Bs on Basil Labib

Year in Books: 2023

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 00:49:41 +0530

On The Road | Jack Kerouac

Publishing of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” is a pivotal moment in the recognition and propagation of the so-called American Beat generation of 1940s. The Beats are difficult to define but loosely refer to the bad body of hobos, bums, and con men who were a product of the Depression of the 30s. Young, promising, and full of dreams but without a penny in pocket. As Jack so eloquently puts it, “All he needed was one wheel on his hand and four wheels on the road”. And that is a lovely definition of what this book is all about. It is rich and rich with experiences and stories that will never make a conversation go boring at dinner time and so full of sadness and melancholy at the same time. Told from the perspective of Jack’s alter ego, Sal Paradise, a wannabe writer from New York who befriends a rapturous Beat of the generation, Dean Moriarty, modelled after his friend, Neal Cassidy, the book is a wild account of what it means to be Beat and lost and still somehow find a way. They escape on daring adventures and hitchhike around the American wilderness from coast to coast, meeting old friends, making new ones, conning people, and making sure to make the most of their limited lives that are going by. Kerouac holds back nothing and there’s everything from whores and sex to drugs, and parties, and arrests and the law and brilliant descriptions of America that would make any lacklustre soul quiver with curiosity.

On a personal note, I accompanied the book with a map of the US and found myself staring at it and wondering about all those little nameless towns that were not marked on it and the little stories people would tell there and the adventures people would have on the road. As Sal said, the “road is life” and as Dean proclaimed, “we must make time”!

PS: I wonder if there is an Indian equivalent for the same but I highly doubt it and perhaps, there is a need for one and perhaps, it is time for the Indian youth to wake up to that inner call of the wilderness after all.
The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini

“The Kite Runner” is Khaled Hosseini’s debut novel which deals with the plights and concerns of Afghanistan. Hosseini, himself taken citizenship in the US and working as a doctor, may perhaps have been the first to draw the international attention of nation states to the condition, massacre, and oppression in Afghanistan via his riveting and heart-wrenching fictions that, undoubtedly, draw from real as well as personal experiences.

To read “The Kite Runner” after “A Thousand Splendid Suns” felt like flipping the pages of a diary backwards. When one starts writing, they are less nuanced and more reckless. In ATSS, Hosseini presents an extremely layered story with vivid details. I felt that layered nuance lacking in TKR which is forgivable given it is his debut and I read them in the wrong order.

But do not be misled into assuming that the book doesn’t pack a punch. Hosseini may have been frivolous with language and structure at places but occassionally, just occassionally, he would write a sentence that would suck the life out of me, make me close the book, take a deep forceful breath to rebalance myself, and ponder. He doesn’t fail to jerk tear off of you merely by his command of word and his gift as an exceptional storyteller.

It sure took me a while to read TKR. The last of his book remains to be read.
Pygmalion | George Bernard Shaw

I wrote a blogpost [here][7].
Mrs. Warren’s Profession | George Bernard Shaw
Sputnik Sweetheart | Haruki Murakami

Hmmm meh. Personally, I am more of a realist and Murakami’s writing about fantasy and supernormal phenomena simply didn’t make the cut. I felt like puking to be honest (and no offense to the person). I liked Kerouac’s OTR much more simply because of its raw realism.

Okay, rant over. SS is a fantastical love triangle essentially. Without a resolution, it tells us the beginning and the middle of how two love stories came into being and never really took off. I think the lack of an ending like one of those Romantic novels is perhaps the only bit of realism that I could relate too. Also, to give credit when it’s due, I liked his monologue ramblings especially those by the first person narrator. He asks some good questions there. A mediocre read overall. Perhaps, Norwegian Woods have been better. I don’t know.
How The World Works | Noam Chobsky

This is supposed to be Noam Chobsky’s interviews and excerpts edited together in a thematic fashion but the format somehow didn’t resonate with me :/

A real eye opener and a valuable book with a strong anti-capitalist flavour. But interesting doesn’t endorse or propose any alternative political system/ideology. I guess any piece of text suffers from the bias of the author and the subject matter itself, as in it is impossible to write anything without a bias so I get it.

