Exhalation

I consolidated the comments for my reference later. Someone else might also find it useful: # Fiction Books Recommended for Programmers (HN Thread 46128404) ## Adrian Tchaikovsky - *Children of Time* — Science Fiction (Evolution, Space Opera) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-tim... (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-time) ## Rick Cook — Wizardry Series - *Wizard’s Bane* — Fantasy, Programming/Magic Mashup https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112616.Wizard_s_Bane - *Wizardry Series (overview)* https://www.goodreads.com/series/43084-wiz ## James P. Hogan - *Inherit the Stars* — Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/743568.Inherit_the_Stars - *Code of the Lifemaker* — Sci-Fi, Artificial Life https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/296722.Code_of_the_Lifem... (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/296722.Code_of_the_Lifemaker) - *The Two Faces of Tomorrow* — AI, Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218017.The_Two_Faces_of_... (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218017.The_Two_Faces_of_Tomorrow) ## D. F. Jones — Colossus Trilogy - *Colossus* — AI, Classic Sci-Fi Thriller…

Strongly second Exhalation by Ted Chiang. "The Life Cycle of Software Objects" is especially compelling.

'Stories of your Life and Others' and 'Exhalation' - by Ted Chiang. In his short stories, he introduces advanced concepts from mathematics, philosophy, and computer science in a way that’s subtly woven into captivating narratives.

Several immediately come to mind. Short stories: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (Ken Liu); Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation (Ted Chiang); The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury) Novels: The Monk (Matthew Gregory Lewis); Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

Easily these (so far): This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (actually now one of my all-time favorites, without regard to genre. Just amazing) Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky The Book of Strange New Things - Michael Faber Ted Chiang's short story collections (Exhalations and Stories of your life and others) Daemon - Daniel Suarez The City and the City - China Miéville Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (this one still haunts my dreams at times) We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse Book 1) - Dennis Taylor (just finished this series for book club) Galatea 2.2, The Overstory, Bewilderment, The Gold Bug Variations - 4 different books, all by Richard Powers - what can I say, the man is a genius and a treasure Eifelheim - Michael Flynn - ok, this book can be a slog at times, but it is very rewarding for those who persevere, and has stuck in my brain for many years Chocky - John Wyndham - A quiet, delightful surprise Providence - Max Barry - This book flows like a movie. It will make a great movie. I found myself LITERALLY out of breath a couple of times Hench: A Novel - Natalie Zina Walschots - Quirky, memorable…

I'm in the middle of Exhalation right now and it's great. Character development isn't Chiang's strong suit in these, but the concepts are so thought provoking.

Perhaps a standard list but: Hyperion, Deepness in the Sky, Snow crash, Permutation City, Exhalation and other Ted Chiang

- A Fire Upon The Deep - Brave New World - The Dispossessed - The Sirens of Titan / Slaughterhouse 5 - Recursion - Exhalation - There Is No Antimemetics Division - Foundation Series

If you haven't read Ted Chiang's short stories yet, do so. His first collection (Stories of Your Life and Others) was my favourite, but his more recent one (Exhalation) was also very good (the title story, Exhalation, is gorgeous). Stories of your Life is what the movie Arrival was based on and (as ever) the story was better than the movie. As far as sci-fi novels, I have pretty generic tastes for this crowd: Dune, The Dispossessed, The Martian. The Crying of Lot 49 is one of my favourite books. Not exactly sci-fi but close.

+1 for Exhalation by Ted Chiang. And also: "Sum - Forty Tales from the afterlives" by David Eagleman. A small book that makes you think very very deeply.

Exhalation is one of my favorite books of any genre and Chiang is one of my favorite authors. I love listening to his interviews as well. It's very clear how the person Ted Chiang and the author Ted Chiang exist in the same space. For some authors, that connection is less clear. Similarly, Bojack Horseman is one of my favorite shows. I had never looked into its creators and had no idea the creator also wrote short stories. I am now very excited to read this. Thanks!

Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others is the best, single-author collection of short stories I've ever read. If you like that, you might also enjoy The Lifecycle of Software Objects, an absolutely heartbreaking novella about simulated children, and his follow-up collection Exhalation. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is fantastic, and it's follow-up, Speaker for the Dead is even better, and my favorite science fiction novel of all time. They won back to back Hugo and Nebula awards. Card is a polarizing figure for his outspoken political opinions, but if ever the art should be separated from the artist, it's Speaker, which is an incredible exploration of empathy and responsibility, in addition to being a gripping, action-packed, science-literate read. Many more in this series, if you get into it.…

Leisure Stuff: Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga Of Oklahoma City, It's Chaotic Founding... by Sam Anderson Midnight In Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham Dune by Frank Herbert The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu (tried it this year and stopped, want to give it another go) Stories of Your Life and Others - Ted Chiang (just finished Exhalation and I think it's great) An Ursula K. Le Guin novel, have not picked one out yet A book related to basketball (possibly Dream Team, but IDK yet) Less Leisure Stuff: Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform by John Pfaff Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond The End Of Policing by Alex S Vitale Either Manufacturing Consent or Understanding Power by Chomsky The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold Work: Code Complete 2 by Steve McConnell The Web Application Hacker's Handbook: Finding and Exploiting Security Flaws by Dafydd Stuttard, Marcus Pinto Finish Writing An Interpreter In Go by Thorsten Ball If I can get through all of these, I will be very pleased. Throw in a book or two at recommendation from friends and I think I'm full for the year.