Shyam's bookshelf: read en-US Wed, 30 Oct 2024 21:11:04 -0700 60 Shyam's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder]]> 19723223 Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the bestselling author of The Black Swan and one of the foremost thinkers of our time, reveals how to thrive in an uncertain world.

Just as human bones get stronger when subjected to stress and tension, many things in life benefit from stress, disorder, volatility, and turmoil. What Taleb has identified and calls antifragile are things that not only gain from chaos but need it in order to survive and flourish.

In The Black Swan, Taleb showed us that highly improbable and unpredictable events underlie almost everything about our world. Here Taleb stands uncertainty on its head, making it desirable, even necessary. The antifragile is beyond the resilient or robust. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better and better.

What's more, the antifragile is immune to prediction errors and protected from adverse events. Why is the city-state better than the nation-state, why is debt bad for you, and why is what we call "efficient" not efficient at all? Why do government responses and social policies protect the strong and hurt the weak? Why should you write your resignation letter before starting on the job? How did the sinking of the Titanic save lives? The book spans innovation by trial and error, life decisions, politics, urban planning, war, personal finance, economic systems and medicine, drawing on modern street wisdom and ancient sources.

Antifragile is a blueprint for living in a Black Swan world.

Erudite, witty, and iconoclastic, Taleb's message is revolutionary: the antifragile, and only the antifragile, will make it.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb has devoted his life to problems of uncertainty, probability, and knowledge and has led three careers around this focus, as a businessman-trader, a philosophical essayist, and an academic researcher. Although he now spends most of his time working in intense seclusion in his study, in the manner of independent scholars, he is currently Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering at New York University's Polytechnic Institute. His main subject matter is "decision making under opacity," that is, a map and a protocol on how we should live in a world we don't understand.

His books Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan have been published in thirty-three languages.

Taleb believes that prizes, honorary degrees, awards, and ceremonialism debase knowledge by turning it into a spectator sport.

]]> 504 Nassim Nicholas Taleb 0718197909 Shyam 0 currently-reading 4.23 2012 Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder
author: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships]]> 18721691
Perfect your people skills with his fun, witty and informative guide, containing 92 little tricks to create big success in personal and business relationships.

In How To Talk To Anyone, bestselling relationships author and internationally renowned life coach Leil Lowndes reveals the secrets and psychology behind successful communication. These extremely usable and intelligent techniques include how

Work a party like a politician works a roomBe an insider in any crowdUse key words and phrases to guide the conversationUse body language to connectThis is the key to having successful conversations with anyone, any time.]]> 354 Leil Lowndes 0007369867 Shyam 5 3.77 1998 How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships
author: Leil Lowndes
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/01
date added: 2024/06/01
shelves:
review:

]]> The Brothers Karamazov 52722152 The Karamazov brothers are as different as mind, body, and spirit. Ivan, an atheist and brooding intellectual; Dmitri, a volatile sensualist and his father’s rival for the beautiful Grushenka; and Alexey, driven by unshakeable piety. In their shadow is their rejected half-brother, humiliated into servitude. Together they act to rid themselves of the dissolute Karamazov patriarch. Then, in a single shocking act, the fates of the brothers are inexorably altered.

Delving into debates about God, free will, faith, doubt, and moral responsibility, The Brothers Karamazov is Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s profound pioneering masterpiece of psychological realism.

Revised edition: Previously published as The Brothers Karamazov, this edition of The Brothers Karamazov (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

]]> 998 Fyodor Dostoevsky 1542021928 Shyam 0 currently-reading 4.46 1880 The Brothers Karamazov
author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.46
book published: 1880
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things (Productivity Series Book 1)]]> 58503121 Reclaim your focus in 48 hours or less.

Do you keep procrastinating? Do you feel restless and unable to focus on your work? Do you have trouble getting excited about major goals?

If so, you might need a dopamine detox.

In today’s world where distractions are everywhere, the ability to focus has become more and more difficult to achieve. We are constantly being stimulated, feeling restless, often without knowing why.

When the time comes to work, we suddenly find an excess of other things to do. Instead of working toward our goals, we go for a walk, grab a coffee, or check our emails. Everything seems like a great idea—everything except the very things we should be doing.

Do you recognize yourself in the above situation?

If so, don’t worry. You’re simply overstimulated.

