🏀A Promised Land - Barack Obama (non-fiction)

President Obama spends a sizable part of his memoir showing his life outside of work, and it makes for an absolutely delightful read. Despite working a very special job, Mr. Obama is just a very normal, down-to-earth guy trying to lead a normal life, with all normal joy & struggle that any human might expect. One can say whatever about Obama as a politician (and about the other sections of this book for that matter), but it’s hard not to like, or at least relate to, Obama after finishing this book.

💻Algorithms to Live By - Brian Christian, Thomas L. Griffiths (non-fiction)

What has computer algorithms got to do with dating, or scheduling, or organizing your desk, or some other decisions we make in everyday life? Quite a lot if you look at the world through the lens of a computer scientist, which is exactly what this book provides. Author Brian Christian introduces 11 fundamental problems in computer science, explains the thought process behind the algorithms that solve them, and shows us how those algorithms can be applied to real life issues. Reading this doesn’t make me a CS expert, but it does open my eyes to an entirely new & very interesting perspective.

🧑‍🚀Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir (fiction)

Andy Weir’s newest space-travel-gone-wrong story (besides the now famous The Martian) is both familiar and surprising. While the tone and some details are in line other stories of the space sci-fi genre, it certainly took me off guard in one particular aspect of the plot. If you’re at all interested in a sci-fi story set in the modern day, then I suggest you experience this for yourself. The only other thing to know is that this book’s storytelling is so good that it puts a smile on my face from start to finish, right down to the very last sentence.