Book

You will read less than you think Assume you will read 30 books a year for your entire life between 15 and 85 years old. That is 30 * 70 = 2100 books. I don’t know about you, but I had never done the math and that made me sad. I regret having read a lot of the books I read now! Conclusion: (1) read more, (2) be careful what you select to read. For (1), I now read 1 hour daily. For (2), I try my best to read mostly books published ~100 years before the present day1. ...

Information about the book author: Leo Tolstoy title: The Kreutzer Sonata pages: 128 ISBN-13: 978-0812968231 Thoughts on this book This story is a dark warning of the possessive and sexual nature of relationships. It is also quite tragic since Pozdnyshev (the man and main character who kills his wife) does not seem to be in any sort of control of these emotions. The title is a symbol of this inevitability. The Kreutzer Sonata by Beethoven evoking emotions without control or measure according to Tolstoy. ...

Information about the book author: Tolstoy title: How Much Land Does a Man Need pages: 20 He needs 1.8m squared to die in. This is a moral book meant to teach us a lesson. It’s a lesson which we have all heard a million times: “greed is bad”. This simple lesson es special when told by Tolstoy in this book. He helps us understand why greed exists throughout the book in a truly visceral way. He helps understand that we too are running to our death as we chase more land. Chase something which cannot be owned: power, love, money, respect, land. ...

Book about the horrors of the caucusus war.

Information about the book author: Ernest Hemingway title: The Old Man and the Sea pages: 128 Highlights and notes As I read this book, I annotated the passages included in this PDF: Candide - Notes Notes and thoughts A super simple short story with an uncomplicated message. The old man’s pursuit made me think of business. The fish being the pursuit of vanity metrics: number of stores, machines, revenues, money raised, and others. The old man loses sight of the end game - he sacrifices his efforts and the life of the fish for nothing. ...

Information about the book author: Voltaire title: Candide ou l'Optimisme pages: 120 Highlights and notes As I read this book, I annotated the passages included in this PDF: Candide - Notes Notes and thoughts It’s incredible how much context is necessary to enjoy this book. If you don’t know about Leibniz or the historical context of the book, you can get lost easily and simply not enjoy the book. ...

Another great biography by Zweig, this was particularly beautifully written (at least the french version) translated by Fernand Delmas

A great look into the educated of the first few years of the 20th century.

Short reflections on this book that I had while I read it

Le Monde D’Hier is an excellent read by Stefan Zweig. I highly recommend it. It will provide you with a good feel for the first half of the 20th century.