Books I’ve Read

Brian’s thoughts: Another classic, about the world’s fair in Chicago plus a serial killer. Overall was spread a little thin and slow at points. But intersting if you can get through the first third.

Brian’s thoughts: The classic sports psychology book. Was a good quick read, knowing and caring very little about tennis, still got some out of it.

Brian’s thoughts: Really good book examining the fact that there are almost always multiple inventors close to the same time, building off each other or completely independent. And that patents can hold back progress for decades before it leaps forward again.

Brian’s thoughts: Great writer who has some incredible articles including politics and fun topics. I wanted to like this book, but meh. Interesting California history and a look at the past.

Brian’s thoughts: Another Ryan Holiday recommenedation. Kind of cool reading about someone in the middle ages I know nothing about, now I actually need to read his essays.

Brian’s thoughts: Biography of Feynman, one of the most interesting scientists of the 20th century. Feynman’s book is phenomenal and highly recommended, as are all his videos explaining things. This got more into the science and his life.

Brian’s thoughts: This might be my book of the year, highly recommend. It is an argument agains striving for a meritocracy, which is neither serving the elites well, nor truly giving opportunities for others to rise up. Makes you rethink things!

Brian’s thoughts: I was on a little WW2 kick after the Churchill book. This was pretty solid, about the African part of the war and sneaking behind enemy lines dressed as Nazis.

Brian’s thoughts: I loved the original, Finite and Infinite Games, so thought this look through the eyes of business would be enlightening. Instead I feel it perverted something sacred. Just read the original. Or even take 10 minutes to read the first 2 chapters of the original.

Brian’s thoughts: A Ryan Holiday fiction recommendation. It was fine, cool writing style and early LA stuff.

Brian’s thoughts: Churchill was quite a guy. This book was an interesting way to learn about him, just focusing on 1 year at the start of WW2. Pairs well with the movie The Darkest Hour.

Brian’s thoughts: This was my “between books” read over many months. Some interesting leadership and management lessons.

Brian’s thoughts: If you like xkcd, there are books. Takes silly engineering questions seriously and runs calculations. For example, above ground pools – how deep can it be if made of foil? How thick would the walls have to be for a 3 foot pool made of cheese?

Brian’s thoughts: Was this a textbook? Really interesting for mechanical engineering history, which I think should be taught to kids since modern tech is too close to magic to understand. Farming history I learned a lot too. After so much history, the conclusions chapter was a let down.

Brian’s thoughts: Finally read this one and I’m glad I did. Real page turner of scrappy early days. Crazy how such a huge company was on brink of failure so long. Also Pre rules.

Brian’s thoughts: Short chapters that make you think. Definitely a Christian angle, but not all of it is. He did a lot of workshops and there is bunch of Youtube footage I’ll dig into someday.

Brian’s thoughts: Quick read that is a true story tracking down a hacker in the 80s. Kinda cool to find out how things used to work, probably only interesting to “computer people”.

Brian’s thoughts: Who knew there was so much innovation in brainstorming and user testing? I don’t love the title, but the jist is to spend 5 days to get the right prototype in front of a potential users. Really speeds up finding out if something will work, which I’m excited to try on a new business idea.

Brian’s thoughts: Making decisions facing uncertainty – isn’t that what life is all about? This was a great quick read for how to think about the decision process, looking beyond the result. Lot’s of sports and some poker, recommend.

Brian’s thoughts: Love a good true story, especially one about survival that includes a larger scope of learning. Learned about tigers and Russia while being thoroughly entertained.

Brian’s thoughts: Recommended by a friend, but not going to be recommended by me. I’m not afraid of reading young adult books but this didn’t connect for me in a way that something like Hunger Games did.

Brian’s thoughts: One of my favorite authors. I wasn’t super excited reading it going in based on the title, but he crushed it again. A series of short essays about navigating the modern world drawing from history.

Brian’s thoughts: Awesome old book about the last year of the Civil War. Interesting characters and graphic visuals. Crazy stuff, highly recommend.

Brian’s thoughts: This was a road trip audiobook for a group of Princess Bride fans. Cool to hear some behind the scenes stuff, including about Andre the Giant.

Brian’s thoughts: I’d been wanting to read one of Haidt’s books and can recommend this one. It is a fairly quick read that is well organized and touches on many different areas, which is good because any issue always has many contributing factors.

