Vipin's bookshelf: read en-US Mon, 05 May 2025 01:13:09 -0700 60 Vipin's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters]]> 8168668
On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed a remarkable emergency landing when Captain "Sully" Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide. His story is now a major motion picture from director / producer Clint Eastwood and stars Tom Hanks, Laura Linney and Aaron Eckhart.

Sully's story is one of dedication, hope, and preparedness, revealing the important lessons he learned through his life, in his military service, and in his work as an airline pilot. It reminds us all that, even in these days of conflict, tragedy and uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for—that life's challenges can be met if we're ready for them.]]> 384 Chesley B. Sullenberger III Vipin 5 4.44 2009 Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters
author: Chesley B. Sullenberger III
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2022/02/18
date added: 2025/05/05
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World]]> 41795733
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world's top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.

David Epstein examined the world's most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields--especially those that are complex and unpredictable--generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They're also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can't see.

Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.]]> 339 David Epstein 0735214484 Vipin 4 4.12 2019 Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
author: David Epstein
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/09
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves:
review:
Quite a few valuable insights into the value of generalists and arguments against early specialisation. Some bits felt a bit repetitive though.
]]> <![CDATA[What to Expect When You're Expecting]]> 174703 597 Heidi Murkoff 0761121323 Vipin 5 3.77 1984 What to Expect When You're Expecting
author: Heidi Murkoff
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1984
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves:
review:
A must read book for pregnancy. I do recommend topping it up with hospital classes and NCT classes.
]]> The Art of Thinking Clearly 16248196
Have you ever:
� Invested time in something that, with hindsight, just wasn't worth it?
� Overpayed in an Ebay auction?
� Continued doing something you knew was bad for you?
� Sold stocks too late, or too early?
� Taken credit for success, but blamed failure on external circumstances?
� Backed the wrong horse?

These are examples of cognitive biases, simple errors we all make in our day-to-day thinking. But by knowing what they are and how to spot them, we can avoid them and make better choices-whether dealing with a personal problem or a business negotiation; trying to save money or make money; working out what we do or don't want in life: and how best to get it.

Simple, clear and always surprising, this indispensable book will change the way you think and transform your decision-making-work, at home, every day. It reveals, in 99 short chapters, the most common errors of judgment, and how to avoid them.]]> 384 Rolf Dobelli 0062219685 Vipin 5 3.83 2011 The Art of Thinking Clearly
author: Rolf Dobelli
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/10
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves:
review:
A fun and interesting listen. I enjoyed the examples and stories for each fallacy.
]]> <![CDATA[The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet]]> 55145261 A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.

Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book.]]> 304 John Green 0525555218 Vipin 4 4.37 2021 The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
author: John Green
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/20
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life]]> 199017130
At the very heart of all the success and failure I've been exposed to - both my own entrepreneurial journey and through the thousands of interviews I’ve conducted on my chart-topping podcast - are a set of principles that ensure excellence.

These fundamental laws underpinned my meteoric rise, and they will fuel yours too, whether you want to build something great or become someone great. The laws are rooted in psychology and behavioral science, in my own experiences, and those of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, entertainers, artists, writers, and athletes, who I’ve interviewed on my podcast.

These laws will stand the test of time and will help anyone master their life and unleash their potential, no matter the field.

They are the secret sauce to success.]]> 368 Steven Bartlett 0593715837 Vipin 4 4.14 The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life
author: Steven Bartlett
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves:
review:
Quite inspiring to listen to. Also entertaining with lots of little stories and anecdotes.
]]> <![CDATA[Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection]]> 214438480 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.

From the author of The Power of Habit, a fascinating exploration of what makes conversations work—and how we can all learn to be supercommunicators at work and in life.

Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg blends deep research and his trademark storytelling skills to show how we can all learn to identify and leverage the hidden layers that lurk beneath every conversation.

Communication is a superpower and the best communicators understand that whenever we speak, we’re actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What’s this really about?), emotional (How do we feel?), and social (Who are we?). If you don’t know what kind of conversation you’re having, you’re unlikely to connect.

Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing—and then matching—each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. Our experiences, our values, our emotional lives—and how we see ourselves, and others—shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly.

With his storytelling that takes us from the writers� room of The Big Bang Theory to the couches of leading marriage counselors, Duhigg shows readers how to recognize these three conversations—and teaches us the tips and skills we need to navigate them more successfully.

In the end, he delivers a simple but powerful lesson: With the right tools, we can connect with anyone.]]> 320 Charles Duhigg 0593243919 Vipin 0 to-read 3.99 2024 Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
author: Charles Duhigg
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness]]> 212972620
There is no bigger public health story now than the collapse in youth mental health. The numbers are terrifying and dominate our headlines. There has been much debate over how we got here, and what to do next, and bestselling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt is at the white-hot center of that discourse. Haidt has spent his career speaking wisdom and truth into the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the perfect storm contributing to a public health emergency for Gen Z.

For the cohort that hit puberty around 2009, their sense of self developed as the threads of three dramatic technological and social changes smartphones and life with the constant companionship of a screen, front-facing cameras and the bevy of apps that thrived on selfie-culture, and social networks that reduced engagement and affirmation to likes and hearts alone. But phones aren’t the only villain here; the ground for this crisis was seeded by a decades long shift from play-based childhoods to ones defined by over-supervision, structure, and fear.

The Anxious Generation is a penetrating and alarming accounting of how we adults began to overprotect children in the real world while giving essentially no protection in the brutal online world. Haidt documents the four fundamental harms of the phone-based sleep deprivation, social deprivation, cognitive fragmentation, and addiction. He then shows the unique harms affecting boys, and the unique harms affecting girls. In the last section of The Anxious Generation , he offers concrete and scientifically based advice with separate chapters addressed to parents, schools, universities, governments, and to teens themselves. He draws on ancient wisdom and modern psychology to help everyone understand what healthy development would look like in the digital age.

10 hrs. 33 min.]]> 11 Jonathan Haidt 0593829093 Vipin 0 to-read 4.25 2024 The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
author: Jonathan Haidt
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Final Empire, Part 3 (Mistborn GraphicAudio #1, 3/3)]]> 25175964
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.]]> 7 Brandon Sanderson 1628510293 Vipin 5 4.65 2006 The Final Empire, Part 3 (Mistborn GraphicAudio #1, 3/3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Final Empire, Part 2 (Mistborn GraphicAudio#1, 2/3)]]> 25175838
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.]]> 6 Brandon Sanderson 1628510285 Vipin 5 4.57 2006 The Final Empire, Part 2 (Mistborn GraphicAudio#1, 2/3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Final Empire, Part 1 (Mistborn GraphicAudio #1, 1/3)]]> 18957941
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.]]> 6 Brandon Sanderson 1628510218 Vipin 5 4.58 2006 The Final Empire, Part 1 (Mistborn GraphicAudio #1, 1/3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:
My first graphic audio book. I'm not that into fiction these days, but this was great - and a wonderful book to listen to during gym as it's not too complicated.
]]> <![CDATA[Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 68428 What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?

Mistborn
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.]]> 541 Brandon Sanderson Vipin 0 4.48 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Follow The Money: How much does Britain cost?]]> 75593706
Paul Johnson and the enormously respected Institute for Fiscal Studies aim to hold Government to account - without which politicians will get away with their half-truths, elisions and dubious claims.

This is a forensic examination - by the man best placed to do so - of the £1 trillion it now costs to run the United Kingdom's economy. To follow the money. To provide an explanation, of where that money comes from and where it goes to, how that has changed and how it needs to change.

Government decisions determine the welfare of the poor and the elderly, the state of the health service, the effectiveness of our children's education, and how prepared we are for the whether that is a pandemic or global warming. As a society, we are a reflection of what the government spends.

Johnson looks at what happened following the financial crisis of 2008-09 and the austerity years that followed. He examines the way that the government tackled the economy during Covid - when the UK budget shot up to over a trillion for the first time - and he analyses prospects for our future as we grapple with looming recession and the cost of living crisis.]]> 313 Paul Johnson 1408714019 Vipin 4 4.20 2023 Follow The Money: How much does Britain cost?
author: Paul Johnson
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:
Awesome. I feel like a more informed voter. It also made me question some of my existing opinions on a few things. It's a bit of a mood killer listening to how bad the UK has it at the moment, but better to know than not know. I wish every UK voter read this.
]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage]]> 34189313
Using the science of habits, riveting stories and surprising facts from some of the most famous moments in history, art and business, Mel Robbins will explain the power of a “push moment.� Then, she’ll give you one simple tool you can use to become your greatest self.

It takes just five seconds to use this tool, and every time you do you’ll be in great company. More than 8 million people have watched Mel’s TEDx Talk, and executives inside of the world’s largest brands are using the tool to increase productivity, collaboration, and engagement.

In The 5 Second Rule, you’ll discover it takes just five seconds

- Become confident
- Break the habit of procrastination and self-doubt
- Beat fear and uncertainty
- Stop worrying and feel happier
- Share your ideas with courage

The 5 Second Rule is a simple, one-size-fits-all solution for the one problem we all face—we hold ourselves back.]]> 263 Mel Robbins 1682612392 Vipin 5 3.89 2017 The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage
author: Mel Robbins
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/08
shelves:
review:
The audio book is great because the author talks to you as though it were a podcast, rather than in a monotonous voice typical of most audiobooks. The rule sounds silly at first, but I am finding it quite effective.
]]> <![CDATA[Around the World in Eighty Days]]> 54479 252 Jules Verne 014044906X Vipin 4 3.95 1872 Around the World in Eighty Days
author: Jules Verne
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1872
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Designing Data-Intensive Applications]]> 23463279

In this practical and comprehensive guide, author Martin Kleppmann helps you navigate this diverse landscape by examining the pros and cons of various technologies for processing and storing data. Software keeps changing, but the fundamental principles remain the same. With this book, software engineers and architects will learn how to apply those ideas in practice, and how to make full use of data in modern applications.


Peer under the hood of the systems you already use, and learn how to use and operate them more effectively
Make informed decisions by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different tools
Navigate the trade-offs around consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, and complexity
Understand the distributed systems research upon which modern databases are built
Peek behind the scenes of major online services, and learn from their architectures]]> 562 Martin Kleppmann Vipin 4 4.72 2015 Designing Data-Intensive Applications
author: Martin Kleppmann
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.72
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/10/09
date added: 2023/10/09
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Visser (Animorphs Chronicles, #3)]]> 343187 208 K.A. Applegate 0439226775 Vipin 4 4.16 1999 Visser (Animorphs Chronicles, #3)
author: K.A. Applegate
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/11
date added: 2023/01/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Ellimist Chronicles (Animorphs Chronicles, #4)]]> 363351 Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.

He is called the Ellimist. A being with the ability to alter space and time. A being with a power that will never be fully understood. He is the reason Elfangor came to Earth. He is the reason the Earth now has a fighting chance. And though his actions never seem quite right or wrong, you can be certain they are never, ever what anyone expects.

This is the beginning and the middle of the story. A story that needs to be told in order to understand what might happen to the future. The future of the Animorphs. The future of humanity. The future of Earth.

He is called the Ellimist. And this is his story . . .]]> 200 K.A. Applegate 0439217989 Vipin 5 4.16 2000 The Ellimist Chronicles (Animorphs Chronicles, #4)
author: K.A. Applegate
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2023/01/02
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor]]> 35510008 Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know � and more than a few things you didn't � about life on and off the hospital ward.

As seen on ITV's Zoe Ball Book Club

This edition includes extra diary entries and a new afterword by the author.

]]> 285 Adam Kay Vipin 3 4.40 2017 This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
author: Adam Kay
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2022/05/20
date added: 2022/05/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken]]> 36620738 How can you defend a child-abuser you suspect to be guilty? What do you say to someone sentenced to ten years who you believe to be innocent? What is the law and why do we need it? And why do they wear wigs? From the criminals to the lawyers, the victims, witnesses and officers of the law, here is the best and worst of humanity, all struggling within a broken system which would never be off the front pages if the public knew what it was really like.

This is a first-hand account of the human cost of the criminal justice system, and a guide to how we got into this mess, The Secret Barrister shows you what it’s really like and why it really matters.]]> 385 The Secret Barrister 1509841156 Vipin 4 3.89 2018 The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken
author: The Secret Barrister
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2022/05/07
date added: 2022/05/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Perks of Being a Wallflower]]> 22628 offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see
what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being A WALLFLOWER

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

(back cover)]]> 213 Stephen Chbosky Vipin 2 4.24 1999 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
author: Stephen Chbosky
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1999
rating: 2
read at: 2022/05/06
date added: 2022/05/06
shelves:
review:
It was okay - but I was quite bored and then only finished it because it’s got such a good reputation.
]]> <![CDATA[Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy]]> 30354426
In 2001 Mo Gawdat realized that despite his incredible success, he was desperately unhappy. A lifelong learner, he attacked the problem as an engineer examining all the provable facts and scrupulously applying logic. Eventually, his countless hours of research and science proved successful, and he discovered the equation for permanent happiness.

