn_user": "Saleshooman", "date": "2022-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31356241", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Happiness Trap", "book_author": "Russ Harris", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I'd credit this book with the single biggest impact on my life. I remember crying from relief after doing one of the exercises.", "hn_user": "scurraorbis", "date": "2022-04-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31031379", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Happiness Trap", "book_author": "Russ Harris", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It essentially helps you stop trying to run so hard from feeling negative emotions, and being ok with having negative experiences and feelings reduces so much stress.", "hn_user": "thisoneisreal", "date": "2026-10-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50098675", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Longevity Diet", "book_author": "Valter Longo", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Cleaning up my diet has been life changing. Especially the “fasting mimicking diet (FMD)” as explained in the book The Longevity Diet by Valter Longo.", "hn_user": "schaefer", "date": "2023-03-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35289190", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife", "book_author": "James Hollis", "category": "depressed", "quote": "What got me through the depression that ensues in what I think was also a “mid-life crisis” was the perspective offered by James Hollis", "hn_user": "mactavish88", "date": "2022-04-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31030173", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force", "book_author": "Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Sharon Begley", "category": "depressed", "quote": "What helped me was learning that depression is a physical phenomenon resulting from trained signaling pathways in one's brain that can be observed and retrained.", "hn_user": "dpe82", "date": "2011-11-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3284843", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mindful Way through Depression", "book_author": "Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, Jon Kabat-Zinn", "category": "depressed", "quote": "The realization the book gave me was that the impulse to scrutinize my life had, for me, become destructive.", "hn_user": "russellsilva", "date": "2010-07-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1553422", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Miracle of Mindfulness", "book_author": "Thich Nhat Hanh", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I read his book \"the miracle of mindfulness\" when I was undergoing an extremely difficult, near suicidal period of my life, and it pulled me out and put me back on track.", "hn_user": "colordrops", "date": "2022-01-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30034086", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Myth of Sisyphus", "book_author": "Albert Camus", "category": "depressed", "quote": "although I only read the first couple of pages, still seems the only approach to the \"meaning of life\" possible. Helped me against depression", "hn_user": "Tichy", "date": "2008-06-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=229685", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "depressed", "quote": "My doctor recommended a book, \"The Now Habit\" which helped me learn how to schedule better and gave me a little insight into, what had become, habitual anxiety and procrastination.", "hn_user": "regretting2", "date": "2013-01-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5120457", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Obstacle Is the Way", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "depressed", "quote": "Then I read \"The Obstacle Is The Way\" by Ryan Holiday. This book pretty much changed my life.", "hn_user": "K0SM0S", "date": "2017-10-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15455242", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Road Less Traveled", "book_author": "M. Scott Peck", "category": "depressed", "quote": "When I was struggling with depression and not feeling worth anything and generally a piece of shit someone pointed this book out to me.", "hn_user": "k4ch0w", "date": "2017-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15630608", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Stormlight Archive", "book_author": "Brandon Sanderson", "category": "depressed", "quote": "in the most off-putting moments of life reading inspirational scenes from the Stormlight Archive has helped me stand up again", "hn_user": "kaladin-jasnah", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30739083", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck", "book_author": "Mark Manson", "category": "depressed", "quote": "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck was helpful to me in learning to be more \"in the world but not of the world\" -- maintaining a sense of my own values even if it was significantly harder to practice them in my current social context.", "hn_user": "afarrell", "date": "2021-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26511971", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying", "book_author": "Sogyal Rinpoche", "category": "depressed", "quote": "It changed my perspective on death. It made me realize that nothing is permanent and it's best not to be afraid of death.", "hn_user": "middleclick", "date": "2015-04-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9394293", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Wisdom of Insecurity", "book_author": "Alan Watts", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I've found that some of the ideas in that book have helped me feel very peaceful and at home in the worst of my times.", "hn_user": "Fliko", "date": "2011-12-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3357682", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Wisdom of Life", "book_author": "Arthur Schopenhauer", "category": "depressed", "quote": "what helped me was Arthur Schopenhauer book \"the wisdom of life\", it deals a lot with a sense of meaninglessness and ability to overcome that.", "hn_user": "particleandwave", "date": "2020-05-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23337287", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "There Is No Antimemetics Division", "book_author": "qntm", "category": "depressed", "quote": "This book caught me during a particularly difficult part of my life, when I was struggling with depression and self-doubt. Reading something that framed ideas as being things that are not only infectious and mind-altering, but killable was comforting for me, and gave me hope that I could climb out of the hole that I was in.", "hn_user": "typedef_sorbet", "date": "2024-10-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41768306", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain", "book_author": "Sharon Begley", "category": "depressed", "quote": "What helped me was learning that depression is a physical phenomenon resulting from trained signaling pathways in one's brain that can be observed and retrained.", "hn_user": "dpe82", "date": "2011-11-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3284843", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Unlimited Power", "book_author": "Tony Robbins", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I had read the great book \"Unlimited Power\" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlimited_Power)\n\n3. I had done all practics from that book.\n\nAnd my life was changed!", "hn_user": "dchistov", "date": "2015-07-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9928509", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Walking Your Blues Away", "book_author": "Thom Hartmann", "category": "depressed", "quote": "The book/methodology I can honestly say saved my life and gave me a life, a future. A way to cope with things that were driving me crazy.", "hn_user": "mptest", "date": "2023-12-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38482136", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "When Things Fall Apart", "book_author": "Pema Chödrön", "category": "depressed", "quote": "The only thing that helped me was When Things Fall Apart.", "hn_user": "ahoyhere", "date": "2010-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1603613", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "You Can Heal Your Life", "book_author": "Louise L. Hay", "category": "depressed", "quote": "I like some parts of this book a lot. Some are weird to me, but once you sort things out, I concluded that it helped me a lot.", "hn_user": "jphalimi", "date": "2018-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17312041", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "depressed", "quote": "the book sparked a process in my mind to turn myself from a depressed cynical high-schooler, into a pragmatic adult, who enjoys his work, his studies, and his art", "hn_user": "pavelludiq", "date": "2011-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2190229", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "100 Things I Want to Accomplish, Create, Learn, Share, Improve, See, Fight for, Experience, Organise, and Dream of Doing", "book_author": null, "category": "focus", "quote": "having a physical book to keep track and to slowly fill out as the year goes by helps me focus on what is important and not get distracted", "hn_user": "MaxPengwing", "date": "2023-01-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34308297", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "10X Rule", "book_author": "Grant Cardone", "category": "focus", "quote": "this book somehow got me started and since January I feel like I have rocket boosters attached.", "hn_user": "geff82", "date": "2018-05-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17168700", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Applied Behavior Analysis", "book_author": "Cooper et al.", "category": "focus", "quote": "This has worked extremely well for me. It seems that just recording a behavior can increase it or decrease it in the direction that you want.", "hn_user": "s-video", "date": "2022-11-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33470325", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atlas Shrugged", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "focus", "quote": "After reading Atlas Shrugged I must say I'm more eager to get things done and ignore pessimistic people who think things simply cannot be done because it is a lot of work.", "hn_user": "Pietertje", "date": "2015-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10788034", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "Atomic Habits gave me a framework for how to actually get shit done. Instead of tracking \"goals\", which I have come to despise, I track time. It is less stressful", "hn_user": "honkycat", "date": "2022-07-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32229000", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "I also recommend the book Atomic Habits by James Clear - as he has helped me try and build a habit I enjoy around my side projects.", "hn_user": "chrisrickard", "date": "2021-01-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25865609", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "His focus on systems really changed the way I think about managing my attention and my time.", "hn_user": "verse", "date": "2021-12-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29621357", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "it has helped me be a much better version of myself.", "hn_user": "sulam", "date": "2021-05-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27349153", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "reading Mr Clear makes me realise that I can achieve those by not focusing on the end goal but getting into a habit, a system, and chipping away at it over time.", "hn_user": "rhubarbcustard", "date": "2022-01-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29780469", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "Reading the book Atomic Habits by James Clear helped me actually turn these things into habits.", "hn_user": "ativzzz", "date": "2022-05-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31309435", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "I read the Atomic Habits book and I can say it helped me organise my work better.", "hn_user": "atatomir", "date": "2021-02-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26292684", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "something that helped me a lot was the book atomic habits, focusing on systems rather than in pure force of will.", "hn_user": "javchz", "date": "2022-05-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31433907", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "focus", "quote": "These ideas totally impacted the way I operate and helped me achieve a lot more than I would have on my own. But I needed to read the book to implement these tactics.", "hn_user": "maximp", "date": "2022-01-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29786277", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Awaken the Giant Within", "book_author": "Anthony Robbins", "category": "focus", "quote": "I have finally been able to form a habit that I wanted for more than a few decades and the book which helped me finally get it was \"Awaken the Giant Within\" by Anthony Robbins.", "hn_user": "justgaurav", "date": "2024-10-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41716252", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "\"Deep Work\" made me realize my basic methodology for getting shit done was broken. I need unbroken blocks of time to actually accomplish work.", "hn_user": "honkycat", "date": "2022-07-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32229000", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "those last three weeks were for me one of the most productive periods in the last several years.", "hn_user": "TeMPOraL", "date": "2016-06-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11940521", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "As a direct result to reading Deep Work, I made a few small changes that have had a positive impact on my life since.", "hn_user": "aaachilless", "date": "2017-02-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13720251", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "using some techniques in Cal Newport's book \"Deep Work\" which has significantly helped me stay focused and get into a flow state much easier.", "hn_user": "edyc5", "date": "2024-02-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39245331", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "I applied this way of working to how I approached studying for software engineering and it helped me tremendously. I was able to pick up difficult solutions quite quickly without spending huge amounts of time studying.", "hn_user": "georgex7", "date": "2020-10-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24703048", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "I also learned from Deep Work to have clear work-life boundary. Made my life much better. I turn off from work at a certain time.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-04-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31045946", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "\"Deep Work\" by Cal Newport has really helped me with my productivity and happiness, and made me give up social media.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737792", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "I've been practicing deep work since reading Cal's book just after it was released.", "hn_user": "aacook", "date": "2018-02-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16454825", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "I applied this way of working to how I approached studying for software engineering and it helped me tremendously. I was able to pick up difficult solutions quite quickly without spending huge amounts of time studying.", "hn_user": "georgex7", "date": "2020-10-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24703053", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "I have managed to allocate one day per week for myself where I completely turn off WiFi, allowing me to focus on whatever task I choose.", "hn_user": "akinsketch", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089532", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "this book genuinely changed my life, my ability to focus, and my mental frameworks around work ethic, focus, time management, and productivity.", "hn_user": "Nathanael_M", "date": "2022-11-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33558182", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "I am much more saner, calmer, and get more done because I adopted Deep Work philosophy in my life.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2023-03-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35124570", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "I’ve greatly benefited from the tactics espoused by Cal Newport in his book “Deep Work” and in his podcast. I now plan my days (regardless of whether it goes according to plan), have startup and shutdown rituals", "hn_user": "trentnix", "date": "2023-06-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36185354", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "helped me to drastically reduce procrastination and increase my productivity and the quality of my work. All that without increasing my work hours.", "hn_user": "lhoff", "date": "2023-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38747135", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Digital Minimalism", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "He proposes very concrete steps and I've pushed things a bit further for myself after reading it.", "hn_user": "_hao", "date": "2022-01-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30044552", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Digital Minimalism", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "Reading this and actually making tangible changes to my habits helped me rediscover my love of learning.", "hn_user": "MrZander", "date": "2021-12-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29514098", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence", "book_author": "Anna Lembke", "category": "focus", "quote": "Since then I stopped watching Youtube for pleasure and only watch videos that are work related or that someone send to me. I learned to stand the pain of boredom", "hn_user": "lhoff", "date": "2023-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38747135", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Eat That Frog!", "book_author": "Brian Tracy", "category": "focus", "quote": "One of point was to keep a pocket diary where you list all the TODO tasks and keep striking them off as they complete.", "hn_user": "yogeshp", "date": "2018-06-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17291249", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Focusing", "book_author": "Eugene Gendlin", "category": "focus", "quote": "The old book Focusing by Eugene Gendlin really helped me here", "hn_user": "savryn", "date": "2022-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33803251", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "the whole concept of \"what's the next action\" has really worked for me.", "hn_user": "zzzmarcus", "date": "2009-06-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=663897", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "I struggle to make time for them regularly, but even occasional reviews help.", "hn_user": "dzhar11", "date": "2025-08-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45086450", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "Separating the three basic concepts of planning, making decisions, and actually doing the work, into discrete sessions, has been a life changer.", "hn_user": "CPLX", "date": "2019-08-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20738080", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "A book I read 10 years ago that forever changed the way I manage productivity and organization both at work and in my personal life:", "hn_user": "atlas1428", "date": "2018-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17936661", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "Getting Things Done by David Allen gives you a system that works for keeping track of things and choosing what to work on when.", "hn_user": "nordgren", "date": "2009-04-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=580338", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "Personally I've found systems like \"Getting Things Done\" (the classic book) helpful - it emphasises getting things out of your head and into a trusted system.", "hn_user": "benrow", "date": "2022-01-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29757665", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "It really changed how I approach not only my workday but pretty much everything that could constitute \"work\" in my daily life.", "hn_user": "PeOe", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093503", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "For me the two-minute-rule and concept of breaking a task down into actionable steps really changed the way I do things.", "hn_user": "jlees", "date": "2009-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=534358", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "This one alone changed my life in a great way - no more forgetting important things, knowing what all my projects are in my personal life & work life", "hn_user": "paulio10", "date": "2022-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30254804", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "What I learned from the book was not a specific method, but how to think about task management in a way that makes sense given the limited capacity of my brain", "hn_user": "raamdev", "date": "2016-03-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11229741", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "About 5 years ago I read 'Getting Things Done' and (despite my misgivings) it literally changed my life.", "hn_user": "zwischenzug", "date": "2017-03-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13819171", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "the two biggest game changers for me have been quick capture and weekly review. A la David Allen's \"Getting Things Done\" or \"7 Habits of Highly Effective People\" (both absolute game changer books for me).", "hn_user": "jameshush", "date": "2021-08-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28325767", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "Of course I got his book, and of course it changed my thinking. I wouldn't be writing this if it hadn't. I have ADD, and am also deeply suspicious of self-help literature.", "hn_user": "gtuckerkellogg", "date": "2015-06-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9672776", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "His practice in his book Getting Things Done helped me practice this, not just abstractly know it.", "hn_user": "spodek", "date": "2018-05-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17004130", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "Reading it made a profound and lasting impact on how I approached my work.", "hn_user": "larrywright", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19091293", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "I'm a lot more organized after reading this book and the author does talk about the scientific basis for 'limited' willpower.", "hn_user": "icu", "date": "2013-10-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6604551", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "I have more or less copied the approach to to-do lists described in that book into a Trello board", "hn_user": "slsii", "date": "2019-01-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18891327", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "if something is going to take two minutes or less, just do it. That simple rule helped me immensely.", "hn_user": "criddell", "date": "2015-12-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10769099", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "it has already made a considerable improvement in my productivity. I've had problems with procrastination as well, but with GTD I see myself wanting to do stuff.", "hn_user": "manish_gill", "date": "2015-12-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10662689", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "getting things done by David Allen it helped me sort things out of my head to make room to be inspired.", "hn_user": "apricot13", "date": "2022-05-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31371626", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "It's actually helped me be less stressed and calmed me down a bunch.", "hn_user": "mtlmtlmtlmtl", "date": "2026-01-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46613820", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "It has helped me a lot beyond GTD because the same principles can be applied in other contexts such as agile dev work or organising a company.", "hn_user": "dtx1", "date": "2021-08-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28035268", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "After reading GTD, I wrote down everything I could think of that I would have to or want to do, ever.", "hn_user": "jasonswett", "date": "2012-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4911010", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "Since I implemented it, my life changed and I not even thought of going back.", "hn_user": "galfarragem", "date": "2015-04-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9353472", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "focus", "quote": "the author has a few ideas and techniques I really liked, that have helped me get motivated.", "hn_user": "jlarocco", "date": "2019-01-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18905495", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Create a Mind", "book_author": "Ray Kurzweil", "category": "focus", "quote": "it helped me to change my point of view to my behaviors for example I stopped to watch reality show started to take a design session for 1 hour everyday", "hn_user": "mertnesvat", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716640", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Get Rich", "book_author": "Felix Dennis", "category": "focus", "quote": "When I read \"How to Get Rich\" by Felix Dennis, I made a list of 10 things I had to do to affirm my commitment. \"Get rid of my TV\" was #1.", "hn_user": "edw519", "date": "2009-04-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=578070", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Keep House While Drowning", "book_author": "KC Davis", "category": "focus", "quote": "Two books helped me greatly and they both call out the exact distinction between perfection and efficiency you do.", "hn_user": "code_biologist", "date": "2023-06-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36253326", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind", "book_author": "Dana White", "category": "focus", "quote": "Consciously giving up on \"efficiency\" has helped me finish a lot of projects I otherwise would have put off for far too long!", "hn_user": "code_biologist", "date": "2023-06-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36253326", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "focus", "quote": "that book changed my life, career and studies. Brought a new level of focus and mastery into all my works.", "hn_user": "igammarays", "date": "2015-07-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9824211", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Linchpin", "book_author": "Seth Godin", "category": "focus", "quote": "Since reading those books I have been much better at doing important work that actually matters without putting it off or making excuses.", "hn_user": "justinmares", "date": "2010-12-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1974054", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Mastery", "book_author": "Robert Greene", "category": "focus", "quote": "taught me that a boring life should be desired where the brain's desire for novelty is not awarded, and instead, time is spent on honing much fewer number of skills.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737792", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Meditations", "book_author": "Marcus Aurelius", "category": "focus", "quote": "That example helps me do necessary tasks, even when I don't feel like it.", "hn_user": "dzhar11", "date": "2025-08-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45086450", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Mini Habits", "book_author": "Stephen Guise", "category": "focus", "quote": "Mini Habits - the only routine building method that worked for me.", "hn_user": "joshux", "date": "2014-12-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8720518", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Non-Things: Upheaval in the Lifeworld", "book_author": "Byung-Chul Han", "category": "focus", "quote": "since reading that I make an effort to not pick up my phone as much.", "hn_user": "Insanity", "date": "2026-04-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47927048", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Pragmatic Thinking and Learning", "book_author": "Andy Hunt", "category": "focus", "quote": "Same goes for \"Pragmatic Thinking and Learning\" by Andy Hunt.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737792", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Procrastination", "book_author": "Fuschia M. Sirois", "category": "focus", "quote": "I was in a similar boat, and this book[1] helped me a lot. It deals with the roots of procrastination, which lie in poor mood management and the lack of self-compassion.", "hn_user": "lapitopi", "date": "2024-11-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42103670", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Refuse to Choose", "book_author": "Barbara Sher", "category": "focus", "quote": "The book Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher helped me get through notebooks. I could only ever get a few pages in one before switching interests.", "hn_user": "codazoda", "date": "2023-08-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37243658", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Self Discipline in 10 Days", "book_author": "Theodore Bryant", "category": "focus", "quote": "This book really helped me into stoping procastination and using my time in the things that I really wanted: \"Self discipline in 10 days\"", "hn_user": "nestorherre", "date": "2017-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15192286", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Self Discipline in 10 Days", "book_author": "Theodore Bryant", "category": "focus", "quote": "it helped me with getting back my focus. Once I snap out of my workflow and my mind starts wandering I use my \"inner voice\" to remind me that I have to focus and it works", "hn_user": "brico", "date": "2012-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3754110", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Shop Class as Soulcraft", "book_author": "Matthew B. Crawford", "category": "focus", "quote": "After reading those I stopped basically ever looking at feeds because I was so nauseated by the business side of it.", "hn_user": "iainctduncan", "date": "2021-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27032534", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "So Good They Can't Ignore You", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "focus", "quote": "it really helped me to stop being a scatterbrain, slightly below average developer.", "hn_user": "serial_dev", "date": "2023-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37416175", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain", "book_author": "John J. Ratey", "category": "focus", "quote": "After reading it I decided to finally get on a religious exercise schedule and I've been on it for two months. The improvements to my will-power, focus, and mood have been tremendous.", "hn_user": "mattjaynes", "date": "2012-02-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3623303", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Stolen Focus", "book_author": "Johann Hari", "category": "focus", "quote": "his tips on what he does to lessen the nodge toward social media is what I now do as well.", "hn_user": "azemetre", "date": "2022-05-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31437908", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Stolen Focus", "book_author": "Johann Hari", "category": "focus", "quote": "Time and time again I made up my mind to focus, but it wasn't until I read this book that I actually did it.", "hn_user": "theowenyoung", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738710", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Taking Charge of Adult ADHD", "book_author": "Russell A. Barkley", "category": "focus", "quote": "The book Taking Charge of Adult ADHD by Russell Barkley helped me significantly.", "hn_user": "GunlogAlm", "date": "2019-04-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19542370", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Work Week", "book_author": "Timothy Ferriss", "category": "focus", "quote": "after reading the book, I have put in a lot of effort into automating a lot of daily recurring browsing activity for which I used to waste time daily.", "hn_user": "FrostAlot", "date": "2017-08-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14966216", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Workweek", "book_author": "Timothy Ferriss", "category": "focus", "quote": "This book has changed my mindset and has made me much more efficient and effective at work, and life in general.", "hn_user": "Paul_D_Santana", "date": "2013-04-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5471630", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "focus", "quote": "helped me focus on and deal with my own internal issues that was encouraging my procrastination. I was able to start identifying them and working on them.", "hn_user": "C1ph3rL0ck", "date": "2018-08-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17871719", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "focus", "quote": "the two biggest game changers for me have been quick capture and weekly review. A la David Allen's \"Getting Things Done\" or \"7 Habits of Highly Effective People\" (both absolute game changer books for me).", "hn_user": "jameshush", "date": "2021-08-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28325767", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "focus", "quote": "the long term approach that has greatly improved my productivity as a freelancer and also in other areas of life is reading the book \"7 Habits of Highly Effective People\"", "hn_user": "manibatra", "date": "2015-09-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10176958", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism", "book_author": "Shoshana Zuboff", "category": "focus", "quote": "The thing that ended up motivating me to change was reinforcing for myself the fact that I'm in this mess because very smart people have designed systems to exploit me.", "hn_user": "30944836", "date": "2022-05-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31288928", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Procrastination", "book_author": "John Perry", "category": "focus", "quote": "this book has helped me reshape my thinking some. To see my own personal struggle with procrastination in a far more relaxed manner, and with that, even life itself to some degree.", "hn_user": "Wxc2jjJmST9XWWL", "date": "2021-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27535761", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Attention Merchants", "book_author": "Tim Wu", "category": "focus", "quote": "The thing that ended up motivating me to change was reinforcing for myself the fact that I'm in this mess because very smart people have designed systems to exploit me.", "hn_user": "30944836", "date": "2022-05-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31288928", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mind Illuminated", "book_author": "John Yates", "category": "focus", "quote": "it's helped me tremendously. It goes through ten stages, from novice to very advanced. I'm still close to the beginning, but the instructions in the first several chapters have helped me make far more progress than I ever had before.", "hn_user": "DennisP", "date": "2018-12-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18693382", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Mind Illuminated", "book_author": "Culadasa (John Yates)", "category": "focus", "quote": "It has given me much more than I ever expected. Much more focus and longer periods of focus. And everything I do for pleasure gives me more pleasure.", "hn_user": "__rito__", "date": "2022-08-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32341344", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Mind Illuminated", "book_author": "Culadasa (John Yates)", "category": "focus", "quote": "This was the single book that helped me establish a regular meditation practice working up to 35-45 mins/day.", "hn_user": "d4rkp4ttern", "date": "2022-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34196273", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Mind Illuminated", "book_author": "Culadasa (John Yates)", "category": "focus", "quote": "My fully-sanctitious Pomodoro cycle went up from 20 minutes to 90 minutes. I can hold my attention, unadulterated, for that long.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-07-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31967645", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "The Now Habit by Neil Fiore offers tools to overcome procrastination and start tasks. It helped me understand my resistance and find ways to move forward.", "hn_user": "dzhar11", "date": "2025-08-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45086450", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "At the very least it helped me identify the things I wanted to do and do them.", "hn_user": "C1ph3rL0ck", "date": "2018-08-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17871719", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "Neil Fiore's book \"The Now Habit\" had so many tips that helped me when I was procrastinating in school.", "hn_user": "codemac", "date": "2021-08-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28318805", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "The Now Habit by Neil Fiore teaches you how to get rid of some stupid things we do and think that keeps us procrastinating.", "hn_user": "nordgren", "date": "2009-04-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=580338", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "The Now Habit really helped me let go of procrastination being my fault, and just seeing it as a systemic side effect of my approach.", "hn_user": "codemac", "date": "2021-01-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25650262", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "It helped me understand and break the procrastination cycle.", "hn_user": "throwdep", "date": "2015-07-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9928002", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "The biggest thing that has helped me is a book - \"The Now Habit\" by Neil Fiore.", "hn_user": "298219640", "date": "2014-04-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7536660", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "I struggle with procrastination and learning the underlying causes are what helped me make huge progress. I cannot recommend \"The Now Habit\" enough", "hn_user": "lunchables", "date": "2019-09-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20983778", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "Neil Fiore's book The Now Habit helped me quite a bit with procrastination", "hn_user": "geye1234", "date": "2023-05-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35954460", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Now Habit", "book_author": "Neil Fiore", "category": "focus", "quote": "this one book that changed my perspective on procrastination and personal productivity. And being more productive can be pretty life changing IMHO.", "hn_user": "plainOldText", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6976571", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Power of Habit", "book_author": "Charles Duhigg", "category": "focus", "quote": "Have a plan for what to do when the pain or other emotional event threatens to derail your action.", "hn_user": "b_emery", "date": "2016-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12416637", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Power of Habit", "book_author": "Charles Duhigg", "category": "focus", "quote": "didn't skip a single day at gym for 3 months non stop because of what i learned from this book", "hn_user": "superasn", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716443", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Power of Habit", "book_author": "Charles Duhigg", "category": "focus", "quote": "The Power of Habit (the book) helped me identify my bad habits the moment they triggered.", "hn_user": "papito", "date": "2022-08-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32376305", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Power of Habit", "book_author": "Charles Duhigg", "category": "focus", "quote": "what helped me the most to get over this was to understand how habits work.", "hn_user": "7ur1n9", "date": "2021-10-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28986246", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Power of Less", "book_author": "Leo Babauta", "category": "focus", "quote": "I found the advice from Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net helped me quite a lot - particularly his book \"The Power of Less\".", "hn_user": "mike47", "date": "2011-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3331602", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains", "book_author": "Nicholas Carr", "category": "focus", "quote": "I've found that my attention span returned relatively quickly, and reading books for hours at a time became easy again.", "hn_user": "rpeden", "date": "2017-04-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14028756", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "focus", "quote": "Since reading those books I have been much better at doing important work that actually matters without putting it off or making excuses.", "hn_user": "justinmares", "date": "2010-12-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1974054", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "focus", "quote": "After reading the book i was able to convince myself that this was just a resistance and if i wanted to be happy and successful, i would have to overcome this resistance.", "hn_user": "rprameshwor", "date": "2016-12-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13180131", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "focus", "quote": "No book has helped me overcome procrastination more than Steven Pressfield's \"The War of Art\"", "hn_user": "kroger", "date": "2014-01-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7026301", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "focus", "quote": "I'm one of the worst there is, yet this book has helped me tremendously, and helped a ton of others as well.", "hn_user": "sixQuarks", "date": "2013-03-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5390472", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "focus", "quote": "helped me view my own work in a new light and get shit done by removing my ego from the outcome.", "hn_user": "siegs", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6977013", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "focus", "quote": "A friend of mine loaned me his copy and it's definitely pulled me up from the doldrums I've been in recently to get some perspective.", "hn_user": "jayroh", "date": "2010-07-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1531910", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The World Beyond Your Head", "book_author": "Matthew B. Crawford", "category": "focus", "quote": "understanding how it's nothing different than the casino slot machine makers who have figured out how to make little old ladies piss their pants to keep playing, really helped make it easier to be disciplined", "hn_user": "iainctduncan", "date": "2021-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27032534", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "focus", "quote": "Understanding how the brain works a bit really helped me to get \"in the zone\" a lot more often and I have certainly seen gains in focus/concentration", "hn_user": "ErikAugust", "date": "2013-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5174095", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Tiny Habits", "book_author": "BJ Fogg", "category": "focus", "quote": "I immediately started flossing and haven't quit in the three years since reading.", "hn_user": "breakpointalpha", "date": "2026-01-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46826212", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Tiny Habits", "book_author": "BJ Fogg", "category": "focus", "quote": "Breaking them down into smallest possible steps and making habits out of them kept me moving. Write one sentence. Dial one number. Open one email. Process one invoice. It quickly snowballed.", "hn_user": "duckmysick", "date": "2023-03-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35173254", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Tools of Titans", "book_author": "Tim Ferriss", "category": "focus", "quote": "I divide my long term, life changing goals into one or more of three categories: healthy, wealthy, wise. It's an idea taken from Time Ferris' book, Tools of Titans.", "hn_user": "movedx", "date": "2018-08-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17873839", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast", "book_author": "Laura Vanderkam", "category": "focus", "quote": "This book changed my \"overtime work\" from being a night-owl, fighting for efficiency, to early bird (catching the worm) in just a few days.", "hn_user": "HenryBemis", "date": "2018-11-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18373277", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Wherever You Go, There You Are", "book_author": "Jon Kabat-Zinn", "category": "focus", "quote": "I learned how to do breath focus meditation and started practicing it several times per day for about a minute at a time, whenever I caught myself annoyed or waiting.", "hn_user": "forgotmypw17", "date": "2021-07-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27861632", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Your Own Worst Enemy", "book_author": "Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen", "category": "focus", "quote": "understanding the factors that contribute to procrastination and developing healthy coping/management methods has been infinitely helpful.", "hn_user": "grobertson", "date": "2013-03-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5381742", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back", "book_author": "Esther Gokhale", "category": "health", "quote": "helped me fix my back pain and allow to sit for long periods of time without any problem", "hn_user": "sebkap", "date": "2018-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16529321", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back", "book_author": "Esther Gokhale", "category": "health", "quote": "There was another thing in the book that has really helped me over the years and it's called the shoulder roll.", "hn_user": "superasn", "date": "2018-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17757434", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back", "book_author": "Esther Gokhale", "category": "health", "quote": "This book fixed my posture. After reading it, I understood for the first time what it actually means to have good posture.", "hn_user": "treebog", "date": "2020-04-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22896210", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "80/20 Running", "book_author": "Matt Fitzgerald", "category": "health", "quote": "It made a huge difference in my training, to run at (say) 60% of my pace most of the time instead of 90% as most of us do. I felt better, I enjoyed it more", "hn_user": "rconti", "date": "2020-01-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22109882", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "80/20 Running", "book_author": "Matt Fitzgerald", "category": "health", "quote": "It's made it a lot easier to actually go run every day, as it doesn't leave me feeling exhausted and it changes the psychology from feeling like I need to run faster", "hn_user": "gh0stcat", "date": "2025-07-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44560668", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Alcohol Explained", "book_author": "William Porter", "category": "health", "quote": "Alcohol explained, this changed my mind on booze.", "hn_user": "pipes", "date": "2023-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38566098", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atomic Habits", "book_author": "James Clear", "category": "health", "quote": "honestly that book changed my life. Stopped doing drugs, started eating healthy, started working out. Direct result of that book along with some philosophical reading.", "hn_user": "DontchaKnowit", "date": "2025-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46184064", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Back Mechanic", "book_author": "Stuart McGill", "category": "health", "quote": "The process he lays out takes work but it's based on solid research and experience and it has helped me tremendously.", "hn_user": "ddellacosta", "date": "2025-01-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42635074", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bigger Leaner Stronger", "book_author": "Michael Matthews", "category": "health", "quote": "I've been lifting 5 times a week for a couple years now and, while I've since modified much of the book to fit my personal goals and approach, it helped me get somewhere", "hn_user": "adamhowell", "date": "2019-04-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19759199", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Body by Science", "book_author": "Doug McGuff", "category": "health", "quote": "I got stronger with every passing week. Something that I was not able to do without a ton more effort in the past.", "hn_user": "robomartin", "date": "2012-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4971640", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Born to Run", "book_author": "Christopher McDougall", "category": "health", "quote": "It is not a perfect book, but it did get me running, and in that sense literally changed my life.", "hn_user": "jjindev", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6976942", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Born to Run", "book_author": "Christopher McDougall", "category": "health", "quote": "I read Born to Run and loved it. I never did the barefoot running thing. I just started running. That was four years ago. Weight is down. BP is down.", "hn_user": "genghisjahn", "date": "2025-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43469902", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Breath", "book_author": "James Nestor", "category": "health", "quote": "The single thing that improved my running distance is a few rules I made after reading this:", "hn_user": "d4rkp4ttern", "date": "2022-12-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34184899", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Breath", "book_author": "James Nestor", "category": "health", "quote": "Two useful bits that really helped me were mastic gum and mouth tape. Both of them made it much easier for me to breath through my nose at night", "hn_user": "sxp", "date": "2025-02-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43129306", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art", "book_author": "James Nestor", "category": "health", "quote": "It's completely changed my life and I wish I had started this long ago.", "hn_user": "mrDmrTmrJ", "date": "2023-11-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38101190", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art", "book_author": "James Nestor", "category": "health", "quote": "Putting on mouth tape to force myself to breath through my nose did the trick.", "hn_user": "sabrina_ramonov", "date": "2024-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40968345", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art", "book_author": "James Nestor", "category": "health", "quote": "helped me switch fully to nasal breathing, practicing better posture, warm myself when I'm cold, and breathing with my whole torso rather than just belly", "hn_user": "meristohm", "date": "2022-04-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31057715", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art", "book_author": "James Nestor", "category": "health", "quote": "since I read the book I breathe less when exercising and it seems to help.", "hn_user": "ectopod", "date": "2023-01-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34538599", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Chi Running", "book_author": "Danny Dreyer", "category": "health", "quote": "I too had flat fleet, and wore arch supports for many years, but after training in barefoot running for a year I \"fixed\" the issue. I even ran a marathon in barefoot shoes! It sounds like an advertisement, but it was life-changing for me.", "hn_user": "jasonpeacock", "date": "2024-06-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40825085", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Code to Joy", "book_author": "George Pratt and Peter Lambrou", "category": "health", "quote": "Code to Joy (that helps you clear out the effects of traumas through a body-mind algorithm) has helped me reduce pain in many situations, but the overall pain is still there.", "hn_user": "kmundnic", "date": "2015-08-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10105898", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Code to Joy", "book_author": "George Pratt", "category": "health", "quote": "A mix of yoga and meditation plus techniques from “Code to Joy” by George Pratt helped me chronic headaches.", "hn_user": "kmundnic", "date": "2019-03-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19379137", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome", "book_author": "Sharon Butler", "category": "health", "quote": "Changed my life -- no more typing pain.", "hn_user": "sreitshamer", "date": "2009-04-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=543799", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain Injuries", "book_author": "Sharon J. Butler", "category": "health", "quote": "I've definitely struggled off and on with RSI over the years and this book has been really helpful in keeping me limber", "hn_user": "quickpost", "date": "2015-05-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9605960", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World", "book_author": "Kelly Starrett", "category": "health", "quote": "I now stand a majority of the day and have learned methods for doing so effectively without simply tiring out my legs and causing a different set of problems.", "hn_user": "6r0k", "date": "2021-09-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28604125", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Dr. John Sarno's books", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "Then one day I saw someone on Hacker News mention Dr. Sarno's book, and it changed my life.", "hn_user": "hollywood_court", "date": "2025-02-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43094281", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Dr. John Sarno's books", "book_author": "John Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "What got me over it finally was reading and buying into Dr. John Sarno's books.", "hn_user": "bentt", "date": "2024-06-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40746172", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "Helped me to quit smoking with ease. Although I have started again and quit again because it was so easy to quit I fell in the trap that I would quit later.", "hn_user": "aryamaan", "date": "2018-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18662628", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Eat Food", "book_author": "Michael Pollan", "category": "health", "quote": "Switching to 'Eat food, mostly plants' advice is helping in mood and energy levels.", "hn_user": "AareyBaba", "date": "2019-05-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19905567", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "From Fatigued to Fantastic", "book_author": "Jacob Teitelbaum", "category": "health", "quote": "these took me from being non-functional, unable to discuss facts or details or make decisions, or go further than the sofa, to being able to go out, see people, do things (with limits).", "hn_user": "ahoyhere", "date": "2013-04-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5623385", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "From Fatigued to Fantastic", "book_author": "Jacob Teitelbaum", "category": "health", "quote": "I found a book that absolutely gave me back my life: From Fatigued to Fantastic.", "hn_user": "ahoyhere", "date": "2013-02-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5247871", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Galloway's Book on Running", "book_author": "Jeff Galloway", "category": "health", "quote": "I read Galloway's book (http://books.google.com/books?id=3kqUP3upHQ4C&printsec=f...) changed my approach and started running for pleasure. Now I log 20 to 30 miles a week for recreation", "hn_user": "brianlash", "date": "2010-10-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1782567", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Glucose Goddess Method", "book_author": "Jessie Inchauspé", "category": "health", "quote": "Also have a bit more energy, less cravings, no post-lunch slump.", "hn_user": "guiambros", "date": "2024-07-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40973456", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Glucose Revolution", "book_author": "Jessie Inchauspé", "category": "health", "quote": "It has also completely changed my relationship with food. I started eating more, lost weight, and my glucose levels are significantly lower (and, more importantly, I know exactly how to control it).", "hn_user": "guiambros", "date": "2024-07-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40973456", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain", "book_author": "John Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "Helped me with back pains and a plethora of random pains. Also helped my partner with hers.", "hn_user": "clSTophEjUdRanu", "date": "2020-01-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22069907", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain", "book_author": "John Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "Genuinely life changing for me.\n\nEver since, on the rare occasions when it does flare up again I reflect on the ideas from the book and apply them. Works amazingly well.", "hn_user": "electric_mayhem", "date": "2024-06-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40750321", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "it has helped me deal with a 7+ year \"chronic\" upper back pain, though it did take a bit of time to swallow the concept at first.", "hn_user": "geewee", "date": "2020-02-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22405438", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "I've had this specific problem and solved it with Dr Sarno's book. It changed my life. I was able to create a startup (that I longed to do..) and I've never been happier.", "hn_user": "latifnanji27", "date": "2016-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12993620", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "I read the book anyway, and I swear, the pain began dissipating. I began to adopt a new mindset -- my back is fine, the pain is arising out of my stress and awareness of the injury, not the injury itself-- and it truly worked.", "hn_user": "ambivalents", "date": "2018-05-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17131462", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "by just reading his books I got cured of my years of chronic back pain", "hn_user": "superasn", "date": "2020-01-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22073508", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "Since reading the book, I’ve been able to have about 3-4 decent days per week when before I was experiencing debilitating pain daily.", "hn_user": "hollywood_court", "date": "2022-08-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32516330", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "That book changed my life. I can walk 10 miles (mostly) pain free now. I still don't have any cartilage. I never had surgery or did PT.", "hn_user": "eric_b", "date": "2020-10-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24948611", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "litreally gave me my life back. Suffered back pain which I thought was from sitting and coding for 11 years.", "hn_user": "homosaphien1", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092475", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "I'll Cry Tomorrow", "book_author": "Lillian Roth", "category": "health", "quote": "The book, along with other influences, convinced me to never take a drink of alcohol. I never did. You can't become an alcoholic if you never take a drink.", "hn_user": "EdwardWarren", "date": "2022-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30808529", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "IBS: Free at Last!", "book_author": "Patsy Catsos", "category": "health", "quote": "I mostly followed the advice of books like IBS: Free at Last! (http://amzn.com/0982063520). Now I feel much more empowered and in control.", "hn_user": "mtift", "date": "2014-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8035912", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "In Defense of Food", "book_author": "Michael Pollan", "category": "health", "quote": "I read this book in 2007 when it came out and loosely followed its advice. It changed my life. I dropped 30 pounds, 2 shirt sizes and several inches off of my waist.", "hn_user": "garyrichardson", "date": "2017-01-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13494025", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "In Defense of Food", "book_author": "Michael Pollan", "category": "health", "quote": "The book \"In Defense of Food\" changed my life. It's not a diet at all, but guidelines to how to eat better for yourself and the environment.", "hn_user": "garyrichardson", "date": "2008-04-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=167354", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "It Starts With Food", "book_author": "Dan Whalen and Melissa Hartwig", "category": "health", "quote": "Within a couple weeks I went from having hypertension/pre-hypertension to normal blood pressure and over the course of 6 months or so I lost 40 lbs.", "hn_user": "d-roo", "date": "2016-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12245049", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain", "book_author": "Pete Egoscue", "category": "health", "quote": "The stretch opened my eyes to how my body should and could feel.", "hn_user": "dmansen", "date": "2015-05-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9471805", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain", "book_author": "Pete Egoscue", "category": "health", "quote": "This book completely changed my life. The exercise can seem a bit odd, but they worked amazingly well for me. I was almost completely back to normal within a month.", "hn_user": "govandia", "date": "2009-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=890750", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Power Sleep", "book_author": "James B. Maas", "category": "health", "quote": "Power Sleep, by Cornell sleep researcher Dr. James Maas, transformed my idea of naps.", "hn_user": "davidmurphy", "date": "2010-09-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1732736", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Pushing Yourself to Power", "book_author": null, "category": "health", "quote": "which totally changed my thinking and led me to many other resources.", "hn_user": "edw519", "date": "2011-04-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2442324", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Rewiring Tinnitus", "book_author": null, "category": "health", "quote": "I found the guidance in the book Rewiring Tinnitus really helped me in this respect", "hn_user": "gonesurfing", "date": "2023-12-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38497985", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Slow Burn", "book_author": "Stu Mittleman", "category": "health", "quote": "It changed the way i look at the cardio exercise dramatically !", "hn_user": "aivosha", "date": "2016-02-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11092027", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Starting Strength", "book_author": "Mark Rippetoe", "category": "health", "quote": "\"Starting Strength\" taught me correct exercise technique that completely changed the outcomes of my strength training.", "hn_user": "stiff", "date": "2012-12-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4985095", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Starting Strength", "book_author": "Mark Rippetoe", "category": "health", "quote": "After years of fumbling around in the gym this cut through a lot of bad ideas about fitness, exercise, strength, and health. It lead to the first real (and lasting) progress I've ever made physically.", "hn_user": "lackbeard", "date": "2017-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15158882", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Starting Strength", "book_author": "Mark Rippetoe", "category": "health", "quote": "I'm 46 now, before I began I was overweight and had frequent, severe back problems. I'm now two stone lighter, hell of a lot stronger and my back is just fine.", "hn_user": "cage433", "date": "2012-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4973028", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Starting Strength", "book_author": "Mark Rippetoe", "category": "health", "quote": "I ended up reading \"Starting Strength\" and started up on the program. It's been about 6 months now and I'm stronger than I've ever been in my entire life", "hn_user": "subwindow", "date": "2012-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4971784", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training", "book_author": "Mark Rippetoe", "category": "health", "quote": "Strength training with barbells fixed all those aches and pains in my knees and joints that braces and doctors and physical therapy couldn't.", "hn_user": "hoorayimhelping", "date": "2019-05-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19898704", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training", "book_author": "Mark Rippetoe", "category": "health", "quote": "This is the book that got me into powerlifting as a regular part of my fitness. I used this to heal my back, neck, and wrist pain. Changed my life.", "hn_user": "JackMorgan", "date": "2024-05-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40284561", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Body", "book_author": "Tim Ferriss", "category": "health", "quote": "For all its faults, that book has changed my life. For the sole reason that it convinced me to try slow-carb dieting.", "hn_user": "lucraft", "date": "2011-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3395584", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Body", "book_author": "Tim Ferriss", "category": "health", "quote": "So I read and applied and it changed my life, as well as some of my family members.", "hn_user": "rickdale", "date": "2013-09-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6339410", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Body", "book_author": "Tim Ferriss", "category": "health", "quote": "It changed how I look, how I eat, my health, my self esteem/confidence, my mood. I am a completely different person now.", "hn_user": "humpt", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717667", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Body Keeps the Score", "book_author": "Bessel van der Kolk", "category": "health", "quote": "the book “The Body Keeps the Score” has helped me get more energy and control back.", "hn_user": "AdamCraven", "date": "2019-05-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19833764", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Circadian Code", "book_author": "Satchin Panda", "category": "health", "quote": "The first two third of the book is accompanied with practical actionable items and helped me to gain control on my sleep.", "hn_user": "aryamaan", "date": "2018-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18745186", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "This book helped me get rid of the wrist tendinitis I had for four years prior, in four weeks.", "hn_user": "mgmeyers", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717910", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "I haven't smoked in 11 years, and it's thanks to this book.", "hn_user": "fbnlsr", "date": "2018-03-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16697120", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Drinking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "I've used Allen Carr's book to quit drinking... His is actually more known for his 'stop smoking' book", "hn_user": "fierycatnet", "date": "2015-08-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10142521", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Drinking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "I read the book over the course of 2 days, and in that time experienced a complete paradigm shift wherein alcohol suddenly lost all appeal to me.", "hn_user": "ambivalents", "date": "2017-10-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15560272", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "what helped me quit was the book \"How to stop smoking\" by Alan Carr.", "hn_user": "y-curious", "date": "2023-05-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36009580", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "After reading the book it didn't feel hard, it just made sense.", "hn_user": "toddkazakov", "date": "2017-10-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15558844", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "Allen Carr helped me - rather his book. Cold Turkey. No withdrawal symptoms, urges - nothing.", "hn_user": "istajeer242", "date": "2023-04-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35731680", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "it opened my eyes to what my addiction actually was and I have never been addicted since reading that book.", "hn_user": "rbg246", "date": "2021-05-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27349330", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "Allen Carr - the guy who wrote the book Easy Way which have helped me and millions of others to kick the habit", "hn_user": "raptorraver", "date": "2021-06-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27350767", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "And by 3/4 of the way through the book I smoked my last cigarette.", "hn_user": "earth_walker", "date": "2021-08-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28125352", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "Of course the book that helped me quit smoking, Alan Carr's phenomenal (albeit, (car salesman with rust proof undercoating to sell)-esque) reminded me of Carnegie's book as well.", "hn_user": "codyb", "date": "2014-05-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7781141", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "The Alan Carr's book is a great help with the psychological aspect. From the perspective of hopeless addict (three packs a day) he tells you that quitting is very easy and it turns out to be indeed so.", "hn_user": "blackhaz", "date": "2015-07-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9869798", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "It worked, I am no longer a nicotine addict. I don't think I would have had the capability to quit without some mental reframing which that book 100% helped me accomplish.", "hn_user": "folkhack", "date": "2022-06-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31768990", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Gabriel Method", "book_author": "Jon Gabriel", "category": "health", "quote": "I've felt more like good food and less like bad food so I eat healthier without needing to muster discipline. Lost 10 kilos so far without really trying all that hard.", "hn_user": "skrebbel", "date": "2018-09-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18099285", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Hacker's Diet", "book_author": "John Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "Counting calories really has helped me. I lost almost 15Kg, I'm on the verge of being only overweight, I feel lighter, I snore less, ...", "hn_user": "JaumeGreen", "date": "2018-06-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17294113", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Hacker's Diet", "book_author": "John Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "I followed this plan and lost over 100 lbs (45 kg) in about a year and have kept it off for the last five years.", "hn_user": "benjamin-lee", "date": "2022-01-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29850284", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Hacker's Diet", "book_author": "John Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "I lost ±24 pounds after reading his book (https://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/) and have been tracking my weight ever since (±2 years).", "hn_user": "tomgs", "date": "2020-12-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25283008", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Hacker's Diet", "book_author": "John Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "The Hacker's Diet has helped me lose a good bit of weight over the years, but it is a somewhat simplistic model.", "hn_user": "ctur", "date": "2022-01-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29849083", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Mind-Body Prescription", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "I had very similar symptoms as you and now I am completely heeled. This book changed my life.", "hn_user": "superasn", "date": "2019-10-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21396388", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mindbody Prescription", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "it seemed to help me overcome a problem I had with my wrists and I'm thankful.", "hn_user": "shreyas-satish", "date": "2013-09-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6332302", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Mindbody Prescription", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "this book helped me get to the point where most days I'm in no pain.", "hn_user": "kdamken", "date": "2016-02-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11075360", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Mindbody Prescription", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "reading the book \"The Mindbody Prescription\" by Dr John E Sarno is what \"cured\" me of what I thought was RSI.", "hn_user": "nileshk", "date": "2009-04-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=543954", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Mindbody Prescription", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "After reading it and applying his plan my pain disappeared.", "hn_user": "coinbasetwwa", "date": "2022-05-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31530749", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Mindbody Prescription", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "health", "quote": "completely cured my long-term crippling RSI that kept me from using computers and was ruining my life", "hn_user": "MikeCapone", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088692", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The More of Less", "book_author": "Joshua Becker", "category": "health", "quote": "I've since whittled down my wardrobe significantly, throwing out a large chunk of shirts/pants/sweaters that I haven't worn in over a year and it's actually done wonders for my health.", "hn_user": "rkho", "date": "2018-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18747136", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Muscle and Strength Pyramids", "book_author": "Eric Helms", "category": "health", "quote": "The biggest shift came from learning I was doing waaay too much training volume at the gym while trying to lose fat too quickly; a fine recipe for injury.", "hn_user": "kworks", "date": "2026-03-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47325362", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "I have been around smoking friends a lot since reading the book, and have not had the desire for even a single puff.", "hn_user": "0db532a0", "date": "2019-01-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19016359", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Only Way to Stop Smoking Permanently", "book_author": "Allen Carr", "category": "health", "quote": "I was lucky to find the book 'The only way to stop smoking permanently' by Allen Carr and found it surprisingly easy to quit smoking after reading the book.", "hn_user": "mvp", "date": "2010-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1872650", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook", "book_author": "Clair Davies", "category": "health", "quote": "The only thing that really helped me at the end was a book called the trigger point therapy workbook.", "hn_user": "vunderba", "date": "2023-11-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38215001", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook", "book_author": "Clair Davies", "category": "health", "quote": "I used to hurt myself and be useless for a week or two, since I got the book it's been a day or two.", "hn_user": "dec0dedab0de", "date": "2021-01-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25701449", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook", "book_author": "Clair Davies", "category": "health", "quote": "There is an amazing book called \"The trigger point therapy workbook\" that talks about these and how to treat them. It's helped me tremendously.", "hn_user": "lutorm", "date": "2009-04-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=544416", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Way Out", "book_author": "Alan Gordon", "category": "health", "quote": "I read the book on the study which is called The Way Out, and there's a film on the study as well called Pain Brain Film, and there's a podcast called Tell Me About Your Pain. I basically binge watched, listened and read all of this stuff and eventually unlearned my pain.", "hn_user": "ElijahLynn", "date": "2026-09-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49559359", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "This Naked Mind", "book_author": "Annie Grace", "category": "health", "quote": "For me, it helped a ton to understand that there were very real forces at play that were compelling me to drink, it wasn't necessarily a personal failing or weakness.", "hn_user": "riebschlager", "date": "2022-10-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33163344", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "This Naked Mind", "book_author": "Annie Grace", "category": "health", "quote": "I listened to Annie Graces This Naked Mind and it helped me make a rational argument for why I shouldnt drink.", "hn_user": "Taylor_OD", "date": "2022-10-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33164459", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "This Naked Mind", "book_author": "Annie Grace", "category": "health", "quote": "this naked mind- second book is a reinterpretation of the first, made the biggest impact on my life, helping me stop drinking", "hn_user": "stranded22", "date": "2023-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37945974", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner", "book_author": "Dean Karnazes", "category": "health", "quote": "After reading the first couple chapters, I had to put it down to go outside and go running that minute. I was soon doing marathons and ultramarathons", "hn_user": "bfe", "date": "2013-08-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6304750", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It", "book_author": "Gary Taubes", "category": "health", "quote": "Not only it changed my life (overweight to my healthiest ever), it also led me to challenge everything about our dietary dogmas.", "hn_user": "shadykiller", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087635", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "I've gone from getting into bed about 11 and waking up around 6, to getting into bed at 9 and waking up before my alarm clock even goes off, and having a 20 minute nap at lunch.", "hn_user": "Aromasin", "date": "2019-05-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19918560", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "What finally improved my life and has now been working better and longer than anything before (and I implemented this after reading the book) is properly establishing my circadian rhythm/chronotype and adjusting to it.", "hn_user": "djedr", "date": "2021-04-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26706541", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "After reading this book I decided to put sleep quality above everything and it helped me take the adequate measures.", "hn_user": "mariedavid", "date": "2021-04-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26931389", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "It helped me each day to get better at sleeping.", "hn_user": "thenerdhead", "date": "2022-07-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32091308", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "Since reading \"Why We Sleep\"[0] though, I've changed my lifestyle to prioritize getting quality sleep every single night.", "hn_user": "dota_fanatic", "date": "2018-03-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16660342", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "It helped me to fix sleep schedule and better understand why good sleep is important", "hn_user": "artemavv", "date": "2023-03-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35210398", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "that book has a number of practical suggestions for better sleep which have helped me, such as setting your bedroom temperature colder and using blackout curtains", "hn_user": "veidr", "date": "2022-01-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29961851", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "After reading this book I realized I was doing myself more harm than good.", "hn_user": "drakonka", "date": "2018-10-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18248681", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "This book motivated me to change my sleep habits after decades of being a night owl.", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37161232", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "It helped me understand sleep better than I would have thought and it actually helped me manage insomnia.", "hn_user": "pjerem", "date": "2024-05-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40220692", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "After I encountered the book \"Why we Sleep\" and heard some podcast interviews with the author, I was convinced that I needed to change my habits and started taking this seriously.", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2023-03-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35209361", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "Why We Sleep - changed my sleeping habits", "hn_user": "bwh2", "date": "2021-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26583078", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Why We Sleep", "book_author": "Matthew Walker", "category": "health", "quote": "I have forever changed my sleeping habits ever since before I even finished reading Why We Sleep.", "hn_user": "vesky", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090231", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Wim Hof Method", "book_author": "Wim Hof", "category": "health", "quote": "his breathing technique really helped me. I have not done cold baths yet, just showers, but it’s been 2 years and I can take a cold shower of any duration now.", "hn_user": "TedDoesntTalk", "date": "2022-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34119427", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management", "book_author": "Will Larson", "category": "job", "quote": "This book helped me transition and it's one I push on all of our leads.", "hn_user": "thushan", "date": "2022-09-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32793339", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management", "book_author": "Will Larson", "category": "job", "quote": "i'm debating whether to change into management and this one really helped me understand a bit more what goes into engineering management.", "hn_user": "fernandotakai", "date": "2021-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29674139", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Apprenticeship Patterns", "book_author": "Dave Hoffman and Ade Oshineye", "category": "job", "quote": "I was quite far into my career when I read it and I wish I'd done so earlier because it helped me turn my career around.", "hn_user": "chris_j", "date": "2021-02-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26177691", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Ask the Headhunter", "book_author": "Nick Corcodilos", "category": "job", "quote": "A long time ago somebody recommended Nick Corcodilos‘ book, “Ask The Headhunter“, and it changed the way I thought about job hunting.", "hn_user": "gav", "date": "2018-11-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18504431", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Becoming Steve Jobs", "book_author": "Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli", "category": "job", "quote": "for me, Becoming Steve Jobs was the book that saved my life when I was unemployed", "hn_user": "gigantecmedia", "date": "2022-10-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33271143", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Bullshit Jobs", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "job", "quote": "\"Bullshit Jobs\" had a profound change on my outlook in the tech industry.", "hn_user": "ideals", "date": "2020-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24368320", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Bullshit Jobs", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "job", "quote": "it really resonated with me at the time I read it. I think it was the thing that pushed me to find a different job.", "hn_user": "frompdx", "date": "2020-12-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25361355", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Corporate Confidential", "book_author": "Cynthia Shapiro", "category": "job", "quote": "I was confused initially why being an excellent engineer who could \"deliver\" didn't make me shine at bigco. The book helped me get on a better path.", "hn_user": "ed25519FUUU", "date": "2020-06-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23464207", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Crossing the Chasm", "book_author": "Geoffrey A. Moore", "category": "job", "quote": "They opened my eyes to a new way of looking at products and helped me successfully become a PM.", "hn_user": "mikeleeorg", "date": "2011-12-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3310323", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Designing Your Life", "book_author": "Bill Burnett and Dave Evans", "category": "job", "quote": "I found that the book \"Designing your life\" really helped me. It encourages talking to people who are already in different fields / roles that interest you.", "hn_user": "peterst28", "date": "2021-05-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27213594", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Finite and Infinite Games", "book_author": "James P. Carse", "category": "job", "quote": "Realizing that we can choose other roles and move in and out of them freely has helped me alot with big changes (career and otherwise) in my life.", "hn_user": "reedwhistle", "date": "2026-10-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50044390", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "From Paycheck to Purpose", "book_author": "Ken Coleman", "category": "job", "quote": "The book \"From Paycheck to Purpose\" helped me quite a bit. I did a pivot from software engineering manager to a sales engineer role.", "hn_user": "jameshush", "date": "2022-09-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32984403", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Hackers & Painters", "book_author": "Paul Graham", "category": "job", "quote": "precious few books and essays have influenced my thinking more.", "hn_user": "iamelgringo", "date": "2008-04-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=162783", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Hackers & Painters", "book_author": "Paul Graham", "category": "job", "quote": "H&P changed my life so completely that less than a year after reading it I was standing in the YC office in Mountain View for a YC interview.", "hn_user": "ghc", "date": "2013-08-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6236882", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution", "book_author": "Steven Levy", "category": "job", "quote": "helped me change career directions to be a programmer in Silicon Valley and eventually get a PhD and teach programming at the university level.", "hn_user": "ggerules", "date": "2025-10-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45722357", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Hourly Billing Is Nuts", "book_author": "Jonathan Stark", "category": "job", "quote": "I've built my productivized consulting offer based on these tips, and it helped me quit full-time job over 3 years ago.", "hn_user": "pawurb", "date": "2023-03-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35170900", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "job", "quote": "after reading this book I had a good idea of how to approach people, propose ideas, listen to their needs and collaborate on a service that I could provide them", "hn_user": "iamdave", "date": "2010-06-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1420326", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Island", "book_author": "Aldous Huxley", "category": "job", "quote": "\"Island\" changed my life! That's the book that made me quit my job in 1992. Haven't had a job since.", "hn_user": "sivers", "date": "2009-06-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=652555", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Jesus' Terrible Financial Advice", "book_author": null, "category": "job", "quote": "The freedom in my thinking helped as I left my job and went out on my own. I earn a lot more now.", "hn_user": "p0d", "date": "2021-03-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26331067", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Leading Snowflakes", "book_author": "Oren Ellenbogen", "category": "job", "quote": "the author also wrote a book called \"Leading Snowflakes\" which helped me when I first transitioned into a leadership role", "hn_user": "chapati2301", "date": "2019-05-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20001399", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Leonardo da Vinci", "book_author": "Walter Isaacson", "category": "job", "quote": "it taught me valuable lessons on how to structure my time and life to work on things I care about. This book was instrumental in my decision to quit my job", "hn_user": "formalsystem", "date": "2018-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18665388", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "MTIV: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer", "book_author": "Hillman Curtis", "category": "job", "quote": "Inspired by Hillman's books, I changed careers and became a web architect", "hn_user": "jordhy", "date": "2012-04-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3874112", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Masters of Doom", "book_author": "David Kushner", "category": "job", "quote": "This book opened my eyes to the crazy/wonderful/scary world of ‘startups’, the idea that people can bring their passion into writing software and start a business or movement. I joined a startup", "hn_user": "rubayeet", "date": "2022-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33799221", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Notes on the Synthesis of Form", "book_author": "Christopher Alexander", "category": "job", "quote": "The most important lesson for my fledgling mind though was that design was a process, and a process that improved with each application. That good software developers arnt “born”, they are self sculpted.", "hn_user": "jalfresi", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30731932", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Now, Discover Your Strengths", "book_author": "Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton", "category": "job", "quote": "That book changed my life forever.", "hn_user": "meej", "date": "2012-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4975353", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On Writing", "book_author": "Stephen King", "category": "job", "quote": "if I want to be a good ______ I need to show up, every day and _______.", "hn_user": "hippee-lee", "date": "2011-03-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2328359", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World", "book_author": "David Epstein", "category": "job", "quote": "I got my dream job and a hefty pay raise, great benefits, and a short commute.\n\nLiterally, the book changed my life.", "hn_user": "Balgair", "date": "2019-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21903203", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Rework", "book_author": "Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson", "category": "job", "quote": "A big trigger for my career change was when I read Rework from DHH. I realized that you can start small and build a product fit for a specific market", "hn_user": "domgoulet", "date": "2016-01-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10904372", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "SPIN Selling", "book_author": "Neil Rackham", "category": "job", "quote": "A book that helped me get into enterprise selling is SPIN selling by Neil Rackham.", "hn_user": "ianpurton", "date": "2016-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11681423", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "So Good They Can't Ignore You", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "job", "quote": "Picking up this book helps me understand there is not much need for passion but more on the development of my talent and skills.", "hn_user": "bosslee", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092270", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air", "book_author": "David MacKay", "category": "job", "quote": "I quit my job because of David MacKay's work. Terrific, inspiring book. Now I'm building a global network of climate-change labs called Impossible Labs.", "hn_user": "titojankowski", "date": "2017-04-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14009580", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Workweek", "book_author": "Timothy Ferriss", "category": "job", "quote": "It's not a programming book but I quit my job 2 weeks after I read it :)", "hn_user": "eibrahim", "date": "2011-02-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2272963", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Art of Electronics", "book_author": "Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill", "category": "job", "quote": "It helped me innumerable times when I quit grad school and entered industry.", "hn_user": "nappy-doo", "date": "2023-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38748629", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Art of Zen Guitar", "book_author": "Philip Toshio Sudo", "category": "job", "quote": "I made a major career shift to ML research using the lessons I learnt from this book", "hn_user": "kk58", "date": "2022-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31733425", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Cathedral and the Bazaar", "book_author": "Eric S. Raymond", "category": "job", "quote": "It was that book and \"Cathedral & The Bazaar\" that made me quit a Microsoft-only job and go open-source.", "hn_user": "pmarreck", "date": "2016-03-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11279958", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "job", "quote": "“The Design of Everyday Things”. The book that sparked a change in my career (to be honest)", "hn_user": "rayraegah", "date": "2021-09-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28471491", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The First 90 Days", "book_author": "Michael Watkins", "category": "job", "quote": "developing a preliminary 90 day plan as part of a \"starter project,\" was a major factor in being given the job.", "hn_user": "hoop", "date": "2015-06-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9672501", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels", "book_author": "Michael D. Watkins", "category": "job", "quote": "It's contents helped me gear my interviews towards how and when I would add value to a new group.", "hn_user": "anders30", "date": "2015-07-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9864382", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Google Résumé", "book_author": "Gayle Laakmann McDowell", "category": "job", "quote": "It changed the way I apply to jobs, and it made a difference like day and night.", "hn_user": "purerandomness", "date": "2017-05-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14260598", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Innovator's Dilemma", "book_author": "Clayton M. Christensen", "category": "job", "quote": "They opened my eyes to a new way of looking at products and helped me successfully become a PM.", "hn_user": "mikeleeorg", "date": "2011-12-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3310323", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Lean Startup", "book_author": "Eric Ries", "category": "job", "quote": "I was going to go into game development then after reading it I totally changed what I was going to do.", "hn_user": "147", "date": "2013-09-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6415835", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Manager's Path", "book_author": "Camille Fournier", "category": "job", "quote": "I was experiencing growing pains moving to a more senior role on my team (less time for getting things done, more time helping others, etc) and this book helped me realize that it was to be expected.", "hn_user": "iamsomewalrus", "date": "2019-02-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19247737", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Manager's Path", "book_author": "Camille Fournier", "category": "job", "quote": "it's a great book and helped me to come to terms with my new responsibilities as a lead.", "hn_user": "Jestar342", "date": "2019-10-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21377828", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Passionate Programmer", "book_author": "Chad Fowler", "category": "job", "quote": "That was the book that put me on a path 3 years ago from C# enterprise code monkey to being where I am today, as an independent Rails consultant.", "hn_user": "brandall10", "date": "2012-12-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4970961", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Passionate Programmer", "book_author": "Chad Fowler", "category": "job", "quote": "In short order a whole bunch of things about my working style changed, not only my demeanor working with other engineers", "hn_user": "brandall10", "date": "2015-10-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10396397", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Secrets of Consulting", "book_author": "Gerald M. Weinberg", "category": "job", "quote": "a great book on strategy that helped me personally transition from employee->freelancer->director was Gerald M. Weinberg's \"The Secrets of Consulting\".", "hn_user": "DyslexicAtheist", "date": "2019-02-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19134286", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Tech Resume Inside Out", "book_author": "Gergely Orosz", "category": "job", "quote": "I used the advice to spruce up my resume a bit and tailor it to specific employers. But more importantly, it helped me know when I was “done”.", "hn_user": "jonpurdy", "date": "2020-10-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24780125", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Tech Resume Inside Out", "book_author": "Gergely Orosz", "category": "job", "quote": "Reading the book I suggested helped me to break out of this belief - and led me to find a new position.", "hn_user": "cyrialize", "date": "2024-03-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39744453", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Third Wave", "book_author": "Alvin Toffler", "category": "job", "quote": "This book convinced me not to pursue a career in nuclear power after the Navy, which was the standard career path for guys like me, because it was \"Second Wave.\"", "hn_user": "okareaman", "date": "2021-08-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28234324", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes", "book_author": "William Bridges", "category": "job", "quote": "I read this when I was struggling with my own career transition, and it was exactly what I needed at that time in my life.", "hn_user": "gameshot911", "date": "2022-08-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32334744", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Trigonometry", "book_author": "Israel Gelfand", "category": "job", "quote": "His Trigonometry book is just as good, and helped me a lot when I needed a refresher when I became a land surveyor after being out of school for years.", "hn_user": "wyclif", "date": "2021-08-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28126013", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "What Color Is Your Parachute?", "book_author": "Richard N. Bolles", "category": "job", "quote": "Right after reading it - i took the advise of calling companies out of the blue much more seriously, and the difference in conversations was encouraging.", "hn_user": "an_aparallel", "date": "2024-07-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40903330", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "What Color Is Your Parachute?", "book_author": "Richard Bolles", "category": "job", "quote": "It is what convinced me I could transfer my skills from video game dev into another field and how to come up with a plan to do so.", "hn_user": "massung", "date": "2024-09-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41446570", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "What Color Is Your Parachute?", "book_author": "Richard N. Bolles", "category": "job", "quote": "What Colour is your Parachute made me realize that it really was the job, it wasn't me at all.", "hn_user": "saltcod", "date": "2011-10-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3102521", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "What Do You Say After You Say Hello?", "book_author": "Eric Berne", "category": "job", "quote": "I read this book in the early 90's and it changed my life.\n\nIt was the catalyst to make changes to my life to become a psychotherapist.", "hn_user": "reify", "date": "2022-10-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33093951", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "What Got You Here Won't Get You There", "book_author": "Marshall Goldsmith", "category": "job", "quote": "This book really helped me make the transition between being valued primarily for my technical abilities and focusing more on interpersonal relationships and how that affects my ability to be part of a successful team.", "hn_user": "kevin42", "date": "2016-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12419629", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar", "book_author": "David H. Sandler", "category": "job", "quote": "A book that helped me with this a great deal was \"You can't teach a kid to ride a bike at a seminar\" by Sandler", "hn_user": "heyflyguy", "date": "2019-10-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21191201", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "7 Powers", "book_author": "Hamilton Helmer", "category": "judgment", "quote": "7 Powers + Good Strategy Bad Strategy helped me think long term about the business model and evolution of the company.", "hn_user": "collin128", "date": "2023-03-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35169107", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life", "book_author": "Rory Sutherland", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book forever changed the way I think about brands, and improved my design and problem-solving skills.", "hn_user": "ltiger", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23154483", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Algorithms to Live By", "book_author": "Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book helps tremendously by showing a way to _look_ at problems. Certainly helps to have a better mental toolkit.", "hn_user": "vmurthy", "date": "2019-08-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20798080", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "An Elegant Puzzle", "book_author": "Will Larson", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It totally changed my perspective on getting things done as a team of software engineers, and also led me down a treasured path of systems thinking and psychology.", "hn_user": "ipnon", "date": "2025-02-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42915571", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Taleb's Incerto series changed how I thought about investing, risk, and life in general. \"Fooled by Randomness\" and \"Antifragile\" are especially good.", "hn_user": "chrischattin", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23155685", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book has informed many decisions I have made recently.", "hn_user": "goo", "date": "2018-12-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18680603", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Art of Problem Solving books", "book_author": null, "category": "judgment", "quote": "working through those books has changed my life, and the way my brain works, in a massive way.", "hn_user": "montalbano", "date": "2022-09-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32923954", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atlas Shrugged", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I believe that book has helped me form a better sense of my own worth, and was at least partially responsible for me leaving a job and getting a 40% raise at the next one.", "hn_user": "wccrawford", "date": "2012-09-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4478834", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atlas Shrugged", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Before I read the book, I had a lot of random and poorly formed ideas about what was economically moral, and this really helped me to crystallize my viewpoints.", "hn_user": "bp001", "date": "2007-09-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=55101", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bad Blood", "book_author": "John Carreyrou", "category": "judgment", "quote": "made me realize how much we fetishize geniuses and how little popular experts know. Books like these remind me not to pay too much attention to how people frame their success", "hn_user": "formalsystem", "date": "2018-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18665388", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Bad Pharma", "book_author": "Ben Goldacre", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I think much harder about taking medicine unless it's really required since reading it.", "hn_user": "lemming", "date": "2015-08-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10084363", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Becoming the Evidence-Based Manager", "book_author": "Gary P. Latham", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The information in this book is backed by science studies and is also extremely actionable and easy to understand. It's really changed my life as a manager.", "hn_user": "tensor", "date": "2020-07-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23761064", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Black Swan", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Whenever, I see a straigh-forward \"explanation\", alarm goes off inside mind- 'this is too simplistic, and thus oversimplified, and not entirely correct'.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29607315", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Blink", "book_author": "Malcolm Gladwell", "category": "judgment", "quote": "teaching me to be extremely aware of the police officers behavior and body language has helped me positively navigate seven traffic stops", "hn_user": "underseacables", "date": "2020-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25533380", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking", "book_author": "Malcolm Gladwell", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Blink was probably the one that had the biggest impact on me. There are some gems there. It lead me to other thinking about thinking ideas. I learned a bit about quality of sources.", "hn_user": "jfoutz", "date": "2021-06-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27530616", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Blitzscaling", "book_author": "Reid Hoffman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "From the \"never give up\" point of view, I've changed my mind, thanks to books like The Lean Startup, Blitzscaling, and my own experience.", "hn_user": "angarg12", "date": "2021-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27842142", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Blood Red Sunset", "book_author": "Ma Bo", "category": "judgment", "quote": "these particular books ... helped me move past the special pleading fallacy that is American exceptionalism (\"It can't happen here.\")", "hn_user": "CamperBob2", "date": "2016-11-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13027627", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Book of Proof", "book_author": "Richard Hammack", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Its made me realize that critical thinking is just breaking down logic to its smallest component form.", "hn_user": "Kagerjay", "date": "2018-06-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17273897", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software", "book_author": "Charles Petzold", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it taught me that there is no magic behind the layers of abstraction, and that breaking problems and concepts down into simpler ones can make what initially seems like a very complex topic into something that someone can easily follow and understand.", "hn_user": "pid0x17", "date": "2026-09-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49743024", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Crucial Conversations", "book_author": "Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Helped me to accept that things were the way they were, and there was no need to exert unnecessary energy. And from then on, to discern first and foremost what the decision-making dynamics are in any group endeavor", "hn_user": "deebosong", "date": "2022-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34056846", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Cryptonomicon", "book_author": "Neal Stephenson", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I found a life-changing passage about the ultimate raison d'être of every commercial company in the world: \"increasing the value of shareholders\".", "hn_user": "SergeAx", "date": "2023-01-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34297251", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Disrupted", "book_author": "Dan Lyons", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Disrupted made fun of the things that I thought were pretty normal.", "hn_user": "ibudiallo", "date": "2019-05-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20011662", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Economics in One Lesson", "book_author": "Henry Hazlitt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the lessons and perspective it gave me have made me more money than any other book I've ever read.", "hn_user": "lzw", "date": "2010-09-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1722842", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Economics in One Lesson", "book_author": "Henry Hazlitt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "As a result of reading the book, I find it much easier to explain why certain government programs are harmful.", "hn_user": "dpatru", "date": "2011-10-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3151068", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Economics in One Lesson", "book_author": "Henry Hazlitt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "After this book, I now think much more carefully about proposed policies/rules/business strategies/etc.", "hn_user": "lpolovets", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088676", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ender's Shadow", "book_author": "Orson Scott Card", "category": "judgment", "quote": "he taught me to think more about scenario outcomes and think about multiple ways of achieving my goals.", "hn_user": "gravidor", "date": "2017-11-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15671440", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Factfulness", "book_author": "Hans Rosling", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it changed the way I look that the world and process it. It is fascinating how much influenced we are just by our hardwired biases and the media.", "hn_user": "lucky518", "date": "2020-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22502790", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Factfulness", "book_author": "Hans Rosling", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This is the best, most useful book I've read in many years, and totally changed how I think about my thinking, and how other people (especially smart people) think.", "hn_user": "beat", "date": "2018-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18664927", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Factfulness", "book_author": "Hans Rosling", "category": "judgment", "quote": "No other book I've ever read has helped tune my bullshit detector so well.", "hn_user": "beat", "date": "2018-10-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18196068", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "judgment", "quote": "after reading that book I really started to put in practice some exercises in that book which by now they became almost automatic. For so much time I was a victim of cognitive distortions and now I finally found a way to beat them.", "hn_user": "zuzuleinen", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17048467", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Financial Shenanigans", "book_author": "Howard Schilit", "category": "judgment", "quote": "After reading this book, I found myself digging through earnings reports to look for signs of shenanigans, and have found cases that raise my armchair-accountant eyebrows.", "hn_user": "mierle", "date": "2020-05-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23083333", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Fooled by Randomness", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "this book gave me a heuristic for thinking about long-tails and uncertain events that I could never have derived myself from a probability textbook.", "hn_user": "wenc", "date": "2021-06-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27637608", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Fooled by Randomness", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Taleb's Incerto series changed how I thought about investing, risk, and life in general. \"Fooled by Randomness\" and \"Antifragile\" are especially good.", "hn_user": "chrischattin", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23155685", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Fooled by Randomness", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "touch on this in a way that forever changed my thinking.", "hn_user": "elpakal", "date": "2020-11-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25017796", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Four Thousand Weeks", "book_author": "Oliver Burkeman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it actually helped me think about (and act on) my priorities.", "hn_user": "adyer07", "date": "2022-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31354280", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Fundamentals of Ethics", "book_author": "Russ Shafer-Landau", "category": "judgment", "quote": "i find \"Fundamentals of ethics\", which summarizes all ethical theories to be the one book that helped me make moral choices in a more thoughtful and systematic manner.", "hn_user": "return0", "date": "2012-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4982843", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "General Methods for Solving Physics Problems", "book_author": "Belikov", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Reading a formulation of what a physics problem was, what the general physics principles were, what it means to solve a problem, have helped me.", "hn_user": "Jugurtha", "date": "2021-01-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25669987", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Getting More", "book_author": "Stuart Diamond", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It takes training and time to apply these principles (at least for me) but it has transformed how I think about everyday negotiations.", "hn_user": "rguldener", "date": "2012-12-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4987529", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Getting Real", "book_author": "37signals", "category": "judgment", "quote": "one piece of advice that 37Signals had in their Getting Real book that really helped me is that you can delay building many systems past launch.", "hn_user": "patio11", "date": "2011-02-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2257807", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Getting to Yes", "book_author": "Roger Fisher and William Ury", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the lessons about shifting discussions from zero-sum to positive-sum are things I use a lot.", "hn_user": "wpietri", "date": "2017-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15762368", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Good Strategy Bad Strategy", "book_author": "Richard Rumelt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "7 Powers + Good Strategy Bad Strategy helped me think long term about the business model and evolution of the company.", "hn_user": "collin128", "date": "2023-03-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35169107", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Good Strategy Bad Strategy", "book_author": "Richard Rumelt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Been a founder/CEO for 10 years and this book changed the way I think about strategy.", "hn_user": "collin128", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740442", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Good to Great", "book_author": "Jim Collins", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Once you learn these nuggets you never forget them, and you end up leveraging them regularly