Intro
Welcome to my list of books that I have read during my sabbatical.
As you can see, the list is still a work in progress, but it already spans quite a length. However, I am excited to share this collection with you!
When I was traveling I read many books on my iPhone. I know it might sound crazy to some, but I did not mind reading on a small screen. On the Books app on iOS, I can specify the font size if I have an epub file. I would avoid a pdf, because I cannot adjust the font or pagination. Of course, an iPad would have been better! But I was happy to be able to read books, without taking too much baggage with me.
I found that often a book is also a springboard to other books. Usually, if I like the author, I try to keep note of the books referenced in what I read and I will write them down in this post after each book, as much as I can.
This is not something you easily find in book reviews and I think it can be very interesting and make you discover new authors!
In no particular order:
Joy of Agility - Joshua Kerievsky
We all face challenges. Regardless of our profession, we struggle to find our way through tough conditions, unexpected events disrupt us, new obstacles impede our progress, and the status quo keeps pulling us back. Organizations typically struggle with too much bureaucracy, insufficient innovation, poor collaboration, serious quality problems, disempowered and unmotivated staff, and ever-increasing pressure to deal with nimble competitors. What could help us overcome such challenges? Being agile.
Agility helps us solve problems with quick, easy grace.Excerpt From Joy of Agility by Joshua Kerievsky
There are many great quotes in the book. It could be titled: "How to make a happier developer"! Much of it is about doing things that bring joy and value. It is an inspiring read and I wrote a bit more about it here
DANIEL KAHNEMAN -
THINKING, FAST AND SLOW
“ Psychologists think of ideas as nodes in a vast network, called associative memory, in which each idea is linked to many others. There are different types of links: causes are linked to their effects (virus cold); things to their properties (lime green); things to the categories to which they belong (banana fruit). One way we have advanced beyond Hume is that we no longer think of the mind as going through a sequence of conscious ideas, one at a time. In the current view of how associative memory works, a great deal happens at once. An idea that has been activated does not merely evoke one other idea. It activates many ideas, which in turn activate others. Furthermore, only a few of the activated ideas will register in consciousness; most of the work of associative thinking is silent, hidden from our conscious selves.”
Excerpt From Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
A great psychology book.
Daniel Kahneman won the Nobel Prize in 2002.
He spent his life analysing the way people take decisions and it is an illuminating read about the way we think and the mental processes behind the decision we make.
Mentioned in this book:
The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb
The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Strangers to Ourselves by Timothy Wilson
Kevin Mitnick - Ghost in the Wire
Kevin Mitnick - The Art of Deception
One of the first books I read about the art of hacking computers, which in the old days involved quite a bit of social networking.
Paul Hudson - Beyond Code
I like all the books by Paul Hudson and this one is a trove of information.
BILL GATES - HOW TO AVOID A CLIMATE DISASTER
It is a mandatory read. I learned a lot from this book because it focused on data. An essential overview of our options.
Marcus du Sautoy - the music of the primes
I sometimes enjoy reading a good mathematical book.
Oliver Sacks - Oaxaca Journal
I found out about this book while I was in Oaxaca. It is very well written and quite a bit about ferns!
Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything
Fantastic read. A history of science and of the people and societies who were behind many innovations and inventions.
Lonely Planet - Epic rides of the world
Inspiration!
Rosemary Orchard - Take control of Shortcuts
Crafting Interpreters by ROBERT NYSTROM
Very interesting to look into how interpreters work behind the scenes. Still reading...
Code by Charles Petzold
It starts super easy and gets into quite complicated topics keeping the topics understandable. Everybody can understand how machine language works if given enough background and context to understand the basics. This book does an excellent job.
The author of one of my fav comics on the internet, Randal Munroe has written quite a few playful books about science and I made sure to read them.
Thriller. Very good and researched with scientific accuracy. Hard to put down. Super recommended.
A classic!