Bookshelf

Collection of things that I have read from late 2023 onwards. Mostly logging to jog my own memory. Books that I really liked or would like to revisit get a ⭐.

Last updated: 2024-06-12

• Was man von hier aus sehen kann von Mariana Leky - June 2024
  • Welch interessanter Roman. Ich habe keine Ahnung, wie ich ihn beschreiben soll. Aber er hat mir gefallen. Es war eine einfache Geschichte über Liebe und Tod. Doch der einzigartige Stil von Leky macht das Buch aus. Man schwebt irgendwie hindurch, mit einem Lächeln im Gesicht. Wunderbar!
• When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut - May 2024
  • A curious book that was recommended to me by a colleague. Comprised of a fictional narrative around some of the most significant discoveries in Maths, Chemistry, and Physics - and the people behind them. The author has a kind of meandering style of writing which takes a little getting used to, and I’m not sure how accessible this book would be to someone who hadn’t spent a decent amount of times in STEM classrooms. But I actually had a great time. It was cool to see in narrative form how science builds upon itself. I also really enjoyed trying to preempt the roles of people in the story based off of my knowledge of theories or constants that bear their names.
• Who They Was by Gabriel Krauze - April 2024
  • A recommendation from my house mate. A first hand account of the London experience from a (former?) roadman. Pretty brutal throughout, a really eye opener. It has instilled a dose of paranoia in me when I walk around the city which I didn’t have before. Not sure if this is for the better. It’s written as Krauze speaks, filled with slag that I was not familiar with. This is paired with sprinkles of Krauze’s beautiful prose, view of the world, and us of simile. This book was the first time in a long time that I have thought, “wow, that is beautiful” after reading a passage. And it happened repeatedly.
• ⭐ The Courage to Be Disliked by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi - March 2024
  • This one was pretty dense. An investigation of Adlerian psychology in the form of a conversation between a philosopher and a young man. Where Adler was a lesser known contemporary of Sigmund Freud. A lot to learn from this, but not something that can be taken on in one read through.
• ⭐ Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers - March 2024
  • This was a re-read of a lovely little business book from Dereck Sivers. Ideas are pretty simple and align well with my own philosophy. Or at least what I aspire to. Was interesting to read it with my PM hat on. “I was doing it for the customer”.
• Same as Ever: Timeless Lessons on Risk, Opportunity, and Living a good life by Morgan Housel - March 2024
  • Back to non-fiction, and from a writer that I have a lot of experience of from their blog. Same as Ever didn’t disappoint. Housel walks through some phenomena that he has identified as being repeated throughout history, wrapped with interesting stories that reflect the learnings in life and/or investing. This is all written in a manner that is super easy to read (or listen to as I did). Some ideas that really resonated with me, and that I will be returning to; the best story wins, “risk is what is left when you think have thought of everything”, all good things come from compounding therefore a key question is “what are the returns (read, changes) that I can sustain for the longest time period”.
• ⭐ Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang - March 2024
  • A long overdue return to reading fiction, and glorious one at that. I don’t remember the last time I got lost in a book to the point that I forwent sleep (and ruined the next workday). The book, set in a retro sci-fi 19th Oxford, is filled with culture, languages, and a interesting reimagining of the incentives driving the British empire. I was drawn in as a language nerd, and left with a thirst to learn more about the cruel history of the country I call home - and the impact it had on the country from which my parents hail.
• No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert A. Glover - Jan 2024
  • In the vein of dating and relationships again. Little dated, but interesting. Lots of things to think on from this one.
• How to Be Confident by James Smith - Jan 2024
  • My first ever audiobook listen. Yes, I’m pretty late to the party. The book itself was ok. Some interesting snippets in there. But the bulk was a long list of loosely related heuristics and pop-sci. Really like the guy’s channel on Youtube though.
• Models by Mark Manson - Late 2023
  • More Manson. This is his first book (and you can tell a little). Interesting view on the world of dating. First half is pretty cool, a lot of focus on the self and getting over your own idiocracies. Second half gets a little too PUA for me.
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson - Late 2023
  • Actually quite enjoyed this. Is a really easy read, with some interesting thoughts on how you can lead your life on your own terms. Writing this a few months after reading, so a bit iffy on the details. Well worth the read though.