in your day-to-day entrepreneurial decisions.", "hn_user": "herodoturtle", "date": "2023-03-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35174010", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Gödel's Proof", "book_author": "Ernest Nagel and James R. Newman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I am still indebted to the book though for teaching me how to think about pure mathematics.", "hn_user": "alok-g", "date": "2013-06-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5935223", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book really taught me to think rationally and logically. I think I really did not understand the scientific method until this book.", "hn_user": "JackMorgan", "date": "2022-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33799110", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Seeing these methods applied by a protagonist helped me internalize them far more than any number of rereads of other books could have.", "hn_user": "W4n", "date": "2017-03-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13895801", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Seeing these methods applied by a protagonist helped me internalize them far more than any number of rereads of other books could have.", "hn_user": "W4n", "date": "2017-04-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14028196", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "High Output Management", "book_author": "Andy Grove", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It gave me a language and a framework for thinking about what was happening around me.", "hn_user": "wenc", "date": "2021-06-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27637608", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Hire with Your Head", "book_author": "Lou Adler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Lou Adler's \"Hire With Your Head\" which completely changed my approach to interviewing for the better and made it vastly more effective.", "hn_user": "adrianhoward", "date": "2013-04-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5503008", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Honeybee Democracy", "book_author": "Thomas D. Seeley", "category": "judgment", "quote": "which definitely helped me realize how important K.I.S.S. is, organizationally (whether in life or LLM, \"keep it simple stupid\").", "hn_user": "ProllyInfamous", "date": "2026-08-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49271445", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Be an Imperfectionist", "book_author": "Stephen Guise", "category": "judgment", "quote": "for a \"perfectionist\" like me, it helped me to unravel my illogical views of success and personal expectations that I had built over the course of my life.", "hn_user": "blymphony", "date": "2018-03-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16519433", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Develop Your Thinking Ability", "book_author": "Kenneth Keyes Jr.", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I've only read three self-help books that have dramatically changed my thinking:", "hn_user": "SirensOfTitan", "date": "2020-07-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23811870", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Lie with Statistics", "book_author": "Darrell Huff", "category": "judgment", "quote": "What really drove this home for me is the book “HOW TO LIE WITH STATISTICS”. After reading that I see this crap everywhere.", "hn_user": "therealdrag0", "date": "2023-04-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35518759", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Prove It", "book_author": "Daniel J. Velleman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "What helped me get a grip on learning mathematics was learning to prove theorems.", "hn_user": "plinkplonk", "date": "2022-05-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31547755", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "How to Prove It", "book_author": "Daniel J. Velleman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It changed my perspective on proofs and math completely!", "hn_user": "vkazanov", "date": "2022-06-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31803229", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "How to Prove It", "book_author": "Daniel J. Velleman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The book How to Prove It helped me tremendously.", "hn_user": "Todd", "date": "2014-12-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8698311", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It changed the way I read books and now I don't feel bad skimming a book and deciding that it's not worth my time", "hn_user": "guidoism", "date": "2022-05-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31288849", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I was in academia when I read this and it had a huge impact on how I read and thought about academic papers.", "hn_user": "ellen364", "date": "2022-09-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32791855", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "One big big big thing I learned from the book is to not read a non-fiction book like it was a novel.", "hn_user": "guidoism", "date": "2019-08-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20847893", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "That opened my eyes and helped me a lot with deciding what to read and how to read it.", "hn_user": "nik1aa5", "date": "2016-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12416142", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Ever since reading that book, I've gotten into the habit of writing a summary of each thing that I read. It really forces you to confront whether or not you \"got\" the point", "hn_user": "goostavos", "date": "2012-10-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4703384", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "applying the \"analytical reading\" rules defined in \"How to Read A Book\" to a code base. One of those rules, as Olikas said, is formulating hypotheses and questions and \"actively engaging\" with a code base", "hn_user": "dmux", "date": "2019-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19430761", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it really encouraged me to be more self-conscious about my reasons for reading.", "hn_user": "shannifin", "date": "2020-09-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24419198", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How to Read and Do Proofs", "book_author": "Daniel Solow", "category": "judgment", "quote": "When I studied math in college I very much struggled with more advanced mathematical reasoning and those two books helped me tremendously.", "hn_user": "rpmw", "date": "2024-10-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41910048", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Solve It", "book_author": "George Pólya", "category": "judgment", "quote": "When I studied math in college I very much struggled with more advanced mathematical reasoning and those two books helped me tremendously.", "hn_user": "rpmw", "date": "2024-10-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41910048", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Improving Almost Anything", "book_author": "George E. P. Box", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It has helped me in my career immensely and made me aware of many usual methods and fields of study.", "hn_user": "ImageXav", "date": "2022-06-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31633756", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Inadequate Equilibria", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "since reading that I've become more willing to actually do what's necessary to solve problems, even at risk of inconveniencing myself or worse, looking weird.", "hn_user": "jbay808", "date": "2020-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23515507", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Incerto", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This series forced me to revisit several assumptions. Something that still resonates is valuing anything – particularly books – that has aged well across several years", "hn_user": "cynik_", "date": "2019-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21904235", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Incerto (Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, Antifragile, Skin in the Game)", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The entire body of work gave me an insight into the disorganised thinking I was prone to. It exposed me to things (I did) that I didn't even know we're mistakes.", "hn_user": "max_", "date": "2023-11-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38278691", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion", "book_author": "Robert B. Cialdini", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book really turned my head around and made me realize how there are people (especially ones in the Sales & Marketing realm) out there waiting to sneak one past you.", "hn_user": "shreyas-satish", "date": "2013-09-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6332302", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion", "book_author": "Robert B. Cialdini", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The book elicited facepalm after facepalm after facepalm as I figured out exactly why people behave the way they do. It even helped me explain my own (often erratic) behavior.", "hn_user": "GeneralMaximus", "date": "2010-05-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1328284", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion", "book_author": "Robert Cialdini", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It helped me to be more aware of attempts at manipulation when people are trying to sell things. It had a big effect on what I noticed going on in the world.", "hn_user": "Maultasche", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19101188", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion", "book_author": "Robert Cialdini", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I now understand why I double down on dumb ideas. I also catch a lot more marketing and sales tricks.", "hn_user": "thedevil", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13967822", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Language in Action", "book_author": "S. I. Hayakawa", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it opened my eyes to orders of magnitude more cases of imprecision in our language than I had ever noticed before.", "hn_user": "323454", "date": "2016-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12247529", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Language in Thought and Action", "book_author": "S. I. Hayakawa", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Language in Thought and Action has deeply affected how I think about thinking.", "hn_user": "bcbrown", "date": "2022-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32383609", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Lean In", "book_author": "Sheryl Sandberg", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It definitely helped me spot things I was guilty of without even realising before", "hn_user": "Mascros", "date": "2018-11-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18448616", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Managing the Design Factory", "book_author": "Donald G. Reinertsen", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The combination of the two completely changed how I approached managing projects generally.", "hn_user": "maroonblazer", "date": "2015-03-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9211824", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Manufacturing Consent", "book_author": "Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "That book changed how I see the media. I still read NYT pretty regularly, but I definitely see it differently.", "hn_user": "wry_discontent", "date": "2019-09-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21027220", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Manufacturing Consent", "book_author": "Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "after reading them you will look at the media and politics in a new way and that that way will never leave you.", "hn_user": "jacquesm", "date": "2013-01-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5062416", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning", "book_author": "George Polya", "category": "judgment", "quote": "If you are curious about this subject and want to improve your \"mathematical intuition\", this series helped me tremendously.", "hn_user": "focus2x", "date": "2020-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22684948", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mein Kampf", "book_author": "Adolf Hitler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It actually helped me fortify my arguments against them.", "hn_user": "egeozcan", "date": "2021-03-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26353957", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success", "book_author": "Carol Dweck", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the book taught me how to see the many, many areas of my life that I had a fixed mindset about.", "hn_user": "rukuu001", "date": "2016-11-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13047406", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics", "book_author": "Richard H. Thaler", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It was the book that actually helped me make sense of sunken cost fallacy.", "hn_user": "thevillagechief", "date": "2024-07-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40982048", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Modern Physics and Anti-physics", "book_author": "Adolph Baker", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Understanding what science is as process and theory helped me distinguish science and pseudo-science in a major way.", "hn_user": "lcuff", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088215", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nail It then Scale It", "book_author": "Nathan Furr and Paul Ahlstrom", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I've been using a variant of the 50% rule in an online survey/Google ad, and it's led to some very effective output. It's helped me pick headlines and solution ideas", "hn_user": "nate", "date": "2012-02-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3649503", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "No Rules Rules", "book_author": "Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the principles in the book Turn the Ship Around, the book No Rules Rule, and Amazon's 14 leadership principles helped me a lot because they give clear guidelines on how to make trade-offs.", "hn_user": "hintymad", "date": "2022-04-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31157391", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Notes on the Synthesis of Form", "book_author": "Christopher Alexander", "category": "judgment", "quote": "After reading the book, I have also adopted a similar approach (but with less formalism) to gather requirements for projects in the past.", "hn_user": "hcarvalhoalves", "date": "2023-07-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36726492", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Bullshit", "book_author": "Harry G. Frankfurt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "You have helped me cope with the amount of bullshit that goes on in the world and the constant bullshit that people aren’t even aware of when they are bullshitting.", "hn_user": "thenerdhead", "date": "2023-07-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36766217", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Bullshit", "book_author": "Harry G. Frankfurt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "His conceptual framework of bullshit as communication that is intended to persuade with no regard either way for truth has certainly helped me read this article.", "hn_user": "User23", "date": "2020-04-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22804194", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On the Logical Basis of Metaphysics", "book_author": "Michael Dummett", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This is probably the book that has had the biggest impact on how I think about everything.", "hn_user": "neel_k", "date": "2018-10-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18307860", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This", "book_author": "Omar El Akkad", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It helps to stop assuming people want what they say they want and start assuming that they want the predictable effects of their actions", "hn_user": "ratelimitsteve", "date": "2025-08-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44758247", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Out of the Crisis", "book_author": "W. Edwards Deming", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It's hands-down the most life-changing read I've ever come across, by a wide margin.", "hn_user": "kqr", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32897560", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Past Imperfect: French Intellectuals, 1944-1956", "book_author": "Tony Judt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Those books taught me that there are quite a few secular religions to be beware of, with all the associated dangers and indeed opium for the mind.", "hn_user": "yakubin", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33671101", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Phantoms in the Brain", "book_author": "V.S. Ramachandran", "category": "judgment", "quote": "What that story made me realize was the extent to which our beliefs, even our logic, is driven by subtle feelings we may not even be aware of. I have become much more attuned to those warm fuzzy feelings", "hn_user": "klenwell", "date": "2012-12-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4873680", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Phenomenology of Spirit", "book_author": "G. W. F. Hegel", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It sort of made me realize \"oh, this is what bullshit looks like\" and I was able to take that and apply it elsewhere", "hn_user": "mvncleaninst", "date": "2023-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37937434", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works", "book_author": "A.G. Lafley", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it helped me improve why we did things and created a much better approach to problems.", "hn_user": "bwb", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32897981", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Pour une enfance heureuse", "book_author": "Catherine Gueguen", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Its scientific take helped me overcome such unfounded traditional thinking as the one expressed.", "hn_user": "feydaykyn", "date": "2018-05-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17123993", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Pragmatic Thinking and Learning", "book_author": "Andy Hunt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "part of my write was also inspired by two books and hence why I am responding to help others. Pragmatic Thinking and Learning by Andy Hunt and The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge helped me with this type of thinking.", "hn_user": "solidist", "date": "2018-04-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16838581", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Principles", "book_author": "Ray Dalio", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Principles by Ray Dalio changed my life and really helped me better understand that inwardly looking at and analyzing my emotional responses to problems at work and home set me up for failure", "hn_user": "ericzawo", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21901553", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Principles", "book_author": "Ray Dalio", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book influenced me to distill how we take action and prioritize and how we decide as a team.", "hn_user": "thushan", "date": "2022-09-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32793339", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Principles", "book_author": "Ray Dalio", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I went from having no idea what I was doing to having a decent blueprint.", "hn_user": "Regardsyjc", "date": "2018-06-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17208908", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics", "book_author": "Immanuel Kant", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Not just philosophy was easier after wrestling with this content.", "hn_user": "psteitz", "date": "2022-10-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33226900", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Putnam and Beyond", "book_author": "Răzvan Gelca and Titu Andreescu", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Putnam and Beyond. I still suck at maths, but those well designed problems in Putnam really taught me how to seek insights in higher maths.", "hn_user": "hintymad", "date": "2023-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34444359", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World", "book_author": "David Epstein", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The central core idea of un/kind learning environments is a crucial one and has really helped me when I have to learn new things too.", "hn_user": "Balgair", "date": "2020-12-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25359919", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Rationality: From AI to Zombies", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "probably the most influential book I've read in my life, profoundly changed the way I think.", "hn_user": "rayalez", "date": "2018-09-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17910210", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Rationality: From AI to Zombies", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I make better predictions and actively try to update my priors, instead of just confirming my previous beliefs.", "hn_user": "MichaelGG", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9348789", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Rationality: From AI to Zombies", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book changed the way I approach problems in my personal and professional life. It has helped me to reflect on any given thought and understand where the thought comes from and where is could be leading me.", "hn_user": "kineticpayload", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805483", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Rationality: From AI to Zombies", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "probably the most influential book I've read in my life, profoundly changed the way I think.", "hn_user": "rayalez", "date": "2018-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18745259", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Rationality: From AI to Zombies", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "probably the most influential book I've read in my life, profoundly changed the way I think", "hn_user": "rayalez", "date": "2018-07-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17521167", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Rationality: From AI to Zombies", "book_author": "Eliezer Yudkowsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Changed my perspective on quite a lot too, mainly how to approach information that causes cognitive dissonance.", "hn_user": "atipmt", "date": "2018-07-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17521458", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Requisite Organization", "book_author": "Elliott Jaques", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I felt the same, until I read “Requisite Organization” by Elliot Jacques. It changed how I run my company.", "hn_user": "mvkel", "date": "2018-07-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17589797", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Rich Dad Poor Dad", "book_author": "Robert T. Kiyosaki", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Changed my thinking about finance, I don't know how I would have handled my finances if I hadn't come across this book as a teenager", "hn_user": "homoSapiens", "date": "2016-07-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12152350", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Risk Savvy", "book_author": "Gerd Gigerenzer", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the author reviews a bunch of historical medical data that made me rethink how I get screened and how I would make decisions based on my test results.", "hn_user": "dmcase8", "date": "2015-09-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10296727", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sapira's Art and Science of Bedside Diagnosis", "book_author": "Jane M. Orient", "category": "judgment", "quote": "one book that changed how I approach my work (as a physician) was \"Sapira's Art & Science of Bedside Diagnosis\"", "hn_user": "thebrainkid", "date": "2021-09-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28456313", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much", "book_author": "Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir", "category": "judgment", "quote": "reading the book helped me connect the dots. Having less of something than is required to meet all of the requirements for that something (the definition of scarcity) triggers this behavior in people.", "hn_user": "ChuckMcM", "date": "2014-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8265791", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Six Thinking Hats", "book_author": "Edward de Bono", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The biggest impact life lesson I had from that book was to be upfront with my feelings (red hat.)", "hn_user": "nyokodo", "date": "2021-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28213096", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Small Stakes Hold'em", "book_author": "Ed Miller, David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I'd been trying to make elaborate, tricky plays in low stakes games and getting killed off of it.", "hn_user": "lionhearted", "date": "2010-05-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1321922", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Smarter Faster Better", "book_author": "Charles Duhigg", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it’s changed how I approach problems and learning the last 9 years.", "hn_user": "cleak", "date": "2025-05-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44117005", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "So Good They Can't Ignore You", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book caused me to take the idea of \"career capital\" a lot more seriously, and to be more intentional about pursuing my career in general.", "hn_user": "surprisetalk", "date": "2023-03-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34994219", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Software Foundations", "book_author": "Benjamin C. Pierce et al.", "category": "judgment", "quote": "learning to \"think in Coq\" has dramatically changed the way I reason about even traditional pencil and paper proofs, for the better.", "hn_user": "cvoss", "date": "2018-10-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18114161", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sophie's World", "book_author": "Jostein Gaarder", "category": "judgment", "quote": "made me realize how little I know and how important it is to identify and question my own assumptions", "hn_user": "cojadate", "date": "2009-10-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=877202", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Start Small, Stay Small", "book_author": "Rob Walling", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It helped me create a long term vision for my product with the expectation that it may always just be a side project and that was okay.", "hn_user": "good8675309", "date": "2022-11-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33561158", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup", "book_author": "Rob Walling", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It really changed my perspective of how to find out if a side project could work or not.", "hn_user": "croo", "date": "2018-09-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18047856", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Statistics", "book_author": "David Freedman, Robert Pisani, Roger Purves", "category": "judgment", "quote": "this stuff really helped me overcome a lot of _bad_ canary data analysis my predecessors had constructed.", "hn_user": "jldugger", "date": "2026-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49595027", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Stock Market Cash Flow", "book_author": "Andy Tanner", "category": "judgment", "quote": "this book helped me bust out of the thinking that, that style is the only way to look at, and earn in the stock market.", "hn_user": "peelle", "date": "2017-12-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15967078", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Street-Fighting Mathematics", "book_author": "Sanjoy Mahajan", "category": "judgment", "quote": "After reading that book I have been slowly trying to accumulate approximation methods and metrics in whatever I read, in order to estimate and validate quickly.", "hn_user": "sriram_malhar", "date": "2022-03-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30858032", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Stumbling on Happiness", "book_author": "Daniel Gilbert", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It profoundly changed the way I look at the world, and how I make decisions about what to do.", "hn_user": "sivers", "date": "2010-01-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1026621", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Superforecasting", "book_author": "Philip Tetlock", "category": "judgment", "quote": "helped me nail down when and why people (myself included) make mistakes and I think it helped me prevent making mistakes or recognize mistakes others are about to make better.", "hn_user": "tinco", "date": "2022-11-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33596187", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies", "book_author": "Nick Bostrom", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It has helped me make informed, realistic judgments about the path AI research needs to take.", "hn_user": "eduren", "date": "2016-12-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13232717", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Superlearning", "book_author": null, "category": "judgment", "quote": "the rule helped me at least.", "hn_user": "cheesecakegood", "date": "2026-07-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48791491", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Team Topologies", "book_author": "Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais", "category": "judgment", "quote": "there's one concept in it that has drastically changed how I lead and collaborate across teams.", "hn_user": "phamilton", "date": "2023-07-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36906896", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "That Hideous Strength", "book_author": "C. S. Lewis", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Caused me to stop thinking of conspiracy theories as people huddled in a room like the Illuminati.", "hn_user": "sethc2", "date": "2021-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26589132", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Workweek", "book_author": "Tim Ferriss", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the most useful thing is the dreamline idea, it a good approach to goal definition, a lot better than any sort of bucket list and such.", "hn_user": "cgore", "date": "2013-09-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6433660", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Problem Solving", "book_author": "Richard Rusczyk", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It helped me develop my problem-solving skills and learn how to think critically about mathematical problems.", "hn_user": "Jimmc414", "date": "2023-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34443730", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of War", "book_author": "Sun Tzu", "category": "judgment", "quote": "each having shaped the way I look at decision making processes and influenced my general life strategy", "hn_user": "madmax108", "date": "2018-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17982576", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Black Swan", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it changed my view of statistics, knowledge, empirical scepticism, philosophy, cognitive biases, societal dynamics, and sure, made me quit investment banking.", "hn_user": "mck-", "date": "2017-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15156663", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Black Swan", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It has added a filter to my entire thought process. I call it the Nicholas filter.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737792", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Black Swan", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "has also impacted my decision making process more generally", "hn_user": "itronitron", "date": "2020-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25538793", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Black Swan", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "touch on this in a way that forever changed my thinking.", "hn_user": "elpakal", "date": "2020-11-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25017796", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Black Swan", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it changed the way I think about modeling, forecasting, and day-to-day assumptions.", "hn_user": "colvasaur", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090628", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Book of Five Rings", "book_author": "Miyamoto Musashi", "category": "judgment", "quote": "he basically broke down how we shouldn't have favored tools but rather use the ones that are best suited for the task at hand. Which had a profound impact on me.", "hn_user": "michaelbrave", "date": "2013-05-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5753756", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect", "book_author": "Judea Pearl", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It really changed my approach to and understanding of causality. And most importantly it gave me reliable intuitions on the subject.", "hn_user": "wavegeek", "date": "2020-09-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24488156", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Burden of Responsibility: Blum, Camus, Aron, and the French Twentieth Century", "book_author": "Tony Judt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Those books taught me that there are quite a few secular religions to be beware of, with all the associated dangers and indeed opium for the mind.", "hn_user": "yakubin", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33671101", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Captive Mind", "book_author": "Czesław Miłosz", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It taught me that the religion I left behind when I was young is not the end, but there are more things to be vigilant about, lest your critical mind becomes anaesthetised", "hn_user": "yakubin", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33671101", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Checklist Manifesto", "book_author": "Atul Gawande", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I read The Checklist Manifesto and used it to design my own checklist -- and crucially, checklist procedure -- for my data collections and it made a huge difference.", "hn_user": "levocardia", "date": "2024-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42497034", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Chimp Paradox", "book_author": "Steve Peters", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It's helped me with countless things in life, from sticking to diets and just being a more reasonable person generally.", "hn_user": "kypro", "date": "2022-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30243614", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Clean Coder", "book_author": "Robert C. Martin", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It helped us realize when we had to refuse to give an estimate because we lacked the necessary information to do so, rather than just guess or make something up.", "hn_user": "mekane8", "date": "2019-04-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19685445", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time", "book_author": "Mark Haddon", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It helped me open up a world of functionality I now use over and over in journaling and problem-solving.", "hn_user": "themodelplumber", "date": "2022-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30249853", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Demon-Haunted World", "book_author": "Carl Sagan", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It gave me the tools required to cut through bullshit and helped me free myself from the shackles of a religious upbringing", "hn_user": "xutopia", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088532", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "After reading this book, I realized that maybe if one person can’t program their VCR, you could have argued that it’s their fault. But certainly if so many people have problems with it, it’s clearly an issue with the design.", "hn_user": "pacificmint", "date": "2022-07-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32135669", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The E-Myth Revisited", "book_author": "Michael E. Gerber", "category": "judgment", "quote": "his view of business really helped me think about entrepreneurship as an activity, not a theory.", "hn_user": "wpietri", "date": "2012-08-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4404014", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Effective Executive", "book_author": "Peter Drucker", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I’ve never even been an “executive” but have found that nuggets from this book have helped me navigate the working world for 25 years.", "hn_user": "LVB", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735432", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Elephant in the Brain", "book_author": "Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson", "category": "judgment", "quote": "One realization that's helped me a lot:\n\nYes, people talking self serving nonsense are lying. But they're primarily lying to themselves!!!", "hn_user": "BurningFrog", "date": "2020-01-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22202688", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The End of Faith", "book_author": "Sam Harris", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Reading the book completely changed my views on religion and religious tolerance. More importantly, the experience encouraged me to be more proactive in seeking out opposing viewpoints.", "hn_user": "shill", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6976087", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error'", "book_author": "Sidney Dekker", "category": "judgment", "quote": "reading it forever changed how I think about things. It's a much more useful framing for everyone involved if you start with the question of \"why did they think this was the right thing to do?\"", "hn_user": "goostavos", "date": "2023-02-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34796569", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Field Guide to Understanding Human Error", "book_author": "Sidney Dekker", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the concepts we learned have helped me inn almost every aspect of understanding the complicated world we live in. I've taken these concepts to two other companies now to great effect.", "hn_user": "hoorayimhelping", "date": "2019-02-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19239474", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Field Guide to Understanding Human Error", "book_author": "Sidney Dekker", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It deeply changed how I think and talk about software bugs, and especially how I do retrospectives.", "hn_user": "wpietri", "date": "2018-03-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16612101", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Fifth Discipline", "book_author": "Peter Senge", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Pragmatic Thinking and Learning by Andy Hunt and The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge helped me with this type of thinking.", "hn_user": "solidist", "date": "2018-04-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16838581", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Fifth Discipline", "book_author": "Peter Senge", "category": "judgment", "quote": "As a systems architect struggling with Conway's Law, this has helped me understand systems-of-people better and given me some simple ways to think about interactions in a more abstract fashion.", "hn_user": "95014_refugee", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717295", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Fountainhead", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It helped me suss out flawed philosophy and gave me a sense of skepticism when being told what to think by authority", "hn_user": "535188B17C93743", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735589", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Four Steps to the Epiphany", "book_author": "Steve Blank", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Reading the four steps to the epiphany helped me knit together what I'd learned and helped me understand why my last startup didn't succeed.", "hn_user": "rmason", "date": "2011-07-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2736869", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Gervais Principle", "book_author": "Venkatesh Rao", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The Gervais Principle changed my life. Not all for good, but it did open my eyes wider, and it also helped explain some things that I couldn’t understand beforehand.", "hn_user": "projectileboy", "date": "2021-04-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26850093", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Goal", "book_author": "Eliyahu M. Goldratt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it completely changed the way I think about work and life. Once I have figured out the goal, the actual goal, not just deliver the project", "hn_user": "newswasboring", "date": "2020-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24361354", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Goal", "book_author": "Eliyahu M. Goldratt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Adopting a systems thinking mindset. When analysing problems looking for the bottleneck, then figuring out how to elevate that constraint.", "hn_user": "he11ow", "date": "2021-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26585685", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Goal", "book_author": "Eliyahu M. Goldratt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Both have significantly influenced my thinking and have helped me solve problems with team processes and software delivery.", "hn_user": "topkai22", "date": "2021-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28583444", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Gulag Archipelago", "book_author": "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn", "category": "judgment", "quote": "these particular books ... helped me move past the special pleading fallacy that is American exceptionalism (\"It can't happen here.\")", "hn_user": "CamperBob2", "date": "2016-11-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13027627", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Hidden Persuaders", "book_author": "Vance Packard", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It convinced me to always question what are represented as facts by ads or the media. A healthy skepticism has served me very well.", "hn_user": "rmason", "date": "2020-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22093676", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Information Diet", "book_author": "Clay Johnson", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it's a really good book, and helped me a lot in avoiding this sort of stuff", "hn_user": "lallysingh", "date": "2018-10-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18131382", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Innovator's Dilemma", "book_author": "Clayton M. Christensen", "category": "judgment", "quote": "made me start thinking critically about the kinds of projects large organizations attempt, and why they often fail.", "hn_user": "kabdib", "date": "2017-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15157059", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Innovator's Dilemma", "book_author": "Clayton M. Christensen", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The book, The Innovator's Dilemma, totally changed how I view situations like this.", "hn_user": "gitfan86", "date": "2021-10-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28938205", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Innovator's Dilemma", "book_author": "Clayton Christensen", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Books by Clayton Christensen such as the Innovator's Dilemma really helped me to realize something that is probably obvious to a lot of people which is the difference between correlation and causation", "hn_user": "anon2020dot00", "date": "2022-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31734064", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Last Ringbearer", "book_author": "Kirill Eskov", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it revolved around a twist that helped me develop critical thinking skills.", "hn_user": "xlii", "date": "2024-10-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41769936", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Lean Product Playbook", "book_author": "Dan Olsen", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I particularly like the Product Playbooks method to evaluate different problems and the value individuals put on them.", "hn_user": "bwb", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32897981", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Lean Startup", "book_author": "Eric Ries", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I (quickly) read the Lean Startup book by Eric Ries and Immediately stopped building and started booking demo's (on paper!)", "hn_user": "andersthue", "date": "2015-04-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9420291", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Lean Startup", "book_author": "Eric Ries", "category": "judgment", "quote": "From the \"never give up\" point of view, I've changed my mind, thanks to books like The Lean Startup, Blitzscaling, and my own experience.", "hn_user": "angarg12", "date": "2021-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27842142", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Life You Can Save", "book_author": "Peter Singer", "category": "judgment", "quote": "these books have really changed my life. I know it sounds cheesy, but I've never read books that had such a lasting influence on me.", "hn_user": "msilenus", "date": "2015-09-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10232262", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Logic of Failure", "book_author": "Dietrich Dörner", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The combination of the two completely changed how I approached managing projects generally.", "hn_user": "maroonblazer", "date": "2015-03-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9211824", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Lost Empire of Atlantis", "book_author": "Gavin Menzies", "category": "judgment", "quote": "that made me realize how unskeptically I had been reading the first two books, and other books in the genre.", "hn_user": "saalweachter", "date": "2024-03-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39589318", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mind of War: John Boyd and American Security", "book_author": "Grant T. Hammond", "category": "judgment", "quote": "My understanding of the importance of OODA Loops influenced my approach to data analysis and the tools I build to analyze data.", "hn_user": "hx2a", "date": "2018-02-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16459350", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mom Test", "book_author": "Rob Fitzpatrick", "category": "judgment", "quote": "First, the Mom Test, it is very short, and it talks about what types of questions to ask and what types to avoid. The main focus is avoiding the introduction of bias.", "hn_user": "tmaly", "date": "2017-05-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14452983", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mom Test", "book_author": "Rob Fitzpatrick", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I used its guidance at my big tech job when trying to build a new tool for researchers, and it helped me better understand how to understand what they need", "hn_user": "cweill", "date": "2021-09-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28678145", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mom Test", "book_author": "Rob Fitzpatrick", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Still not easy by this point of view changed the way I think about it forever.", "hn_user": "kjksf", "date": "2020-01-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22151907", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Most Good You Can Do", "book_author": "Peter Singer", "category": "judgment", "quote": "these books have really changed my life. I know it sounds cheesy, but I've never read books that had such a lasting influence on me.", "hn_user": "msilenus", "date": "2015-09-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10232262", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Most Secret War", "book_author": "R. V. Jones", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It was the first time I came across Occams Razor. This really helped me understand how to approach debugging issues and generally dealing with problems.", "hn_user": "hi_hi", "date": "2024-09-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41552308", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Opium of the Intellectuals", "book_author": "Raymond Aron", "category": "judgment", "quote": "there are quite a few secular religions to be beware of, with all the associated dangers and indeed opium for the mind.", "hn_user": "yakubin", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33671101", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The PhD Grind", "book_author": "Philip Guo", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It helped me to come to terms with whether I wanted to do a PhD or not. The result: maybe later in life, but not now. The risks are way greater than I expected.", "hn_user": "mettamage", "date": "2020-05-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23175446", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Phoenix Project", "book_author": "Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Both have significantly influenced my thinking and have helped me solve problems with team processes and software delivery.", "hn_user": "topkai22", "date": "2021-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28583444", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Plausibility of Life", "book_author": "Marc W. Kirschner and John C. Gerhart", "category": "judgment", "quote": "reading it completely changed how I look at software architecture, protocols, formats, programming languages, and a whole range of other CS-related topics.", "hn_user": "webmaven", "date": "2017-01-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13408201", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Habit", "book_author": "Charles Duhigg", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Ever since reading this book, I've noticed patterns in the way apps are developed.", "hn_user": "zoltrix303", "date": "2022-08-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32331742", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Psychology of Money", "book_author": "Morgan Housel", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Completely changed my perspective on risk, return, timing, life choices and decision paths.", "hn_user": "daleholborow", "date": "2021-01-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25743308", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Quest for Value", "book_author": "G. Bennett Stewart III", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Now that I've read this book cover to cover multiple times, my view has completely shifted, and my understanding of stock valuation and cash flow analysis has done nothing but improved.", "hn_user": "bluejellybean", "date": "2020-12-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25363341", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This is the book that has changed the way I think and understand people the most, and has indirectly helped me more with management than all of the management focussed books combined.", "hn_user": "sixhobbits", "date": "2018-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17932765", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book helped me understand conservative thinking, made me less heated in my opinions, and provided a convincing framework for me to understand moral arguments", "hn_user": "neilsharma", "date": "2015-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10785676", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book fundamentally changed how I think about religion and politics. It helped me understand a lot of behaviors which I'd previous considered absolutely incomprehensible.", "hn_user": "TheAceOfHearts", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089362", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It has changed how I observe other people's strongly held opinions online.", "hn_user": "drivers99", "date": "2018-10-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18319329", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Screwtape Letters", "book_author": "C.S. Lewis", "category": "judgment", "quote": "even if you aren't religious it has helped me see so much clearly the tactics and obstacles that prevent me from being the person I want to be.", "hn_user": "hpoe", "date": "2020-06-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23467651", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Secret of Our Success", "book_author": "Joseph Henrich", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it has made me more likely to ask myself \"does tradition/norms/etc. suggest a direction for this problem?\"", "hn_user": "TwoCent", "date": "2022-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33805405", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Secrets of Consulting", "book_author": "Gerald M. Weinberg", "category": "judgment", "quote": "His book, The Secrets of Consulting, was the first to help me get my head screwed on straight. I can't tell you how often his \"Orange Juice Rule\" helped me make a better decision.", "hn_user": "ohjeez", "date": "2018-08-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17721389", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully", "book_author": "Gerald M. Weinberg", "category": "judgment", "quote": "this is a profound little book that helped me get perspective on problem solving in my work and myself.", "hn_user": "pjmorris", "date": "2022-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33800078", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins, ditto", "hn_user": "montgomery_r", "date": "2023-09-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37561764", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Social Construction of Reality", "book_author": "Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It forever changed the way I look at claims of human behavior framed as universal laws", "hn_user": "kelseyfrog", "date": "2025-12-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46347632", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Social Construction of Reality", "book_author": "Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book helped me in my personal life coming to terms with my identity. But it also helped me understand the art of discourse much more deeply.", "hn_user": "kelseyfrog", "date": "2021-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29669269", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The State", "book_author": "Franz Oppenheimer", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Touched a nerve that resulted in significantly more questioning of authority and critical thinking about power, generally.", "hn_user": "doyoulikeworms", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093884", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", "book_author": "Thomas Kuhn", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Made me self-aware about what scientific thinking actually is.", "hn_user": "psteitz", "date": "2022-10-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33226900", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Theory of Poker", "book_author": "David Sklansky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "gave me tools of reasoning and analysis of complex problems that I have built on and still use to this day.", "hn_user": "ericdykstra", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090950", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Toyota Way", "book_author": "Jeffrey K. Liker", "category": "judgment", "quote": "But they have deeply changed how I think about systems of making software and running businesses.", "hn_user": "wpietri", "date": "2017-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15762368", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Upper Half of the Motorcycle: On the Unity of Rider and Machine", "book_author": "Bernt Spiegel", "category": "judgment", "quote": "In a few weeks I have been able to make progress on correcting subconscious errors that I have been trying to correct for decades with little to no progress.", "hn_user": "dmfdmf", "date": "2020-01-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22012659", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The WEIRDest People in the World", "book_author": "Joseph Henrich", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Both books compelled me to consider the power of culture on human behavior and thinking.", "hn_user": "TwoCent", "date": "2022-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33805405", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The War of Art", "book_author": "Steven Pressfield", "category": "judgment", "quote": "each having shaped the way I look at decision making processes and influenced my general life strategy", "hn_user": "madmax108", "date": "2018-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17982576", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Win Without Pitching Manifesto", "book_author": "Blair Enns", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The hardest part for me was learning how to spot good clients from bad clients. Reading the \"Win without pitching\" manifesto\"[1] transformed my business", "hn_user": "scardine", "date": "2019-03-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19461757", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "They Thought They Were Free", "book_author": "Milton Mayer", "category": "judgment", "quote": "these particular books ... helped me move past the special pleading fallacy that is American exceptionalism (\"It can't happen here.\")", "hn_user": "CamperBob2", "date": "2016-11-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13027627", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Think Again", "book_author": "Adam Grant", "category": "judgment", "quote": "helped me nail down when and why people (myself included) make mistakes and I think it helped me prevent making mistakes or recognize mistakes others are about to make better.", "hn_user": "tinco", "date": "2022-11-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33596187", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking in Bets", "book_author": "Annie Duke", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Thinking In Bets which led me to get much more systematic about thinking probabilistically", "hn_user": "kaycebasques", "date": "2021-11-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29307812", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking in Systems", "book_author": "Donella Meadows", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I stopped seeing problems as isolated events and started seeing feedback loops, delays, leverage points, and unintended consequences everywhere", "hn_user": "Tech_News_Daily", "date": "2025-12-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46345718", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking in Systems", "book_author": "Donella Meadows", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book made me start focusing on flows vs stocks, a distinction humans tend to get backwards and the make several related mistakes.", "hn_user": "andrew_lettuce", "date": "2026-09-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49909952", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking in Systems", "book_author": "Donella H. Meadows", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I read Thinking in Systems a few years ago and it changed how I observe and try to influence (or not) existing systems.", "hn_user": "CrackpotGonzo", "date": "2020-01-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22044105", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking in Systems", "book_author": "Donella Meadows", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I go back to \"Thinking in Systems\" once a year and analyze my life, my projects again with her framework.", "hn_user": "franze", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093354", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking in Systems: A Primer", "book_author": "Donella H. Meadows", "category": "judgment", "quote": "I read it once a year. It changed how i think about everything. My career is based on this book. My interaction with people and groups of people is based on this book.", "hn_user": "franze", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090216", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking in Systems: A Primer", "book_author": "Donella Meadows", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It has permanently changed how I think about problems and their solutions.", "hn_user": "saosebastiao", "date": "2016-03-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11270866", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Every (somewhat major) decision I'm making now, I'm constantly reminding myself of various biases and silliness that I participate in unwillingly", "hn_user": "jcutrell", "date": "2018-07-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17515553", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book has helped me recognize various cognitive biases and heuristics that I or the people around me are demonstrating.", "hn_user": "troycarlson", "date": "2018-04-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16758035", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Excellent advice for life and it's changed how I view decisions and interactions.", "hn_user": "IanCal", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9348618", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, a book that radically changed the way I think", "hn_user": "montgomery_r", "date": "2023-09-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37561764", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "This book helped me understand many aspects of design and sales that had been black boxes for me", "hn_user": "arthurjj", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716558", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It has made me reflect upon why I think the way I do, helped me to remove most bias from my actions", "hn_user": "sidkhanooja", "date": "2022-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34194542", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "this book opened up my eyes to a host of mental biases.", "hn_user": "oracardo", "date": "2022-09-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32937220", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "made me think about all of the biases that my mind has that I dont even realize", "hn_user": "misiti3780", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092022", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Thinking fast and slow had the biggest impact in changing how I think about a lot of things, epic study of how you’re predisposed to think and make decisions in a particular way.", "hn_user": "erd0s", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087663", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it changed my life was to make me actually think more about the way my mind operates, the decisions I make and the way these decisions affect my life.", "hn_user": "Evgeny", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6975706", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "The latter helped me internalise that my thinking, like most humans, is biased.", "hn_user": "_jgdh", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19091223", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Now I'm deliberately conscious about the decisions I take and retrace my thought process multiple times just to make sure that I haven't fallen pray to some of the cognitive biases.", "hn_user": "vishnugupta", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090626", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Understanding how the 2 parts of the brain are often at odds with other, has vastly changed the way I think and helped me realize times I'm susceptible to bias and misunderstanding.", "hn_user": "elamje", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090981", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Traction", "book_author": "Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares", "category": "judgment", "quote": "this book changed the way I view marketing in general.", "hn_user": "codebeaker", "date": "2017-04-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14147618", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Trust Me, I'm Lying", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Helped me kill my FB account quickly.", "hn_user": "abawany", "date": "2018-07-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17655710", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Trust Me, I'm Lying", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "judgment", "quote": "After reading it and having it talk about so many things I was unable to put a finger upon until now, I've become extremely distrustful of media in general.", "hn_user": "adam419", "date": "2015-01-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8842687", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "judgment", "quote": "popular controversies like this always make me wonder who benefits from their continued discussion.", "hn_user": "odyssey7", "date": "2025-07-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44484648", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Turn the Ship Around!", "book_author": "L. David Marquet", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the principles in the book Turn the Ship Around, the book No Rules Rule, and Amazon's 14 leadership principles helped me a lot because they give clear guidelines on how to make trade-offs.", "hn_user": "hintymad", "date": "2022-04-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31157391", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Understanding Power", "book_author": "Noam Chomsky", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It's like putting on glasses when you didn't know you needed them.", "hn_user": "jacquesm", "date": "2013-01-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5062416", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars", "book_author": "Jim Paul", "category": "judgment", "quote": "it changed the way I think about investing.", "hn_user": "iambateman", "date": "2021-02-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26284683", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What Is Mathematics?", "book_author": "Richard Courant", "category": "judgment", "quote": "\"What is Mathematics?\" by Richard Courant taught me to think at a higher level of abstraction.", "hn_user": "stiff", "date": "2012-12-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4985095", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Who Moved My Cheese?", "book_author": "Spencer Johnson", "category": "judgment", "quote": "My favorite one-sentence takeaway from the book is the question: \"What would you do, if you were not afraid?\" - which has helped me make hard decisions many times over the years.", "hn_user": "klausjensen", "date": "2016-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12246464", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men", "book_author": "Lundy Bancroft", "category": "judgment", "quote": "its insights about power and control have been useful to me way beyond that.", "hn_user": "wpietri", "date": "2017-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15762368", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "You and Your Profile", "book_author": "Mueller", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the book helped me realize how I developed profiles for myself and also how to recognize them by others. The end result: now I see the profiles just as highly currated expression of one's identity and don't stress at all about it.", "hn_user": "lavascornedoven", "date": "2022-05-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31431531", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Your Money or Your Life", "book_author": "Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the book helped me formulate new ways of thinking about money and my relationship with it.", "hn_user": "twistedanimator", "date": "2016-01-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10995129", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "judgment", "quote": "each having shaped the way I look at decision making processes and influenced my general life strategy", "hn_user": "madmax108", "date": "2018-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17982576", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "judgment", "quote": "remembering the book (which I read years ago) helped me step away from the problem and come back to it with a fresh angle.", "hn_user": "fipar", "date": "2017-04-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14192893", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "judgment", "quote": "the discussions regarding \"gumption\" and separating abstractions from reality when needed (i.e. \"the carburetor set screw\") as well as several other great lessons from the book have really helped me fine-tune my thinking.", "hn_user": "osigurdson", "date": "2025-07-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44626043", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "judgment", "quote": "Helped me understand the dual ways I was reacting to the world - rationally and emotionally - and why I was confused about how to understand and evaluate my experiences.", "hn_user": "peterashford", "date": "2023-05-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35809441", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "judgment", "quote": "following Pirsig's advice on that front has saved me countless hours of fruitless troubleshooting.", "hn_user": "deepspace", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740363", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zero to One", "book_author": "Peter Thiel", "category": "judgment", "quote": "It made me question what I was doing professionally and I now have a list of questions to answer whenever I am in a startup to help guide me", "hn_user": "xutopia", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088532", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy", "book_author": "William B. Irvine", "category": "lost", "quote": "Over time I had somehow lost myself. This book helped me get back to the person I liked the most.", "hn_user": "DanielBMarkham", "date": "2010-12-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1973617", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Prayer for Owen Meany", "book_author": "John Irving", "category": "lost", "quote": "I was struggling with my religious faith and my identity. A lot of the relationships and events in the book mirrored people and experiences in my own life.", "hn_user": "SeanBoocock", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22722001", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Accidental Empires", "book_author": "Robert X. Cringely", "category": "lost", "quote": "After reading this I knew what I want, and actually joined a startup a few years later", "hn_user": "tjansen", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737222", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "lost", "quote": "Antifragile by Nassim Taleb was very good. Reminded me of Hayek's deep insight into chaotic, organic systems (e.g. human interaction systems). Also helped me to find out what direction I should take after my own book", "hn_user": "nationcrafting", "date": "2013-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6977539", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atlas Shrugged", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "lost", "quote": "in my early 20s reading Atlas Shrugged helped me regain my bearings.", "hn_user": "funstuff007", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735554", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Be Your Future Self Now", "book_author": "Benjamin Hardy", "category": "lost", "quote": "Once I eliminated superfluous junk from my life, I felt a lot more focused.", "hn_user": "innocentoldguy", "date": "2022-10-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33082823", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bhagavad Gita", "book_author": null, "category": "lost", "quote": "I was lost during the early college days. I already had the book in my home for a while and decided to go through it. Once I finished it, I adopted some of the ideas from the book.", "hn_user": "going_ham", "date": "2022-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30241626", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bullshit Jobs", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "lost", "quote": "But airing this problem in this way also helped me, eventually, walk down a path I was more comfortable with. It took a long time, but I finally like the path I'm treading.", "hn_user": "he11ow", "date": "2021-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26585685", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention", "book_author": "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi", "category": "lost", "quote": "it was this book that helped me decide to become a programmer. I flip-flopped a lot between college majors and just generally what the hell it was i wanted to do for a living.", "hn_user": "relativeadv", "date": "2021-10-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28950344", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Finding Your Own North Star", "book_author": "Martha Beck", "category": "lost", "quote": "that book had enough impact that it really changed the way I worked, and make sense of why I was so frustrated at times.", "hn_user": "jlengrand", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23152062", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", "book_author": "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi", "category": "lost", "quote": "Both of those books helped me fundamentally \"reprogram \" myself and gave me focus and motivation to keep chugging.", "hn_user": "ultrasounder", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32905753", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", "book_author": "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi", "category": "lost", "quote": "It saved myself and my career. It helped me really assess what was important in my life and how to attain that what is important.", "hn_user": "ultrasounder", "date": "2022-06-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31697221", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Four Thousand Weeks", "book_author": "Oliver Burkeman", "category": "lost", "quote": "For me, the tools in the above books have helped me get a better idea of what I want to spend my time doing and how I'm going to try and get there.", "hn_user": "Centigonal", "date": "2023-01-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34369364", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Four Thousand Weeks", "book_author": "Oliver Burkeman", "category": "lost", "quote": "This book helped me put down a lot of burden about not achieving something important in my life.", "hn_user": "jaros", "date": "2022-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30238677", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals", "book_author": "Oliver Burkeman", "category": "lost", "quote": "just seeing the words on a page was hugely valuable to me in the same sort of way that saying the things that rattle around in your head out loud to a therapist is. It really helped me gain some clarity on my own direction.", "hn_user": "iamben", "date": "2022-12-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34136644", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "How We Change", "book_author": "Ross Ellenhorn", "category": "lost", "quote": "this book has really helped me turn a corner like no other has.", "hn_user": "_huayra_", "date": "2021-01-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25712322", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Howl and Other Poems", "book_author": "Allen Ginsberg", "category": "lost", "quote": "That book, and I cannot stress this enough, hit me so hard that I broke down. I cried.", "hn_user": "Loughla", "date": "2019-06-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20232401", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was", "book_author": "Barbara Sher", "category": "lost", "quote": "One book that helped me a lot was \"I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was\"", "hn_user": "imp", "date": "2010-10-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1842818", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life", "book_author": "Héctor García and Francesc Miralles", "category": "lost", "quote": "It certainly helped me to work out a way to think more about how to find a more rewarding and meaningful career and ultimately life.", "hn_user": "bizzleDawg", "date": "2021-08-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28201577", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Illusions", "book_author": "Richard Bach", "category": "lost", "quote": "it certainly changed my perspective on things in a foundational way.", "hn_user": "CodeWriter23", "date": "2022-04-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31032296", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Long Day's Journey into Night", "book_author": "Eugene O'Neill", "category": "lost", "quote": "I'll mention something different that helped me. That was literature.", "hn_user": "okareaman", "date": "2021-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27639469", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Losing My Virginity", "book_author": "Richard Branson", "category": "lost", "quote": "I keep coming back to this when I feel like I need a morale boost.", "hn_user": "Amogha_IO", "date": "2017-06-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14479282", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Meditations", "book_author": "Marcus Aurelius", "category": "lost", "quote": "It gave me a different way of looking at things. I guess in a way, I started to see myself almost in a third person.. I got my stuff together and made big changes.", "hn_user": "consoomer", "date": "2023-08-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37311934", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mind Hacking", "book_author": "Sir John Hargrave", "category": "lost", "quote": "I owe my current job ( which I am very happy with ) to this routine. It inspired me do things I won't normally do.", "hn_user": "o2l", "date": "2017-08-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14912498", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success", "book_author": "Carol Dweck", "category": "lost", "quote": "For me, the tools in the above books have helped me get a better idea of what I want to spend my time doing and how I'm going to try and get there.", "hn_user": "Centigonal", "date": "2023-01-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34369364", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Notes from Underground", "book_author": "Fyodor Dostoevsky", "category": "lost", "quote": "What you are feeling is not unique and it will pass", "hn_user": "okareaman", "date": "2021-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27639469", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Our Town", "book_author": "Thornton Wilder", "category": "lost", "quote": "Welcome to the human condition. That's what the books and plays said to me.", "hn_user": "okareaman", "date": "2021-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27639469", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Psycho-Cybernetics", "book_author": "Maxwell Maltz", "category": "lost", "quote": "Both of those books helped me fundamentally \"reprogram \" myself and gave me focus and motivation to keep chugging.", "hn_user": "ultrasounder", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32905753", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Psycho-Cybernetics", "book_author": "Maxwell Maltz", "category": "lost", "quote": "Found this also super useful along with Flow to navigate my mid-life crisis.", "hn_user": "ultrasounder", "date": "2022-06-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31697221", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Refuse to Choose!", "book_author": "Barbara Sher", "category": "lost", "quote": "it did help me feel a bit better and finding some new tools for dealing with it, after struggling with exactly the same thing as you for 2 decades.", "hn_user": "diggan", "date": "2024-05-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40511308", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Self-Reliance", "book_author": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "category": "lost", "quote": "Especially Emerson. \"Self-Reliance\" was pivotal.", "hn_user": "ToDougie", "date": "2023-08-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37314849", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "lost", "quote": "something clicked within me and I started making genuine attempts to get past my (mostly) self-imposed problems in life. Can easily say this book helped me get through confusing times and come out better on the other side", "hn_user": "madmax108", "date": "2018-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17982576", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "lost", "quote": "This was a book I read in my early twenties that really helped me come to terms with a religious upbringing that no longer resonated with me, as well as a spiritual void in my life that needed to be filled.", "hn_user": "matthewvincent", "date": "2017-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15630228", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "lost", "quote": "I read this annually, typically in a day, usually when I'm feeling lost. For me it distills the human experience into a simply story that helps me find meaning for where I am in my own journey.", "hn_user": "idkwhattocallme", "date": "2025-02-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43114515", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "lost", "quote": "a way to understand and feel okay about leaving paradigms you were raised by that don’t fill “the cup.”", "hn_user": "rtkaratekid", "date": "2020-03-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22727640", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Snow Crash", "book_author": "Neal Stephenson", "category": "lost", "quote": "It instilled in me the desire to understand the deep structures of things. And with that, the ability to influence and create the world around me. It set me on the path to becoming who I am today.", "hn_user": "Derbasti", "date": "2022-08-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32635245", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "So Good They Can't Ignore You", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "lost", "quote": "It changed my life and helped me build a high value career I love.", "hn_user": "bricemo", "date": "2022-05-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31565763", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "So Good They Can't Ignore You", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "lost", "quote": "The book completely changed the way I look at work/career/etc, and I wish I could have read it 20 years ago. It finally freed me from the catastrophe of \"follow your passion\".", "hn_user": "jp555", "date": "2014-12-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8704839", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "So Good They Can't Ignore You", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "lost", "quote": "I have spent lots of time finding the perfect career, until I learned from this book that you must stop finding the perfect career.", "hn_user": "spaceknarf", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19094447", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 12 Week Year", "book_author": "Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington", "category": "lost", "quote": "breaking my intentions to 3 months and tracking them has helped me see what I want and where I want to go.", "hn_user": "thisisit", "date": "2019-12-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21910667", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Workweek", "book_author": "Timothy Ferriss", "category": "lost", "quote": "Ferriss challenges people to stop doing things because of inertia and because it's how it's always been done, then seek a better way.", "hn_user": "dougmwne", "date": "2020-07-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23957127", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Anatomy of Peace", "book_author": "The Arbinger Institute", "category": "lost", "quote": "It helped me understand how I created all the trouble I have experienced in my life, why I never became “succesful” and why I had felt so stuck most of my life.", "hn_user": "andersthue", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090151", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Doing Science and Engineering", "book_author": "Richard Hamming", "category": "lost", "quote": "I can recommend Richard Hamming's book Art of Doing Science and Engineering [0], that is what helped me put things in perspective.", "hn_user": "hydandata", "date": "2020-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23064406", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Cuckoo's Egg", "book_author": "Clifford Stoll", "category": "lost", "quote": "it helped me understand that I was exactly the sort of person who should go to university.", "hn_user": "unfocussed_mike", "date": "2022-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30577999", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Dharma Bums", "book_author": "Jack Kerouac", "category": "lost", "quote": "it has probably had a bigger influence on my life than any other book.", "hn_user": "freetime2", "date": "2022-04-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30930644", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Lean Startup", "book_author": "Eric Ries", "category": "lost", "quote": "It really helped me feel like I had a sense of direction instead of \"thinking I knew\" something,", "hn_user": "acoyfellow", "date": "2012-07-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4185325", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The New Psycho-Cybernetics", "book_author": "Maxwell Maltz", "category": "lost", "quote": "This coupled with The New Psycho-Cybernetics helped me understand \"where\" my thoughts were coming from and how to handle them.", "hn_user": "ToDougie", "date": "2023-08-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37314849", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "lost", "quote": "Eckhart Tolle's concept of the \"Pain-body\" manifesting itself in my thoughts and actions helped me kill self-destructive behavior at the source.", "hn_user": "ToDougie", "date": "2023-08-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37314849", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving-Kindness", "book_author": "Pema Chödrön", "category": "lost", "quote": "her words helped me when I was down and lost.", "hn_user": "lioeters", "date": "2020-01-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21965609", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What Should I Do With My Life?", "book_author": "Po Bronson", "category": "lost", "quote": "I read Po Bronson's \"What Should I Do With My Life\" and it helped me decide. My solution was humanitarian logistics", "hn_user": "jeffrallen", "date": "2020-05-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23328476", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Who is Afraid of Maths?", "book_author": "Ali Nesin", "category": "lost", "quote": "They helped me immensely while searching for meaning in life.", "hn_user": "nurettin", "date": "2018-06-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17352573", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "You Can't Go Home Again", "book_author": "Thomas Wolfe", "category": "lost", "quote": "Welcome to the human condition. That's what the books and plays said to me.", "hn_user": "okareaman", "date": "2021-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27639469", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Your Money or Your Life", "book_author": "Joe Dominguez", "category": "lost", "quote": "Particularly number 2) had a huge impact - I still do the steps.Do the steps and it will work.", "hn_user": "zapperdapper", "date": "2017-12-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15844831", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1491", "book_author": "Charles C. Mann", "category": "meaning", "quote": "These books completely changed my worldview about the scale and complexity of human development in the Americas before European contact.", "hn_user": "noumenon", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087898", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1491", "book_author": "Charles C. Mann", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Amazing way to deeply understand history, and completely new perspectives on America pre and post Columbus.", "hn_user": "simonebrunozzi", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606308", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus", "book_author": "Charles C. Mann", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The 2 books really changed the way I view the history of the contienent, the people who were here before, my view on agriculture and disease.", "hn_user": "swalsh", "date": "2021-09-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28651078", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1493", "book_author": "Charles C. Mann", "category": "meaning", "quote": "They also opened my eyes to how much older globalization is than we normally think.", "hn_user": "noumenon", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087898", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1493", "book_author": "Charles C. Mann", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Amazing way to deeply understand history, and completely new perspectives on America pre and post Columbus.", "hn_user": "simonebrunozzi", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606308", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created", "book_author": "Charles C. Mann", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The 2 books really changed the way I view the history of the contienent, the people who were here before, my view on agriculture and disease.", "hn_user": "swalsh", "date": "2021-09-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28651078", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1984", "book_author": "George Orwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "First real sense of society at large, totalitarianism, and other \"grown-up\" stuff.", "hn_user": "simonebrunozzi", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606308", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1984", "book_author": "George Orwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the first book that, as a child, told me that every adult had lied to me and I was walking in to a trap.", "hn_user": "dazzawazza", "date": "2008-06-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=229299", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "1984", "book_author": "George Orwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It profoundly changed how I view the government and technology.", "hn_user": "kemiller2002", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13967914", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Brief History of Time", "book_author": "Stephen Hawking", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it pretty much slapped any thoughts I had of a supernatural universe/god right out of my mind.", "hn_user": "MichaelGG", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9348789", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy", "book_author": "William B. Irvine", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It describes a couple of practical techniques to overcome negative emotions. I highly recommend it for everyone, even for the ones not suffering from self-doubt. Reading it was life changing for me.", "hn_user": "NumberCruncher", "date": "2016-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11900451", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy", "book_author": "William B. Irvine", "category": "meaning", "quote": "honestly changed my outlook on life for the better, especially how I view expectation and disappointment.", "hn_user": "nicolashahn", "date": "2017-07-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14765366", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Higher Call", "book_author": "Adam Makos", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book helped me really understand the people in a country are not all defined by the ruling party or the ruler. In this case, not all Germans were Nazis and some had much honor in how they conducted warfare.", "hn_user": "me_smith", "date": "2025-03-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43525225", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Pattern Language", "book_author": "Christopher Alexander", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It permanently changed the way I thought about space - it really matters, it changes how you feel and think, and the best part - you have agency!", "hn_user": "pradn", "date": "2024-05-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40358757", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Secular Age", "book_author": "Charles Taylor", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book really changed the way I think about the modern world and what I'll call \"the preference for scientistic, humanistic atheism\".", "hn_user": "keiferski", "date": "2020-08-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24257880", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Short History of Nearly Everything", "book_author": "Bill Bryson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read it at ~18 and can easily draw a direct line between it and going into research", "hn_user": "sndean", "date": "2018-02-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16296352", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Short History of Nearly Everything", "book_author": "Bill Bryson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "So, effectively this book freed me from fighting windmills and freed my resources to try to improve the lives of those directly around me instead of on a larger scale. The effects have been pretty dramatic.", "hn_user": "jacquesm", "date": "2011-01-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2147898", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Theory of Justice", "book_author": "John Rawls", "category": "meaning", "quote": "reading these two books really changed my outlook. I went in skeptical and a little conspiratorial and these helped bring me closer to reality and even a little hopeful.", "hn_user": "wannabebarista", "date": "2025-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42964897", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Time of Gifts", "book_author": "Patrick Leigh Fermor", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's changed the way I think about history and taught me a lot about parts of the world I'm unfamiliar with.", "hn_user": "pjc50", "date": "2018-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18746033", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Treatise of Human Nature", "book_author": "David Hume", "category": "meaning", "quote": "there is only ever increasing awareness as we move through life, and we can also make a point to be intentional about increasing our own awareness.", "hn_user": "mcraenich", "date": "2019-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19115660", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Walk Across America", "book_author": "Peter Jenkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read a book called A Walk Across America in college, by Peter Jenkins. I liked the idea of traveling under my own power", "hn_user": "japhyr", "date": "2025-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46245956", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Wrinkle in Time", "book_author": "Madeleine L'Engle", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It wasn't until many years later that I saw how foundational to my worldview it was that my first SF book had a female protagonist.", "hn_user": "themadturk", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737355", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Accelerando", "book_author": "Charles Stross", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The always increasing rate of change in technology, from a close and foreseable future to a not so far away but almost not recognizable one made me rethink how fast are things changing now", "hn_user": "gmuslera", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6975756", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "All Quiet on the Western Front", "book_author": "Erich Maria Remarque", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it sort of changed my outlook on things. My then very naive and straightforward view of the world where right and wrong are obvious was shattered.", "hn_user": "VincentEvans", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33670768", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Alone in the Ocean", "book_author": "Slava Kurilov", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I learned that my feelings can be an important early-alert system, far from an unintelligible mush.", "hn_user": "themodelplumber", "date": "2022-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30249853", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Amusing Ourselves to Death", "book_author": "Neil Postman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I first read it years ago and it changed the way I view a lot of things (specifically TV).", "hn_user": "raybb", "date": "2017-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15010222", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Anathem", "book_author": "Neal Stephenson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I’ve read it multiple times and while only a work of fiction has changed how I think about the world over the years.", "hn_user": "geuis", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090972", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Animal Farm", "book_author": "George Orwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It was the first time I realized books could be dangerous, subversive, and truly educational as well as simply informative or entertaining.", "hn_user": "scrumper", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088470", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", "book_author": "Barbara Kingsolver", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It inspired me to go deeper in my beloved cooking practice towards growing food and hunting, and through all that I’ve found much gratitude for and understanding of life", "hn_user": "sixstringtheory", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740861", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Anthropology", "book_author": "Marvin Harris", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it impacted the way I look at humanity, society and history, and also helped me understand that marxism is much more than an arguably failed political doctrine.", "hn_user": "charlysl", "date": "2017-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15762748", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Thinking Fast and Slow and Antifragile were my highlights - they compliment each other well and both changed my outlook on how the world is organised and how I perceive it.", "hn_user": "lui8906", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717651", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It has given me a whole new framework with which to think about the world.", "hn_user": "vkb", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716437", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I realized how much more I could be getting out of life by pursuing optionality and using the barbell strategy.", "hn_user": "jurgenwerk", "date": "2020-01-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22018696", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Aristotle's Ethics", "book_author": "Aristotle", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Aristotle's Ethics helped me reconcile my desire to constantly strive to do more and what to make of it when it seems never-ending.", "hn_user": "acconrad", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37165643", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "As a Man Thinketh", "book_author": "James Allen", "category": "meaning", "quote": "gave me much greater agency in life. Made me realize “You are today where your thoughts have brought you;", "hn_user": "kvee", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087616", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atlas Shrugged", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it was incredibly influential on me, inspired my passion for entrepreneurship and science and philosophy.", "hn_user": "rayalez", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9347895", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atlas Shrugged", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it offers an incredibly powerful philosophy for seeing the morality in putting yourself first (as a healthy, non-sociopathic human!). Don't take advice on this philosophy from people who didn't read the book! It helped me a lot.", "hn_user": "teekert", "date": "2017-05-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14391617", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atlas Shrugged", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It taught me the ethics of rational self interest. It helps me to this day when I discuss my salary for example.", "hn_user": "teekert", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738219", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Atlas Shrugged", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the inspiration I found in her books helps nudge me in the direction of truly to live my life more fully as my life, not someone else's idea of what my life should be.", "hn_user": "mindcrime", "date": "2013-05-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5700766", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Awaken the Giant Within", "book_author": "Tony Robbins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "You can change the way you think, so you can change the way you feel.", "hn_user": "sivers", "date": "2012-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3761317", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Awareness", "book_author": "Anthony de Mello", "category": "meaning", "quote": "during my reading of this book I experienced Satori, Englightenment, Awakening, Nirvana, 'Receiving The Gospel', whatever you want to call it.", "hn_user": "asdfqwertzxcv", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738155", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism", "book_author": "Ha-Joon Chang", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book changed my mind, while also helping me realize that much of economics is completely divorced from reality.", "hn_user": "RealityNow", "date": "2017-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15159057", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Be Here Now", "book_author": "Ram Dass", "category": "meaning", "quote": "exposed me to eastern spiritual traditions (I'm an atheist, but this was still very eye opening", "hn_user": "geekraver", "date": "2021-08-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28247009", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Be Here Now", "book_author": "Ram Dass", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Amazing book with mind blowing illustrations about life, purpose and spirituality. Changed my life. Every time I re-read it I discover something new.", "hn_user": "gawin", "date": "2023-01-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34214885", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End", "book_author": "Atul Gawande", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's a hard subject to think about but helped me to understand that prolonging life and continuing treatment shouldn't necessarily be the end goal for every case.", "hn_user": "lmcnish14", "date": "2015-12-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10785234", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Benjamin Franklin biography", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "I learned that I didn't need to be super smart or athletic or good looking to raise myself up a few steps on the (American) economic ladder.", "hn_user": "tomcam", "date": "2022-08-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32337627", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Beyond Good and Evil", "book_author": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "category": "meaning", "quote": "That book truly changed the way I lived and the way I thought.", "hn_user": "igorhvr", "date": "2009-08-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=782793", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Beyond Good and Evil", "book_author": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Over the years, with each reread, it’s changed the way I look at the world. Before I read this book, I took the definitions for the words good and evil as givens and for granted.", "hn_user": "ececconi", "date": "2015-09-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10226100", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bhagavad Gita", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "I found the Dao De Jing, Bhagavad Gita, Dhammapada & Suttanipata* to be life changing.", "hn_user": "kgdiem", "date": "2024-11-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42168134", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bhagavad Gita As It Is", "book_author": "A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Made me see the world, my life, my code and my desires, everything in a total different way.", "hn_user": "avetisk", "date": "2019-02-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19171601", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning", "book_author": "Timothy Snyder", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book that completely changed my view on Hitler was 'Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning' by Timothy Snyder. It explained a lot of the inner logic of WWII and the Holocaust.", "hn_user": "BogusIKnow", "date": "2015-12-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10769778", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Blindsight", "book_author": "Peter Watts", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It stayed with me for a very long time and sincerely changed the way I view the world.", "hn_user": "scruple", "date": "2023-05-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36022434", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Blindsight", "book_author": "Peter Watts", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Read it back to back with Blindsight, and it really shifted my view of consciousness.", "hn_user": "FrustratedMonky", "date": "2024-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40710004", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Blindsight", "book_author": "Peter Watts", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it has completely changed how I think about things. Figuratively speaking turned my mind inside out.", "hn_user": "Ronsenshi", "date": "2017-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15156752", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones", "book_author": "Greg Campbell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Reading that made me realize how our planet has finite resources and I just I wanted to cleave the my own consumption habits so stopped needless shopping for \"fun\"", "hn_user": "randycupertino", "date": "2022-01-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29801947", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Brave New World", "book_author": "Aldous Huxley", "category": "meaning", "quote": "To answer that you need to first define what society is for, and to do that you need to confront deep questions about what humanity is for.", "hn_user": "PaulAJ", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805925", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Breaking the Spell", "book_author": "Daniel Dennett", "category": "meaning", "quote": "his ideas on religion/atheism as presented in Breaking the Spell contributed to making sense of unorganised thoughts I had.", "hn_user": "the-mitr", "date": "2024-05-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40234945", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bruce Lee: Artist of Life", "book_author": "Bruce Lee", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book set me on a path that transformed my life more than any other book.", "hn_user": "decasteve", "date": "2018-09-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17986819", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bullshit Jobs", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "meaning", "quote": "My personal takeaway was that much of our work involves complete BS. Either join a useful, innovative startup and make a difference or play your part in the farce and take your paycheck.", "hn_user": "hershey890", "date": "2024-12-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42323149", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Bullshit Jobs", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "meaning", "quote": "made me realize that almost 50% of jobs in captialism are not really nessasary. Made me an anti-capitalist", "hn_user": "jandyy", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089429", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Caesar: Life of a Colossus", "book_author": "Adrian Goldsworthy", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I spent many years thinking about influence without any authority after reading this story and it’s probably had a significant shift in how I see the world and my role in it.", "hn_user": "dilippkumar", "date": "2023-06-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36432782", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Candide", "book_author": "Voltaire", "category": "meaning", "quote": "contributed to my personal sense of humor and belief that we live in neither the best nor worst of all possible worlds, but simply the most absurd of them.", "hn_user": "sudosteph", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088891", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Capital in the Twenty-First Century", "book_author": "Thomas Piketty", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the book changed how I see the world profoundly, I cannot recommend it highly enough", "hn_user": "IrishTechie", "date": "2026-07-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49057737", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents", "book_author": "Isabel Wilkerson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "As a first-generation immigrant in the US, it helped me better understand the roots of systemic racism and what lies behind the racial dynamics in American life", "hn_user": "guiambros", "date": "2022-06-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31635769", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Catch-22", "book_author": "Joseph Heller", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it definitely changed the way I look at the world. Heller is an absolute master.", "hn_user": "jacquesm", "date": "2023-07-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36823461", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Catch-22", "book_author": "Joseph Heller", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it's still a great book that well, shaped the way I see the world.", "hn_user": "sien", "date": "2024-10-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41774104", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Cats' Paws and Catapults", "book_author": "Steven Vogel", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Great comparison of natural and man-made mechanical systems that changed my intuitions about why things in the world are built the way they are.", "hn_user": "jebarker", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37161749", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Chance and Necessity", "book_author": "Jacques Monod", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It was the first book that brought me out of my faith-based view of the world into one defined by science. Seriously rocked my worldview over 15 years ago.", "hn_user": "tgfoobar", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17049631", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life", "book_author": "Wayne Dyer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I think about this book almost every day, and it truly did change my life.", "hn_user": "clay_the_ripper", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19091008", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Chaos: Making a New Science", "book_author": "James Gleick", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it started the closest thing to a religion that has taken hold in my mind: a kind of Pantheist vision of how a fully deterministic universe can lead to an infinite, confusing, and beautiful world", "hn_user": "manifestsilence", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089688", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Chasing the Scream", "book_author": "Johann Hari", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It has completely changed my perspective of drug usage and war on drugs and I consider it one of the best nonfiction books I got my hands on so far.", "hn_user": "r3bl", "date": "2018-10-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18237681", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Children of Time", "book_author": "Adrian Tchaikovsky", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Ever since reading Children of Time, have never thought of Portia Spiders the same way again.", "hn_user": "FrustratedMonky", "date": "2024-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40710004", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Clearing the Air", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's completely reshaped my understanding of this problem, and I am far more optimistic after reading it.", "hn_user": "deanc", "date": "2026-03-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47309556", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software", "book_author": "Charles Petzold", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book profoundly changed how I look at computers (and other things).", "hn_user": "daveloyall", "date": "2014-07-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7999490", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software", "book_author": "Charles Petzold", "category": "meaning", "quote": "No book has done more to convince me that we are modern day wizards ala Clarke's Third Law.", "hn_user": "shostack", "date": "2023-07-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36913540", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software", "book_author": "Charles Petzold", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read the 1st edition while I was in high school. I knew I wanted to get into tech after reading that book.", "hn_user": "JonD23", "date": "2022-06-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31698672", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Commentaries on Living", "book_author": "J. Krishnamurti", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book really helped me identify and break down the walls I had built for myself that prevented me from growing.", "hn_user": "unlivingthing", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093066", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Computation and the Future of the Human Condition", "book_author": "Stephen Wolfram", "category": "meaning", "quote": "transformed the way I think about the world, physically, biologically, technologically - all from the perspective of computation", "hn_user": "tomxor", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088275", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Computer Lib / Dream Machines", "book_author": "Ted Nelson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it changed my perspective on the future of computing from numbers and mathematics to narrative and media.", "hn_user": "skmurphy", "date": "2009-01-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=428677", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Confessions", "book_author": "Augustine of Hippo", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The first few chapters, which are autobiographical, completely changed how I view antiquity.", "hn_user": "dblarons", "date": "2017-10-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15446752", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Confessions of a Crap Artist", "book_author": "Philip K. Dick", "category": "meaning", "quote": "which really opened my eyes to how we each live in our own subjective version of reality.", "hn_user": "geekraver", "date": "2021-08-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28247009", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Confessions of a Recovering Engineer", "book_author": "Charles Marohn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "that book took me from pretty much _never_ thinking about place to: volunteering for a local bike advocacy group, biking twice as much, and literally being a more friendly neighbor.", "hn_user": "narush", "date": "2022-07-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32183748", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man", "book_author": "John Perkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it made me realize that the world works much differently than I understood it to on the surface, and that you should