top of page



Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlier
BATB score: 6.7/10 ๐คง a legit good book about dealing with life's struggles through psychologists-style talking-it-through: drinking problem, break-ups, unhappiness, sickness and death; yet the book's narration was long and slow Best to: reading this book equates to 10 in-depth sessions with a therapist - congratulations, do did done; it's about the therapist, her patients, her therapist, and his patients with legit therapist comments and recommendations throughout Best for:


The Obstacle is the Way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage by Ryan Holiday
BATB score: 3/10 ๐ก *and this score is me being nice; unpopular book review alert* redundancy at it's best, he said, she said, same shit Best to: this book is like a consultant; thoroughly researched (did their homework), professionally written/presented (tactful), saying all the right things, but OMG they're just quotes, nice concepts, impractical, fake, and fluffy OK?! Best for: plenty of instagramable quotes - urgh, it's so fake, I can not. Honestly, I believe I tackle my


Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
BATB score: 7.6/10 ๐ง well-researched, well-written, thoroughly analysed groundwork on how being a generalist makes you see the bigger picture and allows you to creatively strategise more than specialists; a very nerdy book #nerdalert Best to: serious documentation and experiments on how generalist rules, scrutinising the common belief that favors specialisation; yet redundant with the last few chapters quite wishy washy ๐ฆ Best for: a lot of tech / business key opinion leade


Just Work: Get Sh*t Done, Fast, and Fair by Kim Scott
BATB score: 6.7/10 ๐ฉโ๐ป๐งโ๐ป ๐ฏ % important but not written for the general public; maybe if we write a more casual version and call it "Why You Should Not Date Your Boss", it may be more well-received la Best to: "Sleeping with my boss was a big mistake. I own it. Well, half of it. Problem was, I paid for all of it." and so SHE had to quit to save the HE in power; urgh so unfair! Best for: "What hurts the victim the most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence


Conflicted: Why Arguments Are Tearing Us Apart and How They Can Bring Us Together by Ian Leslie
BATB score: 8/10 ๐ some chapters were exceptionally awesome while other chapter were just like okay okay la - I personally love love chapter 7 "Give Face" and chapter 8 "Check Your Weirdness" #veryimportantindeed Best to: the book is about how to be the bigger person in dealing with everyday conflicts from listening more, to the right way to say sorry, to how to save their face as well as your face #legit Best for: if your role and responsibility includes stakeholders manage


Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
BATB score: 10/10 ๐ฏ a critical and an essential read on mental work-life balance (as physical work-life is so yesterday's concept) Best to: you know how work continues to linger in your mind on weekends? ya, that's no good; unfortunately in some cultures it is called 'dedication', 'devotion', 'determination', or even 'above and beyond' - so embarrassing, i know #badinfluence Best for: don't brag about working overtime, over the weekend, or pulling all-nighters, it sucks and


The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Daniel H. Pink
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ *disclaimer* I love Daniel H. Pink. He writes about such interesting behavioural psychological topics: drive, when, regrets - his research fascinates me about how everything can be so constructively explained and optimize for the better ๐ #dayum #socool #loveyou Best to: it's a thorough research on the role of, the types of, the ways to handle, and the ways to optimize regrets; #legit learnt a lot! Fun fact: did you know that 3rd place winners ['at least'


How to Change: The Science of Getting to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman
BATB score: 6/10 ๐ค "How to Change" Katy Milkman is besties with "Grit" Angela Duckworth - and that's why their books speak of one another quite often; my bestie and your bestie sit down by di fire ๐ผ Best for: if you have not read "When" Daniel H. Pink, "Grit" Angela Duckworth, "Atomic Habits" James Clear, and "The Power of Habit" Charles Duhigg, then this book takes the best bits from each of these 'other books' and make one book compilation #TADA BATB critique: I was not a


Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown
BATB score: 7/10 ๐ Greg McKeown's 3rd book (2021) after his huge global success with BATB's fav "Essentialism" (2014) and, though less famous, yet another one of BATB's fav "Multipliers" (2010); a true example of less (with the right few) is more ๐ Best to: read Greg McKeown's "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" (2014) first and foremost; no questions ask Best for: anyone who can relate to this statement, โwe are conditioned over the course of our lifetimes to b


The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jordenson
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ค Naval Ravikant is an American entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder, chairman and former CEO of AngelList. His net worth is $69 million. He shares his practical visions on Twitter. Best to: a collection of Naval Ravikant's pragmatic vision in more comprehensive and actionable manner; damn someday I wish someone adore me enough to write an almanac of my scattered thoughts Best for: questioners of what is the 'meaning of life' in terms of wealth an


