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soroushtorkian's reviews
133 reviews
Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
5.0
Great book. Author is easy to listen to. Some tips from the book:
1. Make sure your business model has two numbers.
2. Don't pursue business just for your own gain.
3. Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business.
4. Offer direct sales of products to customers.
5. Care about your customers more than about yourself.
6. Set up a system that won't let mistakes go unnoticed.
7. Empower your employees and let them make decisions on their own.
8. Trust but verify those you delegate to.
9. Don't promise customers something you can't fully control.
10. Make sure your business is a dream come true for yourself, too.
1. Make sure your business model has two numbers.
2. Don't pursue business just for your own gain.
3. Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business.
4. Offer direct sales of products to customers.
5. Care about your customers more than about yourself.
6. Set up a system that won't let mistakes go unnoticed.
7. Empower your employees and let them make decisions on their own.
8. Trust but verify those you delegate to.
9. Don't promise customers something you can't fully control.
10. Make sure your business is a dream come true for yourself, too.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
3.0
For in-depth book notes and reviews, click here
⛰ What It's About
About two characters Arthur Dent the human and Ford Prefect the alien who find out that Earth was built by an advanced civilization to act as a supercomputer find life’s meaning. Also, the galaxy already has more advanced civilizations than Earth but for some reason, the more advanced civilization decides to build some galactic highway that requires Earth to be destroyed rather than going around it.
⛰ What It's About
About two characters Arthur Dent the human and Ford Prefect the alien who find out that Earth was built by an advanced civilization to act as a supercomputer find life’s meaning. Also, the galaxy already has more advanced civilizations than Earth but for some reason, the more advanced civilization decides to build some galactic highway that requires Earth to be destroyed rather than going around it.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
1.0
Hey Mark Manson, I love you platonically, but I have to show you some tough love because I am hoping your next book shows that you have a more mature personality. So with further ado, here goes my review:
You think just throwing the word “fuck” around left and right will make you be accepted by the “cool kids”? Are you just saying that word to emphasize you don’t care about certain things? Is the F word a whole schtick to get the book sold in the market better?
I think it’s nice that you talked about Buddha, but I would have connected with YOU better if you had a life story about yourself. Heck, you could have lied about it and made it convincing. I just think that Buddha part made you come off a bit pretentious.
Reading this book made me feel like that being in a situation where I’m at a bar, and a drunk guy comes up to talk to me and give life advice. The advice may or may not be good, but I smell a weird alcoholic stench for every piece of coarse language used. There are much better books out there if you’re looking for self-help or pick me ups. This book should not be taken seriously as a “self-help” book in my opinion.
You think just throwing the word “fuck” around left and right will make you be accepted by the “cool kids”? Are you just saying that word to emphasize you don’t care about certain things? Is the F word a whole schtick to get the book sold in the market better?
I think it’s nice that you talked about Buddha, but I would have connected with YOU better if you had a life story about yourself. Heck, you could have lied about it and made it convincing. I just think that Buddha part made you come off a bit pretentious.
Reading this book made me feel like that being in a situation where I’m at a bar, and a drunk guy comes up to talk to me and give life advice. The advice may or may not be good, but I smell a weird alcoholic stench for every piece of coarse language used. There are much better books out there if you’re looking for self-help or pick me ups. This book should not be taken seriously as a “self-help” book in my opinion.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Great listen on audiobook. I discovered a few new things about subatomic particles that I didn't know before. Also celestial bodies with the densest masses tend to be the most "perfect" spheres, which NDT neatly tied in with the bible as to why that is:
Other than thew few technical terminology here and there, most of the book was digestible for those who haven't studied astrophysics or science in general.
Stay connected:
4.0
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you. -NDT
Great listen on audiobook. I discovered a few new things about subatomic particles that I didn't know before. Also celestial bodies with the densest masses tend to be the most "perfect" spheres, which NDT neatly tied in with the bible as to why that is:
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain” (Isaiah 40:4).
Other than thew few technical terminology here and there, most of the book was digestible for those who haven't studied astrophysics or science in general.
Stay connected:
Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky
4.0
The book encourages intentionality behind forming tasks with 87 strategies to power your day right to get them in order. It encourages to experiment through them through the scientific method.
