Books I've read so far.

[Writer]

These are the books that I've read between Jan 1st 2015 and Sep 30th 2015, hopefully someone will find some useful/intersting title. There is no fiction (I just finished reading the first work of fiction of the year).
I will update this list once in a while. Must reads are: Kissinger's, Branson's, and Carnegie's books. And I stress Kissinger's book.
Goldsmith's was good, and Jacobsen's book was a very nice surprise (you can see sidewalks as missed opportunities instead of simple physical places) if you like the subject.
PLEASE AVOID Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". It's dull, idiotic, stupid, useless, full of BS (talk to your underwear) and new-age BS.

• Friedman, Milton. "Capitalism and Freedom", read
• Bayer, Wise. "The well-educated mind, read
• Harden, Darren. "The compound effect", read
• Lieber, Ron. “The Opposite of Spoiled”, read
• "National Affairs", Number 24, Summer 2015, read
• Moses, Naim. "The end of power", read

• Trump, Donald. "Never Give Up", read.
• Kondo, Marie. "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up", read
• Goodwin, Doris K. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism", read

• Branson, Richard. "The Virgin Way", read.
• Collins, Jim. "Good to Great", read.
• Rice, Condoleeza. "No Higher Honor", read
• Carnegie, Dale. "How to win friends and influence people", read
• Showers, Ben. "Library Analytics and Metrics", read
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 3, read
• Collins, Jim. “Good to Great and the Social Sectors”, read
• Walker, Scott. "Unintimidated: a governor's story and a nation's challenge", read
• Robbins, Anthony. "Money", read
• Bourdain, Anthony. "Medium raw", read
• Seneca. "On the shortness of life", read
• Paul, Roberts.The impulse society", read

• Gladwell, Malcolm. “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants”
• Aldrin, Buzz. "Mission to Mars”, read
• Attwood, Janet. "Your Hidden Riches: unleashing the power of ritual", read

• Murphy, Jim. "The Long Road to Gettysburg", read
• Offerman, Nick. "Gumption", read
• Horngren, Charles. “Financial and Managerial Accounting”, read
• Gates, Robert. “Duty”, read
• Lewis, Michael. "Moneyball", read
• Robbins, Anthony. “Awaken The Giant Within”, reqd
• Hanagarne, Josh. “The World’s Strongest Librarian”, read
• Bush, George W. “Decision Points”, read
• Levitt, Steven. “Super Freakonomics”, read
• Jacobs, Jane. “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, read
• Geithner, Timothy. “Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises”, read
• McCullough, David. “1776”, read
• Hall, Peter. “Cities of Tomorrow”, read
• Meyer, Kenneth. “Politics and Bureaucracy”, read
• Greenberg, Alan, “Confessions of a Government Man”, read
• Eggers, William, “If We Can Put a Man on the Moon”, read
• “The Hoover Digest”, Winter 2015, read
• Konnikova, Maria. “Mastermind”, read
• Heifetz, Ronald. “Leadership on the Line”, read
• Wagner, Rodd. “12: The elements of Great Managing”
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 2, read
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 1, read
• “National Affairs”, Issue 22 Spring 2015, read
• Goldsmith, Stephen. “The Responsive City”, read
• Guy, Peters. “The Politics of Bureaucracy”, read
• Franco, Massimo. “Andreotti. La vita di un uomo politico, la storia di un’epoca”, read
• “National Affairs”, N. 22 Fall 2014, read
• Rudd, Dennis. “City Politics”, read
• Soll, Jacob. “The Information Master: Jean-Baptiste Colbert’s Secret State Intelligence System”, read
• Kissinger, Henry. "World Order”, read

Total: 54 books.

 

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[Luffy]

How has your life changed as a result of reading these 54 books over the span of 9 months? What is the most important thing you've learned? What is the best warning you've gotten in these books about not making mistakes that cost you more than just money?

 

[Writer]

How has your life changed as a result of reading these 54 books over the span of 9 months?

Just to be clear, I have always been a voracious reader, so this is not some sort of self-imposed "goal". The only change is that I reduced fiction big time, in favor of non-fiction.

What is the most important thing you've learned?

