Pages: 320, Kindle Edition

Published: 2011

Cover Rating: 2/5

Do you often wonder about how you can improve your memory even after staging and settling into the adulthood? When was the last time you tried to memorise a phone number? Do you still remember it? If not, Johsua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein can be a great start to explore a real life experience of someone working on and improving his own memory to become a “mental athlete” and describing baby steps to build what is commonly known as a “memory palace”.

Joshua Foer was a normal journalist before he became obsessed with memory techniques and went into a year-long sabbatical to win United States Memory Championship. During this period of time, he had a lot to learn about how to learn from memory experts such as Ed Cooke and face to face with Tony Buzan and recorded everything (as I believe) in this book.

When I first came across this book I wondered how all this can be practical? On reading Foer’s own experiences as he tries to decipher the culture and history of remembering for a better understanding of “us”, humans. He talks about the genesis of memorizing as it goes back to ancient Greeks during the time of Socrates.

When I asked earlier about memorizing a phone number, I think many of are dependent on electronic gadgets to memorize them for us, thus serving as our “external memory”. Other details regarding the memory competitions are given in-depth.

The writing style is written in first person that covers some interesting topics. I would recommend this book as only to understand the concept and getting started with your obsession but not as a complete practical solution that covers mentalist’s tricks and techniques. It serves the purpose of an introduction.

4 out of 5!

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The post BOOK REVIEW: Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Pages: 160 Pages, Kindle Edition

Published: September 7th 2017 by Bloomsbury Academic

Cover Rating: 5/5

Goodreads

Bloomsbury Academic Press has released a series of “Object Lessons” over the last few years that are books on items that have less significance these days or have lost their charm in time but some of us might experience the same amount of nostalgia about many of these “objects” whenever we see one of them.

This is my first reading in the Object Lessons series and it’s about the famously known device that ran on batteries for decades until in the previous decade replaced by the iPod. Yes, I am talking about the Walkman or some prefer to call it a personal stereo. Written by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, Personal Stereo is all about the handheld device that ran a cassette tape, with play, pause and forward and backward buttons. Starting from the post World War II Japan where one can find the origins of this device as well as the famous Sony Outlook that changed the public outlook and access towards music forever.

Rebecca’s study starts from Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita both who co-founded Sony Corporation along with the history of their famous product, Walkman. Along with the nostalgia that comes from the reminding oneself of dear past activities or objects that one could relate to, a reader can feel it with the writer. She goes on to discuss the cultural points that make this handheld device unique and acceptable over various part of the world for decades whereas the employees of Sony Corporation at the time of the Walkman’s origin felt to be absurd and a crazy idea that would lead to failure, a belief that did not share similar outcome in reality.

Author’s descriptive manner implying the nature and working of the device and her own experience with it, certainly indulges the reader deeply with the context. She takes the reader through the rise and fall of Sony and the era of cassette tapes. It’s a quick read and for someone who has been the owner of such a device will feel the essence of the fond memories of wearing up a set of foamy headphones.

4 out of 5!

Have you used one of these before? Do you still own one?

Note: I received this book from the publisher but that doesn’t mean my review is breaking any reviewing rules.

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The post BOOK REVIEW: Pep Guardiola – The Evolution by Martí Perarnau appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Pages: 232, Kindle Edition

Published: October 2017,  by Harvard Business Review Press

Cover Rating: 4/5

We see startups everywhere. Being a part of the fastest growing economy the word startup is now on the mouth of everyone. Some have their own definitions of it, but as Jeffrey Bussgang mentions it is hard to define the word startup in mere words. To help reader understand the concept and those aspiring to work for startups will definitely get some help by reading this book.

Entering StartupLand: An Essential Guide to Finding Right Job is pragmatic approach to various career options or job profiles and responsibilities that are available almost in every startup. This includes product management, business development, marketing, growth and sales. To help one figure out what to expect when someone joins a startup there are insights from Jeffrey’s own life as he started his career with Open Market that was once a startup in 1997.

The book divides in eight chapters and begins with introduction to the startup culture and then discuss various but essential job profiles. Within the context, Jeffrey has made an effort to clarify and get his readers familiar with terms like Scrum and Agile working methodology. This I feel, is good for the reader to know some of the main buzzwords and make an effort to understand if they are new or not familiar with the context.

Having worked myself in one startup, I will say there are times when you dwell in uncertainty. Be ready for that. You may have to handle multiple responsibilities. Jeffrey has differentiated the two organisational paradigms, what a stable corporate life is and how it is different from the startup.

Since it is a nonfiction work, I don’t have much to write about the narrative voice. The book is written in an expressive and clear language. I do strongly feel that the author could have make an effort to explore the possibility of other skills that are common with startup culture.

If you want to get familiar with this term and its scions then this book is a great starting point. Perfect target audience are students in colleges and universities, and also recommended to someone looking for a job or career change.

4 out of 5!

