🎉 Celebrating 25 Years of GameDev.net! 🎉

Not many can claim 25 years on the Internet! Join us in celebrating this milestone. Learn more about our history, and thank you for being a part of our community!

Back to GDNet Lounge

What's the one book...

L . L · 2018-02-23T03:41:05

What's the one book that you'd say had the biggest impact on you? Can be either fiction or non-fiction or both.

GDNet Lounge Community

Started by Awoken February 06, 2018 03:18 AM

14 comments, last by Awoken 6 years, 4 months ago

ChaosEngine

5,385

February 08, 2018 06:11 AM

16 hours ago, Awoken said:

A friend of mine also really enjoyed this series, I should read it.

Honestly, don’t bother. It’s not worth it, and I say that as someone who was obsessed with this series when I was younger

I started reading the Wheel of Time in my teens and finished it nearly (over?) 20 years later.

The first few books are great. And then nothing happens for ages and then the author died.

To his credit, Brandon Sanderson did an admirable job of wrapping up the series, but it never lived up to its early promise.

My “one book” would be Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett, not so much for the book itself (even though it’s wonderful), but for introducing me to my favourite author (AND PROBABLY ONE OF THE GREATEST CHARACTERS IN FICTION).

if you think programming is like sex, you probably haven't done much of either.-------------- - capn_midnight

Scouting Ninja

4,574

February 08, 2018 07:17 AM

1 hour ago, ChaosEngine said:

Honestly, don’t bother. It’s not worth it

Ah yes, in some ways I agree. It's the classic farm boy hero story but in many ways it means by the time a person gets older they would have read it.

I recommend it for people to read it; if only for the magic system and the character development. It is a bit slow but worth it in the end.

If you want to just sample it, read the first book; it can be read as a standalone story.

1 hour ago, ChaosEngine said:

Brandon Sanderson did an admirable job of wrapping up the series

And did better with some of the characters, especially Rand the protagonist who for most of the story is just a annoying. I did feel he slipped a bit with Egwene just as she was becoming a interesting character; but even that he ended well.

In all, the Brandon Sanderson ended the story very well.

7 hours ago, khawk said:

The Alchemist

This was is brilliant story.

Nypyren

12,313

February 08, 2018 07:23 AM

I can't really pick a single book as best. They've all made a big impact.

Non-Fiction:

The Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Turbo C++ User's Guide Version 3.0 by Borland Software Corporation

Fiction:

Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
Books of the New Sun, Long Sun, and Short Sun by Gene Wolfe
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

warhound

2,315

February 08, 2018 02:45 PM

7 hours ago, Scouting Ninja said:

8 hours ago, ChaosEngine said:

Honestly, don’t bother. It’s not worth it

Ah yes, in some ways I agree. It's the classic farm boy hero story but in many ways it means by the time a person gets older they would have read it.

I recommend it for people to read it; if only for the magic system and the character development. It is a bit slow but worth it in the end.

If you want to just sample it, read the first book; it can be read as a standalone story.

I'm a bigger fan of the Malazan series (currently reading them). Stupidly complex, but also really good.

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Awoken

1,554

Author

February 23, 2018 03:41 AM

I tend to gravitate towards non-fiction more so than fiction. So in the non-fiction corner I'd have to mention a few:
- Guns, Germs and Steel
- The Dead Hand
- The Hot Zone
- Under Banner of Heaven

Fictional books worth mentioning:
- The Alchemist
- Siddhartha
- Childhoods End

I'm definitely going to be checking out some of books mentioned here. I read slowly but as I do I'll bring them up.