Knjige koje sam pročitao tijekom 2017. godine

2015. godine objavio sam isti ovakav blog post s popisom pročitanih knjiga te godine, 2016. godine blog post je ostao neobjavljen, a ove godine sam odlučio ne čekati kraj godine nego već sada objaviti blog i dodavati knjige redom kako koju pročitam.

Na taj se način i vi možete uključiti s mišljenjima i komentarima, a nadam se i preporukama zanimljivih knjiga koje biste htjeli da pročitam.

1.) How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie [4/5]

Vrlo zanimljiva knjiga za koju sam čuo prije nekoliko godina i dosta dugo imao otpor pročitati jer mi se prema naslovu činila glupom. Sada mi je ipak drago što sam ovoj knjizi dao priliku.

Savjeti koje autor daje, kroz vrlo zanimljive i poučne priče, čine se već poznatim i lako primjenjivima, a opet većina nas ih kroz život u velikom broju slučajeva zaboravlja ili ignorira. Naravno, ne treba sve savjete iz knjige slijepo pratiti. Ono najvažnije što iz ove knjige možete uzeti je naučiti kako prepoznati i kako se zaustaviti na vrijeme prije nego krenete u misiju promjene nečijeg mišljenja o nekoj temi ili o vama. Svatko može misliti što hoće, bilo to o nekoj temi ili o vama i nema smisla ulagati energiju u pokušaj da se to mišljenje promjeni pa taman da imate sve činjenice ovoga svijeta jer ipak svatko želi biti u pravu. Znači, ako ništa drugo, ova će vam knjiga ubaciti u podsvijest da promijeniti možete jedino sebe i svoj pogled na svijet i ljude.

Ova će vam knjiga definitivno promijeniti percepciju međuljudskih odnosa, a vjerujem da ćete dosta naučiti i o samima sebi te o greškama koje ste do sada radili.

#1 You can’t win an argument. You can’t because if you lose it, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it. Why? Well, suppose you triumph over the other man and shoot his argument full of holes and prove that he is non compos mentis. Then what? You will feel fine. But what about him? You have made him feel inferior. You have hurt his pride. He will resent your triumph.

#2 If you tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I’ll tell you what you are. That determines your character.

#3 If you argue and rankle and contradict, you may achieve a victory sometimes; but it will be an empty victory because you will never get your opponent’s good will.

#4 A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.

#5 When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.

2.) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – Jean-Dominique Bauby [2/5]

Ovo je knjiga običnog čovjeka, zaključanog u svoje tijelo, ali netaknutog intelekta. Govori o svakodnevnim situacijama i svojim promišljanjima bez uljepšavanja. Svjestan je stanja u kojemu se nalazi i pokušava iz toga izvući najbolje. Može se vidjeti koliko je unatoč vlastitoj patnji zabrinut za svoju djecu i koliko ih voli.

Pitao sam se kako se osjeća osoba zarobljena na takav način, bez mogućnosti kretanja i što je još gore bez mogućnosti govora. Onda se zapitaš kome je gore, osobi koja tako “živi” ili osobi koja to svakodnevno gleda i ne može nikako pomoći.

#1 You read off the alphabet (ESA version, not ABC) until, with a blink of my eye, I stop you at the letter to be noted. The maneuver is repeated for the letters that follow, so that fairly soon you have a whole word, and then fragments of more or less intelligible sentences.

#2 Some visitors probably stand for a moment outside my room so that they can greet me with firmer voices and drier eyes. When they finally come in, they are gasping for air like divers whose oxygen has failed them. … Vincent knocks and enters soundlessly. I have become so inured to the look on people’s faces that I scarcely notice the transient gleam of fear. Or in any case, it no longer shakes me quite so much. I try to compose features atrophied by paralysis into what I hope is a welcoming smile.

3.) The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master – Andrew Hunt, Dave Thomas [2/5]

Od ove sam knjige očekivao potpuno nešto drugo i to je jedan od razloga ovakve ocjene. Dosta je “teška” za čitanje. Iako u svojim primjerima govori kroz C programske jezike neki od koncepata mogu se primijeniti i na ostale jezike ukljućujući i razvoj za web.

Može se smatrati dijelom opće programerske kulture.

#1 It’s not just what you’ve got, but also how you package it. Having the best ideas, the finest code, or the most pragmatic thinking is ultimately sterile unless you can communicate with other people. A good idea is an orphan wihout effective communication.

#2 Provide Options, Don’t Make Lame Excuses. Before you approach anyone to tell them why something can’t be done, is late, or is broken, stop and listen to yourself.

