Read List - 2016
As an attempt to ensure I keep to my reading goal I'm going start documenting the books I read on a monthly basis.
Will update this list whenever I finish a book!
Jan 2016
I've been a big fan of this series since college days and I'm glad they continue to introduce new books over the years. Similar to other books in the range, they brought up many cases/scenarios where your brain is hardwired to provide the most direct (or in some sense, biased) answers. As always, it offers very fresh perspectives on old problems and I found it a light and enjoyable read.
This was actually originally an English book (that's what the overleaf of the book mentioned) and translated by a Taiwanese publisher. It explores human emotions and trigger points for people who have the shortest emotional fuse (that's me 
) - and ended with feasible and practical solutions for emotions management. I guess I should put them into good use 
) - and ended with feasible and practical solutions for emotions management. I guess I should put them into good use
Feb 2016
This was a fairly random find in the library (I was looking for something light to borrow) and a surprisingly good and easy read. It's one of those books on self-mastery - it outlines 5 agreements to a good life, namely Be Impeccable with Your Words, Don't Take Anything Personally, Don't Make Assumptions, Always Do Your Best and Be Skeptical But Learn to Listen.
It's a tiny book but packs a large amount of wisdom. Not a heavy read and would recommend it!
Mar 2016
4. The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor
As the book title suggests, it's an easy read with the basic lessons for anyone starting on investing and managing of personal finance. While most of the content and examples covered are more US based, the essence of most points highlighted is really applicable across age group and countries.
If you just started out on your journey of personal finance, this is a good read.
5. Reclaim your brain
Yet another random pick from the library. It was on the "New Arrivals" shelf and I decided to give it a go. The focal point of the book is on busy overstimulated brains - something we can all relate to in this information overload and fast paced era. The writer is a psychotherapist himself and he shared many solutions and dietary recommendations to heal a busy mind. Some portions got a bit technical but the writer managed to explain them in fairly layman terms. Highly recommend this read if you are keen to understand and manage a busy mind!
Apr 2016
This is a horrible month in terms of reading volume - I only read 1! I blame it on Descendants of the Sun.
6. Phantom of the Opera
My first read was a really long time ago and it was a random pick from the school library. I deemed it a classic back then and it still think it is. I went into the whole POTO (Phantom of the Opera) musical craze again so I decided to re-read it. The book is penned by French writer Gaston Leroux in the 19th century, and is also what Andrew Lloyd Webber's famous musical is based on. The literature gave a lot more details on the Phantom's background story and it will make you appreciate ALW's musical even more.
When I first read the book, I didn't feel Raoul was a great character to fall in love since he was a fatuous twerp most of the time
Erik (the Phantom's real name) is supposedly old enough to be Christine's father and he is such a tortured soul! That aside, I like how he is a complex tragic character, someone you can't bring yourself to hate in straightforward way. His horrific past (mostly due to his deformed face, to which the book describes that he looks like a living corpse 
- but of course ALW's version has sexualized the character a little more hurhur) and his brilliant mind makes him a sympathetic villain instead. All in all, I still find it a wonderful tale about loneliness, betrayal, unrequited love, forgiveness and redemption. Found it hard to put it down when I got on to the second half of it.Interesting Fact: Gaston had based the book on a real life opera house in Paris, the Palais Garnier, and some fascinating stories that had surrounded the opera house back in late 18th century. The crashing chandelier was real, an accident that killed a construction worker. An underground body of water did exist as well, though it's been converted to a water tank thereafter when the construction workers could not pump it dry. Read more here!
Highly recommend to give it a shot, especially if you are a fan of ALW's version
May 2016
2 months have passed since the last update!
May is quite a slow month for my readings, I honestly can't remember why Might be due to the fact that it's a month of boring investing/finance readings!7. The Warren Buffett Portfolio: Why and When he is investing in them
This was a random pick in the library (looking at earlier write-ups, I seem to do that alot). The book goes through a list of Buffett's notable investments, and basically why and when he invested in them. A lot of things in life makes perfect sense when viewed backwards, and investments are no different. While it is interesting to a certain extent to have a look into why he bought into those companies, it didn't feel very insightful to me. Why so? Because the book wasn't written by the man himself and the reasons listed were mostly conjectures by the writer in a bit of a "aha!" hindsight view. It is also a little repetitive after a while because the man's investing style has been very very consistent.
It's a fun read if you have not read about the man and his investing style. Quite a boring one if you are quite familiar with Mr Buffett.
8. The Intelligent Investor
The classic book for all believers/devotees of value investing. Written by Benjamin Graham (also Warren Buffett's lecturer in university), the father of value investing. The book offers no guarantees or make quick buck gimmicks - in fact most of the content offers very factual/logical train of thoughts. It's been 2 months and I'm not exactly done with the book yet because it is so thick. Not the most convenient size to bring around for a read on public transport.
I'm around half way through
Will update accordingly when I'm done!June 2016
It's already the half way mark for the year and I'm not even close to half of my reading target!
I really should buck up for the next 6 months.9. The Politics of Promotion: How High-Achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead
I'm obviously not a high-achieving woman and that is why I needed to read this book
This was a misplaced book (i.e left on a shelf not in its category) and I chanced upon it. Good chance I say! A lot of the tips were very practical and it addressed many issues that women face in the work place - such as being as an ambitious male in office is a great trait but if that is being placed on a lady, it's deemed bitchy and bossy. Some of the tips are quite gender neutral so if you are a male and also hunting for a similar book, you can give this a try. It will also help you understand as well the challenges faced by women in the workplace, and hopefully as you rise up the ranks, you will know how to deal with female subordinates/superiors better!10. Ways and Means of managing up: 50 strategies for helping you and your boss
This was an interesting read and it's one of those unintended borrows. I liked that the book was clear in its message of being the good employee (which will eventually help path your way to being the top brass of your company or career) but there is a caveat to it - and that is you must be serving someone whom you look up to and of course someone who is very much willing to groom you should you perform well. We all know such bosses are pretty rare to come by. If you already have a boss that you look up to, this book is perfect for you to help you be the perfect right-hand man and eventually be the main man.
If not, this book may not be so helpful.
July 2016
I did not read any new books in July! This is bad. I won't be able to hit my quota!
August 2016
11. How to think like Muhammad Ali: the paradox of greatness and power of mental toughness
This was a random pick while I was walking around the library trying to find something to loan. The book is small and light weight, which is one of my criterias for borrowing books that's not within my reading list. I had a hard time reading this book because it didn't capture my attention and I was constantly drifting in and out of the book. Can't review much about it because I can't remember most of it by now!
September 2016
12. The Energy Bus: 10 ways to fuel your life, work and team with positive energy
My colleague introduced me this book over lunch, which happened to be a ranting session about work
. This book is a very easy read, almost finished it in one sitting. It follows the journey of George, the protagonist in the book who is pretty much like the rest of us at some point of our lives - defeated and boggled down by the overwhelming demands of work, family and also dreams. When his car broke down and needed to be sent to the workshop, he spent the next 2 weeks riding a public bus, where the driver, Joy, taught him some serious life lessons.Although George's mental transformation within weeks is short of incredible, there are loads of lessons to learn: 1) You're the driver of your bus; 2) Desire, vision and focus move your bus in the right direction; 3) Fuel your ride with positive energy (negative energy is friction); 4) Invite people on your bus and share your vision for the road ahead; 5) Don't waste your energy on those who don't get on your bus; 6) Post a sign that says no energy vampires allowed on your bus (get rid of the malcontents); 7) Enthusiasm attracts you more passengers and energizes them for the ride; 8) Love your passengers by giving them your time, listening, recognition, service - work to bring out the best in them; 9) Drive with purpose and 10) Have fun and enjoy the ride.
It's a very easy read but I can assure you that you will be different after the read. The lessons not just apply to just work life, families can be part of your bus, your friends too.
Fantastic read and I would definitely re-read it another day. Highly recommended.
