Reading
I like to read. Below you have books which I’ve read or listened. I don’t write a review and notes immediately. Typically after the lecture, I take two or three week break. Then I jot down my notes. Because of this approach, you can see which books are really valuable, and which were a wrong time investment, since they will have scarce or no notes whatsoever. Nothing stuck in my mind after reading whose.
Drawing in 30 days
Jul 22, 2017
Cool book if you like doodling.
Memoirs of Hadrian
May 1, 2017
Hard to explain, but this book reminded me my favorite book on Egipt and ancient times.. Great insight into the thoughts of the Roman emperor.
Everybody Writes
Mar 1, 2017
Nice, but not great. Can recommend, unless you can get “On writing well”
Shoe Dog: A memoir by the creator of Nike
Feb 24, 2017
Knight seems to be a great storyteller…
Ruby Cookbook
Feb 17, 2017
Great book. I don’t like the recipe-style book, but this one was neat, since it touches whole bunch of topics which you may need one day.
Clean Code
Feb 13, 2017
Take on clean programming. Unfortunately the book is entirely in Java and has a lot of Javaisms, but my overall impression was “fine”
The Art of Plain Talk
Feb 3, 2017
How to write English to make it easy to understand
Scientific Advertising
Jan 27, 2017
A lot of people from the marketing/advertising community recommend this book, so I read it to figure out if I can apply some lessons to promote my software.
King of Madison Avenue
Jan 23, 2017
Executive of one of the biggest advertising agencies telling the story of one of the most important figures of modern advertising in the XX century.
Non-designers design book
Jan 17, 2017
My review of what probably is the best design book for software engineers and other people originally not trained in design.
Ogilvy on Advertising
Jan 13, 2017
Book by the master. I learned about Ogilvy from YouTube; by complete accident. Immediately after I order this book. Read what I learned.
256 bloghacks
Jan 7, 2017
My first gig as a full-book book reviewer. You can learn what my opinion on Yegor’s book is.
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
Dec 13, 2016
Great take on investing written by a shark, the founder of The Vanguard Group. If you don’t have time studying 10 other investment books, read this one.
White Coat Investor
Aug 5, 2016
Originally targeted towards medical profession, this book seemed interested, so I ordered an audiobook. Did I regret? You can read the review to find out.
Good to Great
Jul 27, 2016
Deep analysis on how normal and average companies become outstanding companies. Lots of numbers; this book is researched-based.
Soft Skills: The software developer’s life manual
Jul 18, 2016
Very many software engineers don’t market themselves too well, and the whole book addresses this problem. If you think you should have a blog but you don’t yet, I feel like you will benefit greatly from this book.
Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now
Jun 15, 2016
If you’re bothered by the endless projects, or many unfinished tasks on your to-do list, this book is great. It addresses very many types of syndromes our busy minds are dealing with. It’s a mediacally-backed book and it gives some good hints on how to deal with procrastination. This booked helped me understand some procrastination elements I noticed in myself.
747
Jun 4, 2016
Great take on what made 747 fly and why. Technical and social challenges at Boeing, metals, structure, plane building and architecture. All of these topics are here. It get quite technical. If you have an interest in aviation industry, this book is for you.
Launch It
May 18, 2016
If you’re interested in promoting yourself in the Internet through some form of audio/video recordings, this book might be for you.
On writing well
Jan 15, 2016
On my blog and through these recommendations I try to practice English, and the “On writing well” was very helpful for improving how I write and how I communicate. You’ll learn a lot of secrets on making your writing more interesting thanks to this book.
The Willpower Instinct
Nov 27, 2015
1 year after listening to this book I don’t really remember it..
The Phoenix Project
Nov 17, 2015
This book was essentiall what “The Toyota Way” showed me, but more in the high-tech end. So if you feel like you’re just starting up with agile or you’re not a technical person and you need direct advice wrt. software engineering/IT/support for agile, this book is for you. Value and storytelling are very well done here. Reminded me: “The Goal”.
The Everything Store
Nov 13, 2015
Dark background behind Amazon and its success. I liked it.
Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products
Nov 3, 2015
Jony Ive is someone who I, as a amateur designer, envy. And the design world envies. It was cool to learn more about him in a structured form. If you’re a design junkie, you’ll like this one.
Miles
Oct 24, 2015
Probably the best audiobook I’ve listened. One of the best life stories I’ve heard. I have this book in my mind everyday. So will you, if you get it.
On Writing
Oct 21, 2015
Man. This is really damn good book on writing by the master. If you need to understand how real professional writer works, this is the book.
The Art of Learning
Oct 15, 2015
Great reference for study nerds and people interested in effective study methodologies.
Delivering happiness
Oct 12, 2015
Tony delivers his idea for Zappos–what it means for him, how he built it and how he kept good people around. I liked it.
Daily Rituals
Oct 3, 2015
This is a book worth reading for those of us who’d like to start developing creative habits. What sucked a bit is the lack of essence – the summary. You’ll listen through it, but you’ll need to summarise it yourself.
The Total Recall
Sep 15, 2015
This is absolutely marvelous book on Arnie and if you like biographies of any kind, you’ll just love it as much as I did. Wasn’t boring at any given time.
Facebook Paper and Copyright screens
Sep 8, 2015
My amazement with number of modules modern mobile app can consists of.
Programming Ruby, The Pragmatic Programmer’s Guide
Sep 8, 2015
Cool book on Ruby. If you intend to write in Ruby, just get it. You won’t regret.
Mind for Numbers
Sep 7, 2015
My thoughts from Mind for Numbers
Dot.Bomb: My Days and Nights at an Internet Goliath
Aug 15, 2015
My thoughts from listening about great and curvy story about Value America
Critical Chain
Aug 3, 2015
Notes from listening to Critical Chain
From Zero To One
Jul 24, 2015
My impressions from listening to From Zero to One
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Jun 25, 2015
Book which I prefer much more than “Zero to One”, as it’s written by the guy who went through many, many obstacles and try to make it through.
Twenty-one Dog Years: Doing Time at Amazon.com
Jun 14, 2015
Very funny take on one person’s career at Amazon from the time of its hypergrowth.
Organized mind
May 20, 2015
Very looong and disorganised book on organised mind.
Just My Type
May 18, 2015
Very nice and compact introduction to typography.
Made it stick
Apr 24, 2015
How to study effectively.
The Innovators
Apr 23, 2015
How to innovate and issues during innovation process. Very nice book. Classic at this point.
In the Plex
Jan 5, 2015
Details on Google intestines.
The Founder’s Dilemmas
Dec 30, 2014
Don’t remember much of it, but the title seems appealing. Maybe I’ll revisit. Read on your own risk.
Picture This: How Pictures Work
Dec 27, 2014
Great design book. Very nice for dummies like myself. Will teach you more about how image and graphics work for transferring feelings, impressions and content.
Teach yourself Ruby in 21 days
Nov 24, 2014
Cool thing. Get it if you like Ruby
The Idea Factory
Nov 4, 2014
This was an extremely long book on Xerox PARC. I felt like it should have been compressed, since in the audiobook format it was really, really long.
The Power of Twitter
Oct 19, 2014
Book is good if you want to get better at using Twitter and figuring out the dynamics and what it’s all about.
How to read a book?
Oct 13, 2014
Sounded cool, but I couldn’t really find a good way to summarise it. I don’t remember much from this book after two years from reading it. Worth skipping.
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
Sep 24, 2014
Very cool book, highly recommended. If you’ve ever wondered where the software engineering is going and what’s the connection between engineers and designers, this book might be for you.
Linchpin
Sep 17, 2014
Don’t remember anything from this book. I think you may skip it.
Accelerated learning techniques
Sep 3, 2014
Don’t like things from Brian Tracy, but this book was interesting. If you’re a learning geek, get it.
