Seems like it’s been a while since I did a roundup of books that I consider…

Seems like it’s been a while since I did a roundup of books that I consider the most, well, awesome, must read, so to speak. I’ll make a list:
1/
The Road to Reality, or the laws governing the universe. Roger Penrose.
Yeah, I like hardcore, and this is it in its pure form. A heavy monograph with a ton of formulas and exercises. Properly makes your brain work. Took me about 2.5 years to get through.
2/
Thinking, Fast and Slow. Kahneman.
A classic and I don’t think it needs an intro, Nobel stuff in behavioral economics, lets you really understand how decisions work in people’s heads and why advertising is the way it is.
3/
A History of Western Philosophy. Bertrand Russell.
This really lets you take a solid look at the core ideas in culture, history, and the world. Super useful for your horizons.
4/
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman.
I don’t even know, just read it — the best thing out there about science and physics in a light, accessible form.
5/
The Hard Thing About Hard Things. Ben Horowitz.
I think if you want to understand what startups are like and how life is there and what gets done and how success comes — then this is probably the only book you need. It even seems to me you don’t need to read anything else about startups, better to keep your head clean and just this book.
6/
Commentaries on the Gallic War. Caesar.
A modern guide to conflicts in the world.
7/
The World of Warcraft Diary: A Journal of Computer Game Development.
I’ve spent in World of Warcraft definitely more than ten thousand hours and, probably, it’s one of the best games of all time, and the author managed to very sensitively and interestingly convey the process of making it. For everyone who loves games — must read.
So, kind of like that, a short list of nonfiction. From fiction — Dostoevsky and Tolkien. The rest didn’t click
🙂