Book Reviews
Books are one of the sacred tomes where we can journey through the life of another person from the past. You obtain a glimpse of what they learned to build this creation. Join Kevin on his own path of reading these books as we discuss some of the highlights and lessons from the teachings of others.
New book reviews come out every month.
Your Unexpected Invitation
Looking for a book that blends personal growth, Asian American identity, and actionable leadership advice? Big Asian Energy by John Wang offers practical exercises, cultural insights, and vulnerable storytelling that helps Asian professionals break the bamboo ceiling and embrace their full voice. In this review, I share key takeaways, historical context, and what makes this book a powerful read for anyone navigating self-doubt, ambition, and belonging.
The Book That Made Me Stop Wearing a Watch
A reflective review of Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman—an invitation to stop optimizing time and start flowing with it. This book reshaped how I relate to time, from ditching my watch to rethinking productivity. Insightful, grounding, and subtly life-changing.
Run it Back with the Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money is a timeless book filled with universal principles about money. It’s not your 401k planner or budgeting tool, but instead a grounded reflection on how we think about money—how we use it, value it, and are shaped by it every day.
The book that fell flat
A triggering book that gaslights you. This is one of the books I would not reread. Although hinted with some beautiful themes and messages, this book screams self-help with someone telling you who you are.
Beyond Individual Dreams
Imagine returning from a long workday to your dream home. The things you have strived for have all come true. Yet, there’s a sense of going through the motions. What’s next? Enter – the second mountain.
Relationship is the driver of change — Community is woven through love-drenched accountability.
Finding Freedom from Alcohol
When was the last time you picked up a drink and thought, “Why am I drinking this?”
This is the exact question Annie Grace explores in her book, “The Naked Mind.” Grace unpacks the role of alcohol in our lives and why she labels it the “enemy.”
Rich AF
This book is FILLED with rich information that makes it an amazing toolkit for navigating finances. Some parts were a bore whereas other sections had snippets of new information to better understand the financial landscape! Vivian’s writing style truly lives up to a BFF hyping you up with finances and was overall a delightful experience.
Retire By 30
Frank breaks down the F.I.R.E. concept deeply and also keeps it high-level for the reader to implement in their own day to day. This book encapsulates the full journey of not only strategies to pivot into, but also different areas and methods to consider. He discusses common pitfalls and overall makes it F.I.R.E. an easily digestible concept for someone new to the space. Overall, a book that is filled with tons of knowledge extracted to produce a high quality masterpiece.
What Makes Love Last
Decent book filled with tests to check in through your relationship. The mathematical theory was backed-up well, but the book itself had a much more research-paperesque vibe to it. Overall, a good read with tidbits of supportive material for building relationships that can be revisited on a case-by-case basis.
Antifragile
One of my favorite books in a long time. This book is statistically built to enhance the courage to make decisions given the variability of nature. The inclusion of graphs and tables prevents additional ways for the reader to understand deep concepts in a very simple way. A fascinating read I would revisit and recommend to anyone.
The Book of Boundaries
This book is a boatload of different scenarios for you to set boundaries in your life. This led to it feeling a bit redundant while going through it. Some chapters may resonate, whereas others are less so due to the circumstances we’re all in. Overall, a good guidebook, but not something that stands out too much.
Bird by Bird
A quick read with insightful notes throughout for any writer or creative. There are aspects of the deeper meaning of writing that resonate well wherever you are in life. It covers all the dimensions from writer’s block to the first draft to fully encapsulate the writing process.
Grit: The Power of Passion & Perseverance
Fascinating book that explains grit in 3 important scopes: what it is, how to cultivate it internally, and how to grow it externally. It’s one of those books that are good for a pick me up after hardship and pushes you to continue to persevere through a busy season in life. What fascinated me most was the last section of growing grit externally. The book transitioned into more of a parenting book and is a great read for all ages.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
A tome providing a vastly different perspective into art & creativity. Rick Rubin’s writing is concise and to the point with chapters of less than 10 pages. This book is one where you would want to return to a chapter every so often through a creative project. Rubin tells concepts very well including real-life examples consistently, but some chapters lacked this imagery. Nevertheless, a transformative read overall.
The Denial of Death
This is one of those books that challenges your whole perception of reality. The vocabulary and discussion points are one where you will have to sit and pause to think about them for a bit. Concepts not typically discussed are brought up and it is an uncomfortable read at times. Overall, a book I would revisit again to have that same stimulation.
Being Mortal
A deep book that makes you face the realities of old age and the tough decisions that need to be made. Gawande presents questions and stories vividly of what questions to ask when you have such little time remaining. This book is one that, while slow at times, is a reminder of what truly matters.
Who Moved My Cheese
Fast read that describes life in a fun way with moral lessons. The story surrounds a high school reunion and has characters from all walks of life from business professionals to C-level executives. Would recommend reading this book with others to hear their interpretations.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Concise and rich book of wisdom for wealth, happiness, and values. A little bit of insight for everyone no matter what age or area of life you are at. My favorite part was learning about happiness because of how Naval translates this emotion into tangible actions for us to control.
Work Clean
One of the best productivity books I’ve read. The breakdown of the kitchen landscape with the hands-on exercises provides a systematic view to translate into other areas of life.
Think Again
Good book on conflict management, rethinking thoughts, and curating environments of growth mindset. Visuals included throughout were a major plus. Would re-read it in the future.