Essential: Essays by The Minimalists
Aug 28, 2014
This was the same thing repeated over and over. I’ve listened to the audiobook and had a feeling the book was not really well designed. I like these guys and I like the idea, but this book feels like it needs more work.
Are you smart enough to work at Google?
Aug 21, 2014
This was a book on Google values, but don’t remember the details.
One Minute Millionaire
Aug 12, 2014
Don’t remember anything from this book. I don’t even know if I finished it.
Power hiring
Jul 2, 2014
Don’t remember much from this book 3 years after reading it. Might not be worth buying.
Home Buying For Dummies
Jul 2, 2014
Title is pretty accurate and sums it all.
I hate people
Jun 25, 2014
Office survival guide.
I’m Feeling Lucky
Jun 14, 2014
This is a story on how Google came to be. It was a very nice personal documentary as well.
David and Goliath
Jun 7, 2014
How smaller competitors can win the fight over the product/market. Worth read.
The 4-Hour Workweek
Jun 2, 2014
Tim had a very successful company selling suplements, and wrote a book how to live once you get wealthy. Many people like this book, but I didn’t get it. Valuable thing was talking about trying to automate tedious tasks in your life and spend your time better. But as far as I remember, the actual problems meeting the entrepreneur aren’t discussed in this book.
The real book of real-estate
May 29, 2014
Another book from “The rich dad” franchise. Don’t remember much from it.
People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!
May 24, 2014
Meh. Interesting as audiobook just because it was read by the author and his style was less formal than usual. And because I got it free. Maybe I’m biased. Not worth reading.
The Billionaire and the Mechanic
May 14, 2014
I really liked this gem. The title reflects it all.
The art of start
May 2, 2014
Don’t remember much, but it was a bootstrapping guide. Nothing else to add after two years from reading it.
The checklist manifesto
May 2, 2014
How using a checklist can be a good way of solving problems in difficult moments. Used some techniques from this book in the software development and it turned out to be very effective.
The first billion is the hardest
Apr 4, 2014
Don’t remember this one. Title is definitely sketchy, even for my taste. Unclear.
Extreme Toyota
Mar 23, 2014
This is “The Toyota Way” rephrased. I think the general rule is: pick just want book about Toyota production system and you’re good to go.
Screw business as usual
Mar 14, 2014
Great autobiography. Next to “Miles” it’s probably one of the most colorful books I’ve read. Also very good study guide for business people.
Father & Son – my life at IBM
Mar 8, 2014
On scaling IBM. It’s a good read, since many people consider Thomas Watson Jr to be one of the best corporate leaders.
Direct from Dell
Mar 1, 2014
Interesting read on how one of the biggest companies went from 0 to getting public. Funny to read all about this effort and knowing Dell went back private not so long ago. Book was cool – two years after reading it I sometimes come back to it in my head.
Ben and Jerry
Feb 21, 2014
Take on how ice-cream we all like got made. From 0 to Cookie Dough icecream!
Crossing the chasm
Feb 17, 2014
This book is similar to “The Innovator’s Dillema”. Basically what is the life-cycle of the high-tech product and how it’s getting adopted.
The Power of Habit
Feb 7, 2014
Great book on achieving success in various domains thanks to the proper habit formation. You figure out the target, you form a habit which gets you to the target closer by small step and you stick to it. And the science behind all that. Worth read.
Blink
Feb 3, 2014
How quick assessment and first impression really does count.
Dreaming in code
Jan 22, 2014
Two years after reading this book I don’t remember anything from it, so I’d think twice before investing your time in it.
The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork
Jan 16, 2014
After 2 years from reading I don’t remember anything from this book. I guess it wasn’t that valuable.
Innovate like Edison
Jan 10, 2014
Funny. This book shows Edison like a true grand master of innovation. I guess it’s well deserved, yet a lot of people know that Tesla was invention hero. Ready this book, but read something on Tesla too.
