Marlies

Mijn lage waardering kan misschien een beetje misleidend zijn; als je dit boek op het oog hebt omdat a) het over wolven gaat, dan ben ik er zeker van dat je het boek interessant gaat vinden.
Het is gemakkelijk leesbaar en bevat tal van interessante feiten en observaties over wolven.

Als je dit boek op het oog hebt omdat b) de ondertitel leest “wat mensen kunnen leren van wolven”, dan ga je bedrogen uit komen. Elk hoofdstuk sluit af met wat mensen zouden kunnen leren van wolven, maar deze “wijsheden” zijn uit de lucht gegrepen en absoluut nergens op gebaseerd. Zo wordt de hele mensheid er op afgerekend dat we niet meer in het hier-en-nu leven en dat de wolven dat zo geweldig kunnen... Tja, ze hebben niet veel keuze.

Als je een makkelijk te lezen boek wilt met interessante feiten over wolven -en je kan om de onbehulpzame tips van de schrijfster heen lezen-, dan kan je deze prima lezen. Maar als dat je doel is dan bestaan er denk ik wel betere boeken om te lezen.

Super interessant boek over wat voor effect wij hebben op klimaatverandering.
Wat ik leuk vind aan dit specifieke boek, is dat het heel erg geschreven is vanuit het perspectief van de lezer/consument. Dit is wat jij kunt doen om een kleinere klimaat impact te hebben (itt het aan overheid/bedrijfsleven overlaten).
Wat Babette daarbij heel goed doet is niet alleen direct te meten impact (zoals microbeads in shampoo bijvoorbeeld momenteel een hot-topic is), maar dat bandenslijtage van autorijden een veeeeeel grotere impact heeft.
Babette schrijft daarnaast super positief. Niet; je mag niks meer doen en alles gaat toch slecht, maar ze maakt van je impact veranderen een spel/uitdaging.

Een aanrader voor iedereen die impact wil hebben op zijn/haar klimaatimpact.

Why did I pick this book?
I heard Tim Ferriss mention this book during his shows a couple of times. Then I saw it mentioned in a list of books to read during quarantine and got a little more info on its contents. Since now was the perfect time to pick it up, and I found a cheap secondhand option, I went for it.

The book
I got the very basic edition, with just the text of the Gita and no explanation or interpretation added. I liked it, because it kept the book very short and to the basics. You can get the gist of the story from many sources on the web, with a better description than I can give.

My recommendation
So this is a book that's interesting for people trying to reach the higher self, not just in a spiritual/religious way. I found many entries that can also be linked to Stoic philosophy (not getting overly attached to things, controlling your emotions, not being perturbed by fortune).
The story is however, for many chapters, focused on how great Krishna is. This is something I personally dont enjoy in religious texts. I'd rather see rules and guidelines on how to become a better person, than repeated statements of how great a God is.

Why did I pick this book?
I'm an Industrial Product Designer, so for me it's very interesting to get a peak into the mind of a fellow designer and a acclaimed one at that. This book was furthermore recommended by Jude Pullen, an interesting Designer with a great YouTube channel to boot.

The book/story
This is an autobiography by James Dyson, inventor of -amongst others- the bagless vaccuum cleaner. Describing his childhood in England, to his studies at the RCA and his many, many adventures designing, producing and selling his different inventions up to the DC-02 (and a hint at DC-03, 04 and 05).

My recommendation
I really enjoyed this book. Dyson has an interesting tone of voice in writing, intermixed with lovely english vocabulary. I found his way of describing his design life less pompous and more down to earth than Adrian Newey (How to Build a Car).
At times I found Dyson a bit grumpy, multiple times he starts complaining multiple pages about the state of manufacturing in England -which is at times outdated and not interesting for readers that are not from England.
Other than that I really enjoyed this book and am interested to read more about Dyson's following projects/products and/or the way of designing of the Dyson company.

Why did I pick this book?
I read Pretor-Pinney's first book - the Cloudspotters Guide- and loved it. That first book is all about clouds. What types of cloud there are, how they form, great anecdotes on clouds and all their shapes and sizes, mixed in with a good dose of exquisite British humor.
Finding this second book in a thrift store, and being a surfer, I just had to buy it.