never trust any business or government at face value.", "hn_user": "vkb", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716437", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Consciousness Explained", "book_author": "Daniel Dennett", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read it when it came out and have since always regarded my life as neatly divisible by before and after seeing it come into focus.", "hn_user": "quinely", "date": "2021-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29613422", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Consciousness and the Social Brain", "book_author": "Michael Graziano", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book and Consciousness and the Social Brain by Graziano have changed the way I read any history book or world analysis.", "hn_user": "Paul_S", "date": "2021-07-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27917997", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Constructive Living", "book_author": "David K. Reynolds", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Those books changed the way I thought about the world.", "hn_user": "trinsic2", "date": "2023-03-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35177741", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Conversations with God", "book_author": "Neale Donald Walsch", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the two books that rewired my mental model the most were not technical. These books totally altered my overall mindset", "hn_user": "Leftium", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37158474", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Cosmos", "book_author": "Carl Sagan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Cosmos was such a departure from anything else I read for school or for pleasure. It transformed my love of reading into a love of learning.", "hn_user": "wj", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735253", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Cosmos", "book_author": "Carl Sagan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed the way I look at reality, giving me a much more materialistic perspective on life, meaning that I started to require material evidence as pre-requisite for any kind of certainty.", "hn_user": "zarkov99", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606761", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Coup d'Etat: A Practical Handbook", "book_author": "Edward Luttwak", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading \"Coup d'Etat\", I know it was indeed a coup (among others, it was listed as such in an appendix).", "hn_user": "credit_guy", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19094640", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Cryptonomicon", "book_author": "Neal Stephenson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (changed my outlook, attitude)", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33907615", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Dark Emu", "book_author": "Bruce Pascoe", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it has completed changed how I see the Australian landscape and it's aboriginal people.", "hn_user": "ImaCake", "date": "2020-05-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23162506", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Darwin Among the Machines", "book_author": "George Dyson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "both changed how I see computer technology and its role in society.", "hn_user": "namaria", "date": "2023-06-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36511234", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Darwin's Dangerous Idea", "book_author": "Daniel Dennett", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I did not (could not because of lack of exposure?) appreciate the concept of natural selection till I read his Darwin's Dangerous Idea. That book completely transformed my way of looking at principle of natural selection.", "hn_user": "the-mitr", "date": "2024-05-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40234945", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Darwin's Doubt", "book_author": "Stephen C. Meyer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book helped me see that there's still areas science can't fully explain, like the information explosion of the Cambrian Explosion.", "hn_user": "camjohnson26", "date": "2018-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17982644", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Debt: The First 5,000 Years", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed how I saw macroeconomics, and the structure of our society.", "hn_user": "lumb63", "date": "2022-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34161355", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Debt: The First 5,000 Years", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "meaning", "quote": "\"Debt\", for me, was one of those life-changing books that completely revised how I think of money and macroeconomics.", "hn_user": "ProjectArcturis", "date": "2024-01-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39074526", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Debt: The First 5,000 Years", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I use to see the world as a network of power relationships. Now I see the world as a network of debt relationships.", "hn_user": "dilippkumar", "date": "2023-06-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36432782", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Debt: The First 5000 Years", "book_author": "David Graeber", "category": "meaning", "quote": "‘The Future of Money’ by Bernard Lietaer, and David Graeber’s ‘Debt: The First 5000 Years’ are very paradigm shifting books and helped me to challenge the underlying stories of economics that I believed.", "hn_user": "jeremyboom8", "date": "2019-06-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20197661", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Deep Work", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Though I didn't become the Taylor Swift of coding, I think that I ended up in a good place in part thanks to his books.", "hn_user": "serial_dev", "date": "2023-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37414449", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Descartes' Error", "book_author": "Antonio Damasio", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Antonio Damasio's Somatic Marker hypothesis goes into this and completely changed the way I observed my own mood and emotional state.", "hn_user": "kristiandupont", "date": "2015-06-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9794435", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Desert Solitaire", "book_author": "Edward Abbey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it gave me an entirely new outlook on the relationship between humans and nature.", "hn_user": "habosa", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090767", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama", "book_author": "Daniel Goleman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This was my first intro to Buddhist analytical analysis and I came out of it a different person.", "hn_user": "he11ow", "date": "2021-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26585685", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Dhammapada", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "I found the Dao De Jing, Bhagavad Gita, Dhammapada & Suttanipata* to be life changing.", "hn_user": "kgdiem", "date": "2024-11-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42168134", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Diaspora", "book_author": "Greg Egan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Absolutely changed my world view regarding our place in the universe, the nature of conscious minds, and the potential for post-biological life.", "hn_user": "brotchie", "date": "2013-09-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6332780", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Die Broke", "book_author": "Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read it ten years ago and it completely changed my attitude towards money. At least partially because of it I just gave my adult kids (28 and 30) as much money as I could as an early inheritance.", "hn_user": "brucedawson", "date": "2024-10-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41771111", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Dirt to Soil", "book_author": "Gabe Brown", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It was the first time in a while that I felt optimism about the future of the planet. It also changed how I viewed the morals of meat consumption.", "hn_user": "andscoop", "date": "2021-07-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27816345", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Discworld", "book_author": "Terry Pratchett", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The works of Terry Pratchett shaped my sense of humor, and my outlook on life. I would definitely be a different person today if I hadn't encountered Discworld at such an early age.", "hn_user": "messe", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606054", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Dumbing Us Down", "book_author": "John Taylor Gatto", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The school system had always seemed to me to be too cookie-cutter oriented, and was very difficult for anyone who didn't fit the mold. I didn't fully understand why until about 10 years ago when I read an article and then a book by John Taylor Gotto.", "hn_user": "burnte", "date": "2014-06-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7830913", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Dune", "book_author": "Frank Herbert", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Frank Herbert, Dune - Changed my outlook on politics and complex systems full of complex issues.", "hn_user": "JanezStupar", "date": "2012-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4981561", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Dune", "book_author": "Frank Herbert", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Several books by Kurt Vonnegut (and Dune as well, FWIW) also changed how I think about the world.", "hn_user": "JKCalhoun", "date": "2021-01-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25982964", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "East of Eden", "book_author": "John Steinbeck", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it was phenomenal and definitely made me rethink my approach to life", "hn_user": "masterzora", "date": "2011-06-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2639619", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Economics in One Lesson", "book_author": "Henry Hazlitt", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's a fantastic book - changed my outlook on economics and politics. The rent control chapter was really, really illuminating.", "hn_user": "lionhearted", "date": "2009-07-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=722763", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ego Is the Enemy", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read \"Ego is the Enemy\" by Ryan Holiday, which covered a lot of these thoughts, and helped me understand why I worked.", "hn_user": "notjustanymike", "date": "2025-01-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42740603", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ego Is the Enemy", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it helped me understand people better and especially myself. It changed a lot of my own perspectives and opened my eyes in at least 2 areas of my own life.", "hn_user": "lumannnn", "date": "2018-07-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17521607", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Enlightenment Now", "book_author": "Steven Pinker", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Some books that helped me a few years back when I was overly negative was especially 2 from the bill gates reading list:\nhomo deus and maybe even more so Enlightment Now.", "hn_user": "johanneskanybal", "date": "2022-01-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30140754", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Enlightenment Now", "book_author": "Steven Pinker", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Factfulness and Enlightenment Now utterly transformed my outlook on life and the state of the world. These two books turned me from a cynical complainer into an optimist.", "hn_user": "gpanders", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21902411", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Enlightenment Now", "book_author": "Steven Pinker", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's certainly changed my perspective.", "hn_user": "DEADBEEFC0FFEE", "date": "2018-07-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17637304", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Essays", "book_author": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It was hugely inspiring every day for many years, from when I was about 20. He writes precisely to be inspiring. He teaches you to be yourself.", "hn_user": "yesenadam", "date": "2021-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26587874", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Essays: First and Second Series", "book_author": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The first time I read it, it was like he'd described 10,000 things I'd experienced, and had thought couldn't possibly be described.", "hn_user": "yesenadam", "date": "2018-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17983308", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Extreme Ownership", "book_author": "Jocko Willink and Leif Babin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This is an amazing book which will make you stop complaining no matter what. It's all on you to make it better.", "hn_user": "AkshayD08", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093188", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Factfulness", "book_author": "Hans Rosling", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Factfulness and Enlightenment Now utterly transformed my outlook on life and the state of the world. These two books turned me from a cynical complainer into an optimist.", "hn_user": "gpanders", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21902411", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Factory Girls", "book_author": "Leslie T. Chang", "category": "meaning", "quote": "All the people I see every day seriously make a lot more sense after reading this book, and I'm not even half done yet.", "hn_user": "PakG1", "date": "2011-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3131376", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Finite and Infinite Games", "book_author": "James Carse", "category": "meaning", "quote": "No book has every so subtly had an impact on my life every day. The finite vs. infinite way of looking at the world has changed the way I think and act completely on the inside", "hn_user": "nichodges", "date": "2012-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4967179", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", "book_author": "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It made me start to see daily mundane/boring tasks differently. They’re things I have to do anyway, so I can choose to approach them with a mindset that actually evokes enjoyment.", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2023-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38754779", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", "book_author": "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Remarkable book that gave me a coherent framework to think about life.", "hn_user": "ryloric", "date": "2023-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38554168", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Fooled by Randomness", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It completely changed my world view. But at the same time it made life less meaningful.", "hn_user": "blocked_again", "date": "2021-05-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27212905", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "For Common Things", "book_author": "Jedediah Purdy", "category": "meaning", "quote": "He was the first to awaken me to this cultural deviance and I've been stuck with seeing it everywhere ever since.", "hn_user": "DonGateley", "date": "2014-04-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7650267", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Foundation", "book_author": "Isaac Asimov", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It just makes exploration seem exciting, which hovers in the back of my mind.", "hn_user": "lcall", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805876", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Four Thousand Weeks", "book_author": "Oliver Burkeman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "For me, personally, it's the single most important book that I have ever read, by far. It has immediately improved my quality of life, simply by changing perspectives.", "hn_user": "kruuuder", "date": "2022-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31742482", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Four Thousand Weeks", "book_author": "Oliver Burkeman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I regard 4000 Weeks as one of, if not the, most important books I’ve ever read. The message might not be important for everyone but it changed my perspective in several important ways.", "hn_user": "joshcanhelp", "date": "2023-01-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34386199", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Four Thousand Weeks", "book_author": "Oliver Burkeman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Definitely helped me overall and changed my mindset somewhat.", "hn_user": "randomsearch", "date": "2022-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32700278", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Free Culture", "book_author": "Lawrence Lessig", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I have become an advocate for free culture and contribute all my art to public domain.", "hn_user": "drummyfish", "date": "2018-05-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17170856", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Free Software, Free Society", "book_author": "Richard Stallman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read \"Free Software, Free Society,\" a collection of essays by Richard Stallman, and it completely changed my mind on the matter.", "hn_user": "redwall_hp", "date": "2015-03-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9223163", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Free Software, Free Society", "book_author": "Richard M. Stallman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "\"Free Software, Free Society\" really changed how I viewed the field I was entering.", "hn_user": "atomicnumber3", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33671227", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Free to Learn", "book_author": "Peter Gray", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It really changed my outlook on education.", "hn_user": "robto", "date": "2016-05-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11636475", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "From Bauhaus to Our House", "book_author": "Tom Wolfe", "category": "meaning", "quote": "His book \"From Bauhaus to Our House\" changed my life, finally giving me a plausible explanation as to how we managed to create such a horrific built environment post WW2.", "hn_user": "quantumofmalice", "date": "2018-05-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17075210", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century", "book_author": "Beverly Gage", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it totally changed how I view at least half of the American 20th Century.", "hn_user": "Amorymeltzer", "date": "2023-01-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34553511", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Gai-Jin", "book_author": "James Clavell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "helped me look more critically on (part of) European culture and history through \"foregin eyes\", and better understand some aspects of Japanese culture taking them nearly all the way from \"weird\" to \"natural\"", "hn_user": "akavel", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21901883", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Games People Play", "book_author": "Eric Berne", "category": "meaning", "quote": "There's a book called \"Games people play\" by E. Berne that changed how I think about things like this.", "hn_user": "guntars", "date": "2022-02-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30196679", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman", "book_author": "James Gleick", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I went from thinking I'd major in English to majoring in Physics after reading it back in high school.", "hn_user": "happy4crazy", "date": "2010-10-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1752822", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Get in the Van", "book_author": "Henry Rollins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Before I read it, I was expecting to grow up, work, marry, and die in the small town I lived in. After I read it, I realized there was this whole world out there", "hn_user": "vikingcaffiene", "date": "2017-03-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13977852", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "God Emperor of Dune", "book_author": "Frank Herbert", "category": "meaning", "quote": "had made me rethink how humans should live together.", "hn_user": "bigcat123", "date": "2022-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30241649", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Guns, Germs, and Steel", "book_author": "Jared Diamond", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading this, my entire perspective on religions, politics, culture changed and I view everything from the reference point of when we started to do agriculture some 20,000 years ago", "hn_user": "aws_ls", "date": "2015-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10787625", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Guns, Germs, and Steel", "book_author": "Jared Diamond", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Yes, that book completely changed my world view. I still think about it consistently almost 6 years later.", "hn_user": "lazy_gator", "date": "2017-03-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13974499", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Guns, Germs, and Steel", "book_author": "Jared Diamond", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it has completed changed my outlook on history, the importance of individuals, and human nature.", "hn_user": "Darmani", "date": "2008-04-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=155508", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "reading it was a life-changing event.", "hn_user": "jll29", "date": "2024-04-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40109120", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "What initially turned me into a curious person were Surely You Are Joking Mr Feynman & Godel, Escher, Bach.", "hn_user": "arisbe__", "date": "2022-02-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30486370", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "learned deeply about logic and its limitations. How human constructs such as mathematical symbols and human languages- all are so limited. Completely changed me as a person and gave me a new outlook.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737792", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book changed my life. Throughout high-school I hated math because I thought it was just memory work. I ended up going into computer science and then higher maths because of reading this.", "hn_user": "ohCh6zos", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606491", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Greg Egan's Permutation City had a major influence on my own thoughts on consciousness and AI, as did Hofstadter's G.E.B.", "hn_user": "messe", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606054", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I can perceive the influence his ideas have in the way I raise my child, relate to people and act in the world.", "hn_user": "lucastx", "date": "2014-05-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7756201", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "So the book opened up new worlds for me. It changed the way I think.", "hn_user": "KC8ZKF", "date": "2009-10-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=875781", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I hated math for most of high-school, but I read this book between semesters and it changed my career choice.", "hn_user": "thescribe", "date": "2018-02-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16296404", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read the book at age of 20 or so, and it made me to change my life and change my career path.", "hn_user": "nabla9", "date": "2018-07-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17463157", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It planted some ideas in my head that would later blossom into a deep passion for computer science and particularly programming languages.", "hn_user": "zengid", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19091820", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it helped me conceptualize a recursive universe; thus, how complexity comes from simplicity.", "hn_user": "sesteel", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740642", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Oddly enough it was Hofstadter's GEB[1] that clued me and not a religious or spiritual book.", "hn_user": "carapace", "date": "2020-05-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23096964", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read it at about 12 and it changed my life by exposing subtle fripperies of thought.", "hn_user": "UnderProtest", "date": "2018-07-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17463654", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the chapter on TNT opened my eyes to how simple rewriting rules could be used to perform computation, and that insight was an important reason for my studying theoretical computer science later. It's a book that helped me dream.", "hn_user": "apricot", "date": "2019-11-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21561356", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Hackers and Painters", "book_author": "Paul Graham", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I took a leap of faith and decided to instead pursue web startups; the opportunities for growth were many times in magnitude.", "hn_user": "python_kiss", "date": "2007-03-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5605", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution", "book_author": "Steven Levy", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading this, I went out and found Linux & then stopped using windows.", "hn_user": "djm", "date": "2008-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=228960", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Halftime", "book_author": "Bob Buford", "category": "meaning", "quote": "helped me 'orgnanize' my thoughts/wishes/dreams/aspirations for the second half. I had a fair idea of what/why/where/when/how I wanted things to be", "hn_user": "HenryBemis", "date": "2025-06-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44377544", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Happiness Is a Serious Problem", "book_author": "Dennis Prager", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It helped me understand why I have trouble feeling ''happy'' and why that is OK.", "hn_user": "hardcandy", "date": "2016-02-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11196146", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Harry Potter", "book_author": "J. K. Rowling", "category": "meaning", "quote": "As an adult, this has unintentionally become the frame through which I view my job as a programmer.", "hn_user": "mox111", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606485", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Here", "book_author": "Richard McGuire", "category": "meaning", "quote": "really gave me a new way of thinking about time. Even now, years after reading it, I find myself appreciating the history of physical spaces", "hn_user": "ryanSrich", "date": "2018-07-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17440557", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity", "book_author": "John H. Holland", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this one changed how I think and how I see the world.", "hn_user": "talkingtab", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23154316", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Histories", "book_author": "Herodotus", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Absolutely incredible and completely changed my view of the world.", "hn_user": "omosubi", "date": "2021-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29314879", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "History and Class Consciousness", "book_author": "György Lukács", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Got me reading a lot more interesting histories of places.", "hn_user": "photon12", "date": "2020-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24361559", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets", "book_author": "David Simon", "category": "meaning", "quote": "They are very funny and very sad and really changed how I see the world.", "hn_user": "aomix", "date": "2024-10-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41758414", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Homo Deus", "book_author": "Yuval Noah Harari", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Some books that helped me a few years back when I was overly negative was especially 2 from the bill gates reading list:\nhomo deus and maybe even more so Enlightment Now.", "hn_user": "johanneskanybal", "date": "2022-01-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30140754", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How Buildings Learn", "book_author": "Stewart Brand", "category": "meaning", "quote": "With time though (and especially after reading this book), I came to realize that almost any standing building is somewhat of a miracle, and well-maintained, well-loved buildings that get patches and extensions and upgrades and just seem to grow organically are nothing short of awesome to look at and enjoy.", "hn_user": "ddubski", "date": "2021-08-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28047970", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How Children Fail", "book_author": "John Holt", "category": "meaning", "quote": "How Children Fail was a life-changing book for me, and I recommend it to everyone who has ever been in school.", "hn_user": "tokenadult", "date": "2013-02-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5196732", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big", "book_author": "Scott Adams", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I can honestly say that the book changed the way I look at life and made me a more positive and ambitious person.", "hn_user": "speakfreely", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33670506", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia", "book_author": "Mohsin Hamid", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's perspective changing. I know its a fictional novel but it made me realize that other countries have their own version of the American dream.", "hn_user": "Taylor_OD", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805618", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Live on 24 Hours a Day", "book_author": "Arnold Bennett", "category": "meaning", "quote": "made me change how I view my day, shifting from a work day focus (the day is finished when work is finished) to looking at the waking time outside of work as the focus for my day.", "hn_user": "senjindarashiva", "date": "2021-12-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29622365", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Live: A Life of Montaigne", "book_author": "Sarah Bakewell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the book started my journey into philosophy", "hn_user": "pivic", "date": "2021-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26591483", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer J. Adler", "category": "meaning", "quote": "That was the start of my love of reading (yes, I got off to a late start!). Not sure if any book changed my life more than that one.", "hn_user": "breck", "date": "2021-01-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25729713", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Read a Book", "book_author": "Mortimer Adler", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it changed my life in high school (turned me into a lifelong autodidact)", "hn_user": "breck", "date": "2022-11-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33752790", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Human Swarm", "book_author": "Gregory Rawlins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "That book made me realize that scientific revolutions and financial revolutions go on at the same time.", "hn_user": "DownvoteMeToWin", "date": "2015-03-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9148685", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Hyperion Cantos", "book_author": "Dan Simmons", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading it, my world was just bigger. Tremendously so. And I mean the real life world, not just the world of imagination and emotion we all go in to when reading great fiction.", "hn_user": "redsymbol", "date": "2008-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=229088", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "I Am a Strange Loop", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I'd say that the two books from Pirsig, plus \"I am a strange loop\" helped me form a lot of my personal philosophy.", "hn_user": "fipar", "date": "2018-05-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17130305", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "I Am a Strange Loop", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "meaning", "quote": "changed not only how I interacted with people that were differently abled, but also changed how I saw my own disabilities.", "hn_user": "stuntkite", "date": "2018-07-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17462625", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah", "book_author": "Richard Bach", "category": "meaning", "quote": "doing that changed my life and got my head out of the future and my heart into the present.", "hn_user": "CodeWriter23", "date": "2017-06-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14557114", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "In the Beginning Was the Command Line", "book_author": "Neal Stephenson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I immediately changed my life direction and focused on exactly the ideas outlined in this work. My goal: move the world from the command line.", "hn_user": "inciampati", "date": "2024-07-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41085049", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts", "book_author": "Gabor Maté", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It really changed my outlook on severe addiction.", "hn_user": "yurishimo", "date": "2023-03-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35384151", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction", "book_author": "Gabor Maté", "category": "meaning", "quote": "\"In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction\" by Gabor Mate changed me the most. I actually re-read portions of the book last night.", "hn_user": "thrifter", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19098773", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction", "book_author": "Gabor Maté", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Read Maté's book, it completely changed my perspective.", "hn_user": "stadium", "date": "2021-09-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28548368", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Incerto", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This is the first book that gave me a thorough insight into philosophy. Completely changed my worldview. I reread chapters from it everyday. It has become my bible.", "hn_user": "max_", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606000", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Industrial Society and Its Future", "book_author": "Ted Kaczynski", "category": "meaning", "quote": "As a techno-optimist it helped me put my feet on the ground.", "hn_user": "roelp_be", "date": "2020-07-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23746088", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy", "book_author": "Sadhguru", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Has really helped me get perspective on the issues that matter and how to lead a happier life.", "hn_user": "vmurthy", "date": "2019-08-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20798080", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Into the Wild", "book_author": "Jon Krakauer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "When I was in high school I was considering the same path as Christopher took, but then I heard about him and I learned from his story.", "hn_user": "Isinlor", "date": "2018-05-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17168859", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy", "book_author": "Bryan W. Van Norden", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I took a course that used this book as its text and it was really life changing and made me hopeful that there are some more practical philosophies out there for us.", "hn_user": "franksvalli", "date": "2023-09-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37696724", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ishmael", "book_author": "Daniel Quinn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "If there is such a thing as a “red pill” moment, that book was it for me. After reading it there were many things about our culture that I just couldn’t take seriously anymore.", "hn_user": "nkrisc", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33670617", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Ishmael", "book_author": "Daniel Quinn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The most powerful lesson I learned here is what anthropologists call cultural relativism.", "hn_user": "vector_spaces", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22719542", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Ishmael", "book_author": "Daniel Quinn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "\"Ishmael\" by Daniel Quinn (as well as \"My Ishmael\") changed how I view the world and how I characterize contemporary issues.", "hn_user": "andrewce", "date": "2011-03-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2330490", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Ishmael", "book_author": "Daniel Quinn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Ishmael[2] and other books by Daniel Quinn changed the way I think about culture", "hn_user": "evincarofautumn", "date": "2012-04-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3787839", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Ishmael", "book_author": "Daniel Quinn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "That book made me realize that all the truths everyone \"just knows\" and takes for granted aren't necessarily truths. They're beliefs, or myths.", "hn_user": "nkrisc", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19095523", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ishmael", "book_author": "Daniel Quinn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's a book that changed the way I think fundamentally. I will never be the same because of it.", "hn_user": "nickbauman", "date": "2016-08-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12244151", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "JPod", "book_author": "Douglas Coupland", "category": "meaning", "quote": "\"JPod\" by Douglas Coupland helped me realize that it was corporatism, not me, that was broken.", "hn_user": "moron4hire", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9348782", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Jennifer Government", "book_author": "Max Barry", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it made me realize that it's possible to build a capitalist society without government", "hn_user": "splintercell", "date": "2017-06-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14461062", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Jesus and the Disinherited", "book_author": "Howard Thurman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I feel like I have a better understanding of the civil rights movement in the US, and perhaps a slightly more optimistic view of the future.", "hn_user": "elbasti", "date": "2016-01-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10921432", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Lesnaya Gazeta", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "I think it helped me develop a love and curiosity for animals and nature.", "hn_user": "drakonka", "date": "2016-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12442724", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Letter to a Christian Nation", "book_author": "Sam Harris", "category": "meaning", "quote": "no 2 books were more eye-opening and life-changing for me than:", "hn_user": "xriddle", "date": "2021-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29614211", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Life Inc.", "book_author": "Douglas Rushkoff", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It helped me realize that the people who thought that living your life like you are corporation comes from a particular worldview that deifies people like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and the like.", "hn_user": "cratermoon", "date": "2021-04-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26725614", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Light and Color in the Outdoors", "book_author": "M. G. J. Minnaert", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed the way I look at the world.", "hn_user": "qwzybug", "date": "2010-05-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1345655", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Lingua ex Machina: Reconciling Darwin and Chomsky with the Human Brain", "book_author": "William H. Calvin and Derek Bickerton", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Completely changed my worldview. Evolutionary processes every where.", "hn_user": "specialist", "date": "2024-07-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40986139", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain", "book_author": "Antonio Damasio", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed the way I view the world and people forever.", "hn_user": "terrib1e", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37156752", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Losing My Virginity", "book_author": "Richard Branson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I've recently read a book which encouraged me to change my lazy habits and strive for more", "hn_user": "Red_Tarsius", "date": "2015-04-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9327846", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Losing My Virginity", "book_author": "Richard Branson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It made me realize I've never really hustled in my life. Reading it was a humbling experience.", "hn_user": "Red_Tarsius", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9348342", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Lying", "book_author": "Sam Harris", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Of the reasons I started trying to live my life as honestly as I can", "hn_user": "profstasiak", "date": "2025-01-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42725188", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Lying", "book_author": "Sam Harris", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book changed my thinking about lying.", "hn_user": "m0llusk", "date": "2017-08-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15024264", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Maitreya Jatak", "book_author": "Bani Basu", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I got deeply interested in Buddha and that opened a new path of life for me, which transformed my life.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737792", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor E. Frankl", "category": "meaning", "quote": "That book made me realize that almost all freedoms are contingent on a functioning and just society.", "hn_user": "AlexandrB", "date": "2022-11-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33626649", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor Frankl", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl is a quick book that goes into how we internalize meaning that drives happiness from purpose that helped me figure out this out better than many other “journey > destination” books.", "hn_user": "prepend", "date": "2019-04-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19651353", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor E. Frankl", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It was both cathartic and therapeutic for me, and has affected how I live my life.", "hn_user": "goo", "date": "2018-12-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18680603", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor E. Frankl", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it has really helped me to articulate that hope/optimism I wanted to posses in the mist of... well, everything that is going on!", "hn_user": "_benj", "date": "2022-04-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30908297", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Maps of Time", "book_author": "David Christian", "category": "meaning", "quote": "'Maps of Time' by David Christian has fundamentally changed the way I look at the progression of mankind.", "hn_user": "mcraenich", "date": "2019-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19115660", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mars Trilogy", "book_author": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "hey nations are purely social/political constructs and not set into stone at all", "hn_user": "maxhille", "date": "2021-07-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27931034", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Martin Eden", "book_author": "Jack London", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Reading \"Martin Eden\" put me on a right track. After reading \"Martin Eden\" I wanted to become a writer and self-learned man, so I read books, wrote essays and short-stories.", "hn_user": "jyriand", "date": "2019-01-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18901590", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mastery", "book_author": "Robert Greene", "category": "meaning", "quote": "reading both of these moved me from the fixed mindset to the growth mindset", "hn_user": "padraigf", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13970265", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations", "book_author": "Robert Austin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Completely changed my worldview.", "hn_user": "coverclock", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738273", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations", "book_author": "Robert D. Austin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It completely changed my world view, and continues to do so.", "hn_user": "coverclock", "date": "2017-03-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13813485", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Meditations", "book_author": "Marcus Aurelius", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I think it helped me create a much more complete moral framework than anything I'd heard before (and probably since).", "hn_user": "staunch", "date": "2011-03-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2330570", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Memories, Dreams, Reflections", "book_author": "Carl Jung", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It made me realise how \"meta-programmable\" humans are. How much of how we think can be though upon, itself.", "hn_user": "rvieira", "date": "2022-09-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32936207", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mere Christianity", "book_author": "C. S. Lewis", "category": "meaning", "quote": "As a teenager it gave me an intellectual basis for my faith and helped me see it could be defensible.", "hn_user": "camjohnson26", "date": "2018-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17982644", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Metaphors We Live By", "book_author": "George Lakoff and Mark Johnson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This is a thought-provoking book that changed how I view the world, so check it out.", "hn_user": "kens", "date": "2025-09-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45294953", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindset", "book_author": "Carol S. Dweck", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Mindset - changed how I view new things/ideas I encounter or things I want to learn.", "hn_user": "kabalweg", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805672", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success", "book_author": "Carol Dweck", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this book called, Mindset the New Psychology of Success, really helped me because it teaches you that hard work, dedication and willingness to learn are what made you smart", "hn_user": "ipatriot", "date": "2016-08-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12352515", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success", "book_author": "Carol Dweck", "category": "meaning", "quote": "just knowing that idea changed my entire motivation to do things, and now I believe that even if I'm not talented at something, I can get surprisingly far.", "hn_user": "wenc", "date": "2023-04-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35509411", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success", "book_author": "Carol Dweck", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The fact that any skill can be learnt provided you work hard for it really impacted me.", "hn_user": "keshav92", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089153", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Modern Mathematical Physics", "book_author": "Peter Szekeres", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Read Peter Szekeres \"Modern Mathematical Physics\". This book more than any other made me realize math is fascinating rather than scary.", "hn_user": "caffeine", "date": "2010-03-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1214666", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Momo", "book_author": "Michael Ende", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It has completely changed the way I think about time, patience and listening to other people.", "hn_user": "sandreas", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090307", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Moral Politics", "book_author": "George Lakoff", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this book offered a new perspective on not just the discussion and language of politics, but sent me down the rabbit hole of cognitive linguistics", "hn_user": "devnull255", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29607922", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mrityunjay", "book_author": "Shivaji Sawant", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book showed me that life is not black and white, talent is not all that’s needed to succeed and how luck and pragmatism plays a huge part in your life.", "hn_user": "FlyingSnake", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735742", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Musashi", "book_author": "Eiji Yoshikawa", "category": "meaning", "quote": "From religion to arts to personal goals, everything changed with this book. I'm pretty sure I left the church while/right after reading it.", "hn_user": "ravishi", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13804615", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "My Ishmael", "book_author": "Daniel Quinn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "\"Ishmael\" by Daniel Quinn (as well as \"My Ishmael\") changed how I view the world and how I characterize contemporary issues.", "hn_user": "andrewce", "date": "2011-03-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2330490", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Nature via Nurture", "book_author": "Matt Ridley", "category": "meaning", "quote": "These three changed the way I think about human nature.", "hn_user": "PaulAJ", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805925", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Neuromancer", "book_author": "William Gibson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Neuromancer completely rewired how I thought about technology", "hn_user": "metroholografix", "date": "2025-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44566718", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nicomachean Ethics", "book_author": "Aristotle", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Reading this book really made me start to think about why I'm taking certain actions and the type of person I want to be.", "hn_user": "stryan", "date": "2016-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12249429", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "book_author": "George Orwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "That book really changed the way I look at things.", "hn_user": "DeusExMachina", "date": "2010-05-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1320925", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "book_author": "George Orwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It really made a strong impression on me and definitely changed my views on politics, propaganda, governments and so on.", "hn_user": "yodsanklai", "date": "2017-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15156700", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nineteen Eighty-Four", "book_author": "George Orwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "1984 changed the way I perceive language and culture permanently.", "hn_user": "TravelTechGuy", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088824", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea", "book_author": "Barbara Demick", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading this book, I started living with a lot more gratitude for everyday things that I'd previously been taking for granted.", "hn_user": "tmblwd", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805873", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Being Free", "book_author": "Frithjof Bergmann", "category": "meaning", "quote": "On Being Free by Frithjof Bergmann changed my perspective on what work should be for an individual in a society.", "hn_user": "ahsanhilal", "date": "2013-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6413722", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Certainty", "book_author": "Ludwig Wittgenstein", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It gradually changed how I view the entire world around me, and dissolved my interest in philosophy, as well as in many other \"sciency\" things", "hn_user": "pavelrub", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089150", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Intelligence", "book_author": "Jeff Hawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "a book that totally changed the way I look at intelligent behavior", "hn_user": "chetan51", "date": "2013-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6181938", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Killing", "book_author": "Dave Grossman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I had never thought about it in the way he presented it, and it changed how I look at wars and killing in general.", "hn_user": "scott_s", "date": "2009-01-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=426971", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On the Quest for Computable Knowledge", "book_author": "Stephen Wolfram", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it was mentally transformative for me.", "hn_user": "tomxor", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088275", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On the Road", "book_author": "Jack Kerouac", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It taught me to be mad, to live life, to get out and see the world.", "hn_user": "dinosaurs", "date": "2017-06-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14481937", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On the Road", "book_author": "Jack Kerouac", "category": "meaning", "quote": "On the Road gave me wanderlust and made me want to move beyond my bubble and see the world.", "hn_user": "wj", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735253", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On the Road", "book_author": "Jack Kerouac", "category": "meaning", "quote": "On the Road certainly changed the course of my life. I'd always been made to wander, but never fully understood it.", "hn_user": "tims33", "date": "2025-10-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45768078", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On the Shortness of Life", "book_author": "Seneca", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Really made me take a hard look at my life, for the better.", "hn_user": "palencharizard", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29605920", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration", "book_author": "Bryan Caplan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I'm a fairly liberal guy AND I'm an immigrant to North America, and still this very short read transformed my position on immigration", "hn_user": "NikolaNovak", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37160637", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Open Democracy", "book_author": "Hélène Landemore", "category": "meaning", "quote": "A couple books that have really changed my perspective on how politics should be and why our systems are failing are: Systemic Corruption by Camila Vergara and Open Democracy by Helene Landemore.", "hn_user": "jerojero", "date": "2024-06-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40739120", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Originals", "book_author": "Adam Grant", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Lessons from others that it is okay to think differently and it is okay to do things others might tell you not to.", "hn_user": "imshashank", "date": "2020-07-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23817459", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Our Mathematical Universe", "book_author": "Max Tegmark", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed my perspective of everything. It could be existential crisis fuel too, but ultimately it's trying to answer what's our reality.", "hn_user": "earlyriser", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29605915", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Our Town", "book_author": "Thornton Wilder", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read it at 16 and it brought me to my first understanding of mortality.", "hn_user": "komali2", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089780", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Outliers", "book_author": "Malcolm Gladwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "So when people say, \"Oh, you're so smart!