By: Ricardo Semler
Pages: 288
Psychology
My recommendation: 9 / 10
Date read: 27th Nov'25
Brief review: Ricardo Semler is a Brazilian businessman who transformed his company, Semco Partners, by growing over 40 times over a few decades while enjoying a lot of free time himself and creating a working architecture that gives a lot of freedom and flexibility to employees. His ideas are radical; like, allowing employees to fix their own salaries, anybody can sit anywhere, new hiring is interviewed by a group of existing employees who may not hold senior management positions, etc. The first impression of a reader would be ho! this won't work at my company. Yet, it offers meaningful insight into human behavior and how we can enjoy our personal life while achieving great results for the company as a whole. A very interesting read.
By: Ayn Rand
Pages: 753
Philosophy
My recommendation: 10 / 10
Date read: 8th Nov'25
Brief review: This book is about a young architect who refuses to compromise his work quality and style under any circumstance. While the story keeps you enthralled throughout, it also gives you some valuable life lessons in a subtle way. Ayn Rand is able to connect all the characters brilliantly and keeps you guessing what next. It's a long but one of the finest fiction philosophy you will ever read.
By: Yuval Noah Harari
Pages: 448
History
My recommendation: 10 / 10
Date read: 15th Oct' 2025
Brief review: Home Deus attempts to peep into the future of mankind as well as argues the validity of several myths and beliefs we hold today. The author touches upon diverse topics in this well-researched book with compelling arguments. Can man beat mortality? Is war obsolete? Can artificial intelligence make humans extinct in the future? If these questions (and many others) interests you, you should read this book. A deep and fascinating book by Yuval Noah Harari who is my favorite author.
By: Ayn Rand
Pages: 753
Non Fiction
My recommendation: 10 / 10
Date read: 4th Oct' 2025
Brief review: This book is about a young architect who refuses to compromise his work quality and style under any circumstance. While the story keeps you enthralled throughout, it also gives you some valuable life lessons in a subtle way. Ayn Rand is able to connect all the characters brilliantly and keeps brilliantly and keeps you guessing what next. It's a long but one of the finest fiction philosophy you will even read.
By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Pages: 366
Self Help
My recommendation: 10 / 10
Date read: 28th Sep' 2025
Brief review: Taleb describes a black swan as "a surprising or virtually unpredictable event that can have a massive impact. He challenges the notion of success and proves that most of it could be simply because of luck. Filled with numerous examples and research, this book will definitely hit your thinking pattern and the way you use probability in your life. His arguments and data points are brilliant. In one of the chapters he subtly says; don't cross the river if it is (on average) four feet deep. It is one of the finest books you can read which caution about the risk of historical evidence in life and business. Taleb advocates ot take positive exposure to black swan events. Simply outstanding. (Note: Starting this book is easy but you need ot focus hard to finish it. The book carries too much depth and you should give time to read it. Don't hurry up into this one.)
By: Malcom Gladwell
Pages: 320
Inspiration
My recommendation: 10 / 10
Date read: 15th Sep' 2025
Brief review: In this brilliant book, Gladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success. He suggests that apart from strength and perseverance, a lot of other subtle factors play an important role, like; family, culture, upbringing, environment around, etc. He explains why Asians are good at math, what are the secret of software billionaires and how can you become a great soccer player. All in all, a fascinating book.
By: Robert Maurer
Pages: 173
Self Help
My recommendation: 9 / 10
Date read: 9th June' 2022
Brief review: A short and brilliant book on changing habits and achieving goals by taking small steps, the kaizen way. Whether your goal is to lose weight or to improve relationships, it is all possible if you make daily progress. If you want to practice meditation but are unable to focus, start with one-minute meditation a day. If you want to cut caffeine, just take a sip less every day. Once you start reading this book, it is unputdownable.
By: Sun Tzu
Pages: 100
Non Fiction
My recommendation: 8 / 10
Date read: 22nd May' 2022
Brief review: Sun Tzu was a Chinese military strategist in the 5th century BC. In this book, Sun Tzu discusses the strategies military generals should apply to win wars. It gives straightforward to-do and not-to-do lists of things that can win or lose wars. The simplicity with which the book is written is brilliant. Many ideas mentioned in the book are relatable to our everyday lives too. A short read and a must read.
By: Derek Sivers
Pages: 133
Self Help
My recommendation: 9 / 10
Date read: 16th Sep'2021
Brief review: Short and sweet. That is how I will introduce this book. Full of personal experiences by someone who is living a life of choice. You will find many anecdotes and examples that you can relate to your own life. The main idea behind this book is to focus on your most important work and goal and say No to everything else. The book is available only on Derek's website You should also check out other books of Derek (Anything You Want & Your Music & You) that I have read and reviewed here.
By: Basant Maheshwari
Pages: 426
Investments
My recommendation: 8 / 10
Date read: 14th Sep'2021
Brief review: Basant Maheshwari is a self-made billionaire investor from India who learned it all after losing everything in the stock market during the early years of his life. The author gives a step by a step action plan, data points, and ratio analysis to differentiate between a great investing idea vs an average stock. The book is quite exhaustive from an Indian stock picker's point of view giving examples of Indian stocks. Among many books written on fundamental analysis, this one is one of the simplest.
