If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript
by Angus Croll · first published 2015
90% recommend10% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Playful, parody-driven book that imagines short programs written in the voices of famous authors, showing how style shapes code; recommended as a fun, lighthearted read for programmers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Imagines short JavaScript programs as written by famous wordsmiths."--Back cover.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2018–2026Mazes for programmers
Jamis Buck
Recommended by 19 · mentioned by 2219 recommend · 22 mention19 recommend · 2219 recommend
2019–2026Ray Tracer Challenge
Jamis Buck
Recommended by 21 · mentioned by 2321 recommend · 23 mention21 recommend · 2321 recommend
2007–2026Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby
Why The Lucky Stiff
Recommended by 85 · mentioned by 10185 recommend · 101 mention85 recommend · 10185 recommend
2009–2026Land of Lisp
Conrad Barski
Recommended by 124 · mentioned by 198124 recommend · 198 mention124 recommend · 198124 recommend
2009–2026Literate programming
Donald Knuth
Recommended by 18 · mentioned by 9418 recommend · 94 mention18 recommend · 9418 recommend
2008–2026Let Over Lambda
Doug Hoyte
Recommended by 66 · mentioned by 9866 recommend · 98 mention66 recommend · 9866 recommend
2009–2026Learn You a Haskell for Great Good!
Miran Lipovača
Recommended by 237 · mentioned by 370237 recommend · 370 mention237 recommend · 370237 recommend
2007–2026The Soul of a New Machine
Tracy Kidder
Recommended by 260 · mentioned by 376260 recommend · 376 mention260 recommend · 376260 recommend
Haha, reminds me of "If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript" https://www.amazon.com/Hemingway-Wrote-JavaScript-Angus-Crol... which is actually kind of amusing and creative.
on “Ask HN: Best way to host a website for 500 years?” ↗"Learn You a Haskell" by Miran Lipovača: http://learnyouahaskell.com/ "Learn You Some Erlang for great good" by Fred Hebert: https://learnyousomeerlang.com/ "If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript" by Angus Croll: https://nostarch.com/hemingway "Clojure for the Brave and True" by Daniel Higginbotham: https://www.braveclojure.com/clojure-for-the-brave-and-true/
on “Ask HN: Fun Tech Book Recommendations?” ↗Somewhat related is a recently published book by Angus Croll called If Hemingway Wrote Javascript[0]. It's not so much about Javascript as it is about the writing styles of great authors and the expressiveness inherent in writing code. [0] http://www.nostarch.com/hemingwayjs
on “Software engineers should write” ↗There is a rather obscure book titled "If Hemingway Wrote Javascript" by Angus Croll https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21487480-if-hemingway-wr... that contains literary reviews and source code in a variety of programming languages. It's hard to describe this book;…
on “Any examples of writing/authors who write with algorithmic style – like code?” ↗“If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript” Different and lighthearted enough for me to recommend.
on “Ask HN: Any good Technical books with hilarious presentation?” ↗Since you want impractical suggestions, you might enjoy “if Hemingway wrote JavaScript”
on “Ask HN: Most interesting, mildly impractical, well-written books on software?” ↗"If Hemingway Wrote Javascript" (https://www.nostarch.com/hemingway, see also https://javascriptweblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/if-hemingw...), in which five short programs are each written in five different styles (all in Javascript).…
on “Ask HN: What are some examples of beautiful software?” ↗I feel compelled to link to If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript https://www.nostarch.com/hemingwayjs. It actually imagines what kind of code Virginia Woolf would actually write. It's a fun and interesting read.
on “To write better code, read Virginia Woolf” ↗I’ve gotta mention If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript, an excellently funny book, relevant to the thread. https://anguscroll.com/hemingway/
on “If PHP Were British (2011)” ↗'Math less traveled' make one less of a programmer? [1] [1] Esperanto centered example: "If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript" by Angus Croll
on “Ask HN: How do I turn this around?” ↗