Thirteen years later, Mo’s algorithm would be put to the ultimate test. After the sudden death of his son, Ali, Mo and his family turned to his equation—and it saved them from despair. In dealing with the horrible loss, Mo found his he would pull off the type of “moonshot� goal that he and his colleagues were always aiming for—he would share his equation with the world and help as many people as possible become happier.

In Solve for Happy Mo questions some of the most fundamental aspects of our existence, shares the underlying reasons for suffering, and plots out a step-by-step process for achieving lifelong happiness and enduring contentment. He shows us how to view life through a clear lens, teaching us how to dispel the illusions that cloud our thinking; overcome the brain’s blind spots; and embrace five ultimate truths.

No matter what obstacles we face, what burdens we bear, what trials we’ve experienced, we can all be content with our present situation and optimistic about the future.]]> 368 Mo Gawdat 1501157558 Vipin 4
That’s not to say every argument is convincing. For example, evolution doesn’t insist that randomness could create a car as the author suggests, only that it could create an intelligent designer who could create a car. And, I’m also not convinced that the human body would be harder for evolution to create than a car.

I really like the idea of choosing our beliefs based on how they benefit us. The book me also made me more aware of my ego, false expectations, obsessive fearful/negative thinking etc. I’m grateful to the author for helping me in the pursuit of happiness - and definitely recommend it ti everyone.]]> 3.95 2017 Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy
author: Mo Gawdat
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/17
date added: 2022/04/17
shelves:
review:
The book has challenged a lot of my core beliefs. It will take me some time to digest everything I’ve learnt, however, I already feel ‘happier�.

That’s not to say every argument is convincing. For example, evolution doesn’t insist that randomness could create a car as the author suggests, only that it could create an intelligent designer who could create a car. And, I’m also not convinced that the human body would be harder for evolution to create than a car.

I really like the idea of choosing our beliefs based on how they benefit us. The book me also made me more aware of my ego, false expectations, obsessive fearful/negative thinking etc. I’m grateful to the author for helping me in the pursuit of happiness - and definitely recommend it ti everyone.
]]> <![CDATA[Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet]]> 281818
In the 1960's, when computers where regarded as mere giant calculators, J.C.R. Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices. With Defense Department funds, he and a band of visionary computer whizzes began work on a nationwide, interlocking network of computers. Taking readers behind the scenes, Where Wizards Stay Up Late captures the hard work, genius, and happy accidents of their daring, stunningly successful venture.]]> 304 Katie Hafner 0684832674 Vipin 5 3.92 1996 Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet
author: Katie Hafner
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/14
date added: 2022/04/14
shelves:
review:
Must read book on the history of the internet.
]]> <![CDATA[Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software]]> 54140556
"Nadia is one of today's most nuanced thinkers about the depth and potential of online communities, and this book could not have come at a better time." --Devon Zuegel, director of product, communities at GitHub

Open source software--in which developers publish code that anyone can use--has long served as a bellwether for other online behavior. In the late 1990s, it provided an optimistic model for public]]> 252 Nadia Eghbal 0578675862 Vipin 2 3.90 2020 Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software
author: Nadia Eghbal
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2021/10/27
date added: 2021/10/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pimsleur Spanish Level 5 MP3: Learn to Speak and Understand Latin American Spanish with Pimsleur Language Programs (Comprehensive)]]> 23359080 With Pimsleur you’ll become conversational in Spanish � to understand and be understood � quickly and effectively. You’ll learn vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation together through conversation. And our scientifically proven program will help you remember what you’ve learned, so you can put it into action.

Why Pimsleur?
Quick + Easy � Only 30 minutes a day.
Portable + Flexible � Core lessons can be done anytime, anywhere, and easily fit into your busy life.
Proven Method � Works when other methods fail.
Self-Paced � Go fast or go slow � it’s up to you.
Based in Science � Developed using proven research on memory and learning.
Cost-effective � Less expensive than classes or immersion, and features all native speakers.
Genius � Triggers your brain’s natural aptitude to learn.
Works for everyone � Recommended for ages 13 and above.

What’s Included?
30, 30-minute audio lessons
60 minutes of reading instruction to provide you practice reading Spanish
in total, 16 hours of audio, all featuring native speakers
A digital Reading Booklet

What You’ll Learn
Building on skills taught in Spanish Levels 1-4, Spanish Level 5 moves you closer to near fluency, and adds a broad range of conversational skills. The pace and conversation move rapidly, accelerating exposure to new vocabulary and structures, and approaching native speed and comprehension. You’ll learn to speak more in depth about your personal life and experiences, and gain even more proficiency at creating complex sentences, and discussing events in the present, past, and future. You’ll learn to talk about hypothetical situations, and to relate what someone else has said.

Whether you want to travel, communicate with friends or colleagues, reconnect with family, or just understand more of what’s going on in the world around you, Pimsleur will help you learn Spanish and expand your horizons and enrich your life.]]> 0 Paul Pimsleur 1442386169 Vipin 4 Worth it! 4.04 2014 Pimsleur Spanish Level 5 MP3: Learn to Speak and Understand Latin American Spanish with Pimsleur Language Programs (Comprehensive)
author: Paul Pimsleur
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2021/07/28
date added: 2021/07/28
shelves:
review:
Worth it!
]]> <![CDATA[Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners: Read for pleasure at your level, expand your vocabulary and learn Spanish the fun way! (Readers nº 1) (Spanish Edition)]]> 42175803 An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners."I love Olly's work - and you will too!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for NumbersShort Stories in Spanish for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, and most importantly - enjoyment! Mapped to A2-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference, these eight captivating stories will both entertain you, and give you a feeling of progress when reading.What does this book give you?· Eight stories in a variety of exciting genres, from science fiction and crime to history and thriller - making reading fun, while you learn a wide range of new vocabulary· Controlled language at your level, including the 1000 most frequent words, to help you progress confidently· Authentic spoken dialogues, to help you learn conversational expressions and improve your speaking ability· Pleasure! It's much easier to learn a new language when you're having fun, and research shows that if you're enjoying reading in a foreign language, you won't experience the usual feelings of frustration - 'It's too hard!' 'I don't understand!'· Accessible grammar so you learn new structures naturally, in a stress-free wayCarefully curated to make learning a new language easy, these stories include key features that will support and consolidate your progress, including· A glossary for bolded words in each text· A bilingual word list· Full plot summary· Comprehension questions after each chapter. As a result, you will be able to focus on enjoying reading, delighting in your improved range of vocabulary and grasp of the language, without ever feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. From science fiction to fantasy, to crime and thrillers, Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners will make learning Spanish easy and enjoyable.]]> 238 Olly Richards 1473683262 Vipin 5 spanish 3.90 Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners: Read for pleasure at your level, expand your vocabulary and learn Spanish the fun way! (Readers nº 1) (Spanish Edition)
author: Olly Richards
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2020/10/25
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: spanish
review:
An awesome book for learning spanish. The short stories were quite enjoyable.
]]> <![CDATA[Spanish Short Stories For Beginners Volume 2: 8 More Unconventional Short Stories to Grow Your Vocabulary and Learn Spanish the Fun Way! (Spanish Edition)]]> 28271171
** Fully revised and updated **

In this book you will









Spanish Short Stories for Beginners Volume 2 is written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level (A1-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference). The eight captivating stories are designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress when reading. You’ll finally be able to enjoy reading in Spanish, grow your vocabulary in a natural way, and improve your comprehension at the same time.

Based on extensive research into how people most enjoy and benefit from reading in a new language, this book eliminates all the frustrations you have experienced when trying to read in







Instead, you can just concentrate on what you came for in the first place - enjoying reading and having fun!

If you’re learning Spanish and enjoy reading, this is the book you need to rekindle your passion for the language and take your Spanish to the next level!

So what are you waiting for? Scroll up and grab your copy now!]]> 237 Olly Richards Vipin 5 spanish 4.28 Spanish Short Stories For Beginners Volume 2: 8 More Unconventional Short Stories to Grow Your Vocabulary and Learn Spanish the Fun Way! (Spanish Edition)
author: Olly Richards
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2020/11/14
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: spanish
review:
Another awesome book. Reading feels a lot easier than before.
]]> Learn Spanish with Paul Noble 10857159 40 Paul Noble 0007363974 Vipin 5 spanish 4.47 2010 Learn Spanish with Paul Noble
author: Paul Noble
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/31
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: spanish
review:
Awesome introduction to Spanish! I already knew most of the content, but it was still good to revise. Really liked the trick for learning future tense too.
]]> <![CDATA[Spanish With Michel Thomas (Deluxe Language Courses with Michel Thomas)]]> 313685 8 Michel Thomas 0071381643 Vipin 5 spanish 4.27 2000 Spanish With Michel Thomas (Deluxe Language Courses with Michel Thomas)
author: Michel Thomas
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/07
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: spanish
review:
His accent was a bit difficult at first, but It was fine after an hour or so. Wonderful teacher! He seemed to really enjoy teaching which made this all the more enjoyable for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Next Steps in Spanish with Paul Noble � Complete Course]]> 49600222
Welcome to Learn with Paul Noble � a unique, tried and tested language learning method that has been used by almost a million people to speak fluently and confidently in no time at all.

This course covers European and Latin American Spanish.

Take your Spanish to the next level with Paul Noble's simple, relaxed approach to learning that has been proven to succeed every time. Unlike more traditional language learning courses, Paul Noble’s unique method has no grammar tests, no memory drills and no chance of failure. Just listen, interact and learn wherever you are.

In this audiobook, Paul will help you build on your existing Spanish knowledge and give you the confidence to independently construct sentences and speak Spanish fluently in a variety of scenarios. Language learning has finally become quick, easy and effortless.

This 7 hour course also includes a handy downloadable booklet to help reinforce your learning. The accompanying booklet is available

Next Steps is an intermediate course, for non-beginners, which follows on from the Learn Spanish with Paul Noble for Beginners � Complete Course.

PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.]]> 8 Paul Noble 0008294984 Vipin 5 spanish 4.52 Next Steps in Spanish with Paul Noble — Complete Course
author: Paul Noble
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/13
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: spanish
review:
I wish there was one more in the series!
]]> <![CDATA[Pimsleur Spanish III [Lessons 1-30]]]> 23411 The Pimsleur® Method is scientifically proven to be your fastest route to nearnative fluency. Spanish Phase 3 includes another 15 hours of spoken language practice and one additional hour of reading instruction, and is designed to be used after completion of Phases 1 and 2.

The beginning 10 lessons of Phase 3 offer you the chance to expand your vocabulary and increase your fluency to an even higher level. You’ll gain experience participating in many informal and some formal discussions on practical, social, and semiprofessional topics. You’ll skillfully form longer, more complex sentences, and most importantly, you’ll find yourself being understood, even by native speakers unused to dealing with foreigners. You’ll be able to join in conversations effortlessly, confident of being understood. In the next 10 lessons of Phase 3 your skills will show everincreasing mastery of the language. Speaking with grace and complete naturalness, you’ll enjoy fluid conversations on many new subjects. Delving deeper into cultural norms and situations, you’ll find yourself responding effortlessly, and able to choose from a wide accumulation of vocabulary and structures. In the final 10 lessons of Phase 3, you’re nearing fluency with agile responses, and a naturalsounding, nearnative accent. You’re able to utilize the language in subtle ways, and speak using past, present, and future tenses. Selfconfidence soars as you experience the language and culture; no longer as a foreigner, but with a deepening insight into an expanding new world.

Reading Lessons are included at the end of Unit 30. These lessons, which total about one hour, are designed to give you practice reading Spanish and to provide vocabulary. Before you know it, you’ll be reading Spanish with the ease and flexibility of a native speaker. A Reading Booklet to be used with the audio lessons is also included in PDF format.

]]> Paul Pimsleur 0743528956 Vipin 4 spanish 4.37 1997 Pimsleur Spanish III [Lessons 1-30]
author: Paul Pimsleur
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2021/03/06
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: spanish
review:
It doesn’t cover grammar which is a shame, but if you already know the grammar then this is excellent for training the ear. I picked up lots of useful vocab and phrases. Way too expensive though - so I’ve knocked off one star for that.
]]> <![CDATA[Pimsleur Spanish Level 4 MP3: Learn to Speak and Understand Latin American Spanish with Pimsleur Language Programs (Comprehensive)]]> 13546801 About Spanish
Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the world with over 350 million native speakers.
The largest number of Spanish speakers reside in Mexico, with over 98% of the population speaking Spanish.
This course teaches Latin American Spanish.
Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
Derived from Latin, Spanish is a Romance language, in the Ibero-Romance group.
Spanish is spoken widely throughout Latin America and Spain as well as parts of the United States, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
Spanish Phase 4, Units 1-30
A new 30-unit course that replaces the Spanish Plus 10-unit course, and which is designed to be completed after Spanish Phase 3.
Consists of thirty 30-minute lessons totaling 15 hours of spoken Spanish language learning. Plus, one hour of Reading Lessons designed to give you practice reading Spanish and expand your vocabulary.
Builds upon skills taught in Pimsleur's Spanish Phases 1-3. You'll be speaking and understanding Spanish with near-fluency and with a broad range of conversational skills. In Phase 4, the pace and conversation moves more rapidly, making way for accelerated and more plentiful learning of vocabulary and structures.
Learn to speak about your profession, needs, likes and dislikes. Create complex sentences discussing the past, present and future, and discuss current technology.
Main topics of Spanish Phase 4

Work related meetings, projects, conferences, appointments; using a business center in a hotel; making conversations in an educational setting.

reserving a room, requesting Internet connection, getting help with luggage, asking about breakfast and dinner hours.

getting around in a department store, trying on and buying various items of clothing, asking for colors and sizes, buying gifts and souvenirs, going to the market.

going to the beach and swimming pool, sunbathing, choosing inside or outside seating at a restaurant, taking a walk, talking about sports.

