The end of the year is a great time to catch up on reading.
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Here is a roundup of some of the best books we at Y Combinator read in 2015 -- some of them happened to be published this year, but many of them were not. A big hat-tip to Bill Gates, whose legendary reading lists inspired us to make one of our own.
The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World
"This book will bring you up to date on cutting-edge battery research. The radical improvements we have seen in batteries in the last decade have opened up new markets from electric vehicles to the internet of things, and their continuing development is one of the most important forces in technology." --Jared Friedman
Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
"Like it or not, making predictions about the future is part of our jobs. Tetlock has rigorously analyzed the accuracy of predictions for two decades. His research into what makes some people consistently good at predicting the future has actionable lessons we can learn from." --Jared Friedman
The Road to Character
"I bought this book after reading David Brook's The Moral Bucket List in the New York Times. A meaningful life takes work and it's the kind I most want to live--one that is selfless and honest and humble. I've noticed that my favorite founders exhibit these qualities and I optimize my search for adding more of them to our community." --Kevin Hale
The Lost Art of Finding Our Way
"Thanks to GPS, the part of my brain responsible for spatial awareness has atrophied to a tiny codependent nub. I read this book to exercise it again and ended up appreciating the amazing ingenuity of humanity. I'm also much better prepared for the zombie apocalypse." --Kevin Hale
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power
The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World
"These two books give you a complete history of the oil industry from minute 1 to today." --Michael Seibel
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
"This will inspire you to think about solving big world changing problems." --Michael Seibel
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 3rd Edition: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships
"Because effective communication is critical to successful relationships with cofounders, customers, employees, etc." --Paul Buchheit
Neural Networks and Deep Learning
"This is a free online e-book that's a great starting point for understanding Deep Learning. It was initially recommended to me by OpenAI CTO Greg Brockman." --Matt Krisiloff
The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory
"A great look into the music industry and how it produces hits. Gives a lot of insight into how music has been professionalized in the past 30 years. Smart, entrepreneurial readers will apply these lessons to other industries." --Justin Kan
Carry On, Jeeves
Thank You, Jeeves
The Inimitable Jeeves
"The P.G. Wodehouse Starter Kit. I don't read much these days (especially business books!) but these are my recommendations for relaxing with the best books ever. I think it's important for startuppy people to relax and not always be thinking about work." --Jessica Livingston
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
"Cheryl Strayed was an advice columnist called Dear Sugar, and this collection of her essays is a guide to finding inner strength through tenderness. She masterfully links the problems of her readers to her own painful experiences, and the result will cling to you with its vulnerability, sweetness, and intimacy. I've been in love with this book all fall." --Amy Buechler
Seveneves: A Novel
The Martian: A Novel
"These two books, in that order. Hope that humanity can 'science the shit out of' any situation, and a double-dose of references to space cannibalism." --Luke Iseman
The Supermen: The Story of Seymour Cray and the Technical Wizards Behind the Supercomputer
"A story of a parallel Silicon Valley in the Midwest, filled with all the same archetypes, plus the fascinating figure of Cray. Short on technical detail though." --Daniel Gackle
The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles
"Also known by the much better title 'Nand to Tetris.' If you're a programmer who doesn't know about the lowest levels of hardware and software, but yearns to, this book can change your life. The Coursera videos are good too." --Daniel Gackle
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
"This book was one of the few books I've read that altered the way I regarded humanity. Like Richard Dawkins' 'The Selfish Gene,' Sapiens forced me to reevaluate the basic fabric of human society, ethics, and history." --Geoff Ralston
Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System--and Themselves
"Too Big to Fail was great. An incredible illustration of how interconnected systems work, and how they can fail colossally even when everyone thinks they're strong. Super important when thinking about risk." --Aaron Harris
The Macro will take a break from publishing until the New Year. We will see you in January!