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The Investment Answer: Learn to Manage Your Money & Protect Your Financial Future – Daniel C. Goldie, Gordon S. Murray
Non-fiction / 2nd April 2021

Introduction The Investment Answer is a recommended book on a blog. It aims to educate the readers about personal investing so that we can protect ourselves and make smart financial decisions. I would like to know what the answer is. Author Daniel C. Goldie is the president of Dan Goldie Financial Services LLC. He is a member of CFA Institute and a Chartered Financial Analyst. He was a professional tennis player before dabbling in investment field. Gordon S. Murray had worked in institutional trading and sales at Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers. He worked as a consultant with Dimensional Fund Advisors after retiring from Wall Street. Contents The Investment Answer has a prologue, an introduction, 8 chapters which are divided into 2 parts, and A Personal Note from the Authors. Part 1 is The Decisions which contains 5 chapters. These chapters are The Do-It-Yourself Decision, The Asset Allocation Decision, The Diversification Decision, The Active versus Passive Decision, and The Rebalancing Decision. Part 2 is Conclusions. The 3 chapters here are Compared to What?, What about Alternatives, and Everyone Can Succeed. Review The main premise of The Investment Answer is 5 informed decisions. These decisions are do-it-yourself,…

Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility – Patty McCord
Non-fiction / 14th January 2021

Introduction Powerful is about the work culture of Netflix. It is not a memoir of building Netflix but a guide to building a high-performance culture, written for team leaders at all levels. I would like to learn a thing or two from this fast-growing company. Author Patty McCord is a human resources (HR) consultant and executive. She spent 14 years at Netflix experimenting with new ways to work. Making the Netflix culture deck become reality for the people who work there. She is frequently in the media with interviews and articles from Harvard Business Review, NPR, Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal. Contents Powerful has an introduction (A New Way of Working: Foster Freedom and Responsibility), 8 chapters, and a conclusion. Chapter One is The Greatest Motivation Is Contributing to Success: Treat People Like Adults. The next chapter is Every Single Employee Should Understand the Business: Communicate Constantly About the Challenge. Chapter Three is Humans Hate Being Lied To and Being Spun: Practice Radical Honesty. Chapter Four is Debate Vigorously: Cultivate Strong Opinions and Argue About Them Only on the Facts. The following chapter is Build the Company Now That You Want to Be Then: Relentlessly Focus on the…

The Alchemy of Finance: Reading the Mind of the Market – George Soros
Non-fiction / 7th January 2021

Introduction The Alchemy of Finance is a book about the theory of reflexivity. This is the author’s own theory about the behaviour of the financial markets. He is using his experiences to develop an approach to the study of historical processes. Since the author is a great trader, I would like to know what he is sharing in this book. Furthermore, this book is recommended in several investment blogs. Author George Soros is an American billionaire investor and philanthropist. He was born in Hungary but fled the country during the Second World War. His first hedge fund was Double Eagle and the next one was Soros Fund Management which was renamed to Quantum Fund. The author is best known as The Man who Broke the Bank of England. He used his fortune to create Open Society Foundations which support freedom of expression, accountable government, and societies that promote justice and equality. The author has donated more than $32 billion of his personal fortune to fund the Open Society Foundations’ work around the world. He is also the founder and primary funder of the Central European University in Budapest, a leading regional center for the study of the social sciences. Contents…

Reflection on 2020
General / 1st January 2021

English Happy new year! In 2020, I finished a total of 67 books, which is around 52% higher than 2019. On average, I read 5.58 books/month. So, I have exceeded my target of 2 books/month again. Out of these books, 28 (around 7% increase from last year) are English books. The ratio of fiction to non-fiction is 5 to 23. It is approaching the ratio of 1 to 4 that I set at the beginning of the year, so I have accomplished my goal. In 2021, as I have begun to write a Chinese novel in the fourth quarter of 2020, I guess I would not have so much time to read now. Furthermore, I have other commitments too. Nonetheless, I will still strive to read and post at least 2 book reviews (1 Chinese and 1 English) every month. Thanks for your support and I hope to see you around often! 中文 新年快乐! 我在二零二零年一共阅读了六十七本书,比二零一九年提升了五十二个百分点。我的目标是月读二书,所以我已经达标了。我的平均阅读速度是每月五点五八本书。 六十七本书里有三十九本是中文书籍,比去年多了将近一倍。在这些书中,文学类对非文学类的比例是差不多一对二。今年设下的目标是多看点小说,所以文学类书籍的数量多了不少。原本是想要把中文书对英文书的必例保持在一对一,不过现在中文书的阅读量接近英文书的一点五倍,有点超标了。 鉴于我在去年年末开始写一部小说(战神传奇),所以今年可能没那么多时间阅读了。不过我还是会尽量每月阅读和上传至少两本书(一本中文和一本英文)的读后感。 谢谢你的支持!愿今年也会继续得到你的支持!