13. New Rules of the Game: 10 Strategies for Women in the Workplace
I can't remember why I picked this up but I'm very happy I did. This is one of the best books I've read on career advice, especially so for women. The gist of the book is that business is a sport, learn to play to win. The objective of this book was to accelerate personal growth and professional development, using gamemanship. The book is straightforward with each rule, its context in both sport and business setting. The author highlighted many challenges and advice she received as she moved up the corporate ladder and I could relate to a few of those.
One of the examples she cited was when she was a young sales person starting out at HBO. While she enjoyed the job, especially so on the hunting of the revenue and new businesses, she often viewed the position of the PR lady with much envy - because she gets to jet set all around the world, schmooze with the celebrities and generally seem to have the best job in the world. I think we've had all been there and I can relate to that very much given the industry I'm in. When the PR lady left and the position was vacant, Susan (the author) went into her boss's room and stated upfront she would like to take on the PR role. "Susan, do you want to run a company one day?" was the boss' first question for her. She was 27 years old then and didn't think that far yet, so she said yes.
"Then skip the PR role. That's a support job, it supports the sales function. Sales is a line job. If you want the corner office, always take the line job" was his advice to her. Line job are roles that drive the company top line, and support is everything else. This example and also that advice speaks to me a lot and it is a fairly factual statement. Highly recommended read!
October 2016
14. Drop the pink elephant: 15 ways to say what you mean and mean what you say
Found this book on my colleague's desk and decided to borrow it
Fascinating read and definitely offers some interesting insights to my own speech and specific usage of words. This is a very easy to read book that addresses communications. Most of us grew up with bad communications inherited from our parents and also from the surroundings - and most of the time we never notice them. The book uses very simple examples such as Bill Clinton's very own "I did not have sex with this woman" - pink elephant alert! It refers to specific denials and pitfalls in communications that we very often commit without realizing.After reading this book, it becomes even more fascinating when you start observing the usage of pink elephants in other people's speeches. I'm still trying to watch mine and will definitely read one more time before returning it to my colleague!
November 2016
The year is coming to an end and I'm so far away from my quota! That's worrying
15. 超从容时间管理 by 吴淡如
Wu Dan Ru has been my favourite Taiwanese author for the longest time - at least a good 8 - 10 years! I own almost every single book she wrote, most of which at least have been read twice. Her books cover a wide range of topics from career advice to temper management. Basically, her writing are the lessons she's learned in life and business. I've always like her style and I feel her writing speaks to me the most.
This is her newest release and also her second book on time management. If there's anyone to write about time management it has to be her - at her busiest, she was hosting multiple TV shows, writing books, running businesses in both Taiwan and Japan, and still managed to find time to fall in love and raise a family!
My best take-away was really how little time we all have. If we assume that we live an average 80 years on this planet, that gives you around 700,000 hours on earth. Eliminate a third of it where we spent it sleeping/resting, that leaves us around 467,000 hours. Eliminate another a quarter of these remaining hours (which are hours assumed where you have no control over your time - i.e when you were an infant/toddler and the last days of your life where you might spend it bedridden), you are left with around only 350,000 hours
That really isn't a lot of time. She highlighted the importance of not wasting your own time (which in fact are minutes of your life you will never get back again) and also that of others.In short, manage your focus and not your time. When you become clear with what you want to focus on, naturally you know where to assign your time accordingly.
This is certainly a book I will want to revisit again every year as a refresher!
December 2016
16. 不生气的技术 by 吴淡如
I've owned this book for a long time but never got down to reading it. Yet another relatable book from my favourite Taiwanese author. Similar to me, she's a quick-tempered and impatient lady. This book chronicles observations of herself and people around her on the impact of having terrible temper, and of course ways to manage your temper.
This is the PERFECT read for me - I have a stinky temper and I know it. It's still something I've been working on to improve as well.
If you have a terrible temper and wants to change it, I highly recommend this book.
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The Phantom of the Opera certainly sounds interesting! I shall give it a go soon! Also, I didn't notice from before but nice relayout! =)
ReplyDeleteYes it's worth a read! I still have the ePub version - let me know if you want me to send it to you! :)
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