If you have to recommend one book to someone

There's also several 'what book changed your life' https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30734709 and 'best book' threads in the HN archive https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

Slightly off topic, but is it just me or do words have a completely different effect on you based on where you are and what you feel in life?

As a slightly lost teenager, it was oddly calming to know there was literature out there that wasn't so bland, and writers out there with a unique style of writing.

What I talk about when I talk about running - Haruki Murakami

The same one I read every day. The One Year Bible. It's about a 30 minute a day read. Excerpts from Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and New Testament. It reminds me wisdom doesn't just live in my head. It also reminds me much has gone before me and much will go on after me.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Year-Bible-NIV-ebook/dp/B007EF7...

Well it would obviously depend on the person. But if I was recommending one book to say a random person that I didn't know it would be Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse.

I actually read it through the lens of true AGI, but I'm quite sure he didn't have that specific context in mind while writing it.

It is written in an aphoristic style and sometimes reminds me of the Tao Te Ching. Given that I'm not fully schooled in the entire history of philosophy and the fact that the book contains no bibliography, I find it frustrating to follow up on the topics covered.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks