Reading

Mostly nonfiction—systems, product thinking, and how people build things. Fiction is making a quiet comeback.

Currently reading

Image placeholder
/images/reading/designing-data-intensive-applications.jpg
Designing Data-Intensive Applications
Martin Kleppmann
A clear map of the tradeoffs behind storage, replication, and distributed systems. Useful whenever I’m deciding what correctness should mean for a pipeline or product.

Recently finished

Image placeholder
/images/reading/the-staff-engineers-path.jpg
The Staff Engineer’s Path
Tanya Reilly
★★★★★
A practical take on influence without authority—how to make technical work land through writing, clarity, and scope judgment rather than title.
Image placeholder
/images/reading/hackers-and-painters.jpg
Hackers & Painters
Paul Graham
★★★★☆
Uneven as a book, sharp as a set of essays on taste, making things, and why builders care about craft. Reminds me to protect time for deep work.

Recommendations

Image placeholder
/images/reading/thinking-in-systems.jpg
Thinking in Systems
Donella Meadows
★★★★★
A compact vocabulary for feedback loops, leverage points, and unintended consequences. Changes how I look at products and infrastructure alike.
Image placeholder
/images/reading/the-mythical-man-month.jpg
The Mythical Man-Month
Frederick P. Brooks Jr.
★★★★★
Still the best warning about communication overhead and conceptual integrity. Useful whenever a project starts inviting “just one more person.”