Abstract
The list of books I have read in 2021 along with thoughts and views on some of them. Enjoy!
Zero to One | Peter Thiel
Non-fiction, Startup, Essential, Vision, PrinciplesRosemary’s baby | Ira Levine
Fiction, Fantasy, Witchcraft, ClassicVivekananda’s Biography | Swami Nikhelananda
Non-fiction, Biography, Monk, Vedanta, Philosophy, InspirationThe Three Body Problem | Cixin Liu
Fiction, Hard SF (science fiction), Contact, ClassicTransform your Habits | James Clear
Non-fiction, Psychology, Self-help, Habits, ShortThe Almanack of Naval Ravikant | Eric Jorgenson (via Naval Ravikant)
Non-fiction, Life, Philosophy, Habits, Mental Models, Productivity, WisdomDesign for Hackers | David Kadavy [more][2] and [more][3]
Non-fiction, Design, Beginner, Practical, Advice, Hacker, Product, BusinessThe Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller
Fiction, Mythological Fiction, Trojan War, Achilles, Patroclus, Romance, WarUNIX: History and Memoir | Brian W. Kernighan [more][4]
Non-fiction, History, Unix, Computer Science, C, Bell LabsLord of the Flies | William Golding
Fiction, Human Psychology, Dark, Human Behavior, Stranded, SavageReady Player Two | Ernst Cline [more][0]
Fiction, Dystopia, VR, Pop culture trivia, OASISSteve Jobs | Walter Isaacson
Non-fiction, Biography, Technology, Art, InspirationLooking For Alaska | John Green
Fiction, Young Adult, Death, RomanceTurtles All the Way Down | John Green
Fiction, Young Adult, Existential Crisis, RomanceSiddhartha | Hermann Hesse
Fiction, Happiness, Wisdom, Learning, Purpose, Principles, EssentialAn Abundance of Katherines | John Green
Fiction, Young Adult, Realism, Prodigy, RomanceSoon I will be Invincible | Austin Grossman
Fiction, Fantasy, Superhero, Comedy, GenericNaked Economics | Charles Wheelan
Non-fiction, Economics, Fundamentals, Layman, EssentialThe Richest Man in Babylon | George S. Clason [more][6]
Non-fiction, Wealth, Finance, Advice, Classic, Wisdom, KnowledgePost Office | Charles Bukowski
Fiction, Antihero, Employee, ExperienceI Will Teach You To Be Rich | Ramit Sethi
Non-fiction, Personal Finance, HowtoThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Sir Arthur C. Doyle
Fiction, Detective, Short stories, ClassicThe Millionaire Fastlane | MJ DeMarco
Non-fiction, Finance, Wealth, Advice, EntrepreneurshipA Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini (Reread)
Fiction, Human relationships, Afghanistan, Historical fictionFreakonomics | Dubner and Levitt
Non-fiction, Economics, Psychology, Human behaviorThe Tragedy of Hamlet | William Shakespeare
Fiction, Classic, Language, TragedyLosing My Virginity: An Autobiography | Sir Richard Branson
An autobiography of one of UK’s most successful businessman, enterpreneur and humanitarian. I first heard about him mentioned in Peter Thiel’s Zero To One and then saw this book in my local library. Truly inspiration and mind boggling.
Branson, born in a middle class family, had an average school life, started a magazine in his teens, then a record shop called “Virgin Records”, and then “Virgin Atlantic”, and then… (Iykyk). Most people view him as flamboyant and frivolous for his around the world hot-air balloon trips and walking around with super models. Yes, he is eccentric but here, he bares himself for us. Beyond all that, he is a responsible family man. A lover and a doting father. The very incarnate of what every man wants to be.
Branson inspired me to start a magazine and I learnt so much about desktop publishing and the nuances of publishing. And, got introduced to Mike Oilfield’s beautiful album “Tubular Bells” (highly recommended). His Necker Island resort is love.
Why is Sex Fun? | Jared Diamond
A rational enquiry into the nature and anomaly of human sexuality, its evolution, and social and cultural repercussions by the author of “Guns, Germs, and Steel”. Eloquent, argumentative, and witty reasoning.
I wrote a blog post here. He talks about a variety of aspects of human sexuality that humans take for granted but are in fact, errors with respect to the animal kingdom such as monogamy, concealed ovulation, and even recreational sex. If you have read The Selfish Gene (which I highly recommend), then this book is a toned-down, more subjectively focussed form of it, but essentially in the same spirit. Biology folks are gonna dig it. Definitely revisitable.