The practice of "Daily Highlights" is mentioned where you pick one task that's more important than anything else not just for its urgency but because of how important it is to you in the long run, as if with the mindset of "if I don't get to other tasks, this is the one I need to at least finish for today".
I personally don't like stimulants because they make me feel jittery or give me headaches, so the section on Caffeine just didn't vibe with me. However, the book said not to ingest too much sugary foods like cake, but snack on fruits, almonds, and other "non-processed foods" which is very much how I currently energize myself.
Finally, the book doesn't say do this or do that, but encourages YOU to find out what works for you in a scientific manner through the daily reflection section and gives you 87 time-making tools to try out for your experimentation.
The practice of "Daily Highlights" is mentioned where you pick one task that's more important than anything else not just for its urgency but because of how important it is to you in the long run, as if with the mindset of "if I don't get to other tasks, this is the one I need to at least finish for today".
I personally don't like stimulants because they make me feel jittery or give me headaches, so the section on Caffeine just didn't vibe with me. However, the book said not to ingest too much sugary foods like cake, but snack on fruits, almonds, and other "non-processed foods" which is very much how I currently energize myself.
Finally, the book doesn't say do this or do that, but encourages YOU to find out what works for you in a scientific manner through the daily reflection section and gives you 87 time-making tools to try out for your experimentation.
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
Since the Lord Ruler is described as having lived for centuries, yet being a young handsome man; his Achilles heel was given away at that very moment. Surprised Vin and Sazed caught onto that way after I did.
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This was my first fantasy novel as I've been dabbling in genres outside of my comfort zone.
At first, I DNF'd it for 2 years because of my ignorance mainly due to the literary words and that it was hard for me to follow along with the allomantic terminology and titles. Kind of like watching Game of Thrones but not remembering all the characters. On top of that, I'm not that imaginative even when playing games like DnD, so while the world-building was great, I don't know why I couldn't "push the world it into my head".
Then I realized I enjoy listening to stories with audiobooks and that I enjoy them even more if it's dramatized. So the solution was that I ended up listening to the Graphic Audio (GA) version. It fixed all of my problems. Some may argue that the GA version is not as good as the non-abridged version, but I think both versions were good as I read the book side-by-side and saw trivial "jump cuts" in the readings. Mostly just the adverbials of how characters said stuff. If you don't think the Harry Potter meme "Dumbledore said calmly" vs screen adaptation being "Dumbledore said furiously" is a big deal, then give GA a shot.
---
This was my first fantasy novel as I've been dabbling in genres outside of my comfort zone.
At first, I DNF'd it for 2 years because of my ignorance mainly due to the literary words and that it was hard for me to follow along with the allomantic terminology and titles. Kind of like watching Game of Thrones but not remembering all the characters. On top of that, I'm not that imaginative even when playing games like DnD, so while the world-building was great, I don't know why I couldn't "push the world it into my head".
Then I realized I enjoy listening to stories with audiobooks and that I enjoy them even more if it's dramatized. So the solution was that I ended up listening to the Graphic Audio (GA) version. It fixed all of my problems. Some may argue that the GA version is not as good as the non-abridged version, but I think both versions were good as I read the book side-by-side and saw trivial "jump cuts" in the readings. Mostly just the adverbials of how characters said stuff. If you don't think the Harry Potter meme "Dumbledore said calmly" vs screen adaptation being "Dumbledore said furiously" is a big deal, then give GA a shot.
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
2.0
"Start with Why" calls on readers to rethink their approach to leadership, decision-making, and business strategies by focusing on the fundamental question of "why." It emphasizes the long-term benefits of understanding and communicating your purpose, brand loyalty, and the potential pitfalls of short-term, manipulative tactics (like fine-print stuff, or false scarcity tactics) in business.
Unfortunately, after the first 3 chapters, it just ended up being repetitive especially with examples of Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Harley Davidson as the "start with why" exemplars while while likening Microsoft, and other companies known more for WHAT they make and how that leads them to a pitfall because the new ventures they go into is incongruent with what their customers view their brand as.
Unfortunately, after the first 3 chapters, it just ended up being repetitive especially with examples of Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Harley Davidson as the "start with why" exemplars while while likening Microsoft, and other companies known more for WHAT they make and how that leads them to a pitfall because the new ventures they go into is incongruent with what their customers view their brand as.