Family and conversing informally with and about friends and extended family, talking informally about everyday situations.

Small expressing opinions, wishes, and stating views; asking how someone is feeling; talking about books and summarizing a book plot.

describing types of rainy, windy, sunny, humid.
Speak with a natural-sounding, near-native accent. No mindless repetition! Converse with native speakers in natural and useful conversations at a high-intermediate level. Easy, fast, fun and effective � We guarantee satisfaction and a measurable level of spoken proficiency (rules and regulations apply, see for more details). Learn anytime, anywhere. No computer necessary!]]> 0 Pimsleur Language Programs 1442338881 Vipin 4 spanish 4.25 Pimsleur Spanish Level 4 MP3: Learn to Speak and Understand Latin American Spanish with Pimsleur Language Programs (Comprehensive)
author: Pimsleur Language Programs
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/03
date added: 2021/07/04
shelves: spanish
review:
Not much more difficult than level 3. Picked up some useful vocab. On to level 5!
]]> The Salt Path 38085814
They have almost no money for food or shelter and must carry only the essentials for survival on their backs as they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable journey.

The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.]]> 288 Raynor Winn 0241349648 Vipin 4 3.97 2018 The Salt Path
author: Raynor Winn
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/16
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves:
review:
Incredible. How people can endure through something like this is just beyond me. Very inspiring. Made me feel quite nostalgic of my DofE days - not that it's comparable in any way.
]]> The Remains of the Day 28921 Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 0571225381 here.

In the summer of 1956, Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, decides to take a motoring trip through the West Country. The six-day excursion becomes a journey into the past of Stevens and England, a past that takes in fascism, two world wars, and an unrealised love between the butler and his housekeeper.]]> 258 Kazuo Ishiguro Vipin 3
I have mixed feelings about this one. Occasionally I remember thinking some narration was beautiful or interesting, but overall it felt a little bit dull too. ]]> 4.14 1989 The Remains of the Day
author: Kazuo Ishiguro
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/17
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves:
review:
My first audio book!

I have mixed feelings about this one. Occasionally I remember thinking some narration was beautiful or interesting, but overall it felt a little bit dull too.
]]> <![CDATA[Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen]]> 6289283 Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.

Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.

With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.]]> 287 Christopher McDougall Vipin 4 4.29 2009 Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
author: Christopher McDougall
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/09/03
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts]]> 23878688 Over 20 million copies sold!

A perennial New York Times bestseller for over a decade!

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love—that’s the challenge. How can you keep your relationship fresh and growing amid the demands, conflicts, and just plain boredom of everyday life?

In the #1 New York Times international bestseller The 5 Love Languages®, you’ll discover the secret that has transformed millions of relationships worldwide. Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman’s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner—starting today.

The 5 Love Languages® is as practical as it is insightful. Updated to reflect the complexities of relationships today, this new edition reveals intrinsic truths and applies relevant, actionable wisdom in ways that work.

Includes the Love Language assessment so you can discover your love language and that of your loved one.]]> 232 Gary Chapman 0802492401 Vipin 5 dating 4.32 1990 The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
author: Gary Chapman
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2020/08/10
date added: 2020/08/14
shelves: dating
review:
An enjoyable read. Very concise too. I think the author shouldn’t have restricted these to married couples. There is a lot in here to take away for others too.
]]> <![CDATA[Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson]]> 6900
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you?

Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone disease - Mitch visited Morrie in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final 'class': lessons in how to live.]]> 210 Mitch Albom Vipin 4 4.19 1997 Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
author: Mitch Albom
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/14
date added: 2020/08/14
shelves:
review:
A sweet story and a gentle reminder to keep re-evaluating our priorities in life.
]]> <![CDATA[Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis]]> 41716904 Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, in his third book in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crises while adopting selective changes -- a coping mechanism more commonly associated with individuals recovering from personal crises.

Diamond compares how six countries have survived recent upheavals -- ranging from the forced opening of Japan by U.S. Commodore Perry's fleet, to the Soviet Union's attack on Finland, to a murderous coup or countercoup in Chile and Indonesia, to the transformations of Germany and Australia after World War Two. Because Diamond has lived and spoken the language in five of these six countries, he can present gut-wrenching histories experienced firsthand. These nations coped, to varying degrees, through mechanisms such as acknowledgment of responsibility, painfully honest self-appraisal, and learning from models of other nations. Looking to the future, Diamond examines whether the United States, Japan, and the whole world are successfully coping with the grave crises they currently face. Can we learn from lessons of the past?

Adding a psychological dimension to the in-depth history, geography, biology, and anthropology that mark all of Diamond's books, Upheaval reveals factors influencing how both whole nations and individual people can respond to big challenges. The result is a book epic in scope, but also his most personal book yet.]]> 512 Jared Diamond Vipin 3 history
I genuinely liked the narrative style of the author, however one thing that frustrated me is the repetition of ideas (presumably for reinforcement) over and over. This is the main reason I've taken away 2 stars. It took me weeks to get through this book! I think it could have been a lot more concisely written without degrading the quality.

There are some interesting and valuable takeaways from the book. I particularly enjoyed the relevance to modern day global crises - especially the decline of democracy due to people not being willing to compromise. This blatant disregard for historical alternatives to democracy could prove fatal someday.

Reading about how nations have dealt with crises in the past, I am also ever more pessimistic that we will proactively manage the problems facing us. It seems like the only thing we're capable of is reacting to crises when they happen and adapting to new realties. Let's just hope that's still a viable option in the future.]]> 3.87 2019 Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis
author: Jared Diamond
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2020/05/25
date added: 2020/05/25
shelves: history
review:
We understand a lot about a person by looking at how they handle a crisis. I think the same applies to nations. I enjoyed getting to know these nations that I had never really read much about before: Australia, Indonesia, Finland, Chile, Meiji Japan. I feel curious to learn more about them and perhaps even visit these countries myself someday.

I genuinely liked the narrative style of the author, however one thing that frustrated me is the repetition of ideas (presumably for reinforcement) over and over. This is the main reason I've taken away 2 stars. It took me weeks to get through this book! I think it could have been a lot more concisely written without degrading the quality.

There are some interesting and valuable takeaways from the book. I particularly enjoyed the relevance to modern day global crises - especially the decline of democracy due to people not being willing to compromise. This blatant disregard for historical alternatives to democracy could prove fatal someday.

Reading about how nations have dealt with crises in the past, I am also ever more pessimistic that we will proactively manage the problems facing us. It seems like the only thing we're capable of is reacting to crises when they happen and adapting to new realties. Let's just hope that's still a viable option in the future.
]]> Norwegian Wood 11297
A magnificent blending of the music, the mood, and the ethos that was the sixties with the story of one college student's romantic coming of age, Norwegian Wood brilliantly recaptures a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love.]]> 296 Haruki Murakami 0375704027 Vipin 4 4.01 1987 Norwegian Wood
author: Haruki Murakami
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2019/06/26
date added: 2020/05/19
shelves: depression, fiction, suicide, japanese
review:
A fairly simple story with only a handful of characters. There is a sadness that weaves in and out through the whole story. Make sure you have something cheerful to read after this one :P
]]> <![CDATA[Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea]]> 6178648 Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the devastation of a far-ranging famine that killed one-fifth of the population.

Taking us into a landscape most of us have never before seen, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick brings to life what it means to be living under the most repressive totalitarian regime today—an Orwellian world that is by choice not connected to the Internet, in which radio and television dials are welded to the one government station, and where displays of affection are punished; a police state where informants are rewarded and where an offhand remark can send a person to the gulag for life.

Demick takes us deep inside the country, beyond the reach of government censors. Through meticulous and sensitive reporting, we see her six subjects—average North Korean citizens—fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival. One by one, we experience the moments when they realize that their government has betrayed them.

Nothing to Envy is a groundbreaking addition to the literature of totalitarianism and an eye-opening look at a closed world that is of increasing global importance.]]> 316 Barbara Demick 0385523904 Vipin 4 history 4.43 2009 Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
author: Barbara Demick
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/02
date added: 2020/05/02
shelves: history
review:
A saddening insight into North Korea. It's incredible that this is not a dystopian novel. It’s reality! How could such a cruel, backwards regime still exist in this 21st century? It's not fair. :(
]]> Clean Agile: Back to Basics 45280021 Agile Manifesto was first presented, the legendary Robert C. Martin ("Uncle Bob") reintroduces agile values and principles for a new generation of software developers. In this eagerly-awaited book, the best-selling author of The Clean Coder shows how to bring unprecedented levels of professionalism and discipline to agile development -- and thereby write far more effective, successful software.
As with his other books, Martin's Clean Agile: Back to Basics doesn't merely present multiple choices and options, and say "use your best judgment": it tells you what choices to make, and why those choices are critical to your success. Writing in the agile context, Martin offers direct, no-nonsense answers to crucial questions like:
How and why did Agile begin? What are the costs and benefits of Agile? What are the most effective practices of Agile Development? How should an Agile team be organized? What roles do programmers, testers, and managers play in an Agile team? What is the role of the Agile Coach? What about Agile for large projects? What kinds of projects benefit from Agile? Clean Agile: Back to Basics is essential reading for programmers, managers, testers, project managers and every software professional called upon to lead or participate in an agile project.
]]> 240 Robert C. Martin 0135781868 Vipin 5 programming
Here is something that made me laugh: "Some folks think that Agile is about going fast. It’s not. It’s never been about going fast. Agile is about knowing, as early as possible, just how screwed we are."]]> 4.22 2019 Clean Agile: Back to Basics
author: Robert C. Martin
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/04/19
date added: 2020/04/19
shelves: programming
review:
This one was recommended to me by a teammate, and is only the second book by Uncle Bob that I have read (first one was Clean Code). I genuinely had chills as I started reading this and I ended up finishing it in just one day. You know that feeling when you want to tell someone how much you agree with everything they said? :P This book is a must read for any software developer.

Here is something that made me laugh: "Some folks think that Agile is about going fast. It’s not. It’s never been about going fast. Agile is about knowing, as early as possible, just how screwed we are."
]]> <![CDATA[Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders]]> 16158601 "David Marquet is the kind of leader who comes around only once in a generation ... his ideas and lessons are invaluable"
� Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why

Captain David Marquet was used to giving orders. In the high-stress environment of the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered submarine, it was crucial his men did their job well. But the ship was dogged by poor morale, poor performance and the worst retention in the fleet.

One day, Marquet unknowingly gave an impossible order, and his crew tried to follow it anyway. He realized he was leading in a culture of followers, and they were all in danger unless they fundamentally changed the way they did things.

Marquet took matters into his own hands and pushed for leadership at every level. Before long, his crew became fully engaged and the Santa Fe skyrocketed from worst to first in the fleet.

No matter your business or position, you can apply Marquet's approach to create a workplace where everyone takes responsibility for their actions, people are healthier and happier � and everyone is a leader.]]> 272 L. David Marquet 1591846404 Vipin 4 leadership
I particularly appreciated how concise this book was. It's an easy read.]]> 4.18 2013 Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
author: L. David Marquet
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2020/04/14
date added: 2020/04/14
shelves: leadership
review:
More than a few people have recommended this one me. I loved it and am feeling really inspired in this moment. :)

I particularly appreciated how concise this book was. It's an easy read.
]]> <![CDATA[The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding]]> 115758 832 Arnold Schwarzenegger 0684857219 Vipin 4 4.45 1985 The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding
author: Arnold Schwarzenegger
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2020/03/28
date added: 2020/03/28
shelves:
review:
Haven’t read it cover to cover, but I intend to treat this book as reference material. Found this book to be very inspiring in terms of getting more out of my gym routine.
]]> <![CDATA[The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity]]> 34017010 Iconic couples� therapist and bestselling author ofMating in CaptivityEsther Perel returns with a provocative look at relationships through the lens of infidelity.

An affair: it can rob a couple of their relationship, their happiness, their very identity. And yet, this extremely common human experience is so poorly understood. What are we to make of this time-honored taboo—universally forbidden yet universally practiced? Why do people cheat—even those in happy marriages? Why does an affair hurt so much? When we say infidelity, what exactly do we mean? Do our romantic expectations of marriage set us up for betrayal? Is there such a thing as an affair-proof marriage? Is it possible to love more than one person at once? Can an affair ever help a marriage? Perel weaves real-life case stories with incisive psychological and cultural analysis in this fast-paced and compelling book.

