Books

I am always on the lookout for recommendations, send me your number one book recommendation via email (see about page for contact details) please put [book recommendation] in the subject line.

This is a page first and foremost for myself, to track what I have read, what I found good and what I want to read in the future. There is a mix of English and Dutch books, in most cases a translated version is available, use your google-fu to find it😉.

My rating system:

  • Book I am currently reading: 🦉
  • Read books: (how good did I find the book)
    • ⭐⭐⭐: Definitely worth a read, these are my absolute favorites
    • ⭐⭐: Very good, especially if you like the genre or topic
    • ⭐: OK, not a waste of time
    • no star: your choice, was not impressed
  • Books I want to read: 📖 to 📖📖📖 (how excited am I to start reading this book)

Use https://recommendmeabook.com or http://bookseer.com to find books alike to another book you like.

🐉 Fiction

  • Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer - La Superba ⭐⭐⭐ (2020)
  • Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer - Grand Hotel Europa ⭐⭐⭐ (2020)
  • Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer - De Filosofie van de Heuvel ⭐⭐ (08/2023)
  • Ken Follett - The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge 1) ⭐⭐⭐ (2022)
  • Ken Follett - World Without End (Kingsbridge 2) ⭐⭐⭐ (2022)
  • Ken Follett - A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge 3) ⭐⭐⭐ (2021)
  • Ken Follett - The Evening and the Morning (Kingsbridge 4) 📖📖
  • Herman Koch - Geachte Heer M. ⭐⭐ (Q1 2023)
  • Dostojevski - The Brothers Karamazov 📖
  • Herman Koch - Zomerhuis met zwembad ⭐⭐⭐ (12/2022)
  • Herman Koch - Het Diner ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (01/2023)
  • Ken Kesey - One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 📖
  • Ernest Cline - Ready Player One ⭐
  • Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 📖📖
  • J.D. Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye 📖
  • Ilja Leonard Pfeiffer - Brieven uit Genua 🦉
  • Ilja Leonard Pfeiffer - Het grote baggerboek 📖📖
  • William Goldman - The Princess Bride 📖
  • Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Breakfast of Champions 📖
  • H.G. Wells - The Invisible Man 📖
  • Joseph Heller - Catch-22 📖
  • Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities 📖
  • Nancy Farmen - The House of the Scorpion 📖
  • Michel Houellebecq - Sérotonine 📖📖📖

