Books
I enjoy reading other people’s book lists so I’ve written my own – hopefully someone finds it interesting.
The books are rated out of 5 and I’ve added an asterisk * to books that stood out to me.
I’ve also written a blurb with my thoughts or some takeaways where I can.
I generally read non-fiction books on a variety of topics from art and business to science and engineering. I do dabble in fiction here and there.
I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
last updated: 2019-09-13
Work in progress…
List
(hyperlinks to details)
A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons
Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones*
Conscious: A Brief Guide of the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Failure: Why Science Is So Successful
Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome
Hands-On Data Structures and Algorithms with Python: Write complex and powerful code using the latest features of Python 3.7, 2nd Edition
Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection
In Praise of Wasting Time
Kinds Of Minds: Toward An Understanding Of Consciousness
Possible Minds: Twenty-Five Ways of Looking at AI
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
Reclaim Your Brain: How to Calm Your Thoughts, Heal Your Mind, and Bring Your Life Back Under Control
Reductionism in Art and Brain Science: Bridging the 2 Cultures
The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams and God
The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain from Vienna 1900 to the Present
Thinking in Systems: A Primer
Ultra-learning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career*
Understanding the Brain: From Cells to Behaviour to Cognition
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing*
Why Red Doesn’t Sound Like a Bell: Understanding the Feel of Consciousness*
The Spirit of Kaizen: Creating Lasting Excellence One Step at a Time
The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
Currently reading ▼
Why Red Doesn’t Sound Like a Bell: Understanding the Feel of Consciousness
— by J. Kevin O’Reagan
Thoughts so far
- wow, the stuff about the eye and perception is extremely fascinating.
- Goodreads
Failure: Why Science Is So Successful
— by Stuart Firestein
Thoughts so far
- failure is a lot more involved than I thought
- Goodreads
A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons
— by Robert Sapolsky
Thoughts so far
- fascinating tails and interesting facts about both baboons and people.
- Robert Sapolsky writes delightfully.
- Goodreads
Thinking in Systems: A Primer
— by Donella H. Meadows
Thoughts so far
- This has been on my shelf for a while and I’ve only heard good things.
- Goodreads
Hands-On Data Structures and Algorithms with Python: Write complex and powerful code using the latest features of Python 3.7, 2nd Edition
— by Dr. Basant Agarwal
Thoughts so far
- Slow start but I’ve picked up some good stuff already.
- Goodreads
Read ▼
Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones*
— by James Clear
Thoughts
- this is one of the best books on productivity that I’ve come across.
- the idea is that small improvements everyday compound to make massive changes.
- this works both ways, for good and bad habits so it’s important to learn to build good habits and squash bad ones.
- Goodreads
Rating: 5/5
Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome
— by Venki Ramakrishna
Thoughts
- Interesting read about the author’s journey to winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Reminds me of Eric R. Kandel’s book, In Search of Memory, which is also a story about that author’s journey to a Nobel Prize.
- The amount of hard work mixed with strokes of luck in these types of books/stories always fascinating to me.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4/5
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
— by David Epstein
Thoughts
- Fascinating book encouraging us to broaden our scope in order to find out more about ourselves.
- We learn who we are in practice not in theory.
- Goodreads
Rating: 5/5
Possible Minds: Twenty-Five Ways of Looking at AI
– by John Brockman
Thoughts
- It’s a bit of a mixed bag - some of the essays brilliant and others are not so much.
- I liked the one by Stephen Wolfram.
- Interesting read though, I dropped my jaw a few times.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4/5
The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God
– by David J. Linden
Thoughts
- What an eye opener!
- The premise of the book is that the brain is not designed well at all - it’s a kludge.
- Interesting ideas about about the why there’s religion across all human cultures and other things.
- I love it when authors go out on a limb with some wild ideas.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4.5/5
Understanding the Brain: From Cells to Behaviour to Cognition
— by John E. Downling
Thoughts
- The way the brain works is very different from the way artificial neural networks work.
- Brain function is way more nuanced and complex.
- I love books like this that touch on a topic that we understand a lot about but also know less than there is to know about.
