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!
Latest comments (51)
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
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. ;))
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind
Maybe you might like, "Zen Mind, Beginner Mind" by S. Suzuki. Classic
The art of war
- sun tzu
classic!This year its "Permanent Record' by Ed Snowden
Does it live up to the hype? And is it written as an exciting novel or more like some documentation?
It's a auto-biography. I see it as a novel and documentation. It's exciting. Got some new perspectives.
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!
Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
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.
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
I bought black-out but I didn't read it yet.
Did you read "collapse" by Jared Diamond ?
I saw Jared Diamond speak recently. Really low key but very nice. I thought "Guns, germs and steel" was landmark.
No, do you recommend it?
The "Boo" series by Rene Gutteridge ("Boo", "Boo Who", "Boo Hiss", and "Boo Humbug") is hilarious. I also adore the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.
"Pour Your Heart Into It" by Howard Schultz and "You Must Set Forth At Dawn" by Wole Soyinka are two of my favorite non-fiction reads. "Paris-Underground" by Etta Shiber is a classic, of which I am proud to own a first edition! I also enjoyed "The Silk Road: A New History" by Valerie Hansen.
Besides that, I'll read just about anything by Tony Hillerman, Agatha Christie, C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, or Louisa May Alcott. More recently, I've also started reading G.K. Chesterton.
Right now, though, I'm working my way through "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens.
P.S. I can't help but include a shameless plug for my own mystery novel, Noah Clue, P.I., of which I am quite proud. :D
Here's a hidden gem: The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt. Wonderful coming-of-age/adventure. Similar to Lord of the Rings. It has a sequel which I just discovered.
Someone already mentioned LOTR & the Dune saga, but I also love King's whole 'Dark Tower'+'Talisman/Black House' series. Also King's/Bachmans 'Desperation/Regulators' set. And way off mark I loved reading 'Les Miserables'... I've read thousands of books, but these are close to my top favs.