Reviews

Below I post short reviews of books, games, movies and TV shows that I have consumed.

Return of the Obra Dinn

I really had to push through the first hour. The sheer amount of information I was bombarded with, combined with the unique visual style, makes the beginning quite challenging. As a sort of detective, you go to the ship Obra Dinn and have to figure out what happened to everyone on board. I didn’t have to read much, which I was a bit apprehensive about beforehand, but I mainly had to think logically and pay close attention to the available information. Solving the puzzles gave me a good feeling, and I was secretly a little sad when I eventually had to leave the ship.

Careless People

Sarah Wynn-Williams

If even half of what is written in this book by Sarah Wynn-Williams, who worked for many years at the highest levels of Meta/Facebook, is true, then it is bizarre and disturbing. I fear, however, that it might well all be true. This tech giant isn’t about improving the world. No, it’s all about (big surprise): money. And if the world becomes a worse place as a result, well, that’s just too bad. So it’s high time to banish all of Mark and his cronies’ products from your life. And yes, that means no more WhatsApp either.

Discontent

Beatriz Serrano

A sometimes funny and sometimes relatable book about thirty-year-old Marisa, who struggles with herself and her dead-end job at an advertising agency. For me, it remained too superficial, which made it seem like a long anecdote.

The Wizard of the Kremlin

Giuliano da Empoli

In this fictionalized portrait of Putin’s spin doctor, Vladislav Surkov, you get a behind-the-scenes look at how Putin came to power and how he ensures he stays there. Not only is it immensely interesting to read about Russia over the past thirty years, but it is also beautifully written. I read the book in Dutch; the original is in Italian, so credit goes to Hans van Riemsdijk for this fantastic translation.

Mistborn The Final Empire

Brandon Sanderson

Despite the rave reviews, I found this book mediocre. Perhaps the fantasy genre is no longer for me, even though I grew up with Tolkien and Game of Thrones is one of my favorite book series. In my opinion, this book is written in a way that is too “childish.” It is very clear and too direct, leaving little to the imagination. The world building, on the other hand, is very good, but I had expected a different twist at the end. For me, it was a little too easy because, in the end, the villain was just bad for the sake of being bad.

Baby Steps

A frustrating, confrontational but unique experience. Basically, it’s a simple game. The right trigger controls the right leg and the left trigger controls the left leg. You have to climb a mountain, with all the trials and tribulations that entails. The game is relentless in some respects, which made me want to give up. But every time I tried again, I got a little further.

Cyberpunk 2077

I’m getting the feeling open world games such as these are not for me. The graphics were a bit Uncanny Valley for me. I didn’t enjoy the boss fights and most missions felt more of the same and were not really entertaining.

Pirates in the Navy

Tendayi Viki

A short book on how to bring about innovative changes within large and bureaucratic organizations. This is currently relevant to me as I work within a government organization and am trying to initiate change. Tendayi Viki provides practical tips on how to achieve this, although it remains somewhat abstract. Nevertheless, in this 130-page book, I have marked 55 passages and made 21 notes on things I want to implement immediately. Highly recommended for anyone looking to innovate within a large company.

Your Music and People

Derek Sivers

Sivers, who has been active in the music industry for years, gives tips on how musicians can break through, but his advice is applicable to anyone engaged in creative pursuits seeking a larger audience. Despite being a small book (less than 80 pages), I had to put it down a few times. Not because it was bad, but because Sivers doesn’t beat around the bush. His advice is clear, concise, and focused. That’s why I needed some time each time to process and absorb it. I think I’ve highlighted about 30% of the entire book, so that indicates why it deserves this appreciation.

Attention Span

Gloria Mark

An extensive exposition on what attention is and how to handle it carefully in the digital age. Sometimes the book delves a bit too deeply into the research conducted by Mark, but they all illustrate a clear point: the way we manage our attention needs to change. For example, stop multitasking but do not deprive yourself of moments of rest. These are important to replenish your attention supply. Mark does not provide a list of practical tips. You have to distill these yourself. Despite that, it’s a book that has made me think and has led me to work differently, making me more in sync with my attention span.

The Comfort Crisis

Michael Easter

When a book has positively changed my life in any way, I give it 5 stars. The same goes for Comfort Crisis. I have started looking at my diet differently, taken up rucking (walking with a heavy backpack), leave my phone in my pocket more often, and accept that it’s okay to be uncomfortable at times.

Michael Easter (the author) alternates between the account of his 33-day hunt for a caribou in the wilderness with passages showing that science has proven that being uncomfortable at times can lead to a better life. Although I found the latter passages more engaging, the story of his ‘misogi’ (a challenging task that artificially mimics the life of early humans) was never boring.

Not the End of the World

Hannah Ritchie

Hannah Ritchie tries to detach the pessimism from the climate crisis in this book. Yes, things are bad, but they are slowly improving. And if we do our best, it can be better than ever.

Sometimes it may be a bit simplistic, and the solutions may feel uncomfortable, but it is refreshing to follow Ritchie’s optimistic view instead of being depressed by all the apocalyptic news.

After reading this book, I have been inspired to work on the issue myself (such as driving electric, eating more consciously, and voting with my wallet) and have a more positive outlook on the future.

Range

David Epstein

This book touches me in multiple ways. I have always doubted whether I should have specialized. I can design, but I can also code a little. Therefore, it was reassuring to read that it is actually good to be skilled in multiple disciplines and that this has no negative effect on your career. It is actually the other way around, and the broad knowledge I have gained is an enrichment for my career.

Additionally, it gives me confidence because I can now explore other creative hobbies without any guilt. I don’t have to only make music (since the 10,000-hour theory doesn’t apply), and I haven’t wasted my time by not having drawn for a long time. I can simply pick up these hobbies (again) and benefit from the cross-pollination.

As for the format of the book, it follows a currently common concept of a practical example from which a wise lesson is distilled. At some points, it was a bit tedious, and the examples and lessons seemed somewhat far-fetched.

Nevertheless, I read the book with great pleasure from start to finish.

Walt Disney

Neil Gabler

The most important things I take away from this book:

Walt Disney only drew himself at the beginning. This was soon taken over by other (better) animators.
Disney became especially important for his boundless passion and quality in telling good stories.
He could usually only focus on one project at a time. First, it was short animated films, then feature-length films, and eventually he became completely absorbed in creating an amusement park.
He died at the age of 65 from lung cancer because he had been a chain smoker for most of his life. His last project, designing and building a city, was then put on ice.
Disney himself, by the way, was not put on ice, despite the persistent myth that exists about it.
This is likely because Disney was always a pioneer in technology, especially when it came to animation techniques, color films, and moving puppets/robots.