For the past ten years, Perel has traveled the globe and worked with hundreds of couples who have grappled with infidelity. Betrayal hurts, she writes, but it can be healed. Anaffaircan even be the doorway to a new marriage—with the same person. With the right approach, couples can grow and learn from these tumultuous experiences, together or apart.

Affairs, she argues, have a lot to teach us about modern relationships—what we expect, what we think we want, and what we feel entitled to. They offer a unique window into our personal and cultural attitudes about love, lust, and commitment. Through examining illicit love from multiple angles, Perel invites readers into an honest, enlightened, and entertaining exploration of modern marriage in its many variations.

Fiercely intelligent,ճٲٱǴڴڲprovides a daring framework for understanding the intricacies of love and desire. As Perel observes, “Love is messy; infidelity more so. But it is also a window, like no other, into the crevices of the human heart.”]]> 352 Esther Perel 0062322605 Vipin 4 dating, psychology, romance
The human mind is a fascinatingly complex thing and the way human minds deal with affairs of the heart is particularly mind boggling. Whether you're for or against monogamy, I think most of us can agree that relationships are a huge and precious part of the human experience. It makes sense to study them and understand how we could be better. I found this book very useful in that regard.

What I appreciated the most is the advocacy of open mindedness and trying to see the point of view from the side of the 'bad guy' (or girl) - which could easily be me or you no matter how much we all want to be or fool ourselves into thinking that we are the protagonist of the story. I also found the various real world anecdotes (e.g. regarding double standards) Esther provides very thought provoking.

All in all, an interesting read. I feel a bit more self aware.]]> 4.35 2017 The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity
author: Esther Perel
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/15
date added: 2020/02/15
shelves: dating, psychology, romance
review:
This one was recommended by a friend to me. Definitely not something I'd have picked up on my own.

The human mind is a fascinatingly complex thing and the way human minds deal with affairs of the heart is particularly mind boggling. Whether you're for or against monogamy, I think most of us can agree that relationships are a huge and precious part of the human experience. It makes sense to study them and understand how we could be better. I found this book very useful in that regard.

What I appreciated the most is the advocacy of open mindedness and trying to see the point of view from the side of the 'bad guy' (or girl) - which could easily be me or you no matter how much we all want to be or fool ourselves into thinking that we are the protagonist of the story. I also found the various real world anecdotes (e.g. regarding double standards) Esther provides very thought provoking.

All in all, an interesting read. I feel a bit more self aware.
]]> <![CDATA[Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams]]> 34466963 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781501144318.

Neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker provides a revolutionary exploration of sleep, examining how it affects every aspect of our physical and mental well-being. Charting the most cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, and marshalling his decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood and energy levels, regulate hormones, prevent cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes, slow the effects of aging, and increase longevity. He also provides actionable steps towards getting a better night's sleep every night.]]> 368 Matthew Walker Vipin 5 lifestyle, science, health
The one activity we spend the majority of our life doing is sleeping, yet most of us know so little about it. :( Before reading this book, I genuinely did not appreciate the sheer extent of how beneficial sleep can be, nor how harmful it can be to not get adequate sleep. The thing that appalled me the most is how significant/measurable an impact the lack of good quality and REGULAR sleep has on memory retention and creativity - two things that are a high priority to me.

I particularly liked that the author referenced scientific experiments to back up his statements and tried to be clear when he was making inferences vs. educated guesses. The narration was also quite good, keeping me engaged throughout.

I highly recommend this book to every human being - since we all need sleep! I also particularly recommend this book to teachers, school administrators and parents who have a significant influence on how much sleep children get. Having undergone the psychological torture of being forced to wake up at absurd hours in my own high school, I can only hope that we, the adults, learn from the developed understanding on the subject of sleep and cater to the different sleeping requirements that children have. PS - I myself am an early riser by choice today. :)]]> 4.37 2017 Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
author: Matthew Walker
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2020/02/02
date added: 2020/02/02
shelves: lifestyle, science, health
review:
Whoa! Am I glad I read this! This was terrifying!

The one activity we spend the majority of our life doing is sleeping, yet most of us know so little about it. :( Before reading this book, I genuinely did not appreciate the sheer extent of how beneficial sleep can be, nor how harmful it can be to not get adequate sleep. The thing that appalled me the most is how significant/measurable an impact the lack of good quality and REGULAR sleep has on memory retention and creativity - two things that are a high priority to me.

I particularly liked that the author referenced scientific experiments to back up his statements and tried to be clear when he was making inferences vs. educated guesses. The narration was also quite good, keeping me engaged throughout.

I highly recommend this book to every human being - since we all need sleep! I also particularly recommend this book to teachers, school administrators and parents who have a significant influence on how much sleep children get. Having undergone the psychological torture of being forced to wake up at absurd hours in my own high school, I can only hope that we, the adults, learn from the developed understanding on the subject of sleep and cater to the different sleeping requirements that children have. PS - I myself am an early riser by choice today. :)
]]> <![CDATA[Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man]]> 36373421
Through interviews with experts in neuroscience, sociology, and critical race theory, he constructs a deft and thoughtful examination of the role of men in contemporary society. Amateur is a graceful and uncompromising look at gender by a fearless, fiercely honest writer.

Runtime: 3 hours and 38 minutes]]> 205 Thomas Page McBee 1501168746 Vipin 3 gender, lgbtq 4.24 2018 Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man
author: Thomas Page McBee
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/01/12
date added: 2020/01/12
shelves: gender, lgbtq
review:
It was interesting to hear Thomas's views on what it means to be a man, but the boxing related events seemed like a distraction to me. I appreciated the insights into gender biases coming from someone with both the male and female perspectives.
]]> <![CDATA[The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)]]> 30075802
A poetry collection divided into four different parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, & you. the princess, the damsel, & the queen piece together the life of the author in three stages, while you serves as a note to the reader & all of humankind. Explores life & all of its love, loss, grief, healing, empowerment, & inspirations.]]> 156 Amanda Lovelace 1532913680 Vipin 3 poetry My first ever poetry book! 3.83 2016 The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)
author: Amanda Lovelace
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/05
date added: 2019/11/05
shelves: poetry
review:
My first ever poetry book!
]]> Thinking In Systems: A Primer 3828902 Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute’s Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world, showing readers how to develop the systems-thinking skills that thought leaders across the globe consider critical for 21st-century life.

Some of the biggest problems facing the world—war, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation—are essentially system failures. They cannot be solved by fixing one piece in isolation from the others, because even seemingly minor details have enormous power to undermine the best efforts of too-narrow thinking.

While readers will learn the conceptual tools and methods of systems thinking, the heart of the book is grander than methodology. Donella Meadows was known as much for nurturing positive outcomes as she was for delving into the science behind global dilemmas. She reminds readers to pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable, to stay humble, and to stay a learner.

In a world growing ever more complicated, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps readers avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions.]]> 218 Donella H. Meadows 1603580557 Vipin 5 design 4.17 2008 Thinking In Systems: A Primer
author: Donella H. Meadows
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/25
date added: 2019/10/26
shelves: design
review:
An enjoyable and easy read on systems way of thinking. It's really small - should take you just one evening or so to get through it. Lots of nice, easy examples. I also enjoyed the more philosophical discussion towards the end. Recommended to all system design enthusiasts.
]]> <![CDATA[One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com]]> 11223478
Richard Brandt charts Bezos's rise from computer nerd to world- changing entrepreneur. His success can be credited to his forward-looking insights and ruthless business sense. Brandt explains:

Why Bezos decided to allow negative product reviews, correctly guessing that the earned trust would outweigh possible lost sales.

Why Amazon zealously guards some patents yet freely shares others.

Why Bezos called becoming profitable the "dumbest" thing they could do in 1997.

How Amazon.com became one of the only dotcoms to survive the bust of the early 2000s.

Where the company is headed next.

Through interviews with Amazon employees, competitors, and observers, Brandt has deciphered how Bezos makes decisions. The story of Amazon's ongoing evolution is a case study in how to reinvent an entire industry, and one that anyone in business today ignores at their peril.]]> 214 Richard L. Brandt 1591843758 Vipin 4 business, leadership, tech
I think Amazon's story is just off the scale incredible and inspiring. This book's a concise, well-written subset of the story. It is a great starting point I think - but it leaves out a hell of a lot.

I'm now looking forward to learning more about Amazon. And, maybe someday Jeff might want to write an autobiography. Wouldn't that be grand?]]> 3.75 2011 One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com
author: Richard L. Brandt
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2019/10/13
date added: 2019/10/13
shelves: business, leadership, tech
review:
Just for the record - it's 4/5 for the book; the story of Jeff Bezos and Amazon are definitely 5/5.

I think Amazon's story is just off the scale incredible and inspiring. This book's a concise, well-written subset of the story. It is a great starting point I think - but it leaves out a hell of a lot.

I'm now looking forward to learning more about Amazon. And, maybe someday Jeff might want to write an autobiography. Wouldn't that be grand?
]]> <![CDATA[The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence]]> 56465 Unwarranted fear is a curse.
Learn how to tell the difference.

A date won't take "no" for an answer. The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling. A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers unsolicited help. The threat of violence surrounds us every day. But we can protect ourselves, by learning to trust—and act on—our gut instincts.

In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the man Oprah Winfrey calls the nation's leading expert on violent behavior, shows you how to spot even subtle signs of danger—before it's too late. Shattering the myth that most violent acts are unpredictable, de Becker, whose clients include top Hollywood stars and government agencies, offers specific ways to protect yourself and those you love, including how to act when approached by a stranger, when you should fear someone close to you, what to do if you are being stalked, how to uncover the source of anonymous threats or phone calls, the biggest mistake you can make with a threatening person, and more. Learn to spot the danger signals others miss. It might just save your life.
]]> 352 Gavin de Becker 0747538352 Vipin 5
There is a lot to learn from this book about assessing threats and managing them. I found a lot of the insights interesting and sometimes surprising/counter-intuitive.

Although it’s something I was already aware of, the discussions on the enduring fear of violent men that women have to live with is quite saddening. I do believe that the world is getting better in that respect, but there’s a long way to go. ]]> 4.16 1997 The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
author: Gavin de Becker
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/12
date added: 2019/10/12
shelves:
review:
It’s far too easy these days to be dismissive of our fear instinct because they’re not logical. Gavin persuades us that just because we can’t immediately recognise the logic, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Also, the cost of ignoring a valid threat could potentially outweigh the cost of reacting to an unwarranted fear.

There is a lot to learn from this book about assessing threats and managing them. I found a lot of the insights interesting and sometimes surprising/counter-intuitive.

Although it’s something I was already aware of, the discussions on the enduring fear of violent men that women have to live with is quite saddening. I do believe that the world is getting better in that respect, but there’s a long way to go.
]]> <![CDATA[I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)]]> 13214
Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.� At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare�) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.]]> 289 Maya Angelou 0553279378 Vipin 5 4.30 1969 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
author: Maya Angelou
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1969
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/26
date added: 2019/09/26
shelves:
review:
I'm in awe of how much this rather small autobiography, covering just her childhood actually covers. So much human experience, some good, some tragic. The writing is also so good - so easy to read! I also love her insights into life. Looking forward to reading more by Maya :)
]]> <![CDATA[The Notebook (The Notebook, #1)]]> 33648131
Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. It is a story of miracles and emotions that will stay with you forever.]]> 227 Nicholas Sparks Vipin 4
PS - Although I had watched the movie a while ago, I honestly couldn't remember the plot, so reading this genuinely felt like I was hearing the story for the first time ]]> 4.32 1996 The Notebook (The Notebook, #1)
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/18
date added: 2019/09/18
shelves:
review:
The story itself seems lacking in depth, but I still loved the book for the quality of the writing. Some of the descriptions of love/loss are just breathtaking. It's worth reading this book just for that.

PS - Although I had watched the movie a while ago, I honestly couldn't remember the plot, so reading this genuinely felt like I was hearing the story for the first time
]]> <![CDATA[Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience]]> 66354 303 Mihály Csíkszentmihályi 0060920432 Vipin 4 philosophy 4.11 1990 Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
author: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/16
date added: 2019/09/16
shelves: philosophy
review:
I wish this book were a bit more concise. Except for that one criticism, I found this very persuasive/inspiring regarding the necessity of conscious effort to enjoy life.
]]> <![CDATA[If You Feel Too Much: Thoughts on Things Found and Lost and Hoped For]]> 23846010
In 2006 Jamie Tworkowski wrote a story called “To Write Love on Her Arms,� about helping a friend through her struggle with drug addiction, depression, and self-injury. The piece was so hauntingly beautiful that it quickly went viral, giving birth to a non-profit organization of the same name. Now, To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) is an internationally recognized leader in suicide prevention anda source of hope, encouragement, and support for people worldwide.

