
<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  Recently I read the wonderfully insightful book on learning and performance at
  an extremely high level - 
  <strong>The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin</strong> - and I was very captivated
  by one idea. The idea of <strong>'building your trigger'</strong>. The reason I
  was so caught by this idea was the practicality and potential wide range of use
  for it.
</p>

> "Josh's idea is to work on a routine over a period of 30 days for example
> where you would work on purely getting yourself into the zone, into a state
> of flow."

## The idea in a nutshell

_The whole idea of 'Building your trigger' is to get yourself in the right
mental state and focused for performing some act at a high level._

For example, take presenting at work to a crowd of 50 colleagues. For many
people this can be a very nerve wracking experience and can cause a wide range
of emotions in the lead up to the presentation and during the presentation
itself. Anxiety about how the presentation will go and fear of things going
wrong during the presentation itself.

Josh's idea is to work on a routine over a period of time, say 30 days, where
you would work purely on getting yourself into the zone or into a state of flow.
Professional athletes do this before every game. They come up with a
deliberately designed routine where they can consistently get themselves into
the zone. Once in the zone the level of performance is guaranteed to be much
higher than if you were to lead everything to chance.

## How you can build a trigger

Josh's main idea is deceptively simple. You have to search through your life and
find an activity you do regularly where you have a feeling of flow. It doesn't
matter what you are doing at this time of being in the zone but there must be
something. For some it will be walking, for others it will be playing with their
children, for others it will be some sort of exercise or meditation technique.

> "For some it will be walking, for others it will be playing with their
> children, for others it will be some sort of exercise or meditation
> technique."

Once you discover this activity then it is a matter of building a routine
leading up to this activity every day for 30 days or so. This is training
yourself and creating a routine you can then transfer over to your performance.

<Image960x660
  src="building-your-trigger_liy57s"
  altText="Presenter to audience"
  imageCategory="articles"
/>

The example given in 'The Art of Learning' is a business leader who always felt
nervous during big presentations and tended not to perform to the level he felt
he could. So after discussions with Josh they discovered the time of day he
feels most relaxed is when he played ball with his son at their home. **So they
built a routine around this activity**. The routine started out like this:

- Eat a light consistent snack for 10 minutes
- 15 minutes meditation
- 10 minutes stretching
- 10 minutes listening to some Bob Dylan
- Play ball with his son

The business leader then performed this routine for 30 days. Playing ball with
his son was always a joy and he was always in a relaxed state. He was training
himself to consistently get in a state of flow by doing something he enjoyed
doing anyway.

_The next step is the crucial step - Transferring this routine over to where you
want to implement it into other 'pressure' situations in your life._ In this
example the business leader transferred it over to the time before big
presentations. He did exactly the same routine (except the playing ball with his
son!) before the presentation and by the time he reached the presentation he was
in such a relaxed state that he breezed through the presentation and it went
much better than usual.

## Condensing the routine

One has to be practical though and we all are leading busy lives. This example
routine is great because it is extremely transportable and can be performed
pretty much anywhere. However, in all likelihood you won't have 45 minutes
before every moment you want to get into this state.

Therefore to make this routine lower maintenance and more flexible, the idea is
to incrementally reduce the amount of time on each part of the routine **BUT**
keeping it similar enough it will still produce the same physiological effect.

The leader gradually reduced the time spent on each activity in his routine over
a number of days. By doing this gradually he was able to retain the impact of
the routine but condense the actual routine into a much shorter period.
Eventually he reduced the time for the routine down to 12 minutes and it was
still just as potent.

## Conclusion

If there is any area of your life where you would like to perform at a high
level consistently, incorporating a 'trigger' into your life can really help
you. It gives you a predictable and reliable method to getting 'into the zone'.

The beauty of this practice is a trigger can be created for anyone and catered
to that person's specific needs. If incorporated correctly it can become
extremely powerful, transportable and potent.

It requires some thought and dedication to build the habit into your life but
once that work is done you have a great addition to your tool chest to help you
achieve your goals.

## Want to Learn More?

<Image266x400
  src="josh-waitzkin-art-of-learning_aqomaf"
  altText="The Art of Learning - Josh Waitzkin"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

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  <AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743277465/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0743277465&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=d3357e90f7c3c96b77475117658f3e07" />
</Box>


In his book The Art of Learning, Josh Waitzkin walks the reader through his methods and systems he has developed over his lifetime to optimise peak performace. Building your trigger is one of his methods.

Building Your Trigger - Art of Learning

<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  Did you know that 80% of us breathe wrong. When I first found out about this
  statistic I was shocked! How can this be? It’s a natural thing right? How can
  you breath wrong?
</p>

> “The human body was designed so that breathing would be done through the nose
> and not through the mouth. The mouth is there for communicating and eating.”

I discovered this statistic from the
[very impactful book ‘Breath’ written by James Nestor](https://paperbacktravels.com/book-summaries/health-and-wellness/james-nestor-breath).
In this book he describes how 80% of people throughout their lives breath
inefficiently with the main culprit being mouth breathing.

## What is mouth Breathing?

The human body was designed so that breathing would be done through the nose and
not through the mouth. **_The mouth is there for communicating and eating. Its
not there for breathing!_** However, due to a multitude of reasons many people
now breath partially or solely through their mouth and this has a whole range of
consequences. Some of these consequences are mild but some are deadly serious.
_And I mean DEADLY!_

Breathing through your mouth at all times, including when sleeping can lead to
the following problems in adults:

- Bad breath
- Gum disease
- Brain fog
- Snoring
- [Sleep apnea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea)
- Heart related issues (Yes that is correct!)

In children chronic mouth breathing can lead to the following problems:

- Crooked teeth
- Facial deformities
- Poor growth
- Problems concentrating at school
- Anxiety

## Benefits of breathing through the nose

Your nose is designed for breathing and it helps you breathe safely and
efficiently. It is full of nasal hair which helps filter out foreign particles
such as dust and allergens.

It warms and moisturises the air that enters into your lungs which makes it
easier for your lungs to use. Your nose also releases nitric oxide which helps
to widen your blood vessels and this in turn improves the oxygen circulation in
your body.

## I was a chronic mouth breather

Ever since I can remember I have been told to ‘shut your mouth’. I was told this
continually as a child and I always closed it in the moment but before long it
was open again and I was again breathing through my mouth.

> “I realised if friends and loved ones around me were noticing my mouth
> breathing then I must have been doing it quite a bit.”

No real solution was given to me and honestly as a child it was just accepted by
myself and my parents. I mean surely breathing through your mouth wouldn’t cause
any _real_ problems right?

However, this habit (and I do mean habit) even remained into my adulthood. There
would be occasional remarks from friends and even my wife would ask me sometimes
if I realised I had my mouth open at certain points. _I realised if friends and
loved ones around me were noticing my mouth breathing then I must have been
doing it quite a bit._

Well into my thirties (I guess better late than never!) I read ‘Breath’ by James
Nestor and it hit me like a ton of bricks. **It was one of those things that you
know you should probably do something about but it wasn’t such a big deal
right?** But the more I listened to James’s book the more I realised how many
issues I had been suffering from that could be related to my mouth breathing. I
was in shock!

<Image960x660
  src="trouble-sleeping-ill-cold_s9zi6n"
  altText="Trouble sleeping due to being ill"
  imageCategory="articles"
/>

In my thirties I was having continual problems such as — sinus problems leading
to dizziness, blocked ears, waking up with a blocked nose, infections in my nose
that would lead to the need for antibiotics to remedy, snoring (which really
annoyed my wife), waking up in the night due to a feeling of lack of breath.
Could all these things be related to breathing through my mouth and not through
my nose?

## Why I started taping my mouth at night

I had so many realisations from James’s book that I knew I had to do something.
I needed to address this problem once and for all. There was one solution James
suggested that really stood out for me. _That was to tape my mouth whilst I was
sleeping._

> “Wouldn’t I suffocate in the night? How would I take a drink? What if I don’t
> get enough oxygen through my nose and I just die quietly in my sleep?!”

When I first heard this I was pretty sceptical. Wouldn’t I suffocate in the
night? How would I take a drink? What if I don’t get enough oxygen through my
nose and I just die quietly in my sleep?!

However, there were some things about this solution that I really liked:

- Easy to implement
- Cheap (go have a look at other solutions to keep your mouth shut at night,
  they aren’t cheap!).
- It didn’t require any medication
- I could try right away

I had to give it a go…

## How I tape my mouth shut

I followed James’s advise in this
[Youtube video on taping your mouth at night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nxi2kDcZx4)
(The instructions are in the first two minutes of this video.)

> “The idea is to take a small 1 inch x 1 inch piece of yellow weak tape and
> place it on your lips in the center of your mouth so they stay together
> throughout the night.”

The idea is to take a small 1 inch x 1 inch piece of yellow weak tape and place
it on your lips in the center of your mouth so they stay together throughout the
night. I do this just before I fall asleep every night and have been doing this
for about 6 months now.

Sometimes the tape comes off in the night and sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t
worry too much about this as I figure the main thing is I am doing this
consistently so more often than not I am sleeping a good portion of the night
with my mouth closed and breathing through my nose.

## Benefits I have found from taping my mouth at night

_Wow! This has been pretty revolutionary for me._ The benefits I have noticed
are:

- I sleep more consistently through the night
- I barely snore anymore (my wife is so happy!)
- I wake up without a blocked nose even in times where I can feel it could
  become blocked
- I am much more aware of my mouth being open in the day now so this has a knock
  on affect of me keeping my mouth closed in the day too
- I rarely suffer from the severity of the sinus problems I did before

## Conclusion

I have realised as I get older it is the small seemingly innocuous things that
can have a real detriment to your quality of life over the long run. For me
mouth breathing was definitely one of these things. By making some small change
to your life (in this case it was taping my mouth closed at night) it can really
turn things around in many other areas of your life.

By sleeping better I now wake up more fresh. I can be more present and active in
the day. Therefore I perform better at my work, I am more likely to exercise, my
mood is consistently better throughout the day and on and on and on. Just one
little change has really improved my whole quality of life and for that I am
deeply grateful.



<Image266x400
  src="james-nestor-breath_lfziu8"
  altText="Breath - James Nestor"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>



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  <AmazonCta link="https://amzn.to/3hKwaeR" />
</Box>

The book "Breath" by James Nestor helped me introduce one strange but ultimately very beneficial habit into my life...

Why I Tape My Mouth Shut At Night


I am a parent and as a parent I am often questioning what methods and practises
I should be adopting in order to give my children a good upbringing. As all
parents will know the path of parenthood is fraught with difficulties, failures
and setbacks. However, it is also one of the most rewarding adventures you can
ever hope to embark on.

So imagine my surprise when reading
[The Chimp Paradox](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039916359X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=039916359X&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=c4af00df2a368dc98ac2f6dffcff25e1)
by Dr Steve Peters recently and learning about the ‘**Fridge Door Syndrome**’.
In his book Dr Peters describes ‘The Fridge Door Syndrome’ as one of the most
common forms of Goblins that affects most people in Western society.

_\*Note: A Goblin is described as being more or less a hard-wired behaviour,
belief or automatic program that developed in childhood before the age of 8. In
the Chimp Paradox, Goblins are pretty much considered unerasable and therefore
something we need to learn to contain._

> Dr Peters describes ‘The Fridge Door Syndrome’ as one of the most common forms
> of Goblins that affects most people in Western society.

## What exactly is the ‘Fridge Door Syndrome’?

Imagine you are a parent and your child is attending their first day of school.
The apprehensive child is full of emotions at the prospect of embarking on a big
step in their young lives. At school their teacher suggests that the child paint
their parents a beautiful picture. After school the young child runs up to their
parent with the picture in hand and eagerly shows them their latest masterpiece.

The child hands over their work of art and the parent (with the best intentions)
wanting to praise their child and boost their confidence looks at the picture
and responds with something like ‘Wow! This picture is fantastic, you are very
clever, I am so proud of you. Shall we put this on the Fridge so everyone can
see?’. The parent then puts the picture onto the Fridge for all the world to
see.

<Image960x660
  src="fridge-door-image_ueisw8"
  altText="Child drawing a picture"
  imageCategory="articles"
/>

> Wrong! According to Dr. Peters this is putting a great big Goblin into their
> child that they now must deal with for the rest of their lives.

This is good parenting right? Taking interest in what your child is doing and
encouraging them and then showing this to the world? Wrong! According to Dr.
Peters this is putting a great big Goblin into their child that they now must
deal with for the rest of their lives. The child now associates the love and
attention they received from their parents with what they DID rather than with
who they are. They now have a belief that in order to be loved and respected in
the world they must achieve and accomplish things. According to Dr. Peters this
is why so much of the Western world is beset on achievement in life and so much
praise is placed on those who accomplish things. This is why so many people end
up with low self esteem because they struggle to live up to expectations and
therefore feel that they just aren’t enough.

Dr. Peters suggests a better approach would be when the child runs up to their
parents, that they put the picture to one side and hug and greet the child and
express their pride and joy at that moment and THEN look at the picture. This
sends a message to the child that THEY are important irregardless of what they
do or achieve.

## Realisation

When I read this it instantly hit me. I had been passing these Goblins onto my
children since their births!! I started searching through memories and was
horrified how many times I had done this. I then looked around and suddenly
became conscious of this behaviour in so many of my friends who have children.
It really shocked me that such a normalised behaviour in our society and culture
could actually be planting these Goblins in our children and impacting the very
way they see themselves in the world.

## Conclusion

OK… maybe it isn’t SO dramatic as my initial reaction but upon finding out about
this Syndrome and digesting it I have had a definite behavioural change. Now
whenever my children present me with something they have done I really try hard
to greet THEM first and then look at whatever they are presenting. I don’t
always succeed but I am definitely conscious and aware of this now.

This is also why I love reading because time and time again it shows how having
access to other people’s wisdom can bring about positive changes in your life.
For me this particular realisation really hit close to home as I am a parent of
young children and I really believe that parents have a fundamental
responsibility in raising their children.How the child develops is very much
affected by their relationship with their parents or parental figures.

Dr Peters book ‘The Chimp Paradox’ is an incredibly powerful mind management
model that can help you become a happy, confident, healthier and more successful
person.

## Want to Learn More?

<Image266x400
  src="steve-peters-the-chimp-paradox_hgejsl"
  altText="The Chimp Paradox: Dr Steve Peters."
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

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  <AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039916359X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=039916359X&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=c4af00df2a368dc98ac2f6dffcff25e1" />
</Box>


In his book The Chimp Paradox, Dr Steve Peters explains about the Fridge Door Syndrome. This can have a psychological effect on children putting a Goblin into their system.

The Fridge Door Syndrome


<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>1. The Last Days of John Lennon - James Patterson</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="james-patterson-the-last-days-of-john-lennon_aldnbg"
  altText="The Last Days of John Lennon"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“The greatest true-crime story in music history, as only James Patterson can
tell it. Enriched by exclusive interviews with Lennon’s friends and associates,
including Paul McCartney, The Last Days of John Lennon is the thrilling true
story of two men who changed history: One whose indelible songs enliven our
world to this day—and the other who ended the beautiful music with five pulls of
a trigger.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I have loved The Beatles ever since I first discovered my parents’ White Album
record as a nine-year-old. I remember being spellbound by songs such as Back In
The USSR, Bungalow Bill and While My Guitar Gently Weeps and then feeling a
sense of genuine loss when my parents explained to me that the band couldn’t
make any more music because one of its members had been murdered a few years
before.

I’ve read, watched and listened to much more about The Beatles since then and
find myself increasingly captivated by the music and the stories behind it. I
know of James Patterson as a best-selling fiction writer (although I’ve not read
anything by him yet) and I’m really interested to read how he applies his
writing style to real-life events that are arguably far more powerful than a
made up story. - James

### Release Date

December 7, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Last-Days-John-Lennon/dp/0316429066/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Last+Days+of+John+Lennon&qid=1606475228&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=776a0ef1728b0516e0cf8e4e4d285e7e&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>2. Data Action: Using Data For Public Good - Sarah Williams</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="sarah-williams-data-action_yj4iov"
  altText="Data Action: Using Data For Public Good"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“Big data can be used for good--from tracking disease to exposing human rights
violations--and for bad--implementing surveillance and control. Data inevitably
represents the ideologies of those who control its use; data analytics and
algorithms too often exclude women, the poor, and ethnic groups.

In Data Action, Sarah Williams provides a guide for working with data in more
ethical and responsible ways. Too often data has been used--and manipulated--to
make policy decisions without much stakeholder input. Williams outlines a method
that emphasizes collaboration among data scientists, policy experts, data
designers, and the public. This approach creates trust and co-ownership in the
data by opening the process to those who know the issues best.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I work with data in my day job, so I have spent a lot of time thinking (and
reading) about its huge potential for making the world a better place as well as
the dangers of too much personal data accumulating in the hands of companies and
states. I’m really interested to see what Sarah Williams proposes in Data
Action. There is definitely a need for an ethical framework for working with
data as its impact on every aspect of life increases. - James

### Release Date

December 8, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Data-Action-Using-Public-Good/dp/0262044196/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=data+action&qid=1606472118&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=d8fe8588ac9e61031677b4c926327151&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>3. Badass Habits - Jen Sincero</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="jen-sincero-badass-habits_erx9qv"
  altText="Badass Habits"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“Badass Habits is a eureka-sparking, easy-to-digest look at how our habits make
us who we are, from the measly moments that happen in private to the resolutions
we loudly broadcast (and, erm, often don't keep) on social media. Habit busting
and building goes way beyond becoming a dedicated flosser or never showing up
late again--our habits reveal our unmet desires, the gaps in our boundaries, our
level of self-awareness, and our unconscious beliefs and fears.

Badass Habits features Jen's trademark hilarious voice and offers a much-needed
fresh take on the conventional wisdom and science that shape the optimism (or
pessimism?) around the age-old topic of habits. The book includes enlightening
interviews with people who've successfully strengthened their discipline
backbones, new perspective on how to train our brains to become our best selves,
and offers a simple, 21 day, step-by-step guide for ditching habits that don't
serve us and developing the habits we deem most important.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I am sold on the importance of habits as a way to learn skills and live
healthily. Every time I've managed to train myself to do something consistently
(over the last year it has been going for long walks and studying Italian), I
have really felt the benefits. Books such as
[The Power of Habit](https://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/081298160X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=68c21986968d09b6732a901701efdecb&language=en_US)
by Charles Duhigg and
[Atomic Habits](https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=3JF2BJSN421PD&dchild=1&keywords=atomic+habits&qid=1606585829&s=books&sprefix=atom,stripbooks-intl-ship,238&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f52b685c71df99df49c8ff85b6a74d50&language=en_US)
by James Clear helped me understand the science and best practices behind habit
formation so I'm looking forward to finding out how Badass Habits will add new
ideas and concepts to the topic. - James

### Release Date

December 1, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Badass-Habits-Cultivate-Awareness-Boundaries/dp/1984877437/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=badass+habits&qid=1606585991&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=91f818d7d1f54d8541521df9cfb62706&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>
    4. Competition is Killing Us: How Big Business is Harming Our Society and
    Planet - and What To Do About It - Michelle Meagher
  </h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="michelle-meagher-competition-is-killing-us_t1amke"
  altText="Competition is Killing Us - Michelle Meagher"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

We live in the age of big companies where multi-billion and trillion dollar
mammoths dominate the market and prioritise shareholder profits over all else.
This leads to extreme wealth inequality, inhumane conditions for workers and
relentless pressure on the environment. Yet no government or organisation has
the power to regulate these companies and hold them to account.

In Competition is Killing Us, lawyer and campaigner Michelle Meagher,
establishes a new framework to control capitalism, presenting a fair and
comprehensive approach to competition law that limits unfair mergers, enforces
accountability and redistributes power through stakeholder governance. By
debunking six myths about the free market, Meagher shows how corporate
capitalism concentrates power at the cost of people and planet, and shares a new
vision for anti-trust for the 21st century. It's time capitalism worked for the
many and not just the few.

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

It’s becoming more and more known that wealth inequality in society is at
ridiculous levels. Big companies, no matter how much profit or revenue they
generate they always want more. I have worked in international corporations and
this endless drive for more is exhausting. It’s also frightfully unfair how much
these big companies get away with because they have the resources to get around
laws through loopholes and other means. I really am against any kind of
unfairness so when a book comes out about how there could be a solution to this
ever growing problem then I definitely want to read it to educate myself and see
what hope we have for the future. - Adam

### Release Date

December 10, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0241423015/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0241423015&linkId=45f8167f4d082e29da680b55d2b06221
"
/>

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  <h2>5. The Nature of Conspiracy Theories - Michael Butter</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="michael-butter-nature-conspiracy-theories_x4vief"
  altText="The Nature of Conspiracy Theories - Michael Butter"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

In this book Michael Butter provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to
the nature and development of conspiracy theories. Contrary to popular belief,
he shows that conspiracy theories are less popular and influential today than
they were in the past. Up to the 1950s, the Western world regarded conspiracy
theories as a legitimate form of knowledge and it was therefore normal to
believe in them. It was only after the Second World War that this knowledge was
delegitimized, causing conspiracy theories to be banished from public discourse
and relegated to subcultures.

The recent renaissance of conspiracy theories is linked to the internet which
gives them wider exposure and contributes to the fragmentation of the public
sphere. Conspiracy theories are still stigmatized today in many sections of
mainstream culture but are being accepted once again as legitimate knowledge in
others. It is the clash between these domains and their different conceptions of
truth that is fuelling the current debate over conspiracy theories.

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I love conspiracy theories! I mean did we really land on the moon as a species?!
Really?! But in all seriousness I am always intrigued by them. Sometimes they
just seem damn right outrageous and sometimes they seem completely legitimate
and believable. But what I like most about them is they make you look at certain
events throughout history from different angles. History is told from a certain
perspective but in any situation there are always many perspectives. It's very
easy these days to get locked into your silo (especially with the mass adoption
of social media) and therefore only see things from this one perspective.
However, when you hear conspiracy theories, even if they seem ridiculous
sometimes they usually bring facts and perspectives from events and situations
that you would otherwise not know about. And one thing we need more than ever
nowadays is the ability to look at things from many perspectives and not get
trapped in our ways of thinking. - Adam

### Release Date

December 7, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1509540822/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1509540822&linkId=58981bb575d3a21d66b0affea6efb730" />


Find out which 5 books we are most excited about for December 2020. There is a great list including books about John Lennon, big data and conspiracy theories.

Five New Books To Read In December 2020


<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>1. A Promised Land - Barack Obama</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="barack-obama-a-promised-land_immu4t"
  altText="A Promised Land"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one
man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world
stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black
American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope
and change,” and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He
is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how
living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to
reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that
inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I am an Obama fan and I find US politics endlessly fascinating, so this is a
book I’m excited about. I read the brilliant
[Becoming](https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Michelle-Obama/dp/1524763136/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=3LX1FYI95GE1M&dchild=1&keywords=becoming+michelle+obama&qid=1603375285&s=books&sprefix=becom,stripbooks-intl-ship,236&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ed6ab31337bb8f1935bb19b99cc2aa45&language=en_US)
by Michelle Obama earlier in the year, so it will be interesting to hear the
story of the country’s first black president in his own words and get an insight
into the events that shaped his time in office. - James

### Release Date

November 17, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Land-Barack-Obama/dp/1524763160/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=35IQY6LIG8YHK&dchild=1&keywords=a+promised+land&qid=1603375193&s=books&sprefix=a+pr,stripbooks-intl-ship,282&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=3d41530e33a5f05b294302753704e9ac&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center" pt={8}>
  <h2>2. The Practice: Shipping Creative Work - Seth Godin</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="seth-godin-the-practice_hm8xla"
  altText="The Practice: Shipping Creative Work"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“Based on the breakthrough Akimbo workshop pioneered by legendary author Seth
Godin, The Practice will help you get unstuck and find the courage to make and
share creative work. Godin insists that writer's block is a myth, that
consistency is far more important than authenticity, and that experiencing the
imposter syndrome is a sign that you're a well-adjusted human. Most of all, he
shows you what it takes to turn your passion from a private distraction to a
productive contribution, the one you've been seeking to share all along.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I have always loved the way Seth Godin expresses himself as a writer and a
speaker. He has a way of boiling large topics such as marketing down into simple
ideas that make sense and inspire you to act. As someone who has spent hours and
hours trying to make music, I know all about the challenges that can get in the
way of productivity. I can’t wait to read Godin’s take on this subject. - James

### Release Date

November 3, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Shipping-Creative-Work/dp/0593328973/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=3FSBH50XA3V5O&dchild=1&keywords=the+practice+shipping+creative+work&qid=1603375452&s=books&sprefix=the+practice+s,stripbooks-intl-ship,233&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=5ad6ae309e673069a56f254c02715542&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center" pt={8}>
  <h2>
    3. First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and
    Romans and How That Shaped Our Country - Thomas E. Ricks
  </h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="thomas-e-ricks-first-principles_y9kzym"
  altText="First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author
(Thomas E. Ricks) offers a revelatory new book about the founding fathers,
examining their educations and, in particular, their devotion to the ancient
Greek and Roman classics—and how that influence would shape their ideals and the
new American nation.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I’m not expecting this to be an easy read but I love the concept and I have
always wanted to learn more about classic philosophical ideas and understand how
the world we live in today is built upon them. I think the biographical aspect
of this book will help to put these ideas in a practical context and I’m
interested to read some of Thomas E. Ricks work for the first time. - James

### Release Date

November 10, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/First-Principles-Americas-Founders-Learned/dp/0062997459/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=1AZPZEBLU6KKO&dchild=1&keywords=first+principles&qid=1603376424&s=books&sprefix=first+princ,stripbooks-intl-ship,288&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=d7bc1bb7da1be9b76313979308e0e795&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center" pt={8}>
  <h2>4. Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World - David Owen</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="david-owen-volume-control_eskumj"
  altText="Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

"Our sense of hearing makes it easy to connect with the world and the people
around us. The human system for processing sound is a biological marvel, an
intricate assembly of delicate membranes, bones, receptor cells, and neurons.
Yet many people take their ears for granted, abusing them with loud restaurants,
rock concerts, and Q-tips. And then, eventually, most of us start to go deaf.

Millions of Americans suffer from hearing loss. Faced with the cost and stigma
of hearing aids, the natural human tendency is to do nothing and hope for the
best, usually while pretending that nothing is wrong. In Volume Control, David
Owen argues this inaction comes with a huge social cost. He demystifies the
science of hearing while encouraging readers to get the treatment they need for
hearing loss and protect the hearing they still have.

Hearing aids are rapidly improving and becoming more versatile. Inexpensive
high-tech substitutes are increasingly available, making it possible for more of
us to boost our weakening ears without bankrupting ourselves. Relatively soon,
physicians may be able to reverse losses that have always been considered
irreversible. Even the insistent buzz of tinnitus may soon yield to relatively
simple treatments and techniques. With wit and clarity, Owen explores the
incredible possibilities of technologically assisted hearing. And he proves that
ears, whether they're working or not, are endlessly interesting."

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I am an avid music fan my whole life and have always loved listening to music. I
often wonder at the amazing variety in sound that the human ear is able to pick
up. To recognise voices, to distinguish notes, to pick out different sounds… yet
it is something I think so many of us take for granted and only when something
goes wrong do we suddenly appreciate what it is to hear. This book seems to fit
exactly and how many people accept loss of hearing as part of life. Two of my
sons also suffer from some hearing loss and they do wear hearing aids. This is
also a motivation to read this book to understand more about what they are going
through and what potential solutions may be available in the future. - Adam

### Release Date

Technically a rerelease but Nov 1st 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0525534229/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0525534229&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=0eed3edc0eace95ccde64a8036e0120f" />

<Box textAlign="center" pt={8}>
  <h2>5. How I Learned to Understand the World - Hans Rosling</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="hans-rosling-how-i-learned-to-understand-the-world_dsfxtn"
  altText="How I Learned to Understand the World"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

"It was facts that helped him explain how the world works. But it was curiosity
and commitment that made the late Hans Rosling, author of worldwide bestseller
[Factfulness](https://paperbacktravels.com/book-summaries/economics/hans-rosling-factfulness),
the most popular researcher of our time.

How I Learned to Understand the World is Hans Rosling's own story of how a young
scientist became a revolutionary thinker, and takes us from the swelter of an
emergency clinic in Mozambique, to the World Economic Forum at Davos.

In collaboration with Swedish journalist Fanny Härgestam, Hans Rosling wrote his
memoir with the same joy of storytelling that made a whole world listen when he
spoke."

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

Hans Rosling dealt in facts and in this day and age sometimes facts are in short
supply when they could be really needed. By looking at facts he was able to
bring a clear point of view on many topics. He also spent much of his life in
poorer parts of the world helping stem disease outbreaks using his research. I
don’t know too much about his story though which is exactly why I want to read
this book. Talented people who use their skills for good always fascinate me. -
Adam

### Release Date

5th November 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250266890/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1250266890&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f250e9641e0dc6912870d68106fd9d06" />


Some exciting new books are coming out in November 2020. Here is a list of five new non-fiction books that have captured our attention, including new writing from Barack Obama and the late Hans Rosling

Five New Books To Read In November 2020


<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>1. Trust: America's Best Chance - Pete Buttigieg</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="pete-buttigieg-trust_cafdtf"
  altText="Trust: America's Best Chance"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“Interweaving history, political philosophy, and affecting passages of memoir,
Buttigieg explores the strong relationship between measures of prosperity and
levels of social trust. He provides an impassioned account of a threefold crisis
of trust: in our institutions, in each other, and in the American project
itself. Today, these perilous patterns of distrust have wreaked havoc on nearly
every sector of society, as Americans increasingly resent the very government
that needs to be part of the solution. With the internet and partisan television
networks acting as accelerants, Americans jettison any sense of shared reality,
lose confidence in experts and scientists, and cope with the grim national
tragedy of a pandemic that has only further exemplified the lethality of
distrust. Buttigieg contends that our success, or failure, at confronting the
greatest challenges of the decade―racial and economic justice, pandemic
resilience, and climate action―will rest on whether we can effectively
cultivate, deepen, and, where necessary, repair the networks of trust that are
now endangered, or for so many, have never even existed.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

I have been following the 2020 American presidential election race since the
primaries. Former candidate Pete Buttigieg was not somebody I had previously
heard of but I was intrigued by his story: a thirty-something, openly gay war
veteran with political experience as mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

The more I heard him speak, the more impressed I became with his ideas and
competence, so I am looking forward to getting a deeper insight into his life
and his ambitions to be part of a positive change in his country’s society.
Still only 38, I expect we’re going to be hearing about Buttigieg for decades to
come.

