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BOOKS

 
 

I’m always reading something…

Ever since I was a kid, I have moved from one book to another. I’m not a fast reader by any means. Sometimes it will take me a few days to finish a book, other times a few months. I am not picky when it comes to genre. I tend to go through periods where I will binge on a particular type of book; spy novels this summer for example. Ultimately, I don’t really care what type of book it is as long as it’s good.

A few years ago I started keeping a list of the books I read, along with ratings and a short summary with a lesson learned for each. This helps me keep track of how much I’m reading and gives me a useful reference point when looking back on what I’ve read.

What follows is a list of what I have read in recent years with the top few highlighted.

 
 

2023 Year in Books

2023 was a great year for reading. We spent several months in Europe over the summer and I always find that the timezone is very conducive to reading a lot. I started the year coming off of reading Lonesome Dove for the first time at the end of 2022 and decided to complete the series. As a Texan, I found them among my all time favorites. I was also able to read the John Le Carre canon, which had long been on my list. The rest of the books i read were broad and varied and there were many favorites.

Top Books of 2023

Coming Soon

 

Books Read in 2023

Streets of Loredo - Larry McMurtry

Dead Man’s Walk - Larry McMurtry

Comanche Moon - Larry McMurtry

Of Wolves and Men - Barry Lopez

The Things We Cannot Say - Kelly Rimmer

House in the Cereulean Sea - TJ Klune

The Dark Continent - Scott Reardon

The Wind Up Bird Chronicles - Haruki Murakami

Heat 2 - Michael Mann

Only the Dead - Jack Carr

Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss

The Association of Small Bombs - Karan Mahajan

Kilo - Toby Muse

Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver

Tracers in the Dark - Andy Greenberg

Billion Dollar Whale - Bradley Hope and Tom Wright

Easy Money - Ben McKenzie

Die With Zero - Bill Perkins

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

Call for the Dead - John Le Carre

The Glass Palace - Amitav Ghosh

A Murder of Quality - John Le Carre

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John Le Carre

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Leaving Cheyenne - Larry McMurtry

Number Go Up - Zeke Faux

What If Theres More - Traci Schubert Barrett

The Looking Glass War - John Le Carre

All The Broken Places - John Boyne

Devil House - John Darnielle

The Tiger - John Vaillant

West With Giraffes - Lynda Rutledge

 

2022 Year in Books

I wasn’t able to read as many books as I would have liked in 2022, but I enjoyed some broad and varied options that had been on my ‘want to read’ list for some time. I read one of my mother and grandmother’s favorites, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and like many other recommendations I wish I had started it sooner. I discovered the Jack Carr series, which is a hard-hitting and fun read.

Top Books of 2022

Coming Soon

 

Books Read in 2022

ZeroZeroZero - Roberto Saviano

Nimitz Class - Patrick Robinson

Dopesick - Beth Macy

Hail Mary - Andy Weir

Lost and Founder - Rand Fishkin

A View Across the Rooftops -  Suzanne Kelman

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

Stumbling on Happiness - Daniel Gilbert

Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

Madhouse at the End of the Earth - Julian Sancton

East of Eden - John Steinbeck

The Terminal List - Jack Carr

True Believer - Jack Carr

Savage Son - Jack Carr

The Devil’s Hand - Jack Carr

In The Blood - Jack Carr

The Survivors Club - Ben Sherwood

The Last Green Valley - Mark Sullivan

Stillness is the Key - Ryan Holiday

Verity - Colleen Hoover

Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry

 

2021 Year in Books

The second year of the pandemic was rough for a lot of people, in a lot of different ways. As I’ve written in a blog post, being grounded in the US led to a bit of apathy in a few different aspects of my life. I was able to keep up with my reading, but my other creative outlets suffered. The number of books read was six less than the prior year and the number of five star books I read was down as well.

