The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

A while back I read The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, and enjoyed it immensly. de Botton has a real philosophical bent, and profiled a number of different occupations, and makes a lot of really insightful observations about the modern workforce. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, R Pirsig Recently each of Alain de Botton's books (Status Anxiety, Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and Essays on Love) had a valuable lesson to teach. Alexander Pope's 'Essay on Criticism' (poem, not a book) was one the first poems that I gleaned something from, and that opened up a whole new library of potential reads.

Non-fiction: Coders at Work by Peter Siebel and Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston - I loved reading about the founder's stories and first-hand perspectives of notable programmers. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton - really interesting perspective on "work" and various types of careers and people that find happiness in them/work itself. Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner - even if you don't agree with their arguments or think that the authors are all fluff, I think that their writing style is exceptionally clear and easy to understand. The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - some really interesting ideas and analysis, although the book could have been 1/2 as short Fiction: Anathem by Neal Stephenson - starts out slow but after the first 200 pages it became a really great story that I couldn't put down. Life of Pi by Yann Martel - loved the main story of the book, the controversial ending didn't bother me too much because I don't feel like it takes away from the story at all. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson - cheap fun and suspenseful…