The book
The book is structured similar to Pretor-Pinney's first book; with several chapters on different themes, loads of images with hilarious captions and short three-ish word notes in the margins. Pretor-Pinney covers the topic in both a general perspective and at times quite in depth. The second to last chapter, for example, explains all the details on the theory of light being both particles and waves, while the second chapter focuses on the bloodstream being a wave within the body.
There's also chapters on butterflies, cognitive links and synapses, etc.

My recommendation
If you've enjoyed Pretor-Pinney's first book, and you stumble across this book, then it's a great read. Pinney's retained his classical style of writing and applied it to a whole new topic.
If you're a surfer and thought this might be a good reference on how ocean waves form, than you better keep looking for a different book, as only three chapters are about waves in water, with one of them being the personal account of how Pinney went surfing in Hawaii.
If you're unfamiliar yet with Gaving Pretor-Pinney I without a doubt recommend his first book more than this one.

Did not finish.

Why did I pick this book?
I was looking for more books for Industrial Designers/Engineers. Got the recommendation to read any work by Petroski and was able to pick this one up from the library.

The book
This is really an essay on the difference between Scientist and Engineers. At the start there's quite an entertaining discourse on how Scientists and Engineers are mentioned in the media, with Scientists always being the one's to discover new, lifesaving/world-changing discoveries and the Engineers being the ones who make stupid Engineering errors and don't think things true.
Later on the book talks more about famous engineers and scientists and the overlap between the fields. At this point I stopped reading.

My take and recommendation
A few chapters in I noticed myself asking the question why I was reading this book. Although the start was entertaining, though a bit painful being an Engineer, the word use between Scientist/Engineer is not an issue in my language/culture. After that I could not really answer what it was I was expected to take away from this book.

Read if you are a journalist or write articles on Science and Engineering, if you're a scientist/engineer who has time on his/her hands and just wants to read something. Otherwise, for engineers I'd much more recommend biographies by Steve Jobs, James Dyson or even Adrian Newey.

Picked this book up because I was interested in Leonardo's way of thinking, which was peaked by a lot of recommendations for Walter Isaacson's biography. However, that book has the size of an elephant! Decided to pick this average sized book instead which also has a comparable score here on Goodreads.

As I'm a Design Engineer I was mostly interested in Leonardo's sciency side, rather than the painter and I wanted to get some take-aways which I could implement in my own life. Luckily, Capra starts with the argumentation that more designers/engineers/scientists can learn a lot from (and should adapt more of) Leonardo's way of working (and that their current way of working is flawed).
I strongly disliked Capra's formulation of this statement, but did really enjoy how he explained the state of affairs during Leonardo's time and how he was different from other contemporaries at the time. It's a really compact read on Leonardo's life and work giving some great detail and context.

I would recommend the book to anyone interested in Leonardo da Vinci's life who wants to get a sizeable introduction, however would recommend other books for engineers etc. When I have the time I'm looking forward to dive deeper into the subject with Walter Isaacson's book.