Dopamine Detox will help you lower your level of stimulation and regain focus in 48 hours or less, so that you can tackle your key tasks.

More specifically, in Dopamine Detox you’ll discover:

� what dopamine is and how it works
� the main benefits of completing a dopamine detox
� 3 simple steps to implement a successful detox in the next 48 hours
� practical exercises to eliminate distractions and boost your focus
� simple tools and techniques to avoid overstimulation and help you stay focused, and much more.

Dopamine Detox is your must-read, must-follow guide to help you remove distractions so you can finally work on your goals with ease. If you like easy-to-understand strategies, practical exercises, and no-nonsense teaching, you will love this book.]]> 62 Thibaut Meurisse Shyam 5 3.94 2021 Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things (Productivity Series Book 1)
author: Thibaut Meurisse
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/19
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[OpenGL Superbible: Comprehensive Tutorial and Reference]]> 26115438 A practical introduction to the essentials of realtime 3D graphics
Core OpenGL 4.3 techniques for rendering, transformations, and texturing
Foundational math for creating interesting 3D graphics with OpenGL
Writing your own shaders, with examples to get you started
Cross-platform OpenGL, including essential platform-specific API initialization material for Linux, OS X, and Windows
Vertex processing, drawing commands, primitive processing, fragments, and framebuffers
Using compute shaders to harness today's graphics cards for more than graphics
Monitoring and controlling the OpenGL graphics pipeline
Advanced rendering: light simulation, artistic and non-photo-realistic rendering, and deferred shading
Modern OpenGL debugging and performance optimization
"Bonus material and sample code are available from the companion Web site, "openglsuperbible.com.]]> 1969 Graham Sellers Shyam 0 currently-reading 4.57 2013 OpenGL Superbible: Comprehensive Tutorial and Reference
author: Graham Sellers
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/10/11
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power]]> 35457267 How to eat for maximum brain power and health from an expert in both neuroscience and nutrition.

Like our bodies, our brains have very specific food requirements. And in this eye-opening book from an author who is both a neuroscientist and a certified integrative nutritionist, we learn what should be on our menu.

Dr. Lisa Mosconi, whose research spans an extraordinary range of specialties including brain science, the microbiome, and nutritional genomics, notes that the dietary needs of the brain are substantially different from those of the other organs, yet few of us have any idea what they might be. Her innovative approach to cognitive health incorporates concepts that most doctors have yet to learn. Busting through advice based on pseudoscience, Dr. Mosconi provides recommendations for a complete food plan, while calling out noteworthy surprises, including why that paleo diet you are following may not be ideal, why avoiding gluten may be a terrible mistake, and how simply getting enough water can dramatically improve alertness.

Including comprehensive lists of what to eat and what to avoid, a detailed quiz that will tell you where you are on the brain health spectrum, and 24 mouth-watering brain-boosting recipes that grow out of Dr. Mosconi's own childhood in Italy, Brain Food gives us the ultimate plan for a healthy brain. Brain Food will appeal to anyone looking to improve memory, prevent cognitive decline, eliminate brain fog, lift depression, or just sharpen their edge.]]> 351 Lisa Mosconi 0399573992 Shyam 4 polymath 3.90 2018 Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power
author: Lisa Mosconi
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/03/25
shelves: polymath
review:

]]> <![CDATA[More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs]]> 105123 � The C/C++ User’s Journal From the author of the indispensable Effective C++ , here are 35 new ways to improve your programs and designs. Drawing on years of experience, Meyers explains how to write software that is more effective : more efficient, more robust, more consistent, more portable, and more reusable. In short, how to write C++ software that’s just plain better. More Effective C++ More Effective C++ is filled with pragmatic, down-to-earth advice you’ll use every day. Like Effective C++ before it, More Effective C++ is essential reading for anyone working with C++.]]> 318 Scott Meyers 020163371X Shyam 0 programming 4.32 1995 More Effective C++: 35 New Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs
author: Scott Meyers
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at: 2021/03/28
date added: 2021/06/09
shelves: programming
review:
After reading effective cpp this is a great book to read. Really points out subtleties in C++ and a lot of pointers to write great code.
]]> <![CDATA[Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs]]> 105125 The Barnes & Noble Review
Since early in the 90s, working C++ programmers have relied on Scott Meyers s Effective C++ to dramatically improve their skills. But the state-of-the-art has moved forward dramatically since Meyers last updated this book in 1997. (For instance, there s now STL. Design patterns. Even new functionality being added through TR1 and Boost.) So Meyers has done a top-to-bottom rewrite, identifying the 55 most valuable techniques you need now to be exceptionally effective with C++.