Top Books of 2021

 

Books Read in 2021

Lock Every Door - Riley Sager

The Splendid and the Vile - Erik Larson

Billion Dollar Loser - Reeves Wiedeman

The Four Winds - Kristen Hannah

An Anonymous Woman - Greer Hendricks

Death in the City of Light - David King

Matterhorn - Karl Melantes

Exit West - Moshin Hamid

Warning: Writer at Work - Larry L King

Amazon Unbound - Brad Stone 

Pappyland - Wright Thompson

Mindfulness for Athletes- George Mumford

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab

The Maidens - Alex Michaelides

The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennet

Leadership in Turbulent Times -

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

Ready Player Two - Ernest Cline

The Plot - Jean Hanff Korelitz

The River - Peter Heller

The Girl With The Louding Voice - 

The Evening and the Morning - Ken Follet

The Upstarts - Brad Stone

The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles

Rise and Kill First - Ronen Bergnan

Anxious People - Frederick Backman

The Alice Network - Cate Quinn

 

2020 Year in Books

Part of the fun in keeping these lists is reflecting on what transpired the previous year through the books I managed to read. For obvious reasons, 2020 was a different year in many ways. Because the pandemic forced our return to the US in March, I did not get to experience our ideal months-long summer schedule, relaxing (and reading) on the beach for the first half of the day thanks to the magic of time zones. Instead, I spent more time working. I was presented with a relentless news cycle focused on politics and COVID. I went stir crazy like the rest of humanity. Despite this, I managed to exceed my goal for the number of books read throughout the year. As usual, the list was fairly mixed, from the customary contemporary fiction that I tend to gravitate toward, to a few biographies and a healthy dose of nonfiction thrown in for good measure. One of my goals for 2021 is to read more biographies and books about business and productivity, especially for startups. I hope some of these will pique your interest and if you do enjoy a book, please pass the recommendation on to others

Top Books of 2020

Featured
Alright alright alright. McConoughey is the master of cool and this book is a great reflection of that persona. It’s a fun take on his life, lessons learned along the way and how he’s approached different challenges.

Alright alright alright. McConoughey is the master of cool and this book is a great reflection of that persona. It’s a fun take on his life, lessons learned along the way and how he’s approached different challenges.

There is a romance about India, despite the heat and noise and smell, that is undeniable. This book is loaded with adventure, intrigue, backstabbing and plenty of cultural references that anyone who has been there will recognize. There seem to be pe

There is a romance about India, despite the heat and noise and smell, that is undeniable. This book is loaded with adventure, intrigue, backstabbing and plenty of cultural references that anyone who has been there will recognize. There seem to be people who love this book and who hate it. Consider me the former.

My second Douglas Preston book of the year, this one proves that truth really is stranger than fiction. A wild tale of an author who is swept up in the corruption commonly found in other countries, it dispenses equal doses of history, comedy and tra

My second Douglas Preston book of the year, this one proves that truth really is stranger than fiction. A wild tale of an author who is swept up in the corruption commonly found in other countries, it dispenses equal doses of history, comedy and tragedy.

I had this book on my want to read list for a long time and I’m glad I finally got around to it. Its a quick read and anyone who has been to South Africa and was exposed to the history will find interesting. Its one thing to hear about the country’s

I had this book on my want to read list for a long time and I’m glad I finally got around to it. Its a quick read and anyone who has been to South Africa and was exposed to the history will find interesting. Its one thing to hear about the country’s shocking past and quite another to hear how that past affected one young person and the people around him.

This is just solid historical fiction about the south and how things used to be. As thought provoking as it is entertaining, you will fall deep into this one trying to figure out what happens.

This is just solid historical fiction about the south and how things used to be. As thought provoking as it is entertaining, you will fall deep into this one trying to figure out what happens.

Ann Patchett is skilled at weaving timelines through history to tell interesting stories through the lives of her characters. What seems like such a simple premise has so many layers that it will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

Ann Patchett is skilled at weaving timelines through history to tell interesting stories through the lives of her characters. What seems like such a simple premise has so many layers that it will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

I enjoyed this story simply because the premise seems so far fetched. Once you get into it and watch the inevitable unfold, you realize how difficult some survivors must have it.

I enjoyed this story simply because the premise seems so far fetched. Once you get into it and watch the inevitable unfold, you realize how difficult some survivors must have it.