When Dimple Met Rishi | Sandhya Menon
Romantic fiction. They adapted it for a series called “Mismatched”.Hyperbole and a Half | Allie Brosh
A collection of comics inspired by Allie’s own life experiences similar to a biographical fiction. Dripping with sarcasm and humour. I was laughing so hard.Galatea | Madeline Miller
A very short story by the author of “The Song of Achilles” about the myth of Galatea, the living statue and Pygmalion, the sculptor-king. Mythological fiction. Miller took her liberty to fictionalize the story in a feminist light as most of her other works.Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare
A play about perhaps the most famous star-crossed lovers in Western culture. Quintessential Shakespearean in character, wonderful metaphors, witty, humorous, dark, with many literary devices, and complex characters. A dictionary is recommended. Didn’t disappoint but I still like the legend of Tristan and Iseulte more.The Bell Jar | Sylvia Plath
A fictional first-person account of a Ms. Esther Greenwood, an aspiring writer, lover of poetry, and a victim of mental degradation. Events were inspired by Plath’s own life experiences thus, making the book semi-autobiographical in nature.
Published in 1963, it is one of the finest texts on feminism and womanhood. I wrote more here.
Arcadia | Tom Stoppard
A seven scene erudite play about romance, metaphysics, determinism, Byron, and mathematics. The events jostle between two different time periods – the 18th century and the late 20th century in the same room. The magic lies in the manner these characters are connected and the dialogues interweaved as they solve the “murder” mystery of Mr. Chater.
Generously humorours and witty throughout, Tom ruminates on human progress and the natures of mathematics and genius and time. Widely acclaimed as the greatest play of our age (though, I won’t count on that), this play is actually ingenious, chaotic and yet coherent.
Saw a production on YT. Really cool.
Tristan and Iseult | Rosemary Sutcliff
Ancient classic Celtic romance legend, retold hundreds of times by different people. This is one of them. Also of note is Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde because of its influence on Western operatic status quo and avart-grande usage of chromatics and dissonant harmonies.
What drew me more is the inspiration that feeds man’s mind. How a millenia old legend can invigorate an old guy to compose a magnificent piece of soul moving music that is heralded as a new avenue in what operas ought to be. The nature of value, though elusive, is this.
It was listed as required reading for a MIT OCW course called “The Philosophy of Love” (CC.112). Quite interesting.
In My Skin | Kate Holden
Stark, bare, welcoming, wholehearted, and honest. This is a memoir of an Australian prostitute and heroine addict. An arts graduate, Kate became a heroin “user” early, eventually kicked from her house and forced to take to the streets to support herself. Repeated failed attempts to get out of the dark abyss of “scoring”, lost loves, and stained respect, she tells us her story with utmost courage and finesse.
Her most private thoughts about baring herself in front of stranger men, wondering whether she could ever love someone again, and finding empowerment and solace in her job, speaks eloquently for how a woman truly feels, beyond the object or act that society tries to reduce her to. Packed with explicit imageries, brutal truths, and heart-wrenching emotions, Kate is delicate and unfazed at the same time.
Few of my books are frivolous, compulsive choices made in haste. This was one of them. It cropped up in a web surfing sessions and I thought it was cool so I dived in. Glad I did.
The Psychology of Money | Morgan Housel
A collection of wise ideas aimed at inculcating healthy habits in managing money. The author believes that managing finance should be learned more from history and psychology, rather than economics or mathematics because the people playing the game are not robots but humans.
With that sensible assumption, Housel draws from history, talking about what to do and what not to do in varied circumstances. Filled with anecdotes and quotes and knowledge, I enjoyed this book. Besides, it’s concise and not painfully boring. I wrote more about it here.
How to Win at College | Cal Newport
Cal explains in the introduction how he talked to outstanding and overachieving students to figure out how they do what they do. The book is a collection of 75 do’s and do not’s that he thinks college students should practise to gain more than just a degree.
To be honest, most of the ideas do make sense and one can always cherry pick what suits their particular situation. The book doesn’t beat around the bush or turn into a tomb. It gets straight to business. It was a quick and good read. Not sure if I would read it again but here’s a book summary to indulge you!
The JWT Handbook | Auth0
Quite in-depth treatment of algorithms. JavaScript implementation of SHA256, RSA, and others. Short and effective initiation into the subject. Found it to be losing narrative at points.
Read article on JWT.
The First World War | Michael Howard
Fascinating first introduction to the bird’s eye view of the events of WW1. History is so important to understand how we got where we are. Well, here’s to a life-long learning process!
And as usual, I wrote a post.