Sixteen years, six Kindles, and countless books and stories later, my love for e-reading remains unwavering. From the original black and white to the latest color display, each iteration has been a portal to a different world.
In a world saturated with digital distractions, itโs important to have dedicated e-reader instead of an all-purpose tablet. No notifications, no emails, no social media scrolling but just the pure joy of reading. The convenience of a portable library, coupled with the focused experience, is irreplaceable.
It’s remarkable how much more I absorb when I’m not constantly pulled in different directions. If you’re seeking to reclaim your focus and rediscover the pleasure of uninterrupted reading, consider the simple magic of an e-reader. It’s a small investment for a significant return in peace of mind.
In 2024, information overload was a constant companion. AI tools could now summarize anything from websites to audiobooks, but it lacked the depth and nuance of truly engaging with a story. Still, finding a good reason for long-from reading felt like a big challenge nowadays.
Yet, I carved out precious moments for some reading escapes. Here are a few of my favorite books from this year:
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฒ: ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ป of AI by Fei-Fei Li (Kindle link: https://amzn.to/3PcxNVI) explores the exciting intersection of AI and human understanding.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐๐ป: ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ by Chris Dixon (Kindle Link: https://amzn.to/3VZHrPj) dives into the future of the internet, shaped by Web3 technologies.
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ: ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ฒ๐ by Nick Bostrom (Kindle link: https://amzn.to/3BKBTBq) examines the potential risks and rewards of superintelligent AI.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐จ๐ป๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐ง๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป by Adrian Niculescu (Kindle Link: https://amzn.to/3ZYd9O2) explores the world of tokenized assets and blockchain investing.
Reading in the age of AI comes with its own set of challenges, so here are some tips to help you squeeze in reading time:
๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐-๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ: I carry my Kindle Colorsoft (my 6th Kindle! – https://amzn.to/4gVnNvT) with me everywhere. Unlike tablets, e-readers minimize distractions from emails, notifications, and social media.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐: Even short bursts of dedicated reading can make a big difference. Utilize commutes, waiting times, or short breaks for focused reading. In my case, I also enjoy a dedicated reading session after lunch.
๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐: Designate a quiet, comfortable space in your home and office to signal to your brain that it’s time to focus on reading.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Discuss books with friends, join a book club, or connect with online reading communities to enrich your reading experience.
Ultimately, reading remains a source of deep satisfaction and intellectual growth. It allows us to escape the noise, explore new ideas, and connect with the power of human imagination.
What were your reading highlights of 2024? ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐!
In 2023, the world of information consumption was dominated by short-form content. We’re constantly bombarded with bite-sized pieces of information from websites news, short / long videos, blog posts, social media, slide decks, even industrial research reports and PDFs. Podcasts have also become a popular way for me to consume information while jogging.
This constant influx of quick hits has undoubtedly impacted my reading habit, making it a slower year for in-depth, long-form reading, particularly of ebooks.
Anyway, here are the books (in purchasing order) of 2023:
Instead of believing in the marketing hype of generative AI, it’s important to understand what AI is, what AI can do, and what likely we will see by year 2041. Mr. Kai-Fu Lee’s AI 2041 is really a good read with all sorts of different AI use case scenarios. Highly recommended.
It’s also a dream came true to have Mr. Kai-Fu Lee’s “digital” signature with my Kindle Scribe in an AI event !
I told myself earlier this year I needed to read more SciFi, Blockchain and AI books. However, it’s a year with a lot less time to read …
It’s also year with a new Kindle – the big brother Kindle Scribe. Look forward to have better reading and note-jotting experiences with this great new device.
Exhalation: Stories – Nine excellent SciFi short stories, from Time machine, to Robot, Metaverse, Video Artificial Memory and Quantum Machine. Some of the best SciFi short stories I ever read.
Children of the new world – If you are fans of SciFi short stories and Black Mirror, and if you love the movie “After Yang”, don’t miss this book. Not as good as Exhalation and Stories of Your Life though.
Stories of Your Life and Others – Another eight short SciFi stories from Ted Chiang (Exhalation, above) and great read. Note that some of the stories are Science Fictions, some are Fictions about Science.
