I've read every Paul Graham essay (and summarized them in these 3 posts).
This is why I had a list of "all" the books he mentioned (or so I thought) and added it to Most Recommended Books. Surely people would love it!
And nowhere, I thought, would they love it more than in the house pg built, Hacker News.
Alas… As soon as I posted, reality hit me in the face:

Hacker News... Where your pride goes to die
"Ouch," I thought. "But maybe Elof is right?"
So I decided to double down and read all of pg's tweets (the same way I did with Elon Musk and Naval Ravikant).
I found 95 books pg has mentioned/ recommended over the years just on Twitter!
And here is that list, for your reading pleasure.
I hope you enjoy it :)
Sidenote: If you like this post, please share it on Twitter . It would be awesome if pg sees it.
Paul Graham Books
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With the Old Breed - E. B. Sledge
Read this book: http://t.co/GCZ38ZeJ
— Paul Graham (@paulg) June 4, 2012
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The Battle of Alcazar - E.W. Bovill
I'm reading Bovill's excellent Battle of Alcazar: http://t.co/rBtKwgTC
— Paul Graham (@paulg) July 2, 2012
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Early Middle English Literature - R. M. Wilson
Found a book written in a voice so like Exton's Jeeves that I can't stop hearing Stephen Fry as I read it. http://t.co/LTatV6W6L3
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 17, 2013
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The Oxford History of Britain - Peter Salway
Salway and Blair's *Roman and Anglo-Saxon Britain* is really excellent. http://t.co/eg2naldAuu
— Paul Graham (@paulg) October 1, 2013
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Blankie - Leslie Patricelli
Two books that will be deeply pleasing to their respective audiences: http://t.co/jl78SRriKl, http://t.co/jlEBPRJSj9
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 4, 2014
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The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie
Two books that will be deeply pleasing to their respective audiences: http://t.co/jl78SRriKl, http://t.co/jlEBPRJSj9
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 4, 2014
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In The Plex - Steven Levy
Steven Levy's book on Google is so fascinating I have to drag myself away to work: http://amzn.to/dYYbER
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 5, 2011
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To Conquer the Air - James Tobin
James Tobin's _To Conquer the Air_ is the most exciting book I've come across in the past several months. http://t.co/LFtePhsDZf
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 13, 2014
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The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry
Reading The Fry Chronicles. As perfect as Wodehouse. http://t.co/hUdTfxDixu
— Paul Graham (@paulg) March 3, 2014
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The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
@ImNotRio The Lord of the Rings
— Paul Graham (@paulg) March 5, 2014
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The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Few thoughts happier than realizing it's been long enough since you last read the Sherlocks Holmes stories that you can read them again.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) March 18, 2014
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Diocletian and the Roman Recovery - Stephen Williams
One of the best books about the late 3rd century: http://t.co/r5TEPGKeaR
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 21, 2014
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Maisy Mouse Collection - Lucy Cousins
My favorite books for bedtime reading to 2 year olds: http://t.co/1yPg4At85W
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 20, 2014
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Very Good, Jeeves! - P. G. Wodehouse
Wodehouse is so good that I get distracted by his perfection. Not a word wrong. http://t.co/jvCu3fYw1Q
— Paul Graham (@paulg) October 2, 2014
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Sunset at Blandings - P.G. Wodehouse
The writing in the novel Wodehouse left unfinished when he died at 93 is crisp as ever. http://t.co/9jDwmFUPH1
— Paul Graham (@paulg) November 13, 2014
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The Confessions - Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Simultaneously reading Rousseau's Confessions and No Easy Day. Triangulating...
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 4, 2015
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No Easy Day - Mark Owen
Simultaneously reading Rousseau's Confessions and No Easy Day. Triangulating...
