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Good Books for a Lousy Year

gatesnotes.com

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Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#81

Post by parkersweb »

minkeymaniac wrote: post #67
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?

In that case read the book "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World" from that list first. You will notice that the people that came up with solutions came from a total different discipline, while the people in that field were stuck

Or another book recommendation from Gates Notes ‘Where Good Ideas Come From” https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Where-Good-Ideas-Come-From which argues that some of the most innovative discoveries from history come from exaptation - the application of ideas from one discipline to an unrelated field.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#82

Post by bluGill »

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?

It is more important for software people to know a wide range of subjects. Our job is to automate away the job of other industries, and every time we succeed we need to move on to a new domain and automate it. You should consider it a personal success when your current employer lays you off because the current version is good enough that they don't need as many people. Your best bet to success in this industry is to know a lot about something that isn't automated enough yet.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#84

Post by newbie578 »

Range is a great book! I really enjoyed reading it, it is a worthwhile read which expands your line of thinking.

I definitely also recommend Barking Up The Wrong Tree, it goes hand in hand with Range, books which challenge our way of thinking and what success is or what the correlation is.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#85

Post by arolihas »

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?

Do you have no interests outside your job?

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#86

Post by ckosidows »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #40
TtEdN7jwT wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 R…

Also just finished Can't Hurt Me. It's probably not for everyone. Goggins has a pretty unhealthy view of himself when he was 'fat' and his relationships with other people are kind of suspect. But it's an intense read and incredibly motivational.

If you need a different perspective on exercising and pushing yourself to your limits this book is a must. Don't try to be David Goggins (you might die). But to read his story is to see what extremes a human can push themselves to and it might help you push a little harder.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#87

Post by delaynomore »

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?

While I do read non-technical books, I don't read fiction for the same reason. It does feel like a waste of time when I could simply watch TV/surf the net instead :)

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#88

Post by quercusa »

minkeymaniac wrote: post #67
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?

In that case read the book "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World" from that list first. You will notice that the people that came up with solutions came from a total different discipline, while the people in that field were stuck

Agreed - that's a useful book.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#89

Post by mrlala »

happy_path wrote: post #11
jcynix wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your free time should be the time when you do things unrelated to your professional work. A healthy advise I got from Usenet a long time ago is that one should have a hobby unrelated to computers. That advise was given when there where no eBook readers, Smartphones or other mobile stuff. But it's still a good advise IMO as long as you use these tools for mainly recreational activities. So long note, short answer: rea…

Well, my native language is not English, so I could think that reading in English improve that language skill. What about if I feel I'm not a good software engineer?

>What about if I feel I'm not a good software engineer?

Then you might actually be a descent software engineer. It's when you stop worrying if you're good enough that you are most likely falling behind.

Re: Good Books for a Lousy Year

#90

Post by selykg »

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?

Why don't you give it a try?

Think of it like a proof of concept. You don't just write perfect code every single time you sit down, right? Sometimes you write something and test whether it'll work. Sometimes you find it works, other times it doesn't.

I encourage people to try to do the same with their life.

I was always of the mind "Meditation is some kind of stupid mumbo jumbo and it's dumb and a waste of time"

I now meditate, because I tried it and realized it was helping me.

You don't have to go into some idea thinking this is the rest of your life, it's not, you can try something, see if it helps you or you enjoy it. If you aren't enjoying it or you don't see it actually helping you then stop and do something different.

I read a lot, over 20 books this year, most of it fiction. It has replaced watching tv in 2020 and I set a goal to read at least 30 minutes a day.

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