### Release Date

October 6th, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Trust-Americas-Chance-Pete-Buttigieg/dp/1631498770/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=13b6f74c6e5a141f14f4e00b26ba13b8&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center" pt={8}>
  <h2>2. How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices - Annie Duke</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="annie-duke-how-to-decide_f8nkab"
  altText="How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“What if there was a better way to make quality decisions so you can think
clearly, feel more confident, second-guess yourself less, and ultimately be more
decisive and be more productive?

Making good decisions doesn't have to be a series of endless guesswork. Rather,
it's a teachable skill that anyone can sharpen. In How to Decide, bestselling
author Annie Duke and former professional poker player lays out a series of
tools anyone can use to make better decisions. You'll learn: • To identify and
dismantle hidden biases. • To extract the highest quality feedback from those
whose advice you seek. • To more accurately identify the influence of luck in
the outcome of your decisions. • When to decide fast, when to decide slow, and
when to decide in advance. • To make decisions that more effectively help you to
realize your goals and live your values.

Through interactive exercises and engaging thought experiments, this book helps
you analyze key decisions you've made in the past and troubleshoot those you're
making in the future. Whether you're picking investments, evaluating a job
offer, or trying to figure out your romantic life, How to Decide is the key to
happier outcomes and fewer regrets.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

The impact of decision-making has become progressively clearer to me with age.
Decisions I made very quickly or on gut instinct when I was younger have had
life-changing long-term consequences. Moving abroad after university, taking and
leaving specific jobs, spending time learning specific skills rather than
others.

So the idea of taking a more structured approach to decision-making appeals to
me (better late than never!). That’s not to say that gut instinct is always
right or wrong, but I look forward to reading How to Decide to arm myself with a
better set of tools for approaching important decisions in the future. - James

### Release Date

October 13th 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices-ebook/dp/B07TRJB3S3/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f85ad205de489ca676c4fa7defe29e28&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center" pt={8}>
  <h2>
    3. A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future -
    Sir David Attenborough
  </h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="david-attenborough-a-life-on-our-planet_rswnqp"
  altText="A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

“I am 94. I've had an extraordinary life. It's only now that I appreciate how
extraordinary.

As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched
natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been
happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day - the loss of our
planet's wild places, its biodiversity.

I have been witness to this decline. A Life on Our Planet is my witness
statement, and my vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make
this, our greatest mistake - and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right.

We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore
the wonderful world we inherited.'

All we need is the will to do so.”

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

Sir David Attenborough is beloved in Britain. His voice is known to millions who
have grown up to his narrations on television shows exploring exotic and faraway
parts of the world most of us could only dream about visiting. Now 93,
Attenborough really has lived an extraordinary life and I’m really looking
forward to learning more about it in his own words. - James

### Release Date

October 6th, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Our-Planet-Witness-Statement/dp/1538719983/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ce6963e255cb585fb329fc28aab07e0d&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center" pt={8}>
  <h2>
    4. Total Meditation: Practices in Living the Awakened Life - Deepak Chopra
  </h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="deepak-chopra-total-meditation_ytrz5n"
  altText="Total Meditation: Practices in Living the Awakened Life "
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

For the past thirty years, Deepak Chopra has been at the forefront of the
meditation revolution in the West. Total Meditation offers a complete
exploration and reinterpretation of the physical, mental, emotional, relational,
and spiritual benefits that this practice can bring. Deepak guides readers on
how to wake up to new levels of awareness that will ultimately cultivate a clear
vision, heal suffering in your mind and body, and help recover who you really
are. Readers will undergo a transformative process, which will result in an
awakening of the body, mind, and spirit that will allow you to live in a state
of open, free, creative, and blissful awareness twenty-four hours a day.

With this book, Deepak elevates the practice of meditation to a life-changing
quest for higher consciousness and a more fulfilling existence. He also
incorporates new research on meditation and its benefits, provides practical
awareness exercises, and concludes with a 52-week program of meditations to help
revolutionize every aspect of your life.

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

Anything to do with meditation fascinates me and I am always wanting to
understand more about the ancient practise. Deepak is bringing up to date
research on the benefits of meditation which I am also really interested in. It
also seems this book will be filled with practical content too. The more people
that practise meditation the more at peace the world will be and I am in
complete favour of that. - Adam

### Release Date

October 1st, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984825313/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1984825313&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=298c38c47003013bfe38ef8f6cce44e0" />

<Box textAlign="center" pt={8}>
  <h2>
    5. Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy - Stephen
    Wertheim
  </h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="stephen-wertheim-tomorrow-the-world_ps3kym"
  altText="Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

### What is it about?

For most of its history, the United States avoided making political and military
commitments that would entangle it in European-style power politics. Then,
suddenly, it conceived a new role for itself as the world’s armed superpower―and
never looked back. In Tomorrow, the World, Stephen Wertheim traces America’s
transformation to the crucible of World War II, especially in the months prior
to the attack on Pearl Harbor. As the Nazis conquered France, the architects of
the nation’s new foreign policy came to believe that the United States ought to
achieve primacy in international affairs forevermore.

Scholars have struggled to explain the decision to pursue global supremacy. Some
deny that American elites made a willing choice, casting the United States as a
reluctant power that sloughed off “isolationism” only after all potential
competitors lay in ruins. Others contend that the United States had always
coveted global dominance and realized its ambition at the first opportunity.
Both views are wrong. As late as 1940, the small coterie of officials and
experts who composed the U.S. foreign policy class either wanted British
preeminence in global affairs to continue or hoped that no power would dominate.
The war, however, swept away their assumptions, leading them to conclude that
the United States should extend its form of law and order across the globe and
back it at gunpoint. Wertheim argues that no one favored “isolationism”―a term
introduced by advocates of armed supremacy in order to turn their own cause into
the definition of a new “internationalism.”

We now live, Wertheim warns, in the world that these men created. A
sophisticated and impassioned narrative that questions the wisdom of U.S.
supremacy, Tomorrow, the World reveals the intellectual path that brought us to
today’s global entanglements and endless wars.

_Taken from the product description on Amazon._

### Why I want to read it

America is a country of extremes. They produce some of the world’s most
intelligent and innovative people, contribute massively to the global economy
and have had a massive influence on the entertainment industry around the world.
At the same time they lead the world in obesity rates, many millions are
illiterate and around 40,000,000 people live in poverty. I am so intrigued by
this country so when I see a book about how America became a global supremacy I
am going to read it. - Adam

### Release Date

October 30th, 2020

### Where to get it

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067424866X/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=067424866X&linkId=a665c6af241e696ffda83dd5aec8fb2e" />


Which books coming out in October 2020 are we particularly excited about? We have compiled a list of the top five new non-fiction books to go on our reading list. Books from David Attenborough, Annie Duke, Deepak Chopra, Pete Buttigieg & Stephen Wertheim.

Five New Books To Read In October 2020


## Summary of main ideas

Perhaps the most important character in Misbehaving is not a person but an
invented species. ‘Homo economicus’ - affectionately shortened to ‘Econ’ - is
like a real human in every respect, except for being perfectly rational,
self-interested and capable of making optimal decisions.

As Thaler puts it: “The purely economic man is indeed close to being a social
moron. Economic theory has been much preoccupied with this rational fool.”

Economists have traditionally based their theories on the assumption that human
beings are completely rational agents, compelling critics to coin the Econ term.
As a graduate student in the 1970s Thaler began to keep a note of his regular
observations of human behaviour differing substantially from the behaviour
expected by economists.

One example. Early in his teaching career, Thaler set a particularly difficult
exam for his students in order to separate the extremely capable from the rest.
This led to an average score of 72 out of 100 and caused “uproar” among his
students who complained the exam was too hard.

Because the score was graded on a curve, the average score did not actually
affect the distribution of the grades, but this failed to appease the angry
students. Thaler’s solution was to tweak the next exam to make the total number
of available points 137 instead of 100. The next exam was even harder but,
because the average score was 97, the students were happy.

If humans really were perfectly rational beings, then they should not have cared
about the points available. And if humans didn’t behave rationally in the way
that economists believed, could these theories be flawed?

Other people were asking the same questions. Throughout Misbehaving, Thaler
introduces us to a stellar cast of Behavioral Economics thinkers including
Daniel Kahneman (author of
[Thinking Fast and Slow](https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=3SUR578P9VIAO&dchild=1&keywords=thinking+fast+and+slow&qid=1598538920&s=books&sprefix=thinking,stripbooks-intl-ship,244&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=81f08259cabe6428ce6d37042df7ec78&language=en_US)),
Amon Taversky (Kahneman’s long-time collaborator), Cass Sunstein (co-author of
[Nudge](https://www.amazon.com/Nudge-Improving-Decisions-Health-Happiness/dp/014311526X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1598538855&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=b5aeaf9a3345c3a4faae97d002f1684c&language=en_US)
along with Thaler) and many more who led the fight against a powerful opposition
in the form of traditional economists, wedded to their theories.

Thaler also introduces a series of concepts that demonstrate the difference
between Econs and real humans. A few (but certainly not all) of these include:

**Prospect Theory**

Prospect Theory was formulated by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman and is
regarded as one of the founding pillars of Behavioral Economics. Designed to
describe the behaviour of actual people, the theory demonstrates how individuals
consider loss and gain in an asymmetrical way.

For example, consider options for gaining
$100. For the first option, you are given $200 initially and then you lose
$100. For the second option you just are just given $100. Econs would not care
about which option happened to them because the ultimate
[‘utility’](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility) is the same in both cases.
But, real people prefer the second option because they feel losses more strongly
than gains.

For a good overview of Prospect Theory,
[check out this article on Investopedia](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/prospecttheory.asp).

**The Endowment Effect**

Coined by Thaler in 1980, the Endowment Effect can be seen as an extension of
Prospect Theory because it builds on the concept of loss aversion. It also
relates to the Mere Ownership Paradigm, which is based on the idea that people
give higher valuations to items they own compared to valuations of the same
items made by people who do not own them.

A real world application of the Endowment Effect can be seen in marketing, where
tactics such as free trials and test drives are used to give potential customers
a sense of ownership of a product or service that they don’t yet own.

This video gives a good short overview of the Endowment Effect using the famous
example of an experiment in which a group of people were given a coffee mug and
asked how much they would be willing to sell the mug for while taking another
group of people, not giving them the same mug, but asking them how much they
would be willing to pay for one. The results showed that the mug owners valued
the mugs almost double compared to the non-owners’ valuations.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bvjoIAhaIxI"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

**Transactional Utility**

Transactional Utility is one of several Mental Accounting concepts introduced by
Thaler in Misbehaving. It relates to the perceived value of getting a good deal
based on the difference between what an individual pays and their reference
price for the item.

This video provides a good example of Transactional Utility at work.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hcv02NCdVjk"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## How this book can help you

Misbehaving is an ideal entry point for people who are interested in learning
about Behavioral Economics. Thaler’s clear and humorous explanations make the
subject matter accessible and relevant to real world scenarios. By structuring
Misbehaving as an (almost) chronological history, Thaler does a great job of
placing the emergence of Behavioral Economics into a wider context of a changing
real and academic world.

More generally, I think that building an understanding of this topic is
important because it relates to so many areas of life, from understanding our
own tendencies to make bad or illogical decisions, through to how we can relate
to and influence other people. It’s not always easy, and I’m sure there are
concepts and ideas that I will need to revisit (and this is after having already
read Thinking Fast and Slow twice!) but, as one Audible reviewer put it very
succinctly, “this book made me smarter.”

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch Richard Thaler in conversation with Google’s Chief Economist Hal Varian.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/42qbHeFxdzE"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

As well as Thinking Fast and Slow, I also recommend reading Michael Lewis'
[The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds](https://www.amazon.com/Undoing-Project-Friendship-Changed-Minds/dp/0393354776/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Undoing+Project&qid=1598538978&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=0e5b3ff7e3e178514d0e6a2a4b765f9d&language=en_US)
which tells the story of the birth of Behavioral Economics through the prism of
Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky's friendship and
[The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307954803/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=the+victory+lab&qid=1598539009&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=21b4c3ed4f762587dc89d7ce947d6c50&language=en_US)
by Sasha Issenberg, which takes you into the world of politics and shows the
gradual impact of behavioral economics and data on the science of winning
elections.

## Where to get it

[Get Misbehaving on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039335279X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=acd11aa72a5b763f39bac1fc07ae2361&language=en_US)

[Get the audiobook version of Misbehaving.](https://www.amazon.com/Misbehaving-Richard-Thaler-audiobook/dp/B00VQTALSA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=6a502d170cff2498b7af96716eae7074&language=en_US)

## About the author

Richard Thaler is an American theorist in Behavioral Economics. In 2017, he was
awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and in 2018, he was
elected a member in the National Academy of Sciences. He has published six books
including
[Nudge](https://www.amazon.com/Nudge-Improving-Decisions-Health-Happiness/dp/014311526X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1598538855&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=b5aeaf9a3345c3a4faae97d002f1684c&language=en_US),
which he co-authored with Cass Sunstein.

### Published by

W. W. Norton & Company

### Publication Date:

May 7, 2015


Read Misbehaving by Richard Thaler for an introduction to the exciting world of Behavioral Economics and learn about how human decision-making is usually anything but rational.

Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics


## In a nutshell description

He wrote this book over a period when he was training for the New York Marathon
and it ends up being a memoir of his life and the role running has played in it.
He recalls specific moments during his life with running being a major theme
throughout. He didn’t start running until in his thirties and started mainly due
to practical reasons - he was a writer and spent a good portion of his time
sitting so wanted to do something so he wouldn’t gain weight and become
unhealthy. He chose running.

He then dips selectively into his past and recollects various episodes such as
when he ran from Athens to Marathon (the original marathon route except
backwards!!), the time he ran his first ultramarathon - 100km around Lake Saroma
in Hokkaido, Japan and his life before he became an author and how that
transition came about.

This book would probably be classified as a biography or memoir and Haruki does
a fantastic job of interweaving the story of his life through the lens of his
dedication to running.

> “People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any
> length to live longer. But I don’t think that’s the reason most people run.
> Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want
> to live life to the fullest.”

## Why I love this book

Haruki is an amazing story teller and that can be seen in his wealth of
fictional work. A writer does not become as popular as Haruki has without
possessing an intinctive talent for telling stories. In this book there is a
fascinating story with the added benefit of seeing a little behind the curtain
of the man himself. I am a big Haruki Murakami fan already so the chance to find
out a bit more about the man himself really had me intrigued.

I am also into running (although my dedication is not on a par with Harukis) so
this was a further reason why this book called out to me. I listened to this
book and it was one of those books that was always calling me back. Haruki’s way
of depicting a scene captivates my imagination and I am always yearning for
more.

## Quotes to make you think

_“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”_

_“So the fact that I’m me and no one else is one of my greatest assets._
_Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent.”_

_“I’m the kind of person who likes to be by himself. To put a finer point on it,
I’m the type of person who doesn’t find it painful to be alone. I find spending
an hour or two every day running alone, not speaking to anyone, as well as four
or five hours alone at my desk.”_

_“People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any
length to live longer. But I don’t think that’s the reason most people run. Most
runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live
life to the fullest.”_

## Read this book if…

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding how to work on
and build their craft. Obviously Haruki’s way isn’t the only way but it is an
intriguing journey that he took and there are many lessons one can learn from
reading this book.

Dedication and hard work are vital to any pursuit of mastery in one’s craft.
Haruki’s offers us a glimpse into the reality of his world and how he goes about
his craft and the parallels that this has with running. He learns about running
through his writing and he learns about writing through his running.

> “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Great short video to find out about Haruki:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QIkEc653_lw"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

If you have never read any Haruki Murakami then this is a video about which
books you could read first:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tNLApHnHRLo"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307389839/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307389839&linkId=8ef60bcbce11c92821e627ba33cc0b87"
/>

## About the author

Haruki Murakami is an author of several very well know Fiction Books -
[1Q84](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307476464/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0307476464&linkId=cd203adfcdd80eebae836f54f377d1c6),
[Norwegian Wood](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375704027/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0375704027&linkId=8ccb39881cc0f361f42d861f48ca5a4f),
[The Wind-up Bird Chronicles](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679775439/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0679775439&linkId=7a271d4c8eaa6410bd014aa59edb8c08)
to name a few - and lives near Tokyo. He was born in Kyoto in 1949 and started
writing seriously in his thirties. His style is heavily influenced by Western
Culture which distinguishes his writing from other Japanese writers. He is also
an experienced marathon runner and has even taken part in an ultramarathon which
is a 100km running race.

### Publication Date:

August 11, 2009


Haruki Murakami is a very popular writer of fiction books. In this book - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Haruki presents his memoirs using running as the vehicle for his story.

What I Talk about when I talk about running: A Memoir


## In a nutshell description

The Lean Product Playbook provides a framework to approaching product
development, building on the core values established in Eric Ries’
groundbreaking work:
[The Lean Startup](https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1605815293&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=7bd5e9305bcc6a35fa15fb273bb6ca73&language=en_US).

Author Dan Olsen repeatedly emphasises the importance of finding product-market
fit quickly and efficiently.

In particular, Olsen’s
[Product-Market Fit Pyramid and six-step Lean Product Process](<https://leanstartup.co/a-playbook-for-achieving-product-market-fit/#:~:text=The%20Product%2DMarket%20Fit%20Pyramid%20is%20an%20actionable%20model%20that,fit%20using%20five%20key%20components.&text=From%20bottom%20to%20top%2C%20the,your%20user%20experience%20(UX)>)
provide actionable guidelines with which to approach building a product that
will delight customers. Finding and solving customer problems underpins
everything in this book, with the need for rapid feedback and iteration also a
constant theme.

> “The main reason products fail is because they don't meet customer needs in a
> way that is better than other alternatives.” - Dan Olsen

## Quotes to make you think

“A good product is designed with focus on the set of needs that are important
and that make sense to address together.”

“Focus is critical when defining a new product.”

“The real-world manifestation of software products that customers see and use is
the user experience (UX), which is the top layer of the Product-Market Fit
Pyramid. Beyond software, this is also true for any product with which the
customer interacts. The UX is what brings a product's functionality to life for
the user.”

“The main reason products fail is because they don't meet customer needs in a
way that is better than other alternatives.”

“Usability answers the question, “Can customers use your product?” Delight
answers the question, “Do customers enjoy using your product?”

## Why I love this book

I read The Lean Product Playbook at the right time, just as I began to spend a
large part of my working life building products.

I loved how clearly Olsen set out a process towards building products with tools
that I could take away and apply to my own work.

It turns out that it’s more difficult in practice to stick to the Lean Product
Process than I had expected, and I’ve learnt the hard way about the risks of
pressing ahead without user feedback. The experience has made me even more
convinced that everyone involved in product development should read this book
(if ever there has been a book that I wish I could force colleagues to read,
this is it!).

## Read this book if…

You are involved with developing products at any level. The obvious use case
relates to products designed for consumers, but the underlying philosophy
applies to a much wider range of scenarios at work. For example, if you are
tasked with creating reports for management, the principles and tools in The
Lean Product Playbook will help you deliver it successfully.

## What others say about it

"Dan's playbook is the missing manual on how to apply Lean Startup principles.
This comprehensive, straightforward book guides you through everything you need
to know to build a winning product." — **Sean Ellis, CEO of Qualaroo and
GrowthHackers.com**

"A great, detailed guide on how to find product-market fit and make things
people will love. This book should be required reading for everybody building
products." — **Laura Klein, Author of UX for Lean Startups**

"Dan's product expertise was incredibly helpful in the early days of building
and growing Box. I found his advice incredibly valuable — and if you want to
build a successful product, you will too." — **Aaron Levie, CEO, Box**

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch this presentation by Dan Olsen about how to reach product-market fit.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m_c-B_MrxQU"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Product-Playbook-Innovate-Products/dp/1118960874/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=3AW8WQWIE3JBN&dchild=1&keywords=the+lean+product+playbook&qid=1605813679&sprefix=the+lean+produ,aps,252&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=17b22bb2c787272cd598441fb5a659f9&language=en_US"
/>{' '}

## About the author

Dan Olsen is an entrepreneur, consultant, author, speaker, and expert in product
management and Lean Startup. He began his career building nuclear-powered
submarines and now, as founder of Olsen Solutions, he works with CEOs and
product leaders to help them build great products and strong product teams,
often as interim VP of Product. Find out more about where we copied most of this
bio from on [Dan’s website](https://dan-olsen.com).

### Publication Date

May 21, 2015


Read The Lean Product Playbook for a step-by-step approach to designing products that will delight customers.

The Lean Product Playbook: How to Innovate with Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback


## Summary of main ideas

The EOS system comprises six core components, which Wickman explores with
chapters dedicated to each.

**Vision:** This section is about establishing the focus of your organisation
and getting everyone onboard. Wickman outlines eight questions that form the
basis for creating a coherent vision. This is the starting point for everything
else.

**People:** Wickman frequently emphasises the importance of getting “the right
people in the right seats” and why achieving one out of the two doesn’t work.

**Data:** This is not simply a call to adopt a data-driven approach, but
recommends identifying a small group of metrics that enable leadership to truly
understand how the business is performing. The most important metrics can change
over time as the context evolves.

**Issues:** This component accepts that all businesses encounter issues and that
successful businesses need to be very competent and proactive problem solving
machines. This requires systems for identifying and addressing issues while
cultivating a culture that encourages people to come forward with issues without
fear of punishment.

**Process:** How to actually build the systems that will drive a successful
business, from process documentation to ensuring that people follow them.

**Traction:** This component relates to the execution of the system. In this
section, Wickman goes into depth about the use of ‘Rocks’ - the three to seven
most important things to accomplish in the next 90 days - and the ‘Meeting
Pulse’ - highly structured weekly meetings that are designed to ensure the
company is constantly moving in the right direction.

Within each of the core components, Wickman introduces a series of tools and
tactics that he has employed throughout his career of helping businesses to
implement the EOS system. The end result is an intuitive playbook for
transforming a reactive or lacklustre business into a coherent, efficient and
ultimately successful organisation.

> Wickman frequently emphasises the importance of getting “the right people in
> the right seats” and why achieving one out of the two doesn’t work.

## How this book can help you

Traction offers a set of steps that are easy to understand, intuitive and
straight-forward to implement (with a lot of time and energy). I think it’s the
ideal starting point for new business owners as well as experienced
entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses. But it’s not just for business
owners. The concepts described in this book can be applied to all kinds of
contexts. You could use rocks as a tool to laser focus your individual goals in
a corporate job or find the most important metrics to keep track of your health.

I can completely understand why Traction has been an inspiration to many of its
readers, every concept and tool makes sense and it feels like a genuinely
overarching solution (although with the caveat that this book doesn’t offer deep
guidance on how to acquire and keep customers or the best approach to product
development etc). However, it’s important to note that just reading the book is
not sufficient! Applying the concepts will take a lot of work, with trial and
error to discover what works for you and what doesn’t.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

[Here’s an account of how a business user employed EOS on his own business.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AURv58LHTrI)

[And here’s a great interview with Gino from Dan and Ian of the Tropical MBA.](https://www.tropicalmba.com/entrepreneurial-leap-gino-wickman/)

## Where to get it

[Get Traction on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=traction&qid=1598695288&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=25af00b233f1fa418a9a1436bc7e857b&language=en_US)

[Get Traction as an audiobook.](https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Gino-Wickman-audiobook/dp/B00A9Z973M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1598695288&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=86e45fe03429301d3e7ea5cc1200078e&language=en_US)

## About the author

Gino Wickman is the founder of EOS Worldwide and the Entrepreneurial Operating
System (EOS)® system. He has written several books aside from Traction,
including
[Get A Grip: How to Get Everything You Want from Your Entrepreneurial Business](https://www.amazon.com/Get-Grip-Everything-Entrepreneurial-Business/dp/1939529824/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Get+A+Grip:+How+to+Get+Everything+You+Want+from+Your+Entrepreneurial+Business&qid=1598695372&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=e12607355fa516da196759e3e7664594&language=en_US)
and
[Entrepreneurial Leap: Do You Have What it Takes to Become an Entrepreneur?](https://www.amazon.com/Leap-Have-Takes-Become-Entrepreneur/dp/1948836815/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Entrepreneurial+Leap&qid=1598695407&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ad50ec74fbaaac508d3044144e588933&language=en_US)

### Published by

BenBella Books

### Publication Date:

December 17, 2014


Read Traction by Gino Wickman for a simple yet proven playbook for building and growing a business by employing a systematic approach.

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business 


## Summary of main ideas

In many ways, Shoe Dog is a typical biography in the sense that Knight takes the
reader on a chronological journey through his life.

Phil Knight was born in 1938 and grew up in Portland. He developed a love for
athletics, competing as a middle-distance runner for the University of Oregan.
While still a student, he wrote a paper on a potential business opportunity for
selling Japanese shoes in the United States, having witnessed the impact of
Japanese cars on the American automotive industry.

After college, while traveling around the world, Knight decided on an impulse to
set up a meeting with a shoe manufacturing company called Onitsuka when he
visited Japan. Believing he represented an established American company, the
Japanese agreed to the meeting and agreed to let Knight distribute their shoes
in America as they were keen to enter the market.

From placing his first order for a few thousand pairs of shoes, Knight’s
company - originally called Blue Ribbon - grew into what became Nike.

However, the journey was rarely plain sailing. Knight describes how he leaned on
the support of his running coach and eventual business partner Bill Bowerman as
the company struggled early on to develop running shoes that were better than
their competitors'. Problems arose as these competitors searched for ways to
eliminate this young rival, even resorting to using the US Government as an
almost insurmountable obstacle.

As Nike grew into a global powerhouse, the challenges remained in different
forms. Knight describes some of the key milestones in the company’s early
history, from struggling to get enough credit to grow the company to the
thinking behind the famous deal to sign basketball legend Michael Jordan in 1984
as well as the story behind the creation of the famous Nike logo.

But Shoe Dog is more than just a typical biography. Several themes emerge
throughout the book that serve as valuable insights into how to run a business
and build your life around a passion.

**Throw yourself in at the deep end** Knight started as he meant to go on when
he walked into that first meeting in Japan. He wasn’t ready but he saw an
opportunity and made it work. He took this attitude and applied it to building
his company, always finding a way to overcome the many significant obstacles in
his way.

**Find great people and then leave them alone to do great things** In Knight’s
own words: “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let
them surprise you with their results.”

**Perseverance is incredibly powerful** Another quote from the book: “So that
morning in 1962 I told myself: Let everyone else call your idea crazy . . . just
keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and
don’t give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop.”

**Build and maintain great relationships** The importance Knight places on
relationships with his colleagues as well as the many sports stars affiliated
with Nike is apparent throughout Shoe Dog. Having remained friends with almost
everyone who helped him start the business, he is at pains to demonstrate the
importance the contributions of others had in the growth of Nike, a direct
consequence of his emphasis on treating people well.

> "Just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get
> there, and don’t give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just
> don’t stop."

## How this book can help you

Shoe Dog surprised me because I was expecting an interesting story about Nike
but the book turned out to be much more than that. For a start, it was enjoyable
to read thanks to Phil Knight’s entertaining and humble storytelling style.

This is certainly a particularly relevant book for business leaders and aspiring
entrepreneurs. I would go further to suggest that anyone aiming to improve their
career or find a way to turn their passion into their daily life will benefit
from reading this. Especially in relation to the bravery and (some might say)
cheek that Knight showed when getting his business off the ground by arranging a
meeting that he was not qualified for. He saw an opportunity, made something out
of it and then became increasingly successful by sheer force of will.

I wish this book had existed twenty years ago!

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch Phil Knight’s Stanford Graduate School of Business Graduation Remarks
from 2014.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nRN9FwWQY8w"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

[Get Shoe Dog on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike/dp/1501135929/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Shoe+Dog&qid=1598695478&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=16121cfee992001ffb2140f326ae6935&language=en_US)

[Get Shoe Dog as an audiobook.](https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Phil-Knight-audiobook/dp/B01CRJA470/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1598695478&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=37366d1df7adb1f35a363f6d5743dfe6&language=en_US)

## About the author

Phil Knight was born in 1938 and grew up in Portland. He founded a shoe company
called Blue Ribbon in 1962, later changing the name to Nike. With Knight as CEO
and Chairman, Nike grew to become the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes
and apparel, making him a billionaire in the process. He published his memoir
Shoe Dog in 2016.

### Published by

Simon & Schuster

### Publication Date:

April 26, 2016


Read Shoe Dog by Phil Knight to learn how Nike started out as an opportunistic meeting in Japan and grew into an internationally-famous sportswear brand.

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike


## In a nutshell description

The Bezos Letters is an interesting concept. Steve Anderson has mined each of
Jeff Bezos’ annual shareholder (shareowner) letters since the first one in 1997
to come up with a list of 14 Growth Principles that Bezos has employed in
growing Amazon into the most valuable company in the world.

Anderson, an experienced expert in strategic risk and business growth, argues
that these principles can be applied to any business and lead to positive
results.

The Growth Principles are divided into four distinct ‘Growth Cycles’ as follows:

**Test:**

1. Encourage “Successful Failure”
2. Bet on Big Ideas
3. Practice Dynamic Invention and Innovation

**Build:**

4. Obsess Over Customers
5. Apply Long-Term Thinking
6. Understand Your Flywheel

**Accelerate:**

7. Generate High-Velocity Decisions
8. Make Complexity Simple
9. Accelerate Time WIth Technology
10. Promote Ownership

**Scale:**

11. Maintain Your Culture
12. Focus On High Standards
13. Measure What Matters, Question What’s Measured and Trust Your Gut
14. Believe It’s Always “Day 1”

> “Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful
> decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1.” - Jeff Bezos

## Quotes to make you think

“Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful
decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1.” **from Jeff
Bezos’ 2016 letter letter to shareholders**

As a company grows, everything needs to scale, including the size of your failed
experiments. If the size of your failures isn’t growing, you’re not going to be
inventing at a size that can actually move the needle. Amazon will be
experimenting at the right scale for a company of our size if we occasionally
have multibillion-dollar failures. Of course, we won’t undertake such
experiments cavalierly.

