Bookshelf — Azamat M.

The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman

Ак-Орда. История Казахского ханства by Радик Темиргалиев

Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard by Mark Minervini

Шолпанның күнәсі (short story) by Мағжан Жұмабаев

The Devil Within by Sabahattin Ali

The Qur'an translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport The book that could be a list, a blog post, at most. Like any other Cal Newport's book. Useful and important information, nevertheless.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick Turns out, I re-read this book. But only realized it when I got to the ending and recognized the feeling of being confused by it.

Upgrade: A Methamorphosis of Prime Intellect (short story) by Roger Williams

Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali Could this be roughly classified as a 'Turkish Remarque'? I would say so.

Ethics by Benedict Spinoza Brilliant. What a fascinating fellow, Spinoza!

Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy Possibly the only 'self-help' book one would ever need to read.

Who Will Cry When you Die? by Robin Sharma

The Saint, the Surfer, and the CEO by Robin Sharma

Мужчины и Ислам by Шамиль Аляутдинов

The Player of Games (Culture #2) by Iain Banks

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely I don't completely buy this behavioral economics based on author's experiments on psychology students. But it's an amusing read nonetheless.

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

Ulpan is Her Name by Gabit Musrepov An ode to strong, smart women. Beyond the author's strange fascination with the Russian culture, one of the best books I have read.

Tracking the Gods: The Place of Myth in Modern Life by James Hollis

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams A collection of career, health, relationships pieces of advice from a cartoonist. Sounds sketchy (pun intended)? Well, it's actually legit. Possibly the book of the year for me.

Under Saturn's Shadow by James Hollis A must-read for men. Especially those brought up in patriarchical societies. So, like, all of them?

Eden Project: In Search of the Magical Other by James Hollis

Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl G. Jung My gateway drug into Jungian analysis, which, from my completely unqualified point of view, is the best branch of psychology.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco Imagine if Sherlock Holmes was a Franciscan friar and Dr. Watson was his helper monk, with Eco using them to nerd out about Christianity. You get this book.

The Idiot by F. M. Dostoyevskiy Dostoyevskiy is obviously one of the greatest. 'The Idiot' is depressing, gloomy, seemingly hopeless. But great nonetheless.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Finally overcame my pride and prejudice and enjoyed one of the wittiest books I've ever read.

Skin in the Game by Nassim N. Taleb The continuation of my obsession with NNT. A broker with a skin in the game doesn't recommend stocks, but shows his own portfolio. An architect stands on top of his own building during a seismic test. A politician sends his own son to a war he helped to wage. All of this is "skin in the game".

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman Should've been called Stories about Thor and Loki. Actually, I forgot how much I enjoyed reading myths.

The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati I am certain that this book will help anyone to self-reflect: about the transience of time and life, about the danger of false expectations and hopes, about fatality of the sunk cost fallacy.

Mashenka by Vladimir Nabokov Nabokov's first novel. Characters here are manifestations of the good 'ol saying: wherever you go, you take yourself with you.

My Autobiography by Charlie Chaplin It was a real eye-opener about the life of one of the greatest comics in history. Enjoyed it a lot.

Antifragile by Nassim N. Taleb My favorite book this year. 'The barbell strategy', 'via negativa', 'ergodicity' and many other concepts to live by.

The Black Swan by Nassim N. Taleb

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut A masterfully written book about time, love, war, from the perspective of one strange Billy Pilgrim. So it goes.

Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson This is basically a continuation of Manson's ideas in Models and The Subtle Art, with bits and pieces from Kaneman, Taleb and others. Manson likes to oversimplify, which I guess is the appeal about "self-help" literature. On the other hand, maybe people indeed need to uncomplicate stuff. I chuckled at Newton's Three Laws of Emotion and Einstein's Pain Relativity Theory. Recommended!

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank We shouldn't be reading someone else's diary.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway "Re-read" by listening to it during a 10k race. Started the run with a bad knee and ran through pain. Disclaimer: don't ever do it. But Santiago's thoughts and strength of his spirit gave me mental fortitude to get to the finish. Now, taking a pill of ibuprofen, I wonder if the old man was just stubborn and stupid? I know I was.

Solving the Procrastination Puzzle by Timothy A. Pychyl (0) Not all delay is procrastination. All procrastination is delay. (1) Predecision is key. Know your personality traits, what can hurt you? How will you respond to an unexpected situation that will potentially promote procrastination. (2) Motivation follows intention. (3) Just START it.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris This thing has the highest joke per sentence ratio I've ever seen in a book. I especially enjoyed the "expat in France" stories.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer I enjoyed the non-linear storyline. Every new life story helps to bring the picture together. Not a must-read, but there are many pleasant, funny, touching and sad moments in this book. So, recommended.

The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin He was a universal man, a polymath. Inventor, politician, musician, diplomat etc. – they don't make them like this anymore. An absolute must-read.

