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Comment by nicbou | Hacker News Reader

The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck or something like that. I can't stand Mark Manson. It's bro wisdom sprinkled with swearing. I didn't make it to the end of the free sample.

The Life-Changing Magic Of Not Giving A F*ck. This one was actually good, but after a chapter or two you get the point. It could have been a blog post.

Catch-22. It's funny, but it's not going anywhere. Perhaps that's the point.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. It's really funny, but it's one Deus Ex Machina after the other. After a while it starts to feel pointless.

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance. I actually finished it, but regretted the effort. It taught me to put down books I don't like. I still don't understand what people get out of this book.

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I am currently reading „Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance“. I drive a motorcycle myself. I get things he talks about. Still, in between the interesting parts, it’s just not enough to keep me interested so I’m thinking about putting it down, too. Maybe I should. It was recommended to me and I thought I’d give it a go. There are philosophical concepts and I get that they might be interesting but overall I have a hard time to keep on reading.

It gets worse, not better. At some point I had no idea of what I was reading. If you want a motorcycle book, read Jupiter's Travels.

Thank you for the recommendation, I’ll look into it.

Funny thing is that first time I read Zen And The Art.. I also put it down and could not for the life of me finish it. 3-4 years later I picked it up again, finished it and loved it.

I have even read it fully a second time since then. Some books you have to be ready to read, so don't be afraid to put them down and leave them for at few years. The book does not change but you will.

I agree about Hitchhiker's guide. I've read the first book and at one point it even makes jokes about its deus ex machina.

Despite it being very funny, it doesn't drive me to read the other four books because it doesn't have any overarching story. Just a series of vaguely connected events that are quickly resolved.

Which makes more sense when you understand that it was developed from what was initially a radio series. The books largely retain that episodic feel throughout.

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