141–150 of 294 posts
lateral thinking - edward de bono http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/829616.Lateral_Thinking
If you want to watch a good video version of the book, watch his PBS special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFFZ0XSfCRw&list=PL_N6UbeInh...
Jack Dorsey recommended this title at Startup School 2013 and I got around to reading it in 2014. It's also one of the readings for YC's "How to Start a Startup" class: http://startupclass.samaltman.com/lists/readings/
I didn't think the leadership notes from a highly successful NFL (American professional football) coach would have much application in the world of technology, but Walsh's insights and discipline can be applied to many different fields. It's changed the way I work as I lead teams and I realize I have a lot more to learn and apply in my day-to-day duties.
"The Score Takes Care of Itself" does get a bit behind-the-scenes in the football world, but if the reader is willing to get past those parts, or better, learn the lessons in some of the stories, there is a lot to be gained.
For most of my life, I focused on the logical, external, left-brain side of life. I saw little value in art (and even spurned it as something pretentious people did to seem more cultured). And so, I defined myself as “logical”, “left-brain”, “scientist”, etc and rejected the tags: “right-brain”, “artist”, etc.
Leading up to reading Ulysses, I had been growing in artistic appreciation, but Ulysses really pushed me over the edge. Prior to Ulysses, I felt I could only admire art as an outsider (because again, I was a “left-brainer” - I felt that I didn’t belong). Ulysses helped me change my very self-image. I am not a “left-brainer”; I am a human, and art is how we can express and share ourselves with each other.
This might be the key to explaining a lot of things. For instance, I read a terrible book about why RSI isn't real, how it's just in my head, by an author that loved Freud. I put it down in disgust. But somehow, that seed of doubt, that explanation that RSI was an unconscious response to other pain... My RSI went away.
(Apologies if this is well known, but it is a novel enough to this 33 yr old that it sends chills down my spine.)
It describes the daily schedule of almost every famous creative person you can think of in a few paragraphs, from Bach to Tesla to Ayn Rand. Peering into the day to day lives of well known people was fascinating, but I was most interested in how efficient they were with their time. Many of the people featured in the book, especially the writers, sat down and worked for only two or three hours a day and often produced only several pages. It really changed my perspective on how creative work gets done. Especially when considering the hn culture of hyperproductivity. it was revealing to see how some of the greatest creative minds of all time respected the limits of their quality mental output.
I've tried to adapt my personal schedule to match some of their habits, and have generally felt better about being able to get a limited amount of creative work done in 24 hours. Come to see a new side of people who's work you know well, stay to get a better understanding of how they created great things.
Currently reading Javascript and Jquery by Jon Duckett and find his visual style and clear, concise writing perfectly fits how I learn. Could not recommend it enough to any other programming learners.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi is a very simple, straightforward book on personal finance. He advocates having your money automatically distributed into fixed costs, investments and spending money rather than getting bogged down in budgets.
An Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson is the first in a trilogy that chronicles America's entrance into World War II in North Africa, all the way to the downfall of the Third Reich. His style is both minutely researched and totally readable. He nails the violence and horror at the front, as well as the incredible scale and logistics of the whole enterprise. I'm now on the second in the trilogy, The Day of Battle.
Last year Thinking Fast and Slow and Antifragile were my highlights - they compliment each other well and both changed my outlook on how the world is organised and how I perceive it.
Thanks to all the other posters, I've added lots of the suggested books to my kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/Colorless-Tsukuru-Tazaki-Years-Pilgrim...
Hard to do it justice, but here is Patti Smith:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/books/review/haruki-muraka...
I changed my attitude toward all of my old friends after reading this book. I started calling them more, and trying to be more in their lives. It's amazing how centering books can be, if they catch you in the right mindset. I'll pass on a warning that this book deals with some heavy, serious depression.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_%28book%29
Highly recommended
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruku Murakami:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Wind-Up-Bird-Chronicle-Novel/dp/06...
If you're familiar with Murakami, it's par for the course and considered one of his pivotal novels. If you're not: surrealist, dreamlike modern fiction often centering around ideas of masculinity, post-war fallout, and urban ennui. Incredibly strange and beautiful stuff.
I've read more in 2014 than I have in the past five or so years, but Wind Up Bird Chronicle is the one that has stuck with me the most. Even if it didn't exactly change my morning routine or lead me on the path to riches, I wake up most mornings and its taste is still in my mouth.
(A comparison, if you're familiar with it: Earthbound, less in terms of tone and more in terms of setting. Shigesato Itoi, the writer of Earthbound, actually published a bunch of short stories with Murakami and they've been translated into English: http://letsmeetinadream.blogspot.com/)