The post BOOK REVIEW: Entering StartupLand by Jeffrey Bussgang appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Pages: 352, Paperback

Publication: February 2018 by Nation Books

Cover Rating: 5/5

Das Reboot How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World which was published in 2015 after the German National Team won the FIFA World Cup and recent achievements of German Clubs in European Football.  It is written by Raphael Honigstein who has come up with another German Football related story for us, and this time a high profile manager Jurgen Klopp.

Bring the Noise: The Jürgen Klopp Story is expected to be release in February in 2018 yet I was tempted to read in whip. For those who are familiar or interested in modern day football, are familiar with the name Klopp. He is currently managing a top English Football Club, Liverpool who are rich in history but what made him famous is his skillfull, brave intention to coach a football team in Mainz. His coaching career began in the German second tier at the unfashionable club of FSV Mainz 05, whom he steered to the Bundesliga (German Top Division) for the first time in forty-one years. He then took the command of Borussia Dortmund, a club that is driven by its passionate uninamous stream of fans.  He achieved back-to-back league titles and took the club to the UEFA Champions League final. He left Germany for one of the England’s most challenging jobs: to manage Liverpool, a once-mighty club that had not managed sustained success since the 1980s.

There are occassional interviews in the book of people of have worked with Klopp. He holds an ecstatic personality, with passion for the sport in his body language and is famous for his teams to play a different kind of tactical game, called gegenpress. This biographical work is presented with occasional flashbacks but concentrate enough of Klopp’s life at Liverpool, for whom he is still the manager at the time of writing this book review. The book does take a deep dive in his management/coaching career.

The writing style of the book is not the most encouraging factor. Das Reboot had an influential way of telling the story of German Football to its readers, but this time Honigstein is plain and lacks a bit of creativity or just could not present an interesting personality in an interesting way enough.  Martí Perarnau has done a better job both times with Pep Guardiola’s biography. However, the book is still a good read for people who want to dive more into Klopp or for Liverpool fans who have high hopes for the club and share a similar trait as Dortmund fans in terms of being passionate.

3 out of 5!

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Pages: 172, Kindle Edition

Published: February 2017

Cover Rating: 3/5

If you are curious about what a Digital Nomad is an if you are planning to be one in near future, The Digital Nomad Survival Guide: How to Successfully Travel the World While Working Remotely written by two nomads themselves: Peter Knudson and Katherine Conaway can be a good start.

This book titled as a “survival guide” do justify itself as it covers knowledge, experiences of other nomads and resources about travel, housing, work, and socializing hubs to help you get started and manage a new lifestyle you are eager to pick up. It contains conversations in various manner with more than twenty digital nomads who travelled across 70+ countries. Their tips from to do or how to do at specific locations to their packaging lists, sample budgets and balance sheets, application recommendations might be helpful to you.

Peter and Katherine, the co-authors of this book have put enough emphasis on one of the most factors when it comes to travel and working remotely, money. Both of them have experience that includes 5 years travelling across 30 countries in between them. This book is collaborated remotely while they continued their journey in separate countries in South-East Asia.

I like how simple and to the point the narrative style used by both co-authors. The length of the book is enough to cover the surface but I strongly feel that there could have been more testimonies and in detail conversations with digital nomads covering a variety of jobs and sharing their experience in regards of the niche area of skills and what more skills they did acquire while travelling.

A positive about this book I find is that it is up to date as its published in 2017 and the content or resources are not outdated as one might have come across on not so relevant blog articles to read and explore the same concerned topic.

3 out of 5

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The post BOOK REVIEW: The Digital Nomad Survival Guide by Peter Knudson and Katherine Conaway appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Pages: 224, Kindle Edition

Published: 2014 by The Rebel Within Us

Cover Rating: 5/5

I read a lot of business books these days and many a times I come across success stories of various entrepreneurs. But few of them talk about or share their story and how they got started from scratch. Jason Surfrapp’s Creativity for Sale: How I Made $1,000,000 Wearing T-Shirts and How You Can Turn Your Passion Into Profit, Too is a one of those few people.

Successful entrepreneur Jason Surfrapp (formerly Jason Headsetsdotcom and Jason Sadler) shares his hard-earned advice on how to use out of the box thinking to turn passions into profits. Creativity For Sale is the story of how Jason took a crazy idea (IWearYourShirt) and turned it into social media marketing empire that generated over $1M in revenue in just a few short years.

The content of the book is sharp, fresh (even to his date) and contain some pragmatic advice and tips from the entrepreneur himself. He offers specific examples from his own life, a touch to reality, how built and produced a creativity in the world of business.  These suggestions or anecdotes from his life are timeless lessons that young entrepreneur can learn start to identify at a early stage in the careers. There is enough emphasis on the why one should focus on their destination and have that locus to stick till one accomplishes his goals.

I recommend this book to any creative fellow who wants start a business today. Great source of motivation and inspiring story at the same time.