I really liked that it correlated political development with real life historic events and doesn’t shy from reporting atrocities, torture, and state terrors (sometimes vividly so). I wanted to read something like this so yeah. I wonder if there is a complementary text for Indian political and economic development.
The Fellowship of the Ring (LOTR #1) | J. R. R. Tolkien

Such maginificent imagination and creativity. Tolkien was rightly a man of many letters, such elegance and mastery seldom found in men of today.
The Stranger | Albert Camus

“Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure.”

These are the opening lines of the Nobel Laureate Albert Camus’ short story The Stranger, a beautifully crafted exploration of morality and social behaviour.

We follow the protagonist, a nihilist, non-conformist who doesn’t seem to take interest in anything, one with a volatile demeanour and his blossoming romance with his girlfriend. Things take a wrong turn after he commits a murder in a moment of passion and is consequently tried in a court and ultimately sentenced to death.

TS doesn’t pull any punches and lands perfectly, each word serves its purpose lending a grim picture, taking us on a ride, and expressing fearlessly what Camus wanted to say. I absolutely enjoyed reading this. Can reread.
Waiting for Godot | Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett’s Absurdist tour de force, “Waiting for Godot” opens with the recurrent idea “Nothing to be done.” - an idea that forms one of the major themes of the play which touches upon other things like mortality, purpose of life, spirituality, and human companionship.

Personally, I felt that the magic of Godot lies in its ability to make us realise so much by telling us so little. In its grosteque setting, there’s two people, Vladimir and Estragon who are waiting for a person named Godot and contemplating life and everything else. There’s absurdity, there’s deadpan dialogues, there’s humour even. Reading Godot is unlike other contemporary plays because one has to pause and really think about what was just said and it sends people into long-drawn thought-escapades.

Godot is a reflection of the realist human society, where there are no serendipity, no accidents, only a monotonous life that is akin to a prison. That’s how Estragon must have felt when he said,

“Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it’s awful.”

Or, his whimsical request to which I’m pretty sure we all can resonate at some level,

“Don’t touch me! Don’t question me! Don’t speak to me! Stay with me!”

And this cheeky dialogue towards which I am personally biased a bit,

VLADIMIR: It’s the start that’s difficult.
ESTRAGON: You can start from anything.
VLADIMIR: Yes, but you have to decide.
The Martian | Andy Weir

The Martian is essentially a survival manual for the scenario when I get stranded on Mars. I absolutely loved the level of detail and scientific accuracy in the book. That really added on to keeping me engaged and wanting to know what happened next. Weir didn’t make it easy though, you actually had to think what would happen given the parameters he just described and it was fun to imagine a survival trip on the planel of the God of War. Under the tantalising chain of events though, Weir also weaves a thrilling story of the triumph of human spirit and of an indomitable spirit. Oh, also humour definitely helps.

I watched the movie a really long time ago but even then I can recall how deep an impression it made on me. I had to kill time over an exceptionally boring weekend and found this book in one of my friend’s stack. Oh well, relived those memories.

Year in Books: 2022

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 00:49:41 +0530

Fierce People | Dirk Wittenhorn

A good first read of the year. A thriller, romance, and coming-of-age novel all wrapped in one.

I’m glad I read the book before I’m going to watch the movie. I couldn’t put it down once I started. I wrote an in-depth post so I won’t bore you here.
Bright Lights, Big City | Jay McInerney

This book presents one of the most elucidated, explicit, and candid portrayals of eighties New York. The protagonist works at the Department of Factual Verification at a reputed magazine in NYC, has a beautiful model wife and lives a life of vain and vanity with his dramatic friend, Tad. But just when one begins to think he has achieved it all, his life begins to fall apart. The book explores the gray region of materialistic wants and possessions and how detached it is from what one truly seeks in life. PS: The peculiar narration perspective of the prose was slightly disorienting for me.
Kari | Amruta Patil

A poignant braindump enveloped in grosteque and charming visuals. Introspective, deep, and witty. Given the fact that I don’t read much graphic novels, this was a welcome change.