Over half of this edition s content is new. Templates broadly impact C++ development, and you ll find them everywhere. There s extensive coverage of multithreaded systems. There s an entirely new chapter on resource management. You ll find substantial new coverage of exceptions. Much is gained, but nothing s lost: You ll find the same depth of practical insight that first made Effective C++ a classic all those years ago. Bill Camarda, from the July 2005 href=" Only

]]> 297 Scott Meyers 0321334876 Shyam 5 4.40 1991 Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs
author: Scott Meyers
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1991
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/05
date added: 2021/06/09
shelves:
review:
Must read after stroustrups cpp book. Not only does this differentiate and point to intricate details, it provides pointers to write SOLID code.
]]> <![CDATA[SQL Server Query Performance Tuning]]> 22945264 612 Sajal Dam 1430267437 Shyam 0 4.86 2014 SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
author: Sajal Dam
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.86
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/12/05
shelves: programming, currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life]]> 49994260 Unlock the full potential of your brain, learn faster, and achieve your goals with this instant New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller from Jim Kwik, the world’s #1 brain coach. This ultimate brain training book is packed with practical techniques to help you level-up your mental performance and transform your life. “There’s no genius pill, but Jim gives you the process for unlocking your best brain and brightest future. Just like you want a healthy body, you want a flexible, strong, energized, and fit brain. That’s what Jim does for a living—he is the personal trainer for the mind.� � Mark Hyman, M.D., Head of Strategy and Innovation, Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, author of 12 New York Times best-selling books For over 25 years, Jim Kwik has worked closely with successful men and women who are at the top in their fields as actors, athletes, CEOs, and business leaders from all walks of life to unlock their true potential. In Limitless, he reveals the science-based practices and field-tested tips to accelerate self-learning, communication, memory, focus, recall, and speed reading, to create amazing results. Limitless is the ultimate transformation book and gives people the ability to accomplish more--more productivity, more transformation, more personal success and business achievement--by changing their Mindset, Motivation, and Methods. These �3 M’s� live in the pages of Limitless along with practical techniques that unlock the superpowers of your brain and change your habits. Learn how FLIP YOUR MINDSET Identify and challenge the assumptions, habits, and procrastinations that limit you and expand the boundaries of what you believe is possible. IGNITE YOUR MOTIVATION By uncovering your passions, purposes, and sources of energy, you can stay focused and clear on your goals. Uncovering what motivates you is the key that opens up limitless mental capacity. This is where Passion + Purpose + Energy meet to move you closer to your goals, while staying focused and clear. MASTER THE METHOD Accelerate learning, improve memory, and enhance brain performance Jim Kwik applies the latest neuroscience for accelerated learning, and will help you finish a book 3x faster through speed reading (and remember every part of it), learn a new language in record time, and master new skills with ease. “What you’ll get within these pages is a series of tools that will help you cast off your perceived restrictions. You’re going to learn how to unlimit your brain. You’re going to learn how to unlimit your drive. You’re going to learn how to unlimit your memory, your focus, and your habits. If I am your mentor in your hero’s journey, then this book is your map to master your mind, motivation, and methods to learn how to learn. And once you’ve done that, you will be limitless.� –Jim Kwik Packed with tips and techniques to improve memory, focus, recall, and speed reading, this brain training book is the perfect gift for anyone looking to transform their life."]]> 343 Jim Kwik 1401958249 Shyam 5 polymath 1. Brain foods.
2. Speed reading - Baroque Music, vocalization,
3. Habits
4. Mindset
]]> 4.07 Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life
author: Jim Kwik
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.07
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2020/12/02
date added: 2020/12/02
shelves: polymath
review:
What I learnt
1. Brain foods.
2. Speed reading - Baroque Music, vocalization,
3. Habits
4. Mindset