4 out of 5

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The post BOOK REVIEW: Creativity for Sale by Jason SurfrApp appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Published: May, 2017

Pages: 240, Kindle Edition

Emily Reynolds latest book, A Beginner’s Guide to Losing Your Mind is memoir about battles with bipolar. She has spent years trying to cope with her symptoms after being diagnosed as bipolar in her early 20s and has spent years trying to understand how to live with her diagnosis.

This memoir is about her personal story which includes advice for individuals who are managing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Living with mental illness is isolating, infuriating and painful but also very boring. She has covered variety of topics such as ho to cope with exam pressure at school or university, handling self-sabotaging and suicidal thoughts, advice for family and friends and even tips for dating.

Later in the book she has provided in detail advice and suggestions on diagnosis, treatment and maintaining one’s mental health. After reading, I have found some of her suggestions are applicable in our daily lives since we all, in someway cope with mental stress and pressure a lot these days. It’s not only a memoir, this book is an honest exploration in the field of mental illness.

Her writing is flawless and her experiences are engrossing.

This book is beneficial and directed towards readers who want a better understanding of what mental illness is like and how it affect a person’s life. It indeed will sound eye-opening if you haven’t read something on this topic before. In that case, you should read this book.

4 out of 5!

Note: I received this book from the publisher but that doesn’t mean my review is breaking all the rules.

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Pages: 272, Kindle Edition

Published: September 2017

Cover Rating: 5/5

From the author of The Art of Nonconformity, The Happiness Pursuit and The $100 Startup, we have now in our hands a book that describe tips and share stories of similar ambitious beings who are earning extra cash while hustling. The book is an idea out of the popular podcast hosted by the author himself, Chris Guillebeau: Side Hustle School which is available both on iTunes and for Android.

Side Hustle can be a great start for someone who is obsessed with the idea of entrepreneurship or want experience starting their own business. In the book, the anecdotes and real-life stories shared by the author of people who is already hustling in various fields clearly follows a pattern of little investment in those businesses. So what is a side hustle? It can be anything from an online product selling the business to a service provider. In past year, I have met and learned about people who work remote, have quit their 9-5 jobs, are happy, working hard and supporting themselves by doing what they want to do. Thus, a side hustle does not have to be something big for which one tends to have business school experience, but it is about to settle on an idea to generate that extra amount of cash, or support yourself full-time and to give in the hours along with your full/part-time job.

This book can be a great start for readers who are interested. It provides basic anatomy inside this hustling business. I would not call this a bubble because side-hustling has existed in our culture from ancient times. The fixed mindset of doing or working on one thing for the rest of your life by sitting in a cubicle is changing with time. It is not the most secured reality anymore.

Having read almost every book written by Guillebeau, I have come to a conclusion that I like his writing style. It is simple, easy to understand, and the coverage area of his topics are in my interest and very much engaging. The book does provide necessary tools that have already in practice and seems a pragmatic approach if you are just starting out to build a profitable side hustle. From brainstorming an idea to implementation, this book walkthroughs a reader step by step.

4 out of 5. Recommended!

The post BOOK REVIEW: Side Hustle – From Ideas to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guillebeau appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Pages: 221, Kindle Edition

Published: 2016, Bloomsbury

Cover Rating: 5/5

Nominated for The Man Booker’s Prize in 2016, Hot Milk by Deborah Levy has been siting on my virtual shelf for over a year. I thought, before this year ends I should give it a go.

With an interesting cover, the plot revolves around Sofia, a twenty five year old anthropologist, born to a British mother and a Greek father. She believes she has spent much of her life trying to solve the mystery of her mother’s unexplainable illness. She is frustrated by her mother’s constant complains and travels with her to the coast of souther Spain to see a famous consultant in the hope that he might be able to cure her mother’s unpredictable limb paralysis. With doctor’s strange methods, Sofia track while tracking down her mother’s symptoms in an attempt to solve this msytery of her pain but along this journey that, she discovers her own desires, her sexual personality and coming on terms with herself.

The storyline starts flat but as it moves forward it becomes interesting and enjoyable. It might take some readers to adjust with the plot but let me tell you this is one of the books where plot is secondary. This I realised after I was done with almost half of the book. The characters are the mai point of this book. These characters are always thinking and feeling. They develop on their own, some of them instantly and are interesting personalities. Whenever the author shifts focus from our protagonist I observed how intelligent the other characters in ths novel are.

Moreover, one gets to see the transformation of some characters as the plot move forward. The writing style has a pace with it and I highly enjoyed the narrative. The writer has clearly captured the strangeness of a mother who demands attention from her child who is an adult. The element of this type complexity is explored through out the novel. The landscape described in the book is limited but I think it has high impact both on the readers of the book and the overall characterisation.

I enjoyed reading Deborah Levy’s work. She is now one of the those authors on my list that I have to explore and read their other published works. This book can be finished in a day as I managed to read. Something different, not your usual contemporary fiction.

4 out of 5

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