#3 Don’t leave “broken windows” (bad designs, wrong decisions, or poor code) unrepaired. Fix each one as soon as it is discovered.

#4 People find it easier to join an ongoing success. Show them a glimpse of the future and you’ll get them to rally around.

#5 Surprisingly, many users would rather use software with some rough edges today than wait a year for the multimedia version.

#6 It’s Both What You Say and the Way You Say It.

#7 DRY – Don’t Repeat Yourself. If you change one, you have to remember to change the others. It isn’t a question of whether you’ll remember it’s a question of when you’ll forget.

#8 Once you decide to use this vendor’s database, or that architectural pattern, or a certain deployment model you are committed to a course of action that cannot be undone,
except at great expense.

#9 First rule of debugging – dont panic!

#10 Use a Project Glossary. It’s very hard to succeed on a project where the users and developers refer to the same thing by different names or, even worse, refer to different things by the same name.

4.) Žedni krvi, gladni izdaje – Petar Janjić Tromblon [4/5]

Ovo je knjiga o borbi za Vukovar koja još uvijek traje pisana na subjektivan način od čovjeka koji je iz prve ruke svjedočio svemu onome dobrom i lošem što rat donosi. Borba za Vukovar zapravo označava borbu običnog čovjeka koji je ni kriv ni dužan pogođen ratom, ne samo na ovim područjima nego općenito. Knjiga prikazuje besmisao rata.

Ova je knjiga još jedan dokaz činjenice da svaka revolucija jede svoju djecu.

Iz sljedećih citata prikazanih kronološkim redom pojavljivanja u knjizi može se vidjeti razlika u svijesti i načinu razmišljanja prije, tijekom i nakon rata.

#1 Ali, sve ih je krasilo uvjerenje u jedno, da Hrvatska mora biti samostalna država, država bez patrona nad glavom te da naša kasa mora biti u Zagrebu.

#2 A gospoda iz Zagreba neka samo glasno pričaju o herojima iz Dunavskog grada i neka nam podignu lijepi i veliki spomenik kojim će moći oprati njihovu savjest i krivicu. Ja idem na svoje borbeno mjesto i dalje glumiti heroja i budalu pa koliko trajem, trajem.

#3 Jedan od najsretnijih dana u našim životima bio je upravo u logoru. To je bio datum priznanja Hrvatske države od međunarodnih organizacija i država. … Sam sam sebi rekao: sada nas mogu i poubijati, mi smo svoj životni cilj kao i svrhu postojanja ispunili. … Dobro je bilo osjetiti da sve što smo učinili za obranu i stvaranje Hrvatske nije bilo uzaludno i da je taj konačni cilj i rezultat tako brzo došao.

#4 Svi branitelji koji su izvršili suicid učinili su taj korak i iz razloga što su postali otpad za državu koju su stvorili. Više nisu bili dobri niti za policiju, niti za HV, a na svoje radno mjesto se nisu mogli vratiti iz razno-raznih razloga. Svoj status nisu uspjeli riješiti niti se država za njega pobrinula. Većina se nalazila u stanju stambene nezbrinutosti i nije mogla osnovati obitelj.

#5 Tko želi ponovno ratovati i ginuti kada ne može više biti siguran da ga se neće izdati ili osuditi? Tko će više pametan ponovno ponuditi svoj život, a nakon toga biti primoran živjeti u egzilu, osuđen na skrivanje i bijeg, te ostati bez slobode i časti.

#6 Danas imamo još jedan veliki fenomen koji se u nama pojavljuje u vidu osjećaja i saznanja da Hrvatska nije ona Hrvatska za koju smo mi ginuli. Da je to sada neka druga zemlja, tuđa zemlja u kojoj se moramo početi bojati za vlastiti život i svoju budućnost. Taj osjećaj i ta spoznaja gori su i od najgore istine koja nas već sada tjera na tihu predaju.

5.) Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual – John Z. Sonmez [5/5]

Iako je knjiga, po mojem mišljenju, pri kraju otišla malo previše u širinu to ne umanjuje njezinu vrijednost jer ovo je jedna od onih knjiga koju bi svatko trebao pročitati. Knjiga nudi po nešto za svakoga i može vas zainteresirati za neka područja o kojima do sada možda niste niti razmišljali.

Knjiga se sastoji od 7 glavnih poglavlja (karijera, samopromocija, učenje, produktivnost, financije, fitnes i duhovnost) tj. od 71 manje cjeline tako da si tempo čitanja možete prilagoditi kako god želite jer uvijek, ako ništa drugo, možete pronaći nekoliko minuta vremena za pročitati jednu od tih manjih cjelina i na taj način svaki dan naučiti nešto novo.

