Pegasus Book Club

If you are a designer, then this book is for you. I use the word ‘designer’ very loosely. It should include everyone who has something to with designing—from housewives who design the daily meals, gardeners who plan and create beautiful landscapes, teachers who design their courses, software engineers who design software applications, writers who creates books that all of us love to read, artists who write, act and produce movies, songs, dance sequences, and plays, computer professionals who design attractive and easy to use computers, architects who designs magnificent buildings—the list is endless. This is a small, simple, and easy to read book full of practical wisdom that should be read by everybody who has something to do design or appreciate something that is designed for you.

The book contains a prologue, 13 chapters (10 laws and 3 keys), an epilogue (Life), list of books that inspired the author, and an index. In the prologue—Simplicity = Sanity—the author explains his reasons for writing this book, its intended audience, how it is organized and how it should be used.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today we are not faced with lack of information; instead we are faced with information overload. In this age of information explosion we are bombarded with information. So we must develop skills and formulate sound strategies to deal with the information explosion.

To be competitive and good in one’s chosen profession, one need to be up-to-date on what is happening in his/her field. One has to keep abreast of the latest developments and emerging technologies. In today’s information era, information workers need to read to do justice to their profession—they should have current and accurate information about their area(s) of specialization. They should be aware of the latest developments and trends in their chosen field. One should also have a reasonably good awareness about what is happening in the world. For all these one should have the ability to read, absorb and assimilate the information that is available from myriad sources—newspapers, journals, magazines, electronic newsletters, e-zines, web sites, and so on.

We should develop the ability to wade through the vast ocean of information available and zero in on the information that we need. How do you find your way in an age of information overload? How can you filter streams of complex information to pull out only what you want? Why does it matter how information is structured when Google seems to magically bring up the right answer to your questions? What does it mean to be “findable” in this day and age? This eye-opening new book examines the convergence of information and connectivity. The book defines our current age as a state of unlimited findability. In other words, anyone can find anything at any time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Made to Stick explains why some ideas survive and others stick. This book is inspired by Malcolm Gladwell’s bestselling book—The Tipping Point. In this book, the Heath brothers—Chip Heath, a professor at Stanford’s business school and Dan Heath, a teacher and textbook publisher—offer an entertaining, practical guide to effective communication.

Drawing extensively on psychosocial studies on memory, emotion and motivation, their study is couched in terms of “stickiness”—that is, the art of making ideas unforgettable. They start by relating the gruesome urban legend about a man who succumbs to a barroom flirtation only to wake up in a tub of ice, victim of an organ-harvesting ring.

What makes such stories memorable and ensures their spread around the globe? The authors credit six key principles—Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions and Stories. Each principle is explained and illustrated with stories, real life anecdotes and other examples.

Read the rest of this entry »

This book is for people who want to do work more efficiently, who want do more things, and want to work smarter not harder. The subtitle summarizes the contents of the book—88 tech tricks to turbocharge your day. This book contains useful tips, tricks, shortcuts and workarounds that will help you become more productive and efficient. All you need is a computer, access to the Internet and a little adventurous spirit. Knowledge of the working of computer and various technologies is not a must for most of the hacks but will prove useful when trying out the advanced hacks.

The author—Gina Trapani—is an independent web programmer and is the founding editor of Lifehacker.com, the software and productivity blog, updated several times a day with time and effort saving tips, tricks and ideas.

Read the rest of this entry »