Category: Books

Notes about everything related to books, including reviews of books I’ve read

Book: Roman Papsuev, Vera Kamsha “The Battle for Lukomorye” (Book 1)

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Well, the “Tales of Old Rus” project kept growing and evolving, transforming from a hobby into a remarkable universe with its own artbooks, lore, and bestiary. Naturally, the first fictional novel set in this world followed. “The Battle for Lukomorye” was originally planned as two books, with only the first part released so far and the second on its way. Since I’ve been immersing myself in the world of Old Rus quite actively this year, I read the first novel almost immediately after its release.

There is, however, some confusion regarding the authorship of the book. In many stores, it’s listed as having two primary authors: the universe’s creator, Roman Papsuev, and the well-known writer Vera Kamsha. Yet, the book itself also credits three additional writers: Tatyana Andrushchenko, Alexandra Zlotnitskaya, and Elena Tolokonnikova. It’s impossible to discern who contributed what. The book is presented as a collection of novellas, but no individual authors are credited for specific sections. Whether they collaborated on everything together or each worked on separate parts remains unclear—for now, the story doesn’t say.

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Book: Ray Dalio “Principles: Life and Work”

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Ray Dalio is a highly prominent figure in the world of venture investing. The company he founded, Bridgewater, ranks among the top ten largest private hedge funds globally. Ray Dalio is also known for his management approach, based on meritocracy and algorithms. His entire life and work are imbued with a set of principles and methods he has developed over many years and tested in real-world scenarios. Frequently sharing his ideas at conferences, Dalio has stepped away from direct management of the company but aims to make his accumulated knowledge—the fruit of decades of reflection—accessible to others. This led him to write the book Principles, where he outlines his views on life and management.

As an individual, he has greatly influenced other notable figures. For instance, the Russian edition of this book opens with an introduction by Herman Gref, Chairman of the Board at Sberbank of Russia. Additionally, the cover features a quote from Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft.

The book Principles: Life and Work spent quite some time on my “to-read soon” list, even though I wouldn’t consider myself an ardent follower of this manager. However, I’ve heard plenty of praise about him from acquaintances. While reading the book, I got the impression that opinions about Ray as a person and his work are quite polarized. Some practically idolize him, while others see him as tedious and excessively overhyped. What’s my take? Let’s dive in.

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Book: Shimun Vrochek “My Soviet Childhood”

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Recently, Shimun Vrochek wrote a book about his Soviet childhood. Since his childhood and mine happened during the same years (he was born on November 1, 1976, and I was born three months later, on January 28, 1977), I was very curious to see how someone from my “generation” experienced it, but in a different part of the Soviet Union. He was born in Kungur, in the Urals, and grew up in Nizhnevartovsk, while I spent my entire childhood in Minsk.

I even had the same school uniform as the one he wears in the photo, though it wasn’t so easy to find in Minsk—my father brought it from Moscow.

The book originated from notes that Shimun wrote in his blog (at least some of which could be read individually). Eventually, those notes were compiled into this book. That’s why it isn’t a sequential narrative but rather a collection of short memories about various things, with no clear structure or connection between chapters. Sometimes, this approach works very well (just think of The Un-Chekhovian Intelligentsia or The Life of Remarkable People and Animals by Boris Akunin).

Even though there was a great distance between me and the author, many of the feelings and experiences resonate, making the book truly transport me back to my childhood. Like Shimun, I believed I was living in the best country in the world, where everything was wonderful, and a bright communist future lay ahead—a future of fairness, with no poverty, and so on.

For bringing me back to those years, I am truly grateful to the author.

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Book: Leonid Solovyov “The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin”

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I can’t quite recall when I first heard (or read) the name of Hodja Nasreddin. However, I can definitely say that his most famous mention is the parable of the talking donkey. In this story, Hodja Nasreddin promises a padishah that he will teach his donkey to speak like a human in 20, 30, or even 40 years (the timeline varies depending on the version). He then points out that within such a timeframe, either the donkey, Hodja Nasreddin himself, or even the padishah might die, making the whole process of teaching the donkey unnecessary.

