Books

Software Best Practice Books:

• Effective Feature Management: (3/5 stars)
• A free book (well you need to put in an email address/name - no verification).
• Written by the company launchdarkly - pretty much an explanation of why they are needed in the software universe
• The short book explains what most engineers already know, but it is a nice refresher.  
• Explaining what what feature flags (a few kind: skill switch, A/B testing, different user permissions) and why they are important.  
• Direct Link the Book (PDF Copy)
  
• The Manager's Path
• 4.26 on GoodReads
• Talks about how to progress to higher management, and what each level requires of you.
• Talks about mentoring, team lead, manager... all the way to CTO
• Designing Data-Intensive Applications (did not read yet)
• 4.75 on GoodReads
• Still to read. 
• The Five Dysfunctions of a team (did not read yet)

Life Books:

• 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey (4/5 stars)
  
• think of the bigger picture
• learn what influences people (what they live for)
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson (5/5)
  
• This book made Mark Manson famous
• contrary to the title, the book is about putting energy in things you care about not about things you do not care about.
• Very entertaining
• Lots of side stories about historical events and how they relate to his higher points
• EVERYTHING IS FUCKED: A BOOK ABOUT HOPE by Mark Manson (3/5)
  
• A follow up book from Mark Manson
• Not as useful as the first book, but equally entertaining
• Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard (4.5/ 5)
• A very short book
• Give honest feedback to everyone (restaurant owners...)
• If they care they will make the changes to improve your future experience.
• Have a vision in your company and ensure everything is around that.  Provide a certain customer experience you envision.  
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant (4/5)
  
• 4.23 on Good reads
• How to think like a scientist, using data not emotions.  And how our views SHOULD change as we get more information.  The book also talks about how to not look at black and white, and that most people agree on 90% of things, but we are polarized to only talk about the 10% we do not agree on. 
• How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnage (3/5)
  
• 3.93 on good reads
• A very simply written book on how to be a good friend, engage people...  Lots of one off examples, not really explaining the bigger picture.  
• You can read the subheadings and get 60% of the understanding.  This should have been a 50 page book, not 200.  
• Just read the summary here.  
• 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson  (3/5 stars)
• 3.92 on Good Reads
• Chapter 1: (4.5/5 stars) "Stand up straight with your shoulders back."
  Great antidotes on how we figure out who is "alpha"
  How good and bad behaviours can build on top of each other and improve/ruin your life
  Being confident goes a long way 
  Chapter 2: (2/5 stars)"Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping."
  Chaos vs Order. How you need chaos to change.  Need order to be stable.  Finding that right balance is important. (rants a lot about bible not making sense)
  You are going to ensure your dog takes the medicine, but you will not take the medicine yourself when you are sick? Why? 
  Chapter 3: (4/5 stars)"Make friends with people who want the best for you."
  Entertainingly talks about his upbringing in a small city of 3,000 people.  You know by age of 12 if you who/what type of person you will be. How he felt when he left for Edmonton
  Talks about a person wanting to "help" other people who are worse off them is not as simple as it sounds.  
  Chapter 4: (5/5 stars) "Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today."
   We are not one dimensional, we have different things traits, things we value...
   Those we wish to become might have other parts of their lives which we do not want.
   Figure out who you want to me, what you want (More about abstract thought than actual item) then work on that piece by piece.  Try to improve every day
  Chapter 5: (5/5 stars) "Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them."
  A MUST read chapter
  You need to give your children praise and punishment
  How to correctly discipline your kids to avoid resentment
  You are responsible for your kids discipline, better from you than from society or other people who love them less 
  Chapter 6:(2/5 stars)"Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world."
  - own up for the situation you are in. your actions or inactions are partially responsible for the predicament.
  - this could have been a one pager
  Chapter 7:(2/5 stars) "Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)."
  A huge rant on how Christianity works. In a few pages he explains how Christianity helped separate church and state and how it helped stop punishment of humans for sport (slaves being used to feed lions...). And that the Christ died for our sins was bad since humans can now sin and not strive to be the best they can be.
  
