Hacker News: wannabebarista

New comment by wannabebarista in "How to Read More Books"

wannabebarista — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:45:01 +0000

For staying motivated to read, I like to set up and read small clusters of books then write about them. Being able to put a bow on a reading project is easier to stick with than reading X books in a year.

New comment by wannabebarista in "The great blogging collapse: What happened to 100 successful blogs?"

wannabebarista — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:57:46 +0000

About half of what I clicked through were sales funnels.

Traffic for my blog has fluctuated depending on whether or not my site is referenced in the Overview that month for relevant phrases.

New comment by wannabebarista in "A Look Back at Research from 1826"

wannabebarista — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:05:23 +0000

This is a fun side project I've been working on now for a few years that looks back at research from 100, 150, and 200 years ago. Some stuff is well-known, others have been forgotten, and still others were never read at the time.

I've had lots of great suggestions from HN readers in the past. If I've missed anything cool that you like, please share!

A Look Back at Research from 1826

wannabebarista — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:05:23 +0000

Article URL: https://bcmullins.github.io/research-from-1826/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48748060

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

Cultivating Interests in Undergrad

wannabebarista — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:52:18 +0000

Article URL: https://bcmullins.github.io/favorite-books-from-undergrad/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48587289

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by wannabebarista in "Poll: How often do you check "newest"?"

wannabebarista — Fri, 29 May 2026 15:47:09 +0000

I do not have showdead on, but I visit newest most times I visit HN. I'm more likely to browse the headlines/comments on the front page but click on links on newest.

New comment by wannabebarista in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)"

wannabebarista — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:38:54 +0000

I've been writing about interesting books and papers I read for a few years now. I wanted a nice, simple interface to point people to as a "hub" for recommendations that's compatible with a static site.

Here's the MVP interface: https://bcmullins.github.io/reading/

I appreciate any feedback. Hope you find something interesting to read!

New comment by wannabebarista in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)"

wannabebarista — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 03:23:46 +0000

I write quite a bit about books and papers I read. This ranges from contemporary work on privacy and machine learning to math, economics, and philosophy from the nineteenth century.

Several readers have asked for an easy way to get recommendations without working through long-form review articles.

Here's the first iteration of a simple recommender: https://bcmullins.github.io/reading/

New comment by wannabebarista in "Ask HN: Share your personal website"

wannabebarista — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:58:27 +0000

bcmullins.github.io

New comment by wannabebarista in "Interesting Articles I've Read in 2025"

wannabebarista — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:58:56 +0000

My favorite part of HN is finding great reading recommendations, especially stuff I likely wouldn't have otherwise come across. Here are some papers/articles I enjoyed last year and think others may enjoy as well.

Feel free to post some of your favorites from 2025!

Interesting Articles I've Read in 2025

wannabebarista — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:58:56 +0000

Article URL: https://bcmullins.github.io/interesting-articles-2025/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46529875

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

New comment by wannabebarista in "An Utterly Incomplete Look at Research from 1925"

wannabebarista — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 18:21:01 +0000

I've had lots of great suggestions from HN readers in the past. If I've missed anything cool that you like, please share!

An Utterly Incomplete Look at Research from 1925

wannabebarista — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 18:21:01 +0000

Article URL: https://bcmullins.github.io/research-from-1925/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46446765

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

New comment by wannabebarista in "Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?"

wannabebarista — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 18:01:01 +0000

I mostly read non-fiction and technical articles.

My favorite book this year was "Differential Privacy" (2025) by Simson Garfinkel. Differential privacy is a mathematical theory of data privacy sandwiched between cryptography, databases, and ML. This is the first book-length non-technical introduction, and it's well executed.

Here's my full book list for the year: https://bcmullins.github.io/interesting-books-2025/.

New comment by wannabebarista in "Ask HN: Bloggers, how do you manage your content?"

wannabebarista — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 22:27:10 +0000

I tried several on this list a few years ago and found Jekyll the most flexible/enjoyable for my use case. It's a bit dated though.

New comment by wannabebarista in "Ask HN: End of Year Book Recommendations"

wannabebarista — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 10:30:50 +0000

I've always meant to read more of the Little History series. I love Gombrich's original!

New comment by wannabebarista in "Ask HN: Is starting a personal blog still worth it in the age of AI?"

wannabebarista — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 10:16:51 +0000

> Any practical format that lowers the bar?

I've really enjoyed writing recurring posts. For example, each December, I write up lists of the most interesting books and papers I've read during the year. These usually generate a decent amount of interest and are something I look forward to writing each year.

> If you were starting today, what would you do differently?

I wish I would have started earlier. Writing a blog has kept my writing skills sharp.

New comment by wannabebarista in "Ask HN: End of Year Book Recommendations"

wannabebarista — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 10:03:41 +0000

1. Differential Privacy (2025) by Simson Garfinkel

A readable but thorough introduction to differential privacy.

2. Tales of the Weird: An Uncanny Introduction (2023)

A collection of short stories from the British Library to introduce the many flavors of weird fiction.

3. An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise (1980) by John R. Pierce

A fun survey of information theory with great anecdotes about Bell Labs in mid-century.

See my full list here: https://bcmullins.github.io/interesting-books-2025/

New comment by wannabebarista in "Interesting Books (2025 Edition)"

wannabebarista — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:21:45 +0000

Each year, I put together lists of the books and articles I've I read that I found most interesting. This started out as a way to motivate myself to take better notes when I read. Now, I occasionally also get a nice message from someone who stumbled onto something new. Please share your list below!

Here's a peek at my list:

* Differential Privacy by Simson Garfinkel (2025)

* The Philosopher in the Kitchen by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1825)

* After Adam Smith: A Century of Transformation in Politics and Political Economy by Murray Milgate and Shannon G. Stimson (2009)

* Philosophical Analysis: Its development between the two World Wars by J. O. Urmson Haskins (1956)

* Tales of the Weird: An Uncanny Introduction (2023)

* An Introduction to Information Theory: Symbols, Signals and Noise by John R. Pierce (1980)

* Relativism and the Foundations of Philosophy by Steven D. Hales (2006)

Interesting Books (2025 Edition)

wannabebarista — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:21:45 +0000

Article URL: https://bcmullins.github.io/interesting-books-2025/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46194162

Points: 2

# Comments: 1