I do this yearly look back of books I have read. [ Here is the 2010, 2011 ]

Following is my 2012 list of books I read or came in touch with

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson 

Love this man or hate him – do read this book. The phone, tablet or laptop you are reading this post right now has Steve Job’s hand in it somehow. [ Oh Steve Jobs! ]

Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

If you are responsible for a toddler, at times does it send a chill down your spine – gosh I am responsible for this kid now and how am I ever going to bring up to be a good citizen of the world – wish there was a manual! – Well there is – highly recommend this! [ Nurtureshock ]

4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris

I am a productivity hacker. I keep looking for new ways of doing more with the limited time I have. 2012 has been very demanding. I tried pomodoro, 3 focus areas a week, even GTD – but will drift off to my bad habits.

However this book made me rethink how I look at the chores I am doing – and how I can effectively blaze through my work day. It gave me new ideas to prioritise tasks on 80/20 rule and also helped me cut off all work distractions – news, twitter,fb.

Highly recommend this one [ 4Hour Work Week! ]

Paulo Coelho – A Warrior’s Life

Biography of my favourite writer – Paulo Coelho. If you don’t know him – dont read this book – instead read his books – Life changing! You will fall in love with his books and then you can read his biography [ Paulo Coelho – A Warrior’s life ]

Isn’t it Obvious – Eliyahu Goldratt

Another favorite author of mine – Author of Goal 1 and Goal 2. I was stuck in a train with this book – so had to finish it. Avoid this.

Necessary but not sufficient – Eliyahu Goldratt

This was good. I recommend this for all Project Managers – has similar out of box thinking present in Goal 1 and Goal 2

Wind up Bird Chronicle – by Haruki Murakami

What a fertile brain this man has. What a story teller. This was one weird ride. Highly recommend this.

Open – An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

Even if you don’t read this book – just read the first chapter. It is the best part of the book and will transport you into Agassi’s mind and body for that duration. I love Tennis – and enjoyed this book thoroughly ( even though I am not a fan of Agassi and rooted for Pete Sampras )

Special Mention : Autobiography of an Yogi

I have started reading an interesting spiritual book – Autobiography of an Yogi by Paramahamsa Yogananda – it is available for free on Kindle. It is very funny in the beginning where he will keep running away from home to Himalayas to become an Yogi – and also has interesting stories on miracles and stories on various Yogis. Then it gets very deep and explains even christianity, the science findings ( book was written in mid-20th century ), his own spiritual experiences etc. In fact I am planning to visit Serampore when I go to Kolkatta next month – where this Yogi lived in an ashram.

Now I follow a little bit of Tim Ferris’s very bad philosophy when it comes to reading books –  he recommends scanning stuff and not diving deep into something in order to do more. I scanned a few books based on this philosophy.

Here is the list of half eaten apples! 

What to do when there’s too much to do – Laura Stack : Avoidable
Business Stripped Bare – Richard Branson – lot of expectation but a dud
Work Less, Achieve More – Fergus O’Connell – 4HWW is much much better.  Nothing of significance
80/20 principle by Richard Koch – If already know about the title you can avoid the book.

I gave up on these

Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Started reading this and saw the trailer. Also the book was going on and on about a sloth. So gave up. After seeing the movie I realized it has got a spiritual bent to it – now I regret not having read this book.

Hermit in Himalayas by Paul Brunton : It was interesting – but I have kept it aside for now.

Dark Tower – Gunslinger – 1st book in the mega series and The Green Mile by Stephen King : I don’t seem to have a taste for Stephen King. Had read a few of his short stories but could not sustain interest and dropped both these books

The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama – It was a nice book but lost interest mid way.

Tibetan Book of Living and Death – Very good book. I started reading this in beginning of 2012 but gave up. Now when I look back I wish I had not given up – would have helped me later when I had to console myself and my family. Will pick this up again sometime.

I am planning to embark on a 52 books goal this year – 1  per week. [ Inspired by this guy who finished 366 books last year – one per day ]

Wish me luck!