My Favorite Books in 2021

Just like every year, we did not forget to spend time on ourselves. As always, I gathered all of the books that I liked and found resourceful. I wish you make to most of it in the best way…

?Living Professionally– Murat A??rba?

?“To live is to make a man. It is to make your sculpture from flesh and bone using intelligence and knowledge.”

Goethe

“The century that we live in is the century where knowledge flows endlessly and grows exponentially. In an overflow of information like this, we are supposed to approach everything we know with suspicion. Wisdom comes from constantly asking questions about life and approaching everything we know with skepticism. Questioning information opens new doors to individuals. People who have no questions about life, the ignorant ones, are satisfied with the knowledge they have and they blindly accept what they are told, without questioning its accuracy in any way. However, the most distinctive feature that separates humans from other living beings is their mind and the ability to interpret the information they have received using their minds.”

To change for the better, it is in our hands to better ourselves through development.

To do this, all that we have to do is to realize what needs to be changed in our lives.

Living Professionally takes you on a deep journey within from consumption awareness of people who deny pretending how they live to time management, from proper planning to spouse selection, from the concept of focusing to the concept of freedom. It focuses on your awareness by starting with the analysis of your current situation, to accomplish your dreams.?

Lord of the Flies – William Golding

?A classic novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding is cited as one of his finest works. The novel which reached great fame after gaining the Nobel Prize in Literature takes on the topic of living on a deserted island from a brand-new angle. By focusing on character analysis and actions, the book lays out how even the pure and innocent kids may become violent. With a novel that makes its readers think about behaviors, you will be left alone with the story of the children who are struggling to survive.

Blindness – Jose Saramago

?In 1998, the novel that rewarded the Portuguese author José Saramago with a Nobel Prize in Literature is a novel that grabs attention with its cleverly created characters as well as its events. The people who became selfish and desensitized to events are described with the metaphor, “blindness” in the novel which is aimed to criticize the era’s understanding of liberal democracy. Within the light of this novel which reveals the inhumanity of power and power games in people, you will start to think hard about today’s civil societies. Who knows; maybe mankind will bring its end by being desensitized?

Tesla: A Portrait with Masks – Vladimir Pistalo

“I don't care that they stole my idea… I care that they don't have any of their own”

Nikola Tesla

Tesla: A Portrait with Masks tells the story of an inventor way ahead of his era, a crazy-genius, a man filled with secrets. Vladimir Pistalo professionally crafted a biographic novel with an electrically charged, entertaining pen and shined a spotlight on the life of Nikola Tesla without sparing any detail.

As we read Tesla: A Portrait with Masks, you will once again appreciate the brilliant mind of Nikola Tesla by witnessing the endless ambition of a man whose life is full of achievements, heartbreaks, and poverty.?

The Tipping Point– Malcolm Gladwell

Why is it that some ideas or products thrive while some never do?

The tipping point is the magical point where an idea, a trend, or a pattern of behavior begins to spread rapidly after it has crossed a threshold. Just as a single person can start a flu epidemic, a vague touch can pave the way for a trend, make a product very popular, or cause a sudden shift in social trends. Malcolm Gladwell’s 2002 novel where the tipping point phenomenon is told with examples from different locations and dates, got published in several countries, and is still read.

Life 3.0 – Max Tegmark

?The future is Artificial Intelligence, but how will this future be?

Will superintelligence be our master or will it be our slave?

MIT Professor Max Tegmark, who helped with the useful Artificial Intelligence research, takes us to the center of the most recent debates about AI. To understand what waits for us in the future, reality is separated from legends, and utopias are separated from dystopias. How will Artificial Intelligence affect wars, crimes, justice, workforce, society, and our feeling of being human? The rise of Artificial Intelligence has the potential to shape our future more than any other technology.

40 Ways to Highlight Your Personality and Your Career – Tansu Ye?en

?Tansu Ye?en, who is considered to be one of the few CEOs of Turkey and Europe, brings together good ideas to help you every step of the way, from your most important goals to daily details. The concepts of a successful work are unified with the tactics used in the world’s leading firms. It helps you do some things in easier, faster, and more efficient ways.

?Semerkand – Amin Maalouf

?Semerkant, the 1988 novel by the world-famous Lebanese author Amin Maalouf, is still on the “Best Sellers” list even though it has been 30 years since it was first seen on bookshelves. With its events taking place in the 11th and 20th centuries, Semerkant has a multidimensional and impressive story that touches the reader’s heart.?

My First Job, Memories from Life – Acar Balta?, Handan O. U?akl?gil

?Work experiences in the early stages of work-life...

The responsibilities that a child takes in the early years of life and the work done as a student has lots of lifelong effects on skills.

-??????Taking responsibilities

-??????Self-awareness, understanding which job is or isn’t suitable for you

-??????Making decisions and seeing their consequences

-??????Getting out of your comfort zone and discovering your potential

-??????Communicating with people of different ages and cultures

-??????Being a part of a team, developing cooperation skills

-??????Managing your emotions

-??????Having an idea about what money is worth

This novel is a bridge between readers and people who learned how to be self-sufficient and healthy in the early ages and can project it to their lives.

?Tchaikovsky is in Istanbul – Emre Arac?

?Only the people who read Tchaikovsky’s journal with pure attention knew that he visited Istanbul. The famous composer spent some time in this magical city while he was a passenger in a ship that sailed around Europe in 1886 and 1889.

?However, in these short visits, he managed to fit in many activities such as attending a classical music concert organized by Mr. Lange in Tepeba?? Bah?esi, drinking coffee in a coffee house facing the Galata Tower, visiting Beyo?lu, Ayasofya, and Yerebatan Castle.

?Are You In? – Do?an Cücelo?lu

?“In my youth, I had many days where I felt tense, stressed, and unhappy. I’ve been through periods where I’ve felt guilty and thought I was worthless. Now, my life means something, it is filled with joy and gratitude… Why? Is it because of the improved conditions? Is it a result of the awareness I have developed?”

-Do?an Cücelo?lu

?Do?an Cücelo?lu is one of the most important scientists of this geography not only with his career in psychology but also with his wisdom that reveals healing from any human story and touches human life as well. As an accumulation of his eighty years of life, now he can answer all of the “crucial” questions people have with the sincerest answers. Just like everyone else, he is still fighting, discovering, and adding value to life.

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