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Read any good books lately?
10

Read any good books lately?

Read any good books lately?

(OP)
smile

I like to read self-help type books that are related to my career.  I'm trying to find a good book that will help motivate me at work.  I'm happy at my job but I just feel like I need a good 'pick-me up' because I've gotten kind of lazy and frustrated lately.  Any of the career books I've found are about changing careers or finding a good job but that's not really what I'm looking for.

Can anyone recommend a good book that will help me re-ignite my enthusiasm about my job?

smile

RE: Read any good books lately?

I just read, and can't say enough good about the book, The Millionaire Next Door. It may not be "career" in the way you are thinking, but it's quite an eye-opener! Trust me, read it... it's worth the $12.00 investment.

Wes C.
------------------------------
Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

RE: Read any good books lately?

I am reading Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" It is great so far and VERY applicable to work.

Ed

www.engineerboards.com

RE: Read any good books lately?

Read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. If you've already read it, read it again. I've read it at least 5 times in the last 10 years, always during rough times.

The friend who gave it to me wrote a message in the front cover, part of which will never leave me: "...when all I could see was darkness around me, this book was my only light..."

Sure it has nothing to do with work, but it resets my overall outlook on life, and I stop taking things so seriously, which is usually the problem in the first place.

RE: Read any good books lately?

I have found "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged", both by Ayn Rand, to be major motivators.  Rand's writing changed my outlook on life.

Cheers,
CanuckMiner

RE: Read any good books lately?

I'm reading The Inferno by Dante Alighieri right now.... Hows that for motivation!

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

RE: Read any good books lately?

Atlas Shrugged, definitely.  Almost depressingly prophetic, however.

I like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance--great questions of philosophy with a challenging question of purpose and significance of living.  In my friend's copy of the book I found the following inscription:

Quote:

Not in college for a diploma.  Not in college for grades.  Not in college for an education.  In college to learn to think.  In college to understand what you believe and why you believe it.  If you achieve that, you will not need the college for an education.  You will be able to educate yourself for the rest of your life!  Role of Common Sense in Education.

What Should I Do With My Life, Po Bronson.

Orthodoxy, Chesterton (not what I expected)

Shantaram, Roberts (fun fiction)

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
Reason trumps all.  And awe trumps reason.

RE: Read any good books lately?

I'm working on the A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.  I just finished up The Coldifre Trilogy by C. S. Freidman.  Both are ecellent choices but the Martin series is not yet finished so it will be a while before you can read the entire story.  With a break in between the Martin books, I'm reading one called Dhampir by Hendee.

Are there any Brooks fans or Dragonlance fans out there?

RE: Read any good books lately?

(OP)

Quote:


I'm working on the A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.  I just finished up The Coldifre Trilogy by C. S. Freidman.  Both are ecellent choices but the Martin series is not yet finished so it will be a while before you can read the entire story.  With a break in between the Martin books, I'm reading one called Dhampir by Hendee.

I'm kind of looking for inspirational self-help type books.  I'm not sure these quite fit the bill but thanks anyways.

Quote:


Are there any Brooks fans or Dragonlance fans out there?

I used to be a pretty big dragonlance fan back in the day.  I just recently re-read "Dragons of Autumn Twilight" for old times sake.  I was planning on reading the whole "Chronicles" trilogy over again but ran out of steam after the first one.  I really loved the "Legends" trilogy with Caramon and Raistlin.  I might try to read them again someday soon.  I never really got too thrilled with any of the other dragonlance books beyond those 2 trilogies though.  I bought lots of other ones but they never really were even in the same ballpark if you ask me.

RE: Read any good books lately?

I see now that I jumped the gun about the topic of your thread. Sorry for that, I wasn't trying to take it on a tangent.

A new job would probably work to re-ignite your enthusiasm.  You've posted quite a bit about job problems and such.  If it's that bad that you need to talk about it constantly or read self-help books, does that tell you anything about your job?  I mean this with all due respect and do not intend any negativity to come through the post.

I notice you have only one post in the technical fora.  Posting in the technical fora here at Eng-Tips and helping others by answering questions or providing your own insight will probably help your feelings in general and may even help you other ways with your job or feelings toward it.

RE: Read any good books lately?

2
I've mentioned it elsewhere in eng-tips, but "The Skeptical Environmentalist" really make you think and forces you to get off the fence one way or another.  This month's read is "Critical Mass" by Philip Ball.  Another thinker of a book.

RE: Read any good books lately?

I would like to keep this thread alive.
I read the first two books off the top since reading this thread and enjoyed both of them.
Millionaire next door
and
Dale Carnegie's book.

