- Kim Scott, Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity. This is a fantastic book. I resisted reading it for a long time because I associated “radical candor” with Silicon Valley bros patting themselves on the back for being a jerk. It’s not that, at all. This has reframed my approach to communication in the workplace. Recommended.
- Roger Lowenstein, Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist. A straightforward narrative read, and a gentle introduction to the idea of value investing and Buffett’s general approach. Buffett has had a more complicated personal life than I realized. I found the author overly credulous.
- Alison Weir, Henry VIII: The King and His Court. Heavy on inconsequential details; light on context, analysis, and narrative.
- Ken Kocienda, Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs. An easy narrative read by a software engineer who created the original touchscreen keyboard on the iPhone. I found it insightful and interesting. My biggest takeaway was the critical importance in product development of a rapid feedback loop of working software. As the author is careful to state, the specifics aren’t necessarily applicable outside of the context of mid-2000s Apple. It’s written for a general audience, so software engineers will find some parts tedious.