Čak se spominje tajna produktivnost pod nazivom “Don’t break the chain” koju koristi i Jerry Seinfeld, a koju sam i ja koristio u nekim dosadašnjim aktivnostima.

#1 It isn’t easy to get up on stage and talk to a crowd of people. It isn’t easy to write blog posts for the whole internet to see and cmment on. … You have to learn how to not be afraid to look like an idiot.

#2 The truth of the matter is that thing change. Over time the things that made you uncomfortable become second nature. You have to give it enough time and be willing to go through that awkwardness unitl it stops being awkward.

#3 But how do you get to that point when your hands are shaking uncontrollably and you can’t even hold the mic? Simple. You don’t even care. You don’t care that you might be up there looking dumb. You don’t care that someone might read your blog post and think that you’re completely wrong and stupid. You don’t care that someone might laugh at you…

#4 If you want to succeed, you have to learn how to swallow your pride and get out there and not be afraid to make a fool of yourself. Every single famous actor, musician, professional sports player, and public speaker at one time wasn’t very god at what they do and had to make a conscious choice to get out there anyway and to do their best.

#5 Be prepared for criticism, but don’t be afraid of it. It may turn out that some people don’t like what you have to say or don’t agree with you? So what? It’s the internet,…

#6 The true secret to productivity: small things done repeatedly over s long time period. … A routine is one of the most powerful ways to shape your life, become more productive, and achieve your golas. What you do every day adds up over time in every area of your life.

#7 In life, and especially in your software development career, you have to learn how to sit down and do the work you don’t want to do – and do it consistently – if you really want to see results.

#8 Fear is probably the biggest reason that we refuse to take action when we know we should.

6.) Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way – Richard Branson [5/5]

Ovu sam knjigu kupio davne 2011. godine i kada sam nakon prethodne knjige tražio što sljedeće čitati pogled mi je zastao na polici s knjigama pa reko idem se podsjetiti zašto mi se ova knjiga toliko svidjela.

Uglavnom, opet sam se podsjetio zašto mi je ovo jedna od najboljih knjiga ove vrste koju sam pročitao do sada. Volim čitati priče ljudi koji su uspjeli ostvariti svoj san. I tek kada se pogleda unazad može se vidjeti da tu nema nekih velikih planova niti se može igrati na sigurno nego jednostavno vjeruješ u nešto i guraš prema tome. Neke prilike propadnu, druge se otvore i nekako guraš. Za nekoliko desetaka godina kada pogledaš iza sebe možeš vidjeti da si nešto napravio. Također imaš priliku ostaviti i nekakvu knjigu iza sebe kako bi potaknuo i neke nove snage da krenu u ostvarenje svojih snova. Iako, usudio bi se reći, oni koji rade na svojim snovima ne čitaju knjige nego su na telefonu ili nekom digitalnom mediju i trude se gurati svoju, poslovnu, priču.

#1 As I watched the money pouring into the bank, I began to think of other ways to use it. Altrough I was closely involved in signing bands, I felt that I know as much as I wanted to about negotiating record contracts. I needed another challenge. I had the opportunity to use our cash to set up more Virgin companies and widen the basis of the Group so that all our eggs would not be in one basket if we were hit by another recession. … It was only three years since Virgin had almost gone bust… From having had very little money with which to play over the last three years, I now had cash mounting up in the bank and I wanted to reinvest it as fast as possible.

#2 My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable, challenges and trying to rise above them.

#3 Fun is at the core of the way I like to do business and it has been key to everything I’ve done from the outset.

#4 Even thought I’m often asked to define my ‘business philosophy’, I generally won’t do so, because I don’t believe it can be taught as if it were a recipe. There aren’t ingredients and techniques that will guarantee success.

#5 … to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running; and, if you have a good team around you and more than your fair share of luck, you might make something happen.

7.) Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert T. Kiyosaki [4/5]

Ovo je jedna od onih knjiga koja će vam promijeniti način na koji gledate prema novcu. Iako ima dijelova koji su čisti način autora da vam se proda ipak ne treba zanemariti glavnu poruku knjige koja glasi – ili vi radite za novac ili novac radi za vas.

Ako je prva stvar na koju pomislite kada npr. dobijete značajnu povišicu, nasljedstvo ili u igrima na sreću da uzmete novi auto ili veću kuću onda je ovo knjiga za vas jer će vam ako ništa drugo dati nekoliko ideja kako uložiti novac.

#1 It’s not how much money you make. It’s how much money you keep.

