Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits.
Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

This section of my website is devoted to the books I read so far. There are times that I get into books and read a few hours a day and there are times that I don't hold a book in my hand for weeks and sometimes for months...

Boo Hoo by Ernst Malmsten, Erik Portanger, Charles Drazin as the subtitle reads, "$135 million, 18 months... a dot.com story from concept to catastrophe". it's a very interesting read. i think the no. 1 reason why boo went bust is the inability of its founders to judge the difficulty of the project correctly. if only they came from a programming background, i might have bought my last shirt from them. if u read the book, let me know what u think.. (december 2005) Buy from Amazon

Kumesteki Kartal by Burak Buyukdemir it's amazing and also humiliating how people who don't even know how to use dreamweaver, find the dedication to learn, create websites and change the way people live. the stories include: yemeksepeti.com, gittigidiyor.com, ebebek.com (october 2005) Buy from HepsiBurada.com

Amazon.com: Get Big Fast by Robert Spector my friend berkan gave me the turkish translated version of this book. the book is about a series of events that lead to current amazon.com business venture. it sounds simple but those events are very interesting and definitely motivates all entrepreneurs. it's just amazing how Bezos tackled through all those obstacles... (september 2005) A list of key points that I valued the most: • take risks and try so u won't regret when u'r 60. • think and plan for the long run • there is a solution to everything • be extremely selective with ur employees • leave ur comfort zone. work like u r in hell • lower ur business-run costs to minimum • increase customer satisfactions levels to maximum • be ready to lose money if u have faith in ur project • get big fast! • start early building ur brand recognition • u can put lots of effort to something. be ready to throw it away. • make sure u control your "destiny" Buy from Amazon (sounds weird - buying amazon.com book from amazon.com - lol)

Wine for Dummies by Ed McCarthy, Mary Ewing-Mulligan, Piero Antinori i have read the first 100 pages and i really learned a lot about wine. if you like wine, this is a must read book. you should read and experiment at the same time and i am sure that'll double your pleasure. i've started collecting some good wines already and been drinking a glass of cabernet sauvignon every night and then... (july 2005) Buy from Amazon

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown the vatican city.. a time bomb.. antimatter technology.. i can say that this is the best thriller i have read so far. i read half of the book (600 pages total) in the 10-hour plane from new york to istanbul.. i recommend this very popular book to everyone. i'll be reading the da vinci code soon. (june 2005) Buy from Amazon

Permission Marketing Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers by Seth Godin i quit reading the book. it keeps talking about the same things over and over again without really telling "how" to do them. i want to read the whole book after some time. but right now, it's not interesting enough. (june 2005) Buy from Amazon

Closing The Deal by Leigh Ronald Grossman, Edward Farthing i wanted to read a book about selling houses - i work at a real estate company. this book is good in a sense that it gives a list of to-dos and not to-dos when selling houses. many concepts did not apply to the situations in cyprus, but i benefited from some of them. in case i'll be working directly with customers in the future, i think i'll read this book again. (may 2005) Buy from Amazon

Don't Make Me Think A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug excellent book to learn usability testing. i learnt a bunch of things and i am actually considering doing usability testing in a smaller scale for the upcoming redesign of the NCP website. reading was easy, flowed smoothly and was not boring at all! it's one of those books i want to keep in my shelf and refer to occasionally. (april 2005) Buy from Amazon

How to Become CEO The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization by Jeffrey J. Fox nice book with obvious basics on how to treat your colleagues and yourself in a business environment. some of the principles won't work in europe, and definitely not in cyprus. easy fun read in a few sittings. (march 2005) Buy from Amazon

Purple Cow Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin carefully chosen examples inspired me, especially when i tried to find similar applications of such examples through my own car hire business and real estate marketing job. (february 2005) Buy from Amazon

Büyüyünce E-ticaretçi Oldum Bir Girişimin Öyküsü by Adnan Tokalıoğlu it's a story that made me feel proud. they talk about the difficulties they experienced along the way and the sacrifices they had to make. i enjoyed this book very much. i wish more turkish ppl wrote such stories..may be i should write mine :P (february 2005) Buy from Tulumba | Buy from Pandora

The Cuckoo's Egg Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Clifford Stoll it was a book that i could not drop for hours on some days.. the storyline is somewhat repetitive, by revealing a little extra detail about a spy every few pages.. slowlw and slowly.. i liked the computer talk behind it. (december 2004) Buy from Amazon