Thanks to Kissinger's book I learned that our concept of "world order" is significantly different than those of other populations, countries or even people. In other words, we have to be very careful with the preconceived order that is formed in our mind, as most likely other people will disagree. It might seem obvious, and it might seem the usual "be open" argument, but he's explaining this on historical and geopolitical terms. Of course he explains it better, in a better way, and in a more substantial scale. In addition, the chapter on social media should be required reading for everyone.
Most of the books that gave me something underlined a simple concept, struggle is inevitable, and controversy and fights are inevitable. There is no escape, and whatever current Politically Correctness is teaching is the exact opposite of truth. You can see that in books such as the one by Condi Rice, or even Tony Robbins.

What is the best warning you've gotten in these books about not making mistakes that cost you more than just money?

Time is valuable, and do not ever back down in order to avoid future conflicts. Be as direct as possible, analyze the situation as throughly as possible, and be very very careful to those around you. You don't want to mix with no-getters, or people that are afraid of giving you an opinion to not offend you, as they will avoid struggle even if it means losing money/time. In addition, WHO you know is very important, not to get things easy, but to LEARN from people.

Of course, this is a simplification, and just a short list.

 

[TonyStark]

Maybe you can write summaries over each one and sell them on Amazon?

 

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[LifeTransformer]

My type of thread!

One quick reply:

"PLEASE AVOID Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". It's dull, idiotic, stupid, useless, full of BS (talk to your underwear) and new-age BS. "

"If an untidy desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the sign of an empty desk?" Attributed to Einstein (me paraphrasing). Whoever said it = genius.

 

[Kingmaker]

PLEASE AVOID Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". It's dull, idiotic, stupid, useless, full of BS (talk to your underwear) and new-age BS.

It's actually a great book, maybe not for everyone. I value experiences over possessions and it was right up my alley.

Simple concept too: "Toss all your shit in a pile. Holy crap, that's a lot of shit. Now how does that shit make you feel? Shitty and burdened? Get rid of. Happy and inspired/ is it useful frequently? Keep."

Also #4 on Amazon's top 100 best selling list? It's good to see that people are waking up to their excessive consumerism.

 

[Forodstar]

These are the books that I've read between Jan 1st 2015 and Sep 30th 2015, hopefully someone will find some useful/intersting title. There is no fiction (I just finished reading the first work of fiction of the year).
I will update this list once in a while. Must reads are: Kissinger's, Branson's, and Carnegie's books. And I stress Kissinger's book.
Goldsmith's was good, and Jacobsen's book was a very nice surprise (you can see sidewalks as missed opportunities instead of simple physical places) if you like the subject.
PLEASE AVOID Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". It's dull, idiotic, stupid, useless, full of BS (talk to your underwear) and new-age BS.

• Friedman, Milton. "Capitalism and Freedom", read
• Bayer, Wise. "The well-educated mind, read
• Harden, Darren. "The compound effect", read
• Lieber, Ron. “The Opposite of Spoiled”, read
• "National Affairs", Number 24, Summer 2015, read
• Moses, Naim. "The end of power", read

• Trump, Donald. "Never Give Up", read.
• Kondo, Marie. "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up", read
• Goodwin, Doris K. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism", read

• Branson, Richard. "The Virgin Way", read.
• Collins, Jim. "Good to Great", read.
• Rice, Condoleeza. "No Higher Honor", read
• Carnegie, Dale. "How to win friends and influence people", read
• Showers, Ben. "Library Analytics and Metrics", read
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 3, read
• Collins, Jim. “Good to Great and the Social Sectors”, read
• Walker, Scott. "Unintimidated: a governor's story and a nation's challenge", read
• Robbins, Anthony. "Money", read
• Bourdain, Anthony. "Medium raw", read
• Seneca. "On the shortness of life", read
• Paul, Roberts.The impulse society", read

• Gladwell, Malcolm. “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants”
• Aldrin, Buzz. "Mission to Mars”, read
• Attwood, Janet. "Your Hidden Riches: unleashing the power of ritual", read