If You Feel Too Much is a celebration of hope, wonder, and what it means to be human. From personal stories of struggling on days most people celebrate to words of strength and encouragement in moments of loss, the essays in this book invite readers to believe that it’s okay to admit to pain and okay to ask for help. If You Feel Too Much is an important book from one of this generation’s most important voices.]]> 208 Jamie Tworkowski 0399176497 Vipin 4 depression
The bit that really resonated with me: ”So do not despair. For there is more than what we feel. There are things missing in every single room. But there is even more not missing. So don’t be blinded by the ghosts. Don’t let them glow brighter than your friends. Don’t let them glow brighter than your family. Be present. Fight to be present. Don’t live only in your head. It’s lonely and it’s dangerous.�

Fight to be present.]]> 4.13 2015 If You Feel Too Much: Thoughts on Things Found and Lost and Hoped For
author: Jamie Tworkowski
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/13
date added: 2019/09/12
shelves: depression
review:
Just beautiful!

The bit that really resonated with me: ”So do not despair. For there is more than what we feel. There are things missing in every single room. But there is even more not missing. So don’t be blinded by the ghosts. Don’t let them glow brighter than your friends. Don’t let them glow brighter than your family. Be present. Fight to be present. Don’t live only in your head. It’s lonely and it’s dangerous.�

Fight to be present.
]]> Modern Romance 23453112
Some of our problems are unique to our time.“Why did this guy just text me an emoji of a pizza?”“Should I go out with this girl even though shelisted Combos as one of her favorite snack foods?Combos?!� “My girlfriend just got a message fromsome dude named Nathan. Who’s Nathan? Did hejust send her a photo of his penis? Should I checkjust to be sure?”�

But the transformation of our romantic livescan’t be explained by technology alone. In a shortperiod of time, the whole culture of finding lovehas changed dramatically. A few decades ago,people would find a decent person who lived intheir neighborhood. Their families would meetand, after deciding neither party seemed like amurderer, they would get married and soon havea kid, all by the time they were twenty-four. Today,people marry later than ever and spend years oftheir lives on a quest to find the perfect person, asoul mate.

For years, Aziz Ansari has been aiming hiscomic insight at modern romance, but for ѴǻdzԳ, the book, he decided he needed to takethings to another level. He teamed up with NYUsociologist Eric Klinenberg and designed a massiveresearch project, including hundreds of interviewsand focus groups conducted everywhere fromTokyo to Buenos Aires to Wichita. They analyzedbehavioral data and surveys and created their ownonline research forum on Reddit, which drewthousands of messages. They enlisted the world’sleading social scientists, including Andrew Cherlin, Eli Finkel, HelenFisher, Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz, SherryTurkle, and Robb Willer. The result is unlike anysocial science or humor book we’ve seen before.

In Modern Romance, Ansari combines hisirreverent humor with cutting-edge social scienceto give us an unforgettable tour of our newromantic world.]]> 279 Aziz Ansari 1594206279 Vipin 3 dating 3.79 2015 Modern Romance
author: Aziz Ansari
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2019/09/12
date added: 2019/09/11
shelves: dating
review:
This was very engaging and I finished reading it in a single sitting. It seems like marriage is the only thing anyone in my family seems to want to talk to me about these days
]]> <![CDATA[Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents]]> 17339123
This essential handbook covers a range of topics you need to know to pass your test and apply for UK citizenship or permanent residency, including:

The process of becoming a citizen or permanent resident
The values and principles of the UK
Traditions and culture from around the UK
The events and people that have shaped the UK's history
The government and the law
Getting involved in your community]]> 180 Home Office 0113413556 Vipin 2 3.20 2013 Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents
author: Home Office
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2019/09/10
date added: 2019/09/09
shelves:
review:
Ah the test is so difficult. I bet most British people wouldn’t be able to pass it! Regardless, I did find it interesting reading this. It’s a concise introduction to the UK, albeit a slightly biased one.
]]> <![CDATA[Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times]]> 34466851
What do such disparate figures have in common? Why do their extraordinary stories continue to amaze and inspire? In her “enthralling…fascinating look at a varied group of heroes� ( Publishers Weekly ), Nancy Koehn offers a remarkable template by which to measure our aspirations and, also, to judge those in our time to whom we've given our trust.

Featuring “five stand-alone case studies that are well-written and interesting� ( The New York Times ), Koehn begins each section by showing her protagonist on the precipice of a great Shackleton marooned on an Antarctic ice floe; Lincoln on the verge of seeing the Union collapse; escaped slave Douglass facing possible capture; Bonhoeffer agonizing over how to counter absolute evil with faith; Carson racing against the cancer ravaging her in a bid to save the planet. Readers then learn about each person’s childhood and see the individual growing—step by step—into the person he or she will ultimately become. Significantly, as we follow each leader’s against-all-odds journey, we begin to glean an essential leaders are not born but made . In a book dense with epiphanies, the most galvanizing one may be that the power and courage to lead resides in each of us.

Providing both great insight and exceptionally rendered human drama, Forged in Crisis is “a highly engaging (and well documented)…book that quietly surpasses many so-called leadership tomes� ( Booklist , starred review).]]> 528 Nancy F. Koehn 1501174444 Vipin 5 history, leadership
The only leader in the selection that I was already familiar with was Abraham Lincoln. He was one of my childhood heroes and every time I read about him, it fills me with inspiration. Side note: I always find it interesting that one of the great moral acts in human history, the abolition of slavery in the US, was enabled by military incentives as much as the moral incentive.

The five leaders Nancy chose are so diverse and yet she draws interesting insights into similarities between them - the essential ingredients to leadership profound enough to inspire posterity. I will say kudos to Nancy for including a quiet leader, Rachel Carson. As an introvert myself, Rachel Carson, is someone I can relate to better than the other more extroverted leaders.

Overall, I appreciate the author's effort to create a concise narrative about five great leaders and what lessons we can learn from their self-development in times of crises.]]> 4.04 2013 Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times
author: Nancy F. Koehn
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2019/08/23
date added: 2019/08/23
shelves: history, leadership
review:
I so enjoyed reading this :)

The only leader in the selection that I was already familiar with was Abraham Lincoln. He was one of my childhood heroes and every time I read about him, it fills me with inspiration. Side note: I always find it interesting that one of the great moral acts in human history, the abolition of slavery in the US, was enabled by military incentives as much as the moral incentive.

The five leaders Nancy chose are so diverse and yet she draws interesting insights into similarities between them - the essential ingredients to leadership profound enough to inspire posterity. I will say kudos to Nancy for including a quiet leader, Rachel Carson. As an introvert myself, Rachel Carson, is someone I can relate to better than the other more extroverted leaders.

Overall, I appreciate the author's effort to create a concise narrative about five great leaders and what lessons we can learn from their self-development in times of crises.
]]> The Alchemist 18144590 The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations.

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, following our dreams.]]> 182 Paulo Coelho 0062315005 Vipin 4 fiction 4.01 1988 The Alchemist
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/16
date added: 2019/08/15
shelves: fiction
review:
A really beautiful, short and inspiring story about dreams and Personal Legends.
]]> Man’s Search for Meaning 4069 Man's Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.]]> 165 Viktor E. Frankl 080701429X Vipin 5 history, psychology 4.38 1946 Man’s Search for Meaning
author: Viktor E. Frankl
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1946
rating: 5
read at: 2019/08/11
date added: 2019/08/11
shelves: history, psychology
review:
I found this intriguing and inspiring. A must-read for anyone in the pursuit of meaning.
]]> The Thorn Birds 3458106
The central figures in this enthralling story are the indomitable Meggie, the only Cleary daughter, and the one man she truly loves, the stunningly handsome and ambitious priest Ralph de Bricassart. Ralph's course moves him a long way indeed, from a remote Outback parish to the halls of the Vatican; and Meggie's except for a brief and miserable marriage elsewhere, is fixed to the Drogheda that is part of her bones - but distance does not dim their feelings though it shapes their lives.

Wonderful characters people this book; strong and gentle, Paddy, hiding a private memory; dutiful Fiona, holding back love because it once betrayed her, violent, tormented Frank, and the other hardworking Cleary sons who give the boundless lands of Drogheda the energy and devotion most men save for women; Meggie; Ralph; and Meggie's children, Justine and Dane. And the land itself; stark, relentless in its demands, brilliant in its flowering, prey to gigantic cycles of drought and flood, rich when nature is bountiful, surreal like no other place on earth.

(First Edition Jacket)]]> 692 Colleen McCullough 0708849709 Vipin 5 heartrending, romance 4.23 1977 The Thorn Birds
author: Colleen McCullough
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1977
rating: 5
read at: 2019/08/10
date added: 2019/08/10
shelves: heartrending, romance
review:
I really hated reading this. There's so much pain, and a good chunk of it seemed self-inflicted and avoidable. This is a story of enduring love and great suffering, and how they always seem to go hand in hand. How do you cope with that pairing? Do you numb yourself to life after the loss of your love like Fee, suffer unrequited love like Paddy, an unfulfilled love like Meggie/Ralph, or completely avoid love like Justine?
]]> <![CDATA[Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1)]]> 629 Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an examination of how we live, a meditation on how to live better set around the narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father & his young son.]]> 540 Robert M. Pirsig 0060589469 Vipin 5 philosophy, read-again
So, why did it take me four years? Well, initially when you start reading, it seems like you're simply joining a guy on a motorcycle tour and that's pretty appealing. However, it then turns into a deep philosophical discussion about quality, and also the story of a man who lost himself in the search for meaning. Four years ago, the sort of questions and answers this book provides wasn't something I was looking for. It was way too difficult to read. I have no doubt it would have helped me even then, but like the author says maybe I just had tunnel vision and wasn't ready to look in a new direction.

It's a truly wonderful book. It's given me some of the answers that I was looking for. To be honest, I didn't really understand all of it, but I didn't expect to. I feel like it's the sort of book that has to be read again and again, and every time you read it maybe you'll learn something new.

More importantly, it has also raised a lot of questions in me. Maybe this is just the beginning.]]> 3.78 1974 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1)
author: Robert M. Pirsig
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1974
rating: 5
read at: 2019/06/29
date added: 2019/06/29
shelves: philosophy, read-again
review:
I started reading this book in June 2015, almost exactly 4 years ago. That's the longest I've ever taken to read a book! I know the exact date I started reading it because I found a Facebook message I wrote to one of my friends the day after: "Have you heard of the book 'Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance'. A friend recommended it to me yday and I was hooked immediately. You might like it."

So, why did it take me four years? Well, initially when you start reading, it seems like you're simply joining a guy on a motorcycle tour and that's pretty appealing. However, it then turns into a deep philosophical discussion about quality, and also the story of a man who lost himself in the search for meaning. Four years ago, the sort of questions and answers this book provides wasn't something I was looking for. It was way too difficult to read. I have no doubt it would have helped me even then, but like the author says maybe I just had tunnel vision and wasn't ready to look in a new direction.

It's a truly wonderful book. It's given me some of the answers that I was looking for. To be honest, I didn't really understand all of it, but I didn't expect to. I feel like it's the sort of book that has to be read again and again, and every time you read it maybe you'll learn something new.

More importantly, it has also raised a lot of questions in me. Maybe this is just the beginning.
]]> The Double Helix 126061 143 James D. Watson 0451037707 Vipin 3 science, history 3.86 1968 The Double Helix
author: James D. Watson
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1968
rating: 3
read at: 2019/04/26
date added: 2019/06/26
shelves: science, history
review:
I think this is one of those stories that is about such a pivotal moment in science that you just have to read it. It's also quite interesting to see what the world of academia used to look like.
]]> Reasons to Stay Alive 25733573 Matt Haig’s accessible and life-affirming memoir of his struggle with depression, and how his triumph over the illness taught him to live.

Like nearly one in five people, Matt Haig suffers from depression. Reasons to Stay Alive is Matt’s inspiring account of how, minute by minute and day by day, he overcame the disease with the help of reading, writing, and the love of his parents and his girlfriend (and now-wife), Andrea. And eventually, he learned to appreciate life all the more for it.

Everyone’s lives are touched by mental illness: if we do not suffer from it ourselves, then we have a friend or loved one who does. Matt’s frankness about his experiences is both inspiring to those who feel daunted by depression and illuminating to those who are mystified by it. Above all, his humor and encouragement never let us lose sight of hope. Speaking as his present self to his former self in the depths of depression, Matt is adamant that the oldest cliché is the truest—there is light at the end of the tunnel. He teaches us to celebrate the small joys and moments of peace that life brings, and reminds us that there are always reasons to stay alive.]]> 256 Matt Haig 0143128728 Vipin 5 depression A really uplifting read. 4.04 2015 Reasons to Stay Alive
author: Matt Haig
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2019/05/20
date added: 2019/05/20
shelves: depression
review:
A really uplifting read.
]]> The Last Lecture 40611510
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave, 'Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams', wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humour, inspiration, and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.]]> 217 Randy Pausch Vipin 4 moral 4.30 2008 The Last Lecture
author: Randy Pausch
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2019/04/25
date added: 2019/04/25
shelves: moral
review:
Randy Pausch sounds like a really cool guy. I found this book very inspiring.
]]> How Google Works 23158207 How Google Works is the sum of those experiences distilled into a fun, easy-to-read primer on corporate culture, strategy, talent, decision-making, communication, innovation, and dealing with disruption.