Bob Iger certainly has another book in his future given the impact COVID has had on Disney, but this is a truly fun look at an impactful career spent basically at a single company. Reading this will allow you to dream about rising to the top and giv

Bob Iger certainly has another book in his future given the impact COVID has had on Disney, but this is a truly fun look at an impactful career spent basically at a single company. Reading this will allow you to dream about rising to the top and give you some practical tips on how to get there.

I’ve been looking for the documentary that was filmed during the expedition about which this book was written since I finished it. For fans of Indiana Jones, this is an action-packed nonfiction tale about an expedition deep into the heart of Hondura

I’ve been looking for the documentary that was filmed during the expedition about which this book was written since I finished it. For fans of Indiana Jones, this is an action-packed nonfiction tale about an expedition deep into the heart of Honduras to find a lost city.

The author was struck by that graceful combination of luck and foresight that only comes around a few times in a lifetime and was able to capture this true story about a young man who risks his life for others during WWII.

The author was struck by that graceful combination of luck and foresight that only comes around a few times in a lifetime and was able to capture this true story about a young man who risks his life for others during WWII.

This book is a fun one. For anyone who has lived in New York or visited extensively, you will be able to picture this story unfolding high above the regular people rushing to and from work. For anyone who is curious about what goes on behind the sto

This book is a fun one. For anyone who has lived in New York or visited extensively, you will be able to picture this story unfolding high above the regular people rushing to and from work. For anyone who is curious about what goes on behind the stories of incredible success that we rarely see, I’d recommend it.

 

Books Read in 2020

The Nickel Boys - Colton Whitehead

The Dutch House - Ann Patchett

Exhalations - Ted Chiang

Dear Edward - Ann Napolitano

Childfree by Choice - Amy Blackstone

Long Bright River - Liz Moore

The Ride of a Lifetime - Robert Iger

The Lost City of the Monkey God - Douglas Preston

Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden

Built to Sell - John Warrillow

The Invisible Bridge - Julie Orringer

Beneath a Scarlet Sky - Mark T. Sullivan

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Untethered Soul - Michael A Singer

Fruit of the Drunken Tree - Ingrid Rojas Contreras

Born a Crime - Trevor Noah

It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work - Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins

King Leopold’s Ghost - Adam Hochschild

The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi

The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

The Lost Man - Jane Harper

The Tresspasser - Tana French

Waking Up - Sam Harris

Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

The Mountain Shadow - Gregory David Roberts

Summer of the Red Wolf - Morris West

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia - Moshin Hamid

The Tatooist of Aushwitz - Heather Morris

A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

The Path - Peter Mallouk

Greenlights - Matthew McConaughey

Billion Dollar Loser - Reeves Weideman

The Joyous Season - Patrick Dennis

 

2019 Year in Books

We spent most of the first half of 2019 in Africa. Aside from being sunny and beautiful and inspiring, we were 6 hours ahead of the US so I had ample time in the mornings to read. I set a goal of reading 30 books and missed it by one. I also wanted to read five or six classics, which didn’t really happen. I tend to select books from an evolving want to read list and recommendations that come in and move to the front of the list for one reason or another. We spent a month on the island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania, an ideal spot for reading on the beach or sitting in the pool (Africa in the summer may not have been the wisest choice). While I enjoyed many of the books I read in 2019, here are my favorites.

Top Books of 2019

Featured
John Boyne has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This is a beautifully written tale about a gay man from Ireland who is adopted as a baby. It is full of tragedy and heartache as well as love and hope.

John Boyne has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This is a beautifully written tale about a gay man from Ireland who is adopted as a baby. It is full of tragedy and heartache as well as love and hope.

One of the most popular books of the past few years lived up to the hype for me. Having spent time in the south and the gulf coast, much of this hit home with me. A great story that pulls you in quickly and keeps you on edge till the very end.

One of the most popular books of the past few years lived up to the hype for me. Having spent time in the south and the gulf coast, much of this hit home with me. A great story that pulls you in quickly and keeps you on edge till the very end.

Middlesex was on my want to read list for years. As often happens in these cases, I should have gotten to it far sooner. Such a simple story but told so well that you will be sad its over after turning the last page.

Middlesex was on my want to read list for years. As often happens in these cases, I should have gotten to it far sooner. Such a simple story but told so well that you will be sad its over after turning the last page.