Brian’s thoughts: Interesting to get the background on Obama’s life before law school, especially after Michelle’s covered the later years well. Plus I enjoy hearing his voice!

Brian’s thoughts: Love this guy’s thinking, it has really shaped how I look at the world. This is his most famous work that is a bit too much like an anthropology textbook to recommend, but I came away with a couple major new ideas.

Brian’s thoughts: Strangely dark and uncomfortable for a Gladwell book. But also seems more consequential, so give it a read. I recommend the audiobook because it is the actual voices throughout (the author’s and interviewees).

Brian’s thoughts: Definitely a page turner but not as good as the 1st book in the series. I suppose that is usually how it works in trilogies. Now I am eagerly awaiting him to finish the final book, it has already be 8 years…

Brian’s thoughts: Very interesting stuff. Crazy people like Kissinger and Hoover were worshiped like they were back in the day. I wonder how much of this history would be different if there were internet back then and not such a centralized media.

Brian’s thoughts: Sweet! I’d heard this series was amazing and wasn’t disappointed. Reminded me a bit of Harry Potter but different.

Brian’s thoughts: Oof that was rough. Her first book on pregnancy was excellent, lots of data and things to ponder. This book touched on way too many topics and just said “there’s no good data” over and over again.

Brian’s thoughts: You go girl. She is seriously successful in her own right and has done some great things with her unexpected platform. Great to hear some of the backstory, recommend the audiobook read by her.

Brian’s thoughts: Didn’t love it. This is one of those hyped new modern day science fiction books, kind of like the Martian. Wouldn’t really recommend it though.

Brian’s thoughts: I’m excited to experiment on my baby! Theory of mind, sense of “me”, what separates us from animals – these things all fascinate me and the book is kind of about it with some experimental examples. The book was just ok though.

Brian’s thoughts: I like this way of thinking – everything is a spectrum and can be taken too far. Balance. Solid audiobook with more war stories.

Brian’s thoughts: More math (20th century this time) as a foundation for “strange loops” in systems and wide ranging real world examples – Escher, Bach, DNA, ant colonies, brains, etc. Puts forward an interesting AI argument, but a pretty dense book I wouldn’t recommend for most.

Brian’s thoughts: I like Jocko’s podcast, which is about leadership from a very disciplined dude. The book is a bunch of those same themes, essentially war story lessons applied to business.

Brian’s thoughts: Look, a book about money! I thought I understood fractional reserve banking, but really did not until reading this book. Really good read, somewhat an alternative history book like People’s History of the United States. Wish certain parts were cut though that are really “conspiracy theorist” and make the central arguments weaker.

Brian’s thoughts: When I saw DFW wrote a math book, I was intrigued. Impressive overview of how math progressed with restpect to infinity, which means calculus, differential equations, and ending with set theory. Would only recommend if you made it far into college math wondering why and how it all came about.

Brian’s thoughts: Figured I’d try some short stories by a great writer. The two longest essays are the worst and close to the start, which hurts my overall perception. Overall fine, I like the witty footnote style of writing.

Brian’s thoughts: One of those that is way longer than necessary with some real nuggets of wisdom. First third about his life can be skipped, middle about life principles is great, last third about work is more of a reference. Instead just watch his YouTube videos How the Economic Machine Works and Principles For Success.

Brian’s thoughts: Serious page turner that mixes history with scuba. I didn’t think the topic was that exciting going in, but couldn’t put it down. Kurson is 2 for 2, now I’ll have to read his other books.

Brian’s thoughts: The man behind great entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and the Google founders. Very intriguing personality, but not a great book.

Brian’s thoughts: I learned a ton and think it will improve my life. What more could you want from a book? Easy frameworks to follow to navigate tricky subjects, but also thought provoking aspects like how does this clash with the person’s identify of themself.

Brian’s thoughts: This it the book to combat old wives tales with hard data. An economist dives into all the studies to in a narrative, making it very readable. Highly recommend for nerdy soon to be parents.

Brian’s thoughts: I read a fastinating short book in high school on the golden ratio, was hoping this would be like that. Unfortunately the interesting topics were too few and far between, leaving you wanting more just when it got interesting.

