What are your 5 books that made a vital impact on your life?
Recently I’ve published a story on “How to work undistracted as a Designer” with the focus on the book I recently read from Cal Newport called “Deep work”. After I published this an engineer friend posted 5 books which helped him in his career.
I decided I would do something similar. Yes, when it comes to books there are as many options as to when to decide what to watch on Netflix on a Sunday evening.
It’s hard to know if the book you are going to read will be what you expected it to be — after all most of the time we rely on other readers opinions on books. With that in mind, this also is my opinion about the books I personally enjoyed reading either on a personal level or valuable in my career.
5 categories on my favourite topics
Design: Don’t make Me Think — Steve Krug
Habits: Essentialism — Greg McKeown
Memoir: Educated — Tara Westover
History: Sapiens — Yuval Noah Harari
Design👩🏻💻
I’ve read a few of the popular books like Design of everyday things from Don Norman but I would lie if I said this was my #1 book just because it is on almost every designer's book list.
I found to this day the design book that impacted my career most still is Don’t make me think — Steve Krug
Firstly I might be biased because when I started out in design this was the very first design book (I remembered) I read. It’s written for anyone to understand — simple plain language it describes design principles, usability mistakes and how to improve them with examples. This played a big role in me to become a usability analyst early in my career.
Habits 🧠
I do indulge a lot in this category but if I choose one that stood it sure is Essentialism from Greg McKeown.
I personally relate to living a minimalist and essentialist life. I’m oversimplifying the theme but it focuses on doing what’s most important and gives you the most value — literally essential ;). I have found this book to be very practical and provides you with a few tips to implement in your life.
Personal 🙂
Book of Joy
I prefer to read different genre’s (yes, mostly non-fiction) Some of them I read during the day in the park or at my desk or before going to bed. Not all books are suitable for every situation I’ve come to learn;) This category is for the bedtime situation to switch off my brain and get some rest.
My personal book is The Book of Joy from Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. I’ve read it during a phase in my life where I lost someone very close to me and this book helps you to find Joy on a different level.
Memoir ✍️
I’ve never thought of myself reading memoirs but I do and I’m hooked especially if it’s inspiring and motivational.
Like Educated from Tara Westover, written easy to read and I guess typical coming from nothing to becoming something extraordinary story :) Although it might sound typical such a good read and unbelievable experience!
Educated
History 🌍
I always enjoyed reading but there are seasons in one’s life which reading is like a dry spell. The first book I picked up after my “dry season” was Sapiens and that really inspired me to read all his books and so much more…. lost count ;)
If you like the history of humankind Yuval Noah Harari knows how to make the read a page-turner ;)
Sapiens
I invite you 📚
I love reading and would love your “book experiences” and hopefully I can add more books to my list.