What I learned from the book:+Genius during the Renaissance was used to indicate the 'Gen', a sort of guardian spirit. If someone/thing was recognized as a genius than this was due to his/her/it's guardian spirit.+ Signs of geniuses: 1) insatiable curiosity, 2) extraordinary concentration and focus, 3) ability to memorize lots of information. + During the Renaissance the world view changed where in the Middle Ages a person's characteristics where created by God (fixed mindset), where in the Renaissance they acknowledged that understanding and knowledge came from the person (growth mindset). The goal became to know of many fields of study (the universal man). Leonardo went one step further and not only knew of a lot of different fields, but also interconnected that information. + Leonardo had a way of drawing where he sketched a line numerous times until he was satisfied with its perfect shape and than retraced that one. Makes me think of generative design, but then in sketching. **I should try this technique more, focusing on really lightly drawing until I know the end shape for certain.+ Leonardo spent his childhood outside in the fields and hills of Vinci. I've heard this from other recognized people and do think that this is best for your development; you learn to observe and really experience the world (street wise?) compared to only observing if you sit behind your computer for example.+ **Leonardo kept a notebook with him AT ALL TIMES and recorded everything. Even simple thoughts, Latin words he wanted to learn, etc.+ During the Renaissance a lot of the 'old knowledge' (Greek & Roman) was rediscovered. Arguably this was due to Christianity where the focus was on God and his creation and there was no room for Science. (In contrary, Islamic culture focuses more on practicing compassion, social justice and wealth and therefore offers more room for scientific exploration). During the Renaissance again came room for scientific exploration, but most of this was focused on re-reading the old texts and not on doing new discoveries (what Leonardo did do). + Middle-ages + Renaissance; worldview is nature based. During Scientific Revolution (from the Renaissance onwards), this view shifted to one where the earth is a machine. In a machine everything can be measured, you have clear inputs and outputs, components can be replaced etc. However, Leonardo thought, as well as current scientists, that everything is indeed more like a living being; everything is connected and complex. You cannot measure everything, but you can give a description of proportions for example. **Can you explain something, but you cannot use man-made definitions like length, time and weight?+ Leonardo always planned to convert his notebooks into treatises/books and publish them. Some texts are therefore also written like; "if you want to paint this scene, you shall do this and that". I think this is a great way of also getting to understand a subject, its similar to the Feynmann technique.

Why did I pick this book?
I've recently read a few management books (Disney, Pixar and Steve Jobs) and love the insight it gives on managing a company, and overall challenges in life. What better book to step up a notch than from a President?

The book itself
Is massive. Don't expect to easily take this with you on a summer holiday.. Tho' I did manage to bring it along to the beach for some reading.
Also note that it is just the first part of Obama's presidency, up to the raid of Bin Laden. Another book is to follow on the next part.
In this one Obama takes the reader through his early life, growing up in Hawaii and the influence his mother and grandmother had on his life, through to his studying years, running for Senate and finally the presidency.

What did I think of it
As soon as I read the intro I knew I would be hooked. I was a little worried that it would be a dry book, for which you would need a thorough understanding of the United States political system.
However, as I discovered in the intro already, Obama takes care to carefully explain the background of a certain topic, before diving deep into how he and his team handled it. You can get a really good insight in the intricacies of most (global) topics.

Also, when Obama doesn't have to stick to the facts and run through a specific string of events, when he has the time to write about the scenery of the White House, or other politician's abodes, the writer in him pops up. I was enthralled by his description of the grounds around the House.

My recommendations
If you enjoyed this book, or maybe are on the fence about starting such a lengthy book, I would suggest going with ‘Ride of a Lifetime' by Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney. It's a much shorter book, but the style of writing and topics covered are pretty similar.

Did not finish the book. Picked it up because I wanted to increase my argumentation skills and diminish misunderstandings.

The author argues that we act in order to decrease our own cognitive dissonance (for example; I have given a gift to that person - i would not give gifts to people I dont like (this would create a dissonance) - therefore I must like this person (a strategy Benjamin Franklin used to get an political opponent to like him)). To diminish this cognitive dissonance we come up with all kinds of argumentation why we do what we do, or self-justification.
This is explained in the first chapters and the book continues on with loads of examples and how cognitive dissonance and self-justification manifests themselves.
I did not find the book interesting enough to continue after that.

“It's dark because you're trying too hard,” said Susila. “Dark because you want it to be light. Remember what you used to tell me when I was a little girl. ‘Lightly, child, lightly. You've got to learn to do everything lightly. Think lightly, act lightly, feel lightly. Yes, feel lightly, even though you're feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.' I was so preposterously serious in those days, such a humorless little prig. Lightly, lightly—it was the best advice ever given me.
​
Well, now I'm going to say the same thing to you, Lakshmi . . . Lightly, my darling, lightly. Even when it comes to dying. Nothing ponderous, or portentous, or emphatic. No rhetoric, no tremolos, no self-conscious persona putting on its celebrated imitation of Christ or Goethe or Little Nell. And, of course, no theology, no metaphysics. Just the fact of dying and the fact of the Clear Light.
​
So throw away all your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That's why you must walk so lightly. Lightly, my darling. On tiptoes; and no luggage, not even a sponge bag. Completely unencumbered.” ​

Picture the person you love the most. Picture them sitting on the couch, eating cereal, ranting about something totally charming, like how it bothers them when people sign their emails with a single initial instead of taking those four extra keystrokes to just finish the job —

Chaos will get them.