Brian’s thoughts: Liked this way more than I thought I would – each chapter is essentially an essay on how the narrative of top down organizations and lone geniuses is wrong. Draws on some of my favorites: Nassim Taleb, Sam Harris, Sapolsky.

Brian’s thoughts: I love Tainter’s central idea that civilizations solving problems with complexity given enough energy (can be as simple as a person, not just technology). I am borderline obsessed with this thought now. This book examines this concept through the gulf oil spill, how difficult it is now to get oil. I’m excited to read his main book from the late 80s now.

Brian’s thoughts: Highly recommend – about top agent in Hollywood in 80s and 90s. It is a great business book, especially negotiation, without trying. Fascinating Hollywood tidbits about how things got made and the personalities behind it all.

Brian’s thoughts: Solid quick read – I’d been wanting to read something by Hitchens. I seem to like people who hold inconvenient views and burn bridges.

What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People
by Joe Navarro
February 2019

Brian’s thoughts: Cool, short book in an area I have next to no knowledge of. Argues that the limbic system has automatic body movements that the person isn’t aware of. Not a lie detector test, but great tips on knowing when someone is uncomfortable, bored, etc.

Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man’s First Journey to the Moon
by Robert Kurson
February 2019

Brian’s thoughts: Awesome stuff. The space race was very impressive, this book is about the point when we went from behind to winning. It made me want to rewatch Apollo 13 (which I did) and re-study physics (which I did not).

We’re Pregnant! The First Time Dad’s Pregnancy Handbook
by Adrian Kulp
February 2019

Brian’s thoughts: Fine overview of pregnancy, but I can’t recommend this book. Seemed structured like it was for people who don’t read books, too repetitive.

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
by Nassim Taleb
January 2019

Brian’s thoughts: Love Nassim, so thought I’d pick up his original book. Good read as it seems to jump around a bit more than his others like Black Swan (which I may pick as the best), so a good one to start with (I appreciate his later irreverence though). As a quick intro, check out this New Yorker article about him by Malcolm Gladwell.

Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got: 21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition
by Jay Abraham
January 2019

Brian’s thoughts: I’ve learned a lot from Ramit and knew Jay Abraham was a huge influence. So I thought I’d see what he was about – he has no shortage of creative ways to drum up business, the book is a dated but solid.

The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For
by David McCullough
January 2019

Brian’s thoughts: Nah. A collection of speeches by a historian, plenty of commencements. The best ones were too short and made me want to learn more, but overall wouldn’t recommend.

The World as It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House
by Ben Rhodes
January 2019

Brian’s thoughts: Great book by Obama’s speech writer and foreign policy guru. An interesting, first-hand view of recent history. I’m not normally interested in foreign policy, but behind-the-scenes after-the-fact is great.

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
by Robert Sapolsky
December 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Dense, but a great overview on what makes humans behave the way they do. Tons of science from neuro, hormones, genetics, and a ton about groups (especially interesting IN-group, OUT-group thinking). Some parts were fascinating, others skim-worthy.

Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
Christopher R. Browning
November 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Oof, rough stuff. People are capable of horrible things in groups, even without a leader “forcing” them. Surprisingly minimal stuff like not wanting to leave your buddies with all the “work” and career goals for the good of your family.

Ego is the Enemy
Ryan Holiday
November 2018

Brian’s thoughts: I really like Ryan Holiday’s writing and generally this short book was pretty solid. I would recommend The Obstacle is the Way over it though (which isn’t on this list anywhere for some reason…)

Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II
Arthur Herman
October 2018

Brian’s thoughts: This was really cool: 1943 and 1944 the US produced more war material (tanks, planes, ammunition, etc) than the rest the world combined. This incredible effort doesn’t get discussed enough.

Stranger in a Strange Land
Robert Heinlein
September 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Starts as a bit of a thriller with an interesting backstory, devolves into a deep and weird social commentary. I wanted to like it more, but at least now I understand where the word “grok” came from.

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Nir Eyal
September 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Quick read about making viral products. Plenty of “ya duh” but short enough, and some new ideas and ways to think about it. I’ll revisit the summary to remind myself someday.

American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road
Nick Bilton
August 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Couldn’t put this one down. Current events that I somehow missed – interesting themes of technology and libertarianism, crossed with true crime.

