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Hi all, This is an OC piece that analyzed the most mentioned books on Reddit. I found the recommendations interesting, though not very insightful. I think further analysis could be done, and there's probably other methodologies to better discover popular books. In any case, hope you enjoy it.

For reference, here are the top 20:

'Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set' 'Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship' 'Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons)' 'How to Win Friends & Influence People' 'Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd Edition (MIT Press)' 'No More Mr Nice Guy: A Proven Plan for Getting What You Want in Love, Sex, and Life' 'The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science' 'The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness' 'Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions' 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing' 'Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software' 'The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence' 'C Programming Language, 2nd Edition' 'Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy' 'Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software' 'Adult All-In-One Course: Lesson-Theory-Technic: Level 1' 'How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease' 'Advanced Marathoning - 2nd Edition' 'The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master' 'Daniels' Running Formula-3rd Edition'

Found this on Hacker News. The discussion on HN is here. I have only read Impro and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, which I thought were great. Not sure about the other titles, thought it was worth posting though.

Let me add:

• Skippy Dies. Not the typical boarding school story. Very long, funny, tragic, moving, experimental.

• Stand Before your God. This is a memoir, but it reads almost like a novel. It's about an American boy sent to one of the most prestigious boarding schools in England.

Great list. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is truly amazing. And you can't go wrong with anything by Krugman or Lewis. The only one I could think to add is The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. It's a little lengthy, but I think it's well worth it.

I see you have some political philosophy on the list. My advise is the approach them in a specific order so that you get the most out of them because they are going to be slow reads at times.

Start with The Art of War because it is short and will get you thinking about things differently. (It was the first piece of philosophy I ever read and made the transition from nonfiction to philosophy comprehension much smoother). But get an annotated version that explains some of the terms so that you get the most out of it. Thomas Cleary has a great one.

Next start with Plato's Republic, but go slow, there are a lot of analogies that the quick reader might miss and his ideas become the fodder for philosophers for the next two thousand years. Then try Aristotle, who is a little dryer but I believer his writing is a little clearer and more direct.

Or, you can start with The Prince because it really does not draw on Plato or Aristotle, but again, get an annotated version because some of the references are obscure or dated. It is also a substantially short work, so it might be a better one to start with after The Art of War to retrain your brain.

I would definitely end with Hobbes but there are several issues. There is no denying the greatness or importance of his work, but it is long and uses old english which can be intimidating. I don't know if anyone has translated it to modern English but that might be helpful. Also, look up a college syllabus on what a professor says to read. Political philosophy only takes up about a third to half of the work while the rest is filled with somewhat arcane discussions on psychology and science, which are not really important to know unless you are a Hobbesian scholar. Find the parts that pertain to politics and stick with that.

Best of luck, looks like a fun project!

If you're interested in Stoicism, there's a really good book called A Guide to the Good Life - The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. Doesn't get anymore practical than this.

I recommend reading this first and then read the sources: Meditations, Letters from a Stoic, Seneca's Dialogues and Essays, etc.

My Braudel is in storage on the other side of the world, unfortunately. Among the bits that I remember impressing me was the account of the evolution of food customs.

From The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, I find it hard to go past the Minchard (the Napoleon's army in Russia graphic). It's effective but also slightly unusual, whereas something like (say) the John Snow cholera map is more straightforward.

I would go for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig. I really enjoyed it and it sees things from a different perspective (from mine). It also leaves your with a kind of "inspirational" after taste. I have read the Douglas Adams ones and they are an easy read, I love them but they really are mostly entertaining. I have heard awesome things about the Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being but I haven't had the chance to read it. I read another book by him (the book of laughter and forgetting) and I enjoyed it, very philosophical too.

Blast from the Past by Jeb Wright

link to book
A middle aged man, and his dead best friend travel back to the 1980s to try and heal from the tragedy and pain from their adolescence. Set in the wilder, edgier side of the early'80s, Boomers and Gen-Xers alike will either relate to or recognize the messy characters, who bring this story to life.

Non-Fiction: Nazi Hunters

Fiction: Star of the North and Operation: Black Dog; https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BFNPB9X6?_encoding=UTF8&priceChange=1

It's not so much that he's my favorite, it's just that he's the first and most comprehensive first hand account of life immediately before and during his time. He's pretty much the father of historical writing. His book is the oldest surviving history book. If you want accounts of ancient Greeks by an ancient Greek, it's absolutely necessary reading.