]]> <![CDATA[The Bartimaeus Trilogy Boxed Set (Bartimaeus, #1-3)]]> 59268 1552 Jonathan Stroud 142310420X Shyam 4 fiction The character of Bartimaeus is really funny!]]> 4.43 2012 The Bartimaeus Trilogy Boxed Set (Bartimaeus, #1-3)
author: Jonathan Stroud
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/11/15
shelves: fiction
review:
One of the best fantasy novel sets I have read.
The character of Bartimaeus is really funny!
]]> Freedom from the Known 143877 124 J. Krishnamurti 0060648082 Shyam 5 The way simple things like joy, time and meditation are explained is thought provoking and instigates a look into our own selves.]]> 4.29 1969 Freedom from the Known
author: J. Krishnamurti
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1969
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/15
shelves:
review:
The thing that strikes me most is the clarity of though of Jiddu.
The way simple things like joy, time and meditation are explained is thought provoking and instigates a look into our own selves.
]]> <![CDATA[The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932]]> 123675

Jung's seminar on Kundalini yoga, presented to the Psychological Club in Zurich in 1932, has been widely regarded as a milestone in the psychological understanding of Eastern thought and of the symbolic transformations of inner experience. Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model for the developmental phases of higher consciousness, and he interpreted its symbols in terms of the process of individuation. With sensitivity toward a new generation's interest in alternative religions and psychological exploration, Sonu Shamdasani has brought together the lectures and discussions from this seminar. In this volume, he re-creates for today's reader the fascination with which many intellectuals of prewar Europe regarded Eastern spirituality as they discovered more and more of its resources, from yoga to tantric texts. Reconstructing this seminar through new documentation, Shamdasani explains, in his introduction, why Jung thought that the comprehension of Eastern thought was essential if Western psychology was to develop. He goes on to orient today's audience toward an appreciation of some of the questions that stirred the minds of Jung and his seminar group: What is the relation between Eastern schools of liberation and Western psychotherapy? What connection is there between esoteric religious traditions and spontaneous individual experience? What light do the symbols of Kundalini yoga shed on conditions diagnosed as psychotic? Not only were these questions important to analysts in the 1930s but, as Shamdasani stresses, they continue to have psychological relevance for readers on the threshold of the twenty-first century. This volume also offers newly translated material from Jung's German language seminars, a seminar by the indologist Wilhelm Hauer presented in conjunction with that of Jung, illustrations of the cakras, and Sir John Woodroffe's classic translation of the tantric text, the Sat-cakra Nirupana.
?]]> 176 C.G. Jung 0691006768 Shyam 5 psychology The chakras and how they relate to mental states is a eye opener.]]> 4.13 1933 The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932
author: C.G. Jung
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1933
rating: 5
read at: 2020/04/01
date added: 2020/11/15
shelves: psychology
review:
For people who find mysticism of yoga barrier for their practice, this book is must. This book explains to the rational mind the possible origins and principles behind the practice.
The chakras and how they relate to mental states is a eye opener.
]]> The Interpretation of Dreams 93981 630 Sigmund Freud 1566195764 Shyam 3 psychology Your dreams as a means of wish fulfilment and other functions of the dream are thoroughly analysed. Although, the sections relating to taboo dreams makes you cringe even they are full of meaning.
A must read for someone interested in the working of your inner mind and unafraid of analysing your own dreams!]]> 3.86 1899 The Interpretation of Dreams
author: Sigmund Freud
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1899
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/11/15
shelves: psychology
review:
This is one of the books which will tell you what you really want!
Your dreams as a means of wish fulfilment and other functions of the dream are thoroughly analysed. Although, the sections relating to taboo dreams makes you cringe even they are full of meaning.
A must read for someone interested in the working of your inner mind and unafraid of analysing your own dreams!
]]> Man and His Symbols 123632 Man and His Symbols owes its existence to one of Jung's own dreams. The great psychologist dreamed that his work was understood by a wide public, rather than just by psychiatrists, and therefore he agreed to write and edit this fascinating book. Here, Jung examines the full world of the unconscious, whose language he believed to be the symbols constantly revealed in dreams. Convinced that dreams offer practical advice, sent from the unconscious to the conscious self, Jung felt that self-understanding would lead to a full and productive life. Thus, the reader will gain new insights into himself from this thoughtful volume, which also illustrates symbols throughout history. Completed just before his death by Jung and his associates, it is clearly addressed to the general reader.]]> 415 C.G. Jung 0440351839 Shyam 5 psychology Not only does this analyse your inner being, it unifies all form of human endeavour.
From literature, paintings, religion and architecture this gives you a new understanding of humanity itself through the language of symbols.]]> 4.19 1964 Man and His Symbols
author: C.G. Jung
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1964
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/15
shelves: psychology
review:
This is the magnum opus of Psychology itself!
Not only does this analyse your inner being, it unifies all form of human endeavour.
From literature, paintings, religion and architecture this gives you a new understanding of humanity itself through the language of symbols.
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter Series Box Set (Harry Potter, #1-7)]]> 862041
All seven eBooks in the multi-award winning, internationally bestselling Harry Potter series, available as one download with stunning cover art by Olly Moss. Enjoy the stories that have captured the imagination of millions worldwide.]]> 4100 J.K. Rowling 0545044251 Shyam 5 fiction Not only due to the elements of fantasy and magic, but harry potter is the ideal form of a 'hero'.
The ideation of hogwarts is the work of a genius!]]> 4.72 2007 Harry Potter Series Box Set (Harry Potter, #1-7)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.72
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2008/01/01
date added: 2020/11/15
shelves: fiction
review:
The best book a child can read.
Not only due to the elements of fantasy and magic, but harry potter is the ideal form of a 'hero'.
The ideation of hogwarts is the work of a genius!
]]> <![CDATA[Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship]]> 3735293 Noted software expert Robert C. Martin presents a revolutionary paradigm with Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship . Martin has teamed up with his colleagues from Object Mentor to distill their best agile practice of cleaning code on the fly into a book that will instill within you the values of a software craftsman and make you a better programmer but only if you work at it.
What kind of work will you be doing? You'll be reading code - lots of code. And you will be challenged to think about what's right about that code, and what's wrong with it. More importantly, you will be challenged to reassess your professional values and your commitment to your craft.
Clean Code is divided into three parts. The first describes the principles, patterns, and practices of writing clean code. The second part consists of several case studies of increasing complexity. Each case study is an exercise in cleaning up code - of transforming a code base that has some problems into one that is sound and efficient. The third part is the payoff: a single chapter containing a list of heuristics and "smells" gathered while creating the case studies. The result is a knowledge base that describes the way we think when we write, read, and clean code.
Readers will come away from this book understanding