Chaos will crack them from the outside — with a falling branch, a speeding car, a bullet — or unravel them from the inside, with the mutiny of their very own cells. Chaos will rot your plants and kill your dog and rust your bike. It will decay your most precious memories, topple your favorite cities, wreck any sanctuary you can ever build.

It's not if, it's when. Chaos is the only sure thing in this world. The master that rules us all. My scientist father taught me early that there is no escaping the Second Law of Thermodynamics: entropy is only growing; it can never be diminished, no matter what we do.

A smart human accepts this truth.

A smart human does not try to fight it. But one spring day in 1906, a tall American man with a walrus mustache dared to challenge our master.

His name was David Starr Jordan, and in many ways, it was his day job to fight Chaos. He was a taxonomist, the kind of scientist charged with bringing order to the Chaos of the earth by uncovering the shape of the great tree of life — that branching map said to reveal how all plants and animals are interconnected. His specialty was fish, and he spent his days sailing the globe in search of new species. New clues that he hoped would reveal more about nature's hidden blueprint.

Why this book?
I have been brought up as a Christian, and went to a Christian school. For me Christianity is something overarchingly good. However, some of my friends are almost extremist left wing anti-Christianity/religion.
I wanted to delve deeper into the rules of the Bible, if they encourage violence (my friends' opinion), or support pacifism.
Also, I love personal challenges, and living according to the literal rules in the Bible seems fun and challenging.

My opinion
Already the book starts out great, with Jacobs' enthusiasm and humor. Apparently there's a rule in the Bible that you may not shave the corners of your beard. Jacobs does not know where the corners are, so he decides to just not shave his beard entirely, and he starts with a description of what kind of reactions the beard has evoked. I couldn't put the book down.
The story itself is an entertaining collection of personal anecdotes of what happened when literally following the rules of the bible (including using pebbles to stone an adulterer and taking on a slave). I love challenges like these and can imagine myself taking on the same challenge.

Unfortunately a year is even not enough to follow all the rules in the Bible, and is too short even to figure out which rules are meant to be taken literal and which to be taken figuratively. As Jacobs describes in the last chapter the Bible can be compared to a banquet, and it is to the individual to decide how to interpret it, which courses/rules to follow more literally and which not.
For me this is somewhat of a let-down, as it doesn't give me an answer whether the Bible encourages violence or not (it depends on which courses you choose).
I was however enthusiastic with Jacobs' conclusion; the rules make you more overall aware of how special life is, to be grateful for what you have and be kind to your neighbors.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to people looking to get a basic understanding of the Bible and the different ways to interpret it. Jacobs' tries to talk to people from all spectra of followers, from extreme left to right.
It's also a really interesting and fun read to get a basic sense of the Biblical rules and how they work in modern life.

I would not recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn the actual rules, as they are not summarized here. And also not recommend it to anyone wanting to know (or get reconfirmed) what is the best way to interpret the Bible.

Enlighting book which takes an entertaining look at what the afterlife looks like, beside the black and white view of heaven and hell.
The first few stories are really fun and entertaining and make you eager to read all the different views the author has on the afterlife.
However, this certainly is a book you should read at a leisurely pace, with a story every now and then, as otherwise it becomes quite repetitive.

Why did I pick this book?
Recommended as a staple book to read in the category self-development. Was a short read and available in my library.

The book
It's a very short read. Made even shorter by pictures filling entire pages and short chapters.
The book itself is divided into three parts; starting with a story setting the scene; a group of friends meeting at a high school reunion and reflecting on being afraid of changes. Then the actual story of ‘Who moved my cheese' is about; mice and men that need to navigate a maze to find cheese. Each of the four characters has a different approach to address this challenge and the story expertly highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
The last chapter is again from the focus of the high school friends that reflect on how the story's few on change can help them.