统计学关我什么事:生活中的极简统计学 – 小岛宽之
非文学 / 28th December 2020

介绍 《统计学关我什么事》是一本关于贝叶斯统计的书籍。这本日文书是由罗梦迪翻译成中文的。作者撰写这本书是为了将自己的研究领域介绍给更多人。我是想看看作者所谓的面积图到底能如何简化统计学而阅读这本书的。 作者 小岛宽之是日本帝京大学经济学系副教授以及经济学博士。他著有多部关于统计学的作品。 内容 《统计学关我什么事》一共分为两个部分(二十二篇章节),外加一篇介绍和一章结语(贝叶斯统计——21世纪最振奋人心的科学)。 第一部是快速学习!理解贝叶斯统计学的精髓。这里共有被称为讲的十三篇章节。每一讲里都有几篇分节。 第二部是完全自学!从“概率论”到“正态分布”。这一部一共有八讲。 最后一章是补讲,标题是贝塔分布的积分计算。 由于本书有太多章节,所以我就不在此一一赘述了。每一讲的最后都有简单的练习题。 读后感 贝叶斯统计的基础是概率公式,而贝叶斯公式立足于条件概率的发展事项。作者在书中用面积图来解释贝叶斯公式的不可靠性和便利性,好让对贝叶斯统计学毫无根基的读者也能轻易了解书里的内容。 贝叶斯统计到底有什么优势呢?作者说有两个。其一是在数据少的情况下也可以进行推测,数据越多,推测结果越准确。第二个是对所获得的信息可做出瞬时反应,自动升级推测。 贝叶斯统计学会用到两种概率:先验概率和后验概率。先验概率会根据获得信息后而发生变化,从而形成后验概率。这也就是贝叶斯统计学的特别之处。 作者也在书中讲解了贝叶斯统计学与标准统计学(内曼 – 皮尔逊统计学)的相似以及不同之处。 作为一本入门级书籍,《统计学关我什么事》并没有充分齐全的教材。不过作者却以另类的方式很好地介绍了它的主题。书中的第二部分有不少公式,其中很多我都不能完全理解。不过如果完全没有公式的话,这就不能算是一本统计学书籍了吧? 想要理解贝叶斯统计学可是却不想深入研究?这本书将会是一本很好的选择。 名句 概率性推论并不存在“正确的答案”,至多是“妥当的推论”罢了。 评价 对《统计学关我什么事》有兴趣? 这本书是我在中国亚马逊Kindle书店购买的。如果你知道马来西亚哪里有出售本书的话,请在下方留言告诉大家。谢谢。

北欧神话 – 茅盾
非文学 / 11th December 2020

介绍 《北欧神话》记录了北欧神话人物。我是因为有点兴趣想了解北欧神话才阅读此书的。 作者 茅盾原名沈德鸿,是一名中国现代作家及文学评论家。他曾任中国政协副主席以及中国作家协会主席。他的笔名有郎损、玄珠、方璧、止敬、蒲牢、微明、沈仲方、沈明甫等。 内容 《北欧神话》有一篇例言、二十三章、一个译名对照表和一个参考用书表。 章节依次为一)绪言、二)天地创造的神话、三)众神之王奥丁、四)众神之后弗丽嘉、五)雷神索尔、六)勇敢及战争之神提尔、七)诗歌及音乐之神布拉吉、八)春之女神伊敦恩、九)夏与冬之神、十)光明神及黑暗神、十一)稼穑之神弗雷、十二)森林之神维达、十三)海洋诸神、十四)美与爱之神弗雷雅、十五)真理与正义之神福尔采蒂、十六)命运女神、十七)火与恶之神洛基、十八)神之使者与守望者、十九)女武神瓦尔基里、二十)冥世的神话及死神海拉、二十一)巨人族、二十二)诸神之黄昏及二十三)西古尔德传说。 读后感 《北欧神话》记述了斯堪的纳维亚神话的来源以及神话中的神祗与人物。据作者所说,北欧人可能是亚洲中部移民,所以北欧神话有些地方与中国神话的断片相像。不过由于北欧神话被基督教信仰调和修正,所以已不能正确反映原始北欧人的信仰、习惯和意识形态。 北欧神话是指古代斯堪的纳维亚人的原始信仰及自然观察,也包括英雄传说。北欧神话的来源可能来自挪威的古诗人或是冰岛的古代游吟诗人。《大埃达》和《小埃达》被认为是保存了北欧神话的重要古籍。不过这两部都是身世不明的古籍,而且均出于基督徒之手,所以作者认为北欧神话是中途夭殇的未完熟品。 北欧人的基本思想和世界观是万物,即使是神,也是善恶杂沓的混合。除此之外,北欧神话的神也有死亡的一天。有生必有死是北欧神话中牢不可破的观念。 原本我以为这是一本神话故事书,不过读了以后才发现它是一本北欧神话神祗及人物的百科全书。虽然和我想象的不一样,但这本书也让我对北欧神话有了更进一步的了解。 名句 – 评价 对《北欧神话》有兴趣? 这本书是我在中国亚马逊Kindle书店购买的。如果你知道马来西亚哪里有出售本书的话,请在下方留言告诉大家。谢谢。

