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01
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari ✓
Completed · Jan 2023A parable that hit me before I even knew what I was searching for. Sharma's Julian Mantle walks away from a life of excess to find something quieter and more lasting. It made me question very early on: what am I actually optimising for?
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02
Think Like a Monk ✓
Completed · Jun 2023Where Sharma gives you the parable, Shetty gives you the practice. The chapter on purpose — finding your dharma — is something I reread every few months. A grounding book for an overactive mind.
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03
Atomic Habits ✓
Completed · Dec 2023The most practically useful book on this list. I restructured my entire morning routine around the 1% improvement idea. Not philosophy — engineering applied to behaviour. Every physicist should read this.
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04
The Alchemist ✓
Completed · Mar 2024"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." That line lives on my homepage. The Alchemist is a short book with a long echo — every re-read finds me at a different point on Santiago's journey.
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05
Inner Engineering ✓
Completed · Aug 2024Sadhguru presents yogic science not as religion but as technology — a system for understanding the human mechanism from the inside. It challenged my materialist assumptions as a physics student in the best possible way.
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06
Ikigai ✓
Completed · Jan 2025A slim, beautiful book about the Japanese concept of a reason for being. The Venn diagram of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for is something I keep on my wall.
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07
Started · Apr 2025The Untethered Soul ...
Singer asks: who is the one watching your thoughts? That single question restructured how I relate to anxiety and self-doubt in the lab and outside it. One of the most quietly radical books I have encountered.
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08
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior ...
Started · May 2025A semi-autobiographical novel about a gymnast who meets a gas station attendant called Socrates. It sounds odd. It is extraordinary. The idea that the warrior's path is not about fighting but about presence stayed with me for a long time.
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09
The Design of Everyday Things ...
Started · May 2025This book ruined zippers, light switches, and door handles for me. Not in a bad way. Norman showed me that bad design is everywhere, but more importantly that good design is intentional. It's the invisible architecture of how things work (or don't). A must-read for anyone who builds anything.