#2 If you are going to build the Empire State Building, the first thing you need to do is dig a deep hole and pour a strong foundation. If you are going to build a home in the suburbs, all you need to do is pour a six-inch slab of concrete. Most people, in their drive to get rich, are trying to build an Empire State Building on a six-inch slab.

#3 When downsizing became the “in” thing to do, millions of workers found out their largest so-called asset, their home, was eating them alive. Their “asset” was costing them money every month. Their car, another “asset,” was eating them alive. The golf clubs in the garage that cost $1,000 were not worth $1,000 anymore. Without job security, they had nothing to fall back on. What they thought were assets could not help them survive in a time of financial crisis.

#4 Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. But have fun. Most people never win because they’re more afraid of losing. That is why I found school so silly. In school we learn that mistakes are bad, and we are punished for making them. Yet if you look at the way humans are designed to learn, we learn by making mistakes. We learn to walk by falling down. If we never fell down, we would never walk. The same is true for learning to ride a bike. I still have scars on my knees, but today I can ride a bike without thinking. The same is true for getting rich. Unfortunately, the main reason most people are not rich is because they are terrified of losing. Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.

#5 There is always risk, so learn to manage risk instead of avoiding it.

#6 The world is filled with talented poor people. All too often, they’re poor or struggle financially or earn less than they are capable of, not because of what they know, but because of what they do not know. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger. Maybe McDonald’s does not make the best hamburger, but they are the best at selling and delivering a basic average burger.

8.) Tricks of the Mind – Derren Brown [3/5]

Ako ste pratili Derrena Browna na Youtubeu ova će vam knjiga dati uvid u njegov način razmišljanja i rada. Neke od tehnika koje koristi u emisijama detaljno su objašnjene u ovoj knjizi na način da ih i sami, ako uložite nešto vremena u vježbanje, možete isprobavati.

Ova knjiga na jednostavan način pokazuje koliko zapravo malo znamo o načinu na koji funkcionira naš um i propitkuje neke stvari i vjerovanja koja su opće prihvaćena.

Siguran sam da neće svima “sjesti” njegovo mišljenje o skepticizmu i religiji u drugom dijelu knjige, ali zato je tu prvi dio knjige koji govori o metodama za poboljšanje memorije tj. bolje pamćenje (The Linking System, The Loci System, The Peg System) za koje vjerujem da svakome mogu biti od koristi.

#1 The point is, what you ‘mean’ to be is not what you ‘are’. What you ‘mean’ to communicate about yourself is not the point, it is actually ‘what’ you communicate that is the important fact.

#2 In social life we are defined by our actions, not by out motives; our thoughts or intentions mean very little unless they lead to action. It’s how we behave, or even sometimes how much we make the effort to be nice, that makes the difference. Handwriting analyses and personality readings fall apart at this first hurdle when they make bold statements about peronalities.

#3 Personalities fluctuate. Where we are extrovert in one situation, we will be introvert in another. You may know a person as s reliable type, but you never experience her when you’re not around, when she may be quite different.

#4 Naturally and blamelessly we attribute far more importance to events that happen in our own lives, which we can feel and represent to ourselves vividly, than those which happen to other people. Don’t we in most conversations follow another person’s story just waiting to come back with one of our own when they’ve finished?

9.) Repped: 30 Days to a Better Online Reputation – Andy Beal [2/5]

Ako znate barem nešto o online reputaciji ili ste pročitali neke od mojih blog postova na tu temu slobodno možete preskočiti ovu knjigu. Osobno, nisam naučio ništa novo, ali za nekoga tko se prvi put susreće s online reputacijom ova knjiga može dati lagani uvod u to područje.

#1 Your online reputation is allways changing, sometimes growing, sometimes shrinking. Merely posting a couple of items and calling it a job well done is naive at best, and risky at worst.

#2 In the absence of anything positive that you have published, Google will fill the void with search results that could quickly damage you online reputation.

10.) The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide – John Z. Sonmez [4/5]

Vrlo zanimljiva knjiga, ako ste developer. Dajem joj ocjenu 4/5 jer dosta sadržaja mi je već poznato iz njegove prethodne knjige Soft Skills: The Software Developer’s Life Manual, a čini mi se da je ova knjiga samo opširnija verzija iste.

#1 …but what’s important isn’t so much what road you take but rather that you pick a road and stick to it…

#2 Programming today is more about knowing how to use libraries and frameworks than being an absolute expert in the language.

#3 One thing traditional education does better than anything else is give you structure.

#4 If you try to learn on your own , you have to decide what and when to learn , and how much time each day to dedicate to learning.