PS: Got recommended from a bookclub group. I’m allowing myself the freedom to change and that is important.
The Man Who Solved the Market | Gregory Zuckerman

A biographic narrative of Jim Simons, the mathematician who founded Renaissance Tech and kickstarted the quant revolution. His Medallion fund continues to be one of the greatest successes of investment trading. This is a thoroughly researched account doesn’t simply boast of the genius Simons deserves but also reveals his human side. How he managed employees and interacted with them. How he suffered two tragedies in his life when he lost two sons.

An extravagant spender, left-inclined rational who, in later life, focused his money into combating disease, math education, and space exploration. This is the story of how one man went against the odds and challenges and paved the way for a totally radical method of trading changing forever the face of investment trading.

Wow, this one took me more time than I expected, partially due to acad work and partially due to the biographical nature of the text. I wrote a post inspired by the book here .
When Breath Becomes Air | Paul Kalanithi

An autobiographical account of a neurosurgeon who succumbed to cancer. But to describe Paul as just any neurosurgeon is a grave underestimation of this inspiring and incredible man.

In his (sadly, only) work, he lays bare the working of his mind, his intelligent questions and his quest to find answers to them, his intimate thoughts during surgeries and diagnosis, his beliefs about mortality and life and faith and God. Through this book, one doesn’t simply read about a man who met an unfair fate, but of a truly inquisitive mind, equally versed in literature and medicine. One, who actively sought the company of great men, whose love for words shines through the eloquent prose. One who was deeply curious about death and mortality, and challenged death both as a healer and a patient.

Paul wrote, “You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote towards which you’re ceaselessly striving.”
One Day | David Nicholls

“One Day” by David Nicholls is a drama-romance novel with a refreshing premise. It examines the life of two individuals on a particular day each year from twenty-two years to forty years or so. It explores how life tends to play out in the real world with laughter and grief all muddle until at the end we are left with a bittersweet feeling of wanting to do more. It is a book about lost opportunities and seizing the moment and all that.

“The city had defeated her, just like they said it would. Like some overcrowded party, no-one had noticed her arrival, and no-one would notice if she left.”
~One Day, D. Nicholls

It has a romantic arc to it (of course) with two lovers in a confused state, unable to simultaneously be away and close to each other. Dexter Mayhew, the zany, cocky, and the “chaotic” against Emma Morley, the quiet, nerdy Northerner. Sample this, After living his youth through debauchery and disruption, Dex finally grows up: “An orgy won‘t care for you when you‘re old.” It ends bittersweet maybe as a homage to life itself with comments such as “You start out wanting to change the world through language, and end up thinking it‘s enough to tell a few good jokes.” I enjoyed it.

PS: This was on my list for a looong time. Well, can watch the movie now (finally!!). I don’t think this required a full post so here we are.
Algorithms to Live By | Brian Christian and Thomas L. Griffiths

An attempt to apply computer science concepts to solve real-life day-to-day problems. An thought-provoking book with a nicely curated list of CS concepts. Particularly liked the beginning chapters.

Year in Books: 2021

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 22:18:52 +0530

Abstract

The list of books I have read in 2021 along with thoughts and views on some of them. Enjoy!

