My Personal Bookshelf

I devoured this book. The interview style of the book made me feel like I was there with the artists. Taylor Jenkins Read has a phenomenal ability to write captivating stories. I am always hooked.

I enjoyed this book. The emails between Alice and Eileen were captivating. Rooney’s exploration of love and friendship felt relatable. It made me wish I had an email pal.

Woolf’s use of stream of consciousness to explore the passage of time and the complexity of relationships is phenomenal. Time Passes depiction of time and death is utterly captivating. Woolf also depicts the complexity we can have as humans in our relationships and our thoughts about them.

This fascinating book explored the relationship between gardening and cocktails, two of my hobbies. I learned a lot about the ingredients that make alcohol and cocktails. One of the best gifts I have ever received!

This book was the first satirical fiction that focused on the writer interacting with his characters. It touched on the ideas of abuse of humans on the planet, each other, and themselves. It was fascinating to see the depiction of how a writer can affect a reader.

Voung writes in such a beautifully poetic way. The book shows the rawness of emotion.

Feeling suffocated under a bell jar during a depression is how Esther described her experience. This imagery causes the reader to be somber and respectful of mental health. Plath’s writing is brave to explore topics that are taboo, even now.

This book was a captivating story about love and a woman who took the things she wanted from the world. The masterful storytelling completely entranced me. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. I can’t wait to read more of Taylor Jenkins Reid.

A fascinating book that showed me the way a dog understands the world. It was fun to attempt to see the world through the senses of another creature. I enjoyed learning about the intricate life of our pets.

I liked how this story looked at the conscience of a man who lived a hedonistic life. I found it interesting how Wilde portrays the separation of actions and consequences through Gray and his painting and the effects of this separation on Gray.

Andrew Sean Grear takes us on the travels that reignited the life of Arthur Less. It is a beautiful story that teaches us to take risks and get lost to find ourselves again.

Neil Gaiman transported me into the world of the Norse, which allowed me to see how the Vikings explained the world through their myths. Reading about the mischiefs of Loki was extremely fun, and the concept of Ragnarök was fascinating.

Factfulness is a phenomenal book to update our knowledge of the state of the world. It teaches us to notice the gap between our assumptions and reality. Hans also helps us notice some of the instincts we need to be cautious of when utilizing data to explain the world.

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this book. Mary Shelley created a story that was captivating and full of depth. I enjoyed the analysis of creation through Frankenstein and his monster.

Gates provided a clear picture of climate change and put the problem into perspective. He analyzed potential solutions that we can apply to combat climate change. This book is an informative read for anyone who wants to learn more about the challenge at hand.

Virginia Wolf's exploration of consciousness and time is fascinating throughout this series of interwoven stories. It all happens in a day in which we learn about the lives of two characters and their dynamics in post-First World War English society. The stream-of-consciousness writing style can be hard to follow, but it serves the purpose of this story incredibly.

James Altucher provides valuable advice on how to improve oneself to build a good life. His idea of the Daily Practice encourages us to build habits to improve our bodies - physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Choosing yourself is about believing in your abilities and realizing that there are new mediums to accomplish our dreams.

Ishiguro tells an intricate story of a quasi-dystopian world where children are lifted and require artificial friends. He explores the world through the perspective of an AI, who learns about the complexity of the human heart and the benevolence of the sun. A truly captivating and emotive read.

TJ Klune tells a beautiful, heartwarming story that teaches about prejudice, hate, love, acceptance, and change. Joining Linus Baker in his journey was a true joy. The depth of the characters was impressive, and their stories beautiful.

The book is an exuberant story of love, extravagance, class, money, and time. Gatsby’s story feels like the tragedy of one who can’t get his dreams, forever looking at the green light of things that passed.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover the thematic depth of this star-crossed lover story. The contradiction of Romeo and Juliet’s love against their environment raises interesting questions about which master one should follow in our personal lives. Love, lust, religion, family, and the state all pulled the rash lovers to calamity as they struggled to find a compromise between the forces that separated them apart.

