Books

Books I have read or own, sorted by publication year. Green marks books I found exceptional. Blue marks those substantially above average.

On the Shortness of Life: Seneca (49 AD). On how people waste their limited time and how to live more purposefully.
Democracy in America: Alexis de Tocqueville (1835). An influential analysis of American society, politics and democratic institutions.
The Count of Monte Cristo: Alexandre Dumas (1844). An epic adventure of betrayal, imprisonment, escape and elaborate revenge in 19th-century France.
Wind, Sand and Stars: Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1939). A memoir of experiences as an early aviation pioneer and mail pilot.
The City in History: Lewis Mumford (1961). A comprehensive study of urban development from ancient times through the modern metropolis.
Computer Lib/Dream Machines: Ted Nelson (1974). An influential manifesto advocating personal computing freedom and hypertext systems.
A Pattern Language: Christopher Alexander (1977). A systematic approach to architecture and urban design through 253 interconnected patterns.
Mindstorms: Seymour Papert (1980). A vision for how computers can revolutionise children's learning through programming and constructionist education.
Midnight's Children: Salman Rushdie (1981). A magical realist novel intertwining the life of a boy born at India's independence with the nation's history.
Asimov's New Guide to Science: Isaac Asimov (1984). A comprehensive overview of scientific knowledge across physics, chemistry, biology and astronomy.
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Neil Postman (1985). A critique of how television and entertainment degrade public discourse and rational thinking.
Metamagical Themas: Douglas Hofstadter (1985). A collection of Scientific American columns on minds, patterns, mathematics and self-reference.
On Lisp: Paul Graham (1993). An advanced programming guide exploring macros and functional techniques in Common Lisp.
Longitude: Dava Sobel (1995). The account of John Harrison's quest to solve the longitude problem through precise timekeeping.
Feynman Lectures on Computation: Richard Feynman (1996). Lectures on computer science, quantum computing and the physics of computation.
The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Richard Hamming (1997). Reflections on how to think creatively, learn effectively and do important work.
Dealers of Lightning: Michael Hiltzik (1999). The history of Xerox PARC and the revolutionary computer technologies developed there in the 1970s.
The Dream Machine: M. Mitchell Waldrop (2001). Biography of computing pioneer J.C.R. Licklider and the development of interactive computing and the internet.
River Town: Peter Hessler (2001). A memoir of teaching English in a small Chinese city during the country's rapid transformation.
Stories of Your Life and Others: Ted Chiang (2002). An acclaimed science fiction short story collection exploring language, time and consciousness.
On Intelligence: Jeff Hawkins (2004). A theory of how the brain works and a framework for building truly intelligent machines.
Poor Charlie's Almanack: Charles T. Munger (2005). A collection of Charlie Munger's speeches and wisdom on investing, decision-making and mental models.
Whole Earth Discipline: Stewart Brand (2009). An environmental manifesto arguing for nuclear power, dense cities and biotechnology as solutions to climate change.
Sum: David Eagleman (2009). Forty imaginative short stories exploring different possible afterlives and what they reveal about human existence.
The Beginning of Infinity: David Deutsch (2011). An exploration of how good explanations drive progress in science, culture and human knowledge.
Quantum Computing since Democritus: Scott Aaronson (2013). Wide-ranging lectures connecting quantum mechanics, computation, philosophy and complexity theory.
Age of Ambition: Evan Osnos (2014). An account of China's transformation and its citizens' pursuit of fortune, truth and faith.
Plato at the Googleplex: Rebecca Goldstein (2014). A philosophical exploration imagining Plato in modern America, examining whether ancient philosophy remains relevant.
Stuff Matters: Mark Miodownik (2014). An exploration of the materials that shape civilisation, from steel and glass to chocolate and foam.
The Rise and Fall of American Growth: Robert Gordon (2016). An economic history arguing that 1870-1970 was a unique period of transformative growth unlikely to return.