There is something calm and cozy about reading a book. Putting a post-it on a page, highlighting a sentence.
And while there are studies indicating that we comprehend printed media better than digital media (source) there is one clear benefit for reading a traditional book versus reading something on my computer or phone - Less distractions. I can focus a lot better on the books content (even if I put it down every 2 sentences to think about said sentences) than being on my computer, where the noise of the world is just two clicks away.
Cupcake September 2026 - Books
Accordingly, this issue is about books. Specifically, about a selection of books that unlocked new learnings for me or shifted my perspective on the world and myself.
The Staff Engineer’s Path by Tanya Reilly (O’Reilly). A wonderful dive into what it means being a staff engineer and, in my opinion, what the higher level tasks and expectations for software engineers are. It goes beyond “building complex systems” and sheds light on all the small tasks that bring teams together and help them perform better with your support.
Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Penguin Press). Half biography, half book full of advice. The focus is clearly on the stoic mindset and how you can change your perspective to be more motivated and able to bring change to your life and the world.
The Psychology of Software Teams By Cat Hicks (Taylore & Francis Group). A lovely book, full of psychological insights rooted in studies and experience. It analyses the cultural problems in software development, explains how a better world can look like and gives advice on how you can become an agent of change.
Careless People: A story of where I used to work by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Flatiron Books). Telling the story of how Facebook moved from being a social network to one of the most influential medias of our time - along with all the issues and drama. It’s not a happy read and often I catched myself thinking “No way they did this”, while I already knew they did.
You can’t screw this up by Adam Bornstein (William Morrow) is a great dive into how evidence-driven dieting can work. It only makes sense if you are interested in fitness, but if you are, you will also get hidden lessons about critical thinking and why your self-constructed identity is so powerful and how you can shape it towards your goals.
Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann (O’Reilly). Focused on software engineering, this books does exactly what it claims - Explaining the concepts and ideas behind many of the techniques we use to make our systems scalable. It explains, with easy language, basic problems and solutions of distributed systems and large scale applications.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnemann (Penguin Press). This was a surprise - I found this book in a rental appartment and, by the title, assumed it was some kind of “Get rich fast”. I picked it up because one evening I was in the mood for trash literature - imagine my surprise when I figured out the book is about psychology and aims to explain the many biases that we have and why we have them.
Enjoy!