We will work hard to make them good bets, but not all good bets will ultimately
pay out. This kind of large-scale risk taking is part of the service we as a
large company can provide to our customers and to society. The good news for
shareowners is that a single big winning bet can more than cover the cost of
many losers.” **from Jeff Bezos’ 2019 letter to shareholders**

## Why I love this book

I’ve been fascinated by Jeff Bezos and the growth of Amazon for a while now. I
loved
[The Everything Store](https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Store-Jeff-Bezos-Amazon/dp/0316219282/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=2CFNRE9TFFAOB&dchild=1&keywords=the+everything+store&qid=1603797245&sprefix=the+everything+s,aps,249&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=bd740d714b5004c557a4d1830bbf05ca&language=en_US)
and I approached The Bezos Letters primarily from the perspective that I was
interested to learn more about how Bezos has deliberately grown Amazon into a
giant.

Anderson certainly provides this insight but it goes much further than that. The
14 Growth Principles seem so obvious in many ways but if they were so obvious,
every business would be following them. I love how clearly Anderson has
expressed the principles in a way that encourages the reader to consider how
they can apply these principles to their own business, job or personal life.

I particularly enjoyed the parts related to decision making in which Anderson
shows how Bezos divides decisions into Types 1 and 2. Type 1 Decisions “are
consequential and irreversible or nearly irreversible - one-way doors - and
these decisions must be made methodically, carefully, slowly, with great
deliberation and consultation.”

On the other hand, Type 2 Decisions account for the majority of cases, they “are
changeable, reversible - they’re two-way doors.” Which means they can be made
fast and reversed if needed. I had never thought about decision making this way
and it has definitely changed my outlook.

## Read this book if…

You are interested in how elite businesses grow as a result of deliberate,
coherent and intelligent risk-taking. Especially if you would benefit from
learning a framework to grow your own business.

## What others say about it

"In a world filled with success hype, this book shines with credibility and
authenticity. Each of these letters contains principles that are the result of
years of courageous testing, lessons learned through failure, and discoveries
that have led to what Amazon is today.” — **Ken Davis**

"What if Jeff Bezos simply handed you the formula to Amazon’s stratospheric
growth so you could do the same? He did, in his shareholder letters. In this
remarkable book, Steve Anderson decrypts the 14 Growth Principles you can use to
have your own ‘Amazon-ing’ success!" — **Mike Michalowicz**

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch an interview with Steve Anderson in which he talks about The Bezos
Letters.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sn_Z1IG8_zk"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

And here is a
[Q&A with Steve Anderson](https://www.chisel.ai/blog/interview-with-steve-anderson).

## Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/Bezos-Letters-Principles-Business-Amazon/dp/1642793329/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=the+bezos+letter&qid=1603790301&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=251c727bdb2ef89504457029308f0593&language=en_US"
/>{' '}

## About the authors

Steve Anderson is an expert in strategic risk and business growth. Drawing on
decades of experience in the insurance industry, he wrote The Bezos Letters: 14
Principles to Grow Your Business Like Amazon, which has become a Wall Street
Journal, USA Today, and international bestseller. With hundreds of thousands of
followers, Steve has been handpicked by LinkedIn as one of the world’s most
influential thought leaders.

Karen Anderson is an author, publisher, and direct response marketer whose
fingerprints are all over New York Times, USA Today, and other bestselling
books. For the past 30+ years, she’s helped entrepreneurs and businesses clarify
and communicate their messages, grow their businesses, and increase their reach
using the power of a book. She grew up as an “insurance brat” and spent weekends
with her dad looking behind buildings and parking lots checking for potential
risks.

### Publication Date

July 23, 2019


Read The Bezos Letters to get an insight into how Amazon grew to become the most valuable company in the world, and how you can apply the same approach to you own life and business.

The Bezos Letters: 14 Principles to Grow Your Business like Amazon


## Summary of main ideas

Here is an overview of the key lessons:

**Understand the context** When presenting an analysis based on data, it is
essential to consider who your audience is and what you want them to do. This
information will affect the format, the length, the calls to action and more.

**Choose an appropriate visual display** An important takeaway from Storytelling
With Data is the realisation that there aren’t really that many different types
of chart. Choosing the appropriate chart for each specific use case can be
learned by following some key principles. To put it in over-simple terms: you
can rarely go wrong with a bar chart and you will almost always go wrong with a
pie chart!

**Eliminate clutter** One important data visualisation best practice is to keep
the data-ink ratio high as possible. In other words, remove as many elements as
possible that are not adding information to a visualisation.

**Focus attention where you want it** Consider where you want your audience to
pay attention and then do things on purpose to make that happen. Concepts such
as Preattentive Attributes and Gestalt Principles are key here because they can
be used as tools that take advantage of how the brain processes information to
draw attention to specific elements or groups.

**Think like a designer** Take advantage of traditional design concepts such as
[affordances](https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/affordances)
and accessibility to further improve your audience’s experience of a
visualisation.

**Tell a story** Never simply show data. It is much easier to understand and
remember a data analysis when it is presented as part of a story.

> It is essential to consider who your audience is and what you want them to do.

## How this book can help you

The importance of presenting information to people you need to influence or
please is growing by the year, affecting pretty much anyone working in an office
or ‘knowledge worker’ role.

But, most people have no understanding of how to effectively communicate with
data. They place pie charts side-by-side to show a yearly increase in sales by
category or they drown a budget request figure in oceans of unneeded data points
and colours.

A complete data visualisation beginner reading Storytelling With Data will
dramatically improve the quality of their analyses and presentations,
practically overnight, by applying the best practices and concepts laid out by
Nussbaumer Knaflic.

That is not to say it’s a book for beginners only. Individual chapters serve as
great reference points and I’ve already reread the whole thing a few times.

I also love that Storytelling With Data is essentially tool-agnostic. While
there are some great tool-specific resources out there - and these are important
too - there is always a risk of becoming technically brilliant at Tableau or
Excel (or any other data viz tool) and still confusing your audiences with
parrot-coloured pie charts without understanding why.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic talk about Storytelling With Data at Google.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8EMW7io4rSI"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

[Get Storytelling With Data on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Data-Visualization-Business-Professionals/dp/1119002257/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=storytelling+with+data&qid=1598696127&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=30446e437ab74e93bc75afdf527712e4&language=en_US)

## About the author

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic is an expert at effectively communicating data having
worked in analytical roles in banking, private equity and at Google, where she
was a manager on the People Analytics team. Since leaving Google in 2009 to set
up her own
[Data Visualisation Consultancy](http://www.storytellingwithdata.com/), she has
traveled the world helping thousands to improve their data literacy as well as
publishing
[Storytelling With Data](https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Data-Visualization-Business-Professionals/dp/1119002257/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=storytelling+with+data&qid=1598696127&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=30446e437ab74e93bc75afdf527712e4&language=en_US)
in 2015, followed in 2019 by
[Storytelling With Data: Let’s Practice!](https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Data-Cole-Nussbaumer-Knaflic/dp/1119621496/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Storytelling+With+Data:+Let%E2%80%99s+Practice!&qid=1598696204&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=eddb2c0766d9fe25e3682d81944a0650&language=en_US)

### Published by

Wiley

### Publication Date

November 2, 2015


Read Storytelling With Data by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic to revolutionsie the way you work and communicate with data based on leveraging visual perception and simplicity.

Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals


## Summary of main ideas

Factfulness identifies ten ‘instincts’ that most humans have about the world
which distort our understanding of reality:

**The Gap Instinct:** People typically divide the world into two groups: The
“developed” world and the “developing” world. Factfulness argues that there are
really four levels of income. People in Level 1 survive on
$ a day. This goes up to $4 a day for Level 2 and Level 3 is
$16 a day. Level 4 starts at $64 a day. Viewed through this lens, the progress
of entire populations moving upwards from the very poorest levels is striking.

**The Negativity Instinct:** Information about bad events is much more likely to
reach us and so we should expect bad news. Gradual progress is also happening
but that is not news.

**The Straight Line Instinct:** We assume that things will continue to happen in
straight lines. In reality, lines curve. An exaggerated example, the line
representing a child’s growth curves and goes flat as they approach adulthood.

**The Fear Instinct:** How frightened we are about something is not directly
related to how dangerous it is. Frightening things get our attention.

**The Size Instinct:** We often see a large number without the context of other
numbers. Comparing or dividing numbers enables us to put things in proportion.

**The Generalization Instinct:** It is very easy to assume that every member of
a group is the same. In reality our understanding of the world is often
distorted by failure to see that groups are made up of sometimes very different
smaller groups. For example, countries in Asia range from very poor to very
rich, so it makes no sense to simply label Asia as poor.

**The Destiny Instinct:** “The destiny instinct is the idea that innate
characteristics determine the destinies of people, countries, religions, or
cultures.“ In reality, some things just change very slowly. Rosling suggests
talking to your grandparents about their values to see how they differ from
yours.

**The Single Perspective Instinct:** “We find simple ideas very attractive.” In
reality, the world is complex so we need to be prepared to consider opinions and
ideas that don’t snugly fit into a simple worldview.

**The Blame Instinct:** It is common to look for a scapegoat when something goes
wrong. As a result, we often ignore the real cause of a problem and forget that
bad things sometimes just happen without anyone meaning for it to.

**The Urgency Instinct:** Even if something seems urgent, it rarely is. Acting
too quickly reduces our ability to think clearly, leading to unintended
consequences.

> Information about bad events is much more likely to reach us and so we should
> expect bad news. Gradual progress is also happening but that is not news.

## How this book can help you

Read this book if you want to develop a more nuanced understanding of the world
and challenge your existing assumptions (which are probably incorrect!). You
might expect a book devoted to telling its readers they are wrong would come
across as preachy, but Rosling and his co-authors had a gift for conveying ideas
with humility, humour and simple common sense.

Factfulness is also a good starting point for anyone looking to understand the
power of using data to explore ideas and share them in a persuasive way.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

[Watch this fantastic TED talk by Hans Rosling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w).

## Where to get it

[Get Factfulness on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Factfulness-Reasons-World-Things-Better/dp/1250123828/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=2HEZ16KKIZWSG&dchild=1&keywords=factfulness&qid=1598696287&s=books&sprefix=factuf,stripbooks-intl-ship,266&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=0012a1c9184b4614cfc70751c162d8b4&language=en_US)

## About the author

Hans Rosling was a professor of International Health at Karolinska Institutet in
Sweden and co-founded the [Gapminder Foundation](https://www.gapminder.org/)
along with the co-authors of this book, his son Ola and daughter-in-law Anna
(see below). Rosling lived and worked for extended spells in Asia and Africa,
where he discovered a previously unrecognized paralytic disease that his
research team named Konzo. Rosling died in 2017 before the publication of
Factfulness.

Ola Rosling is President & Co-Founder of Gapminder Foundation. He spent time at
Google following the tech giant’s acquisition of Gapminder’s Trendalyser
software in 2007. He returned to Gapminder in 2011, coining the term Factfulness
in 2014.

Anna Rosling Rönnlund founded the Gapminder Foundation in 2005 along with Hans
and Ola, having previously earned a Master’s Degree in Sociology and a
Bachelor’s Degree in Photography. She also spent time at Google following the
acquisition of Trendalyser before returning to Gapminder where she is now Vice
President and Head of Design & User Experience.

### Published by

Flatiron Books

### Publication Date

April 3, 2018


Read Factfulness by Hans Rosling to learn about why the world is not as bad as you thought it was why and humans get things wrong more often than chimpanzees.

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think


## Summary of main ideas

You can breathe in as many different ways as different foods you can eat however
it is estimated that around 90% are breathing either incorrectly or not
efficiently. There are many modern day maladies that stem from not breathing
properly ranging from asthma, anxiety, sleep apnea, snoring, ADHD and even
cardiovascular diseases.

James embarks on his own journey by participating in a 20 day experiment with a
quirky and enthusiastic Swedish scientist named Anders Olsson. Anders is
obsessed with breathing and spent a decade studying the difference between mouth
breathing and nose breathing.

The idea of the experiment was to spend the first 10 days mouth breathing only
and the next 10 days nose breathing. Many tests were done during these
experiments to gain insight into the effects of boths methods of breathing. The
results were alarming and it led James on a world wide tour to rediscover the
art of breathing that certain ancient civilisations practised.

James breaks down the methods he discovered into 7 steps that you can
incorporate into your daily life.

**Step 1: Shut Your Mouth**

James’s experiment breathing 10 days just through his mouth and then 10 days
just through his nose showed just how bad for you breathing through your mouth
is. Stress hormones spiked, he acquired a bacterial bug in his nose, blood
pressure was through the roof and heart rate variability plummeted.

Ander’s and his snoring increased at night and they both suffered from bouts of
sleep apnea. Certain blood markers however stayed the same which would explain
why many people are chronic mouth breathers but don’t notice anything seriously
wrong. It seems to be more of a very slow killer that decreases quality of life
along the way but to a level that people accept as normal.

**Step 2: Breath through your nose**

When they did breath through their noses both James’s and Olsen’s blood
pressures, heart rates and carbon dioxide levels normalised. Snoring decreased
from several hours to mins each night. James practised taping his mouth shut
every night to force himself to breath through his nose when he was asleep and
reported feeling much better afterwards. There are now clinical trials happening
investigating this practise and the benefits it could bring.

**Step 3: Exhale**

[Carl Stough](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Stough) spent his lifetime
teaching people how to get stale air out of their bodies so they could get more
fresh air in. He trained his clients to exhale longer and this had miraculous
effects on emphysema patients, Opera singers and professional athletes. Most of
us only use a small percentage of our lung capacity but the first stages of
healthy breathing is to extend these breaths and get the diaphragm working.

**Step 4: Chew**

James on his worldly travels investigated skulls from different periods to see
what differences he could find. He found that pre-industrial skulls have three
main features - huge sinus cavities, straight teeth and strong jaws. These three
features would have helped our ancestors breath much easier than we do today.
The reason our ancestors had these features comes down to a few reasons but one
main one is the food they ate. They used to spend hours chewing.

They lived before our food became processed and mushy and therefore had to chew
their food properly in order to digest it. The bones in our face can continually
grow throughout our lives. Your diet should consist of food that requires much
time chewing. And when not chewing your lips should remain together, your teeth
slightly touching and your tongue on the roof of your mouth.

**Step 5: Breath More on Occasion**

Practise something like
[Tummo Breathing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XtDgQZbiFc),
[Wim Hof breathing method](https://www.wimhofmethod.com/) and
[vigorous pranayamas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVchZ8D15Ec) on occasion.
They stress the body and snap it out of its funk so it can properly function for
the other 23.5 hours of the day. Conscious breathing teaches us to be the pilots
of our bodies.

**Step 6. Hold Your Breath**

[Doctor Donald Klein](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/science/donald-klein-dead.html)
studied links between chemoreceptor flexibility, carbon dioxide and anxiety. His
research has led to discoveries linking certain parts of the brain to breathing
and how breathing can be used to treat certain fears and anxieties.

**Step 7: How we Breathe Matters**

The perfect breath is this: Breathe in for 5.5 seconds. Breathe out for 5.5
seconds. That’s 5.5 breaths a minute and 5.5 litres of air. You can practise
this method of breathing for a few minutes or a few hours. It is also (through
no coincidence) the length of time that many prayers or religious chants take.

It seems the body responds very well to this way of breathing and this has been
discovered over and over again throughout the ages.

## What can you get out of this book

30 lbs of air that pass through our lungs everyday and the way we breathe is
just as important as the food we eat or the exercise we do. James has broken
down the art of breathing into very simple and doable steps.

These steps can be incorporated into your daily life very simply and that is why
I like this book so much. Simply by shutting your mouth when not talking can
have wondrous effects on your long term well being. Chewing your food properly
when eating can actually change physical bone structures in your face. By
practising certain breathing exercises you can take charge of your body.

With levels of depression and anxiety apparently at an all time high I think it
is time as a species we looked at the most basic functions of our lives such as
breathing. If we can focus on this and do this well then I firmly believe we can
build a solid foundation on which we can live healthy happy lives.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch an in depth interview with James Nestor on the infamous Joe Rogan Show:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U5o9b2RVC2E"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

Also listen to James discussing his book with breathe expert
[Patrick McKeown](https://oxygenadvantage.com/patrick-mckeown-m-a-tcd/):

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wl4J2LMXcx8"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

James also introduces Wim Hof in his book and his modern day take on
[tummo breathing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tummo). If you haven’t heard of
Wim Hof you can get a great introduction to him here on the Rich Roll podcast:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i3d3bwzQFgk"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

Buy [Breath](https://amzn.to/3hKwaeR) on Amazon

Listen to [Breath](https://amzn.to/3hMyoKL) on Audible

Buy [Breath](https://www.bookdepository.com/Breath-James-Nestor/9780735213616)
on Book Depository

## About the author

James Nestor is an American journalist and author who has written several books
and also written for many popular publications including The New York Times and
The Atlantic. His latest book Breath had his travelling the world to figure out
what went wrong with the way society breaths and what we can do to correct it.

### Published by

Riverhead/Penguin Random House

### Publication Date

26 May 2020


Journalist James Nestor dives into the past to discover the lost art of breathing in his book - Breath. You can breathe in as many different ways as different foods you can eat and in this book James Nestor explains all

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art


Discover the foods and recipes that are right for you, natural remedies for a
variety of common ailments, and the power of yoga, meditation, and massage with
Practical Ayurveda. - _Amazon Product Description_

## In a nutshell description

This is a practical book explaining what Ayurveda is and how to bring it into
your life. Ayurveda is the Science of long living and a healthy life.

**Ayuhu** = longevity, span of life. **Veda** = branch of knowledge.

The book starts off by explaining about the four aspects of the body (Doshas,
Agni, Dhatus, Malas). It leads you through to discover what kind of body
constitution you have and then dives more into detail about each body type. It
then goes into Lifestyle talking about daily routines and looking after your
body.

It then goes quite deeply into the food and diet aspect of Ayurveda and how
different diets suit different body constitutions and how the seasons play a
very important role in how our bodies are.

Next it brings exercises and focuses predominantly on Yoga. It lays out
different Asanas and an explanation on the benefits each one brings. It
introduces breathing exercises too and how incredibly important the breath is to
a healthy organism.

Finally it comes to the mind and how to introduce positive thinking and
meditation into your life. This is another type of Yoga (raja Yoga) and how it
can bring balance and harmony into our lives.

There is so much information packed into this book and it is filled with
wonderful illustrations. It’s a book that really justifies having the hard copy.

## Quotes to make you think

Life is meant for service and not for self-seeking. Hold your life of the
service of others. The more energy you expend in elevating others, the more
universal energy will flow into you.

## Why I love this book

I really like this book because the approach of Ayurveda just makes so much
sense to me. This isn’t a one size fits all approach, it’s about understanding
yourself and your body and then applying the specific suggestions to what works
for you. It made me aware of so many aspects of myself that I somehow knew but
never formulated into specific thoughts.

The part about the different body types and the energies within the body and how
everyone has different combinations of these was a revelation to me. It really
made me look at people around me differently, I saw them all in a new light.

There is also a section I really liked - ‘Looking after your body’ which lists
ten practises you can do in the morning. Things like clearing your nasal
passage, cleaning your tongue, inhaling aromas… simple practises but when
combined together over a period of time they really made a difference in how I
generally felt.

I still have much to learn from this book and about Ayurveda but this book gives
such a great introduction and really opened my eyes about many aspects of life.

> Life is meant for service and not for self-seeking. Hold your life of the
> service of others. The more energy you expend in elevating others, the more
> universal energy will flow into you.

## Read this book if…

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain a deeper insight into
themselves and their mind and bodies. Personally I think this will be helpful
for anyone but I also understand you have to be in a certain place in life to
really absorb and appreciate what is written here.

There is a great deal of information in this book so it’s definitely a book you
can keep coming back to. However, even just reading a section at a time can
really have an influence on how you see yourself.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

This is a long but great introduction in Ayurveda if you are interested. It is a
lecture given by Jason Milne:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EV7B5-6qQQc"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

This is a great intro video into the different Ayurvedic body types:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lx07nvPloes "
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1465468498/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1465468498&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ac688edbb89ed376e1dfcef29e724588 "
/>

## About the author

The Sivanada Yoga Vedanta Centre was established in 1957 by Swami
Vishnudevanada. It is a nonprofit organisation which focuses on the teaching of
classical Yoga and vedanta philosophy for the physical, mental and spiritual
well being of humans. More than 25,000 Yoga teachers aev graduated from
international Sivanada teachers since 1969.

### Publication Date

5 June 2018


Practical Ayurveda from the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre allows you to discover the foods and recipes that are right for you, natural remedies for a variety of common ailments, and the power of yoga, meditation and massage.

Practical Ayurveda


## In a nutshell description

Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth is a detailed journey into the life and
morality of Albert Speer, the German architect who famously rose within Nazi
Germany to become Hitler’s Minister of Armaments and Munitions as well as an
initmate member of his inner circle.

Late author Gitta Sereny meticulously maps out Speer’s ascent from his early
beginnings to his ascent to the highest echelons of the Third Reich before a
post-war life in which he portrayed himself as ‘the good Nazi’.

And this is where the book is particularly interesting. Speer - especially after
the completion of his 20 year imprisonment at Spandau prison - presented himself
as an articulate, educated and apologetic victim of circumstance. Crucially, he
claimed to having not known anything about the very worst Nazi crimes, including
the systematic killing of over six million Jewish people during what became
known as The Holocaust.

As part of her research, Sereny came to know Speer personally and admitted to
liking him. But was he really telling the truth when insisting that he didn’t
know anything about the Final Solution? Sereny’s conclusion is almost reluctant
but firm: He did know and history should judge him accordingly.

> “If one wanted to gain real understanding of Speer, one had to realize first
> that almost everything he did–though, as shown by some of our talks, not quite
> everything–had a purpose, generally directed towards his own benefit.” - Gitta
> Sereny

## Quotes to make you think

“Most Hitler biographers are dismissive of his emotional capacities. The general
trend has been to see him as cold and incapable of compassion. But while this
certainly applies to his political self, more recent research suggests that he
was neither cold nor indifferent towards those closest to him, and this
certainly included Speer.”

“If one wanted to gain real understanding of Speer, one had to realize first
that almost everything he did–though, as shown by some of our talks, not quite
everything–had a purpose, generally directed towards his own benefit.”

“What Hitler taught us–to an extent greater than anyone else in history, though
we would become aware of it again in Vietnam–is that a licence to kill creates a
momentum which defies moral sensibility and discernment and destroys the
capacity of the individual to distinguish between good and evil or, and this is
perhaps even worse, to act against a recognized wrong.”

## Why I love this book

I read Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth more than a decade ago. Having
studied Nazi Germany in some depth throughout school and university, this was
the first time I had actively sought out and purchased a book on the subject for
the sake of wanting to learn more rather than with an exam or essay at the back
of my mind. I took my time and immersed myself in the details.

Sereny’s forensic investigation of events, descriptions of the Nazi context and
exploration of Speer’s character captivated me from the beginning and compelled
me to try to empahise with his experiences on a human level. It was perhaps the
first time I had considered the famous Nazi protagonists as real people rather
than evil caricatures.

I almost found myself hoping Sereny would reach the conclusion that Speer really
was just a normal person who was unfortunate to have been born in the wrong
place at the wrong time. Her assertion that Speer had known about the
extermination of the Jews felt even more powerful as a result.

## Read this book if…

You are interested by the history of Nazi Germany and want to learn more about
that period of time (partly) while contemplating the ambiguous nature of good
and evil.

## What others say about it

“Arguably the most important and certainly the most fascinating book about the
Nazi era published in the last ten years” — **Robert Harris** (note, Albert
Speer: His Battle With Truth was published in 1995)

“A masterpiece of historical and inquisitorial technique, enables us to
understand the ablest, most articulate, and most ambiguous of Hitler’s
ministers” — **Hugh Trevor-Roper**

[“Relentlessly and repeatedly, Sereny shows that Speer must have known more about the fate of the Jews, the realities of the concentration camps, and the treatment of foreign workers than he ever admitted. Yet she shows a kind of overall indulgence and tells us that she saw in Speer's battle with himself…”](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/1996-03-01/albert-speer-his-battle-truth) -
**Stanley Hoffman**

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch Gitta Sereny talking about Albert Speer.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m3dD_Bka_kc"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

Watch 'Albert Speer The Nazi Who Said Sorry'.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/al3gsNlZa1U"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/Albert-Speer-His-Battle-Truth/dp/0679768122/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=199ERX3KQCLRM&dchild=1&keywords=albert+speer+his+battle+with+truth&qid=1602933550&sprefix=albert+speer+h,aps,226&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ef595529a3636e5ad6124579272606e5&language=en_US"
/>

## About the author

Gitta Sereny was an Austrian-British biographer, historian, and investigative
journalist who came to be known for her interviews and profiles of infamous
figures such as Mary Bell, Franz Strangl and Albert Speer. She wrote five books
in total and worked extensively as a journalist, most notably for The Daily
Telegraph Magazine. Sereny died in June 2012 at the age of 91.

### Publication Date

September 19, 1995


Read this epic account of the life of Albert Speer by Gitta Sereny in which she explores whether he really was the Good Nazi he portrayed himself to be.

Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth


## Summary of main ideas

Khalidi focuses on six key events, or ‘declarations of war’, to lay out his
argument that the history of Palestine and Israel since the start of the 20th
century amounts to a “colonial war waged against the indigenous population, by a
variety of parties, to force them to relinquish their homeland to another people
against their will.”

This “variety of parties” includes the Israelis, the Palestinians, the British
and the Americans. Throughout, Khalidi shows how the mistakes and failings of
these stakeholders both created and perpetuated the conflict.

**The First Declaration Of War: 1917-1939**

In The First Declaration Of War, Khalidi describes how conditions were set for
the eventual establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. In the
[Balfour Declaration of 1917](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl1d4WyleY4),
Britain had committed to supporting the establishment of a "national home for
the Jewish people” in Palestine, even though the Arab population made up 94% of
the total population of Palestine at the time.

The consequences were disastrous. The
[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936%E2%80%931939_Arab_revolt_in_Palestine)
against increased Jewish immigration was disorganised, unsavoury (with the
[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem pursuing an alliance with Nazi Germany](https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-official-record-what-the-mufti-said-to-hitler/))
and ultimately unsuccessful.

**The Second Declaration Of War: 1947-1948**

This section focuses on the
[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Partition%20Plan,as%20Resolution%20181%20(II).>)
which was adopted as Resolution 181 and recommended the creation of independent
Arab and Jewish States.

This led to civil war followed by the declaration of the establishment of the
state of Israel leading to the surrounding Arab states launching an unsuccessful
invasion. By the end of the war, 700,000 Palestinian Arabs had either fled from
their homes or were expelled from the area that became Israel, starting a
refugee crisis that has never been resolved.

**The Third Declaration Of War: 1967**

In The Third Declaration Of War, Khalidi explores the
[Six-Day War of 1967](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHqJ6pgdE-c) and
especially the
[UN Security Council (SC) Resolution 242](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_242)
which, partly due to some linguistic ambiguity between the French and English
versions, did not force Israel to withdraw from newly occupied territories. As
with Resolution 181, Resolution 242 made no reference to Palistinians (referring
only to the ‘refugee problem’).

This is a theme to which Khalidi frequenntly returns: he argues that the
Palestinian people have been repeatedly ignored as stakeholders in the
Arab-Israeli conflict putting the rights and welfare of the Palestinian people
at a continual disadvantage.

**The Fourth Declaration Of War: 1982**

This section centers on the
[Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Lebanon_War)
which, Khalidi argues, represented a joint Israeli-American operation. The
invasion sought to wipe out Palestinian nationalism in the occupied West Bank
and Gaza.

15,000 - 20,000 people were killed, of which a high proportion were civilians.
The emergence of the United States as Israel’s partner in “helping to repress
the Palestinians by force in service of Zionist ends,” is another key theme that
Khalidi addresses in detail in this section.

**The Fifth Declaration Of War: 1987-1995**

[The First Palestinian Intifada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Intifada),
which began in 1987, saw an outbreak of Palestinian protests and riots against
the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The Israeli response was
widely seen as disproportionate in its brutality, which led to a rise in
sympathy for the Palestinian cause around the world.

Khalidi explores the subsequent self-inflicted damage caused by the Palestinian
Liberation Organisation (PLO) leadership in squandering this public support and
then accepting a flawed outcome at the
[Oslo Accords](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_I_Accord) of 1993 (which was
at least partly a result of naive and inexperienced PLO negotiation).

**The Sixth Declaration Of War: 2000-2014**

The final declaration identified by Khalidi spans fourteen years and encompasses
[the Second Palestinian Intifada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Aqsa_Intifada)
and Israel’s aggressive response to it as well as the three Israeli Defence
Forces (IDF) assaults on the Gaza Strip in 2008, 2012 and 2014.

Khalidi examines the nature of this response, in particular its impact on
Palestinian civilians. He argues that these extreme measures can be considered
“crimes against humanity” and, once more, highlights the influence of the United
States in providing weapons and machinery.

## How this book can help you

I think The Hundred Years' War on Palestine essential reading for anyone hoping
to developing a foundational understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Here’s
why...

I studied the conflict at school and was immediately entranced, although I
realised even then that I had only scratched the surface of the subject. Since
then, I’ve learnt more about the Middle East and come to understand that so many
global events can be traced back to the establishment of Israel and the fight
for Palestine.

The more I learnt, the more conscious I became of a gap in my knowledge
concerning the origins of the conflict. The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
provided an ideal step towards building a greater understanding because Khalidi
thoroughly describes the key events while also providing commentary based on a
well of knowledge and personal experience.

I expect some people will consider Khalidi’s work biased in favour of the
Palestinian version of events. I don’t feel qualified to judge at this point but
his writing has certainly inspired me to learn more on the subject.