Most of the rest are philosphy book that I'm not too interested in.
Anyone else with any to recommend?

RE: Read any good books lately?

I just bought Max Lucado's "How to Cure the Common Life" or something like that.

The theme is to find a job that matches God's plan for you. I am hoping that it will help me to figure out what I really want to do.

I'll try to let you know how it goes.

Ed

www.engineerboards.com

RE: Read any good books lately?

...does the book offer guidelines on how exactly to go about that, or are you to evaluate your every career decision retrospectively and draw your own conclusions?

RE: Read any good books lately?

I haven't read it yet, but today I saw an article about it in a magazine and then I went and bought it at lunch.

There appear to be guidelines that try to get you to determine your God-given strengths, likes dislikes, etc...

The book focuses on helping you find your "sweet spot".

I am looking forward to it. I have not really been overly excited in my career thus far. I hope this helps me to find some direction.

Ed

www.engineerboards.com

RE: Read any good books lately?

I'd like to read "Is it just me or is everything shit?".  And it's my birthday soon, so hopefully my Mum will buy it for me.  Not many book shops stock it.

RE: Read any good books lately?

Three books I read recently that prompted good introspection were

1. Who moved my cheese
2. The Secret
3. The Alchemist

Fortunately all are like children story books but with a strong statement.

RE: Read any good books lately?

The seven habits of highly effective people.
Steven Covey.

Success!

RE: Read any good books lately?

Update:
The book I mentioned is called "Cure for the Common Life" by Max Lucado. I orginally messed up the title a bit. I am a few pages into it and it looks good so far. I'll try to update you guys.

Ed

www.engineerboards.com

RE: Read any good books lately?

Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

RE: Read any good books lately?

I just remembered the significance of IceNine after reading your post re Vonnegut :)

RE: Read any good books lately?

I am reading "The Great Bridge" by David McCullough. It is the story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
I have developed a greater appreciation for the tools and technology that we take for granted as engineers.  The story has also showed me that the nature of engineers, contractors and politicians have not changed in over 100 years.(and probably never will)   

RE: Read any good books lately?

I recommend "Blind man's Bluff".  One of the authors names is Sontag, but I can't remember the other one.  It is about the US Navy's submarine espionage during the cold war, but some of the technological stuff they did is utterly amazing.

rmw

RE: Read any good books lately?

Of all the books mentioned above, I have read Carnegie's and I have read Covey's.

I highly recommend Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People".  It really motivated me when I first read it. I just wished I would have paid more attention to  "sharpening the saw".

=====================================
Eng-tips forums: The best place on the web for engineering discussions.

RE: Read any good books lately?

3
In The Bible ...

the book of Proverbs, ch 3 verse 5 and 6 says "Trust in The LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

This is not just as simple as dropping everything you are doing, looking up to the sky, asking God to tell you what to do next, and then pull up a chair and wait for an audible answer.  That is not reasonable.

I cannot begin to consider the thought of being able to explain a fraction of what there is to know about God and The Bible within five minutes.  It takes effort and dedication.

It takes a willing heart to start right where you are,  (God accepts EVERYone) right where you are, in your current occupation, in your current life situation, to understand that we are nothing without God and we must depend fully on Him alone.  It takes time and a willing heart to seek God's will for your life and be obedient to Him.  All the answers you will ever need can be found in The Bible.  (I speak to any who care to be reasonable)

HVACctrl, you're on the right track.  "God's plan for you."  To "Trust in The LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" is a hard thought and very unpopular in this individualistic society.  But, who should you trust?  Man who typically wants to serve their own aggenda or The God of this universe who is the only one who can offer you everlasting life?

"Trust in The LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

RE: Read any good books lately?

Hmm, and I thought Eng-tips was against advertising?

RE: Read any good books lately?

StompingGuy,
This whole thread is an advertisment.
The OP asked for a recommendation as to what "book might help re-ignite his enthusiasm about my job".
Are you suggesting "red flagging" the OP?

RE: Read any good books lately?

I'm glad LMatthew chimed in. Its a good book- considered The Good Book by some, yet often overlooked. Mentioning it and/or trying to influence others to read it COULD come across as pushy or whatever term might be chosen, but I don't think that was the intent. It was a good response to the OP and seems right on topic and on target to me.

Ed

www.engineerboards.com

RE: Read any good books lately?

I agree with HVACctrl,

All I see is truth in LMatthew's reply.  He gave an appropriate recommendation to the original request.  In addition, he elaborated just enough to offer concurrence and further insight upon HVACctrl's second reply.

