Why I Built This Page

I’ve always been curious about how things work under the hood — not just how to use a tool or technology, but why it was built that way. That curiosity led me to start reading research papers and system design articles — the kind that powers the backend of the internet.

This page documents my journey through papers on distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, database internals, and general system design. I aim to read a few papers every month and curate the ones I find insightful.

I’m not summarizing these papers like a blog — instead, I’m collecting and linking to them here as a personal reading shelf. It's a way for both myself and others to refer back to important reads on backend design and infrastructure.

I maintain a dedicated System Design Notes Notion page , where I jot down learnings, concepts, and frameworks I come across. It’s still growing — but built with curiosity and consistency.

My Process (inspired by Arpit Bhayani )

• First Pass: Skim for a high-level overview, highlight key terms, and form broad mental “dots.”
• Second Pass: Read thoroughly, connect ideas, and highlight important insights.
• Third Pass: Create handwritten notes as if I’m teaching the topic — this helps build a deeply connected mental model.