Liddell Hart's The German Generals Talk (http://www.amazon.com/German-Generals-Talk-Basil-Liddell/dp/...), originally published in England as The Other Side of the Hill. Probably the most interesting book I've ever read about WW II. I'm surprised it's not better known.
I read a number of good books but hands down my favorite that I read in 2012 was Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
This is from Amazon:
At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?
Ready Player One was the best book I read this year, and the best in recent memory. My wife — who isn't into video games or much of 80's culture — loved it as well.
I wouldn't class Ready Player One as the best book of 2012, but it was certainly enjoyable (when I read it in 2011). I prefer This Is Not A Game and Pattern Recognition in this genre; also worth checking out is Tad Williams' Otherland series.
I can confirm that Pattern Recognition is (in my memory) even better than Ready Player One, which is also an amazing book. Thanks for the others, didn't know about them.
In what way is Pattern Recognition similar to Ready Player One? I was intrigued by the description of RPO, but when I read you talking about Pattern Recognition being in the same genre, I was really confused.
I thought Pattern Recognition was truly awful and couldn't finish it.
Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives, and People Like You Are Taking Back by Anna Anthropy
Some interesting ideas; the referenced tech is now dated. It's even easier to make games now then when this book was published.
Here's a list of books that I read this year and liked. My favorite was Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. The rest are all worth reading. I hesitated to put "The Joy of Clojure" on that list because it's too narrow, but it's one of the best programming books I've seen.
I'll second Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman for top book of 2012 and for top all time book like another commenter.
If you really want to expose the bias and structure of your consciousness, this the book to read. I would also pair this book with Incognito by David Eagleman (2012) to rehash some of the ideas of Kahneman and for a discussion of the implications of these ideas in morals and justice.
Also Connectome by Sebastian Seung (2012) gives a good outline of the structure of the brain, and an interesting discussion of how understanding that structure is a great scientific goal and some hypothetical implications of that understanding.
Really, I'd recommend reading anything to do with the emerging understanding of the brain because, without hyperbole, the better we understand the brain the better we understand the self.
Gravity's Rainbow - took 4 months out of my year, but and it's still mostly a whoosh, but every time I started reading another book after that, it was just amazing how much better Pyncheon writes. Will revisit it for sure, though not very soon.
Anna Karenina - just a whole different level, Tolstoy's writing in a way I don't feel many contemporary writes could. Feels creepy how similar the people's lives in the 19th Century was to ours. Creepy but fun too.
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller - Italo Calvino will just punch you in the face, this is a book for people who love reading books.
The Magicians - adult magic fiction, and somehow it feels that if magic was indeed real, it would be like it is depicted here, not like anything in Harry Potter's (no matter how much I loved the storytelling, the magic theory was just so full of plotholes).
The Casual Vacancy - JKRowling's not-Harry-Potter-book. It's very gritty, and feels very real. Still having my cold shivers thinking of small-town living after this.
(Except for the last one the others are older releases, don't usually jump into the newest ones, I just take it casual)
Seconded.
I am surprised that there are not more of Pynchon's books in this thread.
'Vineland' is an easy, humorous read. If you want to take Pynchon head on, I can't recommend 'Against the day' too much.
"The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson" Robert Caro
LBJ "hacked" the American Senate, understanding its operations better than anyone perhaps ever. He further understood its role in American politics, and the impact of American politics upon it. This 3rd volume of Caro's multi-volume biography covers LBJ's adoption of the vice-presidency, why his hopes of dominating JFK from that position failed (tldr; Kennedy was much, much smarter that Johnson understood), and Johnson's extraordinary transition to the Presidency on Kennedy's assassination.
The book would be outstanding simply for its sketches of JFK and RFK, figures secondary to its primary focus. Taken as a whole it's required required reading for anyone thinking they understood politics.
The best book I read this year was not a 2012 release, but HN participants should read it if they haven't already. That book is The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande,
which was mentioned favorably in several HN threads this year. (Thanks to the recommenders here who reminded me to read this book.) The Checklist Manifesto is practical, exciting, and thought-provoking in balance, and it will help you do your work better, whatever you do, and enjoy your family life better, whoever is in your family. It's a great read; don't miss it.
I just finished the book three days ago, really liked it, and thought, that there must be a site to collect programmers checklists for different tasks to have a similar collection as the aviation experts. Turns out, there is not...
Mostly scifi and fantasy. I've never been much of a reader, so I'm trying to catch up on classics.
* Hunger games 1-3 -- not bad, would probably recommend
* Hitchiker's guide to the galaxy -- good, surprised how short it was. really liked the style of writing, fun to read. recommended
* Stranger in a Strange Land -- currently reading this one, interesting, but nothing ground breaking. one character seems to dominate the book. don't know if I'd recommend.
* Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep -- interesting, a bit boring. I kept comparing it to the movie, and in the end I like the movie better. they each focus on different subjects, but I like the movie's subject better, and it felt more professional/solid. would recommend.