I expected to hate this book. Despite this, I ended up enjoying it very much. It truly gave me a different perspective and made me think more deeply about my own preconceptions.

I expected to hate this book. Despite this, I ended up enjoying it very much. It truly gave me a different perspective and made me think more deeply about my own preconceptions.

Another recent release that I truly enjoyed. A coming of age tale of adventure that will have you rooting for the characters on every page.

Another recent release that I truly enjoyed. A coming of age tale of adventure that will have you rooting for the characters on every page.

 

Books Read in 2019

Harbour - John Ajvide Lindqvist

The Heart’s Invisible Furies - John Boyne

Ask The Dust - John Fante

Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel

The End of Faith - Sam Harris

11/22/63 - Stephen King

When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi

Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris

Circe - Madeline Miller

Chasing the Scream - Johann Hari

What Makes Sammy Run - Budd Schulberg

On Tennis - David Foster Wallace

12 Rules for Life - Jordan Peterson

A Ladder to the Sky - John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne

Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

The Art of Travel - Alain de Botton

Middlesex - Jeffery Euginedes

Salt to the Sea - Ruta Sepesys

The Handmaids Tale - Margaret Atwood

Lone Star - T. R. Fehrenbach

The Chestnut Man - Søren Sveistrup

The Testaments - Margaret Atwood

Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem

The Hate You Give - Angie Thomas

This Tender Land - William Kent Kruger

Master and Margarita- Mikhail Bulgakov

The Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo

If You Tell - Gregg Olsen

 

2018 Year in Books

2018 was a great year for reading for me. Because our travels often position us up to 7 or 8 hours ahead of Eastern Time, I found myself with an abundance of time for reading before the start of our work day. I have yet to figure out the perfect system for determining what to read next, but a combination of Evernote and Goodreads has served me well. In 2018, I simplified my rating system from a 1-10 point scale to a 1-5. At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of reading at least 30 books and managed to read 33 in total. Certainly not all of them were intellectually stimulating, but I try to get something out of everything I read and always write a brief summary immediately after finishing. In 2019, my goal is to again read over 30 books, with at least 5 or 6 of them being “classics,” a genre that I generally avoid.

Top Books of 2018

Featured
City of Thieves by David Benioff
City of Thieves by David Benioff

A very highly rated book on Goodreads, I didn’t think this would live up to my expectations. I was dead wrong because this story set during the siege of Leningrad in 1942 is beautiful thanks to great writing and even better characters.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Follow-up novel by the author of The Nightengale, about a family that moves to Alaska in the 80s and must find a way to survive. Even though you kind of know where the story is going, you can’t help wanting this story to go on forever.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Credit to my mother, who has been telling me to read this for years, for this one. Story about a dog and his owner, told from the perspective of the dog, and somehow done so in an endearing and non-cheesy way.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Considered by many to be the bible for writers and creators. Even as someone who does not consider themself a professional “creator,” this book offers countless lessons on discipline, persistence and what happens when you show up every day.

 

Books Read in 2018

Grit - Angela Duckworth

Fire and Fury - Michael Wolff

Entrepreneurial You - Dorie Clark

Discipline Equals Freedom - Jocko Willink

Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

The Million Dollar One Person Business - Elaine Pofeldt

How to Be a No Limit Person - Dr Wayne Dyer

A Column of Fire - Ken Follet

Getting There - Gillian Zoe Sigal

Consipracy - Ryan Holiday

The 7 Day Startup - Dan Norris

War of Art - Steven Pressfield

City of Thieves - David Benioff

New York - Edward Rutherford

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee

Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee

The Woman in the Window - AJ Finn

The Tourist - Olen Steinhauer

Valley of Genius - Adam Fisher

The Vegetarian - Han Kang

Speal - Chris Spealler

An American Marriage - Tayari Jones

The $100 Startup - Chris Guillebeau

The Nearest Exit - Olen Steinhauer

Emergency - Neil Strauss

American Tourist - Olen Steinhauer

Roma - Steven Saylor

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein

The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah

Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafron

Empire - Steven Saylor

Let the Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist

 

 

2017 Year in Books

When it comes to reading, the biggest problem I have is keeping up with my ever-growing "want-to-read" list. I am constantly adding to it, and whenever I finish something I agonize over what to read next. At the beginning of 2017, I set out to read at least 25 books, which would beat my 2016 total by 4. I managed to beat this comfortably, reading a total of 30 books over the course of the year. This included audiobooks, paperbacks, hardbacks and ebooks. I always try to have a mix of fiction and non-fiction and tend to lean toward modern/recent titles. In 2018, my goal was to beat 30 and add in a few all-time classics.

