From my homepage: Some nonfiction books that I've read during 2018. I try to reduce my thoughts to the logline style in sense of Save the Cat: The Last Screenwriting Book You Will Ever Read. A logline is a single sentence describing a work with a twist of irony after a comma.
- Mechner, Jordan: The Making of Prince of Persia: Journals 1985 - 1993 (2011).
My remarks: I read his previous book about developing Karateka, in one sitting.
- Nadella, Satya: Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone. My remarks: I didn't expect the story that he opened with.
- Edited by Rohde, Peter: The Diary of Soren Kierkengaard (1960). Lived 1813-1855. The blurb on the back cover: "Jean-Paul Sarte's philosophy of existentialism is based on his thinking."
- Kai Bird; Martin Sherwin: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer. My remarks: I wanted to know what was behind him quoting the Gita. This book took me several years to read but delivered on my curiousity about that.
- Nimoy, Leonard: I Am Not Spock (1975). My remarks: So if you consider yourself a Vulcan, it may suprise you to learn that Nimoy cried every weekend to let out the emotions he held inside during the week of acting.
- David Lipsky: Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace (2010). My remarks: I only care for the nonfiction writings of DFW. He had a sad end. It is a good read for writers. Consider the "snow" of his middle name as well.
- Scott, Robert Falcon: Scott's Last Expedition: The Journals (called as unabridged). Personal: This makes me want to travel to Iceland, to be honest.
- Foer, Joshua: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything (2011). My remarks: A journalist wanted to document the competitive memory subculture and then won the American championship. It was a more comprehensive survey of memory than I'd expected.
- Buford, Bill: Among the Thugs (1990). My remarks: I originally read this book for contemporary understanding since I had read that far right parties in Europe used futball hooligans as a base population to draw from. Susan Sontag underwhelmingly calls ecstatic experiences "flair." The fact that Buford quoted her twice means I am reading her stuff as well.
- Wright, Evan: Generation Kill. Courtesy of radio: Dave Ramsey show has as a common quote, "Pay your student loans or you will be damned, dead, or in Iraq."
- Funder, Anna: Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall (2002). My remarks: A movie on this topic is "The Lives of Others."
- Fisher, Michael: A History of India. (Great Courses)
- Ferris, Tim: Summary: The 4-Hour Workweek (2018). My remarks: This is an amazing book!
- Rosenberg, Marshall: The Nonviolent Communication Training Course (2006). My remarks: This one was pretty interesting. I was also reminded of Getting to Yes and CBT theory.
- Rogers, Fred: The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember (2003). My remarks: I read this in memory of him after his passing. He considered his work a ministry.
- Yalom, Irvin: Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy (1989). My remarks: What it says on the tin.
- Blank, Dan: Soccer IQ: Things That Smart Players Do, Vol. 1 (2012). Amazon.com: #1 Best Seller in Soccer.
- Shapiro, Cythina: Corporate Confidential (2005). My remarks: Temple Grandin is someone who claims institutional logic follows its own rules. This Shapiro book has an explanation of the hidden scene behind the human resources curtain.
- Harari, Yuval: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. My remarks: Seemed kind of blank to me.
- Tyson, Neil: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. My remarks: A better source for basic physics understanding might be Einstein's popular account of GR. But thinking about relativistic light cones takes more time.