"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies" - George R.R Martin

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I am avid reader especially non-fiction books. After I finish reading or listening one, I tend to write down its short summary and anything new that I picked up. Here is a list of short summaries of a few recent ones I've read.

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1. Thinking Fast and Slow (4.8/5): My recent favorite! In this book, Daniel Kahneman shares his insights from the extensive research he and his colleague, Amos Tversky conducted on cognitive biases, prospect theory and other topics in behavioral sciences. One of the key concepts in the book is the theory that our brain consists of two parts; System 1 and System 2. System 1 is the intuitive, quick and emotional side of the brain while System 2 is the slower and more logical side. Using system 2 takes more effort and patience which is why humans tend to use System 1 wherever possible. There are other brilliant concepts explained such as planning fallacy (over estimation of time line of our own work), endowment effect (retain an object one owns than acquire the same object when one does not own it), and many many more. The book contains close to 500 pages but it is definitely a worthy read. I plan to read it again!

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2. Born a Crime (4.5/5): This is an autobiography of the award winning host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah. In his book, he talks about his struggles growing up in pre and post Apartheid era in South Africa. Trevor was raised by his hard-working and God fearing black mother in a poor neighborhood in Soweto. His father was white so he was considered to be of mixed race. Trevor's narration, whether about his violent step-father or his tumultuous love-life, is beautifully crafted in tragedy and humor. The book also gives you a glimpse on how Apartheid started and the atrocities a black or a colored man had to face on a regular basis in South Africa.

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3. The Innovator's Dilemma (4.3/5): This book is written by Clayton Christensen, professor at Harvard Business School. The book tries to explain with evidence why successful companies fail despite doing everything right. Prof. Christensen talks about why it is important for companies to identify disruptive innovation from sustaining innovation and formulate a separate strategy for both. He discusses the evolution of disk drive industry to explain this. A couple of important takeaways from the book were 1) It's not a good idea to always listen to your customers 2) once you have identified a disruptive innovation, build an independent, autonomous team that would harness this innovation to build useful products.

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4. Bad Blood - Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (4.6/5): This book is written by Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou and is an inside story of the sudden rise and fall of the silicon valley startup Theranos. There is an HBO documentary based out of the book and I believe a movie is also in the works with Jennifer Lawrence playing the role of CEO, Elizabeth Holmes. Theranos claimed that it could conduct a range of blood tests from a very tiny sample of blood cheaply and quickly. This made them an instant success among investors who over-valued the company without attempting to find out if the claims were actually true. it's a classic case of companies jumping the gun and getting lost in the hysteria due to FOMO (fear of missing out). Eventually, the lies catch up with the CEO and her partner Sunny Balwani and Theranos eventually becomes defunct with both fighting cases for several counts of fraud. 

 

5. Lean Startup (4.5/5) - In this book, Eric Ries advocates the usage of lean methodology for product development processes, especially for startups. Lean methodology consists of having shorter feedback loops , development cycles and a more iterative process for product development. It's very similar to the Agile methodology that many software companies employ nowadays. The author discusses his own startup and how he and his team were able to recover from their initial failures by following the principles of the lean methodology. The books also has interesting tidbits on the kind of data that he and his team analyzed while building the product. For those working in a startup, this is a must read!

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6. The Silent Patient (4.8/5) - I really enjoyed listening to the audio version of this book. This is a fictional story about Alicia Berenson, a painter charged with shooting and killing her husband, who ends up in a mental hospital where she refuses to speak to anyone. The case receives nationwide attention because the husband is a famous fashion designer and the fact that Alicia shoots him 5 times before turning herself in and not speaking again. Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist, finds Alicia a unique and interesting patient and decides to get a job at the mental institution so he can study her. This mystery novel goes through various twists and turns and ends with an unexpected ending. Alex Michaelides, the author has written a fantastic story and those who like reading mystery novels should buy a copy.

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8. Outliers (4.6/5) - In his book, Malcolm Gladwell explores factors that differentiates the best and the brightest from the rest. He argues that culture, background, upbringing and good old fashioned luck play a crucial role in making them who they are. He tries to prove his point by discussing several examples such as the Canadian junior hockey team having many players born in January, reasons behind Beatles becoming one of the greatest rock bands in history, Asians being generally good at math, etc. I found these examples and others quite intriguing and made me think of success a different way. I always believed that an important and not so talked component about success is timing i.e. being at the right place at the right time. This book strengthens my belief in this thought. 

 

I'll update this page with as I find more time. To look at the list of all the books I've read please look at my profile at www.goodreads.com

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