Suze Orman books (9 steps, Courage…, )
Oct 2, 2013
Probably the best thing that happened to me was picking up these books, since they talk about investment elements which are different from my native country, Poland. A lot of people claim Orman isn’t actually backing her books in the real life, but I never investigated. Nothing in this book is sold to you. To me, it was a very useful read.
Effective negotiating
Sep 28, 2013
This was useful for better negotiating skills.
Conversation Power
Sep 25, 2013
Don’t remember this one.
How to Gain 2 Extra Hours a Day
Sep 22, 2013
Nah. Read “Getting things done”. This book isn’t a good investment.
Guerilla Business School
Sep 21, 2013
Don’t remember much from it.
Coping with difficult people
Sep 14, 2013
Don’t remember much from it.
As I see it.
Sep 10, 2013
Another really great biography. Can’t recommend highly enough.
Beautiful evindence
Sep 5, 2013
Similar to “Envisioning information”. I’d have to re-read these books once again. I remember reading them one after the other, and they appeared to be very similar.
Envisioning information
Aug 27, 2013
If you’re a UX/UI designer, this would be a must-have book. I found its look very appealing. Tufte created a great style for this book. But content I’ve found hard to digest. I get the concepts, but reading was a chore, since the nomenclature and the way he phrases things is very “liberal arts”.
Made in America
Aug 20, 2013
One of the best books I’ve read.
Netscape Time
Aug 13, 2013
Creation of the legendary web browser and a personal take on Clark’s life. Really great book–highly recommended.
Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie
Aug 3, 2013
Really long book. Got lost many times during listening of an audiobook. Similar format to “The first tycoon” on Vanderbilt. These books are too long and cover too many things. I feel like it’s only interesting if you’re a history junkie.
Brian Tracy books…
Jul 22, 2013
Don’t remember them much. I don’t think these are worth reading.
Mental toughness training
Jul 15, 2013
The only thing I remember from this book is how sports can be mentally challenging, since as you get closer to winning, you’re more stressed out about loosing. And that’s when the control comes into the play for people advanced in the art of sports. Interesting. I keep coming back to it when people make fun out of golf.
The Millionaire Mind
May 15, 2013
Very interesting take on the finances in the USA. Mentions approaches used by financially capable people to retain wealth. Interesting read.
Jack - Straight from the Gut
May 14, 2013
This was a real gem. I keep coming back to this book in my head. Should allocate some time and re-read it once again.
MicroISV
May 10, 2013
Don’t remember much from this book 3 years after reading it.
Long Walk to Freedom
May 4, 2013
Probably one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to. Choice of the narrator with a South African accent was excellent. The narrator did an amazing job too. Story is pretty unique and I can highly recommend this book.
The Power of Less
May 2, 2013
This was something between minimalism (and was better than “The minimalists” book) and “Getting things done”. Enjoyed it. Looking back on how many comments I wrote on this book, I feel like it’s a worth read, as it triggered a lot of thinking.
Learning Node
Apr 30, 2013
My detour to understand Node more. I have a mixed feeling about this book. I feel like too many topics and frameworks have been touched in this text, so it’s more of a breath read than a depth read.
How to Get Rich
Apr 28, 2013
This was a biography of Felix Dennis and his creation of his publishing empire. A lot of funny moments, and his epic table with ‘comfortably poor’ scale.
How to Be Rich
Apr 26, 2013
This was a really, really great book from one of the America’s best entrepreneurs of that time and the founder of the “Getty’s Museum”. Enjoyed every single minute of it.
The Art of Start
Apr 23, 2013
Not sure about this one. Didn’t remember much from it. It’s short, so maybe you can read it through your public library first?
Succeeding as first time manager
Apr 20, 2013
Nice little book. Title matches what the content is about.
The science of getting rich
Apr 18, 2013
This is a sketchy book and a sketchy title.
Everyone else must fail
Apr 16, 2013
This was an interesting take on the creation of Oracle.
The Master Key System
Apr 14, 2013
Nothing special.
Mindset
Apr 9, 2013
Don’t remember this book at all.
The Cathedral and the Bazaar
Apr 7, 2013
Classic for software people.
Titan
Apr 5, 2013
Really great book on Rockefeller. I’m into history of the American business, so not sure if you’d like it. But if you are, I can recommend.
Ignore Everybody
Apr 3, 2013
Don’t remember anything about this one
What would Google do?
Apr 1, 2013
Yet another Google book
JavaScript: The Definitive Guide
Mar 24, 2013
This book shows old Javascript. For the latest pieces with static types etc., you’ll have to find something else.
Jim Rohn’s weekend leadership event
Mar 14, 2013
After three years after listening I don’t recall much.
How to Delegate
Mar 11, 2013
How to be a good manger.
The Power of Positive Thinking
Mar 8, 2013
A lot of people recommend it, but I didn’t like it.
Land of Lisp
Mar 1, 2013
This was the very first LISP book I’ve ever read. Helped me to get started with this weird bracket syntax and general language concepts. Worked fine for me – the first time LISPer.
$100 startup
Feb 23, 2013
The art of starting small.
Losing My Virginity
Feb 16, 2013
This is a 13+ book, so don’t screen if you find it on your kid’s bookshelf. Branson’s take on this entrepreneurial journey. Found it pretty enjoyable. Unique part about him is that he’s British – most of the other stuff on my list is all Silicon Valley centered.
How to stay motivated
Feb 10, 2013
Don’t remember exact details when writing this review 4 years after I listened to the book, but I remember having a lot of fun deciphering his accent and jokes.
DEC is dead. Long live DEC
Feb 2, 2013
Another chunk of the corporate history. This time about DEC.
Talent code
Jan 31, 2013
Debunking a myth of “talent”
Dealers of Lightning
Jan 17, 2013
Terribly long take on Xerox. Corporate history.
50 Success Classics
Jan 15, 2013
Another list of books other people found useful. I did that too, but I guess Amazon is a modern way of exploring book resources, so feel free to skip this one.
On A Roll
Jan 13, 2013
Author guides us through his life from a NYC hot-dog stand to going public and then buying back the company back. Really enjoyed it. Get it only if you like biographies and analysis from the battlefield.
50 Prosperity Classics
Jan 10, 2013
Dry in the content, but let me pick some positions which I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t read (listened?) to think book.
The Automatic Millionaire
Jan 7, 2013
Another position that got me interested in investments. I should revisit that. For the modern adult I’d consider this book a must-have.
Talent is overrated
Jan 4, 2013
Explanation why hard and systematic work is really what matters more than “talent”
Six thinking hats
Jan 1, 2013
I was very sceptical, but I’ve played with some exercises in my head, and I believe there is something to the theory of coldly analysing, gather ideas, then colding analysing, then turning feelings back and criticising etc. The idea of a book which gives you hints to get more creative is something I liked. Looking back, I don’t regret having read it.
No asshole rule
Dec 31, 2012
If you have social problems at your workspace this book can be helpful for you to gain more perspective and maybe even pinpoint problems.
Peopleware
Dec 29, 2012
Art and science of keeping people away from the burnout syndrome.
101 Secrets of Highly Effective Speakers
Dec 27, 2012
Tips and tricks for speakers. Judging by the number of notes I put down after original reading, I suspect I should revisit this book at some point.
The Goal
Dec 20, 2012
This is a very unique book, since the author did a great job at making education fun. If you want to learn about agile by just reading a story, this is the book for you.
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
Dec 15, 2012
Must read for everybody. I keep coming back to lessons learned from this book several years after having read it originally.
The One Minute Manager
Dec 12, 2012
All I remember about this book is that talks about the science and art of delegation, which I think is one of the top factors why some technical contributors fail to properly transition to the role of a manager.