The authors explain how the confluence of three seismic changes - the internet, mobile, and cloud computing - has shifted the balance of power from companies to consumers. The companies that will thrive in this ever-changing landscape will be the ones that create superior products and attract a new breed of multifaceted employees whom the authors dub 'smart creatives'. The management maxims ('Consensus requires dissension', 'Exile knaves but fight for divas', 'Think 10X, not 10%') are illustrated with previously unreported anecdotes from Google's corporate history.

'Back in 2010, Eric and I created an internal class for Google managers,' says Rosenberg. 'The class slides all read 'Google confidential' until an employee suggested we uphold the spirit of openness and share them with the world. This book codifies the recipe for our secret sauce: how Google innovates and how it empowers employees to succeed.']]> 286 Eric Schmidt Vipin 5 business, tech
The only thing that put me off was the focus on creating crowded offices and the stance against working from home. Whilst I agree that collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas are important, this felt a bit alienating to me as an introvert. Providing a bit of quiet space for those who need it occasionally to recharge increases overall productivity. Seriously, it's about time we stopped designing the world for extroverts only and tried to be a bit more inclusive.

Culture is one of the key ingredients to the success of a company. I highly recommend this book to everyone who cares about innovation in workplace culture.]]> 4.05 2014 How Google Works
author: Eric Schmidt
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2019/04/23
date added: 2019/04/23
shelves: business, tech
review:
I expected the book to be awesome when I added it to my reading list a few months ago. It was actually so good that I read it in a single sitting today :) Pretty much every idea in this book resonated very strongly with me. Focus on the user, the money will follow. Optimise for growth, not for revenue. Work is an important part of life, not something to be separated. Default to open processes. Fail well. Don't be evil. I also really liked the use of the expression 'smart creatives' to describe the learning animals who thrive in today's rapidly changing world.

The only thing that put me off was the focus on creating crowded offices and the stance against working from home. Whilst I agree that collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas are important, this felt a bit alienating to me as an introvert. Providing a bit of quiet space for those who need it occasionally to recharge increases overall productivity. Seriously, it's about time we stopped designing the world for extroverts only and tried to be a bit more inclusive.

Culture is one of the key ingredients to the success of a company. I highly recommend this book to everyone who cares about innovation in workplace culture.
]]> <![CDATA[Them: Adventures with Extremists]]> 1823
In "Them," Jon sets out, with the help of the extremists, to locate that room. The journey is as creepy as it is comic and, along the way, Jon is chased by men in dark glasses, unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp, and witnesses international CEOs and politicians participate in a bizarre pagan ritual in the forests of northern California.

"Them" is a fascinating and entertaining exploration of extremism, in which Jon learns some alarming things about the looking-glass world of "them" and "us'. Are the extremists on to something? Or has Jon become one of THEM?]]> 336 Jon Ronson 0743233212 Vipin 3 journalism 3.95 2001 Them: Adventures with Extremists
author: Jon Ronson
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2019/04/22
date added: 2019/04/22
shelves: journalism
review:
Not quite as good as I expected, but still an interesting insight into a different world.
]]> In Cold Blood 168642
As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.]]> 343 Truman Capote 0679745580 Vipin 5 4.08 1966 In Cold Blood
author: Truman Capote
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1966
rating: 5
read at: 2019/03/26
date added: 2019/03/26
shelves:
review:
This reads like a masterpiece. It feels like a very thorough piece of journalism with lots of detail - a lot of research must have gone into its creation. However, it's also an epitome of storytelling. I enjoyed reading this.
]]> Nutshell 30008702 Nutshell is a classic story of murder and deceit, told by a narrator with a perspective and voice unlike any in recent literature. A bravura performance, it is the finest recent work from a true master.

To be bound in a nutshell, see the world in two inches of ivory, in a grain of sand. Why not, when all of literature, all of art, of human endeavour, is just a speck in the universe of possible things.]]> 208 Ian McEwan Vipin 2 fiction 3.65 2016 Nutshell
author: Ian McEwan
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2019/03/17
date added: 2019/03/17
shelves: fiction
review:
The perspective, from a fetus, was new. I also enjoyed the writing style and some of the reflections on society. However, I found the story itself a little dull.
]]> Economics: The User's Guide 20613671 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang brilliantly debunked many of the predominant myths of neoclassical economics. Now, in an entertaining and accessible primer, he explains how the global economy actually works—in real-world terms. Writing with irreverent wit, a deep knowledge of history, and a disregard for conventional economic pieties, Chang offers insights that will never be found in the textbooks.

Unlike many economists, who present only one view of their discipline,Chang introduces a wide range of economic theories, from classical to Keynesian, revealing how each has its strengths and weaknesses, and why there is no one way to explain economic behavior. Instead, by ignoring the received wisdom and exposing the myriad forces that shape our financial world, Chang gives us the tools we need to understand our increasingly global and interconnected world often driven by economics. From the future of the Euro, inequality in China, or the condition of the American manufacturing industry here in the United States�Economics: The User’s Guide is a concise and expertly crafted guide to economic fundamentals that offers a clear and accurate picture of the global economy and how and why it affects our daily lives.]]> 384 Ha-Joon Chang 1620408120 Vipin 5 economics 4.16 2014 Economics: The User's Guide
author: Ha-Joon Chang
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2019/03/13
date added: 2019/03/13
shelves: economics
review:
This is an awesome introductory book on economics. The book reads like a teacher (a good one) breaking it all down for you. I particularly enjoyed learning about the various schools of economic thought. I also liked the author's personality which really shows in his writing.
]]> Men Without Women 33652490 Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.

Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his powers of observation to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone. Here are vanishing cats and smoky bars, lonely hearts and mysterious women, baseball and the Beatles, woven together to tell stories that speak to us all.

Marked by the same wry humor that has defined his entire body of work, in this collection Murakami has crafted another contemporary classic.]]> 242 Haruki Murakami 0385689454 Vipin 5 fiction, japanese
Haruki captures your attention within just the first few lines. The characters and the stories sometimes seem so unreal, and yet relatable. I wonder what that says about me :P I love the way he writes; like a magician who never reveals his tricks, the stories end with just as much mystery as they began and yet I was content with each and every one of them. These quirky stories also capture feelings of loss and loneliness really well. Makes me wonder why depressing stories are so beautiful.]]> 3.75 2014 Men Without Women
author: Haruki Murakami
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2019/02/13
date added: 2019/02/13
shelves: fiction, japanese
review:
I have never read anything by Haruki Murakami, but reading these wonderful short stories makes me eager to read more of his works. I don't even really read much fiction these days, but I thought I'd read this one for a book club that I joined recently.

Haruki captures your attention within just the first few lines. The characters and the stories sometimes seem so unreal, and yet relatable. I wonder what that says about me :P I love the way he writes; like a magician who never reveals his tricks, the stories end with just as much mystery as they began and yet I was content with each and every one of them. These quirky stories also capture feelings of loss and loneliness really well. Makes me wonder why depressing stories are so beautiful.
]]> The Art of Seduction 20995 Robert Greene's bold, elegant, and ingenious manual of modern manipulation, The 48 Laws of Power. Now Greene has once again mined history and literature to distill the essence of seduction, the most highly refined mode of influence, the ultimate power trip.

The Art of Seduction is a masterful synthesis of the work of thinkers such as Freud, Ovid, Kierkegaard, and Einstein, as well as the achievements of the greatest seducers throughout history. From Cleopatra to John F. Kennedy, from Andy Warhol to Josephine Bonaparte, The Art of Seduction gets to the heart of the character of the seducer and his or her tactics, triumphs and failures. The seducer's many faces include: the Siren, the Rake, the Ideal Lover, the Dandy, the Natural, the Coquette, the Charmer, and the Charismatic. Twenty-four maneuvers will guide readers through the seduction process, providing cunning, amoral instructions for and analysis of this fascinating, all-pervasive form of power. Just as beautifully packaged and every bit as essential as The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction is an indispensable primer of persuasion and offers the best lessons on how to take what you want from whomever you want or how to prevent yourself from being taken.]]> 466 Robert Greene 1861977697 Vipin 4 dating 3.93 2001 The Art of Seduction
author: Robert Greene
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2019/02/12
date added: 2019/02/12
shelves: dating
review:
The author keeps things interesting with references to literary works and history. I do wish the book were a bit more concise though.
]]> <![CDATA[Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World � and Why Things Are Better Than You Think]]> 34890015 Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.

When asked simple questions about global trends�what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.

In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).

Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases.

It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.

Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. ]]> 342 Hans Rosling 1473637465 Vipin 5 science 4.34 2018 Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
author: Hans Rosling
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/12
date added: 2019/01/12
shelves: science
review:
I didn’t expect to be surprised by any fact in this book, but there were definitely a few that made me feel a bit ignorant. For example, I didn’t know that the number of children in the world had already stopped increasing! Did you? Reading this book felt really educational. It also made me feel really good to read about the progress we’ve made, as opposed to the constant stream of negativity in the media. The book has also got me wondering what other false views I may be harbouring which a little bit of fact checking might help expose. I think we are all guilty of overreacting to the news that we hear without thinking about the big picture and what the priorities are, so I would highly recommend reading this book to all news consumers.
]]> <![CDATA[The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists]]> 900 not fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the year—guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever.

On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange—and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence. The Game is the story of one man's transformation from frog to prince—to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of the year.]]> 452 Neil Strauss 0060554738 Vipin 4 dating 3.74 2005 The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
author: Neil Strauss
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2019/01/03
date added: 2019/01/03
shelves: dating
review:
I have mixed feelings about this book. Some of it was frankly quite repulsive and depressing, but I also wondered whether it was the book or the truth of human nature that I was more repulsed by. In any case, I think there’s a lot that guys (and girls) can learn from this book. Despite my belief in love and romance, life has taught me that being a nice guy simply isn’t enough to get someone you like to like you back. If you aren’t a natural with women, then you can and should learn how to initiate conversations, be confident etc. As the book emphasises time and again, you also need to treat your failures as something to learn from, and not something to be afraid of. However, you can learn to put your best self forward and still treat women with respect! I liked the way the book was laid out - it kept my interest throughout without becoming too repetitive.
]]> <![CDATA[The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't]]> 13588394
Drawing on his own groundbreaking work, Silver examines the world of prediction, investigating how we can distinguish a true signal from a universe of noisy data. Most predictions fail, often at great cost to society, because most of us have a poor understanding of probability and uncertainty. Both experts and laypeople mistake more confident predictions for more accurate ones. But overconfidence is often the reason for failure. If our appreciation of uncertainty improves, our predictions can get better too. This is the "prediction paradox": The more humility we have about our ability to make predictions, the more successful we can be in planning for the future.

In keeping with his own aim to seek truth from data, Silver visits the most successful forecasters in a range of areas, from hurricanes to baseball, from the poker table to the stock market, from Capitol Hill to the NBA. He explains and evaluates how these forecasters think and what bonds they share. What lies behind their success? Are they good-or just lucky? What patterns have they unraveled? And are their forecasts really right? He explores unanticipated commonalities and exposes unexpected juxtapositions. And sometimes, it is not so much how good a prediction is in an absolute sense that matters but how good it is relative to the competition. In other cases, prediction is still a very rudimentary-and dangerous-science.

Silver observes that the most accurate forecasters tend to have a superior command of probability, and they tend to be both humble and hardworking. They distinguish the predictable from the unpredictable, and they notice a thousand little details that lead them closer to the truth. Because of their appreciation of probability, they can distinguish the signal from the noise.]]> 544 Nate Silver 159420411X Vipin 5 science 3.95 2012 The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't
author: Nate Silver
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2018/12/01
date added: 2018/12/01
shelves: science
review:
I found this book highly enjoyable, insightful and inspiring. We all make predictions on a daily basis and make decisions based on those predictions. How many of those predictions do we bother to qualify with a confidence level or uncertainty? Nate uses interesting examples, such as weather forecasting, climate change, the stock market, baseball etc., to persuade us of the importance of acknowledging the noise in the data and our own biases when trying to tell the future. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that weather forecasting is actually one of the success stories! I particularly recommend this book to scientists/engineers who make predictions for a living and to the decision makers who rely on those predictions.
]]> The Devil and Miss Prym 4008
A novel of temptation by the internationally bestselling author Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym is a thought-provoking parable of a community devoured by greed, cowardice, and fear—as it struggles with the choice between good and evil.]]> 205 Paulo Coelho 0060527994 Vipin 3 fiction, moral 3.65 2000 The Devil and Miss Prym
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/27
date added: 2018/11/27
shelves: fiction, moral
review:
A really engaging story about good vs evil.
]]> Bad Feminist 18813642 Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be cool, but it is pink—all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read Vogue, and I’m not doing it ironically, though it might seem that way. I once live-tweeted the September issue.

In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman of color while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years and commenting on the state of feminism today. The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.

Bad Feminist is a sharp, funny, and spot-on look at the ways in which the culture we consume becomes who we are, and an inspiring call-to-arms of all the ways we still need to do better.