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 4, 2015
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The Copernican Revolution - Thomas S. Kuhn
@stevesi Kuhn was surely most influenced by the Copernican Revolution. http://t.co/Edc2GWidfM Excellent book incidentally.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 4, 2015
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Marriage - Susan Ferrier
Reading Susan Ferrier's hilarious _Marriage_. She is called "the Scottish Jane Austen" with good reason. http://t.co/7LiNIm9gAB
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 23, 2015
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Flying Start - Hugh Dundas
Flying Start is a wonderful book. http://t.co/ffryGuyZBb
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 29, 2015
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A Thread Across the Ocean - John Steele Gordon
@danielfernandez Gordon's book on the first transatlantic cable.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 12, 2015
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Guns, Sails, and Empires - Carlo M. Cipolla
Re-reading Cipolla's amazing Guns, Sails and Empires. An indictment of publishing that it's out of print. http://t.co/hKKG9Ox8hT
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 18, 2015
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Clocks and Culture - Carlo M. Cipolla
@brendan_o I also recommend Clocks and Culture.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 26, 2015
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Kelly - Clarence L. Johnson
How did I not know about this book til now? http://t.co/V2LIsaXeyd
— Paul Graham (@paulg) May 24, 2015
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Why the Allies Won - Richard Overy
If you read one book about World War II, make it this one: http://t.co/BBCSXZC9VP
— Paul Graham (@paulg) July 3, 2015
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Towns, Villages and Countryside of Celtic Europe - Francoise Audouze
Though written like a government report, this book is full of interesting information: http://t.co/pIVSLnZiIt
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 20, 2015
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Medieval Technology and Social Change - Lynn White
White's Medieval Technology and Social Change is the most fabulous book. https://t.co/sISS2C2mvZ
— Paul Graham (@paulg) November 6, 2015
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To Explain the World - Steven Weinberg
Only on p. 37 but so far Weinberg's To Explain the World is like a fresh breeze through the history of science. https://t.co/4ZgqYVZFh9
— Paul Graham (@paulg) November 7, 2015
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Land of Promise - Michael Lind
Land of Promise is a remarkably thorough and insightful economic history of the US: https://t.co/OXKFnEHtB2
— Paul Graham (@paulg) November 23, 2015
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Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy - Michael Baxandall
@MaxCRoser Baxandall would be a good place to start: https://t.co/sczo99SVZ5
— Paul Graham (@paulg) December 14, 2015
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The Box - Marc Levinson
@mcnees Do you feel the switch to shipping containers shouldn't have happened? https://t.co/iNYHm4Ve0s
— Paul Graham (@paulg) December 29, 2015
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On Bullshit - Harry G. Frankfurt
@Blizzarex I bought a copy. Thanks! (Did he get such shit for saying the same thing?)
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 6, 2016
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On Inequality - Harry G. Frankfurt
@Blizzarex I bought a copy. Thanks! (Did he get such shit for saying the same thing?)
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 6, 2016
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A Story Lately Told - Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston's Story Lately Told is wonderful: https://t.co/WEqlQQqiMF
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 8, 2016
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The Jet Engine - Rolls Royce
@berezovskiy I just ordered a copy. Thanks!
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 23, 2016
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Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids - Bryan Caplan
Reeling from Chapter 2 of _Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids_. It is way more important than its odd title implies. https://t.co/7pUOcRpSvg
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 25, 2016
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Free-Range Kids - Lenore Skenazy
@catchupgirl Ok, just ordered a copy; thanks.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 25, 2016
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My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell
@andrewstepner @nickbaum @jesslivingston It is a wonderful book, though only implicitly about "parenting."
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 26, 2016
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Fauna & Family - Gerald Durrell
There is a third volume of Gerald Durrell's Corfu memoirs! So good I'm reading slow to make it last. https://t.co/jsnroGbG6b
— Paul Graham (@paulg) May 3, 2016
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Good Night, Little Bear - Patsy Scarry
@markm247 This evolved from that! Which in turn we got from https://t.co/SgbRAAc2sK
— Paul Graham (@paulg) May 9, 2016
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The Population Bomb - Paul R Ehrlich
It's good if you were worrying there wasn't going to be enough farmland, as people were when I grew up. https://t.co/rY85AaouDA
— Paul Graham (@paulg) May 25, 2016
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Ever the Diplomat - Sherard Cowper-Coles
When Queen Elizabeth (a truck driver in World War II) took the Saudi Crown Prince for a drive: pic.twitter.com/pnkGV4NpdK
— Paul Graham (@paulg) June 16, 2016
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Autobiographies - Charles Darwin
I recently read Darwin's, and reread Trollope's and Gibbon's.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 7, 2017
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Memoirs of My Life - Edward Gibbon
I recently read Darwin's, and reread Trollope's and Gibbon's.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 7, 2017
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An Autobiography of Anthony Trollope - Anthony Trollope
Trollope's Autobiography is a wonderfully candid and inspiring one: https://t.co/4d2UTTOx3o
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 27, 2017
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The Man Who Knew Infinity - Robert Kanigel
Exciting news: Robert Kanigel, who wrote the great biography of Ramanujan, has written one of Jane Jacobs.https://t.co/px7u31pzoP