The Old New Thing
Dec 7, 2012
After Joel Spolsky’s writing, Chen writings were among my favorites, as they too gave enough insight into the technical and non-technical stuff. He is a great software engineer and a very good writer too. Can recommend highly enough. By the way – I enjoyed it even though I’m not a Microsoft software stack person.
The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story
Dec 2, 2012
This is a must if you’re interested in a Silicon Valley history.
Positioning
Nov 17, 2012
If you like watching best TV ads as much as I do, this book would teach you some of the background used by ad film makers. It is also an advertising book to some extent, and I remember having a lot of fun reading it.
Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed
Nov 12, 2012
Scrolled through this book, but haven’t read it. Most of the website presented there are out of date with things you no longer see in the web. Haven’t learned much, but maybe because it wasn’t my first book on usability.
HDL Chip Design
Nov 7, 2012
Worth read, but by no means a comprehensive introduction to chip design or Verilog.
Winning
Oct 25, 2012
Probably as important for the future leader as “High Output Management”. I remember enjoying this book greatly.
The Field
Oct 20, 2012
Didn’t like it. Too esoteric and sketchy. Skip this one without feeling bad.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Oct 14, 2012
Classic.
Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness
Oct 9, 2012
This was the first book on selling that I read. Looking back and reviewing it after 4 years I don’t remember it much. I should re-read it probably because I’ve read more books by the same author. No strong yes, but not definite no.
Starting Forth
Oct 7, 2012
My interest in Forth started from attending Silicon Valley Forth Interest Group meetups at Stanford, and it continued every since. I always appreciate beautiful minimalistic things that can just do one thing very well and do it with minimal resources. And I think this is what Forth is all about. This book is a very gentle introduction into Forth.
The E-Myth Revisited
Oct 2, 2012
This is probably one of the best entrepreneurial books you can get. If you’re thinking about starting an enterprise of any sort on your own, go and get this one. If I make a list of the most influential entrepreneurial books ever, I think it’ll be high on the list.
Microserfs
Sep 29, 2012
Eh. Interesting, but don’t feel bad about not reading this book.
The Anatomy of Buzz
Sep 20, 2012
This is how modern marketing works like, and how word-to-mouth marketing works like. For a person interested in getting stronger at business this might be a useful addition.
Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary
Sep 17, 2012
If you like Linux, this book is for you.
The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Sep 11, 2012
Not ready to review it yet, I guess. This is a deep book, with a lot of dual meanings of things, and this book is not the best choice for an audiobook..
The Tipping Point
Sep 7, 2012
I write this review 4 years after reading this book, and I think explanation of mavens/connectors is worth reading. After looking through my library I think this book links fairly well with “Innovator’s Dillemma”.
Rework
Aug 24, 2012
I highly recommend you skip this book, since I want to be ahead of you.
Getting things done
Aug 15, 2012
This book has helped me with achieving my personal goals and projects. If you have growing Agile board, growing TODO and messy desks and cabinets and you’ll like change some (all?) of those things, I think this book is for you. It’s great. And it’s a very rare I re-read the book to learn more and more, but I did this here. Three times now. I’m going to re-read this book soon too. Go and get it. You’ll benefit.
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
Aug 12, 2012
Next to Earl Nightingale I’ve known this guy was a big name in the personal-development world, so I went ahead and read it. So-so. If you’re very bored, you won’t loose by reading it. Is it a must-have? Nah.
How to win friends and influence people
Aug 5, 2012
This is a good position on soft-skills. Based on the fact that most of the software projects nowadays are too big for a single developer, this is a good book for engineers. It’s not what the title claims it to be – it’s more about human interaction.
Don’t make me think
Aug 3, 2012
This is probably 2nd most important book for UX/UI designers. If you do anything with human-related software and product design, go and read it. It’s a worth investment.
The Millionaire Next Door
Jul 27, 2012
My interest in investing and personal finance started from this book.
