Reading books was never, and shall never be a favorite activity. But reading is a must, there is no doubt about it. I have placed myself in challenge mode back in 2012, and ended up reading 27 books. This year I placed myself in the same mood to just scan and read. Here are some of the books I read, and my take on each.

How the American empire uses its power to make its billionaires from around the world wealthier

Business and self-help books offer a lot of subjective opinions and blinded perspectives, yet they are the easiest to read and scan through. In this article, I quoted three of these popular books.

This book is written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Daniel Golden about the underworld of espionage in the least expected place: academia.

This book is about the rise and dramatic fall of Theranos. About the idols of Silicon Valley.

The book is a collection of short autobiographies of tens of ex-Soviets, before and after the fall of the USSR.

Pieter is a English guy, who went into the business of drug trafficking between Europe and South America, and eventually been caught and placed in a prison in Ecuador.

In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence

Backing up files and items by following a system flexible enough to be expanded, and simple enough to be recognized is a life skill. Flattening categories, labeling freely, and removing space are some ways to eliminate clutter.