\", I replace it with, \"You've had the experiences you need.\"", "hn_user": "skierscott", "date": "2013-05-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5702307", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Outliers: The Story of Success", "book_author": "Malcolm Gladwell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This is the first book that clearly made me realize that anyone can be very successful at any task that they pick.", "hn_user": "WheelsAtLarge", "date": "2024-04-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40047723", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq", "book_author": "Stephen Kinzer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I think the one that affected me most was Overthrow, America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. It really made me start looking at foreign policy more seriously.", "hn_user": "wry_discontent", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23154445", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Parable of the Sower", "book_author": "Octavia E. Butler", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Understanding that that particular kind of hope was possible, that hope could be something other than a naive optimism, reconfigured my conception of hope from something I had long ago discarded as useless into a tool of thought I use every day", "hn_user": "maxbond", "date": "2023-01-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34205077", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Paradise Lost", "book_author": "John Milton", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Outside of Paradise Lost, the other book that made me realize the Christian leap is not without reason", "hn_user": "virtualwhys", "date": "2014-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7694728", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Permutation City", "book_author": "Greg Egan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Greg Egan's Permutation City had a major influence on my own thoughts on consciousness and AI", "hn_user": "messe", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606054", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Persepolis", "book_author": "Marjane Satrapi", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this was the one that pushed me towards questioning my beliefs.", "hn_user": "rmnull", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738208", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Philosophical Investigations", "book_author": "Ludwig Wittgenstein", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It gradually changed how I view the entire world around me, and dissolved my interest in philosophy, as well as in many other \"sciency\" things", "hn_user": "pavelrub", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089150", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Player Piano", "book_author": "Kurt Vonnegut", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Vonnegut helped me realize the impossible isn't so.", "hn_user": "ProllyInfamous", "date": "2025-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46402769", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Poor Economics", "book_author": "Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It made me completely rethink my own view on poverty and development aid; stressing even more that in order to help one need to have a complete understanding of the individual's situation", "hn_user": "Pietertje", "date": "2022-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34160619", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Practical Ethics", "book_author": "Peter Singer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read his \"Practical ethics\" at 20 and it changed my life in many ways.", "hn_user": "bjoli", "date": "2020-10-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24916526", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Practical Ethics", "book_author": "Peter Singer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It made me question a lot of my truths and habits and, in the end, made me more happy about how I live my life.", "hn_user": "bjoli", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30736034", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order", "book_author": "Ray Dalio", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading the book, I realized that social media (or the internet in general) is a technology like any other and the countries that can harness its power for good will likely lead the next century.", "hn_user": "dealforager", "date": "2022-02-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30322518", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Principles of Spiritual Growth", "book_author": "Miles Stanford", "category": "meaning", "quote": "helped me move away from fear-based beliefs to ones about forgiveness. Really changed the tone and direction of my life.", "hn_user": "gedy", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33670665", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Prisoners of Geography", "book_author": "Tim Marshall", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading this book, I see world and global event differently, my biased opinion about many countries have changed.", "hn_user": "shekhardesigner", "date": "2020-01-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22024764", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Prometheus Rising", "book_author": "Robert Anton Wilson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it's the book that drove me away from the occult. It also create a lot of uncertainty in my life", "hn_user": "100011_100001", "date": "2021-06-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27676684", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Prometheus Rising", "book_author": "Robert Anton Wilson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this absolutely broke my neat model of objective reality into tiny little pieces in high school. It set off a journey of self-exploration.", "hn_user": "SirensOfTitan", "date": "2020-07-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23811870", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Prometheus Rising", "book_author": "Robert Anton Wilson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Seriously Robert Anton Wilson's books changed the way I look at the world. I started with \"Prometheus Rising\"", "hn_user": "TFrancis", "date": "2009-01-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=419973", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Prometheus Rising", "book_author": "Robert Anton Wilson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Prometheus Rising, which set off a world of self-discovery when I picked it up first in high school.", "hn_user": "SirensOfTitan", "date": "2021-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27638265", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Prometheus Rising", "book_author": "Robert Anton Wilson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Robert Anton Wilson's Prometheus Rising, which basically turned me into an occasional magician.", "hn_user": "egypturnash", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8718533", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Psychology: Themes and Variations", "book_author": "Wayne Weiten", "category": "meaning", "quote": "That class and book completely changed the way I think because it made me so much more aware of things happening around me everyday.", "hn_user": "brightball", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13967886", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Punished by Rewards", "book_author": "Alfie Kohn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read it at a young age (13 maybe?) and it totally changed my life.", "hn_user": "ahoyhere", "date": "2009-07-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=697392", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness", "book_author": "Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner", "category": "meaning", "quote": "one of the fist / only books that ever really changed my view on the world around me was \"Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness\" - I have never seen things quiet the same way after reading this.", "hn_user": "codex_irl", "date": "2015-08-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10042264", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Quantum Psychology", "book_author": "Robert Anton Wilson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Seriously Robert Anton Wilson's books changed the way I look at the world. I started with \"Prometheus Rising\" and followed that with \"Quantum Psychology.\"", "hn_user": "TFrancis", "date": "2009-01-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=419973", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Quiet", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Quiet, although a little boring in some sides, made me accept my introversion (although I don't appear like an introvert).", "hn_user": "andrea_sdl", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093553", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading it, I accepted my introversion and learned how to better use it, view it as a strength instead of weakness.", "hn_user": "mmozuras", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805394", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "meaning", "quote": "really helped me understand that introversion is not inherently undesirable, but also how to distinguish shyness to avoid falling into that trap", "hn_user": "vinay427", "date": "2019-10-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21305585", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it helped me understand/be happy with many of my own personality traits that I'd overlooked or misunderstood. (And, after reading the book, I realize I'm an ambivert, not an introvert.)", "hn_user": "jlevers", "date": "2020-01-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21986051", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking", "book_author": "Susan Cain", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It really helped me see that it was OK being introverted and that there were certain advantages that extroverts don't have", "hn_user": "DiamondFox", "date": "2017-01-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13304494", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Race and Culture: A World View", "book_author": "Thomas Sowell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After being very politically naïve for many years, my reading of this book changed how I view economic, regulatory, and political consequences.", "hn_user": "ghastmaster", "date": "2022-11-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33599970", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Remembrance of Earth's Past", "book_author": "Liu Cixin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I think it changed how I view the vast cosmos, at least a little bit.", "hn_user": "seer", "date": "2021-07-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27935319", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Republic", "book_author": "Plato", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It was this book that made me realize the old saying of history repeating itself was not in the sort of vague allegory that I once believed, but in very specific repeated actions in very specific orders", "hn_user": "somenameforme", "date": "2022-09-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32801525", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Rich Dad Poor Dad", "book_author": "Robert Kiyosaki", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book opened my mind to the idea that you don't have to work for someone else your whole life and that you want to build appreciating assets.", "hn_user": "ageitgey", "date": "2024-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41246963", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "River of Time", "book_author": "Jon Swain", "category": "meaning", "quote": "really reminds me to put things in perspective.", "hn_user": "krschultz", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717143", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sailing Alone Around the World", "book_author": "Joshua Slocum", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Joshua Slocum’s book \"Sailing Alone Around the World\" sort-of changed my life after I read it when I was about 10. His writing was so good, I felt like I was sailing with him.", "hn_user": "mark_l_watson", "date": "2020-05-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23214599", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sapiens", "book_author": "Yuval Noah Harari", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Changed my mind how I view humans as mammals, and made me dig deeper into the topic.", "hn_user": "tappio", "date": "2021-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29671119", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Sapiens", "book_author": "Yuval Noah Harari", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It really changed how I think of humanity, religion, ideology, law, civilization, corporations... \nIt changed my whole world by changing how I think of the world.", "hn_user": "more_corn", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23158416", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Sapiens", "book_author": "Yuval Noah Harari", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading Yuval Noah Harari's book 'Sapiens', it made me realize how little humans have changed, even as we approach creating AGI.", "hn_user": "retskrad", "date": "2024-12-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42388254", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Sapiens", "book_author": "Yuval Noah Harari", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Sapiens. Changed my view on human organizations and religion", "hn_user": "lmolina", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29605793", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind", "book_author": "Yuval Noah Harari", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book helped me to become a little more skeptical by portraying how versatile and diverse human societies can be, and how there is truly very little that is \"natural\", \"eternal\", and meant to be.", "hn_user": "samjett", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092089", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919", "book_author": "Ann Hagedorn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It really helped me see the chaos and politics of that year at a slower pace, and it makes the last 10 years feel a bit less crazy.", "hn_user": "bwb", "date": "2025-01-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42802722", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Seeing Like a State", "book_author": "James C. Scott", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It humbled me as a 22 year old \"professional\" wanting to fix the world.", "hn_user": "cl42", "date": "2022-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30823369", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sei Somoy", "book_author": "Sunil Gangopadhyay", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I had no collective identity as a person before. And disliked whatever I had. This book made me feel really good about my identity. Suddenly, I was more confident in a conscious way, and did things better.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737792", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Seven Sketches in Compositionality", "book_author": "Brendan Fong and David Spivak", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It completely changed my life and, at least in my eyes, dissolved the assumption that “applied” math must be less rigorous or “pure” math must be less practical.", "hn_user": "0-ary", "date": "2020-07-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23728801", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sex and War: How Biology Explains Warfare and Terrorism and Offers a Path to a Safer World", "book_author": "Malcolm Potts and Thomas Hayden", "category": "meaning", "quote": "A book which made me realize this is \"Sex and War: How Biology Explains Warfare and Terrorism and Offers a Path to a Safer World\".", "hn_user": "dmitriy_ko", "date": "2012-07-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4284622", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Shoe Dog", "book_author": "Phil Knight", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Shoe Dog changed my life completely. It is the most inspiring book I’ve ever come across.", "hn_user": "systemvoltage", "date": "2022-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31776310", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Shoe Dog", "book_author": "Phil Knight", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Those things make me want to spend more time with my kids.", "hn_user": "soyou", "date": "2021-04-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26986818", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Shop Class as Soulcraft", "book_author": "Matthew Crawford", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book has helped me figure out how to change my work to be more intrinsically rewarding, and as an IT developer whose technology affects other people's work, it also helps me think more about how to make the end user's life better.", "hn_user": "joeclark77", "date": "2017-06-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14498741", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Shop Class as Soulcraft", "book_author": "Matthew B. Crawford", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Changed the way I looked at work and what I wanted to do with my life (always keeping a tangible output for my efforts).", "hn_user": "desine", "date": "2021-04-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26927298", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sick Societies", "book_author": "Robert Edgerton", "category": "meaning", "quote": "he made me value our current state of existence very much: Government, rights, laws, police, infrastructure, jobs, and all that really are a great achievement of mankind.", "hn_user": "uf", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088741", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it changed how I look at pain, love, and everything in-between.", "hn_user": "weldedtogether", "date": "2022-05-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31401540", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It taught me in a subtle way about what's really important instead of just material stuff", "hn_user": "XJahdai", "date": "2018-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17051613", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "meaning", "quote": "There's only one book that I often find myself going back to, which is Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. It's a very profound work IMO, and provides a sense of grounding to me.", "hn_user": "apadmanabhan", "date": "2022-06-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31731533", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Siddartha gave me a perspective in live about myself, the different 'people' I have been throughout my life.", "hn_user": "HenryBemis", "date": "2025-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44570119", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Siddhartha", "book_author": "Hermann Hesse", "category": "meaning", "quote": "they both helped me look at myself and life in a completely different and more positive way.", "hn_user": "weldedtogether", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735953", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Silence", "book_author": "John Cage", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Before it, I thought of Zen as an abstraction; after reading it, I saw how it could be (and ought to be) a way of life.", "hn_user": "genjipress", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087768", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Slaughterhouse-Five", "book_author": "Kurt Vonnegut", "category": "meaning", "quote": "there is a certain species in the book whose outlook on life immediately changed my perspective of reality.", "hn_user": "gitrog", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23155440", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Small Gods", "book_author": "Terry Pratchett", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Keeping this book in mind reminds me to focus on the thing instead of the appearance of the thing.", "hn_user": "cynik_", "date": "2019-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21904235", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "So Good They Can't Ignore You", "book_author": "Cal Newport", "category": "meaning", "quote": "two books that changed how I view things and I believe made me understand better what's really going on in the world.", "hn_user": "serial_dev", "date": "2023-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37414449", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sophie's World", "book_author": "Jostein Gaarder", "category": "meaning", "quote": "taught me to \"think about thinking\", was Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. I truly felt like my view of myself and the world I live in changed dramatically.", "hn_user": "Agnosco", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093494", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain", "book_author": "John J. Ratey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "My biggest take away is that the brain is not wired primarily for thinking, but for moving it changed my perspective.", "hn_user": "alunchbox", "date": "2024-05-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40530513", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Start with Why", "book_author": "Simon Sinek", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Simon Sinek's \"Start with why\" helped me figure out why I am running my business the way I am, and how I can use that to do even better", "hn_user": "andersthue", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717907", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Start with Why", "book_author": "Simon Sinek", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It helped me think about the deep motivations that should drive me to build a successful company. Apart from making money.", "hn_user": "juliend2", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092462", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure", "book_author": "Jerry Kaplan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I saw how intense his experience was and decided that I was going to have my own company one day.", "hn_user": "djm", "date": "2008-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=228960", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Straight Line Leadership", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "Since then I have worked towards identifying what I really want in life and then reading stuff geared towards it.", "hn_user": "thisisit", "date": "2020-01-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21966539", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Stranger in a Strange Land", "book_author": "Robert A. Heinlein", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it made me question everything, made me change my way of thinking towards a lot of concepts, and integrate those new concepts it in my life.", "hn_user": "rodri", "date": "2018-09-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17985889", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Strong Towns", "book_author": "Chuck Marohn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Last year I read Strong Towns by Chuck Marohn and that’s put me in solid YIMBY territory, as well as completely changed my perspective on our car-centric urban planning in the US.", "hn_user": "tuffacton", "date": "2022-10-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33384003", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Summa Technologiae", "book_author": "Stanislaw Lem", "category": "meaning", "quote": "For me it gives motivation to learn new, think about something new, try to find limits of what I already know.", "hn_user": "ingas", "date": "2021-07-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28001259", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sundown Towns", "book_author": "James W. Loewen", "category": "meaning", "quote": "My hazy understanding of American racism, which I now know to be wrong, was that it's always been getting better.", "hn_user": "wpietri", "date": "2017-10-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15439651", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", "book_author": "Richard Feynman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "What initially turned me into a curious person were Surely You Are Joking Mr Feynman & Godel, Escher, Bach.", "hn_user": "arisbe__", "date": "2022-02-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30486370", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", "book_author": "Richard Feynman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Sort of the sense of, if he can do it so can I.", "hn_user": "BSOhealth", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30739163", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Sync", "book_author": "Steven Strogatz", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed my life, and my world view.", "hn_user": "jdavid", "date": "2010-09-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1736076", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Systemic Corruption", "book_author": "Camila Vergara", "category": "meaning", "quote": "A couple books that have really changed my perspective on how politics should be and why our systems are failing are: Systemic Corruption by Camila Vergara and Open Democracy by Helene Landemore.", "hn_user": "jerojero", "date": "2024-06-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40739120", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Taliban", "book_author": "Ahmed Rashid", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Totally changed my perspective on the war on terror. A way better understanding on how 9/11 came to be", "hn_user": "corodra", "date": "2019-08-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20801193", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Tao Te Ching", "book_author": "Laozi", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I found the Dao De Jing, Bhagavad Gita, Dhammapada & Suttanipata* to be life changing.", "hn_user": "kgdiem", "date": "2024-11-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42168134", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Work Week", "book_author": "Timothy Ferriss", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It helped me focus on what I want in my life. And what is the $$$ amount which will help me achieve that.", "hn_user": "troysk", "date": "2017-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14953732", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 4-Hour Workweek", "book_author": "Timothy Ferriss", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Quite litterally changed my whole perspective on just about everything!", "hn_user": "hughesey", "date": "2012-05-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4001476", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen Covey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book set my priorities straight.", "hn_user": "ndc", "date": "2010-12-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1971322", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "7 Habits for Highly Effective People transformed my life. But not before I read it 3 times.", "hn_user": "hammock", "date": "2023-08-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37146243", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I've just spent some time re-reading Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective people, and I've given up caring too much about grades per-se.", "hn_user": "secstate", "date": "2013-12-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6849820", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "People reference 7 Habits so often but the things that are typically mentioned (the actual \"Habits,\" per se) are not the parts that I found most life-altering. For me, it was the philosophy:", "hn_user": "hammock", "date": "2015-05-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9507053", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "7 Habits in particular absolutely changed my life. I’ve always thought that its title doesn’t really do it justice.", "hn_user": "tailspin2019", "date": "2024-05-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40279445", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "a book that has absolutely enlarged my vision about values and guiding principles of various areas of my life. That has changed my life.", "hn_user": "fosk", "date": "2012-07-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4253354", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "book_author": "Stephen R. Covey", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Forcing myself to write about my values and behaviours means you have to live up to them :)", "hn_user": "MrMattWright", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717380", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Abolition of Man", "book_author": "C.S. Lewis", "category": "meaning", "quote": "CS Lewis' \"Abolition of Man\" got me onto the idea of natural Law", "hn_user": "sudosteph", "date": "2022-01-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29778205", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism", "book_author": "Shoshana Zuboff", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It has changed my life because it has realigned my career aspirations as a software engineer.", "hn_user": "blueprint_for", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088969", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Alchemist", "book_author": "Paulo Coelho", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the book has since given me a previously evasive confidence that I can do something extraordinary if I dedicate my life to it.", "hn_user": "ch215", "date": "2013-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6979647", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Alchemist", "book_author": "Paulo Coelho", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The Alchemist - the closest thing in my life to a religious text. Just a beautiful story that I can recall at any time for some calm.", "hn_user": "habosa", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19090767", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Anthropocene Reviewed", "book_author": "John Green", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The Anthropocene Reviewed is a collection of essays that have really helped me navigate my pursuit of happiness and meaning.", "hn_user": "surprisetalk", "date": "2023-02-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34869761", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Doing Science and Engineering", "book_author": "Richard Hamming", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I have accomplished more in 5 years after reading it than I did in 15 years before. Much of it I attribute to the change of perspective the book brought about for me", "hn_user": "hydandata", "date": "2020-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25531472", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Frugal Hedonism", "book_author": "Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book has helped me accept that I have enough stuff already.", "hn_user": "ImaCake", "date": "2025-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46398558", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Loving", "book_author": "Erich Fromm", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this book helped me better understand myself and what my core drives are moreso than anything else I’ve encountered to date.", "hn_user": "rsheehan", "date": "2018-05-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17168781", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Art of Loving", "book_author": "Erich Fromm", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it opened up a world of psychology and psychoanalysis and significantly altered my view on how humans think.", "hn_user": "LordNight", "date": "2020-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25532522", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin", "book_author": "Benjamin Franklin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "success comes from standing up and going your own way.", "hn_user": "moron4hire", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9348782", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Backpacker", "book_author": "John Harris", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's a big world out there with plenty of adventures to be had. I read this a few years ago and have wanted to travel ever since.", "hn_user": "djm", "date": "2008-06-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=228960", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Beginning of Infinity", "book_author": "David Deutsch", "category": "meaning", "quote": "changed my worldview from thinking progress is slowing down or problems in the world are overpowering to a more hopeful one where problems always be there for humans to solve", "hn_user": "paraschopra", "date": "2017-06-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14480052", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Beginning of Infinity", "book_author": "David Deutsch", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book \"The beginning of infinty\" helped me justify that rationally, and also made me realize how incredibly powerful, rare, and valuable intelligence is as a force in the universe.", "hn_user": "sudosteph", "date": "2022-01-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29778205", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Beginning of Infinity", "book_author": "David Deutsch", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book allowed me to embrace a sort of rational optimism in my world view.", "hn_user": "sudosteph", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088891", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Beginning of Infinity", "book_author": "David Deutsch", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After re-reading it several times I think it is one of the deepest and most important books I have ever read. It has changed how I see the world.", "hn_user": "dotsam", "date": "2024-05-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40279505", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Better Angels of Our Nature", "book_author": "Steven Pinker", "category": "meaning", "quote": "found it eye-opening; it changed the way I perceived the world.", "hn_user": "cs702", "date": "2018-01-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16258645", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Bible", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "I took the time to read it from the Hebrew/Greek about 25 years ago - have not stepped foot in a church since.", "hn_user": "dwd", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19101354", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Bible", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "Below helped me to work hard, enjoy what I have, and not be concerned about what others have.", "hn_user": "p0d", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30736054", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Bible", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed my life (although who knows what I would have become if I hadn't read it). Eventually, I decided that if it made such a difference in my life, I should be part of making it available to others.", "hn_user": "mcswell", "date": "2018-09-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17995576", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Bible", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "No other book has really changed the way I think about the world to any close extend.", "hn_user": "softwarerero", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805417", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Bible", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "I believe the commitment to Christ's teachings and the seeking of the Holy Spirit's counsel is the primary reason I've been happily married for 25 years", "hn_user": "0x445442", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33672131", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Bible", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "The worth of my life is no longer defined by \"success\", power, happiness, or winning.", "hn_user": "humanrebar", "date": "2017-06-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14513714", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Bible", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "This was my absolute #1 issue that caused me severe bias against Biblical religious, before I took the time to read the book.", "hn_user": "kls", "date": "2020-08-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24308445", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Black Swan", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I thought it was a great part of a great book that really changed how I think about the world.", "hn_user": "gooseus", "date": "2017-04-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14089307", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Black Swan", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "meaning", "quote": "two books that pretty much completely changed how I view the world, and have made me much happier as a direct result.", "hn_user": "onlyrealcuzzo", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21901585", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Blind Watchmaker", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It also gave me the confidence to realise I was actually an atheist, not an apologetic agnostic!", "hn_user": "3chelon", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089068", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Blue and Brown Books", "book_author": "Ludwig Wittgenstein", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It gradually changed how I view the entire world around me, and dissolved my interest in philosophy, as well as in many other \"sciency\" things", "hn_user": "pavelrub", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089150", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Bluest Eye", "book_author": "Toni Morrison", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Before I read it, I never considered the impact that the idealization of white beauty could have on minorities.", "hn_user": "magpi3", "date": "2019-08-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20626161", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Book of Assistance", "book_author": "Imam Abdallah al-Haddad", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It was extremely practical and much of what I read affected me and made me changed the way I lived.", "hn_user": "noufalibrahim", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17049340", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "I believe it truly is a record of God's dealings with men, and have changed my life to live according to what it teaches.", "hn_user": "armagon", "date": "2021-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590533", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Book of the New Sun", "book_author": "Gene Wolfe", "category": "meaning", "quote": "That book changed my thinking in ways I find difficult to describe. It was as if the world suddenly developed richer textures.", "hn_user": "internaut", "date": "2016-11-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12908349", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are", "book_author": "Alan Watts", "category": "meaning", "quote": "helped me see outside of Western religions and philosophies. It led me to explore many other perspectives on this amazing planet and its people, and to more completely trusting my intuitions.", "hn_user": "8bitsrule", "date": "2023-06-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36428701", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Boy Crisis", "book_author": "Warren Farrell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it changed my vision of life and humanity.", "hn_user": "alexis_fr", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089132", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Breakdown of Nations", "book_author": "Leopold Kohr", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It’s not the best writing, but it completely changed my perspective on government.", "hn_user": "alexmingoia", "date": "2020-12-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25542785", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Brothers Karamazov", "book_author": "Fyodor Dostoevsky", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the reading questioned many beliefs I had at the time about human nature and the meaning of life.", "hn_user": "ziotom78", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093867", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Brothers Karamazov", "book_author": "Fyodor Dostoevsky", "category": "meaning", "quote": "was completely at odds with who I was then but helped me grow as a person", "hn_user": "matrix87", "date": "2024-10-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41769162", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Catcher in the Rye", "book_author": "J.D. Salinger", "category": "meaning", "quote": "JD Salinger wrote the one book that transformed my life, and to some degree still guides how I live my life today, even in my near-50s.", "hn_user": "ping_pong", "date": "2019-10-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21336108", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Celestine Prophecy", "book_author": "James Redfield", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it hit me at the right time in life and I took away some really life-changing lessons without succumbing to any of the woo woo junk", "hn_user": "runjake", "date": "2019-07-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20499303", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Chronicles of Narnia", "book_author": "C. S. Lewis", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I think this was the first \"real\" fantasy story I read and it inspired me to keep devouring more fantasy books over the years.", "hn_user": "drakonka", "date": "2016-09-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12442724", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order", "book_author": "Samuel P. Huntington", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed my perspective on the West-centric world.", "hn_user": "franczesko", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29606465", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Coming of the Third Reich", "book_author": "Richard J. Evans", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it did changed the way I look at the politics and government now. It made me fully understand that things like separation/accumulation of powers are really important.", "hn_user": "watwut", "date": "2014-07-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8106995", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Concept of the Political", "book_author": "Carl Schmitt", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The concept of the political helped me see how nihilistic egalitarianism and feckless bureaucracy isn't a bug but a feature of liberal democracy and how it doesn't have to be that way.", "hn_user": "crowdpleaser", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088837", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Conquest of Bread", "book_author": "Peter Kropotkin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book, among others, helped me change perspective and challenge my assumptions about the world.", "hn_user": "bbzealot", "date": "2022-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33479245", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Conspiracy Against the Human Race", "book_author": "Thomas Ligotti", "category": "meaning", "quote": "What actually helped me a lot in order to see myself as an outsider and gain better perspective was these books.", "hn_user": "DyslexicAtheist", "date": "2018-11-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18395909", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood", "book_author": "David Simon and Ed Burns", "category": "meaning", "quote": "They are very funny and very sad and really changed how I see the world.", "hn_user": "aomix", "date": "2024-10-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41758414", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Cost of Rights", "book_author": "Stephen Holmes, Cass Sunstein", "category": "meaning", "quote": "reading these two books really changed my outlook. I went in skeptical and a little conspiratorial and these helped bring me closer to reality and even a little hopeful.", "hn_user": "wannabebarista", "date": "2025-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42964897", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Cuckoo's Egg", "book_author": "Clifford Stoll", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It showed how someone who was coming in to the field from the outside could trust their instincts and do something important.", "hn_user": "gdubs", "date": "2019-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21835582", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Cuckoo's Egg", "book_author": "Cliff Stoll", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Definitely inspired me to go deeper into computing and hacking, and not too long after reading it I did my first Linux install", "hn_user": "mtalantikite", "date": "2022-08-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32601391", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Cuckoo's Egg", "book_author": "Cliff Stoll", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I found a copy when I was in high school about ten years ago and it changed my trajectory. It got me into hacking and tinkering with computers and led me to a career I love today.", "hn_user": "srndsnd", "date": "2024-03-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39852009", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Culture Map", "book_author": "Erin Meyer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It was when I read Erin Meyer's The Culture Map that the whole thing clicked for me.", "hn_user": "philoclea", "date": "2020-09-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24339246", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Dalai Lama's Book of Wisdom", "book_author": "Dalai Lama", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it helped me accept my mortality", "hn_user": "meristohm", "date": "2021-06-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27531053", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Day of the Triffids", "book_author": "John Wyndham", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read it as a teenager, and it made me think about the issue in a way I'd never done before.", "hn_user": "PaulAJ", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805925", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", "book_author": "Jane Jacobs", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Classic urbanist book that changed the way I see my city, and elegantly described so many things I didn't know I knew.", "hn_user": "dddddaviddddd", "date": "2025-01-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42571291", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", "book_author": "Jane Jacobs", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book completely changed how I view my city and other urban areas. I am now much more in-tune with my urban environment", "hn_user": "l72", "date": "2024-10-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41770471", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", "book_author": "Jane Jacobs", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it changed how I walk down the street, every single day of my life since.", "hn_user": "morganf", "date": "2014-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8188247", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Demon-Haunted World", "book_author": "Carl Sagan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "although I was already a skeptical thinker, this book opened me up to how critical thinking can enhance your spiritual side as well as your intellectual side.", "hn_user": "wunderlust", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23156355", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Demon-Haunted World", "book_author": "Carl Sagan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read it during a journey that ended up leading me out of religion. That book showed me so clearly how strange it is to believe in supernatural events.", "hn_user": "physicles", "date": "2025-12-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46349316", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Dictator's Handbook", "book_author": "Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed the way I look at politics in the world. In particular it completely changed the way I perceive a so called \"Revolution\" that happened in my country when I was a teenager", "hn_user": "credit_guy", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19094640", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Disappearance of Rituals", "book_author": "Byung-Chul Han", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I left it feeling quite decided and energized insofar as the significance of ritual in my life goes. It changed the way I think and feel about community.", "hn_user": "steve_adams_86", "date": "2025-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46418535", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Dispossessed", "book_author": "Ursula K. Le Guin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The dispossed is stil the one book which had the biggest impact on how I see the world and its flaws.", "hn_user": "pploug", "date": "2025-07-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44558256", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Dispossessed", "book_author": "Ursula K. Le Guin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Before I read it, I thought anarchism was just punk-ish people who want to run around Mad Max style with no rules.", "hn_user": "erikpukinskis", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092692", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Dispossessed", "book_author": "Ursula K. Le Guin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed the way I think about how society today is structured and showed me that something different is possible.", "hn_user": "abvdasker", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23157548", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The E-Myth Revisited", "book_author": "Michael E. Gerber", "category": "meaning", "quote": "e-Myth Revisited - changed how I view and run business.", "hn_user": "kabalweg", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805672", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Elusive Quest for Growth", "book_author": "William Easterly", "category": "meaning", "quote": "changed the way I look at poverty, economics and politics in general. Likewise I helped me ditch modern liberalism for classical one.", "hn_user": "tooltalk", "date": "2018-01-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16241685", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The End of Your World", "book_author": "Adyashanti", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The break-down of abiding vs. un-abiding enlightenment helped me navigate through fascinating times.", "hn_user": "goodroot", "date": "2017-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15630201", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition", "book_author": "Caroline Alexander", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The characters were all real, but they all got me thinking about how I think and about how I get along in life.", "hn_user": "tokenadult", "date": "2013-12-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6898994", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Ethics of Ambiguity", "book_author": "Simone de Beauvoir", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The most I've gotten out of a book, in terms of altering the way I think about the world and life, is Simone De Beauvoir and the Ethics of Ambiguity.", "hn_user": "thrav", "date": "2020-01-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21927271", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Evolution of Cooperation", "book_author": "Robert Axelrod", "category": "meaning", "quote": "These three changed the way I think about human nature.", "hn_user": "PaulAJ", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805925", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Fates of Nations", "book_author": "Paul Colinvaux", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Both instantly and completely changed how I saw the world around me.", "hn_user": "akkartik", "date": "2011-10-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3116943", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Feminine Mystique", "book_author": "Betty Friedan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "helped me, as someone born in the 80's, appreciate some very real and practical issues that feminism has helped us address.", "hn_user": "bkandel", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23155886", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Fifth Discipline", "book_author": "Peter Senge", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the chapter on personal mastery changed my life in a big way. It put into words something that I had been thinking and feeling for a long time", "hn_user": "mcone", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13967741", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The First Immortal", "book_author": "James Halperin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Got me thinking about a realistic ambitious nearer term future for humanity, rather than a more fantasy-like one", "hn_user": "kvee", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087616", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", "book_author": "Mitch Albom", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this book really changed the way I think. Really makes you realize that every little interaction you have with someone affects that person for the rest of their lives", "hn_user": "galazzah", "date": "2016-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12249620", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Fountainhead", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "meaning", "quote": "For me The Fountainhead was life changing precisely because I was an insecure and overly-mothered boy that needed to read about pursuing one’s own ends to the exclusion of all expectations otherwise.", "hn_user": "bookiest", "date": "2024-08-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41262667", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Fountainhead", "book_author": "Ayn Rand", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the inspiration I found in her books helps nudge me in the direction of truly to live my life more fully as my life, not someone else's idea of what my life should be.", "hn_user": "mindcrime", "date": "2013-05-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5700766", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Four Agreements", "book_author": "Don Miguel Ruiz", "category": "meaning", "quote": "\"The Four Agreements\" has forever changed the way I view my actions and the actions around me.", "hn_user": "deadfall", "date": "2013-12-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6923762", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Future of Money", "book_author": "Bernard Lietaer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "‘The Future of Money’ by Bernard Lietaer, and David Graeber’s ‘Debt: The First 5000 Years’ are very paradigm shifting books and helped me to challenge the underlying stories of economics that I believed.", "hn_user": "jeremyboom8", "date": "2019-06-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20197661", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Game", "book_author": "Neil Strauss", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Personally here's a book that changed my life : The Game. But I think it's gonna be frowned upon here.