A habit I've developed for any book I finish is to assign a rating from 1 to 10 and write a short summary of the plot line as well as any lessons or core themes learned. I find this helps me retain the meaning of the book and is interesting to review over time to remind myself what I've learned. Below are those books that I rated as an 8 or higher. At the bottom of the page is the full list.

Top Books of 2017

FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (9/10)
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (9/10)

Amazing and raw account of Nike's early days by founder Phil Knight. I highly recommend the audiobook version in which the forward is read by the author himself.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (9/10)
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (9/10)

Beautiful story about a young woman trying to make a name for herself New York in the 1930s. This was a must-read after finishing A Gentleman in Moscow, one of my favorite books of all time, in 2016.

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (8/10)
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance (8/10)

I may have enjoyed it so much as someone who thinks of the South as home, but there is something for everyone in this story about an underprivileged kid from Kentucky who eventually makes a life for himself in DC.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (8/10)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (8/10)

Well-written an authentic story about slavery in America, the lesson being that humans can endure unimaginable suffering and still believe in a better future.

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (8/10)
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (8/10)

I really don't know why I enjoyed this book so much, but I did. Its such a simple but beautiful story about a family told over many decades, filled with both hilarious and heartbreaking moments.

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood (8/10)
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood (8/10)

I am a slow reader but finished this in a single day at the beach this summer. A strange story about a girl who grows up in rural Oklahoma with a drug dealer father and addict mother, it will make you uneasy while reading it but ultimately satisfied by the end.

American War by Omar El Akkad (8/10)
American War by Omar El Akkad (8/10)

I love apocalyptic tales, especially ones set in the future. This dark portrayal of a future America in which the North and South threaten to destroy each other will make you think about how possible such a scenario might be if we continue on our current path.

Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles (8/10)
Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles (8/10)

This is a beach read, but the entire Penn Cage series is great. The final installment, this wraps up any open questions about the Double Eagle white supremacist group and Penn's fathers involvement in the murder of his former nurse.

 

Books Read in 2017

Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married - Gary Chapman
Isaac's Storm - Erik Larsen
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck - Mark Manson
A little Life - Hanya Yanagihara
Unshakable - Tony Robbins
Chaos Monkeys - Antonio Garcia Martinez
The Chemist - Stephanie Meyer
The Fireman - Joe Hill
Ego is the Enemy - Ryan Holiday
The Alchemist - Paulo Coehelo
Hillbilly Elegy - J.D. Vance
Make Your Bed - William McRaven
The Underground Railroad
Small Giants - Bo Burlingham
Commonwealth - Ann Patchett
Mississippi Blood - Greg Iles
The Rules of Civility - Amor Towles
A Man Called Ove - Frederick Backman
The Association of Small Bombs - Karan Mahajan
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things - Bryn Greenwood
The Inevitable - Kevin Kelly
Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman - Richard Feynman
American War - Omar El Akkad
Disrupted - Dan Lyons
Anything You Want - Derek Sivers
Shoe Dog - Phil Knight
The Psychopath Test - Jon Ronson
The First Tycoon - TJ Stiles
Origin - Dan Brown
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - Anthony Marra

 

 

2016 Year in Books

2016 was a particularly busy one and unfortunately my reading list suffered accordingly. My reading count for the year landed at 21 and I made a commitment to increase that number significantly in 2017. That said, I managed to read some standouts across multiple genres, from my typical fiction to business to historical non-fiction. You will find those listed below.

Top Books of 2016

Featured
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

One of my favorite novels of all time thanks to one of the most wonderful characters I have ever encountered. Count Alexander Rostov finds himself sentenced to house arrest in the luxurious Metropol hotel in Moscow in 1922 for criticizing the government. The attitude he maintains throughout his trials and tribulations is one we should all aspire to.

