Conversing with self and others

An annotated reading of the books I finished in January 2026.

Books Read in January 2026

  1. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
  2. Mindset
  3. Ender’s Game
  4. Moonwalking with Einstein
  5. Awareness
  6. Supercommunicators

A new breed

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism paints a harrowing picture of the latest iteration of global economics. To better understand the relationship between data privacy, machine learning, and geopolitics in the modern era, this book is an essential read.

Framing development

Carol Dweck’s book Mindset sets the stage for understanding the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset and how the latter can dramatically change the trajectory of one’s life. There are few books built on as many research studies as this one, yet Dweck nonetheless succeeds at distilling their primary findings into relatable, real-life stories of how adopted mindsets have impacted individuals’ lives.

Psychological and thrilling

Ender’s Game has been on my list of science fiction books to read for quite a while, and after reading it, I can say it offers a lot of psychological content to unpack. It finds its stride when it focuses on the relationship of Ender (the protagonist) to his siblings as well as his own thoughts (which start to sound like his siblings over time). If you are interested in this kind of character analysis, this work won’t disappoint.

Memory buffs

Can you memorize a pack of cards in under 10 minutes? 30 minutes? 2 hours? Or perhaps 2 days? If not, you might be an ordinary human being. Moonwalking with Einstein documents the stories of a group of (ordinary?) humans who honed their normal memory capacities into world-class capabilities. One of their key techniques? Mnemonics and memory palaces, which we can all leverage to learn new information. For example, want to learn a new language? Mnemonics can save the day here.

Moonwalking through traditions

Anthony De Mello’s Awareness presents a series of lectures De Mello gave on the intersection of Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian mysticism. There are few works that manage to interpolate between these traditions with as much thoughtfulness as De Mello has.

Supercommunication

Listening well and empathetically is a key skill necessary for human societies to flourish. However, most of us struggle to practice exceptional communication skills when life becomes stressful, disregulated, or unpredictable. Supercommunicators shares insight into how humans hear and want to be heard. One key idea from this book is that, no matter what, connection is essential to communication: if you can’t connect with those around you, you likely won’t be able to communicate well with them either.

Alex