How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job by Dale Carnegie
BATB score: 8/10 ๐ BATB Reading Level: easy peesy - 1 day read Best to: clear, actionable, conclusive, and simple self-help literally on "How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job" a tad bit better Best for: if you have not read any of Dale Carnegie's book, firstly - what a disappointment; secondly - okay just read this one collated book Best as: a refresher read to Dale Carnegie's first two original all-stars books "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "How to Stop Worryi


Talk Like TED: The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds by Carmine Gallo
BATB score 10/10 ๐ค๐คฉ๐ extremely important read covering the critical 9 tips and techniques to "ideas worth spreading" talks; I am so sorry that I was too arrogant to give this a read since 8 years ago ๐ #mybad Best to: it doesn't get any clearer than this; literally 9 things on what you need to do, why, and how ๐ฏ to be a memorable superstar speaker ๐ Best for: amateur speakers who needs the how-to and professional speakers who needs a refresher (since it's been so long s


Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
BATB score: 6/10 ๐ด written since 1937, covering fears and desires that is still relevant today; proof that we have always questioned what is the meaning of life (and have yet to define them) Best to: legitimate material in the book about having desire, faith, imagination, persistence, about controlling your subconscious mind, sexual desire, sixth sense, and about having a mastermind group of best friends forever #bff ; yet, the book is just boringly written, extremely redund


Dying For A Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance - and What We Can Do About It by Jeffrey Pfeffer
BATB score: 7.7/10 ๐ธ Is the 'price' for career success (for exceptional levels of income and responsibilities) extreme work stress? Are you literally dying for a paycheck? โ ๏ธ Best to: it's a dissertation thesis paper on the economic cost of work stress, the behavioural economic at play from the employer in creating and the employees at consenting and enduring work stress, the socio-economic impact of work stress, and the recommendations to try to make things better Best for:


The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
BATB score: 9/10 ๐โค๏ธ๐โค๏ธ Thank you Alain de Botton for writing about the philosophy behind marriages. A very honest and important book about how there can only be a 'good enough' marriage that you have to seriously work for every day; reality is so not 'they lived happily ever after'. Best to: "that love is a skill, not just an enthusiasm" BATB lingering thought: the appropriate wedding vows is rather "that I will talk through my feelings when I feel hurt, that I will want t


Love + Work by Marcus Buckingham
BATB score: 2/10 ๐ 1 point for Love and 1 point for Work Best to: know that Marcus Buckingham is best with public speakings, podcasts, and youtube shorts - as for his book... it's wishy washy and a bit all over the place ๐ BATB best effort in summarizing this book: (1) we are all uniquely weird #WYRD (2) find what you love to do #redthreads by asking yourself when was the last time you lost track of time or was singled out for praise (3) aim to get to work on what you love


Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Dr Julie Smith
BATB score: 9/10 ๐ psychologist Dr Julie Smith believes that everybody need to manage their mental well-being ๐ yet not everybody can afford a session with a psychologist; this book shares the techniques and supportive tool for you to self-DIY fix your mental health ๐ฏ #thankyou Best to: when feeling overwhelmed, acknowledge that it is okay to feel overwhelmed, take a step back and ask "why is this so important to me?", maybe it is actually not that important and if it is i


The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It by Jennifer Moss
BATB score: 7/10 ๐ฅ Burnout is a companyโs problem not an individualโs illness. Providing Headspace app membership and/or Modern Health zoom workshop does not constitute as โa company that has demonstrated care for employees well-beingโ. Best to: the causes of burnout, the measures against burnout, and the self-care needed for leadership with burnout fighting for other employees to not burnout Best for: HR and C-level leadership who wants their legacy to include โdemonstrates


Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy by Sadhguru
BATB score: 4/10 ๐งโโ๏ธ Best to: just read the first part of this book (aka the first 83 pages) the second part of this book was quite difficult to follow through; likeas when you are in a serious meditation retreat and you secretly fall asleep Best as: a reminder that โI am responsible for the way I am nowโ and thus the good and the bad is a byproduct of the way I was and thus to improve such good and to fix such bad requires a direct action of the way I will be Best for: ext


The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment by Marshall Goldsmith
BATB score: 3/10 ๐ Marshall Goldsmith latest 2022 book is a literary disaster. Best to: Marshall Goldsmithโs 2007 โWhat Got You Here Wonโt Get You Thereโ was a hand down 10/10 life-changing perfectly-written masterpiece; 15 years later he disappoints perfectly with โThe Earned Lifeโ Best as: Marshall Goldsmith was trying to share his wisdom as a life coach but it was all over the place Best for: this book is as so bad that it was torturous to complete BATB lingering thought:
bottom of page
