Books:
Books are the cheat code to knowledge acquisition. A successful book can transport the reader to another world, or condense thousands of hours of research into a few succint pages. These are the books I've read recently that I would recommend. For my reading list of podcasts and articles click here.
Links that say read more will bring up a short summary while review links will bring you to a completed review of the whole book.
In progress:
Jared Diamond compares and contrasts countries in crisis.
More to come - just started the book this week.
Steven and Jamie do a deep dive of flow in Silicon Valley.
More to come - just started the book this week.
How to build teams in a dynamic, complex world.
Full notes soon to come, this is an extraordinarily deep and insightful book that transcends military tactics.
Completed:
How 1% improvements can change your life
James Clear breaks down changing habits into four easy-to-follow steps: make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. This is one of those books I had to read more than once because it was so helpful. The ideas are simple, the execution is easy, but put together it's a powerful manual I'd recommend to anyone.
Bo Eason breaks down why you deserve to be the best in the world.
This was honestly one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. Bo Eason not only conquered being a professional athlete despite lacking genetic advantages, but he also became a nationally known playwright and actor. He accomplished this with a relentless work ethic and a belief he could be the best. These are skills that anyone can learn, and he does a great job inspiring the reader.
David Goggin's story of mental discipline and sacrifice.
David Goggins is a scary man. He is the only member of the U.S. Armed forces to complete SEAL training, U.S. Army Ranger School, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training. He also set the world record for pull-ups at 4030 in 17 hours. But he wasn't always like that. He was obese and worked as a janitor until he slowly built the mental discipline that led him to his later success. This book is beyond inspiring.
Drew Karpyshyn's masterpiece trilogy on one of the most important Sith Lords ever.
Darth Bane is the reason why there can only ever be two Sith at one time, a theme that we know is extremely important from the movies (Palpatine and Darth Maul, Palpatine and Darth Tyrannus, Palpatine and Darth Vader, etc.). These books take place when there were thousands of Sith and Jedi, which would be an amazing template for a movie. Please Disney.
Brent Week's last book in the Lightbringer series.
Brent Weeks is one of my favorite fantasy authors of all time. He also wrote the Night Angel Trilogy (my second favorite fantasy series after the Kingkiller Chronicles). If you're a fan of fantasy, I would suggest checking out all Brent Weeks books as they always deliver.
An amazing Star Wars story on one of the most interesting characters ever, Revan.
As a big Star Wars fan, I really wish they made movies about the Old Republic. To me, the battle between the Jedi and the Sith were the most interesting parts of the universe, and the Old Republic had plenty of both. This book tells the story of one of the most powerful Jedi in history, Revan.
Fundamental science is failing, and we have a limited time to find out why...
This is one of those books where revealing even the smallest number of plot details would ruin it. With that being said, it took me a few pages to get into the book. After I got hooked, however, it was impossible to stop. I raced to finish every page and the book kept building as it went on. I really can't wait to read the next two after I finish Upheaval...
Youngme Moon explains why competition to differentiate makes us all the same.
I used to think that marketing was simple for companies - show that your product has all the features of the competitors with a little extra juice, how hard could that be?
This is the problem. Companies and employees too often strive to shore up weaknesses instead of focusing on strengths and increasing differentiation. She gives lots to think about, and I will be writing a full review soon.