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration – Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace
Non-fiction / 9th December 2020

Introduction Creativity, Inc. is about Pixar. The book contains the wisdom of managing a creative company shared by Ed Catmull. This book is about leading by being self-aware. I would like to learn the management lessons that the former president of Pixar is sharing in the book. Authors Ed Catmull is a computer scientist and the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios. He was the president of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He has won 5 Academy Awards. He also has been awarded the Turing Award for his work on three-dimensional computer graphics. Amy Wallace is a journalist and writer. She is currently the editor-at-large at Los Angeles magazine. Contents Creativity, Inc. has an Introduction (Lost and Found), 13 chapters which are organized into 4 parts, and an Afterword (The Steve We Knew). Part I is Getting Started. The 4 chapters here are Animated, Pixar Is Born, A Defining Goal, and Establishing Pixar’s Identity. Part II is Protecting the New and has 5 chapters. They are Honesty and Candor, Fear and Failure, The Hungry Beast and the Ugly Baby, Change and Randomness, and The Hidden. Part III is Building and Sustaining. There are only 2 chapters: Broadening Our View and…

一往无前 – 范海涛
非文学 / 6th December 2020

介绍 《一往无前》是一部关于小米公司成长的传记。它记录了小米自二零一零年创业以来的经历。这本书的核心是记录、总结、复盘和反思小米过去十年的经验。我读这本书是为了了解雷军到底是如何带领小米获得现在的成就。 作者 范海涛是一位传记作家。她曾赴美国哥伦比亚大学修读口述历史专业。除了这本书,她也出版了另三本书。 内容 《一往无前》有一篇由雷军所写的推荐序(凡是过往,皆为序章——小米10年再出发)、一篇前言(小米10年,生而逢时)、十一篇章节和一篇后记(迈向下一个10年)。十一篇章节被分成三个部分。 第一部分是小米的诞生与崛起,一共有五章。这五章分别是雷军的重新出发、为发烧而生、新物种诞生、高歌猛进和生态链起航。 第二部分是在忧患中前行,由三章组成。这些章节是手机登顶和隐忧初现、低谷到来,危机初现以及狂风暴雨中的一年。 第三部分是最年轻的世界500强。这里的三篇章节为逆转而上、一波三折的上市之旅和新时代,新征程。 读后感 《一往无前》是作者以一年的时间采访了百余名小米高管和员工,做了两百个小时的口述历史和采访记录所写出的非虚构书籍。作者记录了小米自创业以来至二零二零年的十年历程。 小米的信条是“感动人心,价格厚道。”它的三大业务是手机、IoT生活消费产品以及互联网服务。这本书讲述了小米作为一间公司地跌宕起伏,而作者总结小米的崛起是人的命运、时代的命运和国家命运相互交织的产物。时机与运气也成就了像小米一样在这个时代崛起的很多企业。不过人力资本也在这个过程中起到了重大的作用,如果小米没有雷军的话,或许它不会达到现在的高度了。作者毫不避讳地说这也是一个关于中国崛起的故事。 书中引用了不少书籍的内容来更好地阐述一些观点。由于这是一本官方授权的传记,所以里面的内容都比较正面。除此之外,作者也赋予了这本书充足的故事性,所以读起来不会沉闷。书中有很多关于创业的知识。虽然《一往无前》的内容是关于科技行业,但我觉得里面的一些知识应该是放诸四海而皆准的。 名句 一切的机遇,向来只是留给有准备的人。 评价 对《一往无前》有兴趣? 这本书是我在中国亚马逊Kindle书店购买的。如果你知道马来西亚哪里有出售本书的话,请在下方留言告诉大家。谢谢。