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 7, 2017
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Eyes on the Street - Robert Kanigel
Exciting news: Robert Kanigel, who wrote the great biography of Ramanujan, has written one of Jane Jacobs.https://t.co/px7u31pzoP
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 7, 2017
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Wheels for the World - Douglas Brinkley
Off the top of my head, https://t.co/loObj73k2l
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 7, 2017
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The Ancient City - Peter Connolly
Peter Connolly's The Ancient City is one of the best books I've found for explaining history to kids. pic.twitter.com/zfDX47nyz9
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 10, 2017
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The Kings Depart - Richard M Watt
I'm only 30 pages into Watt's The Kings Depart, but already I can tell it is a fabulous book. https://t.co/PR8fUYCBTo
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 23, 2017
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Moorish Spain - Richard Fletcher
Fletcher's _Moorish Spain_ is a great book. https://t.co/OR4mweZerH
— Paul Graham (@paulg) March 27, 2017
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig
"Zen was published in 1974, after being rejected by 121 publishing houses." https://t.co/uzL3S53asU
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 25, 2017
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Sea Flight - Hugh Popham
Hugh Popham's _Sea Flight_ is a wonderful book. I'm looking at the few pages left and wishing there were more. https://t.co/256057xd2m
— Paul Graham (@paulg) July 7, 2017
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Carbonel - Barbara Sleigh
Discovered a fabulous children's book I'd never heard of: Barbara Sleigh's Carbonel. https://t.co/r0ofbcDC4I
— Paul Graham (@paulg) July 14, 2017
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The Black Riders - Violet Needham
Discovered another great old children's book: Violet Needham's _The Black Riders_. https://t.co/sBCoJ1D43D
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 4, 2017
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How to Be Topp - Ronald Searle
I read this during dinner and laughed so much that people must have wondered what was wrong with me. pic.twitter.com/NbRwxO7CPV
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 9, 2017
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The Origin of Species - Charles Darwin
One scientist's "take" could be very convincing. The _Origin of Species_ for example. It's not one scientist, one vote.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 10, 2017
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Moab Is My Washpot - Stephen Fry
Moab Is My Washpot, The Inimitable Jeeves
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 12, 2017
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The Inimitable Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
Moab Is My Washpot, The Inimitable Jeeves
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 12, 2017
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A Mathematician's Apology - G. H. Hardy
Rereading Hardy's _Mathematician's Apology_, slowly to make it last. Among the most inspiring books I know. https://t.co/9IgoYTOMTR
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 9, 2017
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The Iliad - Homer
The Iliad is up there.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 12, 2017
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The Trachtenberg Speed System of Basic Mathematics - Jakow Trachtenberg
I own the book about it actually.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 13, 2017
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Carl Friedrich Gauss - Guy Waldo Dunnington
I just ordered a copy. Thank you.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 18, 2017
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The Complete Calvin and Hobbes - Bill Watterson
Watterson is like Wodehouse. Because he works in an unpretentious medium, few realize how timelessly great he is. pic.twitter.com/wwFGlek51a
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 20, 2017
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The Spectator - Joseph Addison
Franklin's autobiography, Addison and Steele's Spectator, and Caesar's Gallic Wars.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 23, 2019
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The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
We've already read The Hobbit twice.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 20, 2019
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Itinerarium Regis Ricardi - T. M. Stead
Yesterday I read (bits of) The Spectator, The Hobbit, an anonymous chronicle of the Third Crusade, and a Wodehouse story.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 20, 2017
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The Startup Way - Eric Ries
If you work for a big company and wonder how startup techniques might work for you, this is the book to read. https://t.co/Nkp7lQl3UY
— Paul Graham (@paulg) October 17, 2017
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Plagues and Peoples - William McNeill
I suspect if you'd read Guns, Sails, and Empires and Plagues and Peoples, little in Guns, Germs, and Steel would surprise you.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) November 12, 2018
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Concorde - Geoffrey Knight
(From Concorde: The Inside Story, by Geoffrey Knight, who was in charge of BAC's Commercial Aircraft Division, and thus the British side of Concorde development.)
— Paul Graham (@paulg) November 17, 2018
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The Making of Europe - Robert Bartlett
I know I've recommended this book already, but it's so good I have to do it again. Bartlett brings history to life by explaining how and why the things happened that other books merely tell you happened. https://t.co/5vUUXkJVL3
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 18, 2019
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The Principia - Isaac Newton
If Newton's Principia were published today, it would have 4 stars on Amazon. There would be one cluster of 5 star reviews by people saying it had revolutionized their thinking, and another cluster of 1 star reviews by people complaining it was pointless and hard to read.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) January 16, 2019
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The Government of the Tongue - Richard Allestree
Correction: Government of the Tongue. The author's name doesn't appear in the book, but according to the Internet he was Richard Allestree (https://t.co/3J5OkcmABJ).