  One good quote: "It's time to let go. It might even be time to sacrifice what you love best so that you can become who you might become, instead of staying who you are." The rest is stories which are hard to follow.
  Chapter 8: (4.5/5 stars) "Tell the truth – or, at least, don't lie."
  A couple of interesting stories on when he told the truth and the impact it made. People will respect you for it.
  Chapter 9: (5/5 stars)"Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don't."
  People organize their brains with conversations.
  Listen to people, ask clarifying questions - repeat what they said in your own words to really get what they are saying - do not just wait to give your point of view.
  Chapter 10:(5/5 stars)"Be precise in your speech."
  When things fall apart - for you to learn, you need to be able to in detail explain what is going on, what you expected ... Same event for two people can (will) be interpreted differently
  Chapter 11: (3/5 stars) "Do not bother children when they are skateboarding."
  a bit of rants, talks about how boys should be boys, be aggressive, fight… otherwise it will come out in worse ways when they are adults. Talks about how it is natural for woman to want to be mothers, how
  Chapter 12: (4/5 stars) "Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street."
  Life is tough, it can throw you curveballs, your kids getting sick... Enjoy the little things in life.

Make you think novels:

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (series) by Douglas Adams (5/5 stars)
  
• 4.38 on GoodReads
• Cynical and Funny
• A proper science fiction book
• Makes you think about small things we take for granted and what could happen in the future
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
• 3.90 on GoodReads / 62nd in Penguin's list
• Very short 
• Makes you think about into what humans will evolve next
• A classic
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• 3.99 on GoodReads / 7th in Penguin's list
• A classic
• Dystopian Future
• Makes you think what we value, how/why our relationships work...
• 1984 by George Orwell
  
• 4.19 on GoodReads / 24th in Penguin's list
• A classic 
• Even though written in 1949 talks very relevant for today
• Big Brother (everyone is watching you)
• 3 super powers constantly battling it out - but no major wars.
• Lord of the Flies: by William Golding
• Story of boys getting stuck on an island by themselves
• how life changes when there are no consequences
• how kids have to quickly grow up
• The Family by Puzo
• A book follows the Borgias family (based on real events). Talks about lies, deceit, and brutality that are needed to get power and maintain it.  
• There is a TV stories to follow this
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• At the age of twelve, Jonas, a young boy from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is singled out to receive special training from The Giver, who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life.

Pure Fun:

• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolken
  
• 4.52 on GoodReads / 30th in Penguin's list
• follow adventures of hobbits, dwarves, elves, orcs.
• There are movies you can watch after
• The Boys (Graphic Novels) by Garth Ennis 
• 3.74-4.10 on Good Reads
• Cringy, dark, science fiction universe where there are 200,000 people with super powers (flying, laser eyers, super speed...) and how they use it for good (and their public image managers) and for bad/evil (hidden from the public eyes by their managers)
• Well wrapped up (there is an ending which makes sense, without loose ends)
• There are a few of the scenes which are a bit boring (going into the past of some characters) but in the end you get to see whole picture
• There is a TV show on Amazon Prime about it as well
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
  
• 3.91 on Good reads
• A great novel tied with history bits ties to it

Biographies

• Born a crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trever Noah
• 4.49 on GoodReads
• I was not aware a story could be so dark and humorous at the same time.  Trevor tells his story of his upbringing in South Africa, a bit about Apartheid.  
• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
  
• 4.47 on Good Reads
• A story about how the company Nike was created. Dives into some business decisions, ruthlessness of his partnerships...
• Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
• 4.39 on Good Reads
• simplify as much as possible (remove requirements till you have to revert 10%, otherwise you are not removing enough)
• workaholic (and makes others work as much he wants)
  
• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
• 4.15 on Good Reads
• controlling both the hardware and the software allows you to be in full control of everything. 
• if you make a good product - people will use it
• an average person does not know what they want, you need to tell them
• takes things super personally when done to him, when he does it just part of business. 
• he was a massive prick (to everyone)