Don Quixote

1984, George Orwell Permanent Record, Edward Snowden My Early Life, Winston S. Churchill Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand Edit: To some extent probably also: The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas Don Quijote, Miguel de Cervantes

My absolute one would be Don Quijote de La Mancha by Cervantes - Taught me the beauty of language, to follow my own ideas and the power of a little craziness. Second would be anything from Jules Verne, his books got me to love science and engineering when I was a kid.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote. It was released about 500 years ago but it's good to know what was funny back then is still now

Don Quixote. Specifically the translation by Edith Grossman. In high school I was assigned this book but I didn't read it all, it seemed like a waste of time to read 1000+ pages about a silly knight. A few years ago I got into reading a lot of fiction translated from Spanish and Don Quixote got back on my radar so I decided to give it another try. I was blown away. It's astounding that a book from 500 years ago is still so funny and engaging today. Grossman's translation makes the book accessible and very enjoyable. If you didn't know the history you'd believe it had been published in the last few decades. I recommend this because it's the best example of how literature can be time travel. When I smile at one of the adventures in the book I know that I'm sharing an experience with readers across centuries. There's almost no other way to get that feeling.

This book should be required reading. One of the best experiences I've ever had with fiction was reading this in high school. It's a massive read, I think I got through it in like 8 days over Christmas holiday.

Watchmen (Alan Moore) Origins of Form (Christopher Williams) Starship & The Canoe (Kenneth Brower) The Size of Lumber (Nicholson Baker) Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shunryu Suzuki) Deschooling Society (Ivan Illich) Moby Dick (Herman Melville) Bolo'Bolo (P.M.) Le Ton beau de Marot (Douglas Hofstadter) Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth (James Lovelock) Mouse or Rat: Translation as Negotiation (Umberto Eco) Neuromancer (William Gibson) The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham) Don Quixote (Miguel Cervantes)

I'm about 40 chapters (~350 pages) through. I wouldn't say it gets better, or worse: I loved it from the beginning. If you aren't hooked by 100 pages, I'd put it down. However I'd recommend coming back to it later, maybe in a few years, try it again, see if you don't get more out of it. Also, if you didn't read the Edith Grossman translation, try that, it is very smart and modern. The older translation feels a bit stuffy to me.

Don Quixote. Touches on a lot: perception, value, narrative, ethics, creativity. Above all it is funny as hell and beautifully written. Types and Programming Languages, Benjamin Pierce, slightly intimidating mathematically for me but worth diving in, lots of interesting ideas, I'm only through to the second chapter.

Don Quixote by Cervantes, or Shogun by Clavell.

Don Quixote Shogun

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