I have a confession to make. I barely read any books. As a matter of fact, I am onto reading a book every couple of years, during summer vacations or while flying abroad.
Who has the time to read when information is flowing so massively around us? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, Hackernews, Reddit and so many other online sources. Pop-corn reading all over the day.
To compensate the need for getting better on my craft (both as an engineer and manager), I tend to read blogs on Medium. A curated list of posts, shared every day via email notifications. Tailored to my viewing history, just for me.
However, reflecting over the past decade, I started to feel a gap. The gap I put myself into, by missing out of premium content. Quality content from the great personas of our time. The masters who paid countless hours on pushing our way of thinking forward, the culture changers. And all of this, laid down into beautiful, slow and carefully written books.
Digital medium
Mid 2021, I tried (for the first time) to read e-books through the “Apple Books” app on my iPad. And it magically worked. It worked so great actually, that I’ve been so sucked into this, reading 9 books in a row, during the last couple of months. What a shift!
So how did that happen?
- I re-evaluated the importance of reading high quality books for getting better both as a person and a professional.
- I paid for those e-books, to keep myself accountable and committed to my investment (vs being tempted to download them for free on “the internet”). Give the author something back in return for their hard work.
- Apple Books made discovery of new content very easy, with proper user rating and context, anytime, anywhere. Was in the mood to start something new in the middle of the night? No problem at all. One click away.
- Book syncing support between iPad and iPhone, made it possible to always carry the book with me, no matter the location. Waiting in a line? In the bus? Have some time to kill while waiting for that doctor’s appointment? Open cell phone, click the app, select the book, resume reading. Back home, to the bigger screen, click, resume.
- Taking notes and marking text. Super easy way to highlight what looks important, get back later, create summaries of the book.
A shift in the medium made reading so much more interesting for me. I guess audiobooks could offer a similar experience (yet to be tested).
Good reads
I finally do value reading books as pure gold. And to make it more real, I’d like to lay down my personal favorites: books for leaders and managers. Raw knowledge for people trying to build a good working culture and a successful business onwards.
So here is my list, flavored with my personal rating:
So here is my list, flavored with my personal rating:
1. Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility by Patty MacCord
Rating: 5 / 5
A treasure on how to build great teams and culture, based on her experience at Netflix.
2. Rework: Change the way you work forever by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Rating: 5 / 5
Will change your mind forever, on how to build and run great companies against all norms.
3. Remote: Office not required by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Rating: 5 / 5
So relevant in the Covid era and on how small or big companies can operate effectively in a remote environment.
4. It doesn’t have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Rating: 4 / 5
Great book on how to build on culture that respects work - personal life balance. Complements and sometimes overlaps the points made on Remote & Rework books by the same authors.
Rating: 3 / 5
Coaching around vulnerable leadership. Rated 3 out of 5, because I think the content becomes a bit repetitive. Could be compressed to about 2/3 of the book and still get the points out.
6. TED Talks: The official TED Guide to Public Speaking by Chris Anderson
Rating: 5 / 5
Trying to improve your presentation skills? This one is the gem you are looking for.
7. Crossing the Chasm by Goeffrey A. Moore
Rating: 5 / 5
The D-Day approach to launching a new product. A classic.
8. This is Marketing by Seth Godin
Rating: 4 / 5
High level marketing coaching from one of the masters of the space.
In a nutshell.
Whether it’s an audiobook, a hard copy or an e-book, go read something. Become a reader. Build a better you.
—
Nikos Vasileiou
Head of Engineering @ Transifex