I would'nt change a thing of what LMatthew wrote.  

RE: Read any good books lately?

I would have thought the bible would count more as a help others book than a self help book.

Do unto others.....

I wonder what the teaching of Antoinne Lefay (not sure I spelt that right) would go down?  I suspect from what little I know they'd emphasize self help!

Oh great Flying Spaghetti Monster..

On topic don't know about specifice books, used to work in Aerospace/Defense and anything about military A/C or military technology generally did the trick.  You could always try watching the History Channel or Discovery, Engineering Disasters anyonesmile

RE: Read any good books lately?

"Flight" by Chris Kraft.
"Failure is not an option" Gene Kranz

RE: Read any good books lately?

some of my favorites :
The Alchemist
Veronika Decides to Die
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
---All by Paulo Coelho

and I always review my notes on quotations.

RE: Read any good books lately?

The two that I'm presently consuming are:

1) Edly's Music Theory for Practical People

It's a great resource for the musically illiterate like me. I'm currently studying guitar and I was just having a tough time with glossing over the "whys" so I decided to learn a bit more about theory.

2) Bioprocess Engineering: Systems, Facilities, Equipment

I've been trying to break into the biotech field for awhile. I can't afford to go to school so I'm trying to do some self-study and see if I can break in.

--------------------
How much do YOU owe?
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
--------------------

RE: Read any good books lately?

I just finished two novels by Nelson DeMille whose books I consistently enjoy.

Lion's Game - One of the better opening sequences I've read

Up Country - I've always been interested in Viet Nam and this provided an interesting viewpoint.

I'm also, on and off, reading Six Days of War which I also find riveting. It's also humbling because of the number of words that I don't know. I finally had to start keeping a list to look up.

--------------------
How much do YOU owe?
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
--------------------

RE: Read any good books lately?

I'm nearing the end of my current book: "Critical Mass" by Philip Ball (a good read I thought - I've always liked simulations of crowd behaviour).

Next may be a re-read of "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" (been having QA issues at work).  Or a re-re-read of my all-time favourite: "Money" by Martin Amis.

RE: Read any good books lately?

Might take you a couple of mumfs to get around to that. Great book.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

RE: Read any good books lately?

I'm re-reading "Getting Sued and Other Tales of the Engineering Life" by Meehan, MIT press.

I read this years ago and just pulled it back out of my bookshelf. It deals with the experiences of a Civil Engineer, but some the passages dealing with engineering and the pursuit of the ideal solution relate to all engineering disciplines.

RE: Read any good books lately?

You may read the 'Art of War' by Sun Tzu  'Tactics' by Edward de Bono.

RE: Read any good books lately?

Carl Sagan: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
(http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Haunted-World-Science-Candle-Dark/dp/0345409469)

Richard Dawkins: The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
(http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Watchmaker-Evidence-Evolution-Universe/dp/0393315703)

Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion
(http://www.amazon.com/God-Delusion-Richard-Dawkins/dp/0618680004

-Christine


RE: Read any good books lately?

Quote:

I'd like to read "Is it just me or is everything shit?".  And it's my birthday soon, so hopefully my Mum will buy it for me.  Not many book shops stock it.

Well, it's my birthday today and some kind soul bought me the above book.  It's good...

RE: Read any good books lately?

im reading book 4 of the harry potter series =O

its not work related, it doesnt empower me, but it is a pretty good book...


-nadz

RE: Read any good books lately?

Dale Carnegie, Vonnegut, Ayn Rand, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Max Lucado, Carl Sagan, and the first 2 Potter books are what I have read from the thread so far.  And "SomtingGuy", this is not an advertisement.  Who is control of you if your comment is specific to one set of books but not the others?

I have just read (on CD audio, does that count?)
Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking, 2005.

I thought this of significance as related to the interesting Kyoto thread and the CO2 is "more important than pollution, life and death" thread.
I think engineers would find this interesting.  I also found it important and helped me take some local action.


I am reading at the same time "Grant" and "Lincoln", and the third Gingrich-Forstchen Civil War (war of Northern aggression) book.  It is interesting to same the same events and thoughts in a different light.

Begger,
Thanks for the report on "Edly's Music Theory for Practical People".  I plan to look into that further.

RE: Read any good books lately?

Tom Clancy's "Every Man A Tiger" and "Shadow Warriors".  Interesting stories as far as military biographies go, but I found them more than relevant to an engineer.  Both books delve into the creation of an organization, process, system, or whatever, in a tightly controlled and micro-managed environment.  They're books of leadership, organization, and realities that I found applicable in my daily engineering environment.
I was going through a low period at work, banging my head on some thick steel plates, and tired of the system.  I drew some interesting comparisons and contrasts and drew something to remotivate myself.  Maybe it will work for you...don't know.
Jim  banghead

Jim Sykes, P.Eng, GDTP-S
Profile Services
CAD-Documentation-GD&T-Product Development
www.profileservices.ca

RE: Read any good books lately?