Khalidi has said that he intended this book to serve as a counterpoint to the
popular mythology made famous by Leon Uris’ epic
[Exodus](https://www.amazon.com/Exodus-Novel-Israel-Leon-Uris/dp/0553258478/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Exodus&qid=1601310175&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=534b1b4f959d2a50238c3859dcbfac65&language=en_US)
(which I enjoyed reading but clearly represents a very biased point of view). I
would argue the major takeaway for an audience that isn’t steeped in the history
of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the understanding that there isn’t a clear
history of good vs evil here, but rather a desperately sad story of innocent
human suffering stemming at least partly from decisions taken more than a
century ago.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch Rashid Khalidi giving a keynote talk about The Hundred Years' War on
Palestine.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yp1hxZMocS4"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

[Get The Hundred Years' War on Palestine on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Hundred-Years-War-Palestine-Resistance/dp/1627798552/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=1HG52GAT9EHTN&dchild=1&keywords=the+100+years+war+on+palestine&qid=1601307976&sprefix=the+100+years+wa,aps,229&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=182fffdfe9317b7a86389a4a777130f7&language=en_US)

## About the author

Rashid Khalidi is a Palestinian American historian of the Middle East. He is
currently the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia
University and Co-editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies. He has published over ten books about the
history of the Middle East, of which his most well-known is
[Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness](https://www.amazon.com/Palestinian-Identity-Construction-National-Consciousness/dp/023115075X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Palestinian+Identity:+The+Construction+of+Modern+National+Consciousness&qid=1601308256&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=eef21ff53086dba47fbad1336a1ab8d1&language=en_US).

### Published by

Macmillan

### Publication Date:

January 28, 2020


Read The Hundred Years War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi to get a comprehensive understanding of how the Arab-Israeli conflict originated and was then perpetuated for more than a century.

The Hundred Years War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917--2017


## Summary of main ideas

**Optimism:** “If you walk up and down the hall constantly telling people ‘The
sky is falling,’ a sense of doom and gloom will, over time, permeate the
company. You can’t communicate pessimism to the people around you. It’s ruinous
to morale.”

**Courage:** “If you want innovation, you need to grant permission to fail.”

**Focus:** “Avoid getting into the business of manufacturing trombone oil. You
may become the greatest trombone oil manufacturer in the world, but in the end
the world only consumes a few quarts of trombone oil a year.” (quoting Iger’s
former boss Dan Berg).

**Decisiveness:** “There is never 100% certainty.”

**Curiosity:** “The path to innovation begins with curiosity.”

**Fairness:** “This doesn’t mean that you lower your expectations... it means
you create an environment where people know you will hear them out... and that
they will be given second chances for honest mistakes.”

**Thoughtfulness:** “Long shots aren’t normally as long as they seem.”

**Authenticity:** “A little respect goes a long way and the absence of it can be
costly.”

**Relentless Pursuit of Perfectionism:** “It’s a mindset...it’s not about
perfectionism at all costs, it’s about creating an environment in which people
refuse to accept mediocrity.”

**Integrity:** “True integrity, a sense of knowing who you are and being guided
by your own clear sense of right and wrong is a kind of secret leadership
weapon. If you trust your own instincts and treat people with respect, the
company will come to represent the values you live by.”

Particularly fascinating insights come through his descriptions of handling
important relationships.

For example, he devotes a lot of time to describing the influence of the
legendary head of ABC’s Sports and News departments Roone Arledge who served as
a demanding mentor before ultimately working for Iger, who had risen rapidly
through the ranks to increasingly senior positions. Iger’s description of how he
coaxed a last great project from an initially reluctant Arledge (ABC’s Millenium
coverage) through a combination of firmness and sensitivity is a superb insight
into the importance of emotional intelligence when leading others.

Other highlights include descriptions of Iger’s close relationship with Steve
Jobs and his exploration of the complexities involved with being acquired by and
then later acquiring other companies.

> “True integrity, a sense of knowing who you are and being guided by your own
> clear sense of right and wrong is a kind of secret leadership weapon.”

## How this book can help you

The ten principles of leadership are a great framework for anyone who finds
themselves responsible for other people. But the underlying takeaway comes from
Iger’s emphasis on the importance of consistently doing the ‘right thing’, even
when the short term consequence is negative. By following his principles, acting
with humility and treating those around him with respect, Iger was able to build
a hugely successful career while maintaining a clear conscience. Iger also
identified and executed on three core focus areas as he became CEO of Disney:

1. Increase the amount of high-quality branded content
2. Advance technologically
3. Grow globally His explanation about how he landed on this approach provides a
   great lesson in the power of taking the time to create a thoughtful strategy
   and then sticking to it, rather than constantly reacting to events.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

[An interview with Rober Iger by Oprah Winfrey.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS4y0giPVaE)

## Where to get it

[Get The Ride of a Lifetime on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Lifetime-Lessons-Learned-Company/dp/0399592091/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Ride+of+a+Lifetime&qid=1598696367&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=9cdf077f8a2c6ecb4cc05fc407acdca9&language=en_US)

[Get The Ride of a Lifetime as an audiobook.](https://www.amazon.com/The-Ride-of-Lifetime-Robert-Iger-audiobook/dp/B07XZMNP27/ref=as_li_ss_tl?keywords=The+Ride+of+a+Lifetime&qid=1598696422&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=bcabe7cb342a3629b022367f208f2162&language=en_US)

## About the author

Robert Iger enjoyed a long and successful career working for ABC Group and Walt
Disney Corporation, culminating in a 15-year stint as Chairman and CEO. In his
time at Disney, Iger oversaw the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and
21st Century Fox. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in
January 2020.

### Published by

Penguin Random House LLC

### Publication Date:

September 23, 2019


Read The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger for an insight into the leadership skills required to lead Disney for over a decade

The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company

## In a nutshell description

Hacking Growth provides a detailed breakdown of how companies are creating
dedicated, multi-talented teams who harness data, rapid experimentation and
technical know-how to drive huge growth, often with little marketing spend.

Authors Sean Ellis and Morgan use mutltiple case studies to demonstrate the
fundamental principles of growth hacking, including their personal experiences
such as helping to grow Dropbox's users from 100,000 to 4 million by rewarding
users with extra storage for inviting friends to use the service.

They go on to demonstrate how growth hacking strategies can be used to drive
growth at all stages of the customer experience, from initial acquisition to
activation, monetization and then retention. They go into detail about
high-level concepts such as the philosophy of building growth innovations
directly into a product's design (such as Adobe gameifying their tutorials -
leading to a 400% increase in users upgrading to a paid version), rather than
treating marketing as a seperate function tasked with selling an already-built
product.

And then there are deep dives into specific tactics used by successful growth
teams such as how to run successful weekly meetings and how to approach choosing
the most suitable metrics on which to focus.

## Why I love this book

I work in data and have a background in marketing, so Hacking Growth referenced
a lot of ideas and techniques I was already familiar with but it presented them
in such understandable and actionable ways that I found myself bursting with new
ideas and really excited by possibilities I hadn't previously considered.

I had always previously assumed growth 'hacking' meant taking short cuts and
favouring quick wins over long-term, sustainable growth. I was wrong. I am now
convinced that being part of a growth team must be one of the most exciting
roles to take on within an organisation due to the opportunity to combine
creativty with a highly systematic approach, and an opportunity to make a clear
impact on the bottom line.

## Quotes to make you think

_“There is no question that stalled growth is one of the most pernicious and
pressing problems for today’s businesses, and that’s not just true for
start-ups, but for just about any business, large or small, in just about any
industry you can think of.”_

_“To determine your value metric, Campbell recommends asking yourself three
questions: Does the value metric align with where your customer perceives value?
Does the metric scale as the customer uses the product more? Is it easy to
understand?”_

_“Remember that a core tenet of growth hacking is experimentation all through
the customer experience funnel: not just customer awareness and acquisition but
also activation, retention, revenue, and referral.”_

_“One of the cardinal rules of growth hacking is that you must not move into the
high-tempo growth experimentation push until you know your product is must-have,
why it’s must-have, and to whom it is a must-have: in other words, what is its
core value, to which customers, and why.”_

## Read this book if…

You have any interest in marketing, data, product development or business in
general.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening



<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jsdLHXBScNc"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it



<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-Growth-Fastest-Growing-Companies-Breakout/dp/045149721X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=hacking+growth&qid=1616013882&sr=8-1"
/>

## About the Authors

Sean Ellis coined the term 'Growth Hacking'. He is the founder and CEO of
[GrowthHackers](https://growthhackers.com/), has directly led growth at Dropbox,
LogMeIn, Lookout, and Eventbrite and has also provided coaching and workshops to
some of the world’s fastest growing companies.

Morgan Brown is a growth product manager at Facebook and a startup marketing
veteran with more than 15 years helping early stage companies find traction and
breakout growth.

### Publication Date:



April 18, 2017

Check out our short summary of Hacking Growth by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown.

Hacking Growth


## Summary of main ideas

That’s a worthy goal. To get there, you need to take control of your financial
life. If you don’t know much, or anything, about personal finance. This book is
the place to start.

Sethi lays out a six-week gameplan. In reality, you don’t need to follow each
step in succession, but each stage builds on the previous one to take you on a
journey from free-spending financial illiterate to disciplined (and relaxed)
investor on the path to building wealth while enjoying life along the way.

Among other things, you will learn how to do the following (and why)

- **Optimize Your Credit Cards** - While many people get into financial trouble
  because of costly late payment fees, credit cards can actually be put to work
  in your favour to build up your credit score and earn points towards travel.
- **Adopt a Conscious Spending Plan** - Sethi argues that trying to stick to a
  budget is unrealistic for most people, who may start with good intentions but
  will eventually give up. He proposes an approach where you automatically
  deduct fixed costs and savings and then use the remainder for guilt-free
  spending.
- **Automate Everything** - An important concept that runs throughout the book:
  The less you actually have to do to manage your finances, the more chance that
  your finances will be managed!
- **Start Investing** - For anybody who hasn’t heard of Compound Interest or the
  concept of managed vs non-managed investment funds, this section is essential
  reading. Or, more simply: “Spend extravagantly on the things you love. Cut
  costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.”

> While many people get into financial trouble because of costly late payment
> fees, credit cards can actually be put to work in your favour to build up your
> credit score and earn points towards travel.

## How this book can help you

There are many great books about personal finance but I Will Teach You to be
Rich is the one I wish I could go back in time and force my teenage self to
read. It changed my financial life as an early thirty-something, mainly because
it revolutionised my understanding of money.

Early on in my adult life, I saw money as a means of paying bills and buying
stuff with anything left over. I hated talking (or being talked to) about money,
it felt like a hugely complicated subject, especially as my bank account had a
magical ability to stay at a similar level for years on end. I was squeamish
about negotiating salaries and I assumed buying property would be a great idea,
if only I could somehow afford it (I’m not saying it isn’t, but it depends).

Sethi made me realise money is simply a resource that can enable you to spend
time doing what you love. With that perspective, time can be considered just
as - if not more - valuable, and money’s greatest value is often that it buys
you time. He also made me understand that the basics to getting your finances
under control are really quite simple.

I will always be grateful to this book for pushing me to automate as much of my
financial life as possible, helping me understand the importance of getting paid
fairly, and introducing me to the concepts of compound interest and index fund
investing. Less specifically, I think I can attribute some credit to I Will
Teach You to Be Rich to helping me develop a Growth Mindset, although there are
many books that have helped with that particular journey!

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

[Watch Ramit Sethi talk at Google.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmAwa1nnB6w)

## Where to get it

[Get the most recent edition of I Will Teach You to Be Rich on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Will-Teach-You-Rich-Second/dp/1523505745/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=36F47VA66OQH3&dchild=1&keywords=i+will+teach+you+to+be+rich&qid=1598696504&sprefix=I+will+te,audible,244&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=10c646df7b536a02d7274a44341f8f30&language=en_US)

[Get I Will Teach You to Be Rich as an audiobook.](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QR7GYF7/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1598696504&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f9976bf95522d04088fbcd1cd5cbde22&language=en_US)

## About the author

Ramit Sethi started a personal finance blog called
[I Will Teach You To Be Rich](https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com) while still
an undergraduate at Stanford University in the early 2000s. He first published
Will Teach You to Be Rich in 2009, with an updated version released in 2019. He
is also the founder of GrowthLab.com and owner and a co-founder of PBworks, a
commercial wiki website.

### Published by

Penguin Random House LLC

### Publication Date:

March 23, 2009


Read I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi for a straightforward and actionable crash course on the fundamentals of personal finance.

I Will Teach You to Be Rich


He spent 25 years researching over forty millionaires to find out what habits
and traits they possessed that brought about success and riches. He states that
‘thoughts are things’ and whatever you can conceive of and believe in your mind
you can manifest into reality.

The book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ breaks down the steps needed in order to achieve
riches. This book was written around the time of the
[Great Depression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression) which
explains why the book is mainly focused on how you can manifest money riches
into your life.

## Summary of main ideas

Napoleon breaks down his method to attain riches into thirteen steps. He is very
adamant that each step must be taken and each step must be done properly in
order for the combination of all the steps to have the desired effect. The
thirteen steps are as follows:

**1. Desire: The starting point for all achievement.**

Napoleon states that all success starts from having a burning desire. It can
still take a long time for the riches to manifest but there has to be a burning
desire otherwise it will not happen. He states there are six steps to transmute
desire into its financial equivalent:

- First: Decide exactly how much money you wish to attain.

- Second: Decide what you intend to give in return.

- Third: Establish a definite date.

- Fourth: Create a definite plan.

- Fifth: Write these things down.

- Sixth: Read your statement aloud twice daily, once in the morning and once in
  the evening.

These steps are very important in attaining riches as it lays the platform for
you becoming ‘money conscious’ and this is needed in order to become successful.

**2. Faith: Visualization Of, and Belief in Attainment of Desire**

Faith is the head chemist of the mind. Napoleon writes that thoughts are not
enough in and of themselves. They need to be combined with emotion. Only then
can they start manifesting into reality.

Faith, love and Sex are the most powerful emotions. All thoughts that have given
feelings and then mixed with faith will immediately translate themselves into
their physical equivalent.

> A man’s imagination is very important in creating riches. It is the place
> where plans and desires are formed. Without an imagination it will be very
> difficult to create any kind of wealth.

**3. Auto-Suggestion: The Medium for Influencing the SubConscious Mind**

Auto-suggestion applies to all suggestions and stimuli that reach the mind via
the five senses. The dominating thoughts in one’s mind, whether they are
positive or negative, cannot enter the subconscious mind without the aid of the
principle of auto-suggestion. So any impressions received from the senses are
stopped by the conscious thinking mind and may be allowed to be rejected or to
pass to the subconscious mind. The conscious mind acts as an outer-guard.

So by following the six steps laid out in the First Step and attaching emotion
to the words you read out every morning and night you can slowly move these
thoughts into your subconscious mind.

**4. Specialized Knowledge: Personal Experiences or Observations**

There are two types of knowledge. General and Specialized. General knowledge is
of little use when it comes to amassing wealth. In order to make riches you must
have specialized knowledge in the area in which you want to make wealth. Become
a master of your trade.

**5. Imagination: The Workshop of the Mind**

A man’s imagination is very important in creating riches. It is the place where
plans and desires are formed. Without an imagination it will be very difficult
to create any kind of wealth.

There are two types of imagination according to Napoleon - Synthetic and
Creative.

**Synthetic** - Through this one can arrange old ideas, concepts, plans into new
combinations. However nothing is created by this type of imagination.

**Creative** - Through this type of imagination man has direct communication
with ‘Infinite Intelligence’. It is the faculty through which ‘hunches’ and
‘inspiration’ are received. It is a muscle and like all muscles it can be
trained.

**6. Organised Planning: The Crystallization of Desire into Action**

There are four steps that can be utilized in order to build your plans:

- Ally yourself with a ‘Master Mind’ group. This is a group of specialized
  individuals who can help you achieve your goals.

- Decide beforehand what you can offer each person of this ‘Master Mind’ group
  as no one will work for free.

- Arrange to meet with the group at least twice a week until you have
  constructed the necessary plan.

- Maintain good relations with each member of the group.

You must have a plan in order to succeed and you will need other people’s
experience, education and native abilities in order to create this plan and make
sure it succeeds. You cannot do this alone.

**7. Decision: The mastery of Procrastination**

You will need to get good at making decisions. This is a skill and can be
improved over time with practise and experience. A good leader makes decisions
promptly and changes these decisions rarely and if so then slowly. People that
fail to accumulate money make decisions, if at all, very slowly, and change
these decisions quickly and often.

The opposite of decisions is Procrastination and this is a common enemy that
every man must conquer.

**8. Persistence: The Sustained Effort Necessary to Induce Faith**

This is probably one of the most important steps and the most overlooked as it’s
not very ‘sexy’. So many people begin projects with exuberance and excitement
but soon give up at the first sign of opposition or misfortune.

People that succeed in their endeavours do so utilising their power of will.
They follow through with all of their plans. They carry on despite all the
opposition and they attain their goals.

Napoleon outlines 4 steps which lead to the habit of persistence:

- A definite purpose backed by a burning desire for its fulfillment.

- A definite plan, expressed in continuous action.

- A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences.

- A friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow
  through with both plan and purpose.

> A good leader makes decisions promptly and changes these decisions rarely and
> if so then slowly. People that fail to accumulate money make decisions, if at
> all, very slowly, and change these decisions quickly and often.

**9. Power of the Master Mind: The Driving Force**

Power is an essential ingredient in the accumulation of money. Without it your
plans are useless according to Napoleon. Power is defined as ‘organised and
intelligently directed knowledge’. There are three sources of knowledge:

- Infinite intelligence.

- Accumulated experience.

- Experiment and research.

This knowledge may be converted into power by organizing it into definite plans
and then expressing these plans in terms of action. This is where the knowledge
of the ‘Master Mind’ group is crucial as you will require knowledge of others in
order to succeed. An individual will have real difficulties if he relies upon
his efforts alone.

**10. The Mystery of Sex: Transmutation**

‘Transmute’ in this context means the transfer of one form of energy into
another. The emotion of sex brings into being a state of mind.

Sex desire is the most powerful of human desires and when driven by this desire
men can accomplish great feats. Their whole keenness of imagination, will-power,
courage, persistence and creative abilities are all enhanced when driven by this
sex desire.

Napoleon states a transmuted sex desire can result in amazing creative
abilities. This creative imagination is a human’s six sense. A link between the
finite mind of man and Infinite intelligence. It is labelled as ‘intuition’,
‘hunch’ or the ‘small voice inside us’ and in order to succeed this creative
imagination must be developed and utilized.

**11. The Subconscious Mind: The Connecting Link**

There is still relatively little known about the subconscious mind. Napoleon
suggests it is the link between man's thinking mind and Infinite Intelligence.
However there are certain tried and tested ways you can use the subconscious
mind to your advantage.

The subconscious mind works day and night. You can hand plans, problems and
desires over to it and it will mull over them and very often give you an answer.
Combining thoughts with emotions and making this a daily habit will cultivate
your subconscious mind. By doing this consistently you can begin to bring about
your goals into physical reality.

**12. The Brain: A Broadcasting and Receiving Station for Thought**

The brain is both a broadcasting and receiving station for the vibration of
thought. These vibrations need to be of an exceedingly high rate though. These
thoughts can be stepped up by combining them with major emotions.

The emotion of sex is at the top of this list. By utilizing sex transmutation
you can increase the rate of vibration of thoughts and then the Creative
Imagination becomes highly receptive to ideas.

**13. The Sixth Sense: The Door to the Temple of Wisdom**

Once you have mastered the first twelve steps can the connection with Infinite
Intelligence be opened. It will communicate with you voluntarily without any
effort from you. It is also known as ‘flashes of inspiration’ or ‘hunches’.

It can communicate ideas as well as dangers that may lurk ahead. You can avoid
potential problems ahead by having this line of communication open. However you
have to follow each step in this book in order to get your mind in a suitable
place to receive these communications

### How to Outwit the Six Ghosts of Fear

There are six fears which are the cause of all discouragement, timidity,
indifference, procrastination, indecision and lack of enthusiasm. Napoleon calls
these the _Six Ghosts of Fear_ and advises that by having an understanding of
them will give you the means to overcome them. The Six Basic Fears are:

- The fear of poverty

- The fear of criticism

- The fear of ill health

- The fear of loss of love of someone

- The fear of old age

- The fear of death

## How this book can help you

This book is one of the first ‘Self-Help’ books and really helped kick off a
whole genre which has exploded into the huge business it is today. The book's
main premise is around the mind and how important it is to have your mind in
order if you want to succeed at anything.

It reminds me a lot about the
[Law of Attraction](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_attraction_(New_Thought)>)
and how cultivating a positive mindset will bring about a positive life.

Napoleon really breaks down the steps you can take in order to create riches in
your life. This is very helpful for anyone who is lost or not sure what to do to
get out of a rut. There does seem to be an element of faith needed in order for
these steps to pay off though so any amount of skepticism going in could hold
you back.

One thing it does show though is how much can be done with the mind if you are
willing to. The cultivation of the mind is essential if you wish to bring about
any success in your life. The steps about creating a ‘Master Mind’ group, having
persistence and organised planning really stood out for me.

If you are starting a new endeavour, or find yourself in a lull then this book
is definitely worth a read.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

In this video you can listen to Napolean Hill give a lecture on ‘The Laws of
Success’:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nZ5CXiMgOCw"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>{' '}

and this is where I discovered this book in the first place:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sm9pNiYpiDY"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>{' '}

## Where to get it

Read on paperback [Think and Grow Rich from Amazon](https://amzn.to/34KynUv)

Listen to
[Think and Grow Rich](https://www.audible.com/pd/Think-and-Grow-Rich-Audiobook/B002V5D950)
on Audible

## About the author

Oliver Napolean Hill was an American Self-Help author. He was certainly an
interesting character and there is some controversy surrounding his life and you
can read more of it
[here](https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/the-untold-story-of-napoleon-hill-the-greatest-self-he-1789385645).
One thing for certain though is his book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ is among the top
10 best selling self-help books of all time.

### Published by

TarcherPerigee; Revised & enlarged edition

### Publication Date:

August 18, 2005


Book Summary of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. 13 Principles laid out for you to achieve success and riches in your life.

Think and Grow Rich


## Summary of main ideas

So what exactly is deep work and why is it important? In a world of limitless
distractions, ranging from incoming emails and colleagues interrupting you at
your desk (admittedly more so pre-Covid!) to the temptations of jumping down the
rabbit hole of Youtube and the rest of the internet, it’s easy to find yourself
working in a ‘shallow’ way.

Newport argues that we are able to produce work of greater quality and quantity
when we succeed in reaching a state of deep concentration. You might recognise
this as ‘getting into the zone’ when working on a difficult task that requires
all of your focus. It’s a cliché that computer programmers work much more
effectively when they reach this state, but try interrupting a room full of
focused developers and you will quickly realise the cliché reflects reality!

The key takeaway from this book is that everyone can benefit from learning to
work deeply and it is important to deliberately create the conditions to make it
possible. Suggestions include breaking your day into slots on your calendar,
building routines into your daily life that force you to spend time alone with
just your thoughts for company (Newport uses long walks) and taking steps to
eliminate distractions such as social media.

> The key takeaway from this book is that everyone can benefit from learning to
> work deeply and it is important to deliberately create the conditions to make
> it possible.

## How this book can help you

Deep work is one of the most actionable books I have read. I already had a good
intuition that working in a focused way was better than getting distracted
regularly, but this really crystallised the concept and helped me understand its
importance. Personally, this was the biggest help.

Having read the book, I’ve worked in a far more focused way, which has benefited
every aspect of my life. I tested the specific tactics outlined in the book and
eventually found my own system for deep work by working in 25-minute
highly-focused ‘pomodoros'.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

[This piece on Medium provides a good overview of how to apply the learnings in Deep Work to your life.](https://medium.com/@nina.semczuk/5-practices-from-deep-work-by-cal-newport-thatll-change-your-life-303847ec5f3c)

[This animated video gives a great summary of the main concepts.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7dXfdDPfg)

## Where to get it

[Get Deep Work on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=2LW3BVW4FDFB8&dchild=1&keywords=deep+work&qid=1598696611&sprefix=deep+work,audible,250&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=e5447985a78037d4b67a33a58189675a&language=en_US)

[Get Deep Work as an audiobook.](https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Cal-Newport-audiobook/dp/B01CYKUC9C/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=2LW3BVW4FDFB8&keywords=deep+work&qid=1598696650&sprefix=deep+work,audible,250&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=6f7896cd4cc58499e7142f7d5611f802&language=en_US)

## About the author

Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown university who writes
about “the intersection of digital technology and culture.” He’s written six
books, most notably the excellent
[So Good They Can’t Ignore You](https://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You/dp/1455509124/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=So+Good+They+Can%E2%80%99t+Ignore+You&qid=1598696697&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=e3cb08fd71aad4113b46d949c47b8735&language=en_US)
and
[Digital Minimalism](https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Minimalism-Choosing-Focused-Noisy/dp/0525536515/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Digital+Minimalism&qid=1598696728&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=b98f553a11a54a98669d119dd3e8520b&language=en_US)
You can read more from Cal [on his blog](https://www.calnewport.com/blog/).

### Published by

Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group

### Publication Date:

January 5, 2016


Read Deep Work by Cal Newport to learn about the power of reaching a state of flow and how to apply this to your own life.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

## In a nutshell description

Daily Rituals is a wonderful collection of the daily routines of a broad spectrum of creative people over several hundred years
lovingly compiled by former design-magazine editor Mason Currey. What started out as a side project [blog](https://dailyroutines.typepad.com/)
grew steadily in popularity, captivating thousands of visitors and leading directly to the publication of this book.

The format is simple. Each chapter recounts the daily routine of a famous (or at least notable) creator. When did they get up? What did they have for breakfast? 
When did they start work in the morning/afternoon/night and for how long? Where did they go to find inpsiration? Did they wait for inspiration to strike or did they have to force it?

Readers will recognise many of the names included in Daily Rituals but they probably won't have considered how Agatha Christie worked without a desk, 
how Beethoven relied on 60-bean cups of coffee for breakfast or how Anthony Trollope made sure to write three thousand words each morning before going to his day job.

Ultimately this book demistifies some of the magic behind great art. The people documented here have been responsible for creating works of art that are celebrated and enjoyed to this day.
It turns out their lives were quite ordinary (if endearingly eccentric in some cases), but they all carved out time almost every day to work on their crafts and (mostly) refused to give up to the 
temptations of procrastination. 

## Why I love this book

I read Daily Rituals at a point in my life where I was obsessed with making electronic music and it gave me some really useful perspective. 
I think that most creative processes are quite similar in that coming up with something new is really difficult and 
there are a million ways to distract yourself when you're struggling for ideas.

There is also a common perception that great art is purely a matter of inspiration. Although inspiration is hugely important, I think it's a common misconception that inspiration is something
that you wait for rather than actively seek out. For anyone making their way with a creative endavour, this can turn into yet another excuse to avoid the difficulties of putting one foot in front of the other towards whatever piece of art you are working on.  

Reading about how truly succesful artists, writers and musicians have been putting in the time for centuries, using sweat and tears to force inspiration and make the most of their talents was, in itself,
inspiring to me and it's a lesson I have never forgotten. Also, I'm naturally nosy and I loved getting a peak into the daily lives of such an interesting group of people!

## Quotes to make you think

_“It is a danger to wait around for an idea to occur to you. You have to find the idea.”_

_“One can be very fertile without having to work too much. Three hours in the morning. Three hours in the evening. This is my only rule. - Jean-Paul Sartre”_

_“to sustain these true moments of insight one has to be highly disciplined, lead a disciplined life.”_

_“(Stephen) King writes every day of the year, including his birthday and holidays, and he almost never lets himself quit before he reaches his daily quota of two thousand words.”_


## Read this book if…

You are fascinated by how our day-to-day lives compare to those of people from different time periods and especially if you are a creative person who wants to understand some of the common behaviours of the world's greatest creators.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening



<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pOvRF1hFp2M"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it



<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Rituals-How-Artists-Work/dp/0307273601/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Daily+Rituals&qid=1617641025&sr=8-1"
/>

## About the Author

Mason Currey is a freelance writer and editor whose writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Slate. In 2019, he published a follow-up
to Daily Rituals called [Daily Rituals: Women at Work](amazon.com/Daily-Rituals-Women-at-Work/dp/1524732958/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Daily+Rituals%3A+Women+at+Work%2C&qid=1617644647&sr=8-1).

### Publication Date:



April 23, 2013

Read our short summary of Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey, a glimpse into the daily lives of brilliant and successful creators across multiple centuries.

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

## In a nutshell description

In this little book about Caffeine (only available on Audible currently) Michael
Pollan looks into one of the most widely used psychoactive stimulants in today’s
society. Michael gives the history of this seemingly innocent plant and how it
made it’s way over to the western world and the surprisingly major impact it had
on the shaping of western society and continues to have today. What’s more, the
author shows that the Industrial Revolution would have been impossible without
it.

Through the course of writing this book Michael actually gives up any form of
caffeine for a period of 3 months because he was advised that this was the only
way he would truly understand his relationship with the drug. He then vividly
describes the day’s event when he is allowed once more to administer some
caffeine once again - in the form of a flat white from one of his favorite
coffee haunts - the euphoria he felt and then how this almost immediately
impacted his behaviour and resulting day.

## Why I love this book

I am a big fan of coffee and I am always surprised by the lack of wonder around
this drug. I literally feel euphoric at times when I consume it and I am deeply
intrigued by the effect consumption of caffeine has on my life.

To find out caffeine’s impact on Western society and how deep a role it seemed
to have played in the current makeup of our society was really eye opening. I
knew it was addictive but to see the extent to which it determines so much of
people’s behaviour is truly fascinating.

## Quote to make you think

_“​​Caffeine constitutes the largest and longest unsupervised drug experiment
ever conducted on humans"_

## Read this book if…

You consume caffeine in any form then I think you should understand the history
and the facts behind it. I still believe caffeine can very much be part of a
healthy lifestyle but I also think its power over us should not be
underestimated. I also believe the more you understand something the more you
can be aware of its potential impact over you.

Be careful though, you may think twice about your next cup of coffee or even go
as far as to give us caffeine for good!

> “​​Caffeine constitutes the largest and longest unsupervised drug experiment
> ever conducted on humans"

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

This is a great little teaser from Michael on Youtube speaking to Joe Rogan
about his first taste of coffee about a three month hiatus:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mAPG18zNtXk"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

This is an official interview about the audiobook and the recording of it:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M_BNmD1IEac"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it



<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/Caffeine-How-Created-Modern-World/dp/B083MYJXZT"
/>

## About the author

Michael Pollan is an American author and journalist. He has written many well
known books such as ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’, ‘In Defense of Food’ and ‘How to
Change Your Mind’ which is a book about the history and future of psychedelics.
He has also contributed writings for the ‘New York Times’ magazine and has one
numerous writing awards.

