Favorite books by Konstantin Panfilov, editor-in-chief of vc.ru

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The stories of the heroes of the new Lifehacker column inspire you to pick up a new book, immerse yourself in the text and dream about your own library.

What are your favorite books?

I have no favorite writer. In childhood and adolescence I was inspired by science fiction writers like Asimov and Zhelyazna, now I quickly jumped over the period of passion for business literature and am in a vacuum - I grab onto everything.

From childhood, I remember most of all the books that cannot be called completely childish - they are about how children face adult problems, experience and see a lot during a long journey, and this changes them forever. These are “An Endless Story” (Another name in Russian translation is “A Story That Has No End” - Ed.) And “Jim Pugovka and Engine Driver Lucas” by Michael Ende.

What books do you recommend?

As funny as it may be, most of all I was inspired at one time by Atlas Shrugged and its lighter counterpart, Ayn Rand's The Source. Nowadays it is fashionable to consider this as frivolous tabloid literature, but when you are 18 years old, it can lead to some thoughts and give stimulus.

There were several books that I could not tear myself away from until I read to the end. From the latter, I would recall the Harry Potter and the Methods of Rational Thinking fanfic by Eliezer Yudkowsky - this is a very weighty book, but insanely fascinating. This is not only a completely unexpected interpretation of a well-known history, but also a source of a huge amount of knowledge about the world.

I can't say which book every person must read, but I always advise journalists to "Craft" by Leonid Bershidsky, "News Internet Journalism" by Alexander Amzin (by the way, he claims that he has already finished a new version). Well, those who believe that they will never emerge from the endless search for themselves should read The Burden of Human Passions by Somerset Maugham.

What have you read recently and why did you choose this one?

The last book that I remember is Mikhail Zygar's “The Empire Must Die”, because in fact I haven't finished reading it yet, I'm stuck in the middle: it's very difficult to wade through the infinity of facts, names and dates. At school I did not like history and preferred the exact sciences, but now a love for the affairs of bygone days has awakened in me and I often just read articles about events on Wikipedia. The period of the beginning of the 20th century is especially interesting for me, so, one way or another, I will finish the book.

I also finished reading "Business from scratch" by Eric Rees, because I wanted to feel a little deeper than our readers who are engaged in the development of a small business live and breathe. Through force - because all American business literature tends to go around the bush and repeat the same thoughts over and over again.

A good book that I read a few years ago on my mother's advice is The Benevolers by Jonathan Littell, looking at war through the eyes of an SS officer, a powerful thing.

How do you read?

I mostly read from the screen and pay for Bookmate every month. Sometimes it's nice to pick up a paper, but in general for me this is not a matter of principle, because for the past few years I have been reading from time to time - too much work.

I keep a list of books I have read in Evernote, there is also a list of what I would like to read - apparently already retired.