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Which non-business books have you read recently?

Being an indie hacker means almost a never-ending education: you have to learn about marketing, sales, presentation, stay updated with the latest & greatest tech (I'm actually a fan of boring tech), and learn a lot about business. To take a rest from that, what books do you enjoy reading? What made you stay longer in the evening so you could finish one more chapter?

  1. 5

    1984 by George Orwell.
    Pretty good, I can recommend.

    1. 1

      I read this years ago. 2016-2020 I kept thinking I should re-read it. I still might, but it seems less urgent.

    2. 1

      Yes, that's a good one. Read it twice in school. I can also recommend "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley and "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin. They cover similar topic.

      1. 1

        Brave new world is up next on my list!
        I also recently saw the summary of "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck", and I think it might be worth reading, it makes you rethink priorities in life.

  2. 2

    The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. amazing, positively affected my life.

  3. 2

    The Kite Runner by Khalid Hussain

    Trust me, if you love books on life journeys, do give that a read. I just can't seem to keep the book down!

  4. 2

    The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin

    I am really enjoying it, about half way through now. First fiction book I've picked up in a while.

  5. 2

    I'm going to change it up a little. :) Although I do love reading books and novels, I spend a lot of my downtime reading comic books. I read indie books (typically staying away from the super hero genre), many of them are great fiction stories. I have a long list of comics I'm reading but I've been reading a bunch of crime noirs lately. The last two I've read are:
    1. Reckless By Ed Brubaker
    2. Pulp By Ed Brubaker

    I'm a big fan of Ed Brubaker's writing and have read a ton of his books. My monthly/weekly comics list helps me stay refreshed.

    As for books, I've been reading Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz which I'm loving so far (and not reading enough of) and would recommend for animal lovers.

  6. 2

    How To Take Smart Notes by Sonke Ahrens
    - why: thought it made a lot of sense and wanted to get the full picture
    How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by randy Ingermanson
    - why: very casual, and I enjoyed the pacing, along with the idea of writing a novel
    Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan
    - why: I'm a fan of cyberpunk done well
    Notion for Novices, A Beginner's Guide by Carl Pepper
    - why: wanted to know what the hype of Notion was really about, and this was short.

    Can't say I'd recommend all of them.. SO many other books started and may never finish. I guess enjoyed reading these enough to finish them.

    1. 2

      I read Altered Carbon and loved it. Wish I hadn't seen the series after that though 😃

      Regarding unfinished books, I think if it's not interesting there's no point in finishing it. I never watch a movie until the end if it's boring, why not do the same with books? Also have lots I haven't finished.

  7. 2

    Seneca - Dialogues and Essays

    1. 1

      That's been in my to-read list for a long time, but I wanted to read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and oh boy was it... hard. At times I was forcing myself to continue. Is Seneca similar?

      1. 1

        I think if you didn't like meditations you're gonna have a bad time haha.
        I have trouble reading more than 10 pages before taking a break most of the time but I think it's worth it 😁

        Have you read something like The Daily Stoic? That stuff is much more digestible I think, probably a good starter read.

        Can't beat the classics tho 🎉

        1. 1

          I have mixed feelings about Meditations. I read the one by Gregory Hays who explains a lot of context in the beginning of the book. This helps in understanding many things. Some chapters were plain hard to read due to the ideas written there, e.g. saying good night to your children every evening think that this is the last time you see them. Others were just random thoughts without much context, sort of like a diary. And some were quite nice to read. So it's a weird one.

          I'll take a look at the Daily Stoic 👍

          1. 1

            Well ok, I think you will find that Dialogues and Essays has exactly in it what it says so they are somewhat on topic and with more context after all they are intended to be read by someone else, meditations was never meant to be read by anyone except Marcus himself so it is in fact a journal/diary.

            So they may be easier to read if you can get over the language as it can be quite jarring and you do have to put a lot of thought into what he's trying to say most of the time. It's more that kind of "hard to read" but it should flow better than meditations 😁

  8. 1

    The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was a worthwhile read for me. It is a very relatable and practical fiction book.

  9. 1

    Just started 1776. I think I knew much less of USA history than I tought

  10. 1

    I recently finished The Overstory by Richard Powers. It was pretty powerful. Like many readers of The Overstory I am now reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.

    For more escapist, or at least less activist, stuff I can definitely recommend anything by Erik Larson, (I've read Dead Wake and The Devil in the White City), or Mary Beard's SPQR

    Or for a true novel, Anna Karenina, or something more contemporary, Ling Ma's Severence, (be warned, it takes place in a pandemic).

