As far as I'm aware, this is supposed to be a classic in the field of financial education. I went into it quite sceptical because of the odd cover, and in many ways, you get what you expect: more "marketing" than deeply scientific content, very anecdotal rather than based on studies, a lot of redundancy in the text, which was a bit annoying sometimes. If I had to sum it up in one word, this book seemed very... "American" overall. And yet, it captivated me. The messages Robert Kiyosaki wants to drive home really get you thinking about your own relationship towards money, personal assets and towards work itself. I wouldn't take everything from this book literally, but I think the way he presents the "personal income statement" and its cashflow helped me get a better grasp and what are "good" and "bad" spending habits. I'd say it is a called a classic for a reason.
I knew the story, yet had never read the original. A clearly written text and great read.
I was surprised to find myself laughing from time to time -- at the cat who doesn't seem to grasp what's going on but actually doesn't really care; or at the pigs when they discover alcohol.
In my reading, I am always interested in "the construction of evil" or what you want to call it. Orwell apparently follows history by taking inspiration from the Russian Revolution. The plot is believable in some aspects, however it relies on the population of the farm not being smart enough to understand what's going on, while it's pretty clear for the reader right from the start. What interests me also, are other ideas of more subtle ways of turning evil. Animal Farm tells a different story though, and that's okay.
Ein unsympathischer Hauptcharakter, dessen Geschichte mich doch irgendwie sehr in den Bann gezogen und mitgenommen hat. Vielleicht auch, weil in Hamburg und Berlin so viele Dinge waren, zu denen ich persönlich einen Bezug habe. Von einer negativen Erfahrung in die nächste, trotz der ganzen Ekstase doch eine sehr deprimierende Erzählung. Klingt abgehoben, aber "Weltschmerz" beschreibt die Gesamtheit schon ganz gut.
Ein Glücksgriff in einem der "Mängelexemplar" Läden. Wegen des hübschen Covers mitgenommen und begeistert gelesen.
Die Geschichte eines Italieners, der als Kind von seinem Vater zur Gebirgsbegeisterung gebracht wird und dort den Freund seines Lebens findet. Eine Geschichte über die Beziehung zu seinem Vater, über die Freundschaft mit einem Menschen, der ganz anders ist als man selbst und über die richtige Lebensgestaltung -- Karriere in der Welt oder Frieden in den Bergen?
Nachdenklich, manchmal traurig, verträumt und durch und durch von einer Liebe zu den Bergen getränkt -- die mich hier und dort an die norwegische Meeresliebe aus dem "Buch vom Meer" erinnerte, das ich letztes Jahr las.
Schön.
After a couple of non-fiction books, I wanted to just grab a light read. Read this in a stressful time, so I didn't fully devote my attention to the story, which is why it didn't capture me completely and confused me sometimes. I laughed in parts, but yeah, can't really rate this properly, because I didn't pay attention all the time. I think this is a good story though, definitely had some captivating characters.
The story of a former Apple engineer who was part of the team working on the software for the original iPhone -- hence "the golden age of Steve Jobs" as the subtitle of this book (sounds like he's only ever met Jobs 2 or 3 times though).
Interesting details in parts. A little surprising but also calming to read that some/most of hist struggles during work seem familiar from a daily coding experience.
In the book, he tries to sum up the core of what he thinks makes the creative process at Apple be what it is. Interesting to read in parts, but he clearly "only" had the inside view from one engineering team. The overarching meta view including management, marketing, etc is lacking. Still, some insightful anecdotes even though the process he distills in the end isn't completely convincing to me.
One thing that bugs me is the continuous stressing of how much Apple makes decisions driven by "Taste", rather than data-driven (he's throwing out punches at Google all the time). Right in the next paragraph, he tells the story of how ingeniously clever they derived the "perfect" size of an icon on the home screen. Surprise: They do it data-driven by running experiments with a simple app. Inconsistencies like this make the whole argument stumble here and there. Still, an interesting and quick read.
This book was SO CLOSE to being 5 stars and having the potential to being up there in the ranks with my all-time favorite books. This is still the case for the first 2 parts of the story, but part 3 lost me in several bits, which probably explains why reading the last 200 pages was quite a drag. I eventually really enjoyed the very last part of the book, but I somehow had to get there. Still, 4.5 stars and a strong recommendation if you are into modern sci-fi that is very much connected to our current world and society.
Wow, what a weird again into Neil Gaiman's world that's kind of like our world, but in a weird way. This book made me want to go on a road trip through the US. Overall, I really liked it, even though somehow Gaiman's fantasy is sometimes too... unpredictable (?) for me. I like when I have a feeling for what could or could not happen in a fictional world, but with Gaiman's stories, this feeling never sets in.
Von der vorherigen Lektüre schon indoktriniert, dass "passives Investieren" das einzig Rationale und Wahre sein kann, habe ich dann doch mal ein Buch aus dem anderen Lager gelesen. Peter Lynch ist irgendwie ein sympathischer Kauz und das Cover sieht einfach zu ulkig aus. Aber es ist wirklich gut zu lesen und spannend. Hat meine Perspektiven etwas erweitert und führt so langsam zu mehr Verständnis, wie Wirtschaft eigentlich funktioniert.
Burton G. Malkiel – A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing (Eleventh Edition)
448 Seiten
Die elfte (!) Auflage. Das Buch gibt es seit 1973, wow. Von der Idee das gleiche wie Kommer, nur aus amerikanischer Sicht. Irgendwie kompakter geschrieben und angenehmer zu lesen.
Das nächste von Amélie Nothomb — eine wirklich merkwürdige Erzählung ihrer frühesten Kindheit. Kurios, unterhaltsam, aber einfach auf seltsame Art merkwürdig.