Zero to One | Peter Thiel
Non-fiction, Startup, Essential, Vision, Principles
Rosemary’s baby | Ira Levine
Fiction, Fantasy, Witchcraft, Classic
Vivekananda’s Biography | Swami Nikhelananda
Non-fiction, Biography, Monk, Vedanta, Philosophy, Inspiration
The Three Body Problem | Cixin Liu
Fiction, Hard SF (science fiction), Contact, Classic
Transform your Habits | James Clear
Non-fiction, Psychology, Self-help, Habits, Short
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant | Eric Jorgenson (via Naval Ravikant)
Non-fiction, Life, Philosophy, Habits, Mental Models, Productivity, Wisdom
Design for Hackers | David Kadavy [more][2] and [more][3]
Non-fiction, Design, Beginner, Practical, Advice, Hacker, Product, Business
The Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller
Fiction, Mythological Fiction, Trojan War, Achilles, Patroclus, Romance, War
UNIX: History and Memoir | Brian W. Kernighan [more][4]
Non-fiction, History, Unix, Computer Science, C, Bell Labs
Lord of the Flies | William Golding
Fiction, Human Psychology, Dark, Human Behavior, Stranded, Savage
Ready Player Two | Ernst Cline [more][0]
Fiction, Dystopia, VR, Pop culture trivia, OASIS
Steve Jobs | Walter Isaacson
Non-fiction, Biography, Technology, Art, Inspiration
Looking For Alaska | John Green
Fiction, Young Adult, Death, Romance
Turtles All the Way Down | John Green
Fiction, Young Adult, Existential Crisis, Romance
Siddhartha | Hermann Hesse
Fiction, Happiness, Wisdom, Learning, Purpose, Principles, Essential
An Abundance of Katherines | John Green
Fiction, Young Adult, Realism, Prodigy, Romance
Soon I will be Invincible | Austin Grossman
Fiction, Fantasy, Superhero, Comedy, Generic
Naked Economics | Charles Wheelan
Non-fiction, Economics, Fundamentals, Layman, Essential
The Richest Man in Babylon | George S. Clason [more][6]
Non-fiction, Wealth, Finance, Advice, Classic, Wisdom, Knowledge
Post Office | Charles Bukowski
Fiction, Antihero, Employee, Experience
I Will Teach You To Be Rich | Ramit Sethi
Non-fiction, Personal Finance, Howto
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | Sir Arthur C. Doyle
Fiction, Detective, Short stories, Classic
The Millionaire Fastlane | MJ DeMarco
Non-fiction, Finance, Wealth, Advice, Entrepreneurship
A Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini (Reread)
Fiction, Human relationships, Afghanistan, Historical fiction
Freakonomics | Dubner and Levitt
Non-fiction, Economics, Psychology, Human behavior
The Tragedy of Hamlet | William Shakespeare
Fiction, Classic, Language, Tragedy
Losing My Virginity: An Autobiography | Sir Richard Branson

An autobiography of one of UK’s most successful businessman, enterpreneur and humanitarian. I first heard about him mentioned in Peter Thiel’s Zero To One and then saw this book in my local library. Truly inspiration and mind boggling.

Branson, born in a middle class family, had an average school life, started a magazine in his teens, then a record shop called “Virgin Records”, and then “Virgin Atlantic”, and then… (Iykyk). Most people view him as flamboyant and frivolous for his around the world hot-air balloon trips and walking around with super models. Yes, he is eccentric but here, he bares himself for us. Beyond all that, he is a responsible family man. A lover and a doting father. The very incarnate of what every man wants to be.

Branson inspired me to start a magazine and I learnt so much about desktop publishing and the nuances of publishing. And, got introduced to Mike Oilfield’s beautiful album “Tubular Bells” (highly recommended). His Necker Island resort is love.
Why is Sex Fun? | Jared Diamond

A rational enquiry into the nature and anomaly of human sexuality, its evolution, and social and cultural repercussions by the author of “Guns, Germs, and Steel”. Eloquent, argumentative, and witty reasoning.

