Ask HN: What are you reading?

Hacker News Discussion ↗

HN readers share an eclectic mix of current reads, ranging from classic literature, philosophy, and dense history (Roman Empire, nuclear policy, economic development) to contemporary sci‑fi/fantasy series, LitRPG like Dungeon Crawler Carl, and technical works on software, AI, and systems thinking. Many are explicitly seeking “meaty” books that challenge them—Dostoevsky, Eliot, Steinbeck, Caro, Smil, Postman, Scott—while others balance this with lighter genre fiction or comfort rereads such as Pratchett, Sanderson, and Harry Potter. Alongside recommendations, people reflect on reading habits (print vs audiobook, parallel reading, burnout, depression), the impact of technology and bureaucracy on society, and how literature shapes their views on politics, faith, and the future.

Overall Patterns

  • Very wide range of reading: contemporary SF/F, LitRPG, classics, history, politics, religion, tech, and popular science.
  • Many people explicitly seek “meaty” books: long epics, dense history, philosophy, or technical texts to counterbalance lighter reading.
  • Common habit is reading several things in parallel (often: 1 fiction, 1–2 nonfiction, plus an audiobook).

Fiction & SF/Fantasy

  • Strong cluster around SF/F series: Mistborn, Hyperion Cantos, Expanse, Culture, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Wheel of Time, Terra Ignota, Bobiverse, Dark Tower, Cradle, Garrett P.I., Vorkosigan-like series, etc.
  • LitRPG and progression fantasy are popular but sometimes described as “brain junk food” or “rotting the brain”; others praise them as fun, absorbing escapes.
  • Classics and “big” novels recur: Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Middlemarch, Count of Monte Cristo, Moby Dick, Infinite Jest, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Camus, Orwell, Lonesome Dove, and more. Some find them transformative; others stall or abandon them as too slow or sprawling.
  • People compare book vs. adaptation for Dune, Harry Potter, Reacher, Avatar, various westerns and SF; adaptations are sometimes praised, sometimes seen as inferior or even discouraging.

Nonfiction, History, and Ideas

  • Heavy reading in history and politics: Roman Empire, Third Reich, Cold War, nuclear weapons/accidents/secrecy, the Manhattan Project, Chinese history and memoirs, development economics, land reform, surveillance capitalism, bureaucracy, and state power.
  • Tech/engineering books: software design, general systems thinking, robotics, AI/deep learning, analog/neuromorphic computing, aircraft design, autonomous cars.
  • Strong interest in social criticism and media/tech (e.g., TV’s effects, modern capitalism, platform power, “extraction,” bureaucracy).

Religion, Science, and Philosophy

  • Multiple readers working through the Bible (often from agnostic/atheist perspectives) and pairing it with critical or scientific takes on religion.
  • Evolution, origins of life, mitochondria, and biology feature prominently; one evolution classic is both lauded and attacked as conceptually weak.
  • Philosophy and metaphysics: Wittgenstein, Sellars, Camus, existentialism, free will, and consciousness (often in light of current AI).

Reading Practices & Meta‑Discussion

  • Ongoing debate whether audiobooks “count” as reading; some insist on a distinction, others are relaxed.
  • A few describe reading mostly online (HN, news, AI outputs) instead of books, sometimes with regret.
  • Several note reading as a coping or growth strategy during difficult periods, or as a deliberate alternative to social media.