Misbehaving, Permission to Feel, Blue Ocean Strategy, Oh, Great! I Discovered How to Cultivate a Farmer in 52 Easy Steps, The Wandering Inn, The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound 2, Lord Foul’s Bane, The White Tower

Voytek Pituła

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VP of Books

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3 min read

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Nov 16, 2023

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Non-fiction:

• Misbehaving (3+/4) — A more scientific version of “The Psychology of Money” (3/4, BBRA#4). More technical and with more references to actual studies. For a significant portion of the book, I had trouble believing the author because… the classical economic models that he describes are absolutely hilarious from a psychological standpoint. I wasn’t aware that behavioral economics is so young. At the very end of the book, I realized it was written by the author of “Nudge,” which I really like.
• Permission to Feel (3/4) — Finally, a decent book about emotional intelligence. The book introduces and teaches RULER, a set of 5 emotional skills: recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating. It’s the first book I’ve read that gives practical advice on how to improve such skills and is based on actual research.
• Blue Ocean Strategy (3/4) — Does it make sense to read a book for executives without being one? Yes, kind of. The premise and perspective are interesting, and the book became a bestseller not without reason. It might be a good source of inspiration for anyone building a product.

Fiction:

• Oh, Great! I Discovered How to Cultivate a Farmer in 52 Easy Steps (3+/4) — A LitRPG about building an enterprise. Once the main character learns to exploit the system and be a farmer without farming (3/4, BBR#12), he begins to construct something more significant. The book is a blend of politics, resource management, planning, and execution of business strategy, disguised as a fantasy book. Not extremely valuable but refreshing and enjoyable to read.
• The Wandering Inn (4/4) — So much different from everything else in the genre. This is one of the best progressive fantasy books I have read. The world is not very complicated, the plot is not very convoluted, the action is not prevalent, and the progression is not very visible. Yet, it makes up for it with characters and the problems they face. Turns out people have feelings, they menstruate, and they don’t have a solution to every problem. Turns out you can actually write a fantasy book that’s at least close to being realistic from a psychological point of view. For me, it’s an excellent example of how LitRPG should be written — LitRPG in the background, characters, or the plot in the foreground.
• The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound 2 (2+/4) — I gave the series a second chance, but it didn’t stick. After the first book (3-/4, BBR#14), I hoped it would improve over time, but that was not the case. The book is simply too generic.
• Lord Foul’s Bane (-) — One of the rare books that I haven’t finished. I had been trying to finish it for more than half a year, and I failed. I can’t say that the book is bad, and I don’t rate books I haven’t read in full. But this one wasn’t for me.
• The White Tower (2+/4) — Another book without much substance. The writing is fine, the plot is somewhat interesting, and the characters are decent. However, it falls short. I added this one to my wishlist a few months ago after finishing Street Rats of Aramoor (3-/4, BBR#6), and my sentiments remain unchanged. The only difference is that my expectations have increased, and I won’t be pursuing the next book in the series.

Stats:

• Books read this year: ~133(+7)
• Books on the shelf: 14 (+0)
• Books on the wishlist: 186 (-1)