\n\nI don't see the world or even myself in the same way since.", "hn_user": "baby", "date": "2013-12-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6899138", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to \"The Office\"", "book_author": "Venkatesh Rao", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It helped me soften my view on some of my coworkers by understanding their motivations better, and also helped me to accept a point of view much more similar to yours about the work I do.", "hn_user": "kbenson", "date": "2025-06-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44160901", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The God Delusion", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Took many years to \"let go\" but i don't think it would have been possible without these 2 books for me.", "hn_user": "xriddle", "date": "2021-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29614211", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Good Earth", "book_author": "Pearl S. Buck", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It has completely changed how I think about how money corrupts and the importance of returning to the land.", "hn_user": "surprisetalk", "date": "2023-03-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34994219", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Gospels", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "it gave me some idea of how people may have come to believe in this paranormal stuff and helped me get over it.", "hn_user": "qb45", "date": "2017-06-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14480669", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Grapes of Wrath", "book_author": "John Steinbeck", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I often think about the camp that gives them a roof and restores their dignity. I want to create this sort of good in the world.", "hn_user": "nicbou", "date": "2023-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38553515", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Gulag Archipelago", "book_author": "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Reading The Gulag Archipelago at university changed my life. I'd been reading Dostoyevsky for a bit, which I was enjoying, but The Gulag Archipelago was the book that opened my eyes to the idea that literature could have fierce moral purpose.", "hn_user": "frereubu", "date": "2018-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18626357", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Hacking of the American Mind", "book_author": "Robert Lustig", "category": "meaning", "quote": "There's a book called The Hacking of the American Mind which really helped me understand this. Essentially, we have been conditioned to confuse pleasure with happiness.", "hn_user": "bckr", "date": "2022-07-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32227810", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching", "book_author": "Thich Nhat Hanh", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It contains a wealth of wisdom and helped me overcome fundamental misunderstandings with regard to the Four Noble Truths. Suffering is exists, but not all is suffering!", "hn_user": "echelon_musk", "date": "2024-02-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39514688", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching", "book_author": "Thich Nhat Hanh", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I personally don't believe in any religious things, and I still don't. But now I look at the world differently.", "hn_user": "koonsolo", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17047140", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching", "book_author": "Thich Nhat Hanh", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Completely changed my world view. As someone who loves science, this book shows that Buddhism is not about belief but a way to look at the world.", "hn_user": "koonsolo", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23154343", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", "book_author": "Joseph Campbell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it helped me understand how I want to live my life and from whence I now choose to derive my personal senses of direction and meaning.", "hn_user": "stochastic_monk", "date": "2018-07-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17521466", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The High Cost of Free Parking", "book_author": "Donald Shoup", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read the high cost of free parking last year and it permanently changed how I see the world.", "hn_user": "iambateman", "date": "2025-02-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43029077", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The High Cost of Free Parking", "book_author": "Donald Shoup", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Totally changed my perspective when I read it.", "hn_user": "jseliger", "date": "2015-03-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9213417", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The High Cost of Free Parking", "book_author": "Donald Shoup", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Nothing helped me to understand American cities and why they work the way they do more than Dr. Shoup's work in the 1990s that is collected in The High Cost Of Free Parking.", "hn_user": "WildUtah", "date": "2013-12-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6884365", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Histories", "book_author": "Herodotus", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Herodotus changed my mind. He is brilliant, skeptical, humorous, and inquisitive.", "hn_user": "herodotus", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29605776", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "book_author": "Douglas Adams", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Helped me understand that though I may die (or the universe may end), that might be OK.", "hn_user": "komali2", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089780", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Hospital", "book_author": "Brian Alexander", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book changed my thinking on so many different topics - the US healthcare economy, the rise of Trumpism, and the erosion of the industrial Mid-West.", "hn_user": "graaben", "date": "2021-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29673081", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Illuminatus! Trilogy", "book_author": "Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "reading that book as a young man changed my understanding of our experience of being and my life took paths it otherwise never would have.", "hn_user": "User23", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30739564", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Kingdom of God Is Within You", "book_author": "Leo Tolstoy", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It made me start thinking about the idea of sin, which I haven't given much thought about before since I was not raised as a Christian and do not identify myself as one.", "hn_user": "blendergasket", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6977096", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Kingdom of God Is Within You", "book_author": "Leo Tolstoy", "category": "meaning", "quote": "And it also changed my outlook towards 'Christianity', which I dismissed before as just a religion.", "hn_user": "codeshaman", "date": "2015-07-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9932959", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch", "book_author": "Lewis Dartnell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book made me realize the fragility of modern technology and how it is funded on chemical industry, shipping, oil, and the exploitation of natural resources.", "hn_user": "jonathanstrange", "date": "2022-09-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32936852", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Last Messiah", "book_author": "Peter Wessel Zapffe", "category": "meaning", "quote": "What actually helped me a lot in order to see myself as an outsider and gain better perspective was these books.", "hn_user": "DyslexicAtheist", "date": "2018-11-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18395909", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Lean Brand", "book_author": "Jeremiah Gardner", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Seeing even the possibility of a FRAMEWORK for this nightmarish world of Brand changed my life as a visionary beyond any other change I've experienced literally in decades.", "hn_user": "decentrality", "date": "2014-09-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8335641", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Life You Can Save", "book_author": "Peter Singer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It also made me rethink what I am doing with my life/career. Is creating apps for well-off people with iPads the best use of my time?", "hn_user": "ssprang", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6976639", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Life You Can Save", "book_author": "Peter Singer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The concepts of EA have been life changing for me, permanently changing my perspective on the how to live a good life. I'm happier and more purposeful as a result.", "hn_user": "RobinL", "date": "2021-04-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26816606", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up", "book_author": "Marie Kondo", "category": "meaning", "quote": "allowed me to have a stronger sense of what I really enjoy in the more important aspects of my life.", "hn_user": "hn_throwaway_99", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089139", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Long Tail", "book_author": "Chris Anderson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Another book that changed allot about how I look at the world is \"The long tail\" by Chris Anderson.", "hn_user": "yholio", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092057", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Luck Factor", "book_author": "Richard Wiseman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed my whole outlook on how lucky I am. I feel a lot more lucky nowadays then I used to as a kid, where I always felt I would never be lucky.", "hn_user": "mettamage", "date": "2018-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16681739", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Machine in the Garden", "book_author": "Leo Marx", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the one that turned my life upside down and which I think about most regularly. It posits that America's idyll of a tech-free natural scene is actually a balance of technology and nature", "hn_user": "sweettea", "date": "2013-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6980696", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", "book_author": "Oliver Sacks", "category": "meaning", "quote": "a few years ago I read \"the man who mistook his wife for a hat\" and it totally changed my thinking on how the brain works", "hn_user": "BLKNSLVR", "date": "2022-12-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34065037", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", "book_author": "Oliver Sacks", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it made me realize, more than at any other time, just how much of who I am is determined by my physical body, which is incredibly easy to break.", "hn_user": "edanm", "date": "2010-06-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1457668", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Master and the Emissary", "book_author": "Iain McGilchrist", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I’ve read quite a few books that changed how I view the world but none as much as this book", "hn_user": "throwaway9482", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23156881", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Millionaire Fastlane", "book_author": "MJ DeMarco", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Told me that if I want to be a \"Millionaire\" then it's highly unlikely I will be one by working for others (a job) unless my job is super high paying.", "hn_user": "imshashank", "date": "2020-07-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23817459", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Mind Illuminated", "book_author": "Culadasa (John Yates)", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I dabbled in meditation for years but it wasn't until this book that I was able to see the complete picture and why it's such an important area of study for all reflective minds, and start making real progress.", "hn_user": "dota_fanatic", "date": "2018-11-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18481147", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Ministry for the Future", "book_author": "Kim Stanley Robinson", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it was the first book that got me serious about climate.", "hn_user": "dogman144", "date": "2023-08-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37296081", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Monk and the Riddle", "book_author": "Randy Komisar", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it really made me think about the entire make money then pursue creative things thing.", "hn_user": "rantfoil", "date": "2008-04-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=161610", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Morning of the Magicians", "book_author": "Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it showed me that there could be _a lot_ more in the world than meets the eye. Everything around us and in history is filled with mysteries, unanswered questions.", "hn_user": "rvieira", "date": "2022-09-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32936207", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Naked Ape", "book_author": "Desmond Morris", "category": "meaning", "quote": "These three changed the way I think about human nature.", "hn_user": "PaulAJ", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13805925", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The New Jim Crow", "book_author": "Michelle Alexander", "category": "meaning", "quote": "changed how I think about American racism from an abstract concept to reality.", "hn_user": "habosa", "date": "2017-03-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13804600", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind", "book_author": "Julian Jaynes", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I found his book very enlightening. It really helped me understand religion, schizophrenia and the split brain", "hn_user": "akvadrako", "date": "2018-11-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18525848", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Overstory", "book_author": "Richard Powers", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this book changed the way I look at trees. I'll be driving some days and out of nowhere notice a tree and appreciate it.", "hn_user": "oracardo", "date": "2022-09-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32937220", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Past from Above", "book_author": "George Gerster", "category": "meaning", "quote": "My attitude completely changed after I experienced this collection of 240+ aerial photos from around the world. It put the magnitude and impermanence of human history right in my face.", "hn_user": "8bitsrule", "date": "2021-08-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28176242", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Pattern on the Stone", "book_author": "W. Daniel Hillis", "category": "meaning", "quote": "changed the way I look at computing and software", "hn_user": "orsenthil", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6975671", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power Broker", "book_author": "Robert Caro", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it has changed the way I think about New York City, democracy, power, and journalism.", "hn_user": "dankohn1", "date": "2014-10-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8412094", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I live my life - really each present moment - differently because of Tolle's teaching.", "hn_user": "Sol2Sol", "date": "2016-01-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10917894", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this one really changed me. I feel consistently happier and more peaceful since reading it more than a year ago.", "hn_user": "zzzmarcus", "date": "2009-10-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=876068", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "meaning", "quote": "that book is probably most to blame for shoving me hard from Christianity to secular agnosticism.", "hn_user": "rthomas6", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738126", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It shifted me from being extremely outwards oriented, to re-discovering the joy of the little things.", "hn_user": "alexashka", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29605791", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Prince", "book_author": "Niccolò Machiavelli", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it completely changed the way I look at politics and society", "hn_user": "charlysl", "date": "2017-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15762748", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Qur'an", "book_author": null, "category": "meaning", "quote": "it made me an atheist. I don't come from a muslim background but it made me realize, how some religions (well at least the abrahamitic ones) came to be.", "hn_user": "Shihan", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089223", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations", "book_author": "Jacob Soll", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading the book, when I am in a big city I look up at the skyscrapers and think about how despite the web of vendors and people trying to defraud each other, some small amount of value manages to get diverted into a successful skyscraper", "hn_user": "dustingetz", "date": "2021-08-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28197508", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Red Queen", "book_author": "Matt Ridley", "category": "meaning", "quote": "You see the world completely differently (after reading many more books on geology, genetics, anthropology, anatomy, cellular biology etc) afterwards.", "hn_user": "jepper", "date": "2015-06-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9674285", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature", "book_author": "Matt Ridley", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Both instantly and completely changed how I saw the world around me.", "hn_user": "akkartik", "date": "2011-10-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3116943", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Retreat to Commitment", "book_author": "W. W. Bartley III", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it eventually helped me deal with the shortcomings of the world and culture I find myself in, and my own.", "hn_user": "mlinksva", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13968951", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Right to Earn a Living", "book_author": "Timothy Sandefur", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I used to think of laws and society as just arbitrary things. However, I now see that they reflect thousands of years of wisdom / improvement and are critical to creating the conditions for people to flourish.", "hn_user": "crowdpleaser", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088837", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Righteous Mind", "book_author": "Jonathan Haidt", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt. Really deepened my understanding of how Western and other cultures think about moral and ethical issues.", "hn_user": "bkandel", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23155886", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Road Ahead", "book_author": "Bill Gates", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I am really glad I read \"The Road Ahead\" by Bill Gates while still in high school. That gave me a \"vision for the future\".", "hn_user": "_THE_PLAGUE", "date": "2011-12-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3320953", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Second Sex", "book_author": "Simone de Beauvoir", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed my perception of women and also my awareness as a man.", "hn_user": "hibee72", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19095554", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Secret of Our Success", "book_author": "Joseph Henrich", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it made me realize how important tradition and religion really are to society. I am still atheist, but now very much encourage religious people to stay with their faith", "hn_user": "sali0", "date": "2021-09-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28658890", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Grokking the concept changed the way I thought about life forever.", "hn_user": "mp_cnb", "date": "2010-10-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1753293", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Selfish Gene, as it single-handedly changed my perspective and mental/internal framework of the universe. I struggled philosophically with questions of consciousness and our place & meaning in the universe.", "hn_user": "NikolaNovak", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089163", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it's up to us to decide what is right, what our purpose is.", "hn_user": "MichaelGG", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9348789", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "You'll never look at the world the same way after reading this one!", "hn_user": "pklausler", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13969308", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "You see the world completely differently (after reading many more books on geology, genetics, anthropology, anatomy, cellular biology etc) afterwards.", "hn_user": "jepper", "date": "2015-06-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9674285", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading TSG, I felt convinced that there is a reasonable way for, say, the eye, optic nerve, etc., to evolve, that doesn't require the entire thing to appear at once.", "hn_user": "mindcrime", "date": "2016-01-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10999088", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It dramatically changed the way I understand nature, and with the chapter on memes, the way I understand culture.", "hn_user": "gradys", "date": "2014-04-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7659933", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Selfish Gene", "book_author": "Richard Dawkins", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading this book, I felt very comfortable in being an atheist, and I also decided to quit dodging the issue and start telling people that I'm atheist, whether they like it or not.", "hn_user": "mindcrime", "date": "2013-05-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5700766", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Seven Storey Mountain", "book_author": "Thomas Merton", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the other book that made me realize the Christian leap is not without reason is, \"The 7 Story Mountain\"", "hn_user": "virtualwhys", "date": "2014-05-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7694728", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Shock of the Old: Technology and Global History since 1900", "book_author": "David Edgerton", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It completely changed how I think about technology and the ways people use it.", "hn_user": "libraryofbabel", "date": "2017-12-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15895448", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Singularity Is Near", "book_author": "Ray Kurzweil", "category": "meaning", "quote": "that book really instilled in me that the pace of change could be really quite rapid through my career, which to me made it all the more exciting.", "hn_user": "davnicwil", "date": "2022-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33670733", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Soul of a New Machine", "book_author": "Tracy Kidder", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this book, and the story of your dad, influenced my entire career as an electrical engineer and software developer", "hn_user": "dsunds", "date": "2026-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47526028", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Soul of a New Machine", "book_author": "Tracy Kidder", "category": "meaning", "quote": "when I read this book in 1982 or so it changed the trajectory of my life and career.", "hn_user": "dano", "date": "2026-04-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47736227", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Sovereign Individual", "book_author": "James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the book \"The Sovereign Individual\" changed my outlook on the world when I read it almost 20 years ago.", "hn_user": "mark_l_watson", "date": "2016-12-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13275518", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Space Merchants", "book_author": "Frederik Pohl, Cyril Kornbluth", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I have been running adblocking software on all of my devices (and that of my family's) and feel mildly disgusted every time I see an ad in the street", "hn_user": "lurena", "date": "2018-05-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17168755", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Stranger", "book_author": "Albert Camus", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book ultimately softened my overly critical views about religion and superstition and helped me mature into someone much more sympathetic to the various weird things that people think and do.", "hn_user": "jordanpg", "date": "2026-08-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49133951", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Talent Code", "book_author": "Daniel Coyle", "category": "meaning", "quote": "In changing the way I learn, and my motivation for learning, they changed my life.", "hn_user": "padraigf", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13970265", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Tao is Silent", "book_author": "Raymond Smullyan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "He helped me think through and finally rid myself of all the fundy Christian mental baggage leftover from when I was a kid.", "hn_user": "strait", "date": "2017-02-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13627101", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Tao of Pooh", "book_author": "Benjamin Hoff", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It has completely changed me and made me feel whole for the first time in my life, and I don't have to practice anything to achieve it.", "hn_user": "everydayDonut", "date": "2023-08-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37227646", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Tao of Pooh", "book_author": "Benjamin Hoff", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I directly attribute daily meditation to reading The Tao of Pooh.", "hn_user": "bhrgunatha", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740222", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Things They Carried", "book_author": "Tim O'Brien", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It’s helped me understand the horrors of war and life, the significance of a person’s perception of an event rather than pure facts, and appreciate life in general.", "hn_user": "rtkaratekid", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22721362", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Three-Body Problem", "book_author": "Liu Cixin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book series fundamentally changed how I view the question of life in the Universe.", "hn_user": "holman", "date": "2018-08-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17827055", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying", "book_author": "Sogyal Rinpoche", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I am a huge fan of this book, I am traveling this week to Dharamshala to learn about Buddhism after reading this book.", "hn_user": "shabinesh", "date": "2016-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12247201", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Tragedy of Great Power Politics", "book_author": "John J. Mearsheimer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It completely changed the way I think about what's going on in the world.", "hn_user": "credit_guy", "date": "2022-03-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30561227", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Trauma of Everyday Life", "book_author": "Mark Epstein", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it made me more conscious of myself and my emotions, both of which I find difficult to understand.", "hn_user": "roymckenzie", "date": "2013-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6976332", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Tree of Knowledge", "book_author": "Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it's the only book I've read that literally changed the way I see the works", "hn_user": "CoffeeDregs", "date": "2011-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3396291", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Untethered Soul", "book_author": "Michael A. Singer", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It definitely has had a profound impact on my relationship to myself and my surroundings.", "hn_user": "mgmeyers", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717910", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The User Illusion", "book_author": "Tor Norretranders", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's literally one of the most fascinating books I've ever read that completely changed my view on a lot of things.", "hn_user": "estefan", "date": "2015-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10690545", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Vegetarian Myth", "book_author": "Lierre Keith", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This is one of the top five books that's changed the way I see the world.", "hn_user": "dakrootie", "date": "2017-03-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13823947", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The WEIRDest People in the World", "book_author": "Joseph Henrich", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I can tell you from my personal experience that the info there has helped me understand the differences between how people think in Brazil (where I come from) and how people think here in the US.", "hn_user": "psidium", "date": "2025-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45299593", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Way of Zen", "book_author": "Alan Watts", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I read \"The Way of Zen\" by Alan Watts and it completely changed my existence. It really got me away from concepts like searching for meaning, purpose, and making things better.", "hn_user": "hoot", "date": "2025-01-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42586007", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Way of Zen", "book_author": "Alan Watts", "category": "meaning", "quote": "One of the most important books in my life has been\n\nThe Way of Zen by Alan Watts", "hn_user": "tomp", "date": "2015-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10027607", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Wizard and the Prophet", "book_author": "Charles C. Mann", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book helped me realize how many debates are rooted in this schism, deep down, and how fundamental it is.", "hn_user": "uniqueuid", "date": "2021-07-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27771575", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The World Beyond Your Head", "book_author": "Matthew Crawford", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading that book (in 2014), I made my last Facebook post (the history of the slot machine) and promptly downloaded my data and deleted my account.", "hn_user": "thelock85", "date": "2022-08-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32486623", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction", "book_author": "Matthew Crawford", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The part that changed how I feel about these things for ever was about how the slot machine companies have been rigorously testing how to make them maximally addictive", "hn_user": "iainctduncan", "date": "2022-01-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29770590", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Worst Journey in the World", "book_author": "Apsley Cherry-Garrard", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book literally changed the way I see men and heroes.", "hn_user": "dazzawazza", "date": "2008-06-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=229299", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "They Would Never Hurt a Fly", "book_author": "Slavenka Drakulić", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book made me rethink how I view the war in general and what motivates people to do absolute evil things.", "hn_user": "avaika", "date": "2025-01-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42567217", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security", "book_author": "Sarah Chayes", "category": "meaning", "quote": "not only did I suddenly see corruption as a global issue, but she connects it to religious extremism", "hn_user": "lkrubner", "date": "2021-06-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27504275", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security", "book_author": "Sarah Chayes", "category": "meaning", "quote": "not only did I suddenly see corruption as a global issue, but she connects it to religious extremism", "hn_user": "lkrubner", "date": "2021-06-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27512640", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About", "book_author": "Donald Knuth", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I've been a staunch atheist for the majority of my life, but seeing Knuth talk so comfortably about his spirituality actually helped me appreciate religion more.", "hn_user": "wrinkl3", "date": "2017-11-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15797120", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About", "book_author": "Donald Knuth", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Knuth has a depth to him and his thinking that freed me to have depth in my own thinking.", "hn_user": "russnewcomer", "date": "2022-09-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32898054", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Think and Grow Rich", "book_author": "Napoleon Hill", "category": "meaning", "quote": "They changed my life. It helped me get out of a fairly unpleasant home situation.", "hn_user": "tomcam", "date": "2022-08-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32337627", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Think and Grow Rich", "book_author": "Napoleon Hill", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it completely shifted my mentality, changed the way I saw the world, opened my eyes.", "hn_user": "ud0", "date": "2017-03-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13974640", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Think and Grow Rich", "book_author": "Napoleon Hill", "category": "meaning", "quote": "If there was one book, that changed my mindset from a negative thinker to a positive thinker. Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill.", "hn_user": "GoldenMonkey", "date": "2024-11-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42065981", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Think and Grow Rich", "book_author": "Napoleon Hill", "category": "meaning", "quote": "the real message is about the power of desire. I loved it and really changed my mind and the way of doing things.", "hn_user": "lmorandi", "date": "2023-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37943351", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Think and Grow Rich", "book_author": "Napoleon Hill", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Think and Grow Rich has been absolutely phenomenal in spearheading the mindset shift I've had over the past couple years", "hn_user": "reayn", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735474", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Think and Grow Rich", "book_author": "Napoleon Hill", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Thought me about goal setting, opened my eyes to the fact that a man can rise from his humble beginnings to any height he want's to attain if he is willing to work for it.", "hn_user": "homoSapiens", "date": "2016-07-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12152350", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thinking in Systems", "book_author": "Donella H. Meadows", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Both changed my views more than almost any other books.", "hn_user": "spodek", "date": "2017-12-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15921705", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking in Systems", "book_author": "Donella H. Meadows", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book changed my life. After reading this, I had an insatiable need to learn more about systems and dynamic systems interactions - a passion that led me to getting my macroeconomics degree today.", "hn_user": "widowlark", "date": "2016-11-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12984501", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Thinking Fast and Slow and Antifragile were my highlights - they compliment each other well and both changed my outlook on how the world is organised and how I perceive it.", "hn_user": "lui8906", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717651", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking, Fast and Slow", "book_author": "Daniel Kahneman", "category": "meaning", "quote": "two books that pretty much completely changed how I view the world, and have made me much happier as a direct result.", "hn_user": "onlyrealcuzzo", "date": "2019-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21901585", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Those Times", "book_author": "Sunil Gangopadhyay", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This was the first time I ever felt confident about my ethnic identity, and fount a history I could take pride in. Totally changed me.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29607315", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", "book_author": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I thoroughly enjoyed it and it transformed my way of thinking.", "hn_user": "nanna", "date": "2021-07-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27994591", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", "book_author": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I'm a different person each time I get through certain sections of that book.", "hn_user": "erulabs", "date": "2022-08-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32377921", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Time Enough for Love", "book_author": "Robert A. Heinlein", "category": "meaning", "quote": "culture is arbitrary and we should be free to try to make it what we wish, that doesn't make it fake or ignorable.", "hn_user": "moron4hire", "date": "2015-04-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9348782", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Total Freedom", "book_author": "Jiddu Krishnamurti", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Finally I read enough that some things just 'clicked' into place and my perspectives shifted along with my outlook on life.", "hn_user": "kcartlidge", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30746251", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus", "book_author": "Ludwig Wittgenstein", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I'll admit I never quite understood this book from reading it, but it definitely changed how I thought about philosophy, consciousness and spirituality.", "hn_user": "wunderlust", "date": "2020-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23156355", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Ulysses", "book_author": "James Joyce", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Ulysses helped me change my very self-image. I am not a “left-brainer”; I am a human, and art is how we can express and share ourselves with each other.", "hn_user": "calebm", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8717618", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Understanding Media", "book_author": "Marshall McLuhan", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Incredibly insightful book, totally transformed my understanding of the world.", "hn_user": "msutherl", "date": "2013-01-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5090016", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Understanding Power", "book_author": "Noam Chomsky", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Completely changed the way I read news / history & how I react to current events.", "hn_user": "pokler", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088988", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Unsong", "book_author": "Scott Alexander", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The book honestly changed the way I thought about religion. It's fantastic.", "hn_user": "epiccoleman", "date": "2024-08-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41227152", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel", "book_author": "Rolf Potts", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Opened a world of possibilities to me. Changed my mindset on a lot of topics. His books don't offer many answers, but helped me put my goals / life into perspective.", "hn_user": "tryonqc", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17047282", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Waking Up", "book_author": "Sam Harris", "category": "meaning", "quote": "After reading this book, I started practicing daily, and it has changed my daily life and my outlook on life.", "hn_user": "acid-rocker", "date": "2023-06-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36429357", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Waking Up", "book_author": "Sam Harris", "category": "meaning", "quote": "My time on Earth is best partitioned into before and after I started the project of spirituality without religion", "hn_user": "ebb_earl_co", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30739840", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Walden", "book_author": "Henry David Thoreau", "category": "meaning", "quote": "One of the books that helped me see the world with new eyes.", "hn_user": "zapperdapper", "date": "2017-11-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15763441", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Walden", "book_author": "Henry David Thoreau", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It changed the way I look at things, but I can't say exactly how. Sometimes I encounter a situation and a quote or scene from the book pops up in my head.", "hn_user": "dirktheman", "date": "2014-07-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8106942", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Walkaway", "book_author": "Cory Doctorow", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Dramatically radicalized my conception of the economy, the establishment, politics, engineering, and my own life goals.", "hn_user": "komali2", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19089780", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "War and Peace", "book_author": "Leo Tolstoy", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it completely changed my view of the amount of influence we really can have in this world, and how much we are a product of our time.", "hn_user": "jesusofsuburbia", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088544", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What Does It All Mean?", "book_author": "Thomas Nagel", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It prompted me to appreciate and learn more about philosophy. It also helped me learn to enjoy things like philosophy for their own sake, outside of an academic setting.", "hn_user": "doyoulikeworms", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093884", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon", "book_author": "Grace Lin", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it had some really great themes — lifted my spirits and changed my outlook.", "hn_user": "gdubs", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22720776", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Why I Am Not a Christian", "book_author": "Bertrand Russell", "category": "meaning", "quote": "when I had doubts about my faith, \"Why I Am not A Christian\" helped me find words to communicate my break with Catholocism.", "hn_user": "kkshin", "date": "2010-07-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1503416", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Widening Circles", "book_author": "Joanna Macy", "category": "meaning", "quote": "it opened my mind to unconventional romantic relationships. I remain, in principle if not actively in practice, polyamorous to this day.", "hn_user": "eyelidlessness", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735743", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Yes Man", "book_author": "Danny Wallace", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It got me outside of my comfort zone and the resulting experiences changed my life in lots of positive ways.", "hn_user": "dcminter", "date": "2020-05-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23101490", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Yes Man", "book_author": "Danny Wallace", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Yes Man, on the other hand, feels like it has greatly changed my life for the better.", "hn_user": "Zhyl", "date": "2019-11-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21491213", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Your Money or Your Life", "book_author": "Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's not an overstatement to say that book changed my life. It gives you some tasks, like tracking your spending (down to the penny)", "hn_user": "the_gastropod", "date": "2020-02-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22301137", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Your Money or Your Life", "book_author": "Vic Robin and Joe Dominguez", "category": "meaning", "quote": "read the book \"Your Money or Your Life,\" which changed my life. Before that time I was a materialistic kid, gathering as much stuff as I could.", "hn_user": "mixmastamyk", "date": "2016-08-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12299024", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Your Money or Your Life", "book_author": "Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I went through the calculations in the book and it was eye opening for me. From then I did a 10 month 5000 mile hike and then lived in China for 10+ years.", "hn_user": "100-xyz", "date": "2021-03-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26585767", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind", "book_author": "Shunryu Suzuki", "category": "meaning", "quote": "One of the few books that has actually changed the way I view everything in life, and led to a years long deep dive into eastern philosophy.", "hn_user": "aphextron", "date": "2019-04-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19653042", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "meaning", "quote": "It's no exaggeration to say that this book changed my life. I learned so much from it, and apply what I learned on a daily basis.", "hn_user": "lanbanger", "date": "2017-04-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14191312", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "meaning", "quote": "I feel it really changed the way I look at the world.", "hn_user": "michaelbrave", "date": "2013-05-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5753756", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "meaning", "quote": "\"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance\" had a similar effect, though with the Classicist/Romanticist split more than any other part of the book.", "hn_user": "andrewce", "date": "2011-03-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2330490", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "meaning", "quote": "The discourse on the nature of quality fundamentally changed how I perceive the world and interact with it: when someone likes something I dislike, I remember that quality is the interface between the observer and the observed", "hn_user": "gcanyon", "date": "2025-02-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42894036", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "meaning", "quote": "As a scientist, it helped me to realise that the quest for truth is only a tool: I have to choose my own goal.", "hn_user": "323454", "date": "2016-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12247529", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "meaning", "quote": "This book lead me to accept a lot of parts of myself and seek to integrate all those parts together. I credit it with starting the journey that changed my life.", "hn_user": "NeuNeurosis", "date": "2019-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19105550", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Zero to One", "book_author": "Peter Thiel and Blake Masters", "category": "meaning", "quote": "Thiel's thoughts were so contrarian to everything I had learned or thought I knew that it literally changed my reality.", "hn_user": "Regardsyjc", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19092068", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zorba the Greek", "book_author": "Nikos Kazantzakis", "category": "meaning", "quote": "this made me realize that understanding something intellectually is very different than being able to use/live it. That I wasn't somehow \"superior\" because of the thoughts in my head.", "hn_user": "satyajith", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22722220", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Mind for Numbers", "book_author": "Barbara Oakley", "category": "resilience", "quote": "The main thing that stuck with me above all else was the idea that it's okay to feel dumb when learning new things and to push through instead of giving up.", "hn_user": "ncfausti", "date": "2017-08-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15098723", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents", "book_author": "Lindsay C. Gibson", "category": "resilience", "quote": "the book has helped me to maintain my inner peace, which is really important when you want to get into the flow-state mind during programming.", "hn_user": "fossheart", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37159115", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "resilience", "quote": "actually start to change my life to take advantage of the chaos in the world.", "hn_user": "michaelrpeskin", "date": "2020-05-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23096872", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Antifragile", "book_author": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "category": "resilience", "quote": "It's also made me a stronger individual being able to do more for people and look at things sometimes as just a series of outcomes, and making everyday life and outcomes more tolerable for me emotionally as well.", "hn_user": "shookla", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093594", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Beethoven's Letters", "book_author": "Ludwig van Beethoven", "category": "resilience", "quote": "made me realize it's OK to struggle mightily with everyday difficulties even if you're shooting for the loftiest goals.", "hn_user": "MisterOctober", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19091490", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Beyond Good and Evil", "book_author": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Finding the sweet spot between them is what made me go forward - on one hand don't stress too much about the outcome and simply try to do the best to your abilities", "hn_user": "axegon_", "date": "2020-06-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23612057", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Can't Hurt Me", "book_author": "David Goggins", "category": "resilience", "quote": "It helped me to start running, and I keep doing it. It improved my mindset about overcoming physical discomfort", "hn_user": "playing_colours", "date": "2019-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21824057", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Can't Hurt Me", "book_author": "David Goggins", "category": "resilience", "quote": "it changed my life for the better.", "hn_user": "jchook", "date": "2020-05-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23317719", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Can't Hurt Me", "book_author": "David Goggins", "category": "resilience", "quote": "This book helped me through some emotionally difficult times and has some really great life advice", "hn_user": "jerkstate", "date": "2025-12-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46398483", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Concepts of Modern Mathematics", "book_author": "Ian Stewart", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Reading these books (primarily as a software engineer), made me feel better about not immediately getting certain concepts, because it's likely the people these theorems are named after didn't get it either, to begin with.", "hn_user": "jaymzcampbell", "date": "2025-03-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43356071", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Creativity, Inc.", "book_author": "Ed Catmull", "category": "resilience", "quote": "It really helped me shift my mind during some difficult projects where I felt like I was working against impossible odds.", "hn_user": "climber_mac", "date": "2016-05-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11762927", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Daring Greatly", "book_author": "Brené Brown", "category": "resilience", "quote": "A book called \"Daring Greatly\" by Brene Brown helped me understand some of this. I was pretty pissed off and generally drinking too much.", "hn_user": "jfoutz", "date": "2022-06-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31635470", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Enchiridion", "book_author": "Epictetus", "category": "resilience", "quote": "It has really changed the way I see life and face adversity.", "hn_user": "Majestic121", "date": "2018-05-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17046031", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage", "book_author": "Alfred Lansing", "category": "resilience", "quote": "This book changed my life.", "hn_user": "typeofhuman", "date": "2024-10-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41844620", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Feeling Good", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "resilience", "quote": "David Burn's book really changed my life for the better :) Even nowadays I have the list[0] of cognitive distortions bookmarked and every time I get triggered by something I go through the list", "hn_user": "zuzuleinen", "date": "2020-04-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23018202", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Free Will", "book_author": "Sam Harris", "category": "resilience", "quote": "This realization has eliminated all regret from my life, since it means that wishing I had made a different decision in the past is akin to wishing the laws of the universe were different.", "hn_user": "abrichr", "date": "2021-12-18", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29607263", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable About Anything—Yes, Anything!", "book_author": "Albert Ellis", "category": "resilience", "quote": "It's honestly been life-changing, and I think a lot of folks here would appreciate the rational approach to adjusting one's beliefs, feelings, and actions.", "hn_user": "marcinreal", "date": "2025-02-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43097119", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life", "book_author": "Lance Armstrong", "category": "resilience", "quote": "He had been a personal hero since I have read his book \"It's Not About The Bike: My Journey Back to Life\" which really helped me go on", "hn_user": "rovils", "date": "2012-08-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4426668", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "resilience", "quote": "I can attest to the life changing improvements this kind of work can bring without my brain falling out.", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2024-03-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39885091", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "resilience", "quote": "The book \"Learned Optimism\" was a life changing read for me coming from this kind of background. It includes exercises that start to rewire your brain.", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2024-02-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39462126", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Really helpful if you grew up in an environment that hammered pessimism into your core. Has been life changing.", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37161232", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Learn strategies for framing and processing adversity through books like Learned Optimism (the ABCDE model) or \"The Work\". I'm far from perfect, but this helped me build resilience to handle times when I \"put myself out there\" and it didn't work out.", "hn_user": "afro88", "date": "2024-10-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41824759", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "resilience", "quote": "It definitely helped me work through feelings like this.", "hn_user": "samvher", "date": "2023-09-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37491997", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor Frankl", "category": "resilience", "quote": "WOW..This was the book that helped me through a very tough period.", "hn_user": "found_reading", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13971261", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor E. Frankl", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Books like The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Man’s Search for Meaning, and The Power of Now have profoundly changed how I react to life’s difficulties.", "hn_user": "kaycebasques", "date": "2018-07-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17627648", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Man's Search for Meaning", "book_author": "Viktor Frankl", "category": "resilience", "quote": "we always have a choice of how we deal with adversity and it helped me get through some tough situations.", "hn_user": "patforna", "date": "2017-06-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14486149", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Mathematics and Its History", "book_author": "John Stillwell", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Reading these books (primarily as a software engineer), made me feel better about not immediately getting certain concepts, because it's likely the people these theorems are named after didn't get it either, to begin with.", "hn_user": "jaymzcampbell", "date": "2025-03-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43356071", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Meditations", "book_author": "Marcus Aurelius", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Stoicism helped me build the ability to care about the things in my power to change, and not stress about things that aren't. Very useful in any job or personal situation that includes a lot of ambient stress.", "hn_user": "icey", "date": "2017-03-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13969479", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Meditations", "book_author": "Marcus Aurelius", "category": "resilience", "quote": "It changed my life more than any other corpus of ideas. I can't overstate how much better I feel now that my brain is running on a 'Stoic OS'", "hn_user": "K0SM0S", "date": "2017-06-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14486243", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Meditations", "book_author": "Marcus Aurelius", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Two books (which contradict each other a lot) helped me to tweak my thinking by finding a path somewhere between them: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche.", "hn_user": "axegon_", "date": "2020-06-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23612057", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Meditations", "book_author": "Marcus Aurelius", "category": "resilience", "quote": "These stoic works have helped my get a better grip on things when dealing with especially difficult people.", "hn_user": "mmmBacon", "date": "2017-02-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13732695", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar", "book_author": "Mickey Baker", "category": "resilience", "quote": "After a terrible guitar teacher damaged my left thumb I thought I'd never play guitar again. I found this book and was able to use it to learn to retrain how my left hand works and finally get back to playing.", "hn_user": "zedshaw", "date": "2017-06-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14480512", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Mindset", "book_author": "Carol Dweck", "category": "resilience", "quote": "I was going through a tough time of my own at work, and this book allowed me to realize that the feedback I was getting wasn't attacks against my character", "hn_user": "jimmy1", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19091759", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Outliers", "book_author": "Malcolm Gladwell", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Over time I've appreciated it as a way to both motivate me to work towards success, and also to cope with feeling not successful enough.", "hn_user": "doyoulikeworms", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19093884", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Tao Te Ching", "book_author": "Laozi", "category": "resilience", "quote": "It’s helped me stay centered and humble.", "hn_user": "ianai", "date": "2018-11-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18473687", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Body Keeps the Score", "book_author": "Bessel van der Kolk", "category": "resilience", "quote": "After reading the book, I posited that clumsy is trauma-related, and since I've resolved the trauma, there is no reason why I can't fix the clumsy. It's a process, and clumsy is almost gone.", "hn_user": "atotic", "date": "2025-10-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45676299", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Book of the SubGenius", "book_author": null, "category": "resilience", "quote": "When I was younger, this advice from the Book of the Subgenius helped me a lot to get by, \"Act like a dumbass and they'll treat you like an equal.