� How to tell the difference between good and bad code
� How to write good code and how to transform bad code into good code
� How to create good names, good functions, good objects, and good classes
� How to format code for maximum readability
� How to implement complete error handling without obscuring code logic
� How to unit test and practice test-driven development

This book is a must for any developer, software engineer, project manager, team lead, or systems analyst with an interest in producing better code.]]> 464 Robert C. Martin 0132350882 Shyam 5 programming Along with Patterns in Enterprise Architecture this books lays the foundation of a programmer.
Loved the sections related to programming in a multi threaded environment.]]> 4.36 2007 Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship
author: Robert C. Martin
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
This is one of the best books a programmer can read.
Along with Patterns in Enterprise Architecture this books lays the foundation of a programmer.
Loved the sections related to programming in a multi threaded environment.
]]> Programming Entity Framework 4539557 832 Julia Lerman 059652028X Shyam 0 programming Julie Lerman is a authority on this subject.
For every problem I come across on this topic I have found a blog post by her.
Her Pluralsight courses on the same are exhaustive and a good supplement to this book.]]> 3.81 2009 Programming Entity Framework
author: Julia Lerman
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
This is a must read for Entity framework users.
Julie Lerman is a authority on this subject.
For every problem I come across on this topic I have found a blog post by her.
Her Pluralsight courses on the same are exhaustive and a good supplement to this book.
]]> Dependency Injection in .NET 9407722 584 Mark Seemann 1935182501 Shyam 0 programming Along with Mark's Pluralsight course this is everything you need.
All the popular frameworks have been presented along with a comparison to others.
The initial chapters presenting the ideas are amazing.
Mark's blog on these principles are a must read.]]> 4.39 2011 Dependency Injection in .NET
author: Mark Seemann
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
This was my first introduction to dependency injection along with SOLID principles.
Along with Mark's Pluralsight course this is everything you need.
All the popular frameworks have been presented along with a comparison to others.
The initial chapters presenting the ideas are amazing.
Mark's blog on these principles are a must read.
]]> <![CDATA[Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction (Adaptive Computation and Machine Learning)]]> 739791 Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto provide a clear and simple account of the key ideas and algorithms of reinforcement learning. Their discussion ranges from the history of the field's intellectual foundations to the most recent developments and applications.

