January book report

Inspired by some other blogs I decided to do small posts about books I read. I’m not sure if I’m going to do it monthly, or not in a regular way, so we’ll see.

“Crafting Interpreters” by Robert Nystrom

I already made a series of posts about this book, so I’ll be brief, I’m sure you don’t want to read another ~113 minutes of impressions and sloppy code.

The book’s great. It lays out concepts in a clear way and presents all of the information in both concise and entertaining ways. Still, I have some complaints about the book’s contents. You can read about them in the second and third posts.

“What Do You Say After You Say Hello?” by Eric Berne

Psychology isn’t really my kind of topic, but I decided to read some books on the matter, as I’m hoping to become a team leader in the future, so I can better understand people.

This book was suggested to me as a good one, packed with information on how and why people interact in certain ways. I would say that this book is somewhat eye-opening, as it describes a lot of common patterns, or scenarios, that people follow, and I can say that I’ve seen myself in that book too, as well as some other people I know. Can’t say that I’m proud of it, but now I know myself a little bit better and hopefully will be able to become a better person. I can recommend this book, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

I’m going through a lot right now, and these books are affecting me in interesting ways. Can’t say they help, but can’t say that they don’t either.

“The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement” and “Critical Chain” by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

I read these books in December but since I didn’t post about reading before, and I read these books relatively recently I think it’s fair to include them this time.

The first book is an interesting take on management problems and a love story at the same time. I liked it a bit more than the Atlas Shrugged which, as I see it, has a similar general concept, but feels less forced. Can’t say that the overall story is thrilling, but it’s there and it’s fine.

Still, it is more about management, and it tells, through the struggles that the main character experiences, how one could organize the work of a big factory. It is a precursor to the next book that really fleshes out the idea of the chain that is behind the process of making anything, really.

The Critical Chain is less about personal stories, although there are stories of multiple protagonists entangled together as they’re going through their problems related to their work. It is again a success story, but it is less important this time, as the book is more about deducing what the Critical Chain means, and how you can control the life of the project you need to do. If you’re the manager, and you haven’t read this book, I think it’s a good read.

That’s all for now, I’m unsure when will be the next time I’ll do this kind of post. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to send me your thoughts, and maybe even book recommendations too!