### Publication Date:



January 30, 2020

Read our short summary of Caffeine - How coffee and tea created the modern world where Michael Pollan introduces the history of how caffeine entered into the western world and the effect that has taken place because of it.

Caffeine - How coffee and tea created the modern world


## Summary of main ideas

Never Split The Difference is an entertaining and practical insight into the art
of negotiation based on the experiences of former FBI Hostage Negotiator Chris
Voss who has since put his skills to work in the world of business.

Going against some of accepted best practices of negotiation that form the basis
of other books about negotiation - such as
[Getting to Yes](https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Negotiating-Agreement-Without/dp/0143118757/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=getting+to+yes&qid=1598696918&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=07c2d353b1c8e7bac6446d1c32dea060&language=en_US)
by Roger Fisher - Voss puts great importance on empathising with the person on
the other side of a negotiation.

In doing so, he lays out the tactics that have served him so well throughout his
career, providing examples and explanations along the way. These include
concepts such as:

**Active Listening:** Listening provides an inexpensive way of granting a
concession to the other party, demonstrating that you are taking their needs
seriously and genuinely want to understand their perspective. It requires 100%
focus on what the other person is saying and the discipline to repress any
thoughts related to your existing assumptions and worldview.

As well as building trust, active listening helps to build a sense of the other
person’s perspective, which provides a negotiation advantage.

**Mirroring:** Voss describes mirroring as a “magical technique” that
facilitates bonding with the other person. By repeating somebody’s words back to
them you can harness the power of similarity while gently inducing them to
elaborate and provide more information, which is perhaps the most crucial aspect
of any negotiation.

**Labeling:** Giving someone’s emotion a name reduces the negativity of that
emotion or reinforces the positivity. Using phrases such as “it seems like
you...” or “it looks like you...” demonstrates that you understand and care
about the other person’s feelings. By acknowledging these emotions, you remove
their explosive power and open a channel to address them.

**Leveraging ‘no’:** Voss argues that getting a ‘no’ out of the other person
early on in a negotiation is crucial because it allows him or her to feel a
sense of control within the situation. It is also a much more trustworthy answer
than ‘yes’, which will often not be truthful. ‘No’ provides a platform from
which to start the real negotiation by asking solution-based questions such as
“How do we move forward from here?”

**Getting to ‘that’s right’:** When there is an impasse (or the risk of one) in
a negotiation, getting the other person to say “that’s right” is key to moving
things along. In Voss’ own words: “That's right is what we say when we feel
completely heard, and there's a chemical change that takes place in our brain —
it is a subtle epiphany. And when you feel an epiphany, you feel better, you
just don't know where it came from.”

The best way of leading the other person in the negotiation to a “that’s right”
is to summarise their arguments and feelings (labels!) so well that “that’s
right” becomes the only logical response.

**Finding the Black Swan:** Black swans are hidden pieces of information with
the power to dramatically change the course of a negotiation, because they are
“leverage multipliers.” Voss argues that great negotiators are skilled at
uncovering this black swan if it exists. It requires a deep level of empathy to
connect with your counterpart to understand their worldview and emotions. This
is where the black swan is most likely to be found.

The book is full of very specific tactics and insights that the reader can
quickly begin to apply in their own life. Voss also introduces concepts such as:

- The three types of voice tone a negotiator should adopt

  - The late night FM dj voice
  - The positive/playful voice
  - The direct or assertive voice

- The three types of leverage

  - Positive
  - Negative
  - Normative

- The three kinds of yes
  - Counterfeit
  - Confirmation
  - Commitment

But the book’s overarching takeaway is quite simple. Deploy deep empathy to
build trust and gain valuable information to help you achieve the best possible
outcome in a negotiation.

> When there is an impasse (or the risk of one) in a negotiation, getting the
> other person to say “that’s right” is key to moving things along.

## How this book can help you

You don’t need to work in hostage negotiation to get a lot of value from Never
Split the Difference. The tactics and examples used by Voss are so specific and
well-explained that anyone who routinely finds themselves in some kind of
negotiation with colleagues, customers, relatives or friends (so everyone,
really) can begin applying them to real life situations

For sure, people facing typical negotiation scenarios such as asking for a raise
will gain a lot from this book. It breaks down situations that are often
intimidating and awkward and provides proven tools for getting an edge
(especially when the person on the other side of the table hasn’t been trained
in negotiation skills!).

But it’s also a valuable toolkit for dealing with non-confrontational contexts
as well. Learning how to listen actively will help anyone build better
relationships and trying to understand the emotions and perspectives of other
people is a crucial skill that will lead to success not only in business but
also in life.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

[Watch Chris Voss discussing Never Split the Difference in his talk at Google.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guZa7mQV1l0&list=PL1iIAT1Ag4inYWyvkGWoBbUFWMA89awaz&index=25)

## Where to get it

[Get Never Split the Difference on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/0062407805/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=3RYS2XLAZS50E&dchild=1&keywords=never+split+the+difference&qid=1598696835&sprefix=never+,aps,261&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=16252b5cba1013648a7c04fa34801526&language=en_US)

[Get Never Split the Difference as an audiobook.](https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-audiobook/dp/B07T93LW94/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=3RYS2XLAZS50E&keywords=never+split+the+difference&qid=1598696887&sprefix=never+,aps,261&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=3414be501e49243cfd833694deb7468d&language=en_US)

## About the authors

Chris Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator who, since leaving law
enforcement, has applied his extensive knowledge and experience of resolving
high-stakes negotiation situations to the world of business. He founded
[The Black Swan Group Ltd](https://www.blackswanltd.com/home) and has taught
business negotiation at prestigious universities including Harvard and
Georgetown.

Tahl Raz is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author who has written
about business, technology and the social sciences for a wide range of
publications. He is the co-author of
[Never Eat Alone](https://www.amazon.com/Never-Eat-Alone-Expanded-Updated/dp/0385346654/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=1SYVDBI3LLVJ&dchild=1&keywords=never+eat+alone&qid=1598696950&s=books&sprefix=never+eat+al,stripbooks-intl-ship,242&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=4e8faeabef29aba77bcdacbe0170953e&language=en_US).

### Published by

Harper Business

### Publication Date

May 17, 2016


Read Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss for a masterclass on the principles of negotiation recounted by a former FBI Hostage Negotiator

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It


## Summary of main ideas

**1. “Stand up straight with your shoulders back.”**

Jordan introduces lobsters to the reader in this chapter and it’s a fantastic
analogy for getting across his first rule. You may wonder how lobsters' social
hierarchy relates to humans but there are many similarities.

In any hierarchical system (and humans definitely exist in one!) there are
conflicts and a lobster with low serotonin levels and high octopamine levels
does not do well in conflicts. Their body language is scrunched up and negative
to make themselves look small and they cower away from more dominant lobsters.
Therefore they don’t get the prime real estate, best hunting ground or the prime
lobster mate. Their chances for survival and bearing offspring are lowered and
this is not good.

In humans it has been shown that adopting a dominant body posture can actually
affect your levels of testostorone and serotonin,
[watch this video](https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are?language=en).
Therefore Jordan proposes that standing up straight with your shoulders back
will not only influence your posture but also influence your position in life.
It will enable you to take on the responsibility of life face on and transform
the potential chaos around you into habitable order.

**2. “Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping.”**

In this second rule Jordan proposes that people are not the best carers of
themselves and it’s been proven that people will look after others around them
far better than they would themselves. This was proven to me when doing an
exercise in a meditation course and recording how we would speak to a friend
about a situation and then how we would talk to ourselves in our heads in the
same situation. The difference is scary!

However when you are responsible for someone else or something else the whole
dynamic changes and humans are naturally inclined to shoulder that
responsibility and do what they can to take it on. So why can’t we make the
subject of our responsibility ourselves? Jordan’s second rule suggests we do
exactly that.

> If there was a person who you wouldn’t recommend to your sister, brother,
> father to be their friend why would you choose them to be your friend?

**3. “Make friends with people who want the best for you.”**

If there was a person who you wouldn’t recommend to your sister, brother, father
to be their friend why would you choose them to be your friend? This is a
difficult one for many because a sense of loyalty runs deep towards certain
people in their lives even if they are fully aware that the relationship is a
toxic one. But this rule is imperative in your life if you want to move
forwards. It’s about making good decisions about the people you surround
yourself with and sometimes the best decision is the toughest decision.

**4. “Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is
today.”**

Whatever you do in life and no matter how well you do it, there will always be
someone out there in the world who can do it better than you. If you constantly
compare yourself to someone else your own measure of progress will consistently
be distorted. Only by measuring yourself against your yesterday’s self can you
measure your progress in life.

**5. “Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them.”**

Jordan gives an example from his own personal life for this rule. He was out for
dinner and his children were very well behaved and other customers in the
restaurant gave praise and smiled favourably upon the children. He suggests that
well behaved kids get more positive attention and are more likely to be included
in social gatherings and this overall gives them an advantage in life.

He also talks about taking immediate and appropriate action when your child
misbehaves. Sometimes a stare is enough to let the child know they have crossed
a line but sometimes it takes a little more. If immediate action is not taken
then this can lead to problems down the road. For example resentment can build
up and this can be very dangerous because you never know when it will spring its
ugly head. An overreaction beckons and this will only confuse your child.

Parents have a duty to act as proxies for the real world and if the proxy is
inconsistent and unreliable what will happen to the child when he has to go out
into the real world?

**6. “Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.”**

It's all too easy to look around at everyone else and find fault. It’s all too
easy to sit with a close friend and put someone else down to make yourselves
feel better. What isn’t easy is looking in your own backyard and seeing the mess
that is there and doing something about it. Taking care of your own business
requires some humility, awareness and some real effort to get things in order.

No matter how small there are always areas in your life that can be improved.
There are certain things you are doing that you shouldn’t be doing so now is the
time to stop doing these things. Today. Right now. Don’t waste anymore time
carrying these feelings of guilt around with you. Start changing even the
smallest of things and take control back of your life.

**7. “Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient).”**

Jordan relates throughout the book to passages in the bible. From the story of
Cain and Abel through to the story of Christ himself. Christ’s 40 days and 40
nights in the desert tempted constantly by the devil and how this story is the
archetypal story of pursuing what is meaningful. It is better to sacrifice now
so you can gain later. Jordan also states that doing what is expedient now can
lead to serious consequences, including what happened in the Gulag in the Soviet
Union and also the prisoner of war camps in Auschwitz.

Carl Jung explained it beautifully: ‘No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven
unless its roots reach down to hell. ‘

> Carl Jung explained it beautifully: ‘No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven
> unless its roots reach down to hell. ‘

**8. “Tell the truth — or, at least, don’t lie.”**

By learning to tell the truth you will learn to understand yourself. You will be
able to communicate this in a more direct and wholesome way and you will attract
like minded people into your life. Life will become easier because there are no
alternate realities you have to hold in your head.

**9. “Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you
don’t.”**

Most people don’t listen. Really listen I mean. When you really listen to
someone, they will generally tell you everything they are thinking and with very
little deceit. People will tell you about the most absurd things and Jordan
gives some examples from his therapy sessions he held with some of his patients.
Listening is part of having a genuine conversation. Listening is paying
attention.

**10. “Be precise in your speech.”**

How many arguments are caused by imprecise articulation? How many relationships
break down because people fail to portray their real feelings? How many people
remain confused because they don’t take the time to articulate how they really
feel?

Putting something into words that has been in your head floating around as
thoughts can be very tricky. It can take multiple attempts to convey what you
really want to say. Jordan argues though that it is very important. Precision of
speech plays an integral role in the way we communicate in our relationships and
relationships play an integral role in our life.

**11. “Do not bother children when they are skateboarding.”**

Boys are naturally more opposed to authority. Girls are more agreeable. Children
like to push the boundaries to see where the edge is. How else can they learn to
behave and function in a society? Society however is teaching boys to behave
more agreeably like the girls and this is leading to problems Jordan argues.

When a child is deeply involved in something, concentrating and putting
themselves out there, exposing themselves to risk they are developing and
growing as a person. This is fundamental for their development and their self
confidence. By interfering and reducing the risk we are reducing their
development and thus making a worse future for them and society. Risk is needed
in life, it allows the species to progress and without progress there is only
decline.

> Boys are naturally more opposed to authority. Girls are more agreeable.

**12. “Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street.”**

Enjoy the small things in life. Life can be terrible and life can be suffering
so when a cat crosses your path and lays on its back, stroke its belly because
it’s part of being too. If you don’t take a moment to enjoy these little things
in life you will be drowned by the seriousness of it all.

## How this book can help you

Jordan has a
[channel on Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/user/JordanPetersonVideos) and
there you can find plenty of videos of lectures and interviews. There is an
underlying theme to everything he speaks about. He sees in the world and culture
many lost souls and his basic answer to this is ‘pick up a load and carry it’.
Take on a responsibility. Shoulder a burden and upon that you will find meaning.

With meaning you will find direction and when you have a direction you have
somewhere to aim at, a direction to move towards, a purpose. Jordan frequently
speaks about a large percentage of his viewership on Youtube being males. Around
85% to 90% and he is very intrigued by that. Afterall he is a psychologist by
trade and in universities this subject and others in the humanities have a
higher female attendance (around 60%).

So why are so many males, particularly young males, are watching his videos and
attending his speaking engagements?

Jordan is striking a chord. He is blunt in his speech and direct. He has strong
opinions but they are well thought out based on years of observation, learnings
and deep thought. He is considered in his approach but you can tell he has
thought deeply about every word he utters.

I
[listened to this book](https://www.audible.com/pd/12-Rules-for-Life-Audiobook/B078Y9D9Q9)
instead of reading it and it was read by Jordan himself. This man captivates you
with his speech and shows the true power of the human voice and spoken word and
I urge anyone who wishes to read this book to also listen to it because I think
Jordan’s voice carries across even more of the soul of what he is saying.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Jordan has a wealth of material on Youtube and I suggest to anyone interested in
finding out more about Jordan to check out some of his videos. Some of my
particular favourites include:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
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  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NX2ep5fCJZ8"
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  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

He has also appeared on Joe Rogan’s Podcast multiple times which are much more
long form but well worth setting aside some time as these discussions allow for
much more in depth conversations and explorations of certain topics:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9Xc7DN-noAc"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

[Get 12 Rules for Life on Amazon.](https://amzn.to/3jmfYBJ)

## About the author

Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian clinical psychologist
and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. You can find out
more about him at his [website](https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/) or on his
[Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/user/JordanPetersonVideos).

### Published by

Random House Canada

### Publication Date

Feb 05, 2018


Read 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Canadian clinical psychologist and psychology professor Jordan Peterson to bring structure and order to your life.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos


It is about appreciating all the small things in life. The sunlight coming
through the window in the morning, the smell of fresh coffee or a child’s laugh.
It also applies to much deeper convictions such as finding true friendships,
life-long mastery of one’s skill or a balanced health.

## Summary of main ideas

In his book Ken explains that there are five pillars to Ikigai:

**Pillar 1: Starting small**

The Japanese word Kodawari is key to Ikigai. It means ‘taking care of the small
details’. Start by appreciating the small things. By doing this you can get
fully involved in the process. Approach what you are doing with a youthfulness
of mind and have commitment and passion for what you are doing. These are key to
finding your Ikigai.

**Pillar 2: Releasing yourself**

Ikigai is about getting into a state of flow. You can get so involved in the
process you forget about yourself and time and you become truly at one with what
you are doing.

**Pillar 3: Harmony and sustainability**

When in a state of Ikigai you have fully accepted yourself and your purpose in
life. You are at peace and live in sustained harmony with your environment. You
are living in harmony with the community around you. As Marcus Aurelius put it -
‘He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the world’.

**Pillar 4: The joy of little things**

If you are focused on the reward or the goal of what you are doing then you are
not in a state of Ikigai. Ken gives many examples throughout his book of people
who are said to be in the state of Ikigai.

One example is a man who sources Tuna for the finest sushi restaurants in Tokyo.
He rises very early every morning to get to the fish market so he can inspect
the latest fish. For some this would be a real chore but this man enjoys all the
little things of this process. The fresh morning air, speaking with people at
the market, inspecting the color of the fish, the smell in the market.

The little things in the process are where you will find the joy once you are in
a state of Ikigai.

**Pillar 5: Being in the here and now**

Immerse yourself in the here and now without asking for any immediate reward or
recognition is an integral part of the concept of Ikigai. You paint a picture
which no one will see, make music that no one will hear or write a story no one
will read. If you do these things being in the here and now and enjoying the
process you are said to be in a state of Ikigai.

## Key Takeaways

Ikigai can appear in many different places in your life. When you are cleaning
your house, walking with a friend or honing your craft.

Whatever you end up doing in life it's becoming more and more apparent that
enjoying the process is key to a fulfilled life. If you are putting all your
efforts into something just for the reward at the end it will be very difficult
and probably won’t last long. If you are focused only on the peak of the
mountain you will miss all the beauty along the way.

Starting small is also key. I think if you approach this with the question ‘What
is my Ikigai?’ then you will become overwhelmed. By starting small and becoming
aware and mindful of when you are doing something during your day that brings
about a state of flow, you will start along the path of discovering what is your
Ikigai.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Ken Mogi has presented a variety of TEDx Talks. This one is Ken’s view on
Artificial Intelligence

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nXUx0yd9QkU"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

Buy
[The Little Book of Ikigai](https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Little-Book-of-Ikigai/9781787470279)
from Book Depository

Buy [The Little Book of Ikigai](https://amzn.to/3hxYphC) from Amazon

Listen to
[The Little Book of Ikigai](https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Little-Book-of-Ikigai-Audiobook/B0741DCWW7)
on Audible

## About the author

Ken Mogi is a Japanese Scientist. He is currently a senior researcher at the
Sony Computer Science Laboratories. His mission in life is to solve the
‘so-called mind-brain problem’. You can read more on his
[personal blog](http://qualiajournal.blogspot.com/) where ge records his
activities and musings.

### Published by

Quercus Publishing

### Publication Date

September 20 2018


Read The Little Book of Ikigai by Ken Mogi to find out about the essential Japanese way to finding your purpose in life.

The Little Book of Ikigai: The essential Japanese way to finding your purpose in life.


## Summary of main ideas

In 2011, IARPA, a US intelligence agency launched a forecasting tournament with
the aim of discovering methods of prediction that would help them to increase
the accuracy of their own forecasts.

The agency had learnt the hard way that the consequences of making bad
predictions could be catastrophic, the decision to go to war in Iraq based on
flimsy evidence being a case in point.

The Good Judgement Project, led by Philip Tetlock (the co-author of this book)
and Barbara Mellers, was one of the organisations invited to compete.
"Harnessing the wisdom of the crowd to forecast world events," the Good Judgment
Project recruited volunteers and set them a series of questions.

Four years later, the volunteers had collectively worked on 500 questions
(typically questions like "Will the president of Tunisia go into exile in the
next month?" or "Will the Euro fall below $1.20 in the next twelve months?")
and over a million forecasts. As well as emerging as the clear tournament
winner, Tetlock noticed an interesting trend among these seemingly ordinary
volunteers.

A subset of them were consistently achieving remarkable results, producing
forecasts whose accuracy outperformed intelligence analysts with access to
classified data.

What was it about these ‘superforecasters’ that made them different?

At this point, it’s worth taking a step back and mentioning Tetlock’s
background. He previously authored
[Expert Political Judgment](https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Political-Judgment-Good-Know/dp/0691175977/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Expert+Political+Judgment&qid=1598697171&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=e8f4190172f6285205901a9819d8c3af&language=en_US),
which demonstrated that so-called experts were often wrong with their
predictions and then not held accountable. He famously concluded that dart
throwing chimpanzees would have achieved a higher success rate at predicting
future events.

Superforecasting therefore builds on the foundations of Tetlock’s previous work
to show that, while forecasting is an extremely difficult activity, there is an
art and a science to doing it well.

Superforecasters, although not out of the ordinary, share certain traits
and approaches that lower performers do not. In other words, they are
intelligent people but don’t need to be geniuses and ‘super’ forecasting skills
can be learned.

So what are the main characteristics of superforecasters?

**They are in ‘Perpetual Beta’**

Superforecasters work in constant feedback loops. They are hungry for new
information and use this information to regularly update their forecasts. They
understand that practice is essential to improving their forecasts.

**They are foxes rather than hedgehogs**

Related to the Perpetual Beta point, Tetlock categorises forecasters into two
groups (although like everything else in Superforecasting, this is not binary
but a continuum):

Hedgehogs are people who have a solid world-view which they reflect in their
forecasts.

Foxes are people who do not base their forecasts on one big central idea.
Instead, they aggregate many different perspectives and question their
assumptions. Superforecasters mainly come from this group

> Superforecasters understand that practice is essential to improving their
> forecasts.

**They are extremely specific**

Whereas most people would answer a question about a future event with either a
binary “yes” or “no” response, or perhaps with a “maybe” if uncertain,
superforecasters typically make their forecasts to percentage point levels of
granularity.

For example, I currently believe there is a 57% chance that Biden will beat
Trump in the 2020 election because I have seen
[predictions of 60% from sources I respect](https://www.gjopen.com/questions/1496-who-will-win-the-2020-united-states-presidential-election)
and I am naturally paranoid (and I am in no way a superforecaster!). 

*Note from the future: with hindsight I feel good about that prediction....

**They are humble**

Superforecasters are acutely aware that the human brain is prone to making
errors and they take measures to combat it. Tetlock discusses the concept of
Systems One and Two, the two modes of thought popularised in Daniel Kahneman’s
[Thinking Fast and Slow](https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Thinking+Fast+and+Slow&qid=1598697219&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f4e600cf5a91febfee488e4e95cd7e0d&language=en_US).

System One represents the unconscious part of the brain which makes decisions
quickly and intuitively.

System Two represents conscious and deliberate thought. Both are important but
System Two needs to be engaged when forecasting. However, System Two requires
more effort and the brain has a cunning habit of performing a “bait-and-switch”,
swapping a hard question for an easier one.

Tetlock uses the example of an experiment in which his colleague asked one group
of ‘regular’ forecasters “How likely is it that the Assad regime will fall in
the next three months?” and another group “How likely is it that the Assad
regime will fall in the next six months?”

As Tetlock explains: “Unconsciously, they would do a bait and switch, ducking
the hard question that requires calibrating the probability to the time frame
and tackling the easier question about the relative weight of the arguments for
and against the regime’s downfall.”

**They take a base value using an outside view and then adjust with the inside
view**

This means using external information as a starting point, such as considering
how long it will take to complete a project based on the time taken to finish
similar projects in the past, rather than calculating based on how long you
think it will take to complete each individual task.

Only once the superforecaster has used the outside view to find a rough anchor
value will they dive into the inside view to adjust their prediction upwards or
downwards.

**They systematically unpack questions into smaller components**

Tetlock refers to this as “Fermi-izing” which is named after the Italian
engineer Enrico Fermi. He developed a method of estimating that is often
described as a ‘back-of-the-envelope’ calculation that can get surprisingly
close to the real answer.

Fermi-izing is designed for the types of questions that cannot be solved by
common mathematical or scientific information. Tetlock uses an example: “How
many piano tuners are there in Chicago?” At first it seems ridiculous, but
Tetlock walks through how this can be broken down into smaller questions.

To know how many piano tuners there are in Chicago, we need to have an idea of
how many pianos. To get to a rough estimate of that number we can take the
population of Chicago and then consider what percentage of the population owns a
piano.

From there, how often does a piano likely need tuning and how long does it take?
For a detailed breakdown of this example,
[read this](https://www.wired.com/2014/08/how-to-solve-crazy-open-ended-google-interview-questions/#:~:text=8.,58%20piano%20tuners%20in%20Chicago)
(this type of puzzle is often used in interviews for roles at tech companies).

Superforecasters think this way, enabling them to reach a comprehensive
understanding of what they know and what they do not know.

## How this book can help you

There’s much more that I haven’t even attempted to go into in the section above,
such as the use of
[Brier Scores](https://www.wired.com/2014/08/how-to-solve-crazy-open-ended-google-interview-questions/#:~:text=8.,58%20piano%20tuners%20in%20Chicago)
to measure performance and Tetlock’s discoveries that combining the forecasts of
superforecasters led to even better prediction accuracy.

At its core, Superforecasting will lead you to perform an audit of your own
decision making skills. Decisions are based on predictions about the future so
the better you are at framing predictions more specifically and then forecasting
accurately, the better your decisions will be.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch Predicting the future: A lecture by Philip Tetlock

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xBXDTQdmNyw"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

[Get Superforecasting on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Superforecasting-Science-Prediction-Philip-Tetlock/dp/0804136718/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=MT7FFPFUDJIE&dchild=1&keywords=superforecasting+the+art+and+science+of+prediction&qid=1598697260&s=books&sprefix=superf,stripbooks-intl-ship,234&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ad1d7da6cdf11d65d43eb786516a22fc&language=en_US)

[Get Superforecasting as an audiobook.](https://www.amazon.com/Superforecasting-audiobook/dp/B0131HGPQQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=MT7FFPFUDJIE&dchild=1&keywords=superforecasting+the+art+and+science+of+prediction&qid=1598697260&s=books&sprefix=superf,stripbooks-intl-ship,234&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=02e3eafc72281f9ff602da607039e7e3&language=en_US)

## About the author

Philip E. Tetlock is a Canadian-American political science writer. He is
currently the Annenberg University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
He co-founded the Good Judgement Project and has published multiple books
including
[Expert Political Judgment](https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Political-Judgment-Good-Know/dp/0691175977/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Expert+Political+Judgment&qid=1596720299&sr=8-1)
and
[Superforecasting](https://www.amazon.com/Superforecasting-Science-Prediction-Philip-Tetlock/dp/0804136718/ref=sr_1_1?crid=180KY5024QQ9K&dchild=1&keywords=superforecasting&qid=1596720151&sprefix=superfore%2Caps%2C233&sr=8-1).

Dan Gardner is a New York Times best-selling author, speaker, consultant, and
freelance writer/editor. Gardner’s books have been published in 25 countries and
19 languages. He holds a law degree and a masters in modern history. He is
currently a senior fellow with the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of
Public Policy and International Affairs.

### Published by

Crown Publishers

### Publication Date

September 24, 2015


Read Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock to learn about the oridinary people who can predict the future.

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction


## In a nutshell description

Algorithms to Live By humanises the world of computer science by introducing
some of the core concepts to non-programmers while applying them to real world
examples. At the same time this book shows how human decision making can be
deconstructed into common problems with reliable and ‘objectively’ better
solutions.

A good example is an introduction to the concept of the
[Optimal Stopping Problem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gURXCEaQXO8) - a
maths-based approach to finding the optimum time to stop doing something due to
diminishing returns - by applying it to the ‘problem’ of choosing a spouse
(Spend the first 37 percent of your search meeting people and then be ready to
propose to the first person who is better than anyone you have met so far).

It’s a really clever concept for a book. To get the most out of it, my advice is
to read it rather than listen (as I did) so you can really get your head around
the concepts described and reread the more complicated parts when necessary.

> “To try and fail is at least to learn; to fail to try is to suffer the
> inestimable loss of what might have been.” - Brian Christian

## Quotes to make you think

“Don’t always consider all your options. Don’t necessarily go for the outcome
that seems best every time. Make a mess on occasion. Travel light. Let things
wait. Trust your instincts and don’t think too long. Relax. Toss a coin.
Forgive, but don’t forget. To thine own self be true.”

“To try and fail is at least to learn; to fail to try is to suffer the
inestimable loss of what might have been.”

“Sorting something that you will never search is a complete waste; searching
something you never sorted is merely inefficient.”

## Why I love this book

I love Algorithms To Live By on two levels. As someone who works with data, I
use programming languages without considering myself a programmer. Therefore,
there are many gaps in my conceptual knowledge. This book introduced me to
ideas, such as sorting theories, that have given me a better foundation to
develop my technical skills.

On another level, I love the idea of building habits based on rules to take some
of the cognitive pressure of deciding what to do next. Algorithms To Live By
offers an intelligent, thought-provoking and humorous way to look at how you
live your life and how to improve it.

## Read this book if…

You are a non-technical person interested in the core principles of computer
science, or a technical person who wants to geek out about computer science
concepts applied to non-typical (aka real life) settings.

## What others say about it

“Compelling and entertaining, Algorithms to Live By is packed with practical
advice about how to use time, space, and effort more efficiently. And it’s a
fascinating exploration of the workings of computer science and the human mind.
Whether you want to optimize your to-do list, organize your closet, or
understand human memory, this is a great read.” — **Charles Duhigg**

“In this remarkably lucid, fascinating, and compulsively readable book,
Christian and Griffiths show how much we can learn from computers. We’ve all
heard about the power of algorithms―but Algorithms to Live By actually explains,
brilliantly, how they work, and how we can take advantage of them to make better
decisions in our own lives.” — **Alison Gopnik**

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

Watch co-author Tom Griffiths speaking at TEDxSydney.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lOhL-XUQPFE"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

Watch authors Brian Christian & Tom Griffiths talking at Google.

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OwKj-wgXteo"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Live-Computer-Science-Decisions-dp-1250118360/dp/1250118360/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1603635162&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=1cb4a9b3407831c252af3976c05842da&language=en_US"
/>

## About the authors

As well as co-authoring Algorithms to Live By, Brian Christian is the author of
[The Most Human Human](https://www.amazon.com/Most-Human-Artificial-Intelligence-Teaches/dp/0307476707/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Most+Human+Human&qid=1603638659&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=be3551beef476751a309a838f6bb423e&language=en_US),
which was named a Wall Street Journal bestseller, a New York Times Editors’
Choice, and a New Yorker favorite book of the year. On writing this, I learned
he has a book out this month (October 2020) called
[The Alignment Problem](https://www.amazon.com/Alignment-Problem-Machine-Learning-Values/dp/0393635821/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1603638694&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=962817cce2b07af1610ca1ce0c93f051&language=en_US)
which we completely missed when compiling our list of
[five new books to read in October](https://paperbacktravels.com/articles/five-new-books-to-read-in-october-2020)!

