# Hooked by Nir Eyal

8 Hacker News commenters recommended Hooked by Nir Eyal and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a readable introduction to the habit-forming patterns behind addictive products. One critic said they were not hugely impressed.

## Why people recommend it

- Explains addictive product design patterns (3 comments): "If you haven't already I would check out the book "Hooked" as well to learn more about the addictive patterns that are put out there to trap you." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46201058)) "There are some good books on how to make products addictive, like Hooked." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48415186)) "Nir Eyal's Hooked was an interesting and informative read on this topic." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46328516))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/design-of-everyday-things.md): 29 recommend
- [Refactoring UI by Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger](https://hackerapproved.com/p/refactoring-ui.md): 14 recommend
- [Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug](https://hackerapproved.com/p/don-t-make-me-think.md): 12 recommend
- [Practical Typography by Matthew Butterick](https://hackerapproved.com/p/practical-typography.md): 10 recommend
- [A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander](https://hackerapproved.com/p/a-pattern-language.md): 9 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591847788?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781591847786) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Hooked by Nir Eyal", https://hackerapproved.com/p/hooked/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).