* Ringworld -- pretty good. the 'Teela problem' is fascinating to me and got me thinking a lot outside of reading, which to me is a sign of a good book. the 'spacey stuff' in the book was not that great. even the ringworld itself was not that interesting. would recommend.
* The Mote in God's Eye -- my favorite book of the year. so much to think about (moral problems/dilemmas). the realistic part of the space travel was new to me (like the consideration of g-forces in constant acceleration), and so that was more to think about. definitely recommend.
* Cryptonomicon -- a close second. Neal Stephenson goes into wicked detail in his books and always blows my mind (never heard of Van Eck Phreaking before this book, how is that possible?). definitely recommend.
Definitely read the other Hitchhiker's books. At least, the second one, which is as good as the first, if not better. Also, absolutely recommend the radio series. Even after you read the books, it's different enough to keep you entertained, and worth it for Marvin's lines alone.
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This is from Amazon: At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?
I thought Pattern Recognition was truly awful and couldn't finish it.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936365537
Feeding Back: Conversations with Alternative Guitarists from Proto-Punk to Post-Rock by David Todd
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/161374059X
Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives, and People Like You Are Taking Back by Anna Anthropy
Some interesting ideas; the referenced tech is now dated. It's even easier to make games now then when this book was published.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609803728
I recently started 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 by Nick Montfort, et al http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262018462 (but also available as a free PDF)
Generative Design: Visualize, Program, and Create with Processing , by Hartmut Bohnacker, is under the Christmas tree. :) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616890770/
http://diegobasch.com/books
If you really want to expose the bias and structure of your consciousness, this the book to read. I would also pair this book with Incognito by David Eagleman (2012) to rehash some of the ideas of Kahneman and for a discussion of the implications of these ideas in morals and justice.
Also Connectome by Sebastian Seung (2012) gives a good outline of the structure of the brain, and an interesting discussion of how understanding that structure is a great scientific goal and some hypothetical implications of that understanding.
Really, I'd recommend reading anything to do with the emerging understanding of the brain because, without hyperbole, the better we understand the brain the better we understand the self.
I also read Black Like Me, which seems to be required reading in the US, but I only recently became aware of it. Definitely worth a look.
Anna Karenina - just a whole different level, Tolstoy's writing in a way I don't feel many contemporary writes could. Feels creepy how similar the people's lives in the 19th Century was to ours. Creepy but fun too.
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller - Italo Calvino will just punch you in the face, this is a book for people who love reading books.
The Magicians - adult magic fiction, and somehow it feels that if magic was indeed real, it would be like it is depicted here, not like anything in Harry Potter's (no matter how much I loved the storytelling, the magic theory was just so full of plotholes).
The Casual Vacancy - JKRowling's not-Harry-Potter-book. It's very gritty, and feels very real. Still having my cold shivers thinking of small-town living after this.
(Except for the last one the others are older releases, don't usually jump into the newest ones, I just take it casual)
LBJ "hacked" the American Senate, understanding its operations better than anyone perhaps ever. He further understood its role in American politics, and the impact of American politics upon it. This 3rd volume of Caro's multi-volume biography covers LBJ's adoption of the vice-presidency, why his hopes of dominating JFK from that position failed (tldr; Kennedy was much, much smarter that Johnson understood), and Johnson's extraordinary transition to the Presidency on Kennedy's assassination.
The book would be outstanding simply for its sketches of JFK and RFK, figures secondary to its primary focus. Taken as a whole it's required required reading for anyone thinking they understood politics.
http://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/d...
which was mentioned favorably in several HN threads this year. (Thanks to the recommenders here who reminded me to read this book.) The Checklist Manifesto is practical, exciting, and thought-provoking in balance, and it will help you do your work better, whatever you do, and enjoy your family life better, whoever is in your family. It's a great read; don't miss it.
(free lite version: http://lite.launchlist.net/)
* Hunger games 1-3 -- not bad, would probably recommend
* Hitchiker's guide to the galaxy -- good, surprised how short it was. really liked the style of writing, fun to read. recommended
* Stranger in a Strange Land -- currently reading this one, interesting, but nothing ground breaking. one character seems to dominate the book. don't know if I'd recommend.
* Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep -- interesting, a bit boring. I kept comparing it to the movie, and in the end I like the movie better. they each focus on different subjects, but I like the movie's subject better, and it felt more professional/solid. would recommend.
* Ringworld -- pretty good. the 'Teela problem' is fascinating to me and got me thinking a lot outside of reading, which to me is a sign of a good book. the 'spacey stuff' in the book was not that great. even the ringworld itself was not that interesting. would recommend.
* The Mote in God's Eye -- my favorite book of the year. so much to think about (moral problems/dilemmas). the realistic part of the space travel was new to me (like the consideration of g-forces in constant acceleration), and so that was more to think about. definitely recommend.
* Cryptonomicon -- a close second. Neal Stephenson goes into wicked detail in his books and always blows my mind (never heard of Van Eck Phreaking before this book, how is that possible?). definitely recommend.
I would also check out Quicksilver - there are significant tie-ins to Cryptonomicon. I've enjoyed it so far.