Finished reading: Better Small Talk: Talk to Anyone, Avoid Awkwardness, Generate Deep Conversations, and Make Real Friends by Patrick King 📚 I didn’t expect much from this book, but it actually was pretty solid, and a thorough look at a very specific topic. It gave me some concepts that help me better understand how small talk works. These are things I felt, but now can put in a broader context. I’d recommend it. 5/5

Finished reading: The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm 📚I finally finished this short book. A few years ago I received it from a colleague who said he’d look for copies in second hand book stores and than occasionally give the book to people around him. It’s (clearly) set in the ‘50s (showing through the emphasis on religion and roles within marriage), but that doesn’t take away from the general ideas shared. It also pairs nicely with the myth/religion/science themed books I’ve read over the past few years. I should have finished this book earlier though. It’s really a quick read/ listen4/5

Finished reading: Magisteria by Nicholas Spencer 📚 — I enjoyed this book. It provides me with a lot of context beyond the simple historic moments in time. I find it helpful to have a long view of how we ended up where we are today, with an account of the various recurring ideas and themes throughout history. 4/5

Currently reading: Magisteria by Nicholas Spencer 📚

Science and region found themselves in various inconclusive — sometimes beneficial, sometimes fracturing — conversations. Whether it was anthropologists plumbing the depths of the past, freudians the depths of the mind, or soviet cosmonauts the depths of space, region and science seemed inextricably entangled and this sense of entanglement only seemed to grow as evolutionary biologists declared that humans were basically genes, neuroscientists: they were basically brain activity and Silicon Valley techno-utopians that they were basically algorithms.

Finished reading: A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr 📚I picked this up after someone blogged about it and finished in with a few days 4/5

Finished reading: Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon 📚This was my summer read. I found it being discussed aa influential in the youth of some of the people I have in high regard for their thinking, without much other additional context. It’s unlike most of the other things I’ve read; disorienting, at times very graphic. Someone described it as an LSD trip. I understand that metaphor. It took about one month to finish, and I am happy I picked the holiday for this read, as it might have otherwise easily stretched out over months. I would recommend it to some people. I guess it requires a specific type of taste. 4/5

Finished reading: EMPOWERED by Marty Cagan — recommended by colleagues; read in order, and see the thoughts about the role of product management develop. I finished the first book, and still have a little to go in the second. I wonder if I should get these in hard copy, because this really is a dense book which I might want to reference in the future. That doesn’t work too well with the audiobook version. 4/5 📚

Finished reading: The Sound of the Future by Tobias Dengel — great examples, and process, but it likely turned old quite quickly as the world is moves on and the technology evolves. There is some mention of the LLM hyped models, but it feels like this is mostly leaning on the smart assistant era where Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri were in the spotlight. Still, it’s a good read, and the author speaks from experience, that’s absolutely clear. 4/5📚

Finished reading: Collaborating with the Enemy by Adam Kahane 📚 4/5

Finished reading: Red Notice by Bill Browder 📚— this book was recommended by a friend a few months ago as a fascinating read on Russia, and mentioned in a podcast as a book a good book to understand ‘the Russian’. While there’s obviously no single way to understand a whole country, this book indeed was a fascinating read. I finished it in little more than 3 days and wonder if I should just continue reading Freezing order by the same author too. 5/5

Finished reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman 📚— It was hard to put away. I like how Neil Gaiman writes and combines a world of Gods, myths and dreams together. 5/5

Finished reading: The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray 📚 — second time that the initial minutes put me off due to the topics discussed (as I’ve had so much of that already), but it was well worth the continued attention. I learned a lot about the various waves of activism, and now have a richer understanding of the various types of groups, and the richness of the facets they contain. 4/5

Finished reading: Thomas Jefferson by R. B. Bernstein 📚— I wanted to learn more about some of the American history, as well as try a second biography. Thomas Jefferson was an interesting figure, and at times I would forget how long ago he lived. The cross connections with Europe and how this puts the early American history next to more familiar periods of the European history is great. I’ll ready more biographies and history from this age. Maybe also some more books on politics as I found it insightful to hear how Jefferson learned his way around over time. It was however quite a long book. I sometimes fear that the last part is a stretch for me to finish, although I didn’t mind this time. 4/5

Finished reading: The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin 📚 —> a former manager (American) asked me some time ago if I had read this book. She was reading it at the time and had wondered if it resembled what it would be like for me to interact with Americans. I enjoyed reading/listening it with this question in mind and will read more by Le Guin. 4/5

Finished reading: The Story of My Experiments with Truth by M. Gandhi 📚— this was recommended to me a few years ago, I finally got around to listen it. This first autobiography I listened, and I kind of liked it. It was a weird time capsule with acceptance of child marriage, castes, loyalty to the Empire. It has alien ideas about what would be considered medicine, and ideas about eating meat. Still, I enjoyed the book. 3/5

Finished reading: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell 📚 — this was a quick listen. The audio version wasn’t just the book read by the author, but contained original audio recordings when possible. The story it self was what I had expected; fine, sometimes interesting. Nothing too deep or complicated and not too long of a read. 3/5

Finished reading: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 📚 — This book was recommended to me in the summer of 2021. I once started reading, but didn’t get into the story. After finishing listening Norse Mythology (narrated by Neil Gaiman too) I wanted to give this another try. I loved the story, and I can recommend it. I have not had fiction on my list for quite some time, but I’ll try a bit more now. One thing I’d do different is finish the end in a single go. I now had it split over 3 moments, which I shouldn’t have done.4/5

Finished reading: The History of Magic by Chris Gosden 📚 — this was quite a long listen. I did enjoy most of it. The book spans a way longer history than I had expected. Also, I found it interesting to have it grounded in view of someone with an archeological background. It’s the first book I finished with such a take — 4/5

Finished reading: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman 📚 — I started to read this back in the summer of ‘22 but only finished it with the audio version. The stories are a delight, and I had been unfamiliar with the post Ragnarok story. I need to check if that was a personal addition, or if it’s actually part of the old stories — 5/5

Finished reading: The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli 📚 — this is a short book. Very accessible and with a great writing style. It covers both theory and philosophical topics around the concept of time. I might revisit this one again — 5/5