Best book/paper you read in 2018?

What's the best book or paper you read in the last year, and why? 'Best' in terms of value it gave you personally - what's something you learnt from it, or something you used from it, or was it inspiring, what possibilities did it show you; what question(s) did it answer for you, where did it lead etc. Thank you.

I guess it could as well be a lecture, talk, video etc, I don't want to rule something out just because of the format.

julysun · 7 years ago

If you have taken some "intro to proofs" or "intro to abstract algebra" or "intro linear algebra" or any other such course where you've seen rigorous proofs, then Jay Cummings' "Real Analysis: A Long-Form Mathematics Textbook" [0] is simply a phenomenal introduction to real analysis. It's a fast paced tour de force through rigorous analysis.

I actually wrote a longer comment, but I had to invoke the names of other authors. Better not. Either way, I love the book.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Real-Analysis-Long-Form-Mathematics-T...

dorchadas · 7 years ago

Got any recommendation for those other intro ones with rigorous proofs? Teaching maths and looking to move from a physics background to more pure maths one.

nikofeyn · 7 years ago

i found that book this year as well, and it is indeed very good. it's just fun to pick up and read. hopefully the author writes more books in this style.

yesenadam · 7 years ago

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (1994), an amazing book on the history, science and philosophy of comics, is itself a comic...then checking out most of the cartoonists he mentions that I hadn't heard of[0], too many to mention. I discovered a load of great stuff from that, e.g. the graphic novels of Will Eisner and wordless novels of Lynd Ward.

[0] Library Genesis's comics section helped with that http://libgen.io/comics/index.php

ZainRiz · 7 years ago

"A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas"

It's a very insightful read on how you can see the world differently by simply asking questions (even if you never get an answer)

https://www.amazon.com/More-Beautiful-Question-Inquiry-Break...

afpx · 7 years ago

“Behave: the biology of humans at our best and worst” by Sapolsky was my favorite. I knew little about neurobiology, and this went a little deeper.

yesenadam · 7 years ago

Sapolsky's 25 lecture series on Human Behavioral Biology: He's such a wonderful lecturer.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL150326949691B199

chasedehan · 7 years ago

Subtle art of not giving a f$@k

And Ray Dalio’s Principles.

Both of those gave me personal aha moments. Neither was what I expected but both delivered.

guiambros · 7 years ago

"Why We Sleep", by Matthew Walker [1]. I've read a lot about sleep over the years, but I still found it fascinating and comprehensive.

I've mentioned the book on several other threads [2], so I'll avoid repeating here.

Along the same lines of expanding the ability of your body/mind, one that I'm currently reading is "What doesn't kill us" [3]. Pretty fascinating to think that we have a lot more control over our immune system than originally thought.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501...

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17606274

[3] https://www.amazon.com/What-Doesnt-Kill-Environmental-Condit...

laurentl · 7 years ago

The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen (the book itself is 20 years old but I only read it recently). It’s a fantastic analysis of why successful companies get displaced by disruptive technologies —or, the other way around, why it’s so complicated to innovate in successful companies.

The underlying reasons exposed by the book are timeless and universal. As I read the book (which, again, is 20 years old and focuses on the hard drive industry) I recognized all the pitfalls my previous company went through as it was trying to adapt to public Cloud.

This book is a powerful lens to look at disruptive innovation, well-written and very thoroughly researched. A must read if you’re working in technology IMO.

pbamotra · 7 years ago

Shoe dog by Phil Knight. It's a memoir by the co-founder of Nike. This is one of my favorite books till now. The biggest reason being that it's a perfect combo of personal and business story of company that started with $50 and is now selling over $30B of goods annually. It's motivational, lucid, and keeps you on your toes. Phil is a great story-teller and I almost felt as if I was part of the story. A definite 5/5.