📚 Summaries, Notes and Reviews
From Books I've Consumed

Reading books are a cheatcode to win the game you're playing. I only wish I had started read and take notes much earlier.

To get the notes, click on any linked title. I included short snippets and ratings to give you an idea of what you might find interesting. I’ve roughly categorized it by topic, some of these are broad, some are narrow, it’ll change with time.

You can use these notes to remind yourself of something you read or to decide on something new to read.

My Notes

    All Notes

    When Breath Becomes Air

    When Breath Becomes Air

    Biography, Career/Life, ⭐️ Favorite

    A memoir of Paul Kalanithi's life battling stage IV metastatic lung cancer. Just as Paul was about to be finished with his long, arduous neurosurgery residency and about to reach the peak of his life and career, he is hit with some of the most life-shattering news anyone can hear.

    Outliers

    Outliers

    Success, Social Science, ⭐️ Favorite

    One of the most influential books I have ever read. This was one of the first books I read in my journey of self-improvement, and it completely changed my mindset on the concepts of success and talent. Gladwell broke

    Zero to One

    Zero to One

    Startups, Entrepreneurship

    An in-depth look in to Peter Thiel's unique philosophy in how to create a successful company in the 21st century. Thiel was the founder of Paypal, one of the earliest investors in Facebook and now the CEO of Palantir, a company that recently went public.

    Deep Work

    Deep Work

    Success, Career/Life

    The most valuable skill to have in the 21st century is the ability to work for long periods at a time in deep concentration. But in a society where we are constantly being bombarded with emails, tweets, and blaring notifications the skill is becoming more and more important to have.

    Thinking, Fast and Slow

    Thinking, Fast and Slow

    Psychology, Social Science

    Kahneman who is a Nobel prize winner is able to take complex concepts on psychology and make them easy to understand and intuitive to anyone through examples and practical applications.

    Elon Musk's Biography

    Elon Musk's Biography

    ⭐️ Favorite, Biography, Success, Motivation

    I watched a one hour long documentary about Elon Musk on Youtube about a year ago so I was hesitant in buying the book. After finishing this book, I concluded that it must now be in my top 5 must reads right alongside Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. You hear about Musk's work

    Atomic Habits

    Atomic Habits

    ⭐️ Favorite, Success, self-improvement

    This book will no doubt become a classic in the realm of self-improvement. Habits are a way we solve reoccurring problems, and so they become the operating system our lives are run on.

    So Good They Can't Ignore You

    So Good They Can't Ignore You

    Career/Life, self-improvement

    The book was a relatively easy read, and the author does not waste any of your time. Newport debunks myths and makes bold claims such as how the statement of following your passion can end up leading you into a ditch. However, he has plenty of

    The Alchemist

    The Alchemist

    Fiction, Career/Life

    What makes this story different than many fiction books is the way the Coelho is able to intertwine such deep wisdom and philosophy into the story. There are so many themes that can be applied to problems people face on a daily basis. It was also a very fun read, and it had me rooting for the main

    The Creative Curve

    The Creative Curve

    Creativity, ⭐️ Favorite, Marketing

    Such an eye-opening and mind-blowing book. Society has for too long put creativity geniuses as a pedestal and chalk up all their success due to pure god-given talent. Gannett aims to break this misconception and turn creativity into a scientific process

    Zero to Sold

    Zero to Sold

    Entrepreneurship, Indie Hacking

    Filled with great advice and wisdom for all bootstrappers and indie hackers who are either starting or already running a software business. There is little fluff in this book, which I liked. Arvid who has successfully seen all the ups and downs of

    Ego is The Enemy

    Ego is The Enemy

    self-improvement, Success

    Media portrays those with larger than life egos as the ones on the top, all the fame, wealth, and happiness. In reality, ego is a poison that slowly kills you until your an empty shell, what the media doesn't show you are the countless downfalls and failures of those

    The 4-Hour Work Week

    The 4-Hour Work Week

    Entrepreneurship, Success, Productivity

    The title may sound gimmicky, however, The 4-Hour Work Week is a timeless classic filled with gems on productivity, traveling, and living the life of your dreams. Topics include outsourcing

    Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

    Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

    ⭐️ Favorite, Marketing, Psychology

    An all-time classic and a must-read for any marketer or psychologist. However, if you're someone who loves to learn about what makes humans tick or why humans commonly do things that don't make sense then I highly recommend you pick up this book.

    The Master Algorithm

    The Master Algorithm

    Technology, Science, ⭐️ Favorite

    The book is extremely insightful if you have previous experience in the machine learning space. You don't need to understand the complex math behind the classic algorithms such as support vector machines or k-nearest neighbors, just a broad understanding

    The Productivity Project

    The Productivity Project

    Productivity, self-improvement

    Chris Bailey is productivity guru, and this book encompasses all his past experiments, research he has conducted, and knowledge to help you become the best possible version of yourself. As someone who is a nerd for books like these, I knew a lot of what was covered but

    The War of Art

    The War of Art

    Motivation, Creativity

    Overall it was a decent book. The greatest takeaway is to see yourself as a professional and not an amateur when you look at yourself and your work. The problems with the book are that it had absolutely no scientific evidence or even case studies or examples backing up Pressfield's points

    The E-Myth Revisited

    The E-Myth Revisited

    Entrepreneurship, Startups

    This is a must-read for any business owner small or big. It centers around the myth of the entrepreneur. That small businesses are started by entrepreneurs risking capital to make a profit. Gerber gives business advice as he is telling a story of him

    The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

    The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

    self-improvement

    Not your ordinary self-help book. Many times it's almost like a splash of cold water to your face, and I loved it. Mark Manson's writing style is truly refreshing and the way he throws in these odd, peculiar stories and case studies helps to really convey his message.

    Choose Yourself

    Choose Yourself

    Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Success, Career/Life

    James Altucher's writing style is very unique in that he clearly does not care what others think of him. He didn't write the book to become famous, or to get rich which is great because you know he is writing with the sole intent