This year I was fortunate enough to dedicate myself to reading 100 books, something I haven’t done since second grade. That included 1001 Arabian Nights, at over 2000 pages, and Doris Kearn Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, at 944 pages, and many other shorter titles. My reading list for last year is here:https://www.facebook.com/notes/robert-miller/the-books-of-2011/10150550381829540, and for 2010 right here: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150111268299540, and for 2009 here: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=249747479539.
This year saw a lot of diversity in that I read a lot more fiction, introduced leadership and sales titles, and some historical and economics reading. As I did last year, I have a rating system for the books I finished, and I have them in ranking from my favorites to my least favorite (the 50 shades trilogy is in there somewhere also). I finished the Hunger Games trilogy and the Ted Turner biography at the beginning of the year, and I have about 20 books already on deck for 2013. Let me know your thoughts, please!
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American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
Started/Finished: August, 2012/October, 2012
Notes: This book was an amazing, in depth, review of the extremely interesting life and biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the team to create the first atomic bomb. It covers his privileged childhood and his emergence as a childhood prodigy, his studies of Eastern religions and languages, and his work teaching physics. His tragic targeting by the U.S. Government as a potential security risk in the later parts of his life are a sad ending to an interesting career.
RR: 5/5
On Writing, by Stephen King
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: Great, great great. Straight from the source on writing, grammar, and structure. Brutally honest about what makes crappy writing, and what makes great writing, and how messy the writing process is. Also a biographical look at his childhood, education, marriage and setbacks in his career, written by one of the most famous authors in the world himself. Really enjoyed this book on many levels.
RR: 5/5
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
Started/Finished: October, 2012/October, 2012
Notes:The perfect book for Halloween, a story about a boy who grew up in a graveyard. This is the author of the book Coraline, and this story, starting and ending with tragedy, and about a boy who lives between two worlds, is so well constructed. Really enjoyed this read, and this could be a great children’s book or movