2019: A roller coaster ride in books

26 Dec 2019

This year was a real roller coaster ride with books. There were some real gems and some real duds. A great decision i made this year was to discontinue books that were either poorly written or weren’t worth the time and effort. Here are some books and the ratings.

My top 3 for the year were:

  1. Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a US Presidential Historian
  2. The Signals are Talking by Amy Webb
  3. I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong

Vishnu’s Bookshelf

Making Breakthrough Innovations Happen
did not like it
Making Breakthrough Innovations Happen
by Porus Munshi

Leadership: Lessons from the Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson for Turbulent Times
really liked it
Leadership: Lessons from the Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson for Turbulent Times
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control
really liked it
A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control
by Kartik Hosanagar

Architects of Intelligence: The truth about AI from the people building it
really liked it
Architects of Intelligence: The truth about AI from the people building it
by Martin Ford

The Signals Are Talking: Why Today’s Fringe Is Tomorrow’s Mainstream
really liked it
The Signals Are Talking: Why Today’s Fringe Is Tomorrow’s Mainstream
by Amy Webb

Connecting the Dots: Leadership Lessons in a Start-up World
Connecting the Dots: Leadership Lessons in a Start-up World
by John Chambers

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
really liked it
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
by Ed Yong

The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity
really liked it
The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity
by Amy Webb

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
liked it
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
by John Carreyrou

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
really liked it
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
by Daniel Coyle

Sevens Heaven: The Beautiful Chaos of Fiji’s Olympic Dream
liked it
Sevens Heaven: The Beautiful Chaos of Fiji’s Olympic Dream
by Ben Ryan

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE
liked it
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE
by Phil Knight

Seriously Curious: The Facts and Figures that Turn Our World Upside Down
liked it
Seriously Curious: The Facts and Figures that Turn Our World Upside Down
by Tom Standage

The High-Speed Company: Creating Urgency and Growth in a Nanosecond Culture
liked it
The High-Speed Company: Creating Urgency and Growth in a Nanosecond Culture
by Jason Jennings

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
liked it
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
by Ben Horowitz

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World
liked it
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World
by Tim Marshall

The Sentient Machine: The Coming Age of Artificial Intelligence
liked it
The Sentient Machine: The Coming Age of Artificial Intelligence
by Amir Husain

Measure What Matters
Measure What Matters
by John E. Doerr

A Century Is Not Enough: My Roller-coaster Ride to Success
really liked it
A Century Is Not Enough: My Roller-coaster Ride to Success
by Sourav Ganguly


goodreads.com