博弈:所有问题都是一场赛局 – 川西谕
非文学 / 25th November 2020

介绍 《博弈》是一本介绍博弈论(Game Theory)的日文书。这本中文译本的译者是田中景。本书以博弈论涉及的代表性案例教导基础知识及合乎逻辑的思考方法。我是抱着看看什么是博弈论的心态来阅读这本书的。 作者 川西谕是日本经济学家以及上智大学教授。他的主要研究领域为应用经济分析、金融论,现专门从事解析泡沫经济及其破灭的理论研究。 内容 《博弈》由一篇前言、六篇章节和一篇后记组成。 六个章节依次为一)用博弈论掌握“三种能力”(九篇分章)、二)博弈论入门“囚徒困境”(十三篇分章)、三)协调博弈开创“有利市场”(九篇分章)、四)三个博弈清楚厉害关系的多样性(九篇分章)、五)动态博弈拓展“时间的视野”(十四篇分章)以及六)情感+博弈论(十篇分章)。 读后感 《博弈》讨论的博弈论到底是什么?它其实是指分析两个或两个以上局中人的决策、行动的理论。它把在复数(一个以上)主体之间产生利害关系以博弈的形式表达出来。 博弈论有三个要点: 一)把握博弈的结构,也就是问题的全貌(局中人是谁、博弈由什么样的规则支配) 二)预测将要发生的事 三)找到切实的解决对策 博弈一开始要考虑问题呈现的架构,问题受什么规则支配。接着就预测可能发生的事情,然后从中寻找纳什均衡。所谓纳什均衡就是互相根据对方的战略采取最佳行动的状态。不过一个问题里可能存在着不止一个纳什均衡,这是我们必须注意的事项。 解决问题进展不顺代表博弈的困境还没消除。这通常是因为规则缺乏实效性。这时如果能够设定恰到好处的规则来改变博弈的结果就可能获得理想的效果。如果要从根本上解决问题,质疑习惯有时候是很有必要的因为人们都会像奴隶那样被习惯支配,无论是好或坏习惯。 在一次性博弈相互敌对的人很可能陷入困境,不过如果面对重复博弈,他们可能建立合作关系。重复博弈就是重复进行同一博弈。只要构建了长期关系通常就可以维持协调关系。 作者在书中提到了一些让我深有同感的观点。其中之一是人不单只靠理智来行动,所以基于理性假定(假定人类都会理智行动)并不能解释所有现象。就像很多的经济学理论在理论上成立,可是在现实中却无法证实。另外一个就是如果只是盲目从众,即使正确了解博弈结构,也会招致重大损失。作者以买卖股票为例子,我们应该考虑到别人可能也没有先见之明,所以不该盲目从众。 书中提到多种博弈结构,包括囚徒困境、理性的猪、懦夫博弈、便士匹配、霍特林模型、展开型博弈、协调博弈和重复博弈等。有兴趣的话上网也能够查到关于这些博弈结构的资料。 作者说博弈论独特的思考方法重点在于俯瞰式思考、着眼于未来和理解他人。如果遇到困境,或许可以试着改变规则来达到更好的结果。除此之外,博弈论并非是你死我活的“游戏”,我们也可以试着以博弈论来达到双赢的局面。作者以简洁的言语解释了博大精深的博弈论,使读者能够轻易理解。不过要学以致用的话就没那么简单了。 名句 不把握全局,就无法找到解决对策。 人往往都不能采取对自己来说最优的选择。其最主要的原因就在于自己是局中人,因此,视野也会变得狭隘。 成果主义的失败告诉我们“人并非只追求金钱”。 不仅限于金钱方面,其实,与失败本身相比,大家更不愿意被周围的人认为失败。 评价 对《博弈》有兴趣? 这本书是我在中国亚马逊Kindle书店购买的。如果你知道马来西亚哪里有出售本书的话,请在下方留言告诉大家。谢谢。

This Is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope – Shayla Lawson
Non-fiction / 23rd November 2020

Introduction This Is Major is about black activism, I guess. I noticed this book in the Humor category of the Semifinal Round of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards. As I was looking for something light to read, I picked this book. Author Shayla Lawson is an American poet and writer. Other than this book, she also has 3 poetry collections. Contents This Is Major contains an introduction titled American Girls and 16 chapters. The chapters in ascending order are 1) You Are Here, 2) For Colored Girls, 3) I Tried to Be Twitter Famous, 4) Tammy from HR, 5) No, My First Name Ain’t Whoopi, 6) Black Girl Magic, 7) Names for “Black” and What Year It Was, 8) Black Girl Hipster, 9) “Black Lives Matter” Yard Signs Matter, 10) Intraracial Dating, 11) Love Songs for Thots, 12) Cake Is Canceled, 13) Let Her Be Laughter, 14) Diana Ross Is Major, 15) Young, Drifted & Black, and 16) & Just in Case You Forgot Who I Am, I Am. Review This Is Major is an essay collection of the author. The theme revolves around the experience of being a female African American. All the essays can be read as a…