Library

Books

I have always been an avid reader and a book lover. When I was younger, I primarily enjoyed fiction. But nowadays, I cannot just read any book or any story. I have become too picky, and I only opt for the very good stories when it comes to fiction! Aside from that, most of my reading consists of non-fiction and textbooks, including books and papers related to my research and other interests as I discussed in About Me section.

Here, I’ve decided to list my favorite books, and I plan to gradually add my reviews (Persian reviews for books I read in Persian, and English reviews for books I read in English). You can also check out my Goodreads account, where I try to add other books I’ve read.

I created my first Goodreads account when I was in my early teens, but I removed it and then created another account before removing it again! The reason was that my to-read list would become so big it gave me anxiety, and also because Goodreads is owned by Amazon. But I finally decided to keep one account, given that it is still well-established among readers, so many editions are available for each book, and the UI is comparably better than alternatives.

While I haven’t read every textbook from cover to cover, I have thoroughly read all the fiction and philosophy titles, except for the ones I'm currently reading.

I have looked through many textbooks, and the ones listed here are those I truly enjoyed and found comprehensive enough to build strong fundamentals. Researchers must read numerous books and papers, but newcomers need a solid foundation to go further. These days, many lecture notes and course materials are sufficient to build these foundations, and of course, many textbooks grow out of these lecture notes. However, the books I've listed here are the ones I would read cover to cover if I was learning the material on my own for the first time. Finding some of these books was random, but it made me very happy since I couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere else, and what a joy it is when you come across a book that finally is THE ONE!

Probability and Statistics

I hope to get my hands on The Simple and Infinite Joy of Mathematical Statistics by J.N. Corcoran to see if it can replace Hogg's book here, as I think while Corcoran's may not cover as much material as Hogg's, it focuses on the most important topics and offers greater pedagogical value. Her videos surely attest to that!

Introduction to Probability

Joseph K. Blitzstein & Jessica Hwang

Introduction to Mathematical Statistics

Robert V. Hogg & Joseph W. McKean & Allen T. Craig

Linear and Matrix Algebra

Introduction to Linear and Matrix Algebra

Nathaniel Johnston

Advanced Linear and Matrix Algebra

Nathaniel Johnston

Real Analysis

Analysis I

Terence Tao

Measure, Integration & Real Analysis

Sheldon Axler

Foundation of Mathematics

Foundation of Mathematics

Mohsen Khani

Philosophy

Letters on Ethics: To Lucilius

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The Enchiridion

Epictetus

The Enchiridion by Epictetus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a brief introduction to Stoicism, starting with the core principle of the philosophy (some things are in our control and others not.) While reading Seneca's letters on ethics, I recalled passages from The Enchiridion and made connections between the two. I believe this short handbook serves as an excellent summary of the main Stoic beliefs.
The beauty of Stoicism is that it was not just a philosophy for lords or people of high rank; it included wise individuals from various social standings. Epictetus's words are filled with wisdom, just like those of Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. Whether slave, senator, or king, they were all great individuals.

View all my reviews

My Review

Economics

Principles of Economics

N. Gregory Mankiw

Fiction

A Song of Ice and Fire

George R. R. Martin

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Leo Tolstoy

مرگ ایوان ایلیچ by Leo Tolstoy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

این کتاب رو حدود دو سال پیش خوندم و حقیقتاً یکی از اون بهترین کتابهاست!
این کتاب انگار آدم رو واقعا یک بار میکشه و مرگ رو جلو چشمای خواننده میاره. خیلی وقتها پیش میاد که از خودم میپرسم آیا واقعاً دارم راه درست رو میرم؟ آیا انتخابهایی که تو زندگیم میکنم و الان فکر میکنم درسته سالها بعد هم درموردشون همین فکر رو خواهم کرد؟
آخه از کجا بدونم که بعدها پشیمون نمیشم از تصمیمم؟ اصلاً انتخاب درست چیه؟
ایوان ایلیچ کجای زندگیش رو اشتباه کرد که اینقدر مرگ براش غیرقابل قبول بود؟ شاید چون خیلی سرش به زندگی گرم بوده کلاً مرگ رو فراموش کرده بود.
یکی از عقاید مهم فیلسوفان رواقی اینه که انسان باید مرگ رو همیشه به یاد داشته باشه. در آثار سنکا میبینیم که باید طوری زندگی کنیم که انگار هر روز روز آخره، از هر روز لذت ببریم و زندگی رو عقب نندازیم.
یه ایده خوب شاید این باشه که بیایم زندگیمون رو تا اینجا بنویسیم، همون طور که تولستوی زندگی ایوان رو شرح میده. بعد ببینیم اگر در ادامه مثل ایوان شدیم، آیا واقعاً راضی هستیم از زندگی که تا اینجا کردیم؟
ایوان از زندگی خود لذت برد، اما از مرگ خود نه. ای کاش بتونیم اونقدر خوب زندگی کنیم که پایانمون هم لذت‌بخش باشه.

View all my reviews

My Review

The Saga of Darren Shan

Darren Shan

Movies & TV Series

You can find a list of movies and miniseries I've watched on my Letterboxd account, although I currently don't write reviews for screen media and just star them. Unlike books, movies and TV series are my way of escapism and simply enjoying the experience.

Websites and Blogs

James E. Gentle's personal website: be sure to check out his library!

Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science: you can also follow this Bluesky account or @statmodeling_bot@bayes.club on Mastodon to be notified of new posts.