— Paul Graham (@paulg) February 7, 2019
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The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Thomas S. Kuhn
Which incidentally I am (re)reading now.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 5, 2019
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin
It's a great book, probably in my all time top 100.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) March 22, 2020
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The Gallic Wars - Julius Caesar
Franklin's autobiography, Addison and Steele's Spectator, and Caesar's Gallic Wars.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 23, 2019
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Wing Leader - Johnnie Johnson
White's Medieval Technology and Social Change, Fletcher's Moorish Spain, Johnson's Wing Leader, Girouard's Life in the English Country House, Liddell Hart's The German Generals Talk.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 23, 2019
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Life in the English Country House - Mark Girouard
White's Medieval Technology and Social Change, Fletcher's Moorish Spain, Johnson's Wing Leader, Girouard's Life in the English Country House, Liddell Hart's The German Generals Talk.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 23, 2019
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The German Generals Talk - Basil H. Liddell Hart
White's Medieval Technology and Social Change, Fletcher's Moorish Spain, Johnson's Wing Leader, Girouard's Life in the English Country House, Liddell Hart's The German Generals Talk.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 23, 2019
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The Collected Works of P. G. Wodehouse - P. G. Wodehouse
**sidenote: pg LOVES every book by his nicknamesake ❤️❤️❤️
Last night I tricked my 10 yo into letting me read him P. G. Wodehouse as a bedtime story, since he had a cricket match the next day and needed a story about cricket to inspire him.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 27, 2019
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Dog Man - Dav Pilkey
I was reading that to them about 2 months ago. It's good enough to hold their attention, but it can't compete with Dog Man.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) April 27, 2019
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Boyd - Robert Coram
I have that book!
— Paul Graham (@paulg) May 2, 2019
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The Double Helix - James D. Watson Ph.D.
The most impressive feature of The Double Helix is how much Watson admits he didn't know. He's constantly talking about papers he couldn't understand and important concepts he didn't grasp.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) May 24, 2019
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Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
As someone who is constantly scouring bookshelves for good books for 7-10 year olds, I can say this is false, at least as regards published novels.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) June 28, 2019
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History of the World - J.M. Roberts
You could try reading e.g. Roberts's History of the World, but these broad surveys inevitably feel like textbooks. IMO it's better to take a bunch of "core samples" on individual topics. https://t.co/4OHp4rEk0z
— Paul Graham (@paulg) July 2, 2019
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The Quest for El Cid - Richard Fletcher
Bartlett's Making of Europe, White's Medieval Technology and Social Change, Fletcher's Quest for El Cid to start with.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) July 6, 2019
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Albert Einstein - Banesh Hoffmann
Banesh Hoffman's biography of Einstein is the most exciting I've read. The author is a physicist who is genuinely excited about Einstein's discoveries, and it moves fast instead of trying to leave no detail unpublished (a common flaw in biographies).https://t.co/igH2aSfl1E
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 4, 2019
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A Mind at Play - Jimmy Soni
This looks promising https://t.co/O6sPmsmDmy
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 5, 2019
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A Sense of Where You Are - John McPhee
A Sense of Where You Are.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 11, 2019
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The Complete Novels of Jane Austen - Jane Austen
Jane Austen's novels.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 18, 2019
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Barbarian Days - William Finnegan
If you read books, read William Finnegan's Barbarian Days. It's one of those rare books that divide your life into two parts: before you read it, and after. https://t.co/BTODaei5hr
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 28, 2019
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The Conquest of Gaul - Jane P. Gardner
I knew people would ask that, and the problem is that it would take an essay to answer. An essay I will definitely write. Meanwhile: My Family and Other Animals, The Conquest of Gaul, Franklin's autobiography.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 28, 2019
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Richard Feynman - John Gribbin
The most interesting point in the Gribbins' excellent biography of Feynman is the value of "irresponsibly" ignoring existing research and working everything out for yourself from first principles.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 13, 2019
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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
I've been thinking about this, and it was probably The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which made me want to work on AI, which led to Lisp.
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 14, 2019
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The Launch Pad - Randall Stross
If you're interested in the history of YC, I think this book is good. (I say "I think" because I haven't read all of it, but the bits I've read seem pretty good.) https://t.co/ruQiKb32uZ
— Paul Graham (@paulg) September 20, 2019
P.S.: If you want to see every book pg has mentioned (in essays, interviews, etc...), we've put as many as we could find on this page.