Moonwalking with Einstein

Second the recommendation for "Moonwalking with Einstein." Ed Cooke (the memory coach and world memory champion featured prominently in the book) is also a really nice chap. If you have any interest in memorization or mnemonics, it's a great read.

I only read non-fiction; mostly philosophy. Here are some books off the top of my head: * The Inner Citadel/Philosophy as a Way of Life by Pierre Hadot * Plato's dialogues (someone already mentioned a few of them, but the Republic was missing from their list). * Epictetus (Discourses and Enchiridion) * The various essays/letters of Seneca * Matter and Consciousness by Churchland (older, but fascinating) * The Mediations of Marcus Aurelius * (mostly) any Buddhist texts * What a Plant Knows * Moonwalking with Einstein There are tons of fascinating books, way too many to list.

The full list: https://gitlab.com/rlease/Books My list lines up with a lot of books that people have recommended here, so I'll try to add a few favorites that haven't been mentioned so far. Fiction: 1. Ubik - I read a bunch of Philip K. Dick this year, but this was my favorite. It's delightfully mind bending and left me thinking about it long after the book was done. 2. All the Pretty Horses - Beautifully written. McCarthy has an uncanny ability to paint with words. 3. Cannery Row - Short, witty, and full of interesting characters. Nonfiction: 1. The Idea Factory - A dive into how Bell Labs became such an innovation powerhouse and gives a rounded picture of the figureheads that brought it so much fame. 2. Moonwalking with Einstein - A fun read about a journalist who took researching a memory competition a bit too seriously. 3. Countdown to Zero Day - A fascinating look at the development and deployment of Stuxnet -- the virus built to set Iran's nuclear program back.

Well, I'm still a work in progress! I'm working on a PhD and passed my oral exams because of these books. I have a weekly schedule that balances reading/doing math, writing and coding and producing toward the dissertation. These books have helped me 'discover' the process for becoming an expert. Cribbed from my notes: One very important idea is the idea of intrinsic motivation: the best motivation is perhaps a really compelling and or interesting problem. Also, time is needed to learn and practice, and this practice comes at the cost of time spent elsewhere (eg producing). So there is a natural division of time into learning (incl. practicing) and producing. A lot of the Talent book is the sort of nuts and bolts of deliberate practice.…

I started The Martian by Andy Weir about 3 days ago and I'm really enjoying it. It's a really entertaining book that I highly recommend! Last week I finished The Paradox of Choice and Zero Day. I enjoyed both of them, although I don't think I'll be reading any of the sequels to Zero Day. Before that I went through The Maze Runner trilogy, those were entertaining reads. Some other books I've read recently that I can remember off the top of my head are the Divergent series of books (eh), How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen (great read), Ready Player One (loved, loved, loved this book), Starters (didn't bother reading any more in the series) and Moon walking With Einstein (I enjoyed it).