• Murphy, Jim. "The Long Road to Gettysburg", read
• Offerman, Nick. "Gumption", read
• Horngren, Charles. “Financial and Managerial Accounting”, read
• Gates, Robert. “Duty”, read
• Lewis, Michael. "Moneyball", read
• Robbins, Anthony. “Awaken The Giant Within”, reqd
• Hanagarne, Josh. “The World’s Strongest Librarian”, read
• Bush, George W. “Decision Points”, read
• Levitt, Steven. “Super Freakonomics”, read
• Jacobs, Jane. “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, read
• Geithner, Timothy. “Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises”, read
• McCullough, David. “1776”, read
• Hall, Peter. “Cities of Tomorrow”, read
• Meyer, Kenneth. “Politics and Bureaucracy”, read
• Greenberg, Alan, “Confessions of a Government Man”, read
• Eggers, William, “If We Can Put a Man on the Moon”, read
• “The Hoover Digest”, Winter 2015, read
• Konnikova, Maria. “Mastermind”, read
• Heifetz, Ronald. “Leadership on the Line”, read
• Wagner, Rodd. “12: The elements of Great Managing”
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 2, read
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 1, read
• “National Affairs”, Issue 22 Spring 2015, read
• Goldsmith, Stephen. “The Responsive City”, read
• Guy, Peters. “The Politics of Bureaucracy”, read
• Franco, Massimo. “Andreotti. La vita di un uomo politico, la storia di un’epoca”, read
• “National Affairs”, N. 22 Fall 2014, read
• Rudd, Dennis. “City Politics”, read
• Soll, Jacob. “The Information Master: Jean-Baptiste Colbert’s Secret State Intelligence System”, read
• Kissinger, Henry. "World Order”, read

Total: 54 books.

Really liked the Marie Kondo book actually. Found it helpful. Did you try it? Or dismiss it as out of hand?

 

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[Writer]

Really liked the Marie Kondo book actually. Found it helpful. Did you try it? Or dismiss it as out of hand?

I read it all, I seriously couldn't stand it while reading it.
While I agree with the material detachment stuff, I couldn't stand the new ageish tone. It's just me, if you liked it, good. I just can't recommend it to anyone. The Minimalist Mom's book and blog is much better, at least for me.
All the books in the list have been read in their entirety, I skimmed way many more books. I just love to read, so it's not a big accomplishment or a burden. The only "cheating" is putting Seneca's text in the list as it is just a few pages and can be read in 30 minutes. Actually, find it online and read it, you won't be sorry; it's incredibly short.

 

[LifeTransformer]

I read it all, I seriously couldn't stand it while reading it.
While I agree with the material detachment stuff, I couldn't stand the new ageish tone. It's just me, if you liked it, good. I just can't recommend it to anyone. The Minimalist Mom's book and blog is much better, at least for me.
All the books in the list have been read in their entirety, I skimmed way many more books. I just love to read, so it's not a big accomplishment or a burden. The only "cheating" is putting Seneca's text in the list as it is just a few pages and can be read in 30 minutes. Actually, find it online and read it, you won't be sorry; it's incredibly short.

Have you got that Seneca link? Can't seem to find it myself.

 

[Writer]

Have you got that Seneca link? Can't seem to find it myself.

Here you go:
http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/seneca_younger/brev_e.html


Let me know what you think of it. It's more a letter than a book...

 

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[Writer]

Updated as of Dec 1st, 2015, just in case you find anything interesting.
Ferguson's book was amazing, I couldn't put it down, I stayed up until 3AM to finish it.
Handley's book was ok, but nothing new if you've read King's On Writing and The elements of style. The organization was quite helpful.
Adam Smith's book... well, it's a classic and for a good reason. Everyone should read an abridged version (esp. Book I and Book II).
Michael Lewis, is the typical Lewis if you've read Moneyball and his other works. Also a good tale on how to exploit some opportunities.