Rise by Patty Azzarello
Rise by Patty Azzarello

A rare business book that is overflowing with practical advice that anyone can implement. Primarily aimed at office workers and employees rather than entrepreneurs, this is a must read for anyone interested in optimizing their career.

The Nightengale by Kristin Hannah
The Nightengale by Kristin Hannah

Wonderful story of heroism in the midst of the horrors of WWII. A woman saves many children throughout the war by placing them in an orphanage. Beautifully written story about bouncing back from incredible loss.

Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Dead Wake by Erik Larson

A historically accurate portrayal of The Lusitania, a ship that sank in 1915, killing over 1,000 passengers. Well-researched, well-written and a complete page turner.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Good lessons and straightforward advice about startups, being a founder/CEO. One of the key takeaways is that clarity and consistency is a core leadership trait. Don’t be afraid to make decisions and take the fall if necessary.

 

Books Read in 2016

The Revenant - Michael Punke 

The Nightengale - Kristen Hannah 

Fates and Furies - Lauren Groff 

Mindset - Carol Dweck 

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline 

The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz 

Dead Wake - Eric Reis 

Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink 

The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith 

Before The Fall - Noah Hawley 

The Girls - Emma Cline 

Essentialism - Greg McKeown 

The Emperor of all Maladies - Siddhartha Mukherjee 

Zero K - Don DeLillo 

Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari 

The 5 Mistakes Every Investor Makes and how to Avoid Them - Peter Mallouk 

Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi 

Rise - Patty Azzarello 

The Whistler - John Grisham 

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles 

 

 

Non-Fiction

Business, productivity and personal development books that have changed my life.

 

Mindset, by Carol S. Dweck

Someone gave me this book as a gift and it was probably a year before I actually read it. Had I known what I know now, I wouldn't have waited more than a week. This book is about treating every opportunity and challenge in life as a moment of growth and improvement rather than a test of intelligence or skill. You will see things in a different perspective and go into stressful or challenging situations with pleasant anticipation rather than dread. 

Extreme Ownership, by Jocko Willink

Former Navy SEAL Jocko Willing, having been in leadership positions during some of the most intense urban combat in the Iraq war, shares the most critical lessons he and co-author Leif Babin learned about effective leadership. The main concept, extreme ownership, is all about taking accountability for everything in your world. Every miscommunication, misstep, poorly executed project is your responsibility as a manager or leader. Rather than placing blame on front-line employees or team members, realize that you were not clear in your directive or did not give them what they needed to succeed. Try this for a week and notice how many times you shirk responsibility.

Getting Things Done, by David Allen

The bible of productivity. If you want to get more done in less time and stay organized without stressing yourself out, this book is for you. I've talked about the basic principles: getting every task, reminder, follow-up out of your head, putting them somewhere that you can see them, organizing them into logical buckets, and regularly scrubbing your list. Like any habit, this is something you must implement wholeheartedly and stick to for at least a month. After that point, it becomes part of your regular routine and you don't even notice the effort required to maintain it. You simply do it.

Rise, by Patty Azzarello

If it seems like too many business and career books are focused on entrepreneurship and building companies, this book is the antidote. A must read for anyone looking to build a meaningful career over time, specifically in positions of leadership, it is the most practical guide to performing at a high level and ensuring that you are recognized for that work I have ever read. I suggest reading this with a pen or highlighter and promise that there will be at least 1 or 2 actionable things you can do tomorrow that you are not doing today.

 
 
 

The 4-Hour Series, by Tim Ferriss

I must give Tim Ferriss credit for renewing my passion for learning, especially as it relates to lifestyle design and optimizing performance. If you have any interest in mastering new skills, including those that may seem impossible, I cannot recommend this series more highly. Start with The 4-Hour Workweek, which despite the title is about being more efficient with your time rather than minimizing it. If you have an interest in improving yourself physically, from running a marathon to fixing your own ailments to improving your deadlift, The 4-Hour Body is for you. The 4-Hour Chef will teach you how to become more comfortable, if not excel, in the kitchen, all while keeping you entertained. Also, Tim's podcast on iTunes is far and away my favorite and a constant source of inspiration.