Here is a link to an EXCELLENT annotated Herodotus. Robert Strassler is amazing. If you really want to learn about Ancient Greece look no further, this will be the best $15-20 you could possibly spend:

https://www.amazon.com/Landmark-Herodotus-Histories-Robert-Strassler/dp/1400031141

Are you looking for something like this? Be aware the adaptation differs from the original so if you need this for study, that might be misleading

https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Lost-Joseph-Lanzara-audiobook/dp/B07S42T2YR/

Another good sub to ask in would be r/audiobooks

Would you share a copy of yours, I'd love to see how others are doing it. I keep mine in a csv file (Excel) here is my spread sheet over the last 5 years or so: https://www.audiobookreviews.com/TitleList.csv

You can try reading Mind Bender. https://payhip.com/mindbender . It does not have a story but is sort of like a cipher. You have to use clues to progress to the next page.

Definitely think about starting your own WordPress blog or similar. You have total freedom and you can always take your book "database" with you. I've had a lot of fun building my database of books. Basically just an SQL (Excel) spread sheet of the book title, my short review and a score for the book, audio, overall rating and some other data. Here is the full thing here if you wanna see how I have organized my books for the last 5 years or so (open in Excel): https://www.audiobookreviews.com/TitleList.csv

Four Screenplays, maybe?

This is more about politics but it shows how religion becomes a scape goat and a tool for political manipulation:

Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections)

https://www.amazon.com/Liberals-Culture-Wars-Even-Elections-ebook/dp/B00FJ302XI/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=why+liberals+win&qid=1625574573&s=digital-text&sr=1-2

https://www.amazon.com/Madame-Wu-Chien-Shiung-Physics-Research-dp-9814374849/dp/9814374849/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1612797929 Love this- the First Lady of Physics!

For Belgium and the Congo both, I would instead recommend King Leopold's Ghost.

The book "explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885 and 1908, as well as the large-scale atrocities committed during that period. The book succeeded in increasing public awareness of these Belgian colonial crimes." (Wikipedia)

I don't think that's the book their ambassador would want us to read, though.

Fahrenheit 451. by Ray Bradbury- One of the most wonderfully written books of all time, the words flow off the page. Definitely makes you think after you read it, much of our modern technology is reflected in this book. I read it in one night because I just couldn't stop reading it, it was too beautiful!!

Autobiography of Malcolm X - Amazing, changed how I think.

Down and Out in Paris and London - If you like George Orwell or are even remotely intrigued this might interest you. It is a memoir Orwell wrote on the poverty of London and Paris, his travelogue of sorts, really good.

Slaughter-House Five. Kurt Vonnegut - Wonderful depiction of war PTSD and how emotion plays into warfare, with a bit of sci-fi and good old fashion sarcastic, dry humour. One of the best books I've read, that continually impacts me.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Johnathan Safran Foer- I think is without a doubt one of the most amazing novels ever written. It mixes so many elements, visual and written word based, that come together to smash you in the face with emotions. And it's not those cheesy emotions, it's the kind you strive for and lay awake thinking about.

I also recommend these but am too lazy to write descriptions: On Writing - Stephen King; One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - Ken Kesey; <-- In relation to that Tom Wolfe wrote an excellent non-fiction novel on Ken Kesey and his adventure called "The Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test"; The Godfather - Mario Puzo; World War Z - Max Brooks; Moby Dick - Herman Melville; And Then There Were None - Agatha Christine; Hitchickers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams; The Letters of Vincent Van Gough;

If you need a break from all the adult books here are some good kids ones: A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle; The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis; The Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket; All Roald Dahl books, Touching Spirit Bear - Ben Mikaelson; The Giver - Lois Lowry;

You want to read The Republic but not Nicomachean Ethics?

I guess you haven't made this list by yourself.

Get the history of western philosophy by Kenny. His is an authoritative single volume work - though not really comprehensive. Also, before you continue any further, read Think by Blackburn, and Problems of Philosophy by Russell.

What I hate most about this list is that the "philosophy" recommendation is: > An exploration of the self in Eastern philosophy, from a Western point of view. And written by Alan Watts.

GEB is a good recommendation, as is Thinking, Fast and Slow and Surely You’re Joking, Mr Feynman! ...

But this list doesn't understand much about philosophy.

Not sure how much of a fan I am of this list. For one thing, the non-fiction is a weird mix of self-help and acedmic and memoirs. I kind of feel like those all deserve their own sub-category? And more importantly, they're a completely different tone of book in terms of what somebody might be looking to read.

Also there seem to be some erroneous (~~i feel like that's not the word I wanted to use but spell check suggested it and it works~~) omissions. Like Prozac Nation off the top of my head.