After On: A Novel of Silicon Valley
Rob Reid
August 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Started slow, but I ended up loving it. Usually futuristic AI thrillers are unrealistic and way negative. This one is smart and fun.

Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafon
July 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Page turning mystery with great characters – roughly the 10th best selling non-Harry Potter book written in the last 20 years. Recommended for some light reading – set in Barcelona and read it on my trip there.

Death in the Afternoon
Ernest Hemingway
July 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Everything you want to know about bullfights – this was prep for heading to Pamplona. I can’t recommend the book, but do recommend Pamplona.

The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
Matt Ridley
June 2018 (audiobook)

Brian’s thoughts: Great to get the optimist perspective every once in a while, considering all news is so negative. I think this is better than Steve Pinker’s grandiose conclusions.

Finite and Infinite Games
James Carse
June 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Woah. Very unique short book with concise aphorisms and conclusions. Some are extremely thought provoking and likely to stay with me, others were mumbo jumbo. Books should be judged by their best ideas and lasting power, so I recommend checking this out if you are into thinking about something different.

The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas
June 2018

Brian’s thoughts: For many years I named this as my favorite book. Still good, although long. I can see the greater appeal to 18 year old me.

The Bedford Boys: One American Town’s Ultimate D-day Sacrifice
Alex Kershaw
June 2018 (audiobook)

Brian’s thoughts: Getting ready for my trip to Omaha beach this summer (including watching Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan). This was an interesting look at the people on the very first boats to land on D-Day.

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
Nassim Taleb
April 2018

Brian’s thoughts: I love Nassim’s irreverence, he sure doesn’t care what the “intellectuals” think of him. This collection of essays is hit and miss, but since I think a book should be judged by its top 1-2 ideas, not the average, I can recommend it.

Ready Player One: A Novel
Earnest Clide
March 2018

Brian’s thoughts: I wanted to reread it before the movie came out. Once you have the movie images in your mind, there is no going back and fully enjoying the book version.

Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue
Ryan Holiday
March 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Loved it so much I read it in 4 days. Ryan Holiday is a great author who combines storytelling with historic perspective and a central argument. Highly recommend – it may just change how you look at the world.

American History Revised: 200 Startling Facts That Never Made It into the Textbooks
Seymour Morris Jr.
March 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Short fun stories about American history – some made me want to learn more, I suppose that was the goal.

If You’re Not First, You’re Last: Sales Strategies to Dominate Your Market and Beat Your Competition
Grand Cardone
February 2018 (audiobook)

Brian’s thoughts: I’d heard of this guy and after learning a lot from the last sales book (scroll down 4 books), I decided to check this out. More of a motivational speaker, light on content. Skip.

Children of Dune
Frank Herbert
February 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Sometimes great, sometimes awful. Overall I wouldn’t recommend investing time reading the 2nd and 3rd books in the Dune series – just read the first book 2 or 3 times!

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Matthew Desmond
January 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Eye-opening. Highly recommend to understand what poor folks deal with in America. I wrote about it a bit more here.

Dune Messiah
Frank Herbert
January 2018

Brian’s thoughts: Shorter and considered the worst of the 3 original Dune series books. I agree, but will go on to the final book.

The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies
Chet Holmes
January 2018 (audiobook)

Brian’s thoughts: This was a really useful business book. Not just sales but marketing too, some creative stuff too. I’m sure almost everyone would find value out of this book.

Dune
Frank Herbert
December 2017

Brian’s thoughts: I reread this because I was was curious how it reads the second time and to continue on with the series. It is a too complex the first time, the second time I appreciated it more.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Joseph Campbell
November 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Dud. He goes deep on myths from various societies in describing the hero’s journey. Love his conclusions, but this was too dense and not as applicable. Read a more modern analysis instead.

The Old Man and The Sea
Ernest Hemingway
November 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Good short little story. Great example of a fiction book where you learn something. Love Ernie’s writing style.

Starship Troopers
Robert A. Heinlein
November 2017

Brian’s thoughts: I picked this up because I heard it was a social commentary novel kind of like Ayn Rand’s books – even when I read fiction I want to learn something. It was ok but there are better sci-fi books.