Tom Griffiths is a professor of psychology and cognitive science at Princeton
University, where he directs the Institute of Cognitive and Brain Sciences. He
has published more than 150 scientific papers on topics ranging from cognitive
psychology to cultural evolution, and has received awards from the National
Science Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the American Psychological
Association, and the Psychonomic Society, among others.

### Publication Date

April 19, 2016


Read Algorithms To Live By to learn about the foundations of computer science applied to real world situations.

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions


## Summary of main ideas

The main concept that I took away from reading this book was that through
certain practises and adopting certain ways of thinking we can, over some time,
create a future self of us that is beyond all current expectations.

As humans, due to the way we are wired we very easily fall into certain habits.
These habits can be quite detrimental to our health and overall well-being.
Couple that with everyday stresses and trials and tribulations that life throws
at you, you can quite easily become ill or defeated or just stuck in a rut.

However by adopting certain **meditation techniques**, concentrating on **energy
centres** within the body and releasing trapped energies, feeling the emotion of
your future self and doing all these things repetitively and consistently can
lead to amazing ‘supernatural’ results. I particularly liked his in-depth
explanation about the
[**pineal gland**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0VPDd0JwCE) and how you can
do certain exercises and meditations to stimulate it into action. The apparent
result can range from anything from visions to out of body experiences to
fractal patterns to some kind of life-changing mystical experience. He also
explained about becoming more wave and less particle. He incorporated
explanations from Quantum physics and talked about the unified field of
everything. The explanations about the earth’s magnetic field and how it affects
us and other phenomenon such as solar flares was also super interesting.

> He also explained about becoming more wave and less particle. He incorporated
> explanations from Quantum physics and talked about the unified field of
> everything.

I have to say the main reason for my reading this book was when watching his
interview his enthusiasm for what he was explaining really shined through. For
someone to become that excited about what he was doing I thought there had to be
something in it. I admit I got a little lost when he was talking about the
quantum unified field and how we use that to create our future selves and
feeling that emotion can have some effect on our genes switching certain ones on
and others off. The theory made sense but it can be a little tricky to follow.

Overall I really liked the book. It had quite a few practical examples in it and
also explained the more science aspects in pretty simple language. There were
elements or ideas that Joe repeated throughout the book which towards the end
became a little tedious but I genuinely think he was just trying to really
impress his core ideas.

## How this book can help you

I would urge anyone that reads this book to go into it with an open mind. I
think if nothing else this book can help you understand that there are many
energies and forces in play around us everyday and if we aren't aware of them we
can end up in physically and mentally difficult positions. Energies can get
trapped in certain energy centres and this leads to certain negative behaviours
manifesting.

This book also provides real practical advise and practises that you can (with a
bit of self discipline) implement into your day to day life and will have real
lasting impact. There are plenty of pictures and diagrams giving further visual
explanations to certain concepts. I imagine different people will be drawn to
different parts of this book but Joe does a very good job of giving context and
background on why things are the way they are and what you can do about it.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

This is a nice interview on London Real which gives you a taste of Joe's energy
and enthusiam for what he does:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i4Wirfsow8w"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

[Get Becoming Supernatural on Amazon](https://amzn.to/3gFgE3k)

## About the author

Joe Dispenza is a chiropractor, researcher, author, educator, lecturer, maybe
even a mystic. Joe has released other popular books in the self-help field
including
[Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself](https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Habit-Being-Yourself-Create/dp/1401938094/)
and
[You are the Placebo](https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Placebo-Making-Matter/dp/1401944590/).
You can find out more about Joe [on his website](https://drjoedispenza.com/).

### Published by

Hay House Inc.

### Publication Date:

October 31, 2017


Joe Dispenza is a chiropractor, researcher, author, educator, lecturer, maybe even a mystic. He has released a book called — Becoming Supernatural. It outlines different practices and methodologies that common people can adopt to achieve supernatural transformations and experiences.

Becoming Supernatural


## In a nutshell description

In this book Rupert outlines seven different spiritual practices that are shown
to bring many benefits to the individual practicing them. For each practice he
dives into great detail offering insight into the origins of these practices and
then scientific research which confirms the benefits derived from them.

Rupert explains this list of seven is merely a selection of practices and by no
means is this list exhaustive. The seven practices are:

1. **Meditation**
2. **Gratitude**
3. **Connecting with Nature**
4. **Relating to Plants**
5. **Rituals**
6. **Singing and Chanting**
7. **Pilgrimages and Holy Places**

Rupert practices all of these seven and provides great insight into each
practice. For example he tells a story of how he gave his godson a birthday
present once which was an experience and not a material gift. The experience was
to walk the last ten miles of a traditional pilgrimage to Canterbury and then
walk around the cathedral clockwise before going in. They lit candles and said
prayers and then had cream tea and sang in the choral evensong. Since then they
have repeated the pilgrimage every year.

> “I cannot pretend that I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of
> gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have
> given something in return . . . Above all, I have been a sentient being on
> this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and
> adventure.” ― Rupert Sheldrake

## Why I love this book

There are a couple of reasons why I really liked this book. Firstly, all of
these seven practices are pretty accessible and Rupert even gives good
suggestions at the end of each chapter.

One particular practice that stood out for me was connecting with nature and
more specifically finding a ‘sitting place’ in nature. This is somewhere in
nature where you can go and just sit and be. He advises to sit there at least
once a week throughout the year and to just be present. To become aware of the
constant change, become aware of the noises, the animals and trees. He then goes
on to explain the scientific studies that show the enormous benefits of spending
time in nature such as elevated mood levels, less anxiousness and less worry.
This example is just one of many very simple examples.

This is the basic premise of this book. By incorporating simple spiritual
practices into your life you can greatly enhance the richness of it and there is
science to back this all up.

## Quotes to make you think

“I cannot pretend that I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of
gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given
something in return . . . Above all, I have been a sentient being on this
beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and
adventure.” ― Rupert Sheldrake

## Read this book if…

If you are tired of the relentless pursuit for more and more in your life and
you have tried to be more and more ‘productive’ then this book could well be for
you. This book is more about nourishing one’s soul and this is something that is
greatly needed in our society at the moment.

If you are feeling some sort of disconnect or lack of something in your life
then these seven practices could well help you fulfill some of this lack. The
beauty of these practices too is that you can start very small. If you live near
a forest you can simply go for a short walk through there. If you live near a
church you can go and sit in on an evensong. If you live in a city then you can
visit a park and just sit next to a tree for a while and just be present with
the tree.

Also if you think these things are a bit too ‘out there’ you can just
concentrate on the science. The research is there that shows these things are
surprisingly good for the human condition and it’s no coincidence that these
things have been practiced throughout our ancestry.

## What others say about it

"I have personally adopted many of the practices Rupert Sheldrake describes in
his book and experienced more love, joy, empathy, gratitude, and equanimity as a
result." ― **Deepak Chopra, MD**

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

This is a very interesting discussion between Russell Brand and Rupert
Sheldrake:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dAS-QzWvj8g"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1640092641/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1640092641&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=06caf4ea1301b2cc6ba3b6ee9bd99725 "
/>

## About the author

Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, is a biologist and author best known for his hypothesis
of
[morphic resonance](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ruperts-resonance/#:~:text=Morphic%20resonance%2C%20Sheldrake%20says%2C%20is,someone%20is%20staring%20at%20them).
He studied natural sciences at Cambridge University, where he was a Scholar of
Clare College, took a double first class honours degree and was awarded the
University Botany Prize (1963). He spent quite a few years research abroad
including as principal plant physiologist at the International Crops Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India until 1978. He has authored a
number of books many around his hypothesis of morphic resonance.

### Publication Date:

October 8, 2019


Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, is a biologist and author best known for his hypothesis of morphic resonance. Science and Spiritual Practices is his latest book looking into scientific research on the effects of these spiritual practices.

Science and Spiritual Practices: Transformative Experiences and Their Effects on Our Bodies, Brains, and Health


## In a nutshell description

In his book Inner Engineering Sadhguru speaks about his own life and his own
awakening on a mountaintop in South India. He then goes on to explain about the
system of Yoga (not just the physical aspect you see in most gyms these days)
and how it can help shine a light on the path to spiritual growth.

His book is all about turning inwards and working on whats inside instead of
focusing on the outside world and blaming all your problems on everyone and
everything else.

He also introduces the reader to the different dimensions of life beyond the
physical and mental. He explains how there are different kinds of intelligences
and different kinds of energies within our body and all around us. He introduces
us to powerful tools and practises that the reader can utilise to help
themselves along their own spiritual paths.

Sadhguru would like everyone to live a life of joy and this book is one way he
is helping humanity achieve that.

> ‘Yoga is not about being superhuman; it is about realizing that being human is
> super” - Sadhguru

## Quotes to make you think

“The sign of intelligence is that you are constantly wondering. Idiots are
always dead sure about every damn thing they are doing in their life.” ―
**Sadhguru**

‘Yoga is not about being superhuman; it is about realizing that being human is
super” - **Sadhguru**

## Why I love this book

I first discovered Sadhguru on Youtube and many concepts he explained really
made sense to me. He has a way of looking and explaining about certain aspects
of life that is very refreshing for me. He manages to bring clarity to concepts
that usually remain quite mysterious.

This book is a guide for looking at certain aspects of your life as well as
providing some practical activities you can do. He explains about certain
dimensions of life that are seldom talked about in the Western world and it
really connected with me. Through reading this book I realised there were
certain dimensions to this existence that you generally don’t notice until you
start to pay attention. Very subtle things within your body that once you start
to pay attention you begin to notice and you realise the complexity of the human
system.

Sadhguru is a very good teacher on a very tricky subject and I really like his
explanations and stories more than anything. This book is also something you can
keep coming back to. You can open at any page and read some passage and so far I
have always gained something from it.

## Read this book if…

You would like to start turning inwards and learn more about the nature of
yourself. Sadhguru has a way of explaining very abstract topics that brings
clarity and a new perspective on how you look at the world. He also offers
practical steps you can take that can help you on your spiritual path.

## What others day about it

“Inner Engineering is a fascinating read of Sadhguru’s insights and his
teachings. If you are ready, it is a tool to help awaken your own inner
intelligence, the ultimate and supreme genius that mirrors the wisdom of the
cosmos.” — **Deepak Chopra**

“Contrarian and consistent, ancient and contemporary, Inner Engineering is a
loving invitation to live our best lives and a profound reassurance of why and
how we can.” — **Sir Ken Robinson,**

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

There are many videos of Sadhguru on Youtube so below I am recommending a couple
of my personal favourites:

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cxoQdEhHaT8"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

<br />
<iframe
  width="100%"
  height="320px"
  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qMryd4gurQk"
  frameBorder="0"
  allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
  allowFullScreen
></iframe>

Also if this is of interest to you I highly recommend you check out Sadhguru’s
[Inner Engineering Online Course](https://www.innerengineering.com/). It’s a
deeper dive into the themes introduced in his book.

## Where to get it

<AmazonCta
  bookSummary
  link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812997794/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812997794&linkCode=as2&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=d59086c1d5ec87c575a5d8cf33b8c496"
/>

## About the author

He founded the [Isha Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isha_Foundation)
is Southern India and it acts as a non-profit spiritual centre and has over 9
million volunteers. He speaks regularly around the work at high profile events
and you can get a taste of his speaking on his
[Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/user/sadhguru). I highly recommend it!

### Publication Date:

October 3, 2016


In his book Inner Engineering Sadhguru speaks about his own life and his own awakening on a mountaintop in South India. He then goes on to explain about the system of Yoga  and how turning inwards shines a light on the path of spiritual growth.

Inner Engineering: A Yogis Guide To Joy


## Summary of main ideas

Lost and Founder is a jarringly candid account of building and running a quite
successful startup. Rand Fishkin co-founded [Moz](https://moz.com/) with his
mother in 2001 as a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consultancy before moving
into creating SEO products.

At the time of publishing the book, he was already a well-known figure in the
world of marketing, having based the Moz business model on producing a steady
stream of practical content to teach marketers about SEO, many of whom would go
on to pay for the company’s suite of SEO tools. For a while Moz was the
preeminent software company in the SEO space.

With Lost and Founder, Fishkin turns the spotlight on himself and his
experiences as a founder, from the exhilaration of seeing his company grow and
provide value to its customers, to the crushing lows of having to let people go
following bad business decisions, navigating the harsh world of venture capital
and dealing with depression.

It is an exceptional book, mainly for the absolute transparency and humility
with which Fishkin describes his experiences. He uses these as a backdrop for
giving specific advice that may not always fit with the conventional wisdom of
the startup world (his nuanced explanations of why the Minimum Viable Product
approach can damage a business is a good example).

And, he makes a point of explaining the nuts and bolts of how things work, such
as explaining how the interests of venture capitalists are likely to be very
different to those of a startup founder. A particularly interesting section
dealt with Fishkin’s decision to turn down an acquisition offer from Hubspot
that would have made him a multi-millionaire. He explains that, at the time, he
felt the valuation was too low and assumed the opportunity would arise again.
Ultimately it did not.

Lost and Founder is certainly not a warning against founding a business. If
anything it’s a love letter to entrepreneurship, from someone who has been in
love, had their heart broken and allowed themselves to fall in love again.

> He felt the valuation was too low and assumed the opportunity would arise
> again. Ultimately it did not.

## How this book can help you

Lost and Founder should be essential reading to anyone who either runs their own
business or plans to, but it is also a valuable read to anyone working at a
startup in any capacity because it provides a clear roadmap to building good
practices in areas such as recruitment, building a company culture and
approaching product development decisions.

Aside from the strategic and tactical perspective, it’s an enjoyable read
whoever you are. Fishkin is such an engaging character who has written this book
as a human first and business leader second.

## Some good further reading/watching/listening

[Watch 7 Lessons That Will Make You a Better Entrepreneur from INBOUND 2018.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8_aQXEErww).

## Where to get it

[Get Lost and Founder on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Founder-Painfully-Honest-Startup/dp/0735213321/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=lost+and+founder&qid=1598697376&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ce4d1900b7a5b9a1725b0d01b0e3c60d&language=en_US)

[Get Lost and Founder as an audiobook.](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D8ZZF62/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1598697376&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=672ede9859abc6c1cf922af9b941ab61&language=en_US)

## About the author

Rand Fishkin is an authority in the world of marketing and startups having
co-founded MOZ (previously SEO Moz) and, more recently,
[SparkToro](https://sparktoro.com/). As well as being a prolific content creator
through blogging and videos, he is also a frequent keynote speaker at marketing
and startup events around the world.

### Published by

Penguin Books

### Publication Date

February 26, 2018


Read Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin for a candid insight into the ups and downs of founding and leading SEO software company Moz from startup to industry leader.

Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We are delighted to welcome Adam Fayed - a financial consultant who runs an Online Financial Advisory Firm - for the latest installment in our My Life in Books
  series.
</p>

<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
 We asked Adam to tell us about some of the non-fiction books that have significantly impacted his life. Read on to discover which books made his list!
</p>

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Daniel Priestley - Oversubscribed</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="daniel-priestley-oversubscribed_tzbkb6"
  altText="Daniel Priestley - Oversubscribed"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

One of the most underrated modern business books is Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestley.  The book explains why some businesses, and people, have customers lining up to do business with them.

This is usually without forcing things on people by pushing. In comparison, the majority of businesses struggle or just do OK.  What is significant about the book is something which I have always believed in; you don't have to be all things to all people. 

A successful vegan restaurant doesn't care if meat eaters are offended, and an all-you-can-eat BBQ restaurant which has "crude" competitions also doesn't care if they cause offence.

What matters is that enough people want to do business with you. Not clearly defining your ideal client also causes problems long-term, so it is better to reject some clients, than be everything to everybody. 

As an example, if somebody doesn't want to work with me due to one typo on my website, I am glad I don't need to work with such a character, as they clearly aren't my ideal client in terms of their character. Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides, as Margaret Thatcher said.  

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Oversubscribed-How-People-Lining-Business/dp/0857088254/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Daniel+Priestley+-+Oversubscribed&qid=1607861938&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=08f68a20aba1ce4562329ef498159a01&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Fooled By Randomness - Nassim Taleb</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="nassim-taleb-fooled-by-randomness_quhnqw"
  altText="Fooled By Randomness - Nassim Taleb"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

This is perhaps less famous than his best-selling book [The Black Swan](https://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Improbable-Robustness-Fragility/dp/081297381X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The.+Black+Swan&qid=1607862065&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ef21083aa4630da6a4adac45f9b2b805&language=en_US). This work focuses on random events. What is significant about Taleb's work is he studies probability rather than statistics. 

This led him to getting the coronavirus pandemic correct. When countless "experts" in masks and statistics were telling us all in March and April that masks only made a 0.1%-1% difference, Taleb made the point that compound probability would result in "mask wearing countries" seeing an 85%+ reduction in cases. 

What is also significant about Taleb's work is how he shows that many so-called experts, especially in government, have less (useful) knowledge than the average granny about risk. This is perhaps due to the fact they don't have skin in the game, and giant corporations often influence the regulatory procedure, creating moral hazard in the process.

So, despite being a risk specialist, Taleb is anti most regulations, unless the regulators are very targeted and create a system where players have skin in the game. This is a good read for any academic, regulator or politician.

These people Taleb calls 'faux experts' - people that don't pay for their actions. These thoughts have influenced how I run businesses and do investments, alongside my huge scepticism of government and regulators.   

One of my favourite recent quotes from Taleb is "Millennials think that joining an NGO is a great way to save the world. ... We did not pull 2 billion people out of poverty thanks to NGOs and bureaucrats — we pulled them out thanks to capitalism, by generating economic growth." Reading his books will make you realize how he came to these conclusions.

Although my scepticism of conventional norms far predates reading books like this.

It started from business school and later studying politics, and seeing how academia works.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Fooled-Randomness-Hidden-Markets-Incerto/dp/1400067936/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1607862229&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=049fae4029a11a0d20c7fdab57948c91&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Your Money and Your Brain - Jason Zweig</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="jason-zweig-your-money-and-your-brain_hvxkah"
  altText="Your Money and Your Brain - Jason Zweig"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

Most people think that the best investors have better technical knowledge. That can be sometimes true, yet in reality, controlling your emotions is often more important.

What is more, many of the smartest people, including financial professionals, can get lower returns due to emotional impulses. We see that on a regular basis whenever stock markets crash. People assume that "this time is different."

This book, alongside [Chris MacKay's Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds](https://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-Popular-Delusions-Harriman-Definitive/dp/0857197428/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Extraordinary+Popular+Delusions+and+the+Madness+of+Crowds&qid=1607862466&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=9d7b7605556290222eb15e4ef8a2a4f1&language=en_US), is a good read when it comes to behavioural finance, even though MacKay's book is less financially focused.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Brain-Science-Neuroeconomics/dp/0743276698/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Your+Money+and+Your+Brain+-+Jason+Zweig&qid=1607862556&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=dd93475c87371532fc525774cdec823d&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>How to Win Friends & Influence People - Dale Carnegie</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="dale-carnegie-how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people_walswc"
  altText="How to Win Friends & Influence People - Dale Carnegie"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

This book might surprise you, as most of the other books listed here aren't conventional books. Yet there can be no doubt that this classic is one of the best books on human nature, and that human nature itself is more emotional than rational.  

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=How+to+win+friends+and+influence+people.&qid=1607862597&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f14bfbd48529cde6fe743d0b9e3c43b9&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="robert-kiyosaki-rich-dad-poor-dad_y9az2n"
  altText="Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I don't like this book for the obvious reasons. In fact, technically speaking, it is perhaps a weak financial book. [I have criticized some aspects of this book online](https://adamfayed.com/rich-dad-poor-dad-review/).

However, this book is important for two main reason - it shows that being universally popular isn't important, nor is having great technical knowledge in all situations.

Kiyosaki is hated and disliked by many, and there are some factual errors in his book, but that hasn't stopped him earning more money than countless PHDs in portfolio theory, and he has sold more copies of his book than even Warren Buffett has.  

There is a lesson in that. There is still no such thing as bad publicity, it is a myth that social media has changed that. Moreover, being known by hundreds of millions, and being hated by some and loved by others, is far more effective than being popular amongst the residents of your local village.  

Being unknown is a far bigger problem for most businesses. We see similar things with social media influencers like [Tai Lopez](https://www.youtube.com/user/tailopezofficial). 

Most are hated, or disliked, by the majority of people that see their content, but they have built great businesses regardless of how many "scandals" there have been - today's scandal is tomorrow's fish and chip paper anyway.

The market isn't always fair early. Is it fair that a man with little technical knowledge (like Kiyosaki) has sold more books than people that know far more than him? 

No, but life isn't always fair.  If Kiyoasaki had written a dry academic book, and boasted about his financial qualification, he would have sold a handful of books. Instead, he sold emotion, and benefited from that.

Yet so many financial professions think people care about the acronyms put after your name on LinkedIn. A case in point. I once did a YouTube video where I criticized financial qualifications and said most were BS.

Most of my clients loved it, as did many potential ones. Yet most advisors that saw it thought it was scandalous. 

The point being, successful books like this one taught me not to be "in the bubble".   

What the market wants (in this case Kiyosaki's book) isn't always the same as what people "in the bubble" think is correct. 

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680178/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Rich+Dad+Poor+Dad&qid=1607862836&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f29d31cdd9d7c38a715211ce8ab25523&language=en_US" />

## About Adam

Adam is a financial consultant in the fields of wealth management and financial planning. His [money advice service](https://adamfayed.com/#three-service-areas) aims to help his clients achieve financial independence, regardless of location.

As well as offering individualised services, Adam actively shares his knowledege online. One of the reasons for reaching out to Adam in the first place was because we love reading his answers on [Quora](https://www.quora.com/profile/Adam-Fayed). You can also find more content from Adam [on his website](https://adamfayed.com/), on his [Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChK5TMy_Yhae6vnyvIDbL7g) 
and you can [buy his book - 6 Steps to Financial Freedom - on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Steps-Financial-Freedom-Marketers-Independence-ebook/dp/B07DLY168X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=adam+fayed&qid=1607864466&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=656d06c98ac8bee4d3893617f6719a9c&language=en_US
).



Read our interview with Adam Fayed - a financial consultant in the fields of wealth management and financial planning - in which he shares five books that impacted his life.

My Life in Books: Adam Fayed


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We asked Brian Schæfer Dreyer - a travel writer from Denmark - to tell us
  about five books that have had a significant impact on his life.
</p>

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="jon-krakauer-into-the-wild_qwr1wp"
  altText="Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I bought Into The Wild after having watched the brilliant movie adaptation by
the same name. A true story about the adventures of the American student Chris
McCandless that leaves his family and his privileged life behind to pursue the
ultimate freedom in the wilds of Alaska.

The story has been a huge inspiration for many people who dream of stepping out
of the hamster wheel of ”normal life” and people who have already done it.
Personally, it has inspired me to go all-in on my own dreams and to pursue a
life as a freelance writer, as well as I agree with the most important lesson
the protagonist learn along the way: Happiness is only real when shared.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Into+the+Wild&qid=1599073027&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ce229678d19ed75de27cf7535850bed0&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Time Was Soft There - Jeremey Mercer</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="jeremy-mercer-time-was-soft-there_fs5gkm"
  altText="Time Was Soft There - Jeremey Mercer"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I love Paris and the bohemian wonderland of Shakespeare & Co which is the
legendary Parisian bookstore where this story takes place. It is written by the
Canadian author Jeremy Mercer that ended up living in the bookstore for a while
just like hundreds of other aspiring writers that were hosted by the original
shop owner, the late George Whitman.

This book makes me dream of living in Paris and tugs at my bohemian sleeve and
the part of me that would have loved to do something like that. It's a story
that combines my love for Paris and with my love for writing and therefore hits
the jackpot on my bookshelf.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Time-Was-Soft-There-Shakespeare/dp/0312347405/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Time+Was+Soft+There&qid=1599072992&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=64c24847d521171a664383fb48c84a24&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Yes Man - Danny Wallace</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="danny-wallace-yes-man_rfkcjo"
  altText="Yes Man - Danny Wallace"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

Many people have probably watched the movie hit 'Yes Man' where comedian Jim
Carrey plays the leading role, but many don't know the movie's origin is a book
by the British author Danny Wallace – a true story about saying yes.

While the movie is rather exaggerated, the book certainly has its crazy moments,
but it's a real story about being open to all the opportunities that offer
themselves to us daily – from saying yes to grab a drink with a friend to embark
on a big adventure. I am personally trying to live like that and act on dreams.
Also, Wallace is a brilliant writer and observer of human behaviour and presents
it in a humouristic way that makes his books highly entertaining to read and
puts a smile on your face.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Yes-Man-Danny-Wallace/dp/1416918345/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Yes+Man&qid=1599072955&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f04477a5d3f6b0576acf3c2361fe2475&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Voluntourist - Ken Budd</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="ken-budd-the-voluntourist_dgvneb"
  altText="The Voluntourist - Ken Budd"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

This book combines the afterthoughts of losing a close family member with the
quest for doing something meaningful with your life – and both themes are close
to me these days, as well as the passion for travelling and meeting new people
that are also essential parts of this story.

In the wake of losing his father, author Ken Budd sets out to find meaning in
his own life while dealing with the dilemma of not having kids of his own and it
takes him around the world in different stages while volunteering with
everything from teaching special needs kids in China to rebuilding homes for
people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

I have volunteered myself while travelling and would love to do it again one
day, and the search for doing something meaningful with your time and life is
something that I can identify with a lot.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Voluntourist-Six-Country-Fatherhood-Singing-Bethlehem/dp/006194646X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Voluntourist&qid=1599072904&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=73320b95b019268038bf0abaf21c5664&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Twitchhiker - Paul Smith</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="paul-smith-twitchhiker_qtfbfx"
  altText="Twitchhiker - Paul Smith"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

As the title might reveal, Twitchhiker combines Twitter with hitchhiking in a
very unique way as radio personality Paul Smith sets out to travel as far around
the world from his home in 30 days. He does so solely by the generosity of his
followers on Twitter who in turns offer him everything from lifts to tickets and
accommodation.

It's an inspiring story about being opportunistic, about 'creating something out
of nothing' and about how far you can make it with the help from strangers.
Despite not being a big tweeter myself, I love the concept of this adventurous
journey and I find many similarities in the story to my own journey of becoming
a travel writer.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Twitchhiker-How-Travelled-World-Twitter-ebook/dp/B003ZSHRUU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Twitchhiker&qid=1599072850&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ae967226054d1c3e6d878367729753b0&language=en_US" />

## About Brian

Brian is a self-taught travel journalist, blogger and photographer who have
lived in Wales, England and Spain besides his home country of Denmark. He
currently calls Madrid home while working for Danish newspapers and magazines as
well as on several online projects.

Learn more about Brian's experiences and see examples of his works on his
[professional website](http://www.travelooney.dk/) and also check out his
[personal travel blog](http://www.travelooneyblog.com/) (in English).


Read our interview with travel writer Brian Schæfer Dreyer in which he shares five books that have impacted his life.

My Life in Books: Brian Schæfer Dreyer


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We are delighted to welcome Jackie Bavaro - author of two books and a former Head of Product Management at Asana - for the latest installment in our My Life in Books
  series.
</p>

<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
Jackie has picked out four books that have had a big impact on her life. Have you read any of them?
</p>

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Getting Things Done - David Allen</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="david-allen-getting-things-done_qtpdxx"
  altText="Getting Things Done - David Allen"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

As a kid, my report card always said “needs improvement” on neatness and organization. I knew I was disorganized, but I honestly couldn’t understand how anyone else was organized. 

It seemed like an impossible task. Luckily, at my first job someone recommended this book to me and it changed my life. I finally became an organized and reliable person.

This tiny book is filled with advice, but the most important concept for me was the idea of writing everything down in a single place. Instead of stressing over remembering all of my tasks, I started writing them down and relaxing. 

I stopped feeling ashamed about my “bad” memory, and decided to accept myself and work with what I had. It felt like a huge weight was lifted.

Most self improvement is a slow process, but this book helped me overnight. I’d recommend it to absolutely everyone.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0143126563?dchild=1&keywords=Getting+Things+Done+-+David+Allen&qid=1612299404&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=54921be2eb1c342d6273189af0beb349&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="dan-ariely-predictably-irrational_ainsti"
  altText="Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

One of my econ teachers told us, “Economics is the study of unintended consequences.” 

History is filled with examples of policies that had precisely the opposite of the intended effect, as in the time farmers reacted to “We’ll pay you not to produce corn” by producing more corn. 

They wanted to raise their baseline corn production so that they could be paid more the next year for not producing corn.

This book, along with [Thinking Fast & Slow](https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555?dchild=1&keywords=Thinking+Fast+%26+Slow&qid=1612299557&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=a0fa9c137ff4ed0a3a941fc7d4b6d6a0&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl), [The Design of Everyday Things](https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654?dchild=1&keywords=The+Design+of+Everyday+Things&qid=1612299591&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=1e2b3049c6ac1a1fcc9dfad8acba1621&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl), and [Nudge](https://www.amazon.com/Nudge-Improving-Decisions-Health-Happiness/dp/014311526X?crid=39Z2BIQ84ZKEP&dchild=1&keywords=nudge&qid=1612299617&sprefix=Nudge%2Caps%2C376&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=23c7b9321fb58ef4acb6edbc20736e20&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl), illuminates various ways that while human behavior isn’t always straightforward, it can be understood, predicted, and accommodated. 

The deeper we understand how people think, the better we can design successful solutions.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-Decisions/dp/0061353248?dchild=1&keywords=Predictably+Irrational+-+Dan+Ariely&qid=1612299449&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=8f3245f401e7a8907693d9916bf884fc&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="malcolm-gladwell-outliers_irwban"
  altText="Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I love all of Malcolm Gladwell’s books. He’s able to bring important lessons to life with memorable stories. This book introduces the “10,000 hours of practice” concept for achieving excellence. 

This drills into the fascinating question of how people get better at things. It’s inspired me to pick up new hobbies and attempt to develop skills in places where I previously thought I had no chance.

If you like the topic, [Peak: Secrets From the New Science of Expertise](https://www.amazon.com/Peak-Secrets-New-Science-Expertise/dp/0544947223?dchild=1&keywords=Peak%3A+Secrets+From+the+New+Science+of+Expertise%5D%28&qid=1612814582&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=3eefea8a9c573212353b3546451ee8b0&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl), goes even deeper into the science of deliberate practice and developing strong mental models.

