Seven books I keep close because I love them

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

A blog post listing seven beloved books kept close at hand prompts readers to swap their own enduring favorites and reflect on why certain texts stay physically nearby in a digital age. Commenters highlight everything from Roget’s Thesaurus and children’s classics to the Bible, arguing over translation choices, how deeply scripture underpins Western and especially American culture, and whether alternative histories and non‑Western canons are more revealing. Along the way they debate the value of physical reference works versus online tools, and how close, historically aware reading can change one’s view of both religious and secular literature.

Roget’s Thesaurus and Word Tools

  • Multiple commenters praise Roget’s as uniquely valuable, especially its conceptual classification rather than alphabetical listing.
  • There is confusion over which modern editions preserve the original classification–index structure; Harper/HarperCollins and a Longman edition are recommended, while some “Roget’s” branded books are just synonym dictionaries.
  • OneLook Thesaurus is highlighted as a strong digital analogue, explicitly inspired by Roget’s concept clusters.
  • The public-domain 1911 Roget’s is noted as useful but outdated and missing many modern words.

Bible Translations and Cornerstone Claims

  • Strong debate over which English Bible translations are best and why:
    • NIV is criticized as ideologically slanted and tied to a particular evangelical moment.
    • NRSV is praised for scholarly rigor; NLT and LSB for readability/lexical consistency; KJV for literary beauty but with archaic language pitfalls.
  • Some see reading the Bible (in any translation) as crucial to understanding Western culture and especially the U.S.; others argue this is exaggerated or “gatekeeping” of what counts as “well‑educated.”
  • A contrasting view says modern Western culture rests more on Greek and other philosophical traditions than on the Bible alone.

Original-Language Study and Translation Nuance

  • Several commenters stress that translations are inherently lossy; reading Hebrew/Greek directly can expose ideological choices and lost poetic features.
  • Detailed discussion of the Samson/Delilah story shows how small translation choices (e.g., “flesh” vs “sinful nature,” “Philistines” vs “foreigners,” “let my soul die” vs “let me die”) change interpretation.
  • There is tension between trusting expert translation teams and valuing personal engagement with source languages; some emphasize intuition and spirituality, others caution this can blur into subjective opinion.

Interpretation, Hermeneutics, and Critique

  • One strand insists that “shallow” readings that make biblical characters look stupid miss narrative and psychological depth; patterns and repetition signal themes like lust, vulnerability, and vengefulness.
  • Critics counter that this can become an automatic assumption of depth (“5D chess”) driven by belief in divine status, leading to over-interpretation and social pressure to find profundity.
  • A side debate explores how believers and nonbelievers often talk past each other by assuming causal links between specific doctrines and social attitudes.

Other Books and Reading Habits

  • Commenters share affection for children’s literature and classics mentioned in the post (e.g., The Wind in the Willows, Redwall, Decameron), often recommending audiobooks.
  • The Decameron is commended as easy to read in short bursts; its Netflix show is described as “inspired by” rather than a faithful adaptation.
  • Some discuss Comenius and modern visual encyclopedias/technical picture books as spiritual successors.
  • Several reminisce about libraries’ borrowing limits, modern large limits (e.g., 100 items), and the unmatched speed/feel of flipping through physical books.

Scope of the Canon and Non‑Western Traditions

  • One commenter suggests complementing the heavily Western list with Chinese, Islamic, Indian, or other non‑Western works to gain an “outside” perspective on Western thought.
  • The original poster responds that their shelves do include a range of non‑Western texts (religious, historical, poetic), but the highlighted seven were personal, not canonical, choices.