Emma Wedekind
Software Engineer, Design Systems American in Germany Building @logmein @codingcoach_io Instructor @eggheadio Podcasting @ladybugpodcast @jspartyFM
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“@RobertWPearce I'm decades away from that but @sarah_edo just published an amazing book! 10/10 recommend” (from X)
by Sarah Drasner·You?
by Sarah Drasner·You?
A lot of Engineering Managers and leaders studied for years and years to become the best Engineer they possibly could be... and then they were promoted. It can be very tough for those of us who didn't go into Engineering with the distinct concept that we would become managers, but still want to do our best to support our teams. I wrote this book because there's so much no one told me about management that I wished I would have known. There's a lot to be purposeful about that many of us learn on the job, and worse: learn on people. This book provides some organization for collaborating with networks of people, working together towards a common purpose. There seem to be millions of articles and "how to"s on programming and only a handful of resources on Engineering Management- why? It's very tough to talk about something that involves people processes. People are non-deterministic. Working relationships are nuanced, communication is linked with individual values, motivations, power dynamics, and skills. People also have a range of experiences and emotions that are not consistent day-to-day. Hopefully, in the happiest, most productive sense. It's imperative that we as managers learn as much as we can and work on ourselves, so that our teams may enjoy a healthy working life and strong relationships. It's not just important, it's crucial that we iterate on our own skills as managers so that we can properly support everyone around us: individuals, peers, leadership, and the business. I'm sharing what I've learned- not so that you follow my concepts exactly, but rather so that you can be thoughtful about your own leadership and needs. The book goes from the macro to the micro- with topics ranging everywhere from "feedback" to "scoping down PRs". Though the book is meant to address people in management, individual contributors are welcome to read the book as well- perhaps you need to manage up and need some tools to help guide the conversation, perhaps you just want a peek at other concerns within the business- everyone is invited to the conversation.
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“@joseluisrod Oh how interesting!!! I have the book but haven’t watched the series!” (from X)
by Nir Eyal, Ryan Hoover·You?
by Nir Eyal, Ryan Hoover·You?
Revised and Updated, Featuring a New Case Study How do successful companies create products people can’t put down? Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behavior. Through consecutive “hook cycles,” these products reach their ultimate goal of bringing users back again and again without depending on costly advertising or aggressive messaging. Hooked is based on Eyal’s years of research, consulting, and practical experience. He wrote the book he wished had been available to him as a start-up founder—not abstract theory, but a how-to guide for building better products. Hooked is written for product managers, designers, marketers, start-up founders, and anyone who seeks to understand how products influence our behavior. Eyal provides readers with: • Practical insights to create user habits that stick. • Actionable steps for building products people love. • Fascinating examples from the iPhone to Twitter, Pinterest to the Bible App, and many other habit-forming products.
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“What Lies Between Us by John Maars. I love this author and holy heck this was the most f’d book I’ve ever read. Not for the faint of heart but wow so good. https://t.co/YJezqQxvcu” (from X)
by John Marrs·You?
by John Marrs·You?
ITW Thriller Award winner International Book Awards winner Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she did. And she can never let her leave. They say every house has its secrets, and the house that Maggie and Nina have shared for so long is no different. Except that these secrets are not buried in the past. Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. When they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room in the attic, and into the heavy chain that keeps her there. Because Maggie has done things to Nina that can’t ever be forgiven, and now she is paying the price. But there are many things about the past that Nina doesn’t know, and Maggie is going to keep it that way―even if it kills her. Because in this house, the truth is more dangerous than lies.
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“AMAZING BOOK ALERT! If you enjoyed Ready Player One or Warcross you’ll adore this new release! It’s about programming/video game design (high level) and delves into some Korean and Japanese culture. Plus this cover is gorgeous 🥰 Going to be one of my all time favorites. https://t.co/lcjVq5lMa8” (from X)
by Gabrielle Zevin·You?
by Gabrielle Zevin·You?
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Sam and Sadie—two college friends, often in love, but never lovers—become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have read before. "Delightful and absorbing." —The New York Times • "Utterly brilliant." —John Green One of the Best Books of the Year: The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, GoodReads, Oprah Daily From the best-selling author of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts. Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“Currently reading my 62nd book of the year: Cloud Cuckoo Land! I’m 100 pages in and pleasantly surprised. I loved All The Light We Cannot See and so far this does not disappoint. If you enjoy alternating timelines, one of which is located in Constantinople, I recommend this! https://t.co/dEaQ5YUlxM” (from X)
by Anthony Doerr·You?
by Anthony Doerr·You?
On the New York Times bestseller list for over 20 weeks * A New York Times Notable Book * A National Book Award Finalist * Named a Best Book of the Year by Fresh Air, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, and many more “If you’re looking for a superb novel, look no further.” —The Washington Post From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of All the Light We Cannot See, comes the instant New York Times bestseller that is a “wildly inventive, a humane and uplifting book for adults that’s infused with the magic of childhood reading experiences” (The New York Times Book Review). Among the most celebrated and beloved novels of recent times, Cloud Cuckoo Land is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope, and a book. In the 15th century, an orphan named Anna lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople. She learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds what might be the last copy of a centuries-old book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the army that will lay siege to the city. His path and Anna’s will cross. In the present day, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno rehearses children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege. And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father. Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders whose lives are gloriously intertwined. Doerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own.
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“@shidonichan It’s rly good! The book is awesome too” (from X)
by Sarah Pinborough·You?
by Sarah Pinborough·You?
The secretary of a successful psychiatrist is drawn into the seemingly picture-perfect life of her boss and his wife before discovering a complex web of controlling behaviors and secrets that gradually reveal profound and dangerous flaws in the couple's relationship.
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“This book is absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it. Congrats Eve & Alex! https://t.co/2lz2bCn8NJ” (from X)
by Alex Banks, Eve Porcello·You?
by Alex Banks, Eve Porcello·You?
If you want to learn how to build efficient React applications, this is your book. Ideal for web developers and software engineers who understand how JavaScript, CSS, and HTML work in the browser, this updated edition provides best practices and patterns for writing modern React code. No prior knowledge of React or functional JavaScript is necessary. With their learning road map, authors Alex Banks and Eve Porcello show you how to create UIs that can deftly display changes without page reloads on large-scale, data-driven websites. You'll also discover how to work with functional programming and the latest ECMAScript features. Once you learn how to build React components with this hands-on guide, you'll understand just how useful React can be in your organization. Understand key functional programming concepts with JavaScript Look under the hood to learn how React runs in the browser Create application presentation layers with React components Manage data and reduce the time you spend debugging applications Incorporate React Hooks to manage state and fetch data Use a routing solution for single-page application features Learn how to structure React applications with servers in mind
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“Friends, If you’re looking to educate yourself and others about racism, I cannot recommend “So You Want To Talk About Race” by @IjeomaOluo enough. I’ve never had an emotional reaction while reading a book but this one... It’s a must read. https://t.co/X83LDqjjIr” (from X)
by Ijeoma Oluo·You?
by Ijeoma Oluo·You?
In this #1 New York Times bestseller, Ijeoma Oluo offers a revelatory examination of race in America Protests against racial injustice and white supremacy have galvanized millions around the world. The stakes for transformative conversations about race could not be higher. Still, the task ahead seems daunting, and it’s hard to know where to start. How do you tell your boss her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law hang up on you when you had questions about police reform? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend? In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from police brutality and cultural appropriation to the model minority myth in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race, and about how racism infects every aspect of American life. "Simply put: Ijeoma Oluo is a necessary voice and intellectual for these times, and any time, truth be told." ―Phoebe Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of You Can't Touch My Hair
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“@yannln I love that book!” (from X)
by Carmine Gallo·You?
by Carmine Gallo·You?
Learn the public-speaking secrets of the world's top minds Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century. In order to succeed, you need to be able to sell your ideas persuasively. This ability is the single greatest skill that will help you accomplish your dreams. TED Talks have redefined the elements of a successful presentation and become the gold standard for public speaking. TED―which stands for technology, entertainment, and design―brings together the world's leading thinkers. These are the presentations that set the world on fire, and the techniques that top TED speakers use will make any presentation more dynamic, fire up any team, and give anyone the confidence to overcome their fear of public speaking. Public speaking coach and bestselling author Carmine Gallo has broken down hundreds of TED talks and interviewed the most popular TED presenters, as well as the top researchers in the fields of psychology, communications, and neuroscience to reveal the nine secrets of all successful TED presentations. Gallo's step-by-step method makes it possible for anyone to deliver a presentation that is engaging, persuasive, and memorable. Many people have a fear of public speaking or are insecure about their ability to give a TED-worthy presentation. Carmine Gallo's top 10 Wall Street Journal Bestseller Talk Like TED will give them the tools to communicate the ideas that matter most to them, the skill to win over hearts and minds, and the confidence to deliver the talk of their lives.
Recommended by Emma Wedekind
“@sarah_edo @jennyshen I love this topic so much! Sarah you might love The Culture Map. BEST book of 2019 so far and taught me how to work on internationally diverse teams!” (from X)
An international business expert helps you understand and navigate cultural differences in this insightful and practical guide, perfect for both your work and personal life. Americans precede anything negative with three nice comments; French, Dutch, Israelis, and Germans get straight to the point; Latin Americans and Asians are steeped in hierarchy; Scandinavians think the best boss is just one of the crowd. It's no surprise that when they try and talk to each other, chaos breaks out. In The Culture Map, INSEAD professor Erin Meyer is your guide through this subtle, sometimes treacherous terrain in which people from starkly different backgrounds are expected to work harmoniously together. She provides a field-tested model for decoding how cultural differences impact international business, and combines a smart analytical framework with practical, actionable advice.