Yann's Book Club - June
Last month I recovered quite nicely and read many wonderful books and learned lots of new things. I experimented a bit and tried to establish read-only days, especially on the weekends. It seems to be working quite nicely. Here are the best and most interesting books I read last month.
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman
Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Price in physics lived a truly remarkable life. In this book he tells some of his best life stories. Stories about how he cracked uncrackable safes, about how he was hanging out with Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, about how he participated at the Rio de Janeiro samba school competition and many more hilarious stories. It's really fascinating to me, how one of the smartest physicians that ever lived approached life. An endless curiosity, willingness to learn new things and most importantly the knowledge about how limited his knowledge was. Even though he was one brilliantly smart, intelligent and knowledgeable fella. An absolute must read!
Trust me I'm lying and Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday is quite a fascinating character. He dropped out of college at the age of 19 and started his "apprenticeship" working with Robert Greene, one of today's most important authors. At the age of 24 Ryan became the director of Marketing at American Apparel. Now at the age of 27 he has written three bestsellers. And I can now safely say that this guy is a genius. In his first book Trust me I'm lying he talks about how manipulative sites such as the Huffingtonpost et al. really are (he's been a part of the entire scam).
His second book Growth Hacker Marketing is a nice introduction into the world of Growth Hacking. His third book The Obstacle is the Way, which I read a few months ago was definitely his best book, yet. It's based on the stoic philosophy and can best be summarized with the words of Marcus Aurelius, one of the world's most popular stoics: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin
Another classic by Marketing genius Seth Godin. I like all of his books but this one is one of my favorites yet. Want to know how to build an awesome story around your brand, product or service? Tell a story that people want to believe in..
The Forever Portfolio by James Altucher
We're definitely heading into turbulent times again with the current happenings in Europe, the Chinese economy slowing down, terrorists being everywhere and bubbles about to burst. And if there's one thing I learned from Warren Buffett it's that one should invest when the economy is down. When everyone leaves the markets. That's when you should invest. So I got James Altucher's book where he explains his strategy on creating a forever portfolio. James introduces many smart thoughts and many cool industries that are going to flourish over the next 50 years. Grab this book if you want to bring your portfolio to the next level (or start investing in the stock market). I'm definitely ready for the next crisis!
Misc
Another interesting read was You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier, an Internet pioneer, where he predicts a not so nice future for the Internet generation. A very thought provoking book, that gets a bit lengthy. Nevertheless an interesting read with lots of new perspectives. On another note. I started shooting a few video sessions where I answer the most popular questions people asked me over the years. You can check them out here: http://bit.ly/1G1sP0c
Not subscribed yet? Sign up below and start getting the monthly reading recommendation list!
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman
Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Price in physics lived a truly remarkable life. In this book he tells some of his best life stories. Stories about how he cracked uncrackable safes, about how he was hanging out with Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, about how he participated at the Rio de Janeiro samba school competition and many more hilarious stories. It's really fascinating to me, how one of the smartest physicians that ever lived approached life. An endless curiosity, willingness to learn new things and most importantly the knowledge about how limited his knowledge was. Even though he was one brilliantly smart, intelligent and knowledgeable fella. An absolute must read!
Trust me I'm lying and Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday is quite a fascinating character. He dropped out of college at the age of 19 and started his "apprenticeship" working with Robert Greene, one of today's most important authors. At the age of 24 Ryan became the director of Marketing at American Apparel. Now at the age of 27 he has written three bestsellers. And I can now safely say that this guy is a genius. In his first book Trust me I'm lying he talks about how manipulative sites such as the Huffingtonpost et al. really are (he's been a part of the entire scam).
His second book Growth Hacker Marketing is a nice introduction into the world of Growth Hacking. His third book The Obstacle is the Way, which I read a few months ago was definitely his best book, yet. It's based on the stoic philosophy and can best be summarized with the words of Marcus Aurelius, one of the world's most popular stoics: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin
Another classic by Marketing genius Seth Godin. I like all of his books but this one is one of my favorites yet. Want to know how to build an awesome story around your brand, product or service? Tell a story that people want to believe in..
The Forever Portfolio by James Altucher
We're definitely heading into turbulent times again with the current happenings in Europe, the Chinese economy slowing down, terrorists being everywhere and bubbles about to burst. And if there's one thing I learned from Warren Buffett it's that one should invest when the economy is down. When everyone leaves the markets. That's when you should invest. So I got James Altucher's book where he explains his strategy on creating a forever portfolio. James introduces many smart thoughts and many cool industries that are going to flourish over the next 50 years. Grab this book if you want to bring your portfolio to the next level (or start investing in the stock market). I'm definitely ready for the next crisis!
Misc
Another interesting read was You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier, an Internet pioneer, where he predicts a not so nice future for the Internet generation. A very thought provoking book, that gets a bit lengthy. Nevertheless an interesting read with lots of new perspectives. On another note. I started shooting a few video sessions where I answer the most popular questions people asked me over the years. You can check them out here: http://bit.ly/1G1sP0c
Not subscribed yet? Sign up below and start getting the monthly reading recommendation list!
