Here are some of the books I’ve enjoyed in the past 6 months. I am trying to alternate between fiction and non-fiction on a weekly bases. I did two official marathons (Teveria and California international marathon) and another 2 that weren’t part of an organized race, so in the training for these events, I had a lot of time to listen to audio books.
Below are the ones that I really liked.
The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds
It’s an intersting story (behind Money Ball) that I enjoyed a lot thanks to Michal Lewis. It’s about two Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky who wrote together a series of breathtakingly studies undoing our assumptions about the decision-making process. Daniel Kahenman received at 2002 the Nobel price for economic on their work on physiology and how the human mind is being fooled in many situations.
Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations
It’s a long one, but with the great talent that Mr. Friedman got it’s passing quickly. In this book, he cover what he think we need in order to understand the twenty-first century. It’s about the planet’s three largest forces:
- Moore’s law – The acceleration in technology. From hardware/Internet Of Things/Mobile to big data to tools to analyze it and use it (e.g. Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning).
- The Market – Globalization. The ‘world if flat’ and the way we are all connected more then ever. The fact that many companies are global and markets are very connected.
- Earth – Climate change and biodiversity loss.
These fast accelerations are transforming five key realms: the workplace, politics, geopolitics, ethics, and community. What does it means for you? Well, it will change the way you understand the news, the work you do, the education your kids need, the investments your employer has to make, and the moral and geopolitical choices our country has to navigate.
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
I wrote about this one here.
Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets
It’s a story that is told by the talented Sudhir Venkatesh. He is the source for some of Freakonomics great articles and ideas. In this book, Sudhir take us with him when he walked into an abandoned building in one of Chicago’s most notorious housing projects. How he meet and befriend a gang leader named JT and later spend the better part of a decade embedded inside the projects under JT’s protection. From this unique position of unprecedented access, Venkatesh observed JT and the rest of his gang as they operated their crack-selling business, made peace with their neighbors, evaded the law, and rose up or fell within the ranks of the gang’s complex hierarchical structure. It’s an amazing story. I highly recommend it to anyone who is running a business or just curious to learn more.
Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story
I (like many others) knew Jewel from listening to her music. I first learn about this book in James Altucher show. It feels like an unreal story. Jewel was eighteen and homeless in San Diego when a radio DJ aired a bootleg version of one of her songs. She was broke at that time, but she still turned down a million dollar offer. How she survived her family, Alaska and many more. It was a wonderful learning experience to read this. She is so smart and strong. I really like her!
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
I enjoyed this book so much!
TheSkimm wrote it best:
“This is your happy hour with Amy Schumer…
It’s Bossypants meets Trainwreck meets your long weekend.”
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
This book takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Chris Voss’s head. It giving the reader the skills the nine effective principles that helped Chris during his work in the FBI (as a hostage negotiator).
The one that I remember and liked:
- “Slow down everything” in order to save time.
- Ask “How can I do that?” and wait. Then, wait more.
- When the tones are going higher – Take from them your listening. Tell them that you can’t hear them if they yells.
The “Last Mile” and “Memory Man” are two good ones from David Baldacci. I like how he can come up with a story that keep surprise you time and time again.
If you want to see the winners for the 1st half of the 2016, you can see them here.
Happy new year!
Ido Green 