Miha Rekar
Surprisingly fun and entertaining book about the technologies that are just behind the horizon. Must read while it's still relevant since in some areas (reusable rockets) huge improvements were made since it was written. We're still no closer to fusion though :P
Probably a great summer read as well. Highly recommended.
I'm no gamer and still found this book incredibly interesting. A great insight into the game industry and its crazy work practices. They are def not sustainable so I'm very interested how the industry will evolve.
Amazing story. Get the audiobook because it's very well told through the voices of Scott and Jenny. Enjoyed this very much.
Endlessly quotable. Lots of very interesting (anec)data about romantic relationships in the modern world. Things are not what they used to be and there's no point in pretending they are.
A good example of a great book suffering from poor editing. There are parts where it wants to be a history book, parts when it fantasizes about future, parts where it's focused on global economy, parts when it wants to be an investigative journal,... it's a mess. But the overall story is indeed super interesting - how such a “trivial” invention changed the global trade forever and in ways no one could ever imagine.
So I recommend it, but feel free to skip chapters.
An absolute must-read. I was already a fan of Michael from How to Change Your Mind, but this book highlights his style even more. He goes deep as a research journalist would and then makes a great story out of it.
The chapter about corn was absolutely eye-opening. I had no clue that all these things could be made from corn And not only can they be, but it's now the most cost-efficient way of doing it. That alone broke my mind.
It also makes abundantly clear that labels like “organic” mean almost absolutely nothing. It's a slightly different way of industrial production. But there are practical ways to produce food as they do on Polyface Farm. They raise cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and even rabbits in harmony with the animals' natural instincts and rotational grazing techniques.
Then there was this:
>A one-pound box of prewashed lettuce contains 80 calories of food energy. Growing, chilling, washing, packaging, and transporting that box of organic salad to a plate on the East Coast takes more than 4,600 calories of fossil fuel energy, or 57 calories of fossil fuel energy for every calorie of food. These figures would be about 4 percent higher if the salad were not grown organically.
Pollan also spends a lot of time thinking about whether we should eat meat or not. While the topic is (and will be for the foreseeable future) controversial, he outlines some great points why we should indeed eat it. But not in the quantities and techniques we mostly do now. CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) must go.
>People who care about animals should be working to ensure that the ones they eat don't suffer, and that their deaths are swift and painless—for animal welfare, in others words, rather than rights.
I'd categorize this book as “slow read” apropos “slow food”. Take your time, and you'll enjoy it more and learn a lot.
Read the first third of a book then gave up. Overly religious. The title could very well be Bible 2.0.
The story behind Nike. If you wouldn't know the result which is the huge corporation that it is today, you would think they wouldn't make it. Several times. An amazing rollercoaster ride, greatly written.
American discovers that excellence comes from hard work and not just talent. And that passes for revelation now?
It's not a bad book...it's just common sense reiterated. You won't miss much by not reading this.
I was fan of Ryan's work before but now I became a fan of him personally. Great book. A must read for everyone who ever achieved anything. I can especially recommend the audible version which has an additional interview pasted at the end which makes some reasoning behind the book even clearer.
A hilarious book about an overweight guy wanting to run an ultramarathon. Must-read for every runner or everyone who wants to understand why we do what we do.
Vast oversimplification and delusional writing. Yet a good book if you want a fun AI fan fiction fairytale story
Favorite book I read in 2020. It's so, so good. Hilarious, yet sobering. I had to stop running several times because I was laughing so hard. Truly showcases how it is to live with severe mental disorder(s). Jenny is a spectacularly good writer and I can't wait for her new book while I'm listening to her first one right after this one
Not as great as people would have you believe but it is a great overview over human history and present.
I read it almost immediately after Debt: the first 5000 years and it's interesting how two authors take a look at same or similar material and come up with a different conclusions. I prefer the Debt book over this one but both are very well worth a read.
A Curious Mind is a fascinating and inspiring read. As a curious person myself (my tinder bio was “incurably curious”), I was immediately drawn to the idea of exploring how curiosity can enrich our lives.
Grazer does an excellent job of weaving personal stories and insights from his own life with those of the many influential people he has met throughout his career. He shares his own experiences of how his curiosity has helped him in both his personal and professional life, and how it has led to some of his greatest achievements.
One of the things I appreciated most about the book was the way Grazer encourages readers to be curious and to never stop asking questions. He argues that being curious can lead to new opportunities, deeper connections with others, and a greater sense of fulfillment in life. He also provides practical tips and advice for how to cultivate and nurture curiosity on a daily basis.
There's nothing particularly new in the book, though. And if you're not interested in a life of a Hollywood producer, you might find it hard to enjoy.
While I don't agree with everything in this book (namely the stance on GMO), I do agree with the vast vast majority of it.
We need less stuff. We should buy less stuff. And what we do buy should be of as high quality as we can afford so it lasts longer and provide us with greater joy.
As the common saying goes: I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things. Or as one of my idols Dieter Rams would say: Weniger aber besser (less but better).
A book I absolutely devoured. Written really well with great flow, a pinch of Serbian humor, and many Lord of the Rings references. But mainly it's about global activism, protests, and how to successfully form and run a group for a cause. And the role CANVAS (Centre for Applied NonViolent Actions and Strategies) had/has in that. Srdja gives a ton of examples how nonviolent way is always the way, but this one sealed it for me: “There's a real danger to a movement that becomes violent, and it's that violence makes it hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys.”.
Again, a really great book, and if you are at all interested in activism, I can not recommend it enough.
Memoir / series of essays on running done by a great writer. Very well written and I can see myself in lots of the stories he experienced. Nothing profound in this book though.
Great book about Amanda's life and how we should all be asking more questions. Especially from the people close to us. I knew almost nothing about Amanda, but now I became a fan. The audiobook narration is amazing so if you enjoy Audiobooks I recommend this one a lot!
My god, what a book. How can something this old be this applicative in our times? Amazing read and I already see I'll be re-reading it often.
It's a good book and I def recommend you read it. But it falls short here and there with oversimplification and extrapolating stories where there are none. Also did not like the fact that many stories are copy pasted to/from Daily Stoic.
Well written and full of great insight into one of the best CEOs of our time. I've heard about him from multiple other sources (Jobs' bios, Creativity inc,...), and it's super interesting to hear the same stories from Bob's perspective.
The book has many businesses advices but mostly it's a story of how great mentors can get you wherever you want to go. And Bob tries to be the mentor for the reader of this book.
Highly recommended!
A lot of Silicon Valley brainwashing and “look at me how incredibly smart I am and everyone else is a dumbass”. But still a lot of nuggets of good and actionable advices. So I would recommend reading it, but don't follow it by the letter.