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone–Especially Ourselves
Dan Ariely
October 2017

Brian’s thoughts: I enjoyed his book Predictably Irrational, so picked up this one. It was pretty good, a couple take-aways I’ll remember. Basically just a run down of a bunch of social psychology experiments he has run and the conclusions.

River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life
Richard Dawkins
October 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Recommendation of Ray Dalio on Tim Ferriss’s podcast. I’d been wanting to read a Dawkins book and it was ok, but wasn’t as earth shattering as I hoped.

The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam
Douglas Murray
September 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Pretty nuts stuff to think about. Raises a lot of big questions on an issue (immigration) most pretend is clear-cut, black and white, right and wrong. Heard about on Sam Harris’s podcast and highly recommend.

Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of Iwo Jima
James Bradley
August 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Powerful story of the WW2 Pacific battles told through the lives of the flag raisers in the famous photo. I think the Japanese aspect of WW2 is fascinating and underappreciated due to all the Nazi focus.

Conscientious Objections: Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology and Education
Neil Postman
June 2017

Brian’s thoughts: A collection of essays by an interesting guy with strong and persuasive ideas. I picked it up due to my interest in tech education (which is my real job).

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Timothy Snyder
June 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Tiny little book by a legit historian with 20 conclusions about the slippery slope of tyranny, how innocent little actions at the time are in hindsight huge. Recommend, heard about on Sam Harris’s podcast.

Head Strong: The Bulletproof Plan to Activate Untapped Brain Energy to Work Smarter and Think Faster-in Just Two Weeks
Dave Asprey
June 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Contains both malarkey and life changing wisdom, if only I could tell which is which. If you like cutting edge health ideas to test out and learning about mitochondria, this is for you.

The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand
May 2017u

Brian’s thoughts: Didn’t love it. I enjoyed and appreciated the ideas in Atlas Shrugged – guess it took away the surprises in this one and I didn’t like the characters as much.

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
Sebastian Junger
May 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Good stuff even though I knew how it ends. This is the type of book I enjoy – true events that get into the characters and teach you something (fishing industry, weather, rescues, etc.)

Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
Derek Sivers
April 2017

Brian’s thoughts: I’ve heard a lot of his stories and ready plenty of his essays, so this was mostly review. Great guy with excellent message – check him out on the Tim Ferris podcast for a good time.

The Bulletproof Diet: Lose up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life
Dave Asprey
April 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Lot’s of good background info for anyone doing the more high fat-keto-paleo type of diet. Plenty of junk science in here, but also many life changing nuggets.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms
Nassim Taleb
April 2017

Brian’s thoughts: I love Nassim’s irreverence. This is a collection of aphorisms (like “There is no clearer sign of failure than a middle-aged man boasting of his performance in college”), so it’s odd to sit down and read hundreds of them, even though some are excellent.

The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness
Jeff Olson
April 2017

Brian’s thoughts: The tiny things that are easy to do and easier to put off make all the difference! Highly recommended by Gen Y Finance Guy who used this book to completely turn his life around.

God’s Debris: A Thought Experiment
Scott Adams
April 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Short and deep. The whole book is just a series of conversations between two characters, many of them are way out there, some are interesting.

The Gene: An Intimate History
Siddhartha Mukherjee
April 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Historical overview of genetic science with a personal narrative woven throughout. Cool science, I learned a good amount, but enjoyed his Cancer book even more.

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
Gary Vaynerchuk
March 2017 (audiobook)

Brian’s thoughts: I listen to his podcast sometimes and love Gary V’s energy and intensity. Good intro to his stuff, he reads the audiobook, which all authors should do.

Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
March 2017 (audiobook)

Brian’s thoughts: This was an awesome audiobook read by Tim Robbins. Out of all the futurist doom-and-gloom books, I think we have the most to learn from this one. For example self-censorship with good intentions (political correctness) and more interactive media reducing social connections.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Ben Horowitz
March 2017 (audiobook)

Brian’s thoughts: Cool stories, cool guy. Makes me respect and understand his startup perspective a little bit. Biggest change in thinking is peacetime vs wartime CEO behavior.

Ready Player One: A Novel
Earnest Clide
February 2017

Brian’s thoughts: Sweet! A fun futuristic world that is obsessed with 80’s trivia. This is a perfect example of a book that makes me want to read more fiction. Great recommendation for people who don’t typically read for fun.