December 2009
3 posts
Growing a Business
Growing a Business by Paul Hawken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
When I decided to start my own business, I have bought a couple of books on starting a small business. I did not expect that reading books will solve all my problems, but I have figured that they will answer some questions, and give some ideas.
Growing a business was so far my favourite.
Plain language, no jargon, no buzzwords,...
The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start...
The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable by The Group of 33
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
33 successful people, 33 short writings.
All good advices on what to do or what not to do - how to be remarkable, how not to disappear, why you should never stop improving.
As usual, the book itself won’t explain why the ideas would work for you. But the people who wrote them are...
Ignore Everybody
Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The title of the book could be: “What did my doodles on the back of business cards career taught me?”
Let me quote Chapter 40:
None of this is rocket science. If I had to condense this entire book into a line or two, it would read something like, “Work hard. Keep at it. Live simply and...
November 2009
1 post
Permission Marketing
Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers by Seth Godin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Being an old book, a lot of information is a bit outdated. AOL, AltaVista are gone, Yahoo! was replaced by Google, and we had a dot-com burst since then. Banners and pop-ups are still with us.
However the basic concept is still valid. I’ve read many reviews where...
August 2009
1 post
Collapse of Distinction
Collapse of Distinction: Stand out and move up while your competition fails by Scott McKain My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Do you have to compete on price?
Do you need “added value”?
Do you have to make business with everyone?
Do you have to be just like everyone?
Is imitating your competitors a must?
According to Scott McKain, the answer is no.
Clarity, Creativity,...
July 2009
1 post
The Chronicles of Amber
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny My rating:5 of 5 stars Roger Zelazny’s The Chronicles of Amber is one of the best and most creative fantasy books I have read. The plot is interesting - always seems just straightforward, but always there is a twist which just puts everything that has had happened into a different light. And then, as the whole story is told by an aeons old,...
June 2009
1 post
The World Is Flat: The Globalized World in the...
The World Is Flat: The Globalized World in the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I say a must read book. Do I agree with the conclusions and theories 100%. No, I think some of the conclusions are wrong, still it makes you think and even if you think Thomas L. Friedman got it wrong he still achieved his goal. And his view on how the “flat” world makes...
February 2009
1 post
Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who...
Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t by Ram Charan My rating: 4 of 5 stars A book I have to read again. When I know more about the business. It holds some interesting ideas, and the know hows are sensible, but I can’t really use them right now. On the other hand, I know what to keep in mind until I need them.
View all my reviews.
January 2009
16 posts
Armchair Economist
Armchair Economist: Economics And Everyday Experience by Steven E. Landsburg My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Armchair Economist is - in my opinion - a must read for everyone who is evenslightly interested in how economists see the world, what reasons can be for the outrageous price at movies and other important questions. Some people claim that the author has a rather condescending,even...
Witness in our time
Witness in Our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers by Ken Light My rating: 4 of 5 stars It is an amazing book. 22 photographers and editors/curators in it, from the 1930s to current times - why they chose documentary photography, what they saw, what they did. I highly recommend it to everyone. View all my reviews.
No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for...
No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog by Margaret Mason My rating: 2 of 5 stars Well, blogging has arrived. I mean really. This book is a good example of that, one of those 101 and “in 24 hours” books. The subject is fun, the content is about 100 blog posts, the price for this is ridiculous. The author complains that people are writing about their lunch, but...
Mistress of the Empire
Mistress of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist My rating: 5 of 5 stars The conclusion for the story of Mara. And while it’s the third part, it is just as good as the first book in the series. View all my reviews.
Daughter of the Empire
Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist My rating: 5 of 5 stars I loved it. The twists, the cleverness of Mara, the young heiress. The ideas and the whole storyline. The way she finds the loopholes in the traditions, the way she uses the fact, that others would never bend it is the best part of the whole storyline. View all my reviews.
Servant of the Empire
Servant of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist My rating: 5 of 5 stars The follow up to the Daughter of Empire, the story stays good. The main hero Mara gets harder, and more cynical in the political games to survive. View all my reviews.
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown My rating: 2 of 5 stars A mediocre crime story with some alternative history stuff involved. It had some good marketing and hype, but really, it’s a read once book. View all my reviews.
Lyra's Oxford
Lyra’s Oxford by Philip Pullman My rating: 3 of 5 stars It is a short, and not too complicated story intended for kids I think. It’s amusing, to read after the His Dark Materials trilogy but does not give much to the story. View all my reviews.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Bif
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore My rating: 5 of 5 stars I have read the hungarian translation and I loved it. The whole concept was interesting and the actual book delivered on the promise in my eyes. Funny and witty. View all my reviews.
Witches Abroad
Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett My rating: 5 of 5 stars I love this book. Stories really have their own lives, and headology certainly is the biggest magic out there. I just hope the next owner of the book will enjoy it as much, for I have left it on the plane when I got home from Bulgaria. And I will buy it again. View all my reviews.
Herding Chickens
Herding Chickens: Innovative Techniques for Project Management by Dan Bradbary My rating: 4 of 5 stars So far I like it, practical tips, and not the “in the laboratory it works” kinds. It is a really good book, and one I will give as a parting gift to the project manager guy at the company. View all my reviews.
JPod: A Novel
JPod: A Novel by Douglas Coupland My rating: 3 of 5 stars A really, really good book, but why, why did he put himself in portrayed as an evil, greedy asshole? Why? View all my reviews.
Why CRM Doesn't Work
Why CRM Doesn’t Work by Frederick Newell My rating: 4 of 5 stars It is a rather interesting book with lots of good ideas on why technology - the shiny CRM application you just bought - will not help you no matter how much you wish, unless you change your own behaviour, attitude and thinking. Written quite a few years ago, but still valid as companies still can’t grasp the concept...
Postcards from the Edge
Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher My rating: 5 of 5 stars I just love this book, and the sequel too. It’s funny, not too serious but is not just a lighthearted read. View all my reviews.
The Complete Tales of Edgar. A. Poe
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe My rating: 5 of 5 stars Edgar Allan Poe. What else to say, classic, brilliant, controversial and mentally disturbed. View all my reviews.
Emotional Design
Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman My rating: 3 of 5 stars I found it an engaging, thought provoking book, looking at the concept of design from different views. Not agreeing with everything Norman said - especially about the need to replace human drivers with robots - but that is the best about it, you can argue with the book. View all my reviews.