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For me, this was just OK. Finnegan tends to ramble on and on in this memoir. Heavily focused on his surfing life, he does a good job of explaining the technical details for non-surfers - but I still feel like I missed out since I'm not a hardcore surfer. A solid “meh” personally although I'm not surprised other people love it.
This was my first memoir in nearly a decade - I'm glad I branched out to a new genre, but I read this book based on a recommendation immediately after I mentioned “I like to read in my free time.” Clearly, that wasn't enough context for my tastes. :)
Epic finale to an epic trilogy! This book was satisfying. Character development is on-point and the universe stays consistent. No further comments due to spoilers.
Except, I cracked up at this joke quote: “What do you say when a seven-and-a-half-foot-tall woman walks into a room with a battle axe and tongues on a hook? Absolutely nothing.”
Who is Lane's audience? Unfortunately, not me. This book takes a new spin on the evolution of life and focuses the discussion on how organisms have grown to use energy in different (although often strikingly similar!) ways. However, the technical nuances were more than what I was interested in. It read more like a textbook than a best seller, yet I believe Lane was targeting the later.
Super quick read. An accurate representation of working in major tech. At least for the Microsoft tidbits, 90+% is accurate today and 100% was accurate at the time of publication - with the main difference being that Windows ships much faster now. Cracking the Tech Career explores positions outside of dev and PM in tech - something I've never seen before.
Highly recommend if you are interested in breaking into the tech field.
Great read about dating in the 21st century. 100% would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about how dating has changed. Obviously focuses on the changes on the past ~5 years, but is well framed by the behavior of the past few generations as well as cultural and behavioral differences around the globe.
Occasionally Ansari's humor got old, but overall it was refreshing.
I'm a huge fan of Mlodinow as a person and a writer. Last year, I had the opportunity to attend his lecture on this book and get his signature. Mlodinow fills The Upright Thinkers with just the right balance of humor, personal anecdotes, and hard science to keep you engaged and interested. I read this book in bits and pieces over the last 6 months between other books, and it was always a joy to pick back up. The subtitle truly captures the vision for this book, and Mlodinow delivers on it - oh, and it's way better than any history text book you'll pick up.If you like his writing style, definitely check out [b:Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior 13058637 Subliminal How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior Leonard Mlodinow https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1369608255s/13058637.jpg 18223900] as well!
Would recommend to anyone interested in business/markets. Thiel was a PayPal co-founder and shares his insight about start-up market fit in this book. He frames this with the need for technological advancement for the success of the human race and does well! Lots of examples of various start-ups and their success/failures (but definitely focuses on his and his friends' companies). Essentially, any new company should have good answers to the following 7 questions:
1. The Engineering Question - Can you create breakthrough technology instead of incremental improvements?
2. The Timing Question - Is now the right time to start your particular business?
3. The Monopoly Question - Are you starting with a big share of a small market?
4. The People Question - Do you have the right team?
5. The Distribution Question - Do you have a way to not just create but deliver your product?
6. The Durability Question - Will your market position be defensible 10 and 20 years into the the future?
7. The Secret Question - Have you identified a unique opportunity that others don't see?
If I read a synopsis of this book, I'd have classified it (incorrectly) as fiction. Shackleton's voyage is a remarkable adventure. Lansing did extensive research to make this book factually accurate, and thanks to the many surviving journals of the crew, he had the resources to succeed.
Hands down would recommend.
Very fast read. Eyal opens this book with an emphasis on addictive product development - that put me on edge and caused me to read the rest of the book more critically and with a grain of salt.
After that brief intro, Hooked jumps right into the model/cycle of habit-forming products:
1. Trigger
2. Action
3. Variable Reward
4. Investment
Although not every product or feature should use this cycle, it's a solid model to apply in many cases. Something I should look for in my work - and a pattern I see in OneDrive and other products.
That said, there was little new content for me in this book. There's merit to its simplicity, but I was looking for more meat.
Even with my “low” rating, I'd recommend this to anyone working in product development.
Another great installment of Darrow's adventures. Lots of plot twists that were relatively minor (aka - reasonably shocking to keep you on your feet, but not so outrageous that you'll want to flip a table).
Golden Son ends on a cliff-hanger unlike Red Rising, so I'm bummed I don't have the sequel already in hand!
Oh Ove, do you hate him or do you love him? As you read this book, you'll change your answer to this question several times. Backman puts together a unique plot line for this book and mixes that with an astounding writing style - his character development, rhythm, and clever use of time makes it hard to put this book down.
The Circle is an interesting read, especially for anyone in tech.
Premise: online social networking meets 1984 in the quest for ultimate knowledge.
Spoiler: it doesn't go well.
First of all, I enjoyed reading the book and couldn't put it down. Eggers has a unique mind, and I've read several of his other books. This is a quick read and I'd definitely recommend it.