A thoughtful reflection of how our nervous and anxious world affects our daily lives. Haig opens up about his personal experience with mental illness. He explores and offers advice on our modern problems. It was an enjoyable meditation on our current world, which encouraged us to improve it to mitigate the effects the world has on us.

Dr. Kalanithi’s memoir tells the story of an incredible man facing death with integrity. In his writing, you can read urgency and peace, pain and beauty, anguish and happiness, wisdom and unknown. Dr. Kalanithi is an inspiration and example of a life full of meaning. I am honored to have read his work.

The Stranger is a bizarre story about a man who viewed life as absurd. It is a story from the philosopher Albert Camus who believed in the philosophical ideas of absurdism, a completely different perspective of life than mine.

An awesome book. It is such an enjoyable read, and it opened my curiosity towards the fascinating world of fungi. Sheldrake has an artful way of guiding the reader through the ways fungi interact with the world. One of my favorite books I have read.

It is a fascinating story, with massive depth of world and lore and intriguing characters. However, the writing style feels dry at multiple points. It was a tougher read than I expected. The story does turn to a faster pace in the second and third books.

Jia Tolentino is a phenomenal writer who produced a series of stimulating and captivating essays. Her writing style immerses you in to wrestle with complex concepts to increase your understanding. Each conversation leaves you pondering about the issues and ideas brought.

This book is a useful introduction to the finance world. It discusses the main theories of investing and historical bubbles. Malkiel provides the reader with tools that will help him to start his investment journey. However, it can be a dry book on multiple occasions.

A story about following our dreams and finding our treasure. The story of Santiago teaches us to enjoy the journey, listen to the universe, and try to follow our “Personal Legend.” One of my favorite reads of the year.

A fictional depiction of the life of Jesse Livermore regarded as one of the best traders of all time. A fascinating look at how the stock market operated between the 1890s and 1920s. It is a book dense with investment wisdom.

An educating read about humankind. It details where we came from, where we are, and where we may go. It is a phenomenal book for curious readers who want to understand how we got to today.

“If you know the why, you can live any how.” - Nietzsche. An introduction to logotherapy, finding meaning in life to fuel our motivating force. Frankl details his experience in Nazi concentration camps and how finding meaning helped him endure. A powerful book.

Gladwell address some of the tools we use when interacting with strangers and how they can be dangerous. Knowing the dangers of our tools can help us prevent damages. Gladwell uses clear examples to illustrate his view of these dangers.

This book broadened my understanding of what is necessary for ideas, products, and more to become mainstream. Gladwell explains that these movements start with a select few, a sticky message, and utilize the context of the moment to spread.

I truly enjoyed this short read; it contains valuable advice. It allows you to consider decisions that one will make during one's career before facing the consequences. Read this book if you are starting your career and want to do well.

This book gives arguments of the value of understanding the why of your actions from the start. Since defining your why the decisions you make will have more impact. The concept of why is a strong one, but the book is simply an extended version of Sinek's Ted Talk.

The short stories in What the Dog Saw allow the reader to place themselves in the perspective of others. Gladwell's writing style is also a joy.

Read this textbook for MBA 651 Marketing Management.

Thinking, Fast and Slow is a fascinating book about human heuristics and biases. It was a brilliant read which I truly recommend to all. This book has the potential to change the way we consume information and make decisions.

Here Spiegelhalter gives beautiful examples of the power of statistics, as well as explaining concepts. I was very excited to read this book since I always felt lacking when it came to statistics.

This book talks about the value of being a generalist. Generalists in the modern hyperspecialized environment aren’t as prominent yet extremely valuable. It gives a good perspective for those without a direct path and a curious spirit.

The book explained the value and process of transforming data into a compelling story. It also applied concepts of general storytelling to data analytics.

The Belgariad's conclusion was a great series with phenomenal characters.

A book that reminds you that you are amazing. It also gives you advice on how to reach your badass potential.

A chilling dystopia.

An exciting mystery reminded me a bit of the game clue but more intense.

This book is hilarious and contains interesting characters and witty comments. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy is a series everyone should read.