My recommendation
A very nicely crafted story. I like how they included especially the last chapter to also reflect on how this story could help people in their day-to-day life. It gives an example of how to interpret the story and an example of how to address someones resistance to change in a positive way.

The story itself is nicely written, easy to digest, and it's neither too dreamy/fuzzy nor too straight-cut as an example story. Due to the translation to mice/cheese and a maze, I think it's easier for a reader to distance themselves from the hard-lessons to learn and easier to jokingly agree that they might resemble one of the characters (as is done in the last chapter).

Definitely recommend for everyone.
Would recommend to follow up with ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' to give direction to your search for ‘new cheese'.

Als je één boek over klimaatverandering gaat lezen, laat het dan deze zijn.
Mommers verteld over de gevolgen van klimaatverandering en wat voor desastreuze effecten dat kan gaan hebben. Tegelijkertijd laat hij zien hoe het ook kan, dat we nog de optie hebben om te verduurzamen en naar een groene toekomst te werken.
Hij verteld wat voor kansen en voordelen dit juist kan opleveren, in plaats van dat klimaatverandering alleen maar voor beperkingen zorgt en dat we heel veel leuke dingen niet meer kunnen doen.
Als laatste sluit hij af met een hoofdstuk over wat je zelf kan doen, en dat dit níet een druppel op een gloeiende plaat is, maar een rimpeling die andere mensen kan inspireren en zo samen een golf kan veroorzaken.

Het boek is aan de ene kant alarmerend en deprimerend over welke gevolgen klimaatverandering kan hebben. Aan de andere kant is dit ook een heel hoopvol boek dat laat zien wat er wél mogelijk is als we ons daar hard voor maken, en daardoor vind ik het een sterke aanrader!

Why did I pick this book?
I saw the movie, it was amazing. And I saw from the movie that Herbert had done a tremendous deal of worldbuilding, which I wanted to know more about.

What did I think of it?
I was not disappointed by the worldbuilding. It is really amazing what Herbert has done, with a believable future for earth and the human race. How humanity has evolved, the butlerian jihad and use of computers, the evolution of religion; it's really refreshing to learn about.

I've heard several people have a gripe with Herbert's writing style, and I can relate to that. I can imagine people coming to these books after Game of Thrones and you can expect a similar level of different storylines interwoven together. Both books focus heavily on interactions and conversations between people. However, in Game of Thrones the battles and struggles in between are told in great detail as well, where Herbert can just glance over them and skip 2 years in time between chapters.

Herbert will shift between perspectives between sentences. Starting with the viewpoint of Paul and shifting in the next sentence to his mother Jessica. I really love this, as he can capture subtle signs, interactions and emotions really well, but it can be really confusing as well.

My recommendation
I loved this book for its worldbuilding; the ecology of Arrakis (the planet), how religion has evolved, the politics, etc. I also loved the subtle emotions. If you like this I would also suggest The Night Angle Trilogy by Brent Weeks.

If you liked the movie, also watch the 2006 movie The Fall. It has the same cinematic scenes.

Leuk boek om te lezen! Het heeft wel wat weg van Factfulness, wat ik echt een aanrader vind.

Ik was tegen een paar audioboek hoofdstukken van dit boek aangelopen (het hele boek is ook gratis te beluisteren!), en vond de manier van vertellen en de interessante feiten die naar boven kwamen erg interessant en verfrissend.
Daardoor besloten het hele boek ook te lezen, aangezien ik het fijn vind om even snel terug te kunnen bladeren etc.

Het verhaal leent zich erg goed voor een audioboek, aangezien het heel verhalend verteld is, met leuke en interessante anecdotes. Het boek heeft ook wel wat weg van Thinking Fast and Slow (TFaS). Maar waar TFaS voor mij ten onder gaat aan saaie, droge beschrijvingen van studies en resultaten, houdt dit boek het heel verhalend en gemakkelijk volgbaar.

Daar zit echter wat voor mij dit boek afhoudt van een 5-sterren review; het is zo toegankelijk geschreven dat het super snel door te lezen is, en doordat het zo snel gaat heb ik geen tijd om stil te staan en in me op te nemen wat ik nou eigenlijk gelezen heb.