This week I read The Prince, written by Niccolò Machiavelli, translated by Ninian Hill Thomson. In a technical discussion centered on deep learning aided computer architecture design space exploration, a colleague brought up the word “machiavelli”. From there, it is trivial for me to trace a path to this book The Prince that in turn … Continue reading The Prince
Category: Books
Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 is written by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. I am thankful to my friend for recommending this book. Emotional intelligence has become a tiresome topic in recent years. It has lost a lot of its appeal over the years since being popularised by the widely acclaimed book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Coleman … Continue reading Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Influence
This week, I read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini. If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend reading this book. Cialdini presents six universal principles of influence: reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, scarcity. In this book, based on decades of evidence-based and rigorous research, Cialdini shows … Continue reading Influence
The Wealthy Gardener
A book with a title “The Wealthy Gardener: Life Lessons on Prosperity Between Father and Son” deserves some amount of skepticism from potential readers. I was skeptical about this book before I began reading it. Is the title implying that mothers and daughters are not capable or worthy of subjects like prosperity? That would be … Continue reading The Wealthy Gardener
Measure What Matters
I have a confession to make. Two actually. Few people in Silicon Valley have not heard of the venture capitalist John Doerr. I watched John Doerr’s TED talk some time ago. Then I gave this book Measure What Matters by John Doerr to my best friend, but I ended up reading it first. For some … Continue reading Measure What Matters
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman was a lightweight and great reading material to me. Some time ago my mother-in-law suggested this book as one being read by many in London. Public transportation such as the Underground and buses are great places for implicit book popularity ratings. I resisted her suggestion, as my … Continue reading Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
The Startup of You
The Startup of You, by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha, is one of a few career-advice books that I have read over the past decade. In general, I do not like prescription books. Instead, I prefer to read books that are not solely concerned with pouring tons of advice over the readers; I like to … Continue reading The Startup of You
To the Lighthouse
Some people do not like Virginia Woolf’s work. Some do, including me. I only found my way into her world and her writing after reading A Room of One’s Own. Before that, I attempted and abandoned her very well known titles, including To the Lighthouse, The Waves, and Mrs Dalloway. Admittedly, I was merely a … Continue reading To the Lighthouse
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
This book is written by Lori Gottlieb, with a subtitle: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed. My acquisition and reading of this book is a direct product of Amazon’s ranking and recommendation system. It was presented to me, in the middle of my browser, with its eye-catching sub-title. This sub-title caught my attention … Continue reading Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Steal Like An Artist
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!" Those were my involuntary, thunderous and embarrassing sneezes. A young lady, running towards me from the far corner of the bookstore, holding a box of tissues, said “tissue for you”, with a beautiful smile. I was very touched, “This is very nice of you. Thank you so much.” I took one piece, … Continue reading Steal Like An Artist