Me started reading The Tao of Physics, by Fritjof Capra..

Giving a new perspective to the way I look at physical problems. Me being from India, makes a lot of sense of what he says :)

and 'Higher Ground', an anthology of real short stories of survivors from the recent tsunami from various regions that were affected.


As for self-help books, a few on my list would be -

1)Jonathan Livingstone Seagull - a gud motivational book
2)Who moved my cheese
3)First Things First - Stephen Covey
4)FISH, The Book.

Cheers,
SriMat

RE: Read any good books lately?

"Two Sides of the Moon" by David Scott and Alexi Leonov.  It takes a look at the development and race to the moon from both the US (Scott's) and (then) USSR's (Leonov's) viewpoints.   An easy read and not very technical but an enjoyable look at a couple of amazing careers.

Regards,

RE: Read any good books lately?

Has anyone else read "The Physics of Immortality" by Tipler?

rmw

RE: Read any good books lately?

I just read 'E=mc2: A history of the world's most famous equation' by David Bodanis.  No math involved but definitely a good read.

RE: Read any good books lately?

Thanks for the “How to Win Friends and Influence People” I’m finding it just as intriguing as “ how not to let people push your buttons”.

Sincerely


RE: Read any good books lately?

"Fooled by randomness"  Nassim Taleb
"The lucifer principle" Howard Bloom
"Cryptonomocon"         Neil Stephenson
"The selfish gene "     Richard Dawkins


RE: Read any good books lately?

"Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell.

RE: Read any good books lately?

The NEW Strategic Selling
The NEW Conceptual Selling
Successful LArge Account Management
5 PAths to Persuasion
Getting to YES
Freakonomics
Get Clients Now!
The Innovator's Dilemma
1776
The World is Flat
Blue Ocean Strategy
Managing the Professional Service Firm
Selling Machine
True Professionalism
Flawless Consulting
Competing on Value
Cracking the Value Code


See more recommendations on my web site.

Rick Beauregard
www.thebeauregardgroupe.com

RE: Read any good books lately?

2
"The God Delusion"  by Richard Dawkins

It's the triumph of reason over superstition.  Not the most well written of his books, which are very clear explanations of evolutionary biology, but certainly the most direct.

More inspirational to me than the bible, and with less gore!

-b

RE: Read any good books lately?

The path between the Seas by David McCollough -  The building of the panama canal 1870 - 1914. The interaction of engineering and politics was interesting

Making of the Atomic Bomb and Dark Sun  both by Richard Rhodes  Some technical details and a lot of insight on a truly large engineering program.

RE: Read any good books lately?

Or..instead of reading too many self-help books, use the money to enrol on a study course on a topic you have never done. The fresh challenge will pick you up, might open a new avenue or at least give you a break.

I used to know a doctor who instead of holidays, he often took a locam for a few weeks in a new job, new place. Used to say it worked a treat.

RE: Read any good books lately?

bvanhiel,
You reviewed "The God Delusion"  by Richard Dawkins.

Did he explain why evolution stoppped?  Or how God used evolution to create us?  Or if there is progression pattern built into our DNA, so that we evolve by a sequential pattern programmed into our DNA?  Did he mention which god owned his mind when he wrote this?  Was there self introspection as to who and what drove him to do this?

RE: Read any good books lately?

"why evolution stoppped" [sic, with all those p's]

Evolution has never  stopped.  Man's short lifetime (probably optimal in length for evolution) means that Joe Blow can't see the big picture.  There is no big plan.  What works takes over.  Theistic engineers, get a life or change jobs.

RE: Read any good books lately?

Visigoth,

You can read the reviews on Amazon.  I'm not going to debate here.  I would suggest you start another thread.

Judging from your questions I would recommend his earlier books that deal explicitly with evolution.  I particularly enjoyed "The Ancestor's Tale".

In keeping with the thread, here's a couple of other books I've enjoyed recently:

Freakonomics - already mentioned, but worth another recommendation.

Over the Edge of the World - The story of Magellen's ill fated circumnavigation.  This is one of the few historical books that really held my interest all the way through.  I had always wondered how they navigated to tiny islands in the middle of the unknown ocean.  Now I know: they kidnapped local fishermen and forced them to help.

-b







-b

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