2021 mid-year books

#15 - Jun.2021

This is a mid-year checkpoint of the books I had read so far in 2021. I'm including some key ideas/insights in case you're interested in diving deep into any of these books:

1. Fear and Trembling (Søren Kierkegaard) - This is a mix of theological and moral debate using the story of Abraham, challenged by God to sacrifice his own son, as a philosophical canvas. Søren offers his view on how ethics, morals and faith fit into our human nature.
2. La Guerra civil española (Paul Preston): One of history's most complex conflicts. This is a great book to have an overview of the origins, key actors, and ideological perspectives of the Spanish civil war. One of the best history books I had read so far. Thanks to my friend Antonio for the recommendation.
3. INSPIRED (Marty Cagan): If you are a product manager (or are pivoting to become one), this book is for you. Marty synthesized in this book some 101 concepts while highlighting common trends from great product organizations.
4. Information is Beautiful (David McCandless): I love visualizations and I'm always curious about ways to convey simple ideas with images. This book is packed with many examples of how to process information into great infographics.
5. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster (Bill Gates): Bill Gates focused on one of our biggest challenges for the next century: climate change. He shares his ideas on potential solutions, bringing insights into some of the key misconceptions about the root-causes of climate change.
6. Principles: Life and Work (Ray Dalio): Highly personal, Ray Dalio's shares in this book his core life & work principles inspiring people on how to create their own. I found very interesting his systematic approach towards building/refining personal principles.
7. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant (Naval Ravikant): I highly recommend reading Naval's ideas. Clear, concise, and insightful content on Naval's mental model towards wealth and happiness.
8. NoEstimates (Vasco Duarte): If you are into the software development world this book will give you a different perspective on project estimates. Although I don't agree with certain points (sometimes highly ambiguous/context-driven) I liked how this book challenges some common practices towards a more agile and iterative approach to managing projects.
9. Show Your Work! (Austin Kleon): Part of the reason I started blogging again was an outcome of reading this book. This is a short and insightful reading on creating more and sharing your skills with the world.
10. Good Economics for Hard Times (Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo): You don't need to be an economist to understand this book. Highly recommended to know more about today's economic challenges including highly debated topics like immigration, globalization, and strategies for economic growth.
11. O livro da Barista (Isabela Raposeiras): I'm a coffee lover! Isabela is the owner of Coffee lab, one of Brazil's (and world's) most famous coffee shops/lab. This is a quick overview of coffee origins and techniques. Just the tip of the iceberg of coffee's amazing world.

Happy reading.