I wrote a blog post here . He talks about a variety of aspects of human sexuality that humans take for granted but are in fact, errors with respect to the animal kingdom such as monogamy, concealed ovulation, and even recreational sex. If you have read The Selfish Gene (which I highly recommend), then this book is a toned-down, more subjectively focussed form of it, but essentially in the same spirit. Biology folks are gonna dig it. Definitely revisitable.
When Dimple Met Rishi | Sandhya Menon

Romantic fiction. They adapted it for a series called “Mismatched”.
Hyperbole and a Half | Allie Brosh

A collection of comics inspired by Allie’s own life experiences similar to a biographical fiction. Dripping with sarcasm and humour. I was laughing so hard.
Galatea | Madeline Miller

A very short story by the author of “The Song of Achilles” about the myth of Galatea, the living statue and Pygmalion, the sculptor-king. Mythological fiction. Miller took her liberty to fictionalize the story in a feminist light as most of her other works.
Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare

A play about perhaps the most famous star-crossed lovers in Western culture. Quintessential Shakespearean in character, wonderful metaphors, witty, humorous, dark, with many literary devices, and complex characters. A dictionary is recommended. Didn’t disappoint but I still like the legend of Tristan and Iseulte more.
The Bell Jar | Sylvia Plath

A fictional first-person account of a Ms. Esther Greenwood, an aspiring writer, lover of poetry, and a victim of mental degradation. Events were inspired by Plath’s own life experiences thus, making the book semi-autobiographical in nature.

Published in 1963, it is one of the finest texts on feminism and womanhood. I wrote more here .
Arcadia | Tom Stoppard

A seven scene erudite play about romance, metaphysics, determinism, Byron, and mathematics. The events jostle between two different time periods – the 18th century and the late 20th century in the same room. The magic lies in the manner these characters are connected and the dialogues interweaved as they solve the “murder” mystery of Mr. Chater.

Generously humorours and witty throughout, Tom ruminates on human progress and the natures of mathematics and genius and time. Widely acclaimed as the greatest play of our age (though, I won’t count on that), this play is actually ingenious, chaotic and yet coherent.

Saw a production on YT. Really cool.
Tristan and Iseult | Rosemary Sutcliff

Ancient classic Celtic romance legend, retold hundreds of times by different people. This is one of them. Also of note is Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde because of its influence on Western operatic status quo and avart-grande usage of chromatics and dissonant harmonies.

What drew me more is the inspiration that feeds man’s mind. How a millenia old legend can invigorate an old guy to compose a magnificent piece of soul moving music that is heralded as a new avenue in what operas ought to be. The nature of value, though elusive, is this.

It was listed as required reading for a MIT OCW course called “The Philosophy of Love” (CC.112 ). Quite interesting.
In My Skin | Kate Holden

Stark, bare, welcoming, wholehearted, and honest. This is a memoir of an Australian prostitute and heroine addict. An arts graduate, Kate became a heroin “user” early, eventually kicked from her house and forced to take to the streets to support herself. Repeated failed attempts to get out of the dark abyss of “scoring”, lost loves, and stained respect, she tells us her story with utmost courage and finesse.

Her most private thoughts about baring herself in front of stranger men, wondering whether she could ever love someone again, and finding empowerment and solace in her job, speaks eloquently for how a woman truly feels, beyond the object or act that society tries to reduce her to. Packed with explicit imageries, brutal truths, and heart-wrenching emotions, Kate is delicate and unfazed at the same time.

Few of my books are frivolous, compulsive choices made in haste. This was one of them. It cropped up in a web surfing sessions and I thought it was cool so I dived in. Glad I did.
The Psychology of Money | Morgan Housel

A collection of wise ideas aimed at inculcating healthy habits in managing money. The author believes that managing finance should be learned more from history and psychology, rather than economics or mathematics because the people playing the game are not robots but humans.

With that sensible assumption, Housel draws from history, talking about what to do and what not to do in varied circumstances. Filled with anecdotes and quotes and knowledge, I enjoyed this book. Besides, it’s concise and not painfully boring. I wrote more about it here .
How to Win at College | Cal Newport

Cal explains in the introduction how he talked to outstanding and overachieving students to figure out how they do what they do. The book is a collection of 75 do’s and do not’s that he thinks college students should practise to gain more than just a degree.

