Read 30 books in 30 Days

I failed my last attempt at this goal so I am going to start anew. In December I will attempt this goal again. December seems like the perfect time because I know if I started this goal now I would be to busy with school to really accomplish it.

This is my vow!

P.S. This time the books won’t be as difficult and they will cover a broader range of topics.

P.S.S. I think I’ll dedicate the month of December to learning all the tips and tricks to speed reading/speed learning so I will be better prepared this time.

I read “Molecular Biology For Computer Scientists” By: Lawrence Hunter. Biology is an intriguing field. Things have changed over the millenia. Empires have been forged and empires have fallen, Cancer became a major killer, natural disasters have taken place, the hippie era of 70s has come etc. However, one thing that has not changed very much is biology. Mother nature’s divine intellect has created a system so perfect that it rarely needs any maintenance.

I read this book because biology is all around us and I think if your living life it is fundamental that you study life. Also, with the recent accomplishments of the Human Genome Project and universities consistently creating better bioinformatics & computational biology programs it seems evident that a computer scientist should at least be familiar with biology to some degree. It was a nice book, I learned about some interesting things like bacteriaphages, cellular processes, evolution’s effect on biology, PCR. It was a nice overview of the subject and I think I may read it for a second time one day for even further understanding.

I read “Getting Started With Arduino” By: Massimo Banzi. This was a good book for getting started with the Arduino. It gives you information from a very practical point of view. The author also has a gift for explaining how simple the basic principles of electronics are.

The first book I read was “Intoduction To Matlab” By: Ela Pekalska and Marjolein van der Glas. The book had a great format because it gets right the point. I have good basic understanding of MATLAB now. This should help me out in the numerical analysis class I’m taking this semester; because now I understand how oop works in matlab, operators, matrices etc. I need to practice the graphs a little bit, but mastering matlab comes with time.

Reading 30 books in 30 days is not easy at all. I have failed. I am not giving up though. Starting Monday of next week I am going to attempt this goal again. This time I will have spring break on my side so reading them will be much easier.

So I’ve been thinking about what it is that I want to read. Here are some of the topics/books that I have come up with:

Introduction to Computing Systems: From bits & gates to C & beyond By: Yale Patt & Sanjay Patel
Foundations of Computer Science by Behrouz A. Forouzan and Firouz Mosharraf
Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology (9th Edition) by Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K Lutgens, and Dennis Tasa
Japanese Anime Drawing
Microeconomics
Macroeconomics
Electronic Circuits For The Evil Genius
Mega Speed Reading By: Howard Berg Kevin Trudeau
The Art Of The Assembly Language From No Starch Press
Business Law
Business Marketing
Developing Your Own 32-bit Operating System: Richard A. Burgess
The Pragmatic Programmer By: Andrew Hunt
A First Course In Discrete Mathematics By: Ian Anderson
Data Structures By: Weiss
Guide To PC Design
CPU Design
Learning Japanese
Linux In A Nutshell
Mathematics Making The Invisible Visible
Introduction To The Mathematics Of Money By: D Lovelock
understanding IP Address
Pickover To Archimedes – The Laws Of Science & Great Minds Behidn Them
Oreilly Beautiful Code
Essential Matlab For Engineers & Scientists
OpenGL
OS Design And Implementation By Tanenbaum
Windows Vista
Understanding The DNA Molecule By: Celladine
Cellular Biology, A Short Course By: Stephen Bolsover
Introduction To Bioinformatics: Arthur M Lesk
Chemistry
Self-Made Man, Womens Journey Through Manhood
Prolog
Arduino

I am aware there are more than 30 books here. However I will select up to 30…unfortunately a few books will escape my grasp for now.

I’ve been contemplating this idea for some time. I have finally decided to take on the challenge. Here I go, 30 days sprint. Starting tomorrow February 11, 2008 I’ve going to read 30 books in 30 days.

P.S. My world will never be the same again.