In my free time I love to read, cook, do yoga, and be outdoors, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing. I also love traveling and road trips. This is a non-exhaustive list of things I liked and enjoyed over time or found useful.



Non-fiction and textbooks

2023

Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. Terry Winograd and Fernando Flores

Nudge. Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein

Designing Your Life. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century. Peniel E. Joseph

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Thomas Kuhn

2022

Philosophy: The Classics. Nigel Warburton

The Effect: An Introduction to Research Design and Causality. Nick Huntington-Klein

Food and Feasting in Art. Silvia Malaguzzi

Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide. Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras

Who We Are and How We Got Here. David Reich

How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Katy Milkman

Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans. Melanie Mitchell

Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist’s Companion. Joshua Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke

Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do. Jennifer L. Eberhardt

2021

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster. Bill Gates

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. David Epstein

Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live. Nicholas Christakis

Everything Is Obvious: Once You Know the Answer. Duncan J. Watts

Counterfactuals and Causal Inference: Methods and Principles for Social Research. Stephen L. Morgan and Christopher Winship

The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu. Dan Jurafsky

Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries. Safi Bahcall

Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

2020

Field Experiments: Design, Analysis, and Interpretation. Alan S. Gerber, Donald P. Green

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Yuval Noah Harari

21 Lessons for the 21st Century. Yuval Noah Harari

Data Feminism. Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren Klein.

2019

Crowdsourced Health: How What You Do on the Internet Will Improve Medicine. Elad Yom-Tov

Observation and Experiment. Paul R. Rosenbaum

Predictably Irrational. Dan Ariely

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success. Adam Grant

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. Yuval Noah Harari

2018

The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect. Dana Mackenzie and Judea Pearl

Thinking, Fast and Slow. Daniel Kahneman

Twitter: A Digital Socioscope. Yelena Mejova, Ingmar Weber, Michael W. Macy

The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us. James W. Pennebaker

Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age. Matthew J. Salganik



Mostly outdoor tried-and-tested activities and day trips

Switzerland

Cross-country skiing at Piste du Golf Crans-Montana

Cross-country skiing at Sainte-Croix Piste Les Rasses–Les Cluds

Cross-country skiing at Täsch Cross-Country Ski Trail

Cross-country skiing at Piste de la vallée de la Jogne near Gruyères

Cross-country skiing at Plans-sur-Bex

Snowshoeing trail Parcours de La Chia in Gruyeres

Snowshoeing trail Solacyre at Leysin

Snowshoeing trail Pas de l’Ours–Crans-Montana

Snowshoeing trail Parcours du Chasseron

Snowshoeing trail Parcours de Ratvel, walking up to the summit of the Niremont

Winter hike near Interlaken Royal Walk Mannlichen at 2342m altitude

Winter hike near Zermatt Rotenboden-Riffelberg trail starting at 2815m altitude

Winter hike Rochers-de-Naye

Hike Through the Areuse Gorge

Hike Five Lakes in Zermatt mountains (the queen of all hikes starting at 2571m altitude)

Hike in the valley of 72 waterfalls (the Lord of the Rings hike)

Hike Vigne et Passerelle à Farinet

Hike Waterfalls La Sarraz

Hike Leysin Tour d’Ai

Hike from Bretaye lake to la Tete du Meilleret

Hike Lavaux vineyard

Hike at Creux du Van

Les Bains de Lavey

Les Bains de Saillon

Les Bains de la Gruyère

Visit St. Beatus Caves near Interlaken

Visit Salt Mines of Bex

Visit Sauvabelin park, tower, and zoo

Visit Cailler chocolate factory in Gruyeres

Visit Gruyere cheese factory

Visit Chillon Castle

Visit Gruyères Castle

Italy

Cross-country skiing in Monte Bondone

Snowshoeing in Val di Fiemme

Hike in Arte Sella

Hike to San Remedio pilgrimage site

Hike in Val Gardena

Hike in Pala group San Martino

Cycling from Riva del Garda to Punta Larici

Varone waterfalls

France

Glacier la Mer de Glace

Aiguille du Midi
Cordon Les Bénés circular route with view of Mont Blanc

Bay Area

Stevens Canyon Trail

Redtail Loop trail at Arastratero Preserve and brunch at Rossotti’s Alpine Inn

Half Moon Bay Coastside Trail



Quotes

“The passion to study broadly, to empathize deeply, and to organize politically still burns within me.” Peniel Joseph