Reinforcement learning, one of the most active research areas in artificial intelligence, is a computational approach to learning whereby an agent tries to maximize the total amount of reward it receives when interacting with a complex, uncertain environment. In Reinforcement Learning, Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto provide a clear and simple account of the key ideas and algorithms of reinforcement learning. Their discussion ranges from the history of the field's intellectual foundations to the most recent developments and applications. The only necessary mathematical background is familiarity with elementary concepts of probability.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I defines the reinforcement learning problem in terms of Markov decision processes. Part II provides basic solution methods: dynamic programming, Monte Carlo methods, and temporal-difference learning. Part III presents a unified view of the solution methods and incorporates artificial neural networks, eligibility traces, and planning; the two final chapters present case studies and consider the future of reinforcement learning.]]> 322 Richard S. Sutton 0262193981 Shyam 0 programming A good supplemental material to this book would be David Silver's course on the same topic on YouTube.
This book is succinct and provides the required intuitions.
Along with the Math and the Algorithms the initial chapters provide the breakthroughs in Behavioral Psychology which led to progress in RL.]]> 4.55 Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction (Adaptive Computation and Machine Learning)
author: Richard S. Sutton
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.55
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
This is the book I read while following my RL course in IISc.
A good supplemental material to this book would be David Silver's course on the same topic on YouTube.
This book is succinct and provides the required intuitions.
Along with the Math and the Algorithms the initial chapters provide the breakthroughs in Behavioral Psychology which led to progress in RL.
]]> <![CDATA[Neural Networks for Pattern Recognition (Advanced Texts in Econometrics (Paperback))]]> 92536 504 Christopher M. Bishop 0198538642 Shyam 5 programming Presents the intuitions behind the methods.]]> 4.11 1996 Neural Networks for Pattern Recognition (Advanced Texts in Econometrics (Paperback))
author: Christopher M. Bishop
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
Along with the regular content has introduction to linear algebra and other mathematical prerquisites.
Presents the intuitions behind the methods.
]]> <![CDATA[Neural Networks And Learning Machines]]> 11720073 864 Simon Haykin 0131293761 Shyam 4 programming ]]> 3.97 1993 Neural Networks And Learning Machines
author: Simon Haykin
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
A good ML book for those interested in Mathematical Proofs and completeness.

]]> <![CDATA[Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn and TensorFlow]]> 32899495
By using concrete examples, minimal theory, and two production-ready Python frameworks—Scikit-Learn and TensorFlow—author Aurélien Géron helps you gain an intuitive understanding of the concepts and tools for building intelligent systems. You’ll learn how to use a range of techniques, starting with simple Linear Regression and progressing to Deep Neural Networks. If you have some programming experience and you’re ready to code a machine learning project, this guide is for you.

This hands-on book shows you how to use:

Scikit-Learn, an accessible framework that implements many algorithms efficiently and serves as a great machine learning entry point
TensorFlow, a more complex library for distributed numerical computation, ideal for training and running very large neural networks
Practical code examples that you can apply without learning excessive machine learning theory or algorithm details]]> 450 Aurélien Géron Shyam 5 programming It covers all topics along with practical examples.
This is a hands on book and there are no mathematical proofs.
The best book to start your journey in ML.
Consider the second version of this book since it uses Keras and TensorFlow.]]> 4.55 2017 Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn and TensorFlow
author: Aurélien Géron
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
This is the first ML book I read.
It covers all topics along with practical examples.
This is a hands on book and there are no mathematical proofs.
The best book to start your journey in ML.
Consider the second version of this book since it uses Keras and TensorFlow.
]]> The C++ Programming Language 112251 1030 Bjarne Stroustrup 0201700735 Shyam 0 programming The C++ Bible! 4.08 1986 The C++ Programming Language
author: Bjarne Stroustrup
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
The C++ Bible!
]]> <![CDATA[Big Data: Principles and best practices of scalable realtime data systems]]> 13421400
Big Data shows how to build these systems using an architecture that takes advantage of clustered hardware along with new tools designed specifically to capture and analyze web-scale data. It describes a scalable, easy to understand approach to big data systems that can be built and run by a small team. Following a realistic example, this book guides readers through the theory of big data systems, how to use them in practice, and how to deploy and operate them once they're built.

Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.]]> 328 Nathan Marz 1617290343 Shyam 5 programming The emphasis on presenting the concept and the illustrations go a long way in helping solidify the learning.
Although, I am form a .NET background the Java libraries are extensively explored along with Natan's own libraries.]]> 3.78 2012 Big Data: Principles and best practices of scalable realtime data systems
author: Nathan Marz
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
This was my introduction to Scalable and Real time systems.
The emphasis on presenting the concept and the illustrations go a long way in helping solidify the learning.
Although, I am form a .NET background the Java libraries are extensively explored along with Natan's own libraries.
]]> <![CDATA[Category Theory for Programmers]]> 33618151

Hardcover available at: ]]> 473 Bartosz Milewski Shyam 5 programming A good supplemental material would be Bartosz Milewski's Category theory for Programmers playlist on YouTube.
The abstraction of ideas and the way Bartosz presents the philosophies is amazing.
Also, the illustrations are spot on!]]> 4.23 2014 Category Theory for Programmers
author: Bartosz Milewski
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
Anyone into functional programming must read this book.
A good supplemental material would be Bartosz Milewski's Category theory for Programmers playlist on YouTube.
The abstraction of ideas and the way Bartosz presents the philosophies is amazing.
Also, the illustrations are spot on!
]]> <![CDATA[Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software]]> 179133 Ralph Johnson, author of Design Patterns "If you don't think you are getting value from your investment in object-oriented programming, this book will tell you what you've forgotten to do. "Eric Evans convincingly argues for the importance of domain modeling as the central focus of development and provides a solid framework and set of techniques for accomplishing it. This is timeless wisdom, and will hold up long after the methodologies du jour have gone out of fashion." --Dave Collins, author of Designing Object-Oriented User Interfaces "Eric weaves real-world experience modeling--and building--business applications into a practical, useful book. Written from the perspective of a trusted practitioner, Eric's descriptions of ubiquitous language, the benefits of sharing models with users, object life-cycle management, logical and physical application structuring, and the process and results of deep refactoring are major contributions to our field." --Luke Hohmann, author of Beyond Software Architecture "This book belongs on the shelf of every thoughtful software developer." --Kent Beck "What Eric has managed to capture is a part of the design process that experienced object designers have always used, but that we have been singularly unsuccessful as a group in conveying to the rest of the industry. We've given away bits and pieces of this knowledge...but we've never organized and systematized the principles of building domain logic. This book is important." --Kyle Brown, author of Enterprise Java(TM) Programming with IBM(R) WebSphere(R) The software development community widely acknowledges that domain modeling is central to software design. Through domain models, software developers are able to express rich functionality and translate it into a software implementation that truly serves the needs of its users. But despite its obvious importance, there are few practical resources that explain how to incorporate effective domain modeling into the software development process. Domain-Driven Design fills that need. This is not a book about specific technologies. It offers readers a systematic approach to domain-driven design, presenting an extensive set of design best practices, experience-based techniques, and fundamental principles that facilitate the development of software projects facing complex domains. Intertwining design and development practice, this book incorporates numerous examples based on actual projects to illustrate the application of domain-driven design to real-world software development. Readers learn how to use a domain model to make a complex development effort more focused and dynamic. A core of best practices and standard patterns provides a common language for the development team. A shift in emphasis--refactoring not just the code but the model underlying the code--in combination with the frequent iterations of Agile development leads to deeper insight into domains and enhanced communication between domain expert and programmer. Domain-Driven Design then builds on this foundation, and addresses modeling and design for complex systems and larger organizations.Specific topics covered include:
Getting all team members to speak the same language Connecting model and implementation more deeply Sharpening key distinctions in a model Managing the lifecycle of a domain object Writing domain code that is safe to combine in elaborate ways Making complex code obvious and predictable Formulating a domain vision statement Distilling the core of a complex domain Digging out implicit concepts needed in the model Applying analysis patterns Relating design patterns to the model Maintaining model integrity in a large system Dealing with coexisting models on the same project Organizing systems with large-scale structures Recognizing and responding to modeling breakthroughs With this book in hand, object-oriented developers, system analysts, and designers will have the guidance they need to organize and focus their work, create rich and useful domain models, and leverage those models into quality, long-lasting software implementations.]]> 560 Eric Evans 0321125215 Shyam 5 programming Everything else is modeled around the domain.
A course on domain driven domain on Pluralsight is a good supplement to reading this book as it shows how to design your databases around Bounded Contexts.]]> 4.14 2003 Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software
author: Eric Evans
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
By basing your focus on domain not only do you help the users of your software but also the developers who join newly in your team.
Everything else is modeled around the domain.
A course on domain driven domain on Pluralsight is a good supplement to reading this book as it shows how to design your databases around Bounded Contexts.
]]> CLR via C# (Pro-Developer) 7121415 898 Jeffrey Richter 0735627045 Shyam 0 programming Jefferey along with presenting the idea, usage and implications of CLR features mentions the supplemental tools. This is enriched with his own coding extensions.
This book is what you read to be a know it all for .NET development.]]> 4.59 2006 CLR via C# (Pro-Developer)
author: Jeffrey Richter
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: programming
review:
This book is really detailed and intricate.
Jefferey along with presenting the idea, usage and implications of CLR features mentions the supplemental tools. This is enriched with his own coding extensions.
This book is what you read to be a know it all for .NET development.
]]> <![CDATA[Dreaming Yourself Awake: Lucid Dreaming and Tibetan Dream Yoga for Insight and Transformation]]> 13151218
Some of the greatest of life’s adventures can happen while you’re sound asleep. That’s the promise of lucid dreaming, which is the ability to alter your own dream reality any way you like simply by being aware of the fact that you’re dreaming while you’re in the midst of a dream. There is a range of techniques anyone can learn to become a lucid dreamer—and this book provides all the instruction you need to get started.

