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Good Books for a Lousy Year

gatesnotes.com

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Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#31

Post by happy_path »

1e-9 wrote: post #22
happy_path wrote: post #3

When I see this kind of lists I always think of getting some of these books and reading them. However, I feel like reading books that have no relationship with my job (software engineer) is a waste. Do any feel the same? Is this a harmful mindset and should stop worrying about "wasting" my free time?

Reading immersive fiction makes me significantly more productive. I believe there are two main benefits: 1) It hones my ability to stay focused, and 2) It exercises the world-simulation part of my brain, which I use heavily for understanding problems and visualizing solutions. Whenever I go more than a few weeks or so without reading fiction, I tend to notice a drop in my productivity and problem-solving ability. Bin…

Could you recommend any fiction books?

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#32

Post by Scarblac »

happy_path wrote: post #3

When I see this kind of lists I always think of getting some of these books and reading them. However, I feel like reading books that have no relationship with my job (software engineer) is a waste. Do any feel the same? Is this a harmful mindset and should stop worrying about "wasting" my free time?

Especially software engineering is one side technical knowledge about programming, and the other side the ability to understand new problem domains from scratch so you understand what is needed.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#33

Post by TtEdN7jwT »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #20

Every year, I add Gates' recommended books to my reading list. This year, 2020, when the Pandemic hit and our prospective Investor walked off, leaving me with a team I cannot support; I turn to extra reading for support. In early 2020, when I realized I read over 50+ books in 2019, I had decided to read slower, and more picky to digest the books better. Unfortunately, I ended up reading lot more this year. By GoodRea…

I stand in awe with the amount you've read. Which ones have you gotten the most benefit from?

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#35

Post by keiferski »

happy_path wrote: post #3

When I see this kind of lists I always think of getting some of these books and reading them. However, I feel like reading books that have no relationship with my job (software engineer) is a waste. Do any feel the same? Is this a harmful mindset and should stop worrying about "wasting" my free time?

You are a human being first and a [profession] second.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#36

Post by wmxsk »

happy_path wrote: post #3

When I see this kind of lists I always think of getting some of these books and reading them. However, I feel like reading books that have no relationship with my job (software engineer) is a waste. Do any feel the same? Is this a harmful mindset and should stop worrying about "wasting" my free time?

Ironically, one of the book he recommended 'Range' is about expanding your horizons.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#37

Post by lentil_soup »

happy_path wrote: post #31
1e-9 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading immersive fiction makes me significantly more productive. I believe there are two main benefits: 1) It hones my ability to stay focused, and 2) It exercises the world-simulation part of my brain, which I use heavily for understanding problems and visualizing solutions. Whenever I go more than a few weeks or so without reading fiction, I tend to notice a drop in my productivity and problem-solving ability. Bin…

Could you recommend any fiction books?

given your interest in tech and not being used to fiction maybe try some science fiction short stories?

I'd recommend Issac Asimov's short stories. The robot series for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_series. You can read a few of those in a sitting.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#38

Post by dwighttk »

happy_path wrote: post #16
digikazi wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading books that are unrelated to what you do for a living is not a waste - not in my opinion at least. The stuff you read "for work" will undoubtedly increase your technical knowledge and make you a better software engineer, but the books you read for pleasure might just soothe your soul, increase your knowledge about the world you live in (good, interesting biographies, history books, etc) or they might just be g…

Thank you. I needed to read that.

Lists like these are great for finding books that are worth reading. Find someone you respect and then just pick one of the books they recommended. Or look at a few lists and see if there is one that keeps popping up. Books are a bit of commitment so it is nice to have at least the promise that a book is going to be good when you are just starting to read for more than work.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#39

Post by codetrotter »

rob74 wrote: post #25
happy_path wrote: post #3

When I see this kind of lists I always think of getting some of these books and reading them. However, I feel like reading books that have no relationship with my job (software engineer) is a waste. Do any feel the same? Is this a harmful mindset and should stop worrying about "wasting" my free time?

There's an (apparently untranslatable) word in German for people who are only interested in amassing knowledge in their own domain and totally ignorant of anything else: "Fachidiot" (see also https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/327748/is-there-... ) - it's not really a flattering term. So, in my book, expanding your horizons is a good thing. Of course, Sherlock Holmes would disapprove ( https://news.ycombinat…

It's translatable to Norwegian though. The Norwegian word for it is fagidiot.

IPA: /faːɡ.i.di.uːt/

https://naob.no/ordbok/fagidiot

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fagidiot#Norwegian_Bokmål

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#40

Post by Brajeshwar »

TtEdN7jwT wrote: post #33
Brajeshwar wrote: post #20

Every year, I add Gates' recommended books to my reading list. This year, 2020, when the Pandemic hit and our prospective Investor walked off, leaving me with a team I cannot support; I turn to extra reading for support. In early 2020, when I realized I read over 50+ books in 2019, I had decided to read slower, and more picky to digest the books better. Unfortunately, I ended up reading lot more this year. By GoodRea…

I stand in awe with the amount you've read. Which ones have you gotten the most benefit from?

Thanks.

Pretty much all books gives you something or the other to learn. I started writing about the books I read, each year, since 2018. For this year, here are few, in no particular order that I feel happy and fulfilled reading them. I will be digging deeper and doing a retrospective, and write a blog post by early 2021.

- Cant't hurt me by David Goggins.

- Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.

- Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. (Re-read)

- Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. A very un-assuming book that taught me lot about leadership.

- How to influence and win friends (re-read 3rd or 4th time).

- Humble Inquiry by Edgar Schein.

- I am Malala (daughter like it and so I read it)

- Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Issacson. (I'm taking this real slow, still reading after 6+ months.)

- Range (the one mentioned by Bill Gates)

- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant.

- The Future is Asian by Parag Khanna.

- Turn the Ship Around.

- Under Pressure by Lisa Damour (I have a daughter, turning teenager in another year.)

- Venture Deals (still valid in today's fund raising scenes)

- Why we Sleep by Matthew Walker. Still reading but learning a lot already.

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