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Homage to Catalonia

George Orwell

5 readers recommend it across 5 discussions

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Original Hacker News comments, in the readers’ own words.

ImaCake
I know people love 1984 but I found it exceedingly boring when I tried to read it. But it does have some very interesting ideas. My issue with 1984 may have been prior exposure to it's best ideas elsewhere. Orwell is a great writer, highly recommend both "Homage to Catalonia" and "Animal Farm". Complex topics written in an accessible style.

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seanccox
White Teeth, Zadie Smith Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, Tom Robbins Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell Catch 22, Joseph Heller Timequake; Mother Night, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Seven Pillars of Wisdom, TE Lawrence The Histories, Tacitus The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger (caveat, it was most effective when I read it at 16) Redwall, Brian Jaques (got me really excited about reading when I was in the fourth grade) This list could be much, much longer, but those are the most prominent 'life-changers' that come to mind.
achompas
For a book on a literal revolution, read George Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia." For a book on how to generate revolutionary ideas, I'd recommend Steven Johnson's "Where Good Ideas Come From." More generally, Kindle lets you sample the first chapter of any book for free. Amazon also lets you lend books to other Kindle owners, but I've never found that feature for myself...