Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential by Dr. Carol S. Dweck

At first glance, Carol Dweck seems to have a rather simplistic view of humans. According to her, people have one of two mindsets that she identified in her studies. Some people have what she calls the fixed mindset. These people think in terms of talent - either you "have it" or you don't. The other side is what she calls the growth mindset. These people think that (almost) everything can be learned - talent merely serves as a starting point. Fortunately, things are not as clearly separated as this may sound and the rest of the book then goes on to explore the boundaries between the two mindsets in more depth.

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau

Not quite sure what to make of this book. It does tell the tales of quite a few businesses that all started small, i.e. as a (more or less) $100 startup. These stories are interesting to read, but don't really help you, since many of those businesses are accidental. Later parts of the book try to analyze how to come up with ideas for promising micro-businesses. It also discusses that, eventually, you will have to make the decision between further growth and staying small. Those options, again, are supported by examples.

The book keeps a somewhat neutral point. Which, I guess, is what is irritating me about it. The summary of the book in 5 sentences would look something like this:

Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt

In case you haven't noticed, I like lists. Well, it's hard not to notice since almost all of the 60 (short) chapters in this book follow the same structure: A few paragraphs of text that introduce the topic, followed by a list of tips on how to approach it.

Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies: Understanding Patterns of Project Behavior by Tom Demarco, Peter Hruschka, Tim Lister, Suzanne Robertson, James Robertson, Steve McMenamin

This book looks like light reading initially, but it's not. Sure, the patterns are mostly anti-patterns and some are fun to read, especially when you experienced them yourself. But there's another level here - you should take these patterns seriously. They are, after all, based on real-life experiences of the authors.

The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption by Clay A. Johnson

Somewhat disappointing with regards to the actual idea of going on an information diet. I learned a lot about actual diets (and food and the food business), since he's constantly referring to them. There's a brief chapter on how to go on an information diet yourself before he goes off on another tangent again.