Books I Like

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

by Richard Feynman

After a series of more serious books about Stoicism and self-improvement, this was a nice breath of fresh air. The amount of random side-quests that Prof. Feynman went on during his life is amazing. Enough to fill a whole book!

What really stood out was how he played with physics. His rant about the harms of confusing education with memorization stuck with me.

In all things, explore your interests! That is how Feynman won a Nobel prize; that's how Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit; everywhere I look, it seems like the best of us are playing with our work, not the other way around. I'm striving now to take things a little less seriously; in doing so, I'll probably end up achieving more than if I marched through life without a smile on my face.

Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius

Like most people, I've heard the word Stoicism and vaguely understood what it means. Reading this book, I felt like Aurelius was speaking directly to me. I've never seen someone articulate how I see the world so succinctly - let alone 2000 years ago. Some quotes that resonated with me:

"Then what should we work for? Only this: proper understanding; unselfish action; truthful speech. A resolve to accept whatever happens as necessary and familiar, flowing like water from that same source and spring."

"Our words and actions should not be like those of sleepers ... or of children copying their parents, doing and saying only what we have been told."

"Not to feel exasperated, or defeated, or despondent because your days aren't packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human - however imperfectly - and fully embrace the pursuit that you've embarked on."

"You can lead an untroubled life provided you can grow, can think and act systematically."

Tools of Titans

by Tim Ferriss

For me, this was the right book at the right time. It has begun to change my life. In a way, it's like Instagram Reels in book form. It is a collection of succinct and memetic summaries of the wisdom of Tim Ferriss's podcast guests over many years. I've gone back and listened to the episodes of my favorite guests in the book, and honestly ... the book is better! Almost everything that made me go "wow" in the podcast is captured in a few pages in the book. Its bite-sized form is what makes it so amazing. You can pick at it over weeks or months. You don't need to read linearly; I certainly jumped from place to place frequently. Just flow through it until you resonate with someone. Because you will. And it may just change your life. Some of my favorites include Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Derek Sivers, Naval Ravikant, Scott Adams, Seth Godin, and Chade-Meng Tan.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

by Jack Weatherford

Very transformative ... shows how much of the structure of modern humanity emerged from an unexpected place. Simultaneously, it shows an exception to the rule of "history is written by the victors." The Mongols were the victors for over a century, yet much of the typical perception of them is negative. Their humanitarian violations (from modern standards) are certainly not as glossed-over and conveniently forgotten as those of Europeans, as Weatherford regularly points out.