📜 Non-Fiction

  • History:
    • Bart Van Loo - De Bourgondiërs ⭐⭐⭐
    • Bart Van Loo - Napoleon 📖📖
    • Yuval Noah Harari - Sapiens ⭐⭐
    • Charles C. Mann - 1491 📖📖📖
    • Lewis Dartnell - Origins 📖📖
    • Jared Diamond - Zwaarden, paarden en ziektekiemen 📖📖
    • Hendrik Vos - Dit is Europa 📖
    • Vaclav Smil - Energy and Civilization 📖
  • Economics:
    • Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner - Freakonomics ⭐⭐
    • Tim Hartford - The Undercover Economist 📖📖📖
    • Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point ⭐⭐
  • Home Economics:
    • Michaël Van Droogenbroeck & Ewald Pironet - Investeren in de eerste helft van je leven 📖
    • Pierre Huylenbroeck - Iedereen belegger 📖
    • Pierre Huylenbroeck - Onsterfelijk beursadvies 📖
    • Helaine Olen & Harold Pollack - The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated 📖
  • Chess:
    • Emanuel Lasker - Lasker’s Manual of Chess 📖📖
    • Murray Chandler - How to Beat Your Dad at Chess 📖📖
  • Science:
    • Neil Degrasse Tyson - Astrophysics for People in a Hurry ⭐⭐
    • David Bodanis - E=mc2 📖📖
    • Matt Parker - Humble Pi ⭐⭐⭐
  • Biographies:
    • Richard Feynman - “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” ⭐⭐⭐
  • Other:
    • Jean D’Ormesson - Ik leef altijd 🦉
    • Lulu Miller - Why Fish Don’t Exist 📖📖📖
    • Donald A. Norman - The Design of Everyday Things 📖📖
    • Marc Erkens - Als muziek spreekt 📖📖
    • Bart Vanacker - Verdwijnend België 📖📖
    • Luc Huyse - De opmars van de Calimero’s 📖📖
    • Ross Leckie - Bluffer’s Guide To The Classics 📖📖📖
    • Stephen Hawking - De antwoorden op de grote vragen 📖
    • Steven de Foer - Hollywood boulevard 📖📖
    • Stephen Potter - One-Upmanship: Being Some Account of the Activities and Teachings of the Lifemanship Correspondence College of One-Upness and Games Lifemastery 📖📖📖
    • Rik Torfs - De Kerk is Fantastisch 📖
    • Bruce Bueno De Mesquita - The Dictator’s Handbook 📖
    • Peter Wright - Spy Catcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer 📖
  • Behavioral Science, Psychology, Sociology:
    • Rutger Bergman - De meeste mensen deugen 📖📖📖
    • Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow 📖📖
    • Paul van Deun - Het gekaapte brein 📖
    • David Eagleman - Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain 📖
    • Malcolm Gladwell - Outliers: The Story of Success 📖
    • Malcolm Gladwell - Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking 📖
    • Malcolm Gladwell - What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures 📖
    • Nir Eyal - Hooked 📖
    • Adam Alter - Irresistible 📖
    • Heidi Kastner - Dummheit 📖
  • Life:
    • Dirk De Wachter - De kunst van het ongelukkig zijn 📖📖
    • Mark Manson - The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck 📖📖
    • Josh Kaufman - The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything… Fast! 📖
    • Eckhart Tolle - The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment 📖
    • Oliver Burkeman - The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking 📖
    • Atul Gawande - The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right 📖
    • Randy J. Paterson - How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use 📖
    • Timothy A. Pychyl - Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change 📖
  • Technical:
    • Peter Salus - The Daemon, the Gnu, and the Penguin 📖📖📖
    • Brian W. Kernighan - UNIX: A History and a Memoir 📖📖
    • Cliff Stoll - Cuckoos Egg 📖📖
    • Gene Kim, Kevin Behr & George Spafford - The Phoenix Project ⭐⭐⭐
    • Gene Kim - The Unicorn Project 📖📖📖
    • Andy Oram & Greg Wilson - Beautiful Code 📖📖
    • David Thomas & Andrew Hunt - The Pragmatic Programmer 📖📖
    • Steve McConnell - Code Complete 📖📖
    • Kevlin Henney - 97 Things Every Programmer Should Know ⭐⭐⭐
  • Business & Leadership:
    • MJ DeMarco - Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship 📖
    • David Allen - Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity 📖
    • Erin Meyer - The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business 📖
    • Dale Carnegie - How to Win Friends and Influence People 📖📖
    • Jack Griffin - How to Say It® at Work 📖📖
    • Robert Sutton The No Asshole Rule 📖
    • Michael D. Watkins - The First 90 Days 📖
    • Joseph Grenny & Kerry Patterson - Crucial Conversations 📖
    • Roger Fisher & William L. Ury - Getting to Yes 📖
    • Eliyahu M. Goldratt - The Goal 📖
    • Leil Lowndes - How to Talk to Anyone 📖
    • Roger Fisher - Getting to Yes 📖
    • Robert B. Cialdini - Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion 📖
    • Gerald M. Weinberg - An Introduction to General Systems Thinking
  • City Planning:
    • Steven Higashide – Better Buses, Better Cities 📖
    • Donald Shoup – The High Cost of Free Parking 📖
    • Kenneth Jackson – Crabgrass Frontier 📖
    • Jeff Speck - Walkable City 📖
    • Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk & Jeff Speck - Suburban Nation 📖
    • Richard Rothstein - The Color of Law 📖
    • Isabel Wilkerson - The Warmth of Other Suns 📖
    • Matthew Desmond - Evicted 📖
    • David Macaulay - Cathedral 📖
    • Allan Jacobs - Great Streets 📖
    • Angie Schmitt - Right of Way 📖
    • Jan Gehl - Life Between Buildings 📖

☕ Coffee table books

I am not rating coffee table books, if they are in this list it means I like it, get one of these.

  • Randall Munroe - How To and What If?
  • Roman Mars & Kurt Kohlstedt - The 99% Invisible City
  • Stephen Potter & Frank Wilson - The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship or The Art of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating ⭐⭐⭐ (Interne Keuken 2017-06-24 1:19:37)