Feel me, see me, hear me, reach me --
Peculiar benefits --
Typical first year professor --
To scratch, claw or grope clumsily or frantically --
How to be friends with another woman --
Girls, girls, girls --
I once was Miss America --
Garish, glorious spectacles --
Not here to make friends --
How we all lose --
Reaching for catharsis : getting fat right (or wrong) and Diana Spechler's Skinny --
The smooth surfaces of idyll --
The careless language of sexual violence --
What we hunger for --
The illusion of safety/the safety of illusion --
The spectacle of broken men --
A tale of three coming out stories --
Beyond the measure of men --
Some jokes are funnier than others --
Dear young ladies who love Chris Brown --
So much they would let him beat them --
Blurred lines, indeed --
The trouble with Prince Charming, or, He who trespassed against us --
The solace of preparing fried foods and other quaint remembrances from 1960s Mississippi : thoughts on The help --
Surviving Django --
Beyond the struggle narrative --
The morality of Tyler Perry --
The last day of a young black man --
When less is more --
The politics of respectability --
When Twitter does what journalism cannot --
The alienable rights of women --
Holding out for a hero --
A tale of two profiles --
The racism we all carry --
Tragedy, call, compassion, response --
Bad feminist : take one --
Bad feminist : take two]]> 320 Roxane Gay 0062282719 Vipin 4 social-issues 3.93 2014 Bad Feminist
author: Roxane Gay
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2018/11/25
date added: 2018/11/25
shelves: social-issues
review:
I picked up this book hoping to better educate myself on feminism. Whilst the main theme is gender inequality, the book does cover a variety of subjects. Roxane is highly opinionated, and she openly shares her opinions with the reader without worrying about how well they might be received; I enjoyed her transparency. There were some bits that seemed to drag on a bit, but for the most part, I found her essays intellectually stimulating. Society is not perfect, far from it. Recognising and talking about the problems is a necessary precursor to positive change. Some of her reflections on life strongly resonated with me as well.
]]> <![CDATA[The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well]]> 30045683 Hygge has been described as everything from "cosines of the soul" to "the pursuit of everyday pleasures". The Little Book of Hygge is the book we all need right now, and is guaranteed to bring warmth and comfort to you and your loved ones this winter.

Hooga? Hhyooguh? Heurgh? It is not really important how you choose to pronounce 'hygge'. What is important is that you feel it. Whether you're cuddled up on a sofa with a loved one, or sharing comfort food with your closest friends, hygge is about creating an atmosphere where you can let your guard down.]]> 289 Meik Wiking 0241283914 Vipin 3 lifestyle 3.76 2016 The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well
author: Meik Wiking
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/19
date added: 2018/11/19
shelves: lifestyle
review:
A really short read, and an interesting insight into Danish culture. It also has lots of good ideas for making your house more homely.
]]> <![CDATA[The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer]]> 7170627 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here and here.

The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography� of cancer - from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.

Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with - and perished from - for more than five thousand years.

The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.�

The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist. From the Persian Queen Atossa, whose Greek slave cut off her malignant breast, to the nineteenth-century recipients of primitive radiation and chemotherapy to Mukherjee’s own leukemia patient, Carla, The Emperor of All Maladies is about the people who have soldiered through fiercely demanding regimens in order to survive—and to increase our understanding of this iconic disease.

Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.]]> 571 Siddhartha Mukherjee Vipin 5 science, history 4.32 2010 The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
author: Siddhartha Mukherjee
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2018/11/14
date added: 2018/11/14
shelves: science, history
review:
This is more than just a history of a disease. It's a story, wonderfully told, that truly captures the horrors of cancer, the fighting spirit of the patients, doctors and researchers and their relentless pursuit for a solution (or solutions). I found it particularly interesting how much impact things like marketing, statistics, business, politics etc. played in the fight against cancer. I was also inspired by the tales of scientific collaboration and how much we've learnt over the last century. A wonderful and highly educational read and even though it took about ten hours to read - time spent well!!
]]> The Fault in Our Stars 11870085
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.]]> 313 John Green Vipin 4 fiction, heartrending Sigh! 4.13 2012 The Fault in Our Stars
author: John Green
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/28
date added: 2018/10/28
shelves: fiction, heartrending
review:
Sigh!
]]> <![CDATA[The Little Book of Lykke: The Danish Search for the World's Happiest People]]> 34879265 Lykke (Luu-kah) (n): Happiness

Meik Wiking is the CEO of the world's only Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen. His job is to travel around the world, seeking out the happiest people and uncovering what they do differently. In The Little Book of Lykke, he reveals what he has found.

This captivating read features case studies from Bhutan to Australia, South Korea to Canada, France to Denmark, taking the reader on a happiness treasure hunt. Written in the same warm tone as Meik's phenomenal bestseller The Little Book of Hygge, this easy-to-understand book will change the way you think about how you relate to your neighbours, the rituals around cooking and eating dinner, and when to book your next holiday - and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.]]> 288 Meik Wiking 0241302013 Vipin 4 lifestyle 3.98 2017 The Little Book of Lykke: The Danish Search for the World's Happiest People
author: Meik Wiking
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/27
date added: 2018/10/26
shelves: lifestyle
review:
A nice little book on how to make the world a happier place.
]]> Brave New World 5129 Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine� (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.

"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune]]> 268 Aldous Huxley 0060929871 Vipin 3 3.99 1932 Brave New World
author: Aldous Huxley
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1932
rating: 3
read at: 2018/10/25
date added: 2018/10/25
shelves:
review:
Is it better to be happy or to be free? This is a story about a dystopian future where society has finally found a way to ensure lasting stability and for everyone to be happy. Is it worth the price though?
]]> <![CDATA[The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language]]> 12870068 252 Mark Forsyth Vipin 5 language 4.25 2011 The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
author: Mark Forsyth
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2018/10/21
date added: 2018/10/21
shelves: language
review:
This book was a delight to read. It is essentially a lot of short stories about the origins of words that we use today. I found a lot of these very surprising. As one might expect, it also covers a lot of history, geography, culture, religion etc. all of which adds to the joy of reading it. The author also has a good sense of humour. Highly recommended!!
]]> The Digital Photography Book 18658518 The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, now tackles the most important side of digital photography--how to take pro-quality shots using the same tricks today's top digital pros use (and it's easier than you'd think).

This entire book is written with a brilliant premise, and here’s how Scott describes it: "If you and I were out on a shoot, and you asked me, 'Hey, how do I get this flower to be in focus, but I want the background out of focus?' I wouldn't stand there and give you a lecture about aperture, exposure, and depth of field. In real life, I'd just say, 'Get out your telephoto lens, set your f/stop to f/2.8, focus on the flower, and fire away.' You d say, 'OK,' and you'd get the shot. That's what this book is all about. A book of you and I shooting, and I answer the questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I've learned just like I would with a friend, without all the technical explanations and without all the techno-photo-speak."

This isn't a book of theory—it isn't full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts: this is a book of which button to push, which setting to use, when to use them, and nearly two hundred of the most closely guarded photographic "tricks of the trade" to get you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking photos with your digital camera every time you press the shutter button.

Here's another thing that makes this book different: each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you'll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. There's never been a book like it, and if you're tired of taking shots that look "OK," and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, "Why don't my shots look like that?" then this is the book for you.]]> 219 Scott Kelby Vipin 3 3.98 2006 The Digital Photography Book
author: Scott Kelby
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2018/10/10
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass]]> 24213
When Alice sees a white rabbit take a watch out of its waistcoat pocket she decides to follow it, and a sequence of most unusual events is set in motion. This mini book contains the entire topsy-turvy stories of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, accompanied by practical notes and Martina Pelouso's memorable full-colour illustrations.]]> 239 Lewis Carroll Vipin 0 4.07 1871 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
author: Lewis Carroll
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1871
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/10/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1984 5470 328 George Orwell Vipin 4 4.15 1949 1984
author: George Orwell
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1949
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/10/07
shelves:
review:

]]> The Diary of a Young Girl 48855
In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe� of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly humorous, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
--back cover]]> 283 Anne Frank Vipin 5 4.19 1947 The Diary of a Young Girl
author: Anne Frank
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1947
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/10/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics]]> 36613747 Could psychedelic drugs change our worldview? One of America's most admired writers takes us on a mind-altering journey to the frontiers of human consciousness

When LSD was first discovered in the 1940s, it seemed to researchers, scientists and doctors as if the world might be on the cusp of psychological revolution. It promised to shed light on the deep mysteries of consciousness, as well as offer relief to addicts and the mentally ill. But in the 1960s, with the vicious backlash against the counter-culture, all further research was banned. In recent years, however, work has quietly begun again on the amazing potential of LSD, psilocybin and DMT. Could these drugs in fact improve the lives of many people? Diving deep into this extraordinary world and putting himself forward as a guinea-pig, Michael Pollan has written a remarkable history of psychedelics and a compelling portrait of the new generation of scientists fascinated by the implications of these drugs. How to Change Your Mind is a report from what could very well be the future of human consciousness.]]> 480 Michael Pollan 0241294223 Vipin 4 4.25 2018 How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics
author: Michael Pollan
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/10/07
date added: 2018/10/07
shelves:
review:
This is a really good introduction to psychedelics. It covers the discovery of psilocybin and LSD, the banning of psychedelic research in the 60s, their recent renaissance as a tool to treat mental illnesses and the science behind psychedelics. There are also several accounts of what the psychedelic experience is like (with the caveat that the experience is difficult to convey in words). What I am particularly intrigued by is the potential for psychedelics to help expand the mind and think outside the box. Could psychedelics help us solve the complex scientific problems we have around us today by giving us a fresh perspective? I enjoyed reading this book and learnt a lot from it. I knock off one star only because I think it could have been a little more concise in its delivery.
]]> <![CDATA[TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking]]> 41044212 A New York Times Bestseller

For anyone who has ever been inspired by a TED talk�

...this is an insider’s guide to creating talks that are unforgettable.

Since taking over TED in the early 2000s, Chris Anderson has shown how carefully crafted short talks can be the key to unlocking empathy, stirring excitement, spreading knowledge, and promoting a shared dream. Done right, a talk can electrify a room and transform an audience’s worldview. Done right, a talk is more powerful than anything in written form.
This book explains how the miracle of powerful public speaking is achieved, and equips you to give it your best shot. There is no set formula; no two talks should be the same. The goal is for you to give the talk that only you can give. But don’t be intimidated. You may find it more natural than you think.
Chris Anderson has worked behind the scenes with all the TED speakers who have inspired us the most, and here he shares insights from such favorites as Sir Ken Robinson, Amy Cuddy, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Khan, Dan Gilbert, Mary Roach, Matt Ridley, and dozens more � everything from how to craft your talk’s content to how you can be most effective on stage. This is the 21st-century’s new manual for truly effective communication and it is a must-read for anyone who is ready to create impact with their ideas.]]> 288 Chris J. Anderson 0544664361 Vipin 5 skills 3.95 2016 TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking
author: Chris J. Anderson
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/29
date added: 2018/09/29
shelves: skills
review:
A top-notch guide to public speaking. I've picked up lots of improvement ideas. My favourite quote: "A picture is worth a thousand words (even though it takes words to express that concept)."
]]> <![CDATA[Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind]]> 23692271 512 Yuval Noah Harari Vipin 5 4.33 2011 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
author: Yuval Noah Harari
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2018/09/23
date added: 2018/09/23
shelves:
review:
A really amazing narrative about the history of our species. I pretty much finished reading it in one go. This isn't a story that focuses on the mundane details of our history as most books on history do. Instead, it takes a step back and presents a holistic view of our evolution - which is infinitely more interesting and worthwhile. It is highly opinionated of course, but I think Yuval's opinions are intelligent and compelling. If nothing else, he gives the reader a lot to think about. I'd highly recommend this book to all homo sapiens. :P
]]> <![CDATA[Daughter of Destiny: An Autobiography]]> 1290103 Daughter of Destiny, the autobiography of Benazir Bhutto, is a historical document of uncommon passion and courage, the dramatic story of a brilliant, beautiful woman whose life was, up to her tragic assassination in 2007, inexorably tied to her nation's tumultuous history. Bhutto writes of growing up in a family of legendary wealth and near-mythic status, a family whose rich heritage survives in tales still passed from generation to generation. She describes her journey from this protected world onto the volatile stage of international politics through her education at Radcliffe and Oxford, the sudden coup that plunged her family into a prolonged nightmare of threats and torture, her father's assassination by General Zia ul-Haq in 1979, and her grueling experience as a political prisoner in solitary confinement.

With candor and courage, Benazir Bhutto recounts her triumphant political rise from her return to Pakistan from exile in 1986 through the extraordinary events of 1988: the mysterious death of Zia; her party's long struggle to ensure free elections; and finally, the stunning mandate that propelled her overnight into the ranks of the world's most powerful, influential leaders.]]> 411 Benazir Bhutto 0671696033 Vipin 4 3.95 1988 Daughter of Destiny: An Autobiography
author: Benazir Bhutto
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2018/09/01
date added: 2018/09/15
shelves:
review:
Ah! This was such a difficult book to read. Benazir's story is filled with suffering and death. It is a pity that we are capable of such cruelty towards our own. Not only do I sympathize with her, but I also admire her courage and sacrifice. She could have chosen not to fight and gone off to live in some other country, but she didn't. From beginning to end, I kept thinking about how lucky I've been to grow up in a democracy where I did not have to fight for basic human rights. I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone with an interest in history and politics.
]]> <![CDATA[Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics]]> 25135194 Geography shapes not only our history, but where we're headed...