To be honest, most of the ideas do make sense and one can always cherry pick what suits their particular situation. The book doesn’t beat around the bush or turn into a tomb. It gets straight to business. It was a quick and good read. Not sure if I would read it again but here’s a book summary to indulge you!
The JWT Handbook | Auth0

Quite in-depth treatment of algorithms. JavaScript implementation of SHA256, RSA, and others. Short and effective initiation into the subject. Found it to be losing narrative at points.

Read article on JWT .
The First World War | Michael Howard

Fascinating first introduction to the bird’s eye view of the events of WW1. History is so important to understand how we got where we are. Well, here’s to a life-long learning process!

And as usual, I wrote a post .

Year in Books: 2020

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s Get Started

The Rosie Project | Graeme Simsion
My first read this year (2020). I started just after taking the last of my annuals and I remember laughing hard. It’s a romcom about a genetic professor suffering from Asperger’s trying to find a wife. The Wife Project still gives me giggles. Oh and I remember picking this up after seeing it on Bill Gate’s to-read list .
Daemon | Daniel Suarez
A dystopian fiction where a computer program takes “control”. This was on my list for a long time. I read it in our public library and enjoyed the nerd talk. By the way, it also has a sequel Freedom (TM) .
The Perks of Being a Wallflower | Stephen Chobsky
I liked it. A coming-of-age story of a scarred teenager who found himself (and made friends). I remember making the mistake of watching the movie first and that robbed me of the opportunity to visualise Sam :P.
I was experimenting with audiobooks then and it did not appeal to me appreciable.
A Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini
This one’s a gem. I loved it. It made me firmly believe in the power of the female. A story of grit, courage and determination about Afghani women who find themselves in the middle of a war-stricken nation. I have fond memories between its pages.
The Rosie Effect | Graemae Simsion
A sequel to The Rosie Project (see above) (There is actually one more ). A development of the story told in the first book. Though I think it’s not as hilarious.
Head First C | D. and D. Griffiths (O’ Reilly Press)
My first ever proper grounding in the C language I now love so much (though I haven’t written much yet). I have taken notes of the book. Each page, each paragraph.
Crafting Interpreters | Robert Nystrom
A fascinating book which aims to (and succeeds) in destroying the lore of black magic that surrounds the “enigmatic” field of Programming Language Designing. The Java interpreter implementation hides low-level details and aims to introduce the concepts while the C compiler implementation is hard-core language designing with manual grabage-collection, optimization and all the good stuff. And oh, the illustrations are hand-drawn . I have only read the Java interpreter though.
- Bob’s blog : I like this guy for his attitude towards teaching stuff to others. I guess we should all be like him.
- The Dragon Book : I am not crazy and this is on my reading list (I have even leaved through the book).
The Alchemist - by Paulo Coelho
A fable and imaginative story about Santiago who goes on an adventure and finds himself where he started. Heavily metaphorical and ok. Honestly, I didn’t understand the fuss around this book because I had partly thought of the ideas in the book on my own.
Tao Te Ching - by Lao Tzu
My introduction to Taoism. This book was among the most recommended among Tim Ferriss’ guests so I picked it up. Highly rewarding and really worth multiple reads.
My favourite excerpt? Oh, there are too many! But to quote an example,

When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.
- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Just for Fun, The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary | Linus Torvalds and David Diamond
Story of the nerd who changed the course of mankind’s development told by himself? Check. It’s like standing in a Hall of Fame (for me). No wonder Linus comes closest to the idol I yearn to have. (2021 edit: I don’t idolise him as much). Impressed by his throughly-thought after ideas about Open Source, it’s mechanism, implications, pros and cons. I quote him saying,