Influence by Robert B. Cialdini Decided to read this book after Chalie Munger sweared that there was nothing written better about psychology of persuasion, and that he presented it to everyone in his family. Well, nothing mind-blowing. But of course it's useful to be aware of many things covered in the book in order to not be taken advantage of.

The Gadfly by Ethel Voynich

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami Classic Murakami here. Loved it.

The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Models by Mark Manson

Animal Farm by George Orwell

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami It's a meta-pleasure to listen to Murakami's half-life autobiography while running.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy We think too little about death. Probably the saddest part is that we remember about death only when it's too late.

Short Stories by Leo Tolstoy

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher Funny and sad to the point of being too funny and a little bit sad. Every sentence in this book seems to be sarcastic. Every. Single. Sentence.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman Great stories from the life of a perfectly imperfect genius. One of my friends decided to become a physict after reading this book.

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston

12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson

Essays and Aphorisms by Arthur Schopenhauer

С ума сойти! by Дарья Варламова

On Writing by Stephen King

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen

Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen

Moral letters to Lucilius by Seneca

The Littel Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter by Meg Jay Great book that I wish I had read earlier. But perhaps some things we appreciate fully only retrospection.

How to Live on 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett So simple. Like all great things. But simple doesn't mean easy. That's the catch.

Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami

Snow by Orhan Pamuk

Трудно быть богом by Аркадий и Борис Стругаций

Понедельник начинается в субботу by Аркадий и Борис Стругаций

The Ocean At The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline A treasure for nerds. So captivating too.

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert A. Glover

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse One of all time favorites. Read this early, and re-read often.

Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, #2) by Jim Butcher I thought this was a step up from the first book. Language, character development, and plot are much better in Fool Moon. However, I still don't get what kind of character Dresden is. His own description of himself sounds self deprecating, but he acts as a true badass. Entertaining read, will give the next one a try.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman To be reviewed. For now, holy shit!

Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1) by Jim Butcher It's been a long time since I couldn't go to sleep because of a book. Storm Front is just such a book. The story line gets progressively exciting, and the protagonist is very likable. The language is a bit too simple for my taste. But I enjoy the concept of urban wizardry too much, to not continue with the series.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle I started reading The Last Unicorn looking for the hidden metaphor, what meaning did the author give to the Unicorn? I haven't found the answer yet, but ended up genuinely enjoying the read - Peter S. Beagle is a wordsmith. 5/5 for this beautifully written book.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, #2) by Stieg Larsson

A Confession by Leo Tolstoy An absolute must-read for people who are lost or cannot find their purpose in life. IMO.

What If? by Randall Munroe

Winner Take All (John Rain, #3) by Barry Eisler

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Light-hearted, feel-good book about an OCD person in love. Gets boring towards the end but worth a read.

The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2) by Patrick Rothfuss Pat Rothfuss is one of my favorite wordsmiths and worldbuilders. Patiently waiting for the last book in this trilogy.

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1) by Patrick Rothfuss

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare Fun. Do watch the self-titled movie with Adriano Chelentano.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck I loved this shorty, but hated that someone started chopping onions as I was finishing the book.

Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque

A Clean Kill in Tokyo (John Rain, #1) by Barry Eisler

The Physician by Noah Gordon

A Lonely Resurrection (John Rain, #2) by Barry Eisler I love these 'contract killer' stories, where the character is actually a good guy deep inside. Very deep.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Horns by Joe Hill It turns out Joe Hill is Stephen King's son. I guess good writing is in their DNA.

The Atlantis World (The Origin Mystery, #3) by A.G. Riddle About the whole trilogy: great, great work.

The Atlantis Plague (The Origin Mystery, #2) by A.G. Riddle

The Atlantis Gene (The Origin Mystery, #1) by A.G. Riddle

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Ooph! What an amazing thriller! A story about a bitch and an asshole fitting together well.

The Martian by Andy Weir A science fiction book done right. Excellent!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Stieg Larsson

Географ глобус пропил by Алексей Иванов

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Echo Burning (Jack Reacher, #5) by Lee Child

Running Blind (Jack Reacher, #4) by Lee Child

Tripwire (Jack Reacher, #3) by Lee Child

Die Trying (Jack Reacher, #2) by Lee Child

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, #1) by Lee Child

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Good book for rinsing the lacrimal glands.

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Many of Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin Mysteries (#1–11)

All of John Green

All of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

All of Honoré de Balzac

All of Sergey Dovlatov

(Almost) all of Fazil Iskander

(Almost) all of Nodar Dumbadze

All of Harry Potter series

A lot of Jules Verne

A lot of Isaac Asimov

All (I think) of Alexander Kuprin

A lot from the Russian classics: Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Turgenev etc.

The Red and the Black by Stendhal

Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton

The Necklace and Other Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren I believe I read it more than 16 times. Really wanted to be like Pippi when I was little :)

The Night Watch series by Sergey Lukyanenko

The Cronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Currently reading:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013 and earlier (extremely incomplete, influential)