I also love Gladwell’s TED talk on [choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce](https://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_choice_happiness_and_spaghetti_sauce?language=en).


<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930?dchild=1&keywords=Outliers+-+Malcolm+Gladwell&qid=1612299487&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=913d497bf3713b0c382edee3eb886bf5&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="milan-kundera-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being_ixztvd"
  altText="The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I’ve read several books by Milan Kundera over the years, and by some kind of magic, each one seems to speak directly to my life at the moment.

*"We can never know what we want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come."*

This quote resonates so strongly with me. We can’t A/B test life. We go through life, making decisions, and we can’t be sure which ones are right. It’s tough, but there’s some comfort in remembering that this applies equally to everyone. We’re all just winging it.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Unbearable-Lightness-Being-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061148520?dchild=1&keywords=The+Unbearable+Lightness+of+Being+-+Milan+Kundera&qid=1612299522&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=fdd09e5492a2399d88be8d1e34fb7a4e&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />

## About Jackie

Jackie Bavaro is the author of [Cracking the PM Career](https://amzn.to/36wvS8B) and [Cracking the PM Interview](https://amzn.to/2NWnRDv). Previously, she was Head of Product Management at Asana, and earlier a Product Manager at Google and Microsoft.


Check out our interview with author and Product Manager Jackie Bavaro where she tells us about some of the books that have made an impact on her life.

My Life in Books: Jackie Bavaro


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We are delighted to welcome Jose Barros as our new interviewee. Jose describes
  himself as a family man with a regular job as a middle-manager in a global
  company. He likes books, spending time with his kids, cooking and travelling
  to new locations. But that's just on the surface... As you will see from this
  interview underneath this surface you find a revolutionary, an agitator, a
  free mind, a complex bundle of beliefs and values.
</p>

We asked Jose which books have most influenced his life and he chose four
extremely powerful and impactful works:

- The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets - Svetlana Alexievich
- The long walk to freedom - Nelson Mandela
- The Trial - Franz Kafka

No room for 'Bridget Jones's Diary' on this list!

"The common undertone of all these tremendous books is one of the less valued
qualities inherent to human nature: **resilience**. It's present in the
overwhelming pressure of a brutal social engineering exercise, exposed in "The
Gulag Archipelago". It's featured in "Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets"
by the agonizing voices of those that lived through a broken promise of a better
future. It's described perfectly in "The long walk to freedom", that glorifies
the power of the mind over body. And finally, resilience is one of the many
interpretations that can be found in "The Trial": the ability to survive our
self-created monsters."

"That's what those books gave me: they made me more resilient. More capable of
dealing with change, adapt to it, embrace it and learn from it. The notion that
there are no limits to what the human spirit can endure and the strong belief
that, like a flower that is capable of growing in the inhospitable stone of a
cliff, humans can and will thrive as a race, regardless of what the future holds
for us."

> Like a flower that is capable of growing in the inhospitable stone of a cliff,
> humans can and will thrive as a race, regardless of what the future holds for
> us.

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="aleksandr-solzhenitsyn-the-gulag-archipelago_jc9qqj"
  altText="The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

By far the most powerful, epic, brutal and revealing work I have read to this
day. As a literary work and historical document it is absolutely insurmountable.

Solzhenitsyn takes us on an unforgettable trip to the core of the Soviet terror
and its punishment system: a network of forced labour camps known as GULAG.
Relentlessly, the author reveals the nuts and bolts of a regime that was
dehumanized and ruthless in its path to engineer a new classless society. The
arrests, the torture, the trials, the unbearable life in the camps.

There is no logic, no common sense, no reasoning. The system devours human lifes
and reduces their importance to mere numbers. Disposable numbers. Nonetheless,
the biggest achievement of the book is to show the resilience of the human
spirit under the most harsh circumstances. They can punish the body as much as
they like, but they cannot punish and incarcerate the spirit.

This is a book about the boundaries of human nature and the resistance of the
soul. It's not a read, it's a challenge.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061253715/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0061253715&linkId=89b2e2a4ca63f4c26598e2a543979cf2" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets - Svetlana Alexievich</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="secondhand-time-svetlana-alexievich_efs246"
  altText="Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets - Svetlana Alexievich"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

It's a "tough" book to read, full of disenchantment and frustration. An ideal
complement to "The Gulag Archipelago" by Solzhenitsyn - The Archipelago reports
exhaustively on the construction of the "Soviet man". Alexievich's work tells of
its end and how people are still dealing with their disappointment.

The book is not a nostalgic compendium of interviews, but a crude, realistic
account of time and life after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Soviet
project was much more than a political regime. It was literally a gigantic
social engineering venture. The "Soviet man" survives the end of the regime and
tries to adapt to a new world. There are no complex theories or deep thoughts on
how that transformation is happening. People speak, the "common people”, filling
the pages with their soul and feelings.

The book is painful, I would not consider it an object of entertainment. It is a
dip in a whirlwind of thoughts, emotions, soul spills. It tires us, draws energy
from the reader, envelops us in a scenario without a light at the end of the
tunnel. It is a book of modern times but about a reality that most of us cannot
even start to imagine.

Is the book worth the "sacrifice"? Of course, only the masterpieces are able to
move the individual so much. In fact, this is an unmissable piece of literature.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399588825/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0399588825&linkId=6944e4fb20cf2b30b1ac995ec57dd492" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="nelson-mandela-the-long-walk-to-freedom_deg1q6"
  altText="The Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

A remarkable autobiography of a remarkable man.

There are questions raised about the fact that a historical character with the
dimension of Mandela followed, at a certain point in his life, a path of armed
struggle. For purists, this is unacceptable, especially for a Nobel Peace Prize
winner. However, given the political and social context of South Africa at that
time, by reading the book, you realize that this option was not only
understandable but also an inevitable consequence of the fight against the
apartheid regime.

Mandela conveys his personality in the way he writes: a practical man, of an
unusual intelligence, with a disarming simplicity and a set of absolutely
unshakable convictions. The vast majority of ordinary mortals would have given
up along the path of this long walk to freedom. Mandela resisted and prevailed,
therefore winning a place in the gallery of the righteous icons of Humanity. By
doing so he also created the greatest tragedy of his life: his political
struggle had a happy outcome but his personal life never brought him the joy he
hoped for. The great price that Mandela paid for his political ideals was the
loss of strong family bonds and that sorrow accompanied him until the end of his
days.

A book to learn that, even the greatest figures of Human History, suffer from
the common problems and tribulations that all of us face in daily life.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316548189/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0316548189&linkId=40720f5633043f56f8c506d526ef3068" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Trial - Franz Kafka</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="franz-kafka-the-trial_s1dkka"
  altText="The Trial - Franz Kafka"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

Kafka leaves no one indifferent: you either love it or hate it.

The Trial is an unfinished book. Unfinished by the author and unfinished in the
interpretation that each of the readers can make of the story. Is it an
allegory? Is it ultra-realism? Could it be that the main character (Joseph K) is
all of us?

I understand those that may not have patience for this book. That doesn't make
someone less intelligent or less cultured. The digestion of this “process” is
not easy: the narrative is dense, sometimes disconnected, the characters
stereotyped. The book seems to want to go everywhere and nowhere at the same
time. But Kafka makes us think, awakens minds, rejects indifference (even if in
the end you only want to insult the author for “wasting your time”). Those are
precisely the merits of this “novel”: it questions and makes us question.

Kafka is a subversive read. I dare you to try it.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805209999/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=paperbacktrav-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0805209999&linkId=e713c7e9fc2c4711ac359f9d5819041b" />

## About Jose

Jose Barros likes to agitate the waters, to bring disruption where consensus is
the norm. He hates people because he spends too much time analyzing their
behaviors and their social interactions. He thinks he knows too much about them,
so it's better to distance himself. But he is a good guy. He really is.

Jose is also a writer. You can find more information about his debut book
**"Corporates: The Censored Stories: The book they don't want you to read"** on
his [Facebook Page](https://www.facebook.com/HangingManThe) and purchase a copy
on [Amazon](https://rb.gy/kkpmtd). We thoroughly recommend you do. Be careful
though, you will never look at corporate life in quite the same way!


Read our interview with Jose Barros - Jose Barros is a family man, with a regular job as a middle-manager in a global company. He likes books, spending time with his kids, cooking and travelling to new locations.

My Life in Books: Jose Barros


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We are delighted to welcome the extremely talented Nirvanna Lildharrie for the
  latest in our My Life in Books series. We asked Nirvanna to describe three
  books that have had a major impact on her life.
</p>

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  <h2>Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg</h2>
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<Image266x400
  src="sheryl-sandberg-lean-in_mzq2lm"
  altText="Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

When I attended college in the early 2010’s, I had a very misconstrued view on
feminism. Like many, I was also under the impression that feminists were people
who hated men and burned bras. Then through my Sociology major, I took classes
about race, the media, and, of course, _gender_. I learned that the distribution
of power in a society is completely arbitrary. And once I saw the inequality, I
could not unsee it.

While all this was happening, my seven female cousins on my dad’s side were all
working to empower each other. We started a book club and the first book we
wanted to read was “Lean In.” Lean In helped reinforce what I was beginning to
understand about women in society. It spoke about how the higher you climb in
the corporate ladder, the fewer the women there are. In the book, Sandberg
highlighted the systematic structures that prevent women from gaining positions
of power.

People who have not read the book will criticize it as anti-housewife, which is
not the case. Sandberg invites women who’d prefer to lean in at work to do so
guilt-free, and for men to lean in at home. This balances gender in the private
and public spheres. Doing so would allow for the world to have better access to
the best talent, rather than the best male talent alone.

I read this book during my senior year of college, right before entering the
workforce. Throughout my career thus far, Sandberg’s words have encouraged me to
“have a seat at the table” at meetings. She popularized the term “imposter
syndrome." Being able to identify those feelings of self-doubt have made them
easier to overcome.

I’ve also seen the world change since this book came out.

In college, a meme of my face went viral with the caption “Gender is a social
construct.” The joke was that Tufts kids said complicated academic stuff that no
one understood. Since graduating, I've heard the phrase used more and more. I’ve
also seen feminism become more mainstream in the media. Movies, shows, and books
now have complex female characters. Lingerie companies make their products for
women’s comfort and confidence first. The #MeToo movement publicizes sexual
abuse and harassment committed by men.

I’m happy to say I tried to reread “Lean In” recently and it felt outdated.
While there’s still much progress to make, the world entered a new era for women
right around the time that I became one.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Women-Work-Will-Lead/dp/0385349947/ref=as_li_ss_tl?crid=1AZGMVRWJGJKW&dchild=1&keywords=lean+in+sheryl+sandberg&qid=1602534065&sprefix=lean+in,aps,351&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=cfb73d456d9c47081838815a8f685b95&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo</h2>
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<Image266x400
  src="marie-kondo-the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up_exrijl"
  altText="The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

People think this book is about giving away all your belongings. I love this
book because it taught me about what I should keep.

In the KonMari method, you take out all your things within a single category
like clothing or books. Then you hold each item one-by-one and notice the
instant implicit response the item gives you. What she tells you to look for is
what “sparks joy.” She compares this feeling to what you may feel when you see a
puppy (love, perhaps?).

I’ve heard some people say that they don’t feel attachment to things. i.e. When
they pick up a pair of pants, their gut doesn’t guide them in any specific
direction. To those people, I’d say: Listen closer. It’s not about the thing
itself; this method is all about you. It’s about recognizing how you feel about
something. It’s about asking yourself what you want and realizing that you
already have all the answers you’re looking for.

This book helped me take cognizance of what _I_ want. It helped me slow down
before I buy something new. I now put more consideration into what I want to
bring into my home. This has helped me transform my home into a real haven that
warms me with gratitude every single day. The positive energy of my home is what
keeps me going on the hardest of days.

The other major concept it taught me was how to let things go.

When you’re using the KonMari method, if an object no longer sparks joy, it can
still be difficult to part with it. Kondo’s advice is to thank the object before
discarding or donating it. I can’t tell you how many times I now say thank you
before I throw something out. Once you get the hang of it, this method
translates well beyond physical objects. You can assess opportunities, grudges,
relationships and other intangible things that burden us.

The TV show they made is definitely fun, but I urge you to read the book. You
could read the whole thing in a day, but you’ll likely want to savor it for
longer.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-Organizing/dp/1607747308/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Life-Changing+Magic+of+Tidying+Up&qid=1602534373&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ba0a0894df3ecccb3cae1e321e4fa18b&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert</h2>
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<Image266x400
  src="elizabeth-gilbert-eat-pray-love_slx0vt"
  altText="Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

Before I turned 27 last year, I had this crippling anxiety about who I am and
what I’m supposed to be doing with my life. As a classic over-sharer, I brought
it up on a casual intro lunch with a colleague when he asked, “How are you?"

And he (emphasis on the “he”) then asked me if I ever read Eat, Pray, Love. I
wasn’t sure if he was serious because, well, “Eat Pray Love” is often a
punchline. I never in a million years thought that I would ever read that book.
Now, I was speaking to this straight, white male colleague who was quite serious
when he said it was great. Impressed, I asked, “You read books written by
women?”

Desperate for resolve, I ordered it right away and pored over every word. It
feels good to read this book. Gilbert writes exquisite prose. While it’s a
memoir, there’s magical realism on every page. I found the book to be
delightful, comforting, and even indulgent.

She was someone who did everything in life by the book and then scrapped it all
because she wasn’t happy. Gilbert was someone who had structure, control, and
rigorous plans. But she desired momentous change. I reveled at her bravery as
she took control of her life and left to enjoy her own company for a bit.

This book created a space to get in touch with my spiritual side and gave me
permission to enjoy life on my own terms. Its beauty brought me plenty of
moments of quiet and internal peace. It taught me it's okay to let go of control
and trust my own intuition.

Best of all, I ordered the 10 year anniversary book, which was a happy accident
because it included a foreword by Elizabeth Gilbert 10 years later speaking to
the virality of the book and its global impact. Pro tip: If you get the 10 Year
Anniversary version, read the foreword at the end. And, whatever you do, don’t
watch the movie (it’s trash).

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Pray-Love-Everything-Indonesia/dp/0143038419/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Eat+Pray+Love&qid=1602534502&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f326fb46555ee60c641e7b8e5cca8597&language=en_US" />

## About Nirvanna

Nirvanna is a cosmopolitan Scrabble genius who runs 5Ks and sings alto. She
makes appearances as a local artist where she lives in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
During the day, she works in sales with Robin, the Workplace Experience
platform. Nirvanna holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Communications
from Tufts University. Connect with her on
[Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nirvannalildharrie/) or
[view her artwork here](https://www.nirvannalildharrie.com/portfolio).


Read our interview with Nirvanna Lildharrie in which she shares three books that have had a significant impact on her life.

My Life in Books: Nirvanna Lildharrie

<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
Professor Rashid Khalidi is one of the world's leading scholars of Middle Eastern history. In The Hundred Years' War on Palestine - 
the history of a century of Israeli-Palestinian conflict - he describes and critiques a series of seismic 'declarations of war' 
against the Palestinian people that culminated in the creation of the state of Israel and the progressively-worsening situation in 
the region that sadly shows no sign of abating anytime soon. 

We asked Professor Khalidi to tell us about why he decided to write The Hundred Years' War on Palestine when he did, the audience he 
was aiming to reach and his hopes for the future. We are grateful to Professor Khalidi for taking the time to respond to our questions. 
For anyone who would like to educate themselves on the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book is a good place to start.

</p>

> "What is most needed in order to change US public discourse is to make widely known the actual nature of realities on the ground in Palestine." 

**How would you characterise your intended audience for The Hundred Years' War on Palestine?**

I hope to reach a general audience, including people with some knowledge, as well as those who are unfamiliar with a Palestinian perspective because another narrative has been so pervasive in public discourse.

**Please can you explain why you decided to frame the book with the concept of six declarations of war against the Palestinian people?**

I was trying to shatter the false notion that this is simply a conflict between two equal sides, or that it is solely between Palestinians and Israelis, whereas it has always been an externally supported assault intended to dispossess the Palestinians.

**Which of the declarations of war had the biggest impact on you personally and why?**

Probably the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and siege of Beirut. This is because of its traumatic nature (17,000 Lebanese and Palestinians were killed), and because I was living in Beirut with my family at that time.

**Why did you decide to write and publish this specific book - articulating the creation of Israel as a history of settler colonialism - when you did?**

I felt that the moment was appropriate, and that this essential nature of the sustained assault on the Palestinian people had been obscured in most treatments of the topic.

**What do you consider to have been the biggest turning point or missed opportunity in the fortunes of the Palestinian people during the time period covered in the book?**

There were several: the 1939 St. James Palace conference was one; the first intifada and subsequent negotiations that culminated in the disastrous Oslo accords was another. In these and other cases, however, the utlimate result was probably overdetermined.

**What makes you hopeful about the future for the Palestinian people?**

Because they have not given up their struggle for their rights in spite of setbacks and imposed and self-inflicted divisions of their ranks, and because they are facing a discriminatory colonial settler regime that is completely out of step with the norms of the 21st century.

**What criticisms has the book faced since its publication and how do you respond to them?**

There have only been a few: they essentially boil down to whining that the book is one-sided, coming mainly from those unused to seeing a serious challenge to their largely false narrative of this history, which has heretofore been hegemonic in Western public discourse. 

**You have talked about the importance of building a unified Palestinian movement. What do you see as the main obstacles to achieving this?**

A decrepit, bankrupt generation of leaders, Palestinian political movements with no strategic vision, and external meddling by powers, notably Israel, determined to keep the Palestinians divided.  

**You have also emphasised the importance of achieving equality for all people living in Israel/Palestine. How do you envisage this being achieved?**

I cannot presume to predict the future, but there is no alternative if the awful current situation is to change for the better. It will require those with privilege -- mainly Israelis -- being confronted with the fact that this is an unsustainable situation. And it will require both peoples devising an equitable, just way to share one small country.

**You have said that the project to create Israel was a century or two centuries too late. Why?**

This derives from an insight of the late Tony Judt. He said it because a European colonial settler project like this might have succeeded fully in the 18th century or a bit later, when this form of domination and dispossession was still acceptable. It no longer is.

**You have said that American support for Israel actually harms American interests. Please can you explain why this is the case?**

Because of the opposition to the biased US position in favor of Israel that is engendered all over the world, especially in Arab and Islamic countries, and because this position is in contradiction with values the US supposedly espouses in terms of democracy and human rights. Where these countries have democratic regimes, this opposition is a serious hindrance to the US. Where they have dictatorial regimes that can suppress public opinion, this is less of a problem. 

**If you could take one quote from the book and have every child in schools around the world read it, what would that quote be and why?**

I really cannot think of one. Perhaps the words of an ancestor of mine, Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, in an 1899 letter to Theordore Herzl,  the founder of modern political Zionism: "in the name of God, let Palestine be left alone."

**How can Palestine win the public relations war in the US and do you believe that the Palestinian movement needs a popular cultural work to captivate public imagination in a similar way to how Leon Uris’ Exodus (and the subsequent film of the same name) became the average American's reference point to the story of Israel?**

What is most needed in order to change US public discourse is to make widely known the actual nature of realities on the ground in Palestine. Also crucial is a revival of the Palestinian national movement around a clear strategy that offers both peoples a secure future in Palestine/Israel, and that can be effectively communicated.

Artistic and cultural works, whether novels, poetry, movies, TV, theater, or other forms, were hugely important in creating a positive image of Zionism and of Israel. This is changing as such works are beginning to better reflect the realities of oppression and discrimination in Palestine/Israel.

Rashid Khalidi is the author of [The Hundred Years' War on Palestine](https://paperbacktravels.com/book-summaries/history/rashid-khalidi-the-hundred-years-war-on-palestine), [Palestinian Identity](https://www.amazon.com/Palestinian-Identity-Construction-National-Consciousness/dp/023115075X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Palestinian+Identity&qid=1622882073&sr=8-1), [Brokers of Deceit](https://www.amazon.com/Brokers-Deceit-Undermined-Peace-Middle/dp/0807033243/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Brokers+of+Deceit&qid=1622882120&sr=8-1), and [The Iron Cage](amazon.com/Iron-Cage-Palestinian-Struggle-Statehood/dp/0807003093/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Iron+Cage&qid=1622882143&sr=8-1), among others. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and many other journals. He is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University in New York and co-editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies.







<Image266x400
  src="rashid-khalidi-the-hundred-years-war-on-palestine-for-interview_xxtxlz"
  altText="The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: Professor Rashid Khalidi."
  imageCategory="articles"
/>

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  <AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Hundred-Years-War-Palestine-Colonialism/dp/1250787653/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+100+years+war+on+palestine&qid=1622960855&sr=8-1" />
</Box>

We interviewed Palestinan historian Professor Rashid Khalidi about his book The Hundred Years' War on Palestine. 
Read on to learn about why Professor Khalidi decided to write this book for a general audience, what he considers to have been the major turning points in the fortunes of the Palestian people and why he is hopeful about the future.

Interview with Rashid Khalidi


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We are delighted to have Richard Palethorpe - who works as a Software Engineer
  at Suse - for the latest installment in our My Life in Books series.
</p>

<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We asked Richard to tell us about the non-fiction books that have had a major
  impact on his life, and he went deep!
</p>

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  <h2>How To Solve It - George Polya</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="george-polya-how-to-solve-it_jvnr2q"
  altText="How To Solve It - George Polya"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

There are a number of great misconceptions about mathematics. One is that it is
accurate, neat and tidy. In fact only the final proofs and techniques, refined
over many years or centuries are concinse, neat, logical steps.

In school you are generally given a set of problems to solve and a set of
procedures to solve them. Not much is said about the meta-procedure of applying
specific techniques. I have taken many courses in mathematics and now read text
books as a hobby, but it was only when I read "How to Solve It" was I explicitly
introduced to the heuristics of mathematical problem solving.

Unlike famous mathematical proofs themselves, the process of creating a proof is
messy, unstructured and an often random search for a solution. I wondered for a
long time if I simply was missing something or just had the wrong type of brain
for maths, but Polya's book helped me to understand, that no, it really is a
fucking mess.

It is also a practically useful book, even if you are not interested in
mathematics. If you study enough problems you will figure out the techniques for
yourself, but it's a potentially very large shortcut and demystifies
mathematics.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/How-Solve-Mathematical-Penguin-Science/dp/0140124993/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0140124993&pd_rd_r=c9645569-ca94-4661-b799-8841ff493ab4&pd_rd_w=1Qb3L&pd_rd_wg=rVlmm&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=NYSKBP4DX21GH0TKFPT5&psc=1&refRID=NYSKBP4DX21GH0TKFPT5&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=6210041e9b78c5479aaf89e3eed2e4a2&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid - Douglas R. Hofstadter</h2>
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  altText="Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid - Douglas R. Hofstadter"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

This is the most sacred book of the programmers. When I was beginning my studies
in hackery, I read an article, similar to this one where all the prophets of
computing were asked "what are your favorite books?". Almost all answered "1.
GEB!". I now proudly continue that tradition.

Like any true masterpiece this book defies any attempt at creating a summary. It
is irreducible; only a lossy compression is possible. It both educates you on
the power of symbolic computation, in a way accessible to the uninitiated and at
the same time shows its boundaries. There is a lot of abstract stuff in this
book, but thanks to the mighty computer it also contains practical knowledge.

I have bought at least two copies of this book.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=G%C3%B6del,+Escher,+Bach:+an+Eternal+Golden+Braid+-+Douglas+R.+Hofstadter&qid=1606387942&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=4282c800cafab0ef202a3f169e64cdb2&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>The Incerto Series - Nassim Taleb</h2>
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<Image266x400
  src="nassim-taleb-the-incerto-series_t2d6ha"
  altText="The Incerto Series - Nassim Taleb"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

This is cheating because it is actually a series of books, but Nassim meanders
about and the chapters of one book could be transplanted to another. Like GEB,
these books defy compression and it is Taleb himself who points out that it is a
bad sign if a book can be summarised.

In recent years both Taleb's books and his
[book recommendations](https://fs.blog/2012/02/book-recommendations-from-nassim-taleb/)
have drastically altered my thinking. He ties together many domains under a
framework of probabilistic reasoning and time tested philosophy.

It's joked that Taleb's acolytes become experts on everything. There is fair
criticism in this joke, but also I think many miss the point. Taleb only claims
expertise in probability, yet provides insights into many areas, by providing
tools for dealing with uncertainty.

You can not know everything about everything, in fact I don't even know
everything about software I have created. The set of possible behaviors my code
is capable of, vastly exceeds what I can compute in my head or even formally
verify. Taleb can tell you the same thing despite not being an expert in my
area\*. He points out that people often suffer from domain blindness and despite
being aware of phenomena leading to dangerous randomness in one domain, can not
see it in another. This is despite the fact the same mathematics and other forms
of reasoning apply to both.

In one book he quips that adding randomness (or stochasticity) to a process
often improves the result. Indeed I used some stochasticity in
[a library I created for reproducing bugs in the Linux kernel](https://richiejp.com/a-rare-data-race).
This was much simpler than other possible solutions and more robust. He gives
examples in completely different domains.

It takes a great deal of expertise to create a rocket ship, but only common
sense to decide whether you should take a ride on one. Note that the less you
know about rockets the simpler answering this question becomes. Let's say you at
least know the history of this ship's safety, so you know there is some chance
you might die. Then it's a question of what you will get for riding on it.

However the type of randomness described above is not what Taleb is most
concerned about, although it is important when deciding whether to go skiing off
piste or smuggling cocaine. The most dangerous type of randomness is modeled by
fat-tailed probability distributions. It is characterised by exponential growth
and/or violent non-linear changes which vastly exceed what was previously seen.

Taleb goes off on many tangents, but it usually comes back to how to act, both
morally and successfully. It's easy to misinterpret what he is saying as he
switches mental models depending on the phenomena being dealt with. He's not a
simpleton with an absolutist view of the world and also a bit of a character who
sees it as his moral duty to attack dangerous bullshitters. This puts him at the
center of a lot of controversy and creates noise around his work.

I have bought the Incerto series twice (another of Taleb's favourite aphorisms
is never to read a book you wouldn't read twice) and many of the books by
authors he takes his inspiration from. So far it has been the gift which keeps
giving.

\*Of systems coding in particular, he is a finance quant which requires
considerable coding abilities.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Incerto-Fooled-Randomness-Procrustes-Antifragile/dp/0399590455/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Incerto+series&qid=1606388038&s=books&sr=1-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=de2d091e28a11dfb021ccb89f8fe013b&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>Peak - Anders Ericsson</h2>
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<Image266x400
  src="anders-ericsson-peak_b0qw7s"
  altText="Peak - Anders Ericsson"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

Over the years I have come to believe that all human beings have roughly the
same "natural intelligence", whatever that means. This comes from my own
experience of learning, mathematics, computer science and languages as an adult,
when as a child I was, for the most part, a certified idiot. Definitely there
are people with disabilities, however I believe everyone else hovers around an
average.

That is to say I think the raw computing power of human brains are normally
distributed. To use a phrase from The Incerto, they exist in Mediocristan rather
than Extremistan. You may get people who, for example, are able to store 1.1x to
1.5x of the average in short term memory. However you will not get someone with
the innate ability to store 100x or a 1000x the average.

However we do see in the world that there are people who are 100x better at even
simple tasks such as memorising numbers. Anders does a beautiful job of
explaining how this can happen. Some of the book is merely hypotheses, but he
also gives a concrete example of how people have achieved 10-100x performance.
Essentially while short term memory can only store so many symbols and genetics,
exercise, diet etc. may only increase this incrementally, there are tricks which
allow one to achieve many multiples the performance.

Anders also speculates that the abilities of high performers who are identified
as natural geniuses, can in fact be explained by environmental factors. For me,
in my daily life, it doesn't matter too much how true this is. What matters is
that whatever effect genetics has on intelligence it is less important than
factors which we can control. This is an empowering and useful belief, or
perhaps it would be better to say it is a useful assumption which leads to
better courses of action.

On the other hand, and somewhat ironically given the front cover of the book, I
think elite sports are limited completely by physical strength and therefor
genetics. It's only where pure thought is concerned that you can achieve
multiple times the performance.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Peak-How-Achieve-Extraordinary-Things/dp/0099598477/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Peak+-+Anders+Ericsson&qid=1606388173&s=books&sr=1-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=2a492902fcdea3e920762ebf4259b3c4&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>Dune - Frank Herbert</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="frank-herbert-dune_kecj51"
  altText="Dune - Frank Herbert"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

Dune, of course, is a work of fiction and therefor is expressed in a way that
allows for more meaning to be imposed upon it than a work of non-fiction
expressing the same concepts. With that in mind, every time I read Dune, I find
more profound philosophical, socio-political-theological-economic-ecological
commentary for which the narrative of Dune is merely a backdrop, an allegory.
Perhaps it would be better to call it religious fiction because it is perhaps
religion for secular nerds.

Out of the books listed here, I probably read this at the youngest age and so it
may be the most formative despite being fiction. It introduced the idea that in
order for some things to get stronger, they must endure hardship strong enough
to remove the weaker components, but not so strong it destroys or cripples the
whole. This should not be an unfamiliar concept given natural selection is
taught in school, however people are still surprised by it and fail to see all
the places it applies. It can be seen in hormesis and antifragile processes (a
term coined by Taleb).

I don't know how much I really learnt from Dune and how much I am layering on
top of it with more recent knowledge. Ultimately though I think it tipped me
towards seeking out harder paths that in the long run have made my life better.

Unfortunately a new film is being made and while it does look like a good film;
the themes of Dune are not things which can be expressed in film. The film will
be a collection of attractive people riding CGI sand worms occasionally uttering
simplified dialog designed to reach the widest audience possible. I will
probably enjoy the film, because I like special effects, but will then have to
endure people discussing "Dune", after only watching the film.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Dune-Chronicles-Book-1/dp/0441013597/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Dune+-+Frank+Herbert&qid=1606388316&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=b7f9320dbbf4212b20db1862da890cf0&language=en_US" />

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  <h2>The True Believer - Eric Hoffer</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="eric-hoffer-the-true-believer_wkjvos"
  altText="The True Believer - Eric Hoffer"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

People often like to wave 1984 around in the air at every available opportunity
while calling their opponents fascists or leftists. Which is good (except that
1984, Animal farm etc. suffer from the same issue as Dune), but in the other
hand they should have a copy of The True Believer. It's a travesty that this
book isn't slapped in people's faces every time mass movements begin their
descent into radical nonsense.

