Reflections

I have heard a lot about this book by Mitch Albom and so when I saw this book in my library, I thought I should give it a try. While there are numerous books with the same theme - life is more than just materialistic pursuits and happiness is beyond your salary and designation, I think what makes this book different from others is that this is a real life, true story.  As any reader of self-help book would readily agree, most of the tips in such books are easier said than done. That the author's teacher actually walked the talk and really believed in the different traits that he shared with the author is what makes this special.  Surely this book is not for someone who is looking for tips to change his life overnight, but is clearly a definite read for those who already have similar thoughts in life and are looking for real life examples of people who live the life the way they want, irrespective of numerous hurdles and distractions. 

Inspired by my friend Ranjit 's web-site, I have also decided to give it a try and make jot down some notes on the books that I read, both technical and non-technical. Here it comes. My first attempt is C++ Common Knowledge by Stephen C.Dewhurst. The blurb on the back page of this book says that this book is for you "if you've had some experience in C++ programming, but reading intermediate and advanced C++ is slow-going". I will have to agree with this assessment. The book intends to list of out some essential tips and practices for professional C++ programmers and clearly achieves it.  One word of caution -- As there are no exercises at the end of the chapters, we need to resist the temptation to just flip the pages and treat it as a light read, the contents have to be chewed and digested for maximum benefit. The book has a total of 61 chapters and of these, I felt I have learned something new (or presented something I knew in a new way) from quite a few of these c...