- There are lots of:
- we don’t fully understand why …
- the [function/mechanism] of [this processes/thing] is not yet known …
- Great intro to neuroscience.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4.5/5
Ultra-learning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career
– by Scott Young
Thoughts
- Packed with practical advice about learning.
- The 9 Principles of ultra-learning: meta learning, focus, directness, drill, retrieval, feedback, retention, intuition, experimentation.
- Will need to revisit this, makes a lot of sense and is backed up by some compelling data.
- Goodreads
Rating: 5/5
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
– by Cal Newport
Thoughts
- I resonate with the call for more deep work and less shallow work.
- Nit-picking but can be repetitive.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4.5/5
Kinds Of Minds: Toward An Understanding Of Consciousness
– by Daniel C. Dennett
Thoughts
- Short but thought-provoking read on what consciousness may be in other minds.
- What makes a mind powerful/conscious is not what it’s made of or how big it is, but what it can do.
- Manipulating and considering our concepts is what separates human minds from everything else.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4/5
In Praise of Wasting Time
– by Alan Lightman
Thoughts
- Very short and interesting. It’s refreshing to know that it’s OK to waste time… sometimes.
- One of the key takeaways: a prepared mind wandering is necessary for creativity.
- Goodreads
Rating: 3.5/5
The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain from Vienna 1900 to the Present
– by Eric R. Kandel
Thoughts
- I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.
- Basically, lots went down in the development of art, modern medicine and science in Vienna from 1900 - Einstein, painters/artists, psychology, Freud, Jung etc. to DNA.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4/5
Reductionism in Art and Brain Science: Bridging the 2 Cultures
– by Eric R. Kandel
Thoughts
- Reductionism in art 🖼 taps into mechanisms in the brain for interpreting reality, in colour, shapes, edges, faces etc.
- I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for reductionist art because of this book.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4/5
Reclaim Your Brain: How to Calm Your Thoughts, Heal Your Mind, and Bring Your Life Back Under Control
– by Joseph A. Annibali
Thoughts
- I enjoyed reading this, it covers the mechanisms of the brain and how to manage oneself.
- One of the key takeaways: find what energises you/fills your spiritual well. Do it bit by bit and let it expand .
- Goodreads
Rating: 4/5
Conscious: A Brief Guide of the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind
– by Annaka Harris
Thoughts
- One interesting insight from the book is that we don’t seem to consciously choose to do something. Some other processes, experience, the environment, circumstances etc. decide what we do but we get a sense of agency about what we’ve done.
- We have the illusion that we are in control and yet the reality we perceive is an edited version of the recent past - our brain processes are in a constant state of editing to synchronise sounds and touch and sights into a coherent whole.
- Events unfold and we consciously witness them.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4/5
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
– by Daniel H. Pink
Thoughts
- Eye opening read.
- I had no idea we all have chronotypes that determine out ability to perform across the day - the difference between these times can be profound.
- I love books like this that reveal or expand on things in plain sight.
- Goodreads
Rating: 5/5
Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection
– by John E. Sarno
Thoughts
- I heard good things about this book and I was curious – I don’t actually have and I’ve never really had back pain.
- I enjoyed this book.
- The premise is that TMS (Tension Myoneural Syndrome) and psychological factors can cause back pain - not just injury.
- Additionally you can overcome this pain, sometimes instantaneously after years of pain just by understanding what it is.
- It seems to work based on what I’ve heard people say in random places – I think there’s something to it.
- Goodreads
Rating: 5/5
The Spirit of Kaizen: Creating Lasting Excellence One Step at a Time
– by Robert Maurer
Thoughts
- Kaizen means good change.
- Simple and straightforward approach to improving anything.
- The steps outlined are deceptively simple and powerful.
- The book has lots of examples drawn from business and life situations that make it readily applicable.
- Goodreads
Rating: 5/5
The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
– by Florence Williams
Thoughts
- Convincing read about the benefits of nature and the outdoors.
- The message was simple enough - the book could have been much shorter - but I stayed for the stories and humour. Good stuff.
- Goodreads
Rating: 4/5