My main thought/question after this book:
- Technology impacts everyone's lives. As we chase our micro “success metrics,” it's important to step back and consider what implications there are for society as a whole. What does this look like day-to-day?
Also, don't watch the movie. It sucks.
Want a TL;DR?
- You eat ~150lbs of sugar. every.single.year.
- Semi-starvation diets are statistically unlikely to help you lose weight
- Eating fat doesn't make you fat
- Eat less carbs -> feel less hungry
- It took quite the scientific, lobbying, and government recommendation journey for us to end up with our current beliefs of what a “healthy” diet is. It's an interesting story!
While I'm definitely glad I read this book, it took A LOT of effort to finish. I effectively skimmed the second half because it's just so dense. You'll learn a lot as you follow Taubes rants and raves, but at the end of the day, you just read his rants and raves.
Interestingly written for middle management. While it wasn't my favorite book, I did gleam a few insights from it and I would recommend it to someone transitioning. People who hear about this book will likely assume the first 90 days are just about making early wins and delivering quickly, however the book is very well balanced between learning and delivery.
Awkward ending. He should have included a conclusion chapter.
My recommendation: don't read a synopsis. It'll give too much away. There's an early twist in the plot line where I thought the book was going to go one way but then it goes somewhere else (in such an amazing way!). Brilliant plot, funny dialogue, and a unique societal model.
Now one of my scifi favorites!
Another great installment of the Gentleman Bastards!!!
What makes this book great? It's basically Oceans 13 set in the 1600s with a little bit of magic thrown in. Filled with deception, misdirection, and manipulation, the only disappointment with this book is the lack of another book in the series. “Coming soon” but no hard date.
To all of my friends' surprise, this was the first time I'd ever read Tolkien. I liked The Hobbit, but it wasn't as great as I expected (albeit - high expectations). My favorite part was riddles with Gollum and the discovery of the ring's powers.
Good story and a quick read, but I won't be continuing with the LOTR books.
I had high expectations since it's so popular, but I thought it read like a watered down statistics book with overly repetitive examples. While there are some good nuggets in here, I only finished about half before skimming the rest with Kindle X-Ray (cool feature!!).
My key takeaways:
- Bayesian statistics should be front of mind when analyzing results and predicting outcomes.
- Don't fall for the mistake of using insufficient and small samples
- I will forget the other 2 takeaways frequently. Statistically speaking. :)
Happy for the takeaways, but the book itself left much to be desired.
Fun read. A small amount of sorcery, but the winner in this book is deception (in case the title didn't give it away). As far as the writing style, I enjoyed the interspersed flashbacks throughout the book, but wish there would have been more foreshadowing instead of “ah ha! plot twist here.” Would recommend, and I'm continuing the series.
-1 star since there were no instant results :P
A classic, and a good one. Although first published in 1985 and updated in 1999, Schwarzenegger's encyclopedia is still relevant today. Complete with a history of competitive bodybuilding, anatomy, and lifting plans, Schwarzenegger covers it all. Word of caution - don't read only this book. Since 1999, some of the science has been at least partial debunked (specifically - somatotypes). For beginner lifting, Stronglifts 5x5 works well for me and my goals.
Schwarzenegger frequently comes back to the concept that training is a means to an end, and that end is a more impressive physique through reduced body fat and larger muscles. This contrasts starkly with the objectives of weightlifting/powerlifting - lifting the maximum weight possible for one rep. As such, Schwarzenegger emphasizes the importance of maintaining mental focus on the muscles and what they are doing. Target the core muscles for each exercise and when you cheat on a rep - do it intentionally and mindfully to reach your goals.
Particularly from the injury prevention perspective, bodybuilding makes a lot of sense compared to the powerlifting mindset I was in before (chasing the 1000lb club, etc). Reading this book has helped me to reframe my goals to focus on my body. My goals are now more subjective than the objectivity of “I can lift X pounds,” but they are my goals after all. :)
A great number of the 800+ pages are dedicated to photos of bodybuilders from over the years. Each has their own specific strengths and weaknesses. Along with the “focus on your muscles” concept, my second major takeaway from this book is the human anatomy I learned. The book is illustrated with silhouettes with sketched muscles alongside photos of bodybuilders holding the same pose. This gives a clear picture of how muscular structure manifests itself internally and externally. While I definitely won't reach the level of physique of competitive bodybuilders, I now know that deltoids have 3 heads, triceps are horseshoe-shaped, and a 6 pack typically starts above the belly button. TIL.
Would recommend.
That was an awesome sequel. The last time I enjoyed book 2 as much as this was the Ender series.
So much to learn here that it's hard to know where to start. I found the book “motivational” in the sense that no team will have a perfect system, but here's a framework for how many organizations have improved theirs. One of the big takeaways for me was the overuse of vanity metrics that can't be clearly attributed to my projects/work. This is something I've seen in the past, and still struggle to get right. Lots of good points about incentivization and effects on product life cycles.