But B. Alan Wallace also shows how to take the experience of lucid dreaming beyond entertainment to use it to heighten creativity, to solve problems, and to increase self-knowledge. He then goes a step further: moving on to the methods of Tibetan Buddhist dream yoga for using your lucid dreams to attain the profoundest kind of insight.]]> 192 B. Alan Wallace 159030957X Shyam 5 3.89 2012 Dreaming Yourself Awake: Lucid Dreaming and Tibetan Dream Yoga for Insight and Transformation
author: B. Alan Wallace
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves:
review:
Along with 'The Attention Revolution' this book could change your life. Along with the scientific methods the meditation techniques from Buddhism add spirituality to the content. A must read for any one looking to master their minds.
]]> Thinking, Fast and Slow 11468377 Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior. The impact of loss aversion and overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the challenges of properly framing risks at work and at home, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning the next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions.

Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. Thinking, Fast and Slow will transform the way you think about thinking.]]> 499 Daniel Kahneman 0374275637 Shyam 0 currently-reading 4.17 2011 Thinking, Fast and Slow
author: Daniel Kahneman
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hands-On Machine Learning with C++: Build, train, and deploy end-to-end machine learning and deep learning pipelines]]> 53466464 Kirill Kolodiazhnyi Shyam 0 currently-reading 4.33 Hands-On Machine Learning with C++: Build, train, and deploy end-to-end machine learning and deep learning pipelines
author: Kirill Kolodiazhnyi
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art]]> 48890486
There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences.

Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe.

Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is.

Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.]]> 280 James Nestor 0735213615 Shyam 0 currently-reading 4.13 2020 Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
author: James Nestor
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Gulag Archipelago, VOLUME 2: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Section III-IV (Part 1 of 2 part Cassette Library Edition)]]> 6093518 0 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 0786103345 Shyam 0 currently-reading 4.45 1973 The Gulag Archipelago, VOLUME 2: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Section III-IV (Part 1 of 2 part Cassette Library Edition)
author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
name: Shyam
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Relax into Stretch: Instant Flexibility Through Mastering Muscle Tension]]> 914364 152 Pavel Tsatsouline 0938045288 Shyam 0 currently-reading 3.83 2001 Relax into Stretch: Instant Flexibility Through Mastering Muscle Tension
author: Pavel Tsatsouline
name: Shyam
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/11/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]>