[powertower]

"Books I recommend" usually means:

A. Books that reiterate and reinforce my ideology.

B. Books that reiterate, sum up, and improve, my knowledge of something I personally and/or professionally, and very very subjectively, find interesting and/or useful (for whatever reason).

C. Books that opened my mind or lifted my sprirt.

There are probably one or two more categories.

Which of these are true for a particular recommendation depends on the reader's motivation for reading the book.

Whether it's A, B, or C, it just might not be useful to nor resonate with anyone else.

Though with B, sometimes the knowledge provided requires a certain level of experience with the subject matter. And if your experience level is either too low, or too high, the book will either not make any sense or will just seem useless, of little importance, lacking originality, or freshness.

[dontcareforthr]

Or they could mean they found the book to be worth recommending for any arbitrary reason outside of your little A, B, or C breakdown.

Sigh It's pompous comments like these that truly exhibit the kinds of obnoxious (and often pedantic), know-it-all people that use this site.

Thanks for reminding me to get off HN go outside today.

[elbear]

That's why the OP said "usually". It would have been better if you just went out for some fresh air instead of having this emotional reaction and attacking someone's constructive opinion just because it rubbed you the wrong way.