While I’ve decided to up my game in just putting content out there, I’m doing my best to keep reading.
I’ve received some feedback from the few good people who actually read my blog to include some snippets on the books that I mention, so, I’ll be doing that for this post and I’ll try to go back and edit my previous posts as well.
These are the books i’ve read since the reading update:
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Our Democracy and other Essays — C. Rajagopalachari This book took some finding. This is actually a series of essays and I was looking for “Our Democracy”, which is a brilliant essay on the state of Indian affairs written in the late 50’s. Of late I’ve been fascinated by the Swatantra party which I was not really too aware of till quite recently. 10/10 would recommend. We need this thinking in the world right now.
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Utilitarianism — John Stuart Mill This is a book that’s been on my reading list for a while now. It’s a great all round introduction for the theory itself. It does get a bit heavy at times when some of the chapters start dealing with incredibly abstract topics. Enlightening book and a different way of thinking altogether.
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Arthashastra — Kautilya/Chanakya Another book that has been on my reading list for a long time( 3 years according to google ). Fantastic read, I read the translation by L.N. Rangarajan. Some of the concepts laid out definitely have no place in modern society, but, the strategies mentioned and the principles to follow as a person to create wealth were definitely still applicable. I plan to blog about some topics from the book later.
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Unto this last — John Ruskin An incredible defence and sometimes a diatribe against industrialism, and what the author considers evil sides of capitalism. The argument for a living wage is central to the book. Interestingly enough the onus is on the people according to Ruskin, not the government.
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Tribes — Seth Godin
A book I picked up when it was lying around on a desk at work.
Seth Godin is a master at motivating people, I started blogging properly again almost as soon as I finished the book. Please read this if you haven’t already.
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Brave New World — Aldous Huxley A sobering book on a dystopian future that I hope we never get around to seeing. A little depressing to be honest.
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Scientific Advertising — Claude. C. Hopkins Modern day marketers would do well to read this book. Eye opener. Still cannot believe this was written in 1923.
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Words, Text and Meanings — V. Bharathi Harishankar, Mini Krishnan, and Sumathi Shivakumar This is a little out of the norm for me. This is a teaching guide and I happen to know one of the authors. An interesting take on how translations done differently can change the impact from the source to the destination language. The content picked for the book is of the highest quality and I loved reading it.
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The Power of Habit — Charles Duhigg This is a book that came through multiple recommendations. While it was interesting, I did not find myself agreeing with enough in the book. It left me with several more questions rather than answers, but, a lot of good books seem to do that.
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Dark Places — Gillian Flynn I read Flynn’s Gone Girl before the movie came out and was impressed by both the movie and the book. Decided to give this book a shot. Turned out to be worth the shot. Not as good as gone girl, but, a dark and twisted tale nonetheless.
Books being read right now:
- Ethics — Aristotle
- Innovators Dilemma — Clayton. M. Christensen
- Innovators Solution — Clayton. M. Christensen
- Never split the difference — Christopher Vaz, Tahl Raz ( thanks to farnamstreet for this one )