\"", "hn_user": "carapace", "date": "2019-10-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21347623", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Child in You", "book_author": "Stefanie Stahl", "category": "resilience", "quote": "This book helped me understand myself, discover and overcome some of my traumas.", "hn_user": "robsun", "date": "2022-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34164218", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Dresden Files", "book_author": "Jim Butcher", "category": "resilience", "quote": "I started doing something that I read in a fiction book series (The Dresden Files) - basically a little visualization that helps me compartmentalize the pain. It helps a ton", "hn_user": "AuryGlenz", "date": "2020-10-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24948499", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Essential Marcus Aurelius", "book_author": "Jeremy Hayes", "category": "resilience", "quote": "This book contained so many great insights into how to deal with life's stresses and has been a revelation in my transformation of attitude.", "hn_user": "tixocloud", "date": "2016-08-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12261057", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Obstacle Is the Way", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "resilience", "quote": "really helped me learn how to roll with the punches, and turn everything into an opportunity, a challenge.", "hn_user": "jimmy1", "date": "2019-02-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19091759", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "resilience", "quote": "The painbody visualization was especially therapeutic to me and helped me to cope in better ways than I would have otherwise.", "hn_user": "fsloth", "date": "2014-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8718369", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Books like The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Man’s Search for Meaning, and The Power of Now have profoundly changed how I react to life’s difficulties.", "hn_user": "kaycebasques", "date": "2018-07-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17627648", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem", "book_author": "Nathaniel Branden", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Books like The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Man’s Search for Meaning, and The Power of Now have profoundly changed how I react to life’s difficulties.", "hn_user": "kaycebasques", "date": "2018-07-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17627648", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Stormlight Archive", "book_author": "Brandon Sanderson", "category": "resilience", "quote": "The struggles of various characters with past failures and the way they overcome it gives me hope for myself.", "hn_user": "Bhilai", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30742617", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck", "book_author": "Mark Manson", "category": "resilience", "quote": "reshaping the way I look at things, the way I judge things, and the way I let things ruin my day", "hn_user": "johngo54", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735369", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying", "book_author": "Sogyal Rinpoche", "category": "resilience", "quote": "This novel has been of great help to me and family with recent deaths. Overall life outlook, happiness, and the like.", "hn_user": "salemh", "date": "2011-08-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2923957", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running", "book_author": "Haruki Murakami", "category": "resilience", "quote": "This was a major influence of increasing my running volume and moving on to a more intense intermediate middle-distance program, and his experiences also gave me the motivation to push through discomfort", "hn_user": "_6khi", "date": "2024-03-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39586046", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "When Things Fall Apart", "book_author": "Pema Chödrön", "category": "resilience", "quote": "This book has made the biggest difference in my life - the change you wouldn't believe.", "hn_user": "ahoyhere", "date": "2010-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1603504", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones", "book_author": "Paul Reps", "category": "resilience", "quote": "Helped me relax and be okay with who I am and what I am accomplishing.", "hn_user": "sebg", "date": "2008-06-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=230212", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Pattern Language", "book_author": "Christopher Alexander", "category": "taste", "quote": "My house, property, relations with my neighbors and civic volunteer work is different because I read it.", "hn_user": "1123581321", "date": "2021-06-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27461220", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "A Pattern Language", "book_author": "Christopher Alexander", "category": "taste", "quote": "Helped me to understand the language of architecture. What works and why, and what doesn't work and why.", "hn_user": "brensmith", "date": "2018-06-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17206932", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "ABC of Reading", "book_author": "Ezra Pound", "category": "taste", "quote": "Ezra Pound's ~ABC of Reading~ changed the way I read poetry and literary fiction.", "hn_user": "BellsOnSunday", "date": "2016-08-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12211364", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Art as Experience", "book_author": "John Dewey", "category": "taste", "quote": "the book that helped me in understanding art and music far more than any other, Dewey's Art as Experience", "hn_user": "yesenadam", "date": "2022-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30842445", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Art as Experience", "book_author": "John Dewey", "category": "taste", "quote": "And..instantly all my problems with understanding music were solved.", "hn_user": "yesenadam", "date": "2021-03-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26587874", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Calm Technology", "book_author": "Amber Case", "category": "taste", "quote": "I've loved this book since reading it, but it basically boils down to practices you can only use in applications no one is paying attention to (i.e. I slip calmer patterns into POCs all the time).", "hn_user": "musingsole", "date": "2021-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29120037", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Camera Work", "book_author": null, "category": "taste", "quote": "Looking at how beautiful pictures they were able to make with potatoes helped me stop worrying so much about gear and technical perfection.", "hn_user": "kqr", "date": "2024-03-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39874058", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Cryptonomicon", "book_author": "Neal Stephenson", "category": "taste", "quote": "convinced me to read only very high quality literature of all kinds and sci-fi of only the highest kind. Also made me give up watching TV/web series to a large degree.", "hn_user": "rg111", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30737792", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Designing Interactions", "book_author": "Bill Moggridge", "category": "taste", "quote": "they helped me understand how users interact with my user interfaces.", "hn_user": "gvajravelu", "date": "2017-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15014001", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Designing for the Web", "book_author": "Mark Boulton", "category": "taste", "quote": "Definitely helped me understand some of the principles of typography, even layout and colour.", "hn_user": "WickyNilliams", "date": "2013-02-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5298067", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Don't Make Me Think", "book_author": "Steve Krug", "category": "taste", "quote": "it really helped me understand the difference between good and bad web usability design.", "hn_user": "Jaruzel", "date": "2020-08-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24031754", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Don't Make Me Think", "book_author": "Steve Krug", "category": "taste", "quote": "one of the most pivotal books I've ever read that changed how I view and make websites", "hn_user": "meesterdude", "date": "2015-03-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9281862", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Flour Water Salt Yeast", "book_author": "Ken Forkish", "category": "taste", "quote": "After Reading this book I was able to make better bread than I can find at almost any bakery in Germany.", "hn_user": "carlmr", "date": "2023-02-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34750349", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Founders at Work", "book_author": "Jessica Livingston", "category": "taste", "quote": "This changed the way I treated my own work. No detail is too small and there's always plenty of room in my personal memory for whatever I need to remember. It's made a big difference.", "hn_user": "edw519", "date": "2009-04-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=577412", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Grammar of the Film Language", "book_author": "Daniel Arijon", "category": "taste", "quote": "A fantastic book that's fundamentally changed the way I see movies.", "hn_user": "julian37", "date": "2014-09-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8359030", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Gödel, Escher, Bach", "book_author": "Douglas Hofstadter", "category": "taste", "quote": "The discussio around the \"musical offering\" is incredible, and helped me learn to appreciate music (not only Bach).", "hn_user": "enriquto", "date": "2024-02-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39254045", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "In the Blink of an Eye", "book_author": "Walter Murch", "category": "taste", "quote": "I thought it was a great insight that cuts are best when you would naturally want to blink. For a short video, I used the advice once to place cut between scenes", "hn_user": "nohaydeprobleme", "date": "2023-03-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35247305", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Know Your Onions", "book_author": "Drew de Soto", "category": "taste", "quote": "These two literally changed the way I make / look at everything that is graphic design related: 1. The Non-Designers Design Book [1]; 2. Know Your Onions [2].", "hn_user": "sarreph", "date": "2017-11-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15600979", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Learning to See Creatively", "book_author": "Bryan Peterson", "category": "taste", "quote": "It was really eye opening and completely changed the way I walk around and take photos! (from random snapshots to well considered compositions)", "hn_user": "mxstbr", "date": "2018-08-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17715381", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Lolita", "book_author": "Vladimir Nabokov", "category": "taste", "quote": "after reading the book, I finally appreciated good writing. I found his writing beautiful, and easy to read.", "hn_user": "marincounty", "date": "2015-05-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9601173", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Food and Cooking", "book_author": "Harold McGee", "category": "taste", "quote": "The book changed the way I cook (for the better!)", "hn_user": "niccl", "date": "2021-01-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25719619", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Web Typography", "book_author": "Jason Santa Maria", "category": "taste", "quote": "helped me as a non designer really understand good typography. I still cannot necessarily create good typography like the masters but I can now recognize it.", "hn_user": "crisnoble", "date": "2014-10-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8401333", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Practical Typography", "book_author": "Matthew Butterick", "category": "taste", "quote": "When designing a new site I always begin with the text (but I mostly make pages where the text is the interesting thing) and having the text nailed down makes it so much easier to \"see\" how the rest of the page should look.", "hn_user": "danieka", "date": "2017-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15010110", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Proofs from THE BOOK", "book_author": "Martin Aigner and Günter M. Ziegler", "category": "taste", "quote": "I always thought that proofs are just means to an end, but this book showed me that proofs can be more interesting than the end result.", "hn_user": "JacobiX", "date": "2022-06-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31801436", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Proofs from THE BOOK", "book_author": "Martin Aigner and Günter M. Ziegler", "category": "taste", "quote": "I have surprised coworkers with a solution to a seemingly difficult problem that closely mirrors something in here more than once", "hn_user": "debatem1", "date": "2018-07-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17623945", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Refactoring UI", "book_author": "Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger", "category": "taste", "quote": "I am primarily a backend end person and Refactoring UI really helped me when trying to make a nice front end.", "hn_user": "RcouF1uZ4gsC", "date": "2024-01-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39109964", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Refactoring UI", "book_author": "Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger", "category": "taste", "quote": "I've been a software engineer writing code for my whole career and the RefactoringUI material has helped me grow my design ability more than anything else I've tried.", "hn_user": "swanson", "date": "2018-12-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18657259", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Refactoring UI", "book_author": "Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger", "category": "taste", "quote": "it very much approaches design from a developer's perspective which has helped me immensely in understanding and implementing small tweaks that make huge improvements.", "hn_user": "jmhyer123", "date": "2019-11-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21464558", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Refactoring UI", "book_author": "Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger", "category": "taste", "quote": "Adam released an amazing book about UI/UX called Refactoring UI[0] and it really helped me become better and understand subtleties of design.", "hn_user": "theturtletalks", "date": "2026-01-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46529134", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Refactoring UI", "book_author": "Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger", "category": "taste", "quote": "Refactoring UI is a book you can read in a couple of hours, but it helped me immensely to design my projects.", "hn_user": "druskacik", "date": "2023-12-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38592333", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Reflections on a Pond", "book_author": null, "category": "taste", "quote": "I learned so much about how little paint you need to do so much", "hn_user": "zedshaw", "date": "2017-06-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14480512", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Salt Fat Acid Heat", "book_author": "Samin Nosrat", "category": "taste", "quote": "It totally changed my idea of how to season things, to the point that I feel a lot more confident modifying existing recipes now.", "hn_user": "dceddia", "date": "2021-03-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26420628", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat", "book_author": "Samin Nosrat", "category": "taste", "quote": "It taught me things simple dishes like roasted chicken, which I had prepared like a hundred times before I read it, which have changed how I cook forever.", "hn_user": "neilk", "date": "2020-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22274366", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat", "book_author": "Samin Nosrat", "category": "taste", "quote": "My cooking improved drastically after reading this book.", "hn_user": "nicbou", "date": "2023-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38553515", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat", "book_author": "Samin Nosrat", "category": "taste", "quote": "it really changed the way I approach cooking most dishes.", "hn_user": "PascLeRasc", "date": "2018-07-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17484826", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat", "book_author": "Samin Nosrat", "category": "taste", "quote": "That book changed how I approach cooking, I always wondered how people just make recipes, and now I can mostly do it", "hn_user": "tayo42", "date": "2023-09-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37381337", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Art of Pizza Making: Trade Secrets and Recipes", "book_author": "Dominick DeAngelis", "category": "taste", "quote": "his book helped me diagnose the main problems in my pizza-making approach.", "hn_user": "phugoid", "date": "2010-12-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2024006", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "“The Design of Everyday Things” changed the way I see literally everything. You’ll never look at doors the same way again", "hn_user": "borski", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087633", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Donald Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "they helped me understand how users interact with my user interfaces.", "hn_user": "gvajravelu", "date": "2017-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15014001", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "After reading the book it helped me understand the different models the creator and user have and has allowed me to recognize when I'm making design decisions that make a lot of sense to the creator and no sense to the user.", "hn_user": "davidgh", "date": "2018-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18667865", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Donald Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "I read The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman more than 10 years ago and it profoundly changed my life.", "hn_user": "rdwallis", "date": "2013-01-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5055712", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "It -literally- changed the way I look at the world (as a designer).", "hn_user": "ChrisMarshallNY", "date": "2020-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25596902", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "After reading the book I now keep seeing so many design flaws in so many things around. It also made me appreciate good design similarly.", "hn_user": "smusamashah", "date": "2026-01-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46719705", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "Really changed the way I look at human-designed objects.", "hn_user": "somedude895", "date": "2023-11-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38301291", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "Reading the book\n“Design of everyday things” helped me think about what are good designs. In good designs, function dictates form- they are designed around how it is to be used.", "hn_user": "Engineering-MD", "date": "2021-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28408466", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "That book made me start getting annoyed at bad design like Norman Doors", "hn_user": "PascLeRasc", "date": "2018-12-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18667623", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "it has been the most useful of any design book (to me). Changed how I think about design.", "hn_user": "discovr", "date": "2013-01-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5058997", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "I can never walk through an unusual door again without thinking about it since reading that chapter.", "hn_user": "roland35", "date": "2021-11-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29356927", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "everything I see nowadays that frustrates me in its design immediately harkens back to a principle in The Design of Everyday Things.", "hn_user": "borski", "date": "2013-01-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5059440", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "this book seriously changed how I look at the world... especially doors.", "hn_user": "amohr", "date": "2008-03-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=135395", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Design of Everyday Things", "book_author": "Don Norman", "category": "taste", "quote": "The Design of Everyday Things makes me rethink every user interaction or problem I face, and not just at work.", "hn_user": "Saturdays", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087688", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Elements of Typographic Style", "book_author": "Robert Bringhurst", "category": "taste", "quote": "in my case it also had a converse effect: physical books became much more magical. Since learning about the techniques and best practices when typesetting for print, every book now feels more like a work of art to me.", "hn_user": "jstrieb", "date": "2021-09-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28405604", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Food Lab", "book_author": "J. Kenji López-Alt", "category": "taste", "quote": "It helped me to understand the purpose of different steps in recipes and what is important about them.", "hn_user": "antonf", "date": "2020-06-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23459337", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Humane Interface", "book_author": "Jef Raskin", "category": "taste", "quote": "And yeah, the book absolutely changed my life. Or at least the way I design UI.", "hn_user": "jfengel", "date": "2022-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30846853", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum", "book_author": "Alan Cooper", "category": "taste", "quote": "This book changed the way I think about user experience as a developer. I’m not a designer at all but when building a UI I try to think of it from a user perspective now because of this book.", "hn_user": "philliphaydon", "date": "2022-11-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33799559", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum", "book_author": "Alan Cooper", "category": "taste", "quote": "It really made me think differently about software design and how users interact with it.", "hn_user": "philliphaydon", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740350", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum", "book_author": "Alan Cooper", "category": "taste", "quote": "\"Inmates are running the asylum“ was one of the most useful books I ever read, it completely changed my attitude.", "hn_user": "rimantas", "date": "2010-09-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1727572", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up", "book_author": "Marie Kondo", "category": "taste", "quote": "This led me to try all my clothes and get rid of all my clothes that didn't make me feel great.", "hn_user": "awaywopassd", "date": "2018-09-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17964056", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Master and Margarita", "book_author": "Mikhail Bulgakov", "category": "taste", "quote": "It was the first book I started reading I could not put down until the end. Gained a lot of appreciation for literature at that time.", "hn_user": "nikivi", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087578", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Non-Designer's Design Book", "book_author": "Robin Williams", "category": "taste", "quote": "as a guy who spends hours trying to figure out why my layouts look like crap, this book has really helped me get to grips with the basics", "hn_user": "taphangum", "date": "2015-10-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10431266", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Non-Designer's Design Book", "book_author": "Robin Williams", "category": "taste", "quote": "These two literally changed the way I make / look at everything that is graphic design related: 1. The Non-Designers Design Book [1]; 2. Know Your Onions [2].", "hn_user": "sarreph", "date": "2017-11-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15600979", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Non-Designer's Design Book", "book_author": "Robin Williams", "category": "taste", "quote": "It taught me the basics of what makes a good design vs a poor design", "hn_user": "carols10cents", "date": "2011-01-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2063820", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Non-Designer's Design Book", "book_author": "Robin Williams", "category": "taste", "quote": "The only thing that helped me suck less at designing was the \"Non-Designer's Design Book\"", "hn_user": "Sargis", "date": "2011-07-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2755725", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Timeless Way of Building", "book_author": "Christopher Alexander", "category": "taste", "quote": "Reading his books changed the way I'm looking at houses and apartments. Not from outside, but the layout.", "hn_user": "jpalomaki", "date": "2016-08-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12287350", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Thinking with Type", "book_author": "Ellen Lupton", "category": "taste", "quote": "It was about going less random when having to choose a font from a set for a presentation or a website.", "hn_user": "sgarbi", "date": "2012-12-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4966546", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Trois fois par jour #2", "book_author": null, "category": "taste", "quote": "A few recipes became once a week classic and helped me improve my cooking skill and taste.", "hn_user": "nuclearwast", "date": "2023-06-16", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36362969", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", "book_author": "Robert M. Pirsig", "category": "taste", "quote": "I came away from that book understanding what \"quality\" means at a very philosophical level, and it gave me a lot of confidence for some fuzzy thoughts I already felt.", "hn_user": "drudolph914", "date": "2026-07-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49093468", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "10% Happier", "book_author": "Dan Harris", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "My psychiatrist recommended I a read a book called “10 percent happier”, and this has helped become more aware about what goes on in my mind and what my body is trying to tell me.", "hn_user": "cesher", "date": "2020-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25525582", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Guide to the Good Life", "book_author": "William B. Irvine", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "it helped me become less attached and less anxious about things that I have no control over. I really value the increased peace of mind.", "hn_user": "lpolovets", "date": "2018-05-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17168712", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "A Guide to the Good Life", "book_author": "William B. Irvine", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "helped me become more conscious of which things are within my control and which things are outside of my control. I now spend a lot more time focusing on the former and a lot less time being anxious about the latter.", "hn_user": "lpolovets", "date": "2019-02-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19088676", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Assassin's Apprentice", "book_author": "Robin Hobb", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "her books which begin with Assassin's Apprentice really helped me through extremely stressful periods of life being able from time to time to escape from reality and into another world and then return.", "hn_user": "huxflux", "date": "2021-05-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27103147", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Automating Inequality", "book_author": "Virginia Eubanks", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "But seeing that there are others who are aware and working on this at least helped me to realize I wasn't alone with my concerns.", "hn_user": "wiglaf1979", "date": "2019-05-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19992969", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Being Mortal", "book_author": "Atul Gawande", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "I found the book Being Mortal by Atul Gawande to help put some things into perspective.", "hn_user": "mikeiz404", "date": "2021-11-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29122055", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Beware of Chicken", "book_author": "Casualfarmer", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Two series that helped me immensely during some rough times that finally ended in 2023:", "hn_user": "CobaltFire", "date": "2023-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38563491", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Brain Rules for Babies", "book_author": "John Medina", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "\"Brain Rules for Babies\" helped me relax about not trying to teach my son all the time.", "hn_user": "amerkhalid", "date": "2019-09-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21050051", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks", "book_author": "Barry McDonagh", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "It helped me a lot and made me able to cope and live with the problem. So, i can go out again and do things", "hn_user": "drw85", "date": "2022-05-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31409723", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Deep Survival", "book_author": "Laurence Gonzales", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "It helped me understand some of my own fears about the COVID pandemic.", "hn_user": "jlj", "date": "2020-09-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24533697", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway", "book_author": "Susan Jeffers", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "One tool that has helped me identify my fears is Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers.", "hn_user": "sabat", "date": "2010-07-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1551314", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy", "book_author": "David D. Burns", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Helped me understand how my thought process was impacting my mood and fueling anxiety", "hn_user": "ilovwindows", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740910", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", "book_author": "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "It helped me look at everyday situations a bit differently.", "hn_user": "jh3", "date": "2013-03-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5302592", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Getting Things Done", "book_author": "David Allen", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "I found the tips in 'Getting Things Done' very useful in reducing anxiety.", "hn_user": "AareyBaba", "date": "2019-05-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19905567", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Healing Back Pain", "book_author": "John E. Sarno", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "The book helped me try to stress out less about some frightening RSI I had years ago.", "hn_user": "jongraehl", "date": "2013-07-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6100043", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "HeartMath", "book_author": null, "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "That book is where I learned about the physiological explanation of stress. And it has exercises that have helped me in moments of aniexty.", "hn_user": "origami777", "date": "2019-11-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21602084", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Hope and Help for Your Nerves", "book_author": "Claire Weekes", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "This book literally changed my life and I'd recommend that you don't hesitate to check it out if you suffer from anxiety in any capacity.", "hn_user": "taterbase", "date": "2015-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8913759", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Be Perfect", "book_author": "Michael Schur", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "In particular it helped me with my ethics choice anxiety and introduced me to Aristotel's \"be the best version of yourself\" philosophy which is such a liberating way of thinking.", "hn_user": "wraptile", "date": "2022-12-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33851873", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living", "book_author": "Dale Carnegie", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is a life changing book. If I never read it, I probably would have jumped off a bridge with all the stress of product launches and public failures that are inevitable as an entrepreneur.", "hn_user": "csalvato", "date": "2013-03-05", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5325424", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "My father introduced me to this book at point in my life where I was questioning my own abilities and my own future. It helped me breakdown negative thought patterns.", "hn_user": "dpflan", "date": "2020-01-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22093267", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "I read the book and did the work (similar to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and can honestly say it changed my life. I went from catastrophizing just about everything to not worrying pretty much at all.", "hn_user": "300bps", "date": "2021-06-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27616353", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Learned Optimism", "book_author": "Martin Seligman", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "2 things helped me a lot: mindfulness (I read \"A New Earth\", YMMV) and the book \"Learned Optimism\". I can't recommend that book enough.", "hn_user": "afro88", "date": "2016-11-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13039759", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Let Them Eat Dirt", "book_author": "B. Brett Finlay and Marie-Claire Arrieta", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "\"Let them Eat Dirt\" helped me relax about being dirty.", "hn_user": "amerkhalid", "date": "2019-09-23", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21050051", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Let Them Eat Dirt", "book_author": "B. Brett Finlay", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "\"Let them Eat Dirt\" helped me relax about baby putting everything in his mouth.", "hn_user": "amerkhalid", "date": "2018-12-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18583569", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Metacognitive Therapy", "book_author": "Adrian Wells", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "this simple approach helped me enormously with rumination and anxiety around intrusive thoughts.", "hn_user": "rubslopes", "date": "2026-08-01", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49134232", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindfulness in Plain English", "book_author": "Bhante Henepola Gunaratana", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Practicing and following its advice has helped me improve my general mood and outlook over the past year.", "hn_user": "ryan42", "date": "2017-10-11", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15452363", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success", "book_author": "Carol Dweck", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "A book that helped me overcome it is called Mindset, written by the psychology researcher Carol Dweck. I can't recommend it highly enough.", "hn_user": "alabut", "date": "2013-11-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6733085", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life", "book_author": "Adam Phillips", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "helped me to overcome a lot of my feelings of FOMO. Around the same time I read that, I also purged all of my social media accounts. My anxiety has gone down since then.", "hn_user": "Minor49er", "date": "2020-10-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24750304", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Mother of Learning", "book_author": "Domagoj Kurmaic", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Read those in the hospital with my son. I found them to be excellent stories and they gave me a lot to think about as far as major decisions I was making.", "hn_user": "CobaltFire", "date": "2023-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38563491", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On the Shortness of Life", "book_author": "Seneca", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Seneca's \"On the Shortness of Life\" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Brevitate_Vitae_%28Seneca%29), it really helped me put things in a different (I'd say better) perspective.", "hn_user": "paganel", "date": "2011-09-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2986748", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Rewire Your Anxious Brain", "book_author": "Catherine Pittman and Elizabeth Karle", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "The book Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Catherine Pittman and Elizabeth Karle helped me a great deal.", "hn_user": "chris_j", "date": "2021-02-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26012982", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Rewire Your Anxious Brain", "book_author": "Catherine M. Pittman and Karen L. Karle", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "This book genuinely changed my life this past year or so.", "hn_user": "stakkur", "date": "2020-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25596633", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Rewire Your Anxious Brain", "book_author": "Catherine M. Pittman and Elizabeth M. Karle", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Knowing the mechanisms and biology behind those things helped me see the bigger picture and answer a lot of the \"whys and hows\".", "hn_user": "gchokov", "date": "2022-12-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33877650", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Secrets of Divine Love", "book_author": "A. Helwa", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "It helped me with clearing out so much in my life that I used to worry about.", "hn_user": "Aro_oj", "date": "2025-07-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44572483", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids", "book_author": "Bryan Caplan", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "I've definitely changed my attitude as a result and it's made parenting much more pleasant. I'm not totally checked out, I'm still doing the best I can, but I'm not as anxious about how what I'm doing affects my daughter.", "hn_user": "lemming", "date": "2021-12-28", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29710352", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids", "book_author": "Bryan Caplan", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Bryan Caplan's book Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids helped me calm down a lot about this topic.", "hn_user": "hiAndrewQuinn", "date": "2024-11-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42243310", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids", "book_author": "Bryan Caplan", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "basically taught me to just relax and have fun as a parent, and not worry that I am messing everything up", "hn_user": "UniverseHacker", "date": "2022-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33264796", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Stop Overthinking", "book_author": "Nick Trenton", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "A book that really helped me was ‘Stop overthinking’ by Nick Trenton. I still have those thoughts, Anxiety isn’t the easiest thing to get rid of.", "hn_user": "yasserf", "date": "2025-08-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44791410", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Every chapter has exercises that help deal with social anxiety", "hn_user": "nico", "date": "2025-10-03", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45467150", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Charisma Myth", "book_author": "Olivia Fox Cabane", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "The main tool that helped me overcome it was the book The Charisma Myth. Can't recommend it enough, it literally changed my life.", "hn_user": "ta1234567890", "date": "2020-11-15", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25105276", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Denial of Death", "book_author": "Ernest Becker", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "I work in the industry and there are two things that helped me through my feelings of internal dread.", "hn_user": "kweinber", "date": "2014-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8711828", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "book_author": "Douglas Adams", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "It doesn’t keep me awake because I already know the story well. But it keeps my mind occupied enough to avoid the rumination.", "hn_user": "haswell", "date": "2023-08-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37282995", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Obstacle Is the Way", "book_author": "Ryan Holiday", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "The other key (for me) was the book, \"The Obstacle is the Way\" by Ryan Holiday. This helped me dramatically reduce the nonsense and worries that would crowd my mind as I tried to fall asleep.", "hn_user": "lbayes", "date": "2020-07-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23815596", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "the book showed me that I was worrying and thinking way too much and that this is at best useless and sometimes even dangerous.", "hn_user": "fylox", "date": "2011-01-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2148020", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Helped me stay present.\nHelped me overcome past regrets and future stresses", "hn_user": "ilovwindows", "date": "2022-03-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30740910", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Power of Now", "book_author": "Eckhart Tolle", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "the result is amazing, it has seriously helped me with anxiety, fear, self hatred, etc.", "hn_user": "ChrisClark", "date": "2022-03-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30735499", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Simple Path to Wealth", "book_author": "J.L. Collins", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "The book that made me rethink everything is “The simple path to wealth” by JL Collins.", "hn_user": "baxtr", "date": "2020-08-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24027632", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck", "book_author": "Mark Manson", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Manson's book \"The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck\" helped quite a bit, but was not \"the thing\".", "hn_user": "SMAAART", "date": "2021-05-12", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27134421", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Upside of Stress", "book_author": "Kelly McGonigal", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "It helped me understand how different sources of stress were affecting me and how I was framing those situations.", "hn_user": "arrosenberg", "date": "2019-07-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20537462", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Wisdom of Insecurity", "book_author": "Alan Watts", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "I found it lifechanging as it helped me to better manage OCD and anxiety.", "hn_user": "AndrewPaul42", "date": "2021-02-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26085458", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Wizard and the Prophet", "book_author": "Charles C. Mann", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Helped me recover from anxiety disorder caused by climate change.", "hn_user": "JackMorgan", "date": "2023-08-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37162231", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Worry Cure", "book_author": "Robert Leahy", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "I first read it ten years ago, and I still use the tools on a weekly basis. Changed my life, and the lifes of two other people I gifted the book to.", "hn_user": "lukastr0", "date": "2021-12-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29598004", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Transforming Stress", "book_author": "Doc Childre and Deborah Rozman", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Their \"Transforming Stress\" book has been a god send. It's not a get well fast type thing, but I've been practicing the sessions daily for a month now and am in much better control of my stress and anxiety.", "hn_user": "origami777", "date": "2016-11-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12870374", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "What Every Therapist Needs to Know About Anxiety Disorders", "book_author": null, "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "in practice it's the first book ever that helped me with my lifelong anxiety.", "hn_user": "neongreen", "date": "2024-02-04", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39249262", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "When Panic Attacks: The Drug-Free Way to Overcome Anxiety", "book_author": "Jonathan Davidson", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "Just being able to identify it and know it's not dangerous helped me the most.", "hn_user": "nicklovescode", "date": "2018-08-21", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17808930", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "White Noise", "book_author": "Don DeLillo", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "reading it helped me acknowledge my fear of death and how it affected me.", "hn_user": "matt_morgan", "date": "2020-03-29", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22723301", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet", "book_author": "Thich Nhat Hanh", "category": "uncertainty", "quote": "It helped me, perhaps it helps you too.", "hn_user": "roeles", "date": "2022-06-17", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31777719", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Because Internet", "book_author": "Gretchen McCulloch", "category": "writing", "quote": "It actually has changed how I write on slack. I'm now for example more deliberate about omitting or including periods, break up what before would have been a long, email-like message into smaller messages.", "hn_user": "ajmurmann", "date": "2020-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24829613", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Because Internet", "book_author": "Gretchen McCulloch", "category": "writing", "quote": "helped me get over a ton of personal grammatical hang-ups I have", "hn_user": "eumenides1", "date": "2019-11-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21573045", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Charles Bukowski on Writing", "book_author": "Charles Bukowski", "category": "writing", "quote": "Helped me get over some of the hurdles of writing.", "hn_user": "trenning", "date": "2022-09-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32974340", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Effective Writing for Engineers, Managers, Scientists", "book_author": "H.J. Tichy", "category": "writing", "quote": "it describes writing as an iterative process with subsequent rounds of structuring and refinement, and that helped me to overcome blocks. I learned also a lot on how to make my writing more concise and to the point.", "hn_user": "jnxx", "date": "2019-09-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20910501", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Every Page is Page One", "book_author": "Mark Baker", "category": "writing", "quote": "There's a great tech writing book called Every Page is Page One[1] that changed how I write docs.", "hn_user": "spondylosaurus", "date": "2023-07-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36611756", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Kurt Vonnegut: Letters", "book_author": "Kurt Vonnegut", "category": "writing", "quote": "Two books which I read this year that have helped me become a better writer are", "hn_user": "trenning", "date": "2022-09-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32974340", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Manly Art: They Can Run—But They Can't Hide", "book_author": "George Kimball", "category": "writing", "quote": "This book demonstrates the balance between brevity and color.", "hn_user": "ogou", "date": "2020-07-09", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23778538", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Writing Well", "book_author": "William Zinsser", "category": "writing", "quote": "The book \"On Writing Well\" has helped me a lot on this.", "hn_user": "skydhash", "date": "2022-12-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33901135", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On Writing Well", "book_author": "William Zinsser", "category": "writing", "quote": "This book changed my view regarding how to write and how important it is to write well.", "hn_user": "kelukelugames", "date": "2017-09-02", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15156750", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "On Writing Well", "book_author": "William Zinsser", "category": "writing", "quote": "These two books helped me. The downside is I get annoyed now when reading other people's bad writing.", "hn_user": "kelukelugames", "date": "2014-10-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8534052", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On Writing Well", "book_author": "William Zinsser", "category": "writing", "quote": "The book that helped me the most is On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction.", "hn_user": "lawn", "date": "2024-04-06", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39951394", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On Writing Well", "book_author": "William Zinsser", "category": "writing", "quote": "Two books that have helped me improve are Stephen King's On Writing and William Zinsser's On Writing Well.", "hn_user": "otras", "date": "2019-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19115706", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On Writing Well", "book_author": "William Zinsser", "category": "writing", "quote": "I also suggest the book, \"On Writing Well.\" It helped me greatly with writing.", "hn_user": "bretthardin", "date": "2011-11-22", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3266152", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On Writing Well", "book_author": "William Zinsser", "category": "writing", "quote": "I feel that it helped me learn to write better business emails, by getting me to focus on writing clearly and concisely.", "hn_user": "dnh44", "date": "2019-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21924231", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft", "book_author": "Stephen King", "category": "writing", "quote": "My own writing improved significantly as a result of this book.", "hn_user": "forbiddenvoid", "date": "2022-11-14", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33598423", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft", "book_author": "Stephen King", "category": "writing", "quote": "Two books that have helped me improve are Stephen King's On Writing and William Zinsser's On Writing Well.", "hn_user": "otras", "date": "2019-02-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19115706", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Silicon Snake Oil", "book_author": "Clifford Stoll", "category": "writing", "quote": "And the writing tips at the end of Silicon Snake Oil have stuck with me to this day.", "hn_user": "gdubs", "date": "2019-12-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21835582", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Simple and Direct", "book_author": "Jacques Barzun", "category": "writing", "quote": "Years after reading it, I still hear the author's recommendations in my head when writing.", "hn_user": "yokuze", "date": "2022-06-27", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31898290", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace", "book_author": "Joseph M. Williams", "category": "writing", "quote": "this book is great and helped me immeasurably in writing my dissertation in grad school.", "hn_user": "pseut", "date": "2012-11-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4829211", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace", "book_author": "Joseph Williams", "category": "writing", "quote": "It clearly discusses \"grammar rules\" and \"personal style\", which helped me locate myself in all this.", "hn_user": "Tomte", "date": "2020-04-10", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22830527", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace", "book_author": "Joseph M. Williams", "category": "writing", "quote": "After reading the book, it changed the way I read and write. Very few books change the way you think.", "hn_user": "liangzan", "date": "2017-01-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13486716", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Style: Toward Clarity and Grace", "book_author": "Joseph M. Williams", "category": "writing", "quote": "I almost can’t overstate how much it’s changed how I read and write. Before that book, some writing just felt “clear” and other writing didn’t, but I couldn’t explain why.", "hn_user": "clockwork-dev", "date": "2020-10-19", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24831772", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "Style: Toward Clarity and Grace", "book_author": "Joseph M. Williams", "category": "writing", "quote": "These resources tremendously helped me to improve my writing.", "hn_user": "adamfaliq", "date": "2020-11-26", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25221983", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "Suttree", "book_author": "Cormac McCarthy", "category": "writing", "quote": "McCarthy's stylings have helped me to reduce hyphenations in my own writings", "hn_user": "ProllyInfamous", "date": "2026-02-25", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47152871", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The 10% Solution", "book_author": "Ken Rand", "category": "writing", "quote": "I can't believe how much of its advice has stuck with me and how much it has helped me.", "hn_user": "joegahona", "date": "2022-06-20", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31813999", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Aubrey-Maturin Series", "book_author": "Patrick O'Brian", "category": "writing", "quote": "Reading this series I realized how much depth, detail, and subtlety can really do for a work.", "hn_user": "themodelplumber", "date": "2022-02-07", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30249853", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier", "book_author": "Bonnie Trenga", "category": "writing", "quote": "These two books helped me. The downside is I get annoyed now when reading other people's bad writing.", "hn_user": "kelukelugames", "date": "2014-10-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8534052", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Elements of Style", "book_author": "William Strunk Jr.", "category": "writing", "quote": "That book has helped me refine not only my writing but also my software design.", "hn_user": "clintjhill", "date": "2011-07-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2798831", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Elements of Style", "book_author": "William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White", "category": "writing", "quote": "My English improved a lot after reading that book.", "hn_user": "lssndrdn", "date": "2010-03-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1176224", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Elements of Style", "book_author": "William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White", "category": "writing", "quote": "I, myself, have begun more thoroughly documenting projects, not only for my sake but for everyone else that comes along. I find that this book helped me get up to speed quickly", "hn_user": "IridescentBlue", "date": "2012-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4990767", "second_check": "kept" }, { "book": "The Elements of Style", "book_author": "William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White", "category": "writing", "quote": "its a constant reminder and seems to have helped me more than any other book i haven't read. im still not a very good writer ...but better :)", "hn_user": "andyidsinga", "date": "2014-09-30", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8386714", "second_check": "removed" }, { "book": "The Pyramid Principle", "book_author": "Barbara Minto", "category": "writing", "quote": "having them all-in one place as an comprehensive framework you can follow helped me a lot for the writing and research in my work", "hn_user": "leeuw01", "date": "2021-12-24", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29671866", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "The Sense of Style", "book_author": "Steven Pinker", "category": "writing", "quote": "With its analytical approach to writing style, it helped me significantly improve mine.", "hn_user": "pesfandiar", "date": "2014-12-31", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8821499", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Words That Work", "book_author": "Frank Luntz", "category": "writing", "quote": "After reading this book I looked over my past e-mails to customers and realized that my sentences were either outright confusing or communicated that my software is buggy.", "hn_user": "d_r", "date": "2011-12-08", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3328811", "second_check": "not checked" }, { "book": "Writing That Works", "book_author": "Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson", "category": "writing", "quote": "This book has been transforming my long and vague e-mails, letters and blog posts into more crisp and to the point while keeping the tone of the message.", "hn_user": "AhtiK", "date": "2012-07-13", "comment_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4240904", "second_check": "not checked" } ] }