The P2P Reading List (2023 October)
Read the best books first, otherwise you will find you do not have time.—Henry David Thoreau
Smart Brevity by Jim Vandehei, Mike Allen, Roy Schwartz
By seasoned authors in the communication business, Smart Brevity is a tribute to Strunk & White's famous "Cut needless words" advice. Though written with busy CEOs and politicians in mind, everyone can benefit.
If you ever felt lost figuring out what a paper claims and getting lost in long theorems, this book is for you. If you keep it optional to go deeper (since you need to be rigorous), your readers will thank you. This is why I love papers that include an intuitive explanation of the claims (potentially with a figure) and/or an informal theorem statement besides the detailed version. If I get the gist, I am in a better position to decide whether I want to go deeper.
Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish
You should think about how you can improve your thinking. Shane Parrish distils the wisdom of the very best (think no less than Charlie Munger and Daniel Kahneman) to set you up for clear thinking and eliminate cognitive biases, which starts when you set yourself up to be in the right position.
Being in the right position is more than giving your best: it means designing the circumstances to elevate your best.
Please also check out his website, Farnam Street (why the name? find the answer in the book) and his podcast, The Knowledge Project.
Towards a Global Core Value System in Doctoral Education
Even if changing the doctoral education system is beyond our reach, studies about its shortcomings and best practices can help avoid blind spots. This book does exactly that, its strength being that it compiles examples from all over the world. It is dense; you should treat it as a buffet, picking up the interesting pieces.
How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens
Well, this book was a flop for me; I skimmed in hope of some gems, but there were not many. The idea of Zettelkasten note-taking (i.e., a systematic way of taking notes) is a case in point: the promise is that if you capture atoms of facts/ideas on notes, then link them together as in a social network, then great ideas/connections will emerge.
Unfortunately, the few good points are too diluted. Reading an online tutorial (and asking a friend who takes notes like this) is probably more helpful.
Ernest Hemingway on Writing by Larry W. Phillips
Even though I have no aspirations in writing fiction, Hemingway's writing advice is very insightful for any writer, ranging from the practical to the psychological. Hemingway is outspoken about other writers, both dead and alive—I took this to my heart as a useful practice to grow. You should critically investigate "the greats" in your field; that is how you uncover their secrets.
If you are interested in all the books that piqued my interest, you can also visit my Goodreads profile.