#5 That is how life works in the real world . No one is going to “ teach ” you anything . It’s going to be up to you to learn , so it’s better for you to get used to it now.

#6 As a software developer , I can guarantee you one thing for sure : you are going to spend a great deal of time debugging code.

#7 The truth of the matter is that you’ll spend much more time over the course of your software development career maintaining code than you will writing new code.

#8 You need to realize that no matter who you are , someone is going to have some prejudice against you for some reason that is out of your control.

#9 Your life isn’t going to change if you don’t take steps to change or improve it.

#10 One of the best ways to advance your career as a software developer , bar none , is through side projects.

11.) Lets Get It On – John McCarthy [5/5]

Iako godinama pratim MMA scenu nisam znao da je John ugradio dio sebe u temelje MMA sporta i UFC organizacije. Osmislio je termin za moderni MMA, aktivno branio MMA i UFC u vrijeme dok su u većini država bili zabranjeni, sudjelovao je u organizaciji događaja i procesu izrade najboljih borilačkih rukavica, aktivno sudjelovao pri sastavljanju MMA pravila, bio sudac na borbama, uputio braću Fertitta i Danu Whitea, inače školske prijatelje, u činjenicu da Bob Meyrowitz, tadašnji vlasnik UFC-a, planira prodati organizaciju i još puno toga.

Ovu knjigu definitivno mogu preporučiti svim ljubiteljima borilačkih sportova.

#1 When you’re young, everything is about what you have. When you get older and realize what’s important, everything is about what you do and how you do it.

#2 What makes life great is the experiences you have. Usually they involve other people, and the memories can never be taken away.

#3 Killing time back at the hotel, UFC announcer Jeff Blatnick and I sat around discussing the name “No Holds Barred.” We thought it had a negative and misleading connotation, so we started brainstorming a new name for the sport. I’d used the term “mixed martial arts” on that LAPD permit form I’d filled out to work at UFC 2, so I threw that name into the hat. I was told later that the same term had been used in Japan for the sport, but this is the way we came up with it here in the United States.

#4 One morning I woke up, looked in the mirror, and saw my dad. It’s not that this was a bad thing. I love my dad and all he stood for and accomplished. The LAPD and SWAT had been so important to him, and he was always there for it. But I realized I wasn’t him and didn’t want to be. I knew that in the end, the LAPD wouldn’t give a damn about me. It was how I raised my children that would define me. My kids were already getting older, and I felt like I was missing out on so much. I didn’t want to struggle to make it to occasions like Ron’s preschool graduation. It got to the point that I simply wouldn’t do it anymore.

12.) Four Thousand Days – Duane Jackson [3/5]

Ako ste ikada pratili serijal ‘Locked Up Abroad‘ onda će vam se ova knjiga činiti kao déjà vu.

Ova knjiga je još jedan dokaz kako se život zbog jedne glupe odluke može iz temelja promijeniti. Autor knjige je završio u zatvoru zbog ishitrene odluke u mladosti no međutim, kako i sam navodi, da nije bio u zatvoru vjerojatno se sve ono što mu se kasnije dogodilo ne bi uopće dogodilo, a to bi tek bila tragedija jer je na taj način osigurao život i sebi i svojoj obitelji do kraja života radeći ono što voli.

Članci spomenuti u knjizi koje sam uspio pronaći:
– The Future of Boxed Software
– Billionaire Gates praises ex-jailbird

#1 I’d learnt a lot of lessons whilst in prison. I realised I was there as a result of my own actions. It sounds obvious but I don’t think a lot of people realise that they’re responsible for their own lives. I still see so many people I grew up with being blown about in the wind – ending up wherever their unplanned lives take them. I read somewhere that “if you don’t have your own plan, you’ll end up being a part of someone else’s – and guess what they’ve got planned for you? Not much!” That resonated with me. I was determined to formulate my own plans and not bounce around at the mercy of the system, whether it was prison, welfare or society. … I don’t mean to say that I now had a detailed plan for the rest of my life . But I did feel I had chosen a direction – to run my own business , be independent and provide ( legally ! ) for my new family – and with that in mind I could take steps towards it . I knew that no one was going to do it for me and if I didn’t succeed then I would not be able to blame any external factors.

#2 In a little over ten years – almost exactly 4,000 days – I’d gone from being released from prison, with a baby on the way, no chance of getting a job and very little prospects to a position where I had millions of pounds in the bank and could provide a secure future for my family.

#3 The secret is that there is no secret. There was no overnight success or magic button to press . It was a case of being determined , working hard and not allowing yourself to be at the mercy of fate or other peoples will.