Hey there,
my biggest goal for 2020 is to read more books. Especially books that aren't solely dedicated to boost my career or increase my developer skillset but books that either broaden my horizon or entertain me.
So please feel free to recommend your favourite books in the comments!
So far, my favorites are:
Homo Deus by Yuval Harari. This book really expanded my horizon and changed my expectations regarding the future of the humankind, considering gene manipulation and artificial intelligence.
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. This graphic novel is not only beautiful drawn but also tells the dramatic story of Art's Jewish family during the Holocaust.
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. Yep, I've never read them as a child. Started six weeks ago with the first one and been half through the 6th by now. I love them, they're great!
Disrupted by Dan Lyons. Got that as a present from a good friend and it's hilarious! Dan worked as a journalist for a big, renowned Newspaper before. Now he enters the startup world as a "content creator" for Hubspot and encounters the secret tales of company candy bars and Nerf blaster wars.
Blackout by Marc Elseberg. The story of some hackers attacking the European power grid is not only awesome but really well and accurate described - that accurate, that the author nowadays gets invited to countless security conferences and even advices governments!
Top comments (51)
How to win friends and influence people. amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influen...
The power of habit. Not the best book on habits, imho, but definetely an eye-opener to me, helpful enough so that I can drill down to the field. charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/
No excuses, Brian Tracy. One of the best books I have ever read. Pragmatic to the bone, all things you wanted your parents to tell you early enough and not learn them the hard way. amazon.com/No-Excuses-Self-Discipl...
Have you read Atomic Habits by James Clear? Full of practical advice. It builds on (and refers to) Duhigg's book.
Planning to read. I have read a summary, articles and listened to several interviews of James Clear. I think it is great, but I am not qualified to say an honest review at the moment :)
I also read How to Win Friends and Influence People and think it's a very good one!
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - they just made another movie
I read it as a child, because it was just -=there=-, and I read everything I could get my hands on after I taught myself to read in one week by looking at the advertisements in the school bus.
Funny ( or maybe not so ) that I married into a family of 4 girls. I married the eldest, of Dawn, Jo (Joanne), Sue and Gail.
Joanne is very much alive today however, but they all self describe as 3 (tom)boys with Jo as the girl of the family. I've not dared to parallelise the rest of them with the book. Gail was the artistic one and is only recently married, 20yrs after the others.
Sounds like you should write your own novel MiAn. You certainly have plenty of material for it!
Just looked it up on Amazon - sounds amazing! Never heard of it before - I think it's sadly not that well-known in Germany...
But anyways, now it's on my list for 2020. 😎
Thank you!
Okay but be aware that it’s mostly appreciated by women. I don’t know many guys who like it. Let me know if you do read it and what you think about it.
Hey, I'm a guy, and it's one of my all-time favorite books!
Wow that’s great. You’re one in a million Jason. ❤️
I'm certain there are more of us. Alcott's work, like Montgomery's, may be focused on the titular heroines, but the messages still resonate with anyone who has to fight against societal expectations to achieve their dreams. It's just like how many boys appreciate the Ramona Quimby books; it doesn't matter that she's a girl. She's a kid.
In my view, while "Little Women" speaks to women particularly, it's more broadly about the human experience; issues of character, and daring to defy the conventions of what you're told to be in order to become who you really are. The storylines for Laurie and John are a particular examples of that; they, too, must defy conventional wisdom of "who they're supposed to be".
The sequels of "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys" continue that dialog, exploring many of the same themes as they relate to manhood, especially for Nat and Dan, just as "Little Women" related them largely to womanhood. Mama Bhaer (Jo) never saw any difference in how her own life lessons related to herself and her sisters, versus how they related to the boys she taught and cared for, and neither should we.
Great topic and list! Here are some of mine:
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis. The real-life story of a partnership which changed psychology (not to mention economics and beyond). You might not know the names Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman (yet), but it doesn't matter. Written by Michael Lewis of Moneyball & The Big Short fame, this is both moving and informative.
Mythos and Heroes by Stephen Fry. Stephen Fry takes on Greek mythology. Wonderfully entertaining. If possible, get the audiobook, which Fry reads himself.
The City & The City by China Mieville. Detective story set in a fictional city, where things aren't quite as they seem. (Are they ever?) Avoid spoilers if possible -- a lot of the fun comes from realising what's going on.
That'll do for now!
Nice! I'll add them to my list for 2020:) Especially The Undoing Project because The Big Short was fucking brilliant! Thanks a lot!
Yeah, I could've chosen any of Lewis's books. Opted for The Undoing Project because it's less well known. It's also less angry (and angering) than The Big Short.
A few of mine:
I like the writer BEN MEZRICH.
The first book of his was "Ugly Americans" about hot-shot 'quants' in Japan.
I also really liked "Bringing Down The House" about the MIT kids in Vegas.
He writes about tech very well.
"Accidentally Billionaire" was great too. That's about 'Zuck...
Keep reading.
Oh crazy! I just realized that the movie "The Social Network" is completely based on this book!
Yes, MEZRICH is god. ;))
Short and sweet:
God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut
Animals by T. Troughton
Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann (and the following book called Garou)
For long runners (three books or more):
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (4 books [perhaps 5 already?])
InkHeart by Cornelia Funke (3 books)
Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn (5 books)
Love Kurt Vonnegut. Have you read "Slaughterhouse Five", really amazing. It s about being in a POW camp during WWII, ...kinda'... lol.
Vonnegut is so funny and imaginative. Also loved, "Breakfast of Champions", funny.
Speaking of POW camps, have you ever read Maus? It's the story of a Jew who survived Auschwitz. Was my first graphic novel and I absolutely love it! It's very metaphoric as the Nazis are drawn as cats while the Jews are represented by mice. Very engaging and heart-tearing piece of art!
Speaking of the Holocaust, there is a lot of great literature about and around this subject. One of the books I liked about it is Markus Zusak's The Book Thief which was also adopted to a movie by the same name.
I have seen rave reviews of Maus for a long time but have only read bits and pieces.
Thanks, I'll try to get them.
I read a lot. This year I'm trying to read more fiction. These are off the top of my head:
Non-fiction:
Fiction:
I'm certain that I'm missing some 😁
I've got a copy of The Intelligent Investor in my shelf, but I never found the time to dig into it!
Favourites are hard. There are at least a hundred books in my top ten, so...
I'm currently reading Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian, which is technically non-technical. It's really good so far.
I don't know favorites but a few I read this year.
How to win friends and influence people
Rich Dad poor dad
The millionare fastlane
Stop acting rich
Thinking Fast and Slow
The way of men
As a man thinketh
I read the first two you mentioned! Thinking of buying the millionaire fastlane, is it worth reading after Rich Dad Poor Dad?
Yes completely different approach, it tries to give the other point of view to rich Dad poor dad. Very good book
For fiction:
Circe by Madeline Miller and Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Both are heartbreakingly beautiful retellings of Greek Myths!
Non-fiction:
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown