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Let’s start off with a book on architecture and design. It is very difficult to find a classic and useful book which stands true through the test of time. If you are an architecture student or already a profession in design you would have learned a lot about O.M.A and their renowned publication; S, M , L , XL. It is a textbook about space and how space embraces the environment.

S, M, L , XL
by O.M.A Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau

P.S: If you were to ever get the chance to meet Rem Koolhaas in person or to attend his talks, you will realize how much Dutch Architecture has influenced modern art, and vice versa.

Jurriaan Schrofer – Graphic Designer, Pioneer of Photobooks
by Huygen, Van Triest, Martens

The authors have thrown the readers all the way back to the industrial era when papers and ink were ‘King and Queen’. A very well-written text presenting the life-history of the godfather in digital graphic design, Jurriaan Schrofer.

Schrofer’s graphic designs are still a major influence in our perception of creative design and loud colours.

Pop Art, A Colourful History
by Alastair Sooke

One of the most inferred Pop Art is the colourful prints of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol (1960s). It is intriguing on how contrasting bright colours of celebrities’ portraits became part of the Pop Culture in America and Europe. Lumas art is one of the galleries that incorporates, with or without intention, as part of their business framework. Pop Art, though it is not technically tedious, the selling and resale price is considerably a high return asset.

The style of writing was in between a masters’ dissertation and a popular book. A recommended book to learn about ‘Pop Art Culture’ and how much pop artists have evolved since the 1960s.

The Black Swan
by Nassim Nicolas Taleb

Taleb is a banker, a trader, and very much of a consultant. His book states the obvious that most, if not, some are ignorant enough to consider majority is always right. A wealthy businessman whom I once knew used to say this to my ten-year old self, ‘if you were to lend a friend or a stranger a sum of money, don’t expect them to return it to you. And if you are ready to accept the return to never come back or to be returned at a much later time in your life, sure go ahead and lend it to them. ‘

In the book, Taleb spoke about probabilities – the theory and the fact that when, where, and how theory can never be true. If you like numbers and enjoy trades, The Black Swan is considerably a classic to have on your bookshelves.

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
by Sam Kean

Kean has a great sense of humour. In his book, he covered the life-history of the elements found in the Periodic Table; excluding the three newbies discovered in 2016. From the discovery and identification of the elements, Kean detailed the events of the founders during their remarkable career AND private lives.

Born on a Blue Day
by Daniel Tammet

An extraordinary mind takes courage, and God kinda likes to play it fair. Having an autistic child can be a devastating trait or scenario in the affected family, but don’t forget that autism augments a specific ability in the brain. And most often, affected individuals had it in their long-term memory. There are different types of autism and intelligence affects the individuals’ ability to carry out their daily tasks; e.g. communication.

Tammet mentioned about how he visualizes days of the week in different colours, words and sounds are transcribed into different senses. For instance, Monday paints Blue for Tammet.  Maybe Tammet is geared towards Synesthesia – a condition when artists say ‘ I see colours when I listen to music, and I thought that is normal.’

Cloud Atlas
by David Mitchell

It’s a crazy book. The sequence of events are very captivating, but readers have to follow the content very, very C L O S E L Y. Admittedly, it brings the readers back and forth to the future and past, and the events indirectly question the existence of ‘present’ .

If  you enjoy time travel, it is a genius book but you got to follow so closely that you don’t miss any tiles on the ground.