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What math books, written since 2000, have you really enjoyed? (originally: What are the greatest books of mathematics written past the 2000s?)

The linked post in the answer is also to a large degree opinion based.. so could someone explain what different in my post caused it to be closed?

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    $\begingroup$ A 2010 question is not a good precedent to point at, since community norms as to soft and big list questions have changed since then. $\endgroup$
    – David Roberts
    Jun 1 at 21:51
  • $\begingroup$ The question just might fly if it were rephrased as "What math books, written since 2000, have you really enjoyed?" If someone answers, "I really enjoyed Birth of a Theorem," no one can say, that's just your opinion; it's a statement of fact about the poster, not a statement of opinion about the book. $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Jun 1 at 23:17
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    $\begingroup$ @GerryMyerson I would still be in favour of closing that version of the question. $\endgroup$
    – Yemon Choi
    Jun 1 at 23:37
  • $\begingroup$ @Yemon, fair enough, but, why? $\endgroup$
    – Gerry Myerson
    Jun 2 at 6:55
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    $\begingroup$ @GerryMyerson Because I don't like questions whose sole purpose is just to act as a kind of fishing-trawler net -- perhaps in the olden days of MO these questions were fun as we were building a community, but nowadays it just leads to big lists where inevitably people start repeating themselves. It's part of my belief that MO (main) shouldn't be for "just hanging out" - why not use chatrooms for that? $\endgroup$
    – Yemon Choi
    Jun 2 at 14:43
  • $\begingroup$ I believe that if one actually reads the recommended books, this could be an activity which could generate immense value. What if there is a really good book related to a field your studying which you never knew about? @YemonChoi $\endgroup$
    – Ethakka appam with Chai
    Jun 2 at 15:20
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    $\begingroup$ Then one should ask about particular areas. As I said in my comment on your (closed) question, MathOverflow is not meant to be an encyclopaedia. Besides, how do you know that what works for a particular person at a particular career stage will work for you? Not every good book is an introduction, and also there is no agreed set of criteria for what makes a book "good". $\endgroup$
    – Yemon Choi
    Jun 2 at 19:27
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    $\begingroup$ The linked question is also more focussed. Your question is not only opinion-based (which to some extent is sometimes considered acceptable by the community), but overly broad. $\endgroup$
    – YCor
    Jun 3 at 11:43
  • $\begingroup$ You could argue that for any recommendation or any suggested reading. This problem is one which must be faced and dealt with in real life though it is ambigous. @YemonChoi $\endgroup$
    – Ethakka appam with Chai
    Jun 3 at 11:51
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    $\begingroup$ Just because a problem arises in real life that does not mean it is a good fit for MathOverflow, especially when the noise-to-signal ratio is high. What you are after is something that is probably quite personal to your own tastes - for instance, I prefer complex-variable texts such as Conway's book over Needham's book. $\endgroup$
    – Yemon Choi
    Jun 3 at 15:38

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