recently read books

10 Jan 2019 - mrtn

the every computer performance book by Bob Wescott

i’ve revisited that one due to work-requirements and i needed to refresh my knowledge on that topic a bit.

i consider this one of the best (because technology-agnostic) books about performance engineering i’ve read so far. bob does an amazing job of conveying the core knowledge that helps developers in their quest for performant applications.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

this one was a pretty surprising hit for me. Cal describes how he and other accomplished people manage to handle their work and advance their knowledge - without missing out on family or social life. for me, the simple things like quitting social media, scheduling your days and actually clocking out when the work is done seem to work pretty well. in addition to that, the book was easy to read, had a straight narration and didn’t take any detours. all in all: thumbs up - read this if you want to improve your life-work balance.

Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet

this has been some kind of a disappointment. neither because of the narration nor because of anything i disagree with - it’s just that the whole concept of leader-leader (instead of leader-follower) approach to leadership is totally obvious to someone who works and believes in the agile methodologies. it actually annoys me, if someone doesn’t think about what they are doing and just wait to get orders. or the other way round. only ordering what to do instead of focussing on how to achieve the best possible result. if this seems weird to you, go and read that book. if the navy can profit from that approach, i’m sure your organization can as well.

Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland

Jeff Sutherland, co-creator of scrum, tells some stories of ridiculous improvements in team performances that he witnessed and supports these stories with the underlying concepts in scrum. nice read, interesting stories and a great opportunity to re-visit the concept and theory behind one of the most successful agile methodologies.