All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Yes, to follow world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements - but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture.

If you've ever wondered why Putin is so obsessed with Crimea, why the USA was destined to become a global superpower, or why China's power base continues to expand ever outwards, the answers are all here.

In ten chapters and ten maps, Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present and future to offer an essential insight into one of the major factors that determines world history.

It's time to put the 'geo' back into geopolitics.

Ten maps; ten chapters:

Russia * China * United States of America * Latin America * the Middle East * Africa * India and Pakistan * Europe * Japan and Korea * the Arctic]]> 256 Tim Marshall 1783961414 Vipin 4 4.18 2015 Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics
author: Tim Marshall
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2018/08/19
date added: 2018/09/09
shelves:
review:
Honestly, I found it quite difficult to follow at first. However, that was more due to my ignorance of geography than anything else. :P Nevertheless, this was a really interesting read about the influence of geography on politics.
]]> <![CDATA[The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations]]> 26083308
More than ever, the effective management of technology is critical for business competitiveness. For decades, technology leaders have struggled to balance agility, reliability, and security. The consequences of failure have never been greater whether it's the healthcare.gov debacle, cardholder data breaches, or missing the boat with Big Data in the cloud.

And yet, high performers using DevOps principles, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Etsy, and Netflix, are routinely and reliably deploying code into production hundreds, or even thousands, of times per day.

Following in the footsteps of The Phoenix Project, The DevOps Handbook shows leaders how to replicate these incredible outcomes, by showing how to integrate Product Management, Development, QA, IT Operations, and Information Security to elevate your company and win in the marketplace."

Table of contents

Preface
Spreading the Aha! Moment
Introduction

PART I: THE THREE WAYS
1. Agile, continuous delivery and the three ways
2. The First Way: The Principles of Flow
3. The Second Way: The Principle of Feedback
4. The Third Way: The Principles of Continual Learning

PART II: WHERE TO START
5. Selecting which value stream to start with
6. Understanding the work in our value stream�
7. How to design our organization and architecture
8. How to get great outcomes by integrating operations into the daily work for development

PART III: THE FIRST WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF FLOW
9. Create the foundations of our deployment pipeline
10. Enable fast and reliable automated testing
11. Enable and practice continuous integration
12. Automate and enable low-risk releases
13. Architect for low-risk releases

PART IV: THE SECOND WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF FEEDBACK
14*. Create telemetry to enable seeing abd solving problems
15. Analyze telemetry to better anticipate problems
16. Enable feedbackso development and operation can safely deploy code
17. Integrate hypothesis-driven development and A/B testing into our daily work
18. Create review and coordination processes to increase quality of our current work

PART V: THE THRID WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF CONTINUAL LEARNING
19. Enable and inject learning into daily work
20. Convert local discoveries into global improvements
21. Reserve time to create organizational learning
22. Information security as everyone’s job, every day
23. Protecting the deployment pipeline

PART VI: CONCLUSION
A call to action
Conclusion to the DevOps Handbook

APPENDICES
1. The convergence of Devops
2. The theory of constraints and core chronic conflicts
3. Tabular form of downward spiral
4. The dangers of handoffs and queues
5. Myths of industrial safety
6. The Toyota Andon Cord
7. COTS Software
8. Post-mortem meetings
9. The Simian Army
10. Transparent uptime

Additional Resources
Endnotes]]> 442 Gene Kim 1942788002 Vipin 5 4.28 2015 The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations
author: Gene Kim
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/12
date added: 2018/07/12
shelves:
review:
This book answered a lot of the questions that had been brewing in my mind, and I'm so grateful to the colleague of mine who recommended it to me. DevOps is a culture/mindset of unifying development and operational activities. I personally think it's one of the greatest and most influential inventions of this century so far. The treasure trove of lessons/ideas in this book are applicable to any technology company, not just software houses. I particularly like the way the author uses case studies to demonstrate the problems that you can have without DevOps. Highly recommended to anyone who cares about continuous improvement, organizational learning, maximizing productivity and most of all - staying in business.
]]> <![CDATA[So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love]]> 13525945
Not only is the cliché flawed—preexisting passions are rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work—but it can also be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping.

After making his case against passion, Newport sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving what they do. Spending time with organic farmers, venture capitalists, screenwriters, freelance computer programmers, and others who admitted to deriving great satisfaction from their work, Newport uncovers the strategies they used and the pitfalls they avoided in developing their compelling careers.

Matching your job to a preexisting passion does not matter, he reveals. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.

With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to "be so good they can't ignore you," Cal Newport's clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love.

So Good They Can't Ignore You will change the way we think about our careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.]]> 288 Cal Newport 1455509108 Vipin 4 4.05 2012 So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love
author: Cal Newport
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2018/06/22
date added: 2018/06/22
shelves:
review:
I'm a strong believer in the passion hypothesis. Basically, I believe that only if you do something you love, can you become great at it. The main reason I read this book is that it challenges that view and I wanted to understand why. Cal aims to debunk the passion hypothesis and almost turn it around. I'm not convinced though. It's perfectly possible to love your work early on in your career when you are still far away from mastering it - based on my own personal experience. However, Cal does show that passion isn't everything. Nothing beats hard work and the dedication to become good at what you do. They help you gain 'control' over your career and achieve 'remarkable' things which lead to you loving your work more and more as you get older. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, and it has really helped me strengthen my focus.
]]> <![CDATA[Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance]]> 88061 453 Barack Obama 1921351438 Vipin 4 3.93 1995 Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
author: Barack Obama
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/30
date added: 2018/05/30
shelves:
review:
Wow! I didn't know quite what to expect when I picked up this book, but I'm so glad I read this. What really struck me about Obama is how deeply he thinks about what's happening around him. The story is very thought-provoking. Indeed, a number of times, I found myself lost in thought without realising that I had stopped reading! I'm now really looking forward to reading the Audacity of Hope as well.
]]> The Secret 8149125 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B002M5E2DW.

In 2006, a groundbreaking feature-length film revealed the great mystery of the universe�The Secret—and, later that year, Rhonda Byrne followed with a book that became a worldwide bestseller.

Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions, and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.

In this book, you’ll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life—money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You’ll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that’s within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life.

The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers—men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible.]]> 198 Rhonda Byrne Vipin 1 4.19 2006 The Secret
author: Rhonda Byrne
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2006
rating: 1
read at: 2018/01/01
date added: 2018/05/13
shelves:
review:
This isn't the sort of book that I usually read, but that's exactly why I read it when a friend recommended it to me. Whilst I do agree with some of the ideas in the book, I do think it can be very misleading to someone who doesn't analyse it objectively. Positive thoughts do help us achieve our goals and negative thoughts obstruct us. The power of positive thinking and having faith in yourselves is something that a lot of people, unfortunately, don't realize. However, despite what the author says, it's important to understand that the universe has no obligation to make your thoughts into reality. If you want something, you generally have to DO something to get it! The only way to make problems go away is by dealing with them, not pretending like they don't exist.
]]> <![CDATA[The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life]]> 18661276 The personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as “The Oracle of Omaha”—for fansof the HBO documentaryBecoming Warren BuffettHere is the book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. Although the media track him constantly, Buffett himself has never told his full life story. His reality is private, especially by celebrity standards. Indeed, while the homespun persona that the public sees is true as far as it goes, it goes only so far. Warren Buffett is an array of paradoxes. He set out to prove that nice guys can finish first. Over the years he treated his investors as partners, acted as their steward, and championed honesty as an investor, CEO, board member, essayist, and speaker. At the same time he became the world’s richest man, all from the modest Omaha headquarters of his company Berkshire Hathaway. None of this fits the term “simple.� When Alice Schroeder met Warren Buffett she was an insurance industry analyst and a gifted writer known for her keen perception and business acumen. Her writings on finance impressed him, and as she came to know him she realized that while much had been written on the subject of his investing style, no one had moved beyond that to explore his larger philosophy, which is bound up in a complex personality and the details of his life. Out of this came his decision to cooperate with her on the book about himself that he would never write. Never before has Buffett spent countless hours responding to a writer’s questions, talking, giving complete access to his wife, children, friends, and business associates—opening his files, recalling his childhood. It was an act of courage, as The Snowball makes immensely clear. Being human, his own life, like most lives, has been a mix of strengths and frailties. Yet notable though his wealth may be, Buffett’s legacy will not be his ranking on the scorecard of wealth; it will be his principles and ideas that have enriched people’s lives. This book tells you why Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success story of our time.Praise for The Snowball“Even people who don't care a whit about business will be intrigued by this portrait. . . . Schroeder, a former insurance-industry analyst, spent years interviewing Buffett, and the result is a side of the Oracle of Omaha that has rarely been seen.�—T“Will mesmerize anyone interested in who Mr. Buffett is or how he got that way.The Snowballtells a fascinating story.�—New York Times“If the replication of any great achievement first requires knowledge of how it was done, thenThe Snowball, the most detailed glimpse inside Warren Buffett and his world that we likely will ever get, should become a Bible for capitalists.�—Washington Post“Riveting and encyclopedic.�—Wall Street Journal“A monumental biography . . . Schroeder got the best access yet of any Buffett biographer. . . .]]> 852 Alice Schroeder Vipin 4 4.48 2008 The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
author: Alice Schroeder
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/08
date added: 2018/05/08
shelves:
review:
Ever since I became interested in the stock market, I've been wanting to read Warren's bio. The book is massive and it cost me a lot of time to read it. I've knocked off one star for the excruciating level of detail it goes into, particularly into the lives of people connected to Warren. However, there is a lot of good advice and ideas in there. It's a very inspiring story, especially if making money/investing is something that you are into.
]]> <![CDATA[Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life...]]> 4894
Two are mice named Sniff and Scurry. And two are "Littlepeople" � beings the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw.

"Cheese" is a metaphor for what you want to have in life � whether it's a good job, a loving relationship, money, a possession, health, or spiritual peace of mind.

And the "Maze" is where you look for what you want � the organisation you work in or the family or community you live in.

In the story, the characters are faced with unexpected change. Eventually, one of them deals with it successfully, and writes what he has learned from his experience on the Maze walls.

When you come to see "The Handwriting on the Wall," you can discover for yourself how to deal with change, so that you can enjoy less stress and more success (however you define it) in your work and in your life.

Written for all ages, the story takes less than an hour to read, but its unique insights can last for a lifetime.]]> 98 Spencer Johnson 0091883768 Vipin 2 3.88 1999 Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life...
author: Spencer Johnson
name: Vipin
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1999
rating: 2
read at: 2018/03/01
date added: 2018/04/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future]]> 25541028 392 Ashlee Vance 0062301233 Vipin 5
I'd have preferred to hear Elon's story from his point of view, but this bio
will have to do. Everyone knows about Elon's greatest achievements: Paypal,
Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity. However, we take those companies for granted, now that
they are a reality. Reading the bio brings home just how batshit crazy these
ideas were before Elon breathed life into them. It throws light on the huge
sacrifices and insane risks he took along the way. It's hard to believe that
Elon is only human, and I can't help but be completely awestruck by the man.

Ah I'm so inspired!

]]> 4.12 2015 Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
author: Ashlee Vance
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/21
date added: 2018/04/21
shelves:
review:
I felt transformed reading Elon's story. Transformed!

I'd have preferred to hear Elon's story from his point of view, but this bio
will have to do. Everyone knows about Elon's greatest achievements: Paypal,
Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity. However, we take those companies for granted, now that
they are a reality. Reading the bio brings home just how batshit crazy these
ideas were before Elon breathed life into them. It throws light on the huge
sacrifices and insane risks he took along the way. It's hard to believe that
Elon is only human, and I can't help but be completely awestruck by the man.

Ah I'm so inspired!


]]> <![CDATA[The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business]]> 2615
Focusing on "disruptive technology" -- the Honda Super Cub, Intel's 8088 processor, or the hydraulic excavator, for example -- Christensen shows why most companies miss "the next great wave." Whether in electronics or retailing, a successful company with established products will get pushed aside unless managers know when to abandon traditional business practices. Using the lessons of successes and failures from leading companies, "The Innovator's Dilemma" presents a set of rules for capitalizing on the phenomenon of disruptive innovation.]]> 320 Clayton M. Christensen 0060521996 Vipin 5 4.03 1997 The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business
author: Clayton M. Christensen
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2018/04/01
date added: 2018/04/02
shelves:
review:
What an eye-opener! Why do big, established companies almost always fail on disruptive tech? It’s because the very processes and values that made the company successful in an established market are liabilities when it comes to introducing disruptive tech. In a fight for resources within the company, the disruptive tech is guaranteed to lose out to activities which make the company money in the present, not just a distant and hypothetical future. So, what do you do to solve this problem? Well, read the book to find out!
]]> To Kill a Mockingbird 22010842 To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior—to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into ten languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.]]> 375 Harper Lee Vipin 5 4.27 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird
author: Harper Lee
name: Vipin
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1960
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/04/01
shelves:
review:

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