Anything you want
Jul 25, 2012
Derek Sivers is a pretty influential entrepreneur and a coder. I enjoyed reading his words as much as his code, yet this book is a great read, on par with “Lean Startup” and “Rework”. Go and read. You won’t regret. If I ever make a software startup bootstrapping bible, this book will be somewhere there.
How to move mount Fuji
Jul 17, 2012
I write this review 4 years after reading this book, and the only thing I remember is that it was a pretty good take on Silicon Valley history. You decide.
The Best Software Writing I
Jul 13, 2012
Joel Spolsky is back, but this time as a content moderator.
The Strangest Secret
Jul 7, 2012
This is definitely a self-improvement position, so be warned if you don’t like this kind of stuff. To me this book made a really good positive impact in my life. If you’re reading this review on my website (and you should!) do know I’d not have started my website articles without this book.
Design of everyday things
Jun 28, 2012
Classing in the UX/UI world. Also must-read for human-facing software engineers. If you built products, tools or any kind of automation solutions, you’d benefit from this book, as it presents an easy-to-understand take on what usability really is.
Getting to Yes
Jun 16, 2012
This book is useful for people weak at negotiating skills. This book would be great for the engineers working on team projects, since sometimes having a lot of very detail oriented hackers in the room isn’t great for making … any steps towards actual problem resolution.
More Joel on Software
Jun 10, 2012
The “Joel on Software” book and his blog made me order this follow-up. If you read this now or maybe see my other review of “Joel on Software” writings, I think you’ll be fine ordering this position too. It’s basically a printed collection of posts you’d find on Joel’s website for free.
The Lean Startup
May 24, 2012
Business classic for software startup bootstrapping. I believe if you plan or think about making your side-projects happen and maybe charge money for those, I think you should invest in this book.
Joel on Software
May 12, 2012
Spolsky made his mark on the Internet and the software industry with his writing, and there are two ways to access it: his blog or this book. The book has the same stuff, but comes in a handy form. Get it, read it, re-read it many times and assimilate the business/software wisdom. By the way, this is a software startup bootstrapping bible.
Showstopper!
May 5, 2012
This book is a great take on the software-engineering, as it explains interactions between people, computers, time and money. If you’ve ever wondered how hard it is to work on big industry projects, this book might be for you.
Hackers and painters
Apr 20, 2012
Paul Graham’s classic. Probably must-read if you do anything with computers and programming as your profession.
The 7 habits of highly effective people
Apr 16, 2012
Apparently this a standard item in the Bay Area big corporation’ book-shelf. Some people told me it was handed to them as a standard reading at the new hire training. Are we doomed enough to need books that talk about basic traits of H2H (human to human communication)? Unclear, but reading this one won’t hurt.
iCON
Apr 15, 2012
I’ve found this book to be an enjoyable take on leadership within Apple. It gave me background into what Apple products and Steve Jobs was all about back then, when I didn’t even use Apple products at all. Maybe you shouldn’t read it if you want to start using their products one day?
The Toyota Way
Apr 4, 2012
This book is probably the best introduction in the Agile practices there is. It talks about cars, but everything that you read here will make sense for high-tech products. If you substitute “car” with “computer”, this book will make sense and be very enjoyable. It was for me.
The Soul Of A New Machine
Mar 27, 2012
If you’re a computer geek like myself, and you like reading engineering post-mortems, this book is for you. Hord of people bunched together to work on the complex engineering product. This will be cool for you, unless you work in tech, in which case better stories you’ll hear from your lab technicians.
Think and Grow Rich
Feb 10, 2012
This is the classic in the genre of self-help and even though the title could be considered very sketchy, a lot of people know and recognize it. It you want to appear cool on the serious party, don’t mention you’ve read it. Unless it’s Silicon Valley – then you’re good.
Secret
Feb 2, 2012
Dan Harris of ABC News summarized this genre of books accurately, and I think all of us would agree.. Slightly esoteric, but got me started in the personal development field. In my opinion this book changed my life for a plus. Check it out. But be critical.
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