• Ferguson, Niall. “Kissinger: The Idealist Volume 1, 1923, 1968”, read
• Handley, Ann”, “Everybody Writes”, read
• Smith, Adam. “The Wealth of Nations”, read
• Lewis. Michael. “The Big Short”, read
• “The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Jan/Feb 2015”, read
• Fisher, Roger. “Getting to Yes”, read
• Friedman, Milton. "Capitalism and Freedom", read
• Bayer, Wise. "The well-educated mind, read
• Harden, Darren. "The compound effect", read
• Lieber, Ron. “The Opposite of Spoiled”, read
• "National Affairs", Number 24, Summer 2015, read
• Moses, Naim. "The end of power", read

• Trump, Donald. "Never Give Up", read.
• Kondo, Marie. "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up", read
• Goodwin, Doris K. The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism", read

• Branson, Richard. "The Virgin Way", read.
• Collins, Jim. "Good to Great", read.
• Rice, Condoleeza. "No Higher Honor", read
• Carnegie, Dale. "How to win friends and influence people", read
• Showers, Ben. "Library Analytics and Metrics", read
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 3, read
• Collins, Jim. “Good to Great and the Social Sectors”, read
• Walker, Scott. "Unintimidated: a governor's story and a nation's challenge", read
• Robbins, Anthony. "Money", read
• Bourdain, Anthony. "Medium raw", read
• Seneca. "On the shortness of life", read
• Paul, Roberts.The impulse society", read

• Gladwell, Malcolm. “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants”
• Aldrin, Buzz. "Mission to Mars”, read

- Attwood, Janet. "Your Hidden Riches: unleashing the power of ritual", read

• Murphy, Jim. "The Long Road to Gettysburg", read
• Offerman, Nick. "Gumption", read
• Horngren, Charles. “Financial and Managerial Accounting”, read
• Gates, Robert. “Duty”, read
• Lewis, Michael. "Moneyball", read
• Robbins, Anthony. “Awaken The Giant Within”, reqd
• Hanagarne, Josh. “The World’s Strongest Librarian”, read
• Bush, George W. “Decision Points”, read
• Levitt, Steven. “Super Freakonomics”, read
• Jacobs, Jane. “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, read
• Geithner, Timothy. “Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises”, read
• McCullough, David. “1776”, read
• Hall, Peter. “Cities of Tomorrow”, read
• Meyer, Kenneth. “Politics and Bureaucracy”, read
• Greenberg, Alan, “Confessions of a Government Man”, read
• Eggers, William, “If We Can Put a Man on the Moon”, read
• “The Hoover Digest”, Winter 2015, read
• Konnikova, Maria. “Mastermind”, read
• Heifetz, Ronald. “Leadership on the Line”, read
• Wagner, Rodd. “12: The elements of Great Managing”
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 2, read
• “Foreign Affairs”, Vol 94 Issue 1, read
• “National Affairs”, Issue 22 Spring 2015, read
• Goldsmith, Stephen. “The Responsive City”, read
• Guy, Peters. “The Politics of Bureaucracy”, read
• Franco, Massimo. “Andreotti. La vita di un uomo politico, la storia di un’epoca”, read
• “National Affairs”, N. 22 Fall 2014, read
• Rudd, Dennis. “City Politics”, read
• Soll, Jacob. “The Information Master: Jean-Baptiste Colbert’s Secret State Intelligence System”, read
• Kissinger, Henry. "World Order”, read

Total: 60 books.

 

[Five Star]

That's an impressive list! You must read at any opportunity.

Are you finding all the reading is benefiting you on your Fastlane journey?

 

[BaraQueenbee]

*following

 

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[Writer]

That's an impressive list! You must read at any opportunity.

Oh yes! I just love reading! I would read anytime, under any circumstances.

Are you finding all the reading is benefiting you on your Fastlane journey?

Well, as I stated I am not reading specifically for my Fastlane journey.
However, by reading a lot of non-fiction I get a lot of information on a variety of topics. The more I read biographies and business books the more it becomes clear that the path to success is very slow, and it requires a lot of action and people's skills. There is no way around it.
I used to think in lucky/unlucky or simplistic terms. By reading "The Guns of August", an AMAZING book on WWI, it became clear to me that events are much more people-oriented that what it might sound. What I mean is that a war doesn't happen because dark forces make it happen; it happens because the involved players make willful decisions.
The same goes in business. Read Micheal Lewis, "The big short", and you will see that the 2008 financial crisis happened because a lot of people made specific decisions at critical times.
If you read FLM, you will see that MJ made specific decisions at a critical time.
And while I don't deny that some things are outside of our sphere of influence, it now evident to me that not only that sphere HAS to be expanded, but that it has to be kept under strict control to minimize the damages, and improve the odds of getting in the position of making a winning choice, or at least to avoid a losing choice.