I was kind of aware of friends getting laid more, but that was okay.
Most of them were losers too.
The Brothers Karamazov | Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I have read till Part 2, chapter 5 - The Grand Inquisitor.
Who moved my Cheese? | Dr. Spencer Johnson
Ok, let me confess. I still don’t get the point of this book. We have to change and adapt lest we want to become obsolete and perish. Is this all? Or am I missing something? Please help me here.
Ready Player One | Ernst Cline
A great book which got me fanatically digging up ancient relics from the 80s. Set in a dystopian world where people jack into the OASIS, a virtual reality to hide in an illusion. Wade Watts must find the Easter Egg to inherit the OASIS from its creator, Halliday or else it passes into the hands of IOI, a corporate. Told in a gripping style, it was a “research book” for me and highly rewarding.
PS: Needless to say, can’t wait for this .
The Catcher in the Rye | J. D. Salinger
Teenage angst overload? Pimples? Defiance? Insanity? Cynical? Vulnerable? All check. A classic which painted for the definitive modern adolescent. Lots of memorable characters, Holden Caulfield being the most. I hardly (and thankfully!) connect with Holden. Infact, it set me thinking if I am missing out. 😶
Head First JavaScript | Morrison (O’ Reilly Press)
My first encounter with the most ubiquitous language on the Web. Such a pity that its such a poorly designed language. I remember picking it up after being motivated to build my own website and so you see. Of course, I won’t ever recommend this book to anyone because it’s so obsolete. Perhaps you will be better off checking out MDN Web docs for an introduction to the latest JS.
But if you do have time, this book might be a nice read to understand why others built abstractions and tools and frameworks they did. But in the super-fast highway of web dev, its really a dream.
Rosalind Franklin, The Dark Lady of DNA | Brenda Maddox
A sympathetic read about my first genuine crush. But shh! Besides, you will probably laugh if you happen to be reading the blog of a person who has crushes on dead people 😅
And I was smitten. Also, I am not ashamed to say but this picture alone motivated me to complete this whole book.(I blatantly leave books midway if I lose interest).
She had her complexity and flaws though.

The Secret Life Of Adrian Mole | Sue Townsend
I don’t even know why I picked this book up in the first place. I think I completed it in two sittings. Recently, have developed a tendency to hunt for short books cause I am losing my ability to stay committed in this dystopian pandemic situation(!)
The Power | Naomi Alderman
Another one of those books where I cheated. It’s ~300 pages. And quite stupid. In fact, it compels me to call it obnoxious as a sci-fi story. The premise is fantastic (and the author takes great care to yield it successfully) but it is just not possible for the society it weaves to be stable. (But then that’s the point of stories. They are mere stories.)
Somewhere along the way female-kind develops the ability to discharge electricity from their bodies at will (like eels) due to some wacky nervous-agent used in WW2. And then Hades breaks loose. Upend religion, rape and murder men at will, and as they call it “right all wrongs”. Wacky.
Mastering VIM | Jovica Ilic
Short and sweet introduction to a fantastic editor. Honestly, I haven’t looked back to VS Code since. The text is not terse enough which makes it sound more like a tutorial and thus is great from a learning perspective. And I got so much from it!
Oh and before I forget, you can sign up here for weekly VIM nuggets. This is such an ideal way for me to learn VIM progessively. (And should be for you too!)
The White Tiger | Aravind Adiga
A social satire which will make you laugh hard and grimly introspect your actions at the same time. Set in India, the principal seat of satire and hypocrisy in the world, follow a “servant” from Laxmangarh who became a man, enterpreneur and much more. A debut novel bagging the Man Booker Prize in 2008, I surely have to watch out for this author. A must-read eye-opener for every Indian. Gruelsome and vile in parts but starkly true in the whole.
Sample this: “Being called a murderer: fine, I have no objection to that. It’s a fact: I am a sinner, a fallen human. But to be called a murderer by the police! What a fucking joke.”
The Selfish Gene | Richard Dawkins
A classic story of gene and why we came into the picture of life. Dawkin’s well-formed ideas litter these pages with ample grim examples from the bizarre kingdom of life. This book can change your entire perspective towards life. My best non-fiction read of 2020.
Can’t recommend this enough, notwithstanding whether you are into biology or not.
The Humans | Matt Haig
A short read motivated by Remy Sharp’s bookshelf. Some neat ideas. Mixed feelings. But I liked it.
Took me two days so not a lot invested.