    Shameless plug: I keep a list of what I read on my blog. If I don't recommend a book it'll say so.

  11. 1

    The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

  12. 1

    Ready Player One. It's INCREDIBLE.

    1. 1

      Wow! A book written in 2011, a movie directed by Spielberg in 2018, and a sequel movie in 2020. And the plot is intriguing! Thanks for the suggestion :)

  13. 1

    Currently reading Democracy in America. But a couple years ago I read the Federalist Papers. There's 85 of them. Each is like 2-4 pages but really hard to read. I read one per day and it took me 3 months.

    But it was totally worth it. I learned so much about America and the constitution.

    1. 2

      I haven't read nor heard about these, but it reminded me I have The Unbanking of America in my reading queue.

      Is your choice of these books dictated by your citizenship/residence or was it just an interest of yours?

      1. 1

        I am an American, so I don't think I would have read them if I wasn't but most people in America don't read these books.

        I wanted to read the Federalist as both a challenge (because it's pretty hard) and because I'm curious about how America works

  14. 1

    Just started my first Brian Sanderson series, Mistborn. Really enjoying the unique magic system.

  15. 1

    Just finished reading Breath by James Nestor, definitely recommend it especially to people that face respiratory problems

    Currently reading six easy pieces by Richard Feynman, he has such a great way of making complex ideas easy and consumable to a broader audience

    1. 2

      No way! I have Feynman high up in the reading queue, also that exact book of his. And I'm getting a paper copy!

  16. 1

    A friend has me reading Beyond Order by Jordan Peterson. Only one chapter in and it seems decent. The gist is that he provided a "12 rules for life" list in his last book and I guess this is 12 more rules. The First rule was useful as a reminder to appreciate the creative. As an engineer I tend to overlook the effort used to make something creative.

  17. 1

    Two books that really hooked my interest are:

    How To Change Your Life by Michael Pollan

    Its about what the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. Really interesting read!

    and The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery by Don Miguel Ruez which is about learning how to be present and happy.

    Those two books really opened my eyes about my mental health. Seeing those two books connect on a spiritual level backed up by science, is really cool!

    1. 2

      Mental health is something I've come to appreciate only recently. Being male and raised by soviet standards, I am supposed to be manly all the time: men don't cry, men don't complain, men are... men. And when this is part of who you are, it's hard to open up, hard to understand why you suddenly become angry.

      Thank you for the suggestions!

      1. 1

        I know what you mean! Luckily my russian parents are not that "strict" about feelings but I think thats something everyone has to learn on his own. Opening up takes time :)

    2. 2

      This comment was deleted a year ago.

      1. 1

        Im really looking forward to reading more books of him and his family!

  18. 1

    I read a lot of non-fiction. Currently reading the political history of Pakistan 1947-2007.

  19. 1

    Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone is a good read.

    It's about more than improv: creativity, thought processes, status transactions and human interaction. It's one of those books that gives you a new lens through which to view the world.

    1. 1

      About a year ago I did two courses on public speaking, and wanted to follow-up with improv. Found a monthly meetup but due to covid it has been cancelled since then. But I'm a bit puzzled by your last sentence about the view of the world. Can you elaborate what you mean by that? I guess the book is not just a list of practical advices but something more, right?

      1. 2

        Ostensibly it's about improv but in order to become a natural improviser the idea is that you need to view the world and your interactions with it differently. And these lessons transcend the stage.

        As an example, from a section on 'status' :

        "Status is a confusing term unless it's understood as something one does. You may be low in social status, but play high, and vice versa....once you understand that every sound and posture implies a status, then you perceive the world quite differently, and the change is probably permanent. "

        Definitely a worthwhile read.

        1. 1

          Oo, you got me interested! Thank you :)

  20. 1

    Austrian Economics School :) Rothbard is so interesting to read. Others are great too.

    1. 2

      Out of everything I didn't expect that one to hear. This keeps popping up in conversations every now and then. What would you recommend as a good intro into the topic?

      1. 2

        I would start with The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek
        or The Ethics of Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard
        Judging from your name I think you know russian? We also have a list in Russian here:

        1. 1

          That's a very comprehensive list. Thanks for the suggestions!

  21. 1

    This comment was deleted a year ago.

    1. 2

      I do too! Although I do it because of different formats: I tend to read paper books in the evening, and listen to audio books or read on Kindle while in the public transport or cycling.

      And you've got a nice list here, thank you!

      1. 1

        This comment was deleted a year ago.

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