Christopher Manning

Blink

I quite enjoyed reading this book. I learned a lot from this book and it provides great anecdotes for the significance of first impressions.

I was particularly captivated by the relationship researcher (John Gottman) who could accurately predict the longevity of a couple's relationship after less than a minute of observation.

Since reading it, I would just about listen to Malcolm Gladwell read the phone book. For a more interesting subject matter, watch his TED talk on the origin of chunky spaghetti sauce. Also, he has this great talk about the importance of genius.

Chrono Trigger Songbook

Chrono Trigger was a legendary video game for the SNES. My mom bought me this game after asking the cashier what the best game was. Anyone who has played this game can attest to how moving the story and game play were. The impression that it left was punctuated by its unforgettable soundtrack.

This is a transcription of those songs to piano. These transcriptions are all spot on and the chord notation is quite welcomed.

Web Design Index By Content .03

I found this book by accident and I am really glad I did. The web design examples in this book are really spectacular. Many of which can be considered more of a work of art than a website. The only part that disenchanted me a bit was the realization that so many of the sites were written entirely in flash. I still consider that to be a faux pas as far as the web is concerned.

Code Craft

I think I bought this book because of how much I liked the cover. Though, it turned out to be a very interesting read. This book really touches on a wide array of topics from abstract coding practices to managing software projects. The entire book has that g33k charm to it with quite a few clever graphics and insights. I particularly liked the dissection of the types of programmers out there.

Design Patterns

I wanted a paper bound collection of design patterns for my reference shelf. I find the GoF book to be too academic to be a good reference. This book provides relevant and easily digestible examples and diagrams of key design patterns.

Freakonomics

Our Dumb World

Sex and the City - Kiss and Tell

I have probably seen more episodes of this series than its typical demographic. This is a great behind-the-scenes look at the production that went into all of the shows. If you had any sort of affection for this series, you have to at least flip through this at a book store. It is filled with a lot of commentary from the cast as well as metrics regarding the shows production and storyline.

Sienlanguage

The stand up comedy of Jerry Sienfeld was the first that actually made me laugh uncontrollably. Surprising since most of his material wasn't geared towards the trials and tribulations of an eight year old boy. This book is a great behind the scenes to his most well known stories. I still think he is one of the most consistently funny comedians out there. If you don't believe that, you have to see his acceptance speech for an American Comedian award. Though, he may be tied with Chris Rock for that title.

The Abacus

I bought this book on an impulse mainly because it came with a wooden abacus. By the way, you will never be cooler than you will be when you whip out your abacus to determine the exact tip.

Think & Grow Rich

This is Your Brain on Music