Eric points out that Stalin and Hitler did not worry so much about their
followers defecting to the Allies, but instead to each other. For a number of
reasons, but largely because extreme ideologies offer mostly the same things to
the extremist. Your moderate progressive is less likely to switch to
conservative, than a hardline leftist to a fascist.

The reason being the moderates have genuine differences in beliefs whereas the
extremists both just want the same thing: to burn it the fuck down in an
orgasmic flurry of violence and end their own painful existence in the process.
Whether they are fighting for God, against religion, in some race war or against
racism doesn't matter so long as their is the opportunity for pandemonium.

What amuses me about this book is how I found it; it is mentioned by
[Theodore Kaczynski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski) in his
manifesto which he committed acts of terrorism in order to achieve circulation.
If you have ever wondered "What would happen if a highly technical and erudite
person, who completely rejected society and had zero fear of repercussions
developed an idealogy", then check out
[Industrial Society and Its Future](https://www.amazon.com/Unabomber-Manifesto-Industrial-Society-Future/dp/1595948155/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=10de9ee683167f382dc598a2dafd2a84&language=en_US)
(needless to say the content requires some emotional detachment). Unfortunately
for Theodore's movement, there is nothing man-made more powerful than
technologie, it co-opted religion and now there is nothing left to stand in its
way. I'll leave it as an open question as to whether Theodore himself is a True
Believer.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/True-Believer-Thoughts-Movements-Perennial/dp/0060505915/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+True+Believer+-+Eric+Hoffer&qid=1606388434&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=50d85372d9f4aebe360e90e8702a03aa&language=en_US" />

**Other notable mentions**
_[Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson](https://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angels-Strange-Terrible-Saga/dp/0345410084/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Hell's+Angels+by+Hunter+S.+Thompson&qid=1606388505&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=96a164c22d69ab9c6f1beaa8d50e68c5&language=en_US)
_[Against Method by Paul Feyerabend](https://www.amazon.com/Against-Method-Paul-Feyerabend/dp/1844674428/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Against+Method+by+Paul+Feyerabend&qid=1606388529&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=8507ff7eff6e3e87fe743be92c8c1be2&language=en_US)
_[The Dao of Capital by Mark Spitznagel](https://www.amazon.com/Dao-Capital-Austrian-Investing-Distorted/dp/111834703X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Dao+of+Capital+by+Mark+Spitznagel&qid=1606388554&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=f9a802fe70b3c5b13ad87729d6ea3250&language=en_US)
_[Complexity: A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell](https://www.amazon.com/Complexity-Guided-Tour-Melanie-Mitchell/dp/0199798109/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Complexity:+A+Guided+Tour+by+Melanie+Mitchell&qid=1606388580&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=174713f41a0f6187f6ac5901d3c12fb0&language=en_US) \*[The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan](https://www.amazon.com/Silk-Roads-New-History-World/dp/1101912375/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=the+silk+roads+by+peter+frankopan&qid=1606388602&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=43a294297c62a707646c644961d03f28&language=en_US)

## About Richard

Software priest in the church of Operating Systems, enthusiast of discrete
mathematics, complexity theory, lifting weights and sprinting, classical
architecture, mountains, oceans, conspiracy theories, mindaltering substances...

Find out more by
[connecting with Richard on Twitter](https://twitter.com/jichiep),
[visiting his website](https://richiejp.com/),
[checking out his Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCngqLRY7iFw0r8n_hyGBn3g)
or [sending him an email](https://richiejp.com/).


Read our interview with Richard Palethorpe - a Software Engineer at SUSE - in which he shares six books that have had a significant impact on his life.

Life in Books: Richard Palethorpe


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We are delighted to welcome Sam Beckwith - a journalist and the founder of
  PraguePig.com - for the latest installment in our My Life in Books series.
</p>

<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We asked Sam to tell us about some of the non-fiction books that have
  significantly impacted his life. What follows is a list of books you have
  probably never heard of but Sam's descriptions will definitely make you laugh
  and may well prompt you to read them yourself.
</p>

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>
    The Book of Lists - David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace
  </h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="david-wallechinsky-the-book-of-lists_nqayyi"
  altText="The Book of Lists - David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I was obsessed with reference books as a child. My parents bought me the new
edition of the Guinness Book of Records every Christmas, and I used to read
Halliwell’s Film Guide and Pear’s Cyclopedia for fun. That, inevitably, led me
to my dad’s copy of The Book of Lists.

Compiling a book made up purely of lists isn’t, in itself, a mind-blowing idea
but it’s the eclecticism of the project that really grabbed me. And as an added
bonus, some of it’s a bit mucky.

You get everything from “9 Most Unusual Monuments in the World” to “Gen. George
Patton's 6 Past Lives” to “Sexual Curiosities About 9 Well-Known Women” (in
which we learn that Princess Anne “was the only female competitor at the 1976
Montreal Olympics not to be given a sex test”).

It inspired a lifelong love of useless information.

An equally good sequel,
[The Book of Lists 2](https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Almanac-Presents-Books-Lists/dp/0688035744/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=the+book+of+lists+2&qid=1608723976&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=809fe0e181274b419ab6d3691ee96bf1&language=en_US),
followed, and contains a list that’s stuck with me ever since. It’s the result
of a survey of American soldiers’ favourite and least favourite foods that, as a
control, includes three fictional dishes: Funistrada, Buttered ermal, and
Braised trake. Every now and then I like to slip “Braised trake” into an article
and see if anyone notices.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Book-Lists-David-Wallechinsky/dp/1841956619/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Book+of+Lists+-+David+Wallechinsky,+Irving+Wallace+and+Amy+Wallace&qid=1608725490&sr=8-3&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ae4323e05757bac698afd99e3d6d4091&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="jane-jacobs-the-death-and-life-of-great-american-cities_hr9dqc"
  altText="The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

Another book from my dad’s bookshelf.

He’s a retired town planner, and this is a 1961 book about urban planning. It
doesn’t sound like a fun read but, beyond the portentous title, The Death and
Life of Great American Cities is a warm and wise book, with implications that go
far beyond the main theme.

That theme is a rebuttal of the idea that cities somehow need to be tamed and
organized and beautified by central planning, which was mainstream thinking at
that time. Jacobs, a journalist, argues that people are a force for good -- that
great cities draw strength from being crowded, diverse, complicated and a bit
messy.

One of her big ideas is the value of “mixed use” -- the idea that a
neighbourhood in which homes, shops and workplaces rub shoulders won’t just be
more vibrant than a neighbourhood that’s purely residential, or one that’s
solely dedicated to retail or business, but will also be safer. Again, it’s the
idea that people solve more problems than they cause.

Jacobs wasn’t just a writer, she was also a campaigner. In the 1960s, she helped
stop an expressway being built through lower Manhattan, which would have
destroyed New York City’s SoHo and Little Italy neighbourhoods.

I now live in a vast Communist-era housing estate that, in some ways, is the
sort of project that Jane Jacobs might have campaigned against. It’s interesting
to look at my neighbourhood through her eyes and see how it does and doesn’t
measure up to her ideas of a “great city”.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/American-Cities-Anniversary-Modern-Library/dp/B006XEAHO6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Death+and+Life+of+Great+American+Cities+-+Jane+Jacobs&qid=1608725528&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=af1da8aa190e5d07fbf1e2e3f3e9745b&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Alternative London - Nicholas Saunders</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="nicholas-saunders-alternative-london_akxyip"
  altText="Alternative London - Nicholas Saunders"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

In my late teens and early twenties, I had a slightly unhealthy obsession with
psychedelia and the counterculture of the 1960s and ‘70s, so this book -- bought
at a second-hand shop in Blackpool -- was a great find.

Alternative London is a handbook for people finding their way in the kind of
groovy-but-grimy underground scene captured in Withnail & I.

Most of the advice, on topics like squatting, phone-phreaking and
“self-development”, now seems incredibly dated, to the extent that much of
Alternative London reads like a relic of a bygone era. (My copy was the fifth
edition, published in 1977, by which time London’s counter-culture must have
already been on the wane.)

In the late 1980s, however, the sections on psychedelic drugs were, besides a
few wild claims (“the milky sap from lettuce is said to be similar to opium”),
the most reliable information my friends and I could lay our hands on and
probably kept us from doing more damage to ourselves than was strictly
necessary.

Alternative London was the work of an interesting-sounding guy called Nicholas
Saunders, who also wrote about rave culture and turned Neal’s Yard in Covent
Garden, London, into a haven of alternative culture. (I used to go there a lot
when I was at university, by which time it was much more respectable and dull.)

Some further reading
[here](https://hatfulofhistory.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/from-alternative-london-by-nicholas-saunders-1974/)
and
[here](https://hqinfo.blogspot.com/2011/04/archive-alternative-london-1970-1982.html).

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Alternative-London-Nicholas-Saunders/dp/0704502879/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Alternative+London+-+Nicholas+Saunders&qid=1608731510&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=7fa72dfc0b06f4da1bc4f43688ad47b5&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="simon-kuper-football-against-the-enemy_ezrcls"
  altText="Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I moved to Prague in 1996 with dreams of becoming a football journalist. When I
read Football Against the Enemy, a year or two later, it was a source of both
inspiration and profound envy. In the book, Kuper -- a young journalist himself
at the time -- travels to 22 countries looking at the influence of politics
(particularly nationalism) on the sport.

It was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to write, especially the early
chapters about post-Communist Europe.

Kuper describes Sparta Prague as the rudest club he dealt with (along with South
Africa’s Orlando Pirates) and mentions a Sparta player asking him for £300 for
an interview. Despite, or maybe because of this, there isn’t a chapter on Czech
football but Kuper’s experiences working and travelling in Central and Eastern
Europe in the 1990s all seemed strangely familiar.

Unusually for a football journalist, Kuper puts a bit of himself into the story
too, and shares some of his own insecurities, and the indignities of the job.

His account of moving in football circles on a severely limited budget was
something I could easily relate to: “Football directors, managers and players
are rich, and they respect wealth in others. They were always asking me which
hotel I was staying in, and wondering whether my jacket was ripped across the
seam because I liked it that way.”

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Football-Against-Enemy-Simon-Kuper/dp/0752848771/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Football+Against+the+Enemy+-+Simon+Kuper&qid=1608731541&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=e56f31edd231eb4c3496ca0aa30bce6a&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Black Postcards - Dean Wareham</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="dean-wareham-black-postcards_rhmncg"
  altText="Black Postcards - Dean Wareham"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

Rock memoirs that draw back the curtain on life in one of my favourite bands
generally disappoint me. The behind-the-scenes accounts of crappy tours, boring
recording sessions and incessant squabbling inevitably undermine the carefully
built-up mystique, and musicians are rarely as good at writing prose as they are
at writing songs.

One happy exception is Dean Wareham’s Black Postcards, which is as gracefully
written as it’s painfully honest, and only reinforces the author’s urbane but
slightly frazzled public persona. It’s a perfect complement to the music of
Galaxie 500, Luna, and Dean & Britta, Wareham’s ongoing duet with wife and
former Luna bandmate Britta Phillips.

The sections detailing Wareham’s affair with Phillips, and the breakdown of his
marriage to first wife Claudia Silver, are particularly powerful. I broke up
with my partner of many years not long after reading Black Postcards and the
book became a sort of companion during that time.

On a lighter note, there’s also an excruciatingly awful anecdote about sleeping
with a Spanish air hostess, and a lot of Ecstasy-taking.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Postcards-Memoir-Dean-Wareham/dp/0143115480/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Black+Postcards+-+Dean+Wareham&qid=1608731580&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=61dc952adeb1838e93bf136e0f46ef43&language=en_US" />

## About Sam

Sam is a journalist and technical writer who has written for many different
publications over the years including The Prague Post, World Soccer and When
Saturday Comes.

He is well known in Prague as the founder of
[PraguePig.com](https://praguepig.com/) which (in Sam's own words) "gives expats
in Prague the Czech news that nobody else wants to tell them — the WTF
weirdness, tabloid sleaze and creepy crime stories that don’t normally get
translated into English." Check it out, it's brilliant (whether you live in
Prague or not).

To hear more from Sam, [follow him on Twitter](https://twitter.com/sambeckwith)
or
[hire him as a freelance writer](https://praguepig.com/about-praguepig/about-sam-beckwith/).


Check out our interview with Sam Beckwith - a journalist and the founder of PraguePig.com - in which he shares five books that have impacted his life.

My Life in Books: Sam Beckwith


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We are delighted to welcome Thaisa Fernandes - a program manager at Twitter and host/producer at the Latinx in Power podcast - for the latest installment in our My Life in Books series. We asked Thaisa to tell us about the non-fiction books that have had a major impact on her life, and we now have even more books on our ever-growing reading list!
</p>

<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
Thaisa mentioned that she hasn't been a big reader for most of her life, and also that books are still expensive in Brazil, her home country. She started reading regularly after moving to the United States 7 years ago. She says that it was a life changer - professionally and personally - because she’s been learning a lot with books ever since.</p>

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft - Stephen King</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="stephen-king-on-writing_eaqt9k"
  altText="On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft - Stephen King"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I'm a big fan of Stephen King's work and I was really impressed with On Writing because it’s totally different from what he usually writes. When I bought it, I was looking for a book about writing, and I came across this one. 

I learned so many details about King’s life that makes total sense because now I understand better his writing through his life.

I read a review on Goodreads once saying that this book is half memoir and masterclass, and I couldn’t agree more. As English being my second language and the language I work with, I truly value the power of communication written and verbal. 

I’m always trying to find ways to improve my writing skills as much as possible. Also because at my work, I write a lot, and my hobby is to share everything I know about product and program management in my blog.

I think this book can bring a lot of value to aspiring but also non aspiring writers. Stephen King talks about the importance of reading and also writing everyday. Especially when you have personal projects, I liked to see his perspective of being able to write and read anywhere he could. 

No matter where you stopped, it’s an interesting skill to develop that is the ability to pick up where you stopped. 

It was super inspiring to learn the details about the process when he wrote Carrie for example, where we wrote most of it while working in a laundry. King brought this sense that if you want to write well, you’ll need to read as much as you write, and consistency is the thing that will make the difference. 

It’s really interesting to read his thoughts and the fears that almost made him not publish his first books. 

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Writing-King-Stephen-Paperback/dp/B00NYI71B6?crid=HWK33LXXQB0Y&dchild=1&keywords=on+writing+stephen+king&qid=1614066932&sprefix=on+writing%2Caps%2C312&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=32d7cb265f2053815a3b4ad68cf7061f&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Lean Startup - Eric Ries</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="eric-ries-the-lean-startup_d57tsi"
  altText="The Lean Startup - Eric Ries"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

This is an older book but I think the Lean Startup framework is still super relevant nowadays. Eric Ries tells what happened with his startup and why they failed. I think it’s so powerful when people share their failures and the learnings they got in this process, and what could have been done differently. 

The main thing to me is that the Lean Startup framework enables a startup to shift directions with agility and validation. This book is definitely worth reading!

I like how he mentions some interesting techniques like the [Five Whys](https://medium.com/pm101/learn-about-the-five-whys-technique-78283d75800f?source=search_popover-------------------------------------). Ries also suggests breaking the problem into small and tactical chunks. 

For example, it may be possible to shorten the product development in a non-polished app, where it’s possible to gather metrics, measure the progress, adjust, and adapt while learning what the users really want before it’s too late.

What was a game changer for me was this sense of it’s ok to fail as long you’re learning, but it’s always important to validate your learnings because if you spend time only learning and not going anywhere, what’s the point? 

Eric Ries defines a startup as a company that is dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty, and he addresses a lot of questions people might have since he created the Lean Startup framework after some failures, and it’s really interesting when he shared his perspective and how a lot of mistakes they committed are preventable. 

In the Lean Startup framework, he also covered the idea of rapid scientific experimentation rather than wasting time planning the whole project with lots of uncertainty. Think about startups and how nimble they are and how we should be creative and capital efficient. 

I truly believe in this idea if you have the right framework to operate and work, you’ll be on the right path for sustainable business. 

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Eric-Ries-Lean-Startup/dp/B00N4E616Q?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1614066892&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=7c52a7142b7ef95478c9c71031c0454a&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Nonviolent Communication - Marshall B. Rosenberg</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="marshall-b-rosenberg-nonviolent-communication_gslt9r"
  altText="Nonviolent Communication - Marshall B. Rosenberg"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

This book is a must read in my opinion if you are a designer, product manager, engineer, and I’m actually rereading it. My first thought when I heard about the term nonviolent communication was actually confusing because I had no idea of those different ways to communicate your message.

This drills into the fascinating question of how people get better at things. It’s inspired me to pick up new hobbies and attempt to develop skills in places where I previously thought I had no chance.

Violent communication is communicating in a way that may hurt or harm other people. This means that you might be judgemental, defensive, or even preventing the other person from fully expressing themselves. 

Nonviolent communication can help increase your ability to live based on connection and meaning. It also helps you to have more empathy, and better relationships. 

Rosenberg shows us in detail how we might take action with pre-established concepts to unintentionally not fully listen to the other person. Non-violent communication is the sum of four different things: consciousness, language, communication and means. 

- Consciousness is the set of principles that support our life and bring us empathy, a sense of courage that makes us feel responsible for the words and language we use.
- Language means the responsibility we have for what we say and the way we speak. It’s understanding that the way we communicate can bring or distance the other person.
- Communication is the sense that we’re responsible for the way we speak, and we need to know how to ask for what we desire and how to react in case there’s a disagreement. 
- Means is the use of our influence or power to bring people together, share the power, and become stronger together.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Life-Changing-Relationships/dp/189200528X?dchild=1&keywords=Nonviolent+Communication+-+Marshall+B.+Rosenberg&qid=1614066967&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=bce66cce74e66c53ceaab5dda59c9f28&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Art of Asking - Amanda Palmer</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="amanda-palmer-the-art-of-asking_nz5kw8"
  altText="The Art of Asking - Amanda Palmer"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I watched Amanda Palmer's [TEDTalk](https://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking?language=en) and I was blown away, I guess not only me since it seems 12,516,632 people watched it too. I was a fan of her work already, reading her book made me think a lot about the art of asking and how quite often we don't ask for what we need. 

Amanda shares so bravely her story, fears, challenges and humbleness that I love to recommend this book to people.

This book made me think a lot about my culture too, I think Latinx struggles with this idea of accepting help and especially asking for help which is interesting because we love to help those in need. 

Another interesting concept she brought in the book was this sense of vulnerability when you ask for help, because the other person has a choice, they can say yes or no, and the possible no might be the most difficult part of it.

I definitely felt more connected to Palmer reading her memoir, I loved how she shared how difficult it’s to look into someone else’s eyes, be real and ask for help when needed. Why are we so afraid to look at someone's eyes? What are we afraid to see? Ourselves? 

Why do we expect a yes when we ask for help? Amanda says that when we expect for a yes all the time, it doesn’t mean it was an ask, it was a demand instead. The art of asking is an instructive book to anyone who is not getting what they need. 

This is a mandatory book to start being more comfortable with no’s and being humble about your life.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Art-Asking-Learned-Worrying-People/dp/1455581097?dchild=1&keywords=The+Art+of+Asking+-+Amanda+Palmer&qid=1614067047&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ec54f5d715b53649ac112a08aaf92322&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="patrick-lencioni-the-five-dysfunctions-of-a-team_ipbl1y"
  altText="The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I read this book 7 years ago when I was studying at UC Berkeley and it really changed me. Patrick Lencioni wrote about a leadership fable where Kathryn Petersen is the Decision Tech’s CEO and her company is facing some challenges. 

I love how easy to read it is and how it makes you want to know more about what’s going to happen with this dysfunctional company. What was more intriguing for me was the fact that her team was extremely competent and the conflict wasn’t necessarily always there.

Patrick Lencione talks about how you can discover the problems your organization or team has, and also how to analyze and solve them. In this book, Kathryn Petersen has a team extremely competent with a good product but they’re not moving in the right direction. 

Her team is having problems, and a lot of them are not easily perceptible. For example, the team might be agreeing with others, not because they believe in the message but because they’re afraid to disagree. That was something super interesting to hear, because he is right, consensus might not mean anything. 

During this CEO journey, she immerses herself in the complex world of her company and finds the five dysfunctions of a team that are inattention to results, avoidance of accountability, lack of commitment, fear of conflict and absence of trust. 

I loved this sense that leadership means courage and openness, even the best teams with great products can struggle. Lencioni outlines a model and actionable steps that can be used to solve team problems and help you to foster a collaborative and strong team. 

My key takeaway and big lesson is that even with lack of conflict, you and your team can fail. Another key takeaway is that conflict is not necessarily something bad, the existence of conflict can mean you and your team have the opportunity to clarify misunderstandings, brainstorm new solutions, and agree to a common goal. 

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756?dchild=1&keywords=The+Five+Dysfunctions+of+a+Team+-+Patrick+Lencioni&qid=1614067126&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=2deb314a3dfe986262cdb07a3113893f&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl" />


## About Thaisa

Thaisa Fernandes helps businesses create awesome products and programs. She’s a Program Manager at Twitter and a podcast host and producer at [Latinx in Power](https://latinxinpower.com/). Proud Latina in tech who lives in the San Francisco bay area for almost a decade and loves to road trip. 

In her free time, she enjoys reading books, of course, writing in her blog [PM101](https://latinxinpower.com/), biking and finding vegan friendly places around the world. If you want to chat more and recommend her a book, feel free to [send Thaisa a tweet](https://twitter.com/thaifernandes).

Check out our interview with Program Manager and podcast host Thaisa Fernandes as she introduces us to some of her favourite nonfiction books.

My Life in Books: Thaisa Fernandes


<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We are delighted to welcome Victoria Chardon - a manager at Google and founder
  of Rising Star Leadership - for the latest installment in our My Life in Books
  series.
</p>

<p style={{ fontSize: '20px' }}>
  We asked Victoria to tell us about the non-fiction books (and fiction in this
  case!) that have had a major impact on her life, and we now have even more
  books on our ever-growing reading list!
</p>

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Into Thin Air - John Krakauer</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="john-krakauer-into-thin-air_mgycrj"
  altText="Into Thin Air - John Krakauer"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

John Krakauer’s haunting bestseller provides an insider account of what happened
during the fateful Everest expedition in May 1996, in which 8 climbers lost
their lives.

As well as providing fascinating detail on what an Everest expedition is really
like, it explores the fallibility of mankind against the power of nature.
Something about this book really got under my skin.

I found myself thinking about how the decisions we make, whether selfish or
selfless, often have unforeseen consequences. I was also captivated by the
stories of men and women who are willing to push themselves to the absolute
limits of their physical and mental capacity in order to reach the top of the
world. I have reflected so much on this book since I read it, I’ve even reread
parts of it again.

It sparked a fascination with both Nepal and mountaineering, and led me down a
deep rabbit hole reading similar stories. Would I be so willing to gamble my
life to see what I’m capable of? I’m not sure, but I do know one thing - after
reading Krakauer’s descriptions of Nepal, trekking in the Himalayas to Everest
Base Camp is top of my bucket list.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-Disaster/dp/0385494785/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=into+thin+air+-+jon+krakauer&qid=1603977477&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=ff9cf3e05575657f5bbab1e41733039e&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Daring Greatly - Brené Brown</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="brene-brown-daring-greatly_utcm4h"
  altText="Daring Greatly - Brené Brown"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

As a female leader in Tech, I always thought I wasn’t allowed to be vulnerable.
I would put on my armour and show up with my game face on. I thought this was
bravery.

Brené Brown is a researcher in shame. Shame is the thing that has us putting on
the armour every day, distancing ourselves from vulnerability. We’re so afraid
of someone noticing a chink in our armour that we build a wall to protect
ourselves from shame, and cut off our access to feeling pure joy and creativity.
I realised at some point last year that I was never able to truly feel joy or
tap fully into my creativity, because I didn’t want to be vulnerable.

I also realised that being afraid of vulnerability was holding me back from
being the powerful leader I could be. This book really helped me on my journey
to reclaiming vulnerability. Since I let go of the fear, I have felt a shift in
how I show up across all areas of my life, and especially in my professional
life. It’s a book I find myself recommending often to clients.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Greatly-Courage-Vulnerable-Transforms/dp/1592408419/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Daring+Greatly+-+Bren%C3%A9+Brown&qid=1603977549&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=5a43179d93aa58a52b79c7cdd046a1e8&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Positive Intelligence - Shirzad Chamine</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="shirzad-chamine-positive-intelligence_mtkwza"
  altText="Positive Intelligence - Shirzad Chamine"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

As both a professional coach and a business leader, I often work with people
struggling with their confidence, or holding themselves back from what they’re
truly capable of. Much of what holds us back revolves around our inner critics,
or saboteurs. Shirzad Chamine, a Stanford lecturer with a background in
neuroscience, has gifted the world with this brilliantly accessible work on
saboteur mindsets and how to overcome them.

The psyche of the human mind is a complex and fascinating thing; much of what
our inner critic tells us comes from childhood and learned behaviours. In the
book, Shirzad examines each of the classic saboteurs with compassion, but points
out how they’re also detrimental to success.

He also argues that as well as IQ and EQ, there’s a third pillar we need to
truly be successful - PQ, or positive intelligence. Not only has this book been
fundamental to my understanding of my own saboteurs and how they hold me back
(hello, high-achieving perfectionist!), I’ve used a lot of his theories and
methods with clients in my coaching practice to great effect. I even went on to
complete his 6-week PQ programme, which uses daily exercises via an app to build
mental fitness. It’s a work I return to again and again, and a concept that I
truly believe is really important.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Positive-Intelligence-Individuals-Achieve-Potential/dp/1608322785/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Positive+Intelligence&qid=1603977619&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=57a43ded55b8fe7f4d47a479664fd1bc&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>An Elephant in My Kitchen - Francoise Malby Anthony</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="francoise-malby-anthony-an-elephant-in-my-kitchen_xad3ro"
  altText="An Elephant in My Kitchen - Francoise Malby Anthony"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I have had a lifelong obsession with Africa, ever since I had a penfriend from
Kenya as a young child. We used to send each other drawings via my aunt, who
visited her village frequently. I especially love the nature and wildlife that
can be found throughout the continent. The first time I went on safari and saw
elephants roaming in the bush, I was so overwhelmed I cried!

Like many animal lovers, I worry about the effects that poaching and climate
change will have on all of these remarkable creatures. This book, written by the
wife of famed late conservationist
[Lawrence Anthony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Anthony), is as
heart-warming as it is heart-breaking. Lawrence Anthony, who wrote
[The Elephant Whisperer](https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Whisperer-Life-Herd-African/dp/125000781X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=The+Elephant+Whisperer&qid=1603996221&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=31343800b58724444d3630f24fbebfbe&language=en_US),
did a phenomenal amount of work to protect elephants and rhinos via his lodge,
Thula Thula, as well as creating job opportunities for the local tribespeople in
KwaZulu-Natal. Sadly he died of a heart attack aged just 61.

An Elephant in My Kitchen is his wife’s story of what happened next. Left with
little money, a safari lodge and little knowledge on conservation, not to
mention the fact she was a foreign woman in a somewhat hostile environment,
Francoise Malby Anthony could have been forgiven for packing up and going home
to France. Her story of how she fought through grief to continue Lawrence’s work
is truly inspirational.

If I could leave my life behind tomorrow and do anything at all, I would go and
volunteer at Thula Thula or somewhere similar. There’s so much work to be done
to protect these animals and create livelihoods for the local population to
reduce poaching. It’s an effort I donate to frequently and one day I hope to
donate my time, too.

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-My-Kitchen-Courage-Survival/dp/150986492X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=An+Elephant+in+My+Kitchen+-+Francoise+Malby+Anthony&qid=1603977684&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=063c7e2973ce58fb2e5bbb50fecbf917&language=en_US" />

<Box textAlign="center">
  <h2>Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts</h2>
</Box>

<Image266x400
  src="gregory-david-roberts-shantaram_eyfcip"
  altText="Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts"
  imageCategory="book-summaries"
/>

I’m sneaking a fiction book in, but it’s loosely rooted in a true story, so
presumably there’s some fact in it! Shantaram is a book that did the rounds some
years ago. The story of a convicted robber who escaped prison and fled to India,
where he lived in the slums of Bombay, joined the mafia, founded a medical
centre, acted in Bollywood and several other incredible things besides, is
definitely an adventure.

There’s also a love story at its heart. Roberts’ rich descriptions really bring
India alive and as someone who is obsessed with travel, I enjoy armchair
travelling when I can’t do the real thing. But although I found Shantaram
entertaining, I’m including this book on my list for a very personal reason.

In 2015, I was in Mexico with my then-boyfriend, where he was planning to
propose to me. However the pressure of planning a proposal and saying the right
thing was making him nervous, and he kept putting it off. He was reading
Shantaram whilst we were there, and Gregory David Roberts finally gave him the
inspiration he needed.

On the last night of the trip, he borrowed some beautiful words from the book to
propose to me. Sometimes books impact our lives in unexpected ways, and not
because we loved them for their content. Shantaram is one of those books, and it
will always be special to me!

<AmazonCta link="https://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-Roberts/dp/0312330537/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Shantaram+-+Gregory+David+Roberts&qid=1603977747&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=paperbacktrav-20&linkId=4ad0183188b041cd08e13818f714e09a&language=en_US" />

## About Victoria

Victoria is a manager at Google, where she leads an international team of
technical specialists. She is also an ICF-accredited coach and is the co-founder
of [Rising Star Leadership](https://risingstarleadership.com), a coaching
consultancy offering tailored 1:1 coaching programmes as well as group
workshops. Although she’s British by birth and culture - her favourite thing is
tea! - she currently lives in the north of Germany. She’s always happy to talk
about books and coaching, so feel free to connect with her on
[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriachardon).


Read our interview with Victoria Chardon - a manager at Google and co-founder of Rising Star Leadership - in which she shares five books that have had a significant impact on her life.

“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” - Mary Schmich

Book Summaries

Want to Build an
Effective Reading Habit?

“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” - Mary Schmich

Book Summaries

Want to Build an Effective Reading Habit?

Want to Build an
Effective Reading Habit?