Where did I first encounter all this? I honestly don’t remember! But the name of this witty and resourceful wanderer from the East has become universally known. So, I finally decided to read the most famous literary work about him, translated into numerous languages worldwide—Leonid Solovyov’s two-part series, The Tale of Hodja Nasreddin.

But first, let’s start with the figure of Hodja Nasreddin himself. To this day, it’s uncertain whether such a person truly existed, but parables and anecdotes about this character began appearing around the 13th century. They spread across Central Asia and the Middle East and became part of the folklore in some Caucasian, Balkan, and Mediterranean countries. There are even several places claimed to be Hodja Nasreddin’s burial site, the most famous of which is a tomb in the city of Akşehir, Turkey.

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Book: Alexey Pehov “Wind and Sparks”

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I’ve often heard that Alexey Pehov’s Wind and Sparks series is perceived as a continuation of The Chronicles of Siala about the thief Garret. To be honest, I used to feel the same way myself, especially after the details of The Chronicles of Siala faded in my memory following my first read. I even thought of it as “the next books after Garret.” Though I knew that wasn’t the case.

The Wind and Sparks series was written between 2005 and 2008. Between it and The Chronicles of Siala, Alexey managed to write The Last Testament (co-authored with Andrey Yegorov) and Under the Sign of the Manticore (which I still consider one of his best novels, by the way).

He also wrote the first half of the Kindret series at the same time as Wind and Sparks. So it’s impossible to say that the next story about Garret followed immediately after The Chronicles of Siala. By this point, Pehov approached his craft as a much more experienced writer.

The events in Wind and Sparks take place in an entirely different universe—it’s not the grim world of Siala’s thief. Although echoes of that world exist, they can easily go unnoticed, especially if there’s a long gap between reading the two series. But if you do catch those subtle connections, it adds an extra layer of enjoyment. There is a link, but the main connecting thread is indeed Garret. I don’t think this is a spoiler, as many have mentioned it before. That said, Garret is far from the main character here, though it would also be unfair to call him a mere supporting role.

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Vladimir Levshin: How to Make Children Fall in Love with Mathematics

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I recently started reading a book about mathematics written by a mathematician. The title and description intrigued me, but so far, as I’m just at the beginning, I’m not particularly impressed. This got me thinking—how do mathematicians become mathematicians? When does their love for the subject begin, and why?

I don’t consider myself a “true” mathematician, although my degree officially labels me as a “mathematician-system programmer.” However, I fell in love with mathematics back in my school years. Two factors played a significant role in this: my math teacher, who later became my homeroom teacher, and several books by the remarkable writer Vladimir Levshin.

Getting hold of Levshin’s books wasn’t easy, but they were available in libraries. I read all of his books I could find (around ten). His most famous work, in my opinion, is the trilogy about the Magister of Scattered Sciences. That trilogy itself, however, is part of a larger cycle centered around a character named Nolik (which means ‘a Small Zero’ in Russian).

The books are likely intended for students in grades 3–6 (this is my personal estimation based on childhood impressions). They are written in the style of a fairy tale adventure, comparable in tone to The Lost Time Fairy Tale or Old Man Hottabych. The key difference is that Levshin’s main magical characters are personified numbers, primarily Nolik, after whom the entire series is now named.

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Book: Babaykin “F*ck You Money”

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I won’t lie—the first book by Babaykin, Retired at 35, didn’t really appeal to me. However, intrigued by the topic and the titles, I bought both of the author’s books at once. Even though I wasn’t too impressed with the first one, I decided to read the second to understand why both books have such high ratings and so many positive reviews.

If the first book was about how to retire at 35, the second delves deeper into the F.I.R.E. movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) and provides a closer look at the lifestyle of these early retirees.

Indeed, the main impression from the book is that it’s more about the author’s worldview and lifestyle. Personally, I didn’t find much practical value, especially since much of it feels like a verbose rehashing of the first book. There’s nothing particularly new here—just the same stories told in different words.

Moreover, the book lacks clear structure. The blog-like nature is very evident: individual chapters feel like blog posts written at very different times. This approach inevitably leads to repetition. While that’s understandable in a blog, it doesn’t work as well for a book. A book requires some structure—a logical progression through which the author conveys the core idea they set out to share.

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Book: Konstantin Borisov “To Hire or Not to Hire? Or How to Interview a Developer”

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In our turbulent times, people change jobs much more frequently than they did in the relatively recent past. In the 1950s-60s in the US, many people would join a company for life—it was the norm. In the USSR, with its system, there were often entire dynasties working at the same place. Working at the same job for life was almost a family tradition for many—grandfather at the factory, father in the same place, and the grandson destined to follow.

The “family” approach to building a team has many advantages, and I must admit, I often grow attached to a team myself. However, modern careers are all about constant job changes and constant interviews. These days, every manager seems to pride themselves on the number of interviews they’ve conducted. It’s strange that the quality of these interviews is discussed far less often, even though it’s much more important (after all, conducting interviews is just part of a manager’s job in a growing company).

I’ve come across numerous articles and books on topics like “how to write the perfect resume” or “how to ace an interview” (including a book I previously mentioned, Résumé for a Million by my former colleagues). However, there’s far less information about how to conduct interviews properly. Personal experience shows that not everyone is good at it (since I go through various interviews quite often, and it helps me stay sharp).

And then, unexpectedly, I stumbled upon the book To Hire or Not to Hire? by Konstantin Borisov. It’s relatively short, but once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. It’s honestly one of the best management books I’ve read in recent years. Practically no fluff—everything is to the point, with clear arguments. The book primarily focuses on how to interview developers in the IT industry, but most of the material is applicable to any interview and isn’t specifically tied to IT. I’m not sure where the author works, but the company is certainly lucky to have such an interviewer.

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Book: Alexey Pehov “The Chronicles of Siala”

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It might seem odd to write about a series that was written almost twenty years ago. I hesitated for a long time myself, fearing it might come out poorly. But since I’ve just reread it—why not?

Alexey Pehov’s Chronicles of Siala is not just a trilogy; it’s essentially a single novel (an epic novel), divided into three large parts/books. This was Alexey’s very first work, and in the twenty years since, he has become a highly successful and sought-after author, with his books even being published abroad.

The main character of the story is a thief named Garrett. For years, readers have been puzzled by the question: is he the same Garrett from the world of the Thief video game, or not?

Formally—no. And here I’ll briefly repeat some information that Pehov’s fans are likely familiar with.

Yes, both are named Garrett, both are professional thieves living in the shadows, preferring to remain unnoticed but capable of defending themselves when necessary. Both favor a small crossbow as one of their preferred weapons. However, the worlds of the game and the book are different, and so are their plots (though meticulous fans do find “similarities”). That said, the first edition of the final book in the series, Shadow Blizzard, ended with the following phrase:

The name of the main character, as well as the thief’s attributes, come from the virtual reality of the THIEF universe. – The Author.

Later, the author adhered to a different version:

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Book: Babaykin “Retired at 35”

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Another book by yet another popular blogger. Lately, I find myself reading more and more of these. On the other hand, it’s always interesting to see what people like and why. Although this case is a bit different. I have no idea who this Babaykin guy is. He claims to talk a lot about investments and be well-connected in various circles… but a quick search didn’t bring up this so-called “famous blogger,” so I couldn’t figure out what the book is based on (probably just bad at searching). Unlike Alexey Markov, whose book Hoolinomics was clearly grounded in his blog and who pops up instantly in search results. And then there’s the fact that the author is hiding behind a pseudonym, which I always find odd. Maybe he just doesn’t want attention (even though he talks quite a lot about his personal life).

But that’s beside the point. I wasn’t that interested in the blog anyway, given that there’s already a book. Plus, the rating seems pretty high.

The title of the book is intriguing in itself. Everyone’s lazy these days, no one wants to work, and sitting idle at 35 while feeling like a millionaire is the ultimate dream for most ordinary people. I’ll buy the book, read it, and become just like that! (Sounds a bit like some pitches I heard back in the ’90s.)

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