Books

I have been reading about 30-50 books a year for several years now. Most of the books I read are forgotten but a few stick and have an impact in how I approach problems. This the list.

I have expanded it a bit to include a few blogs/videos when it made sense.

Note: This is a highly personal list. The books listed are a good start on a particular topic... but when it comes to reading, reading wide is more important than sticking to classics.

Financial independence

Your money or your life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence website

This is an old classic from before we had the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement. The investments are outdated but the plan and psychology parts are still solid.

Book summary

Early Retirement Extreme website

This is one of the cornerstone book in the FIRE movement. A book about applying General System Theory to life. Very insightful albeit dry.

Mister Money Moustache

Amazing blog about FIRE with a no-nonsense writing style and very insightful.

Highly recommend reading the following articles:

• Getting Rich: from Zero to Hero in One Blog Post
• The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement

Investing

Rich dad/poor dad

Very inspirational book that launched many investors. The story is probably fake but it will make you want to invest and rethink how you use your money.

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures

A solid introduction book about all the metrics useful for investing in real estate, with some explanations about their limitations and examples to understand the concepts. While framed as a real estate book, the metrics do apply to other investment too (e.g. business).

Productivity

Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware

This is a great book on learning and thinking with a focus on software engineers. Opened my eyes on some techniques to help with both (mindmap and the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition FTW!).

4 hour work-week

A book that introduced lifestyle design. The book itself may be a bit gimmicky at times, but there is some wisdom if you can get past this.

The first 90 days

A great book on starting a new job/position that was suggested by one of my manager. It is very focused on getting quick impact while helping you grow into your position.

Eat this frog by Brian Tracy

A book about goals! A "frog" is a hard task and the tongue-in-cheek book outline how to eat this frog :-)

Atomic habits

A great book on habits (forming, breaking). Fairly short and to the point.

Note: Some folks really like The power of habits that looks into habits too but didn't really do anything for me (but may help you!).

Simplifying

Note: I struggle with simplifying in general, which is why it has its own category.

Essentialism

A short book on simplifying and focusing on doing less.

The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

Another book on simplifying, using the question: "What is the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Very practical book on decluttering if you can get past some of the author's idiosyncracies, like thanking her stuff before discarding them.

Software engineering

The Effective Engineer: How to Leverage Your Efforts In Software Engineering to Make a Disproportionate and Meaningful Impact

I have not read this book but it is high on my list. I highly recommend the Talk at Google about the book that is very insightful.

The DevOps handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, & Security in Technology Organizations

A very solid introduction into DevOps. It is a bit hard to read but it opens my eyes on the power of agile applied to ops.

Rework

A light book on building a software start-up without external capital by focusing on the essentials, from the founders of 37signals.

Misc

How to read a book A book about... reading. This is super meta but this is a must read if you intent to read a lot as it is super helpful to increase retention and contextualize the reading. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Anything you want

Derek Sivers is an interesting character and it shows in this short book. A lot of counter-

The art of possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life

A very odd book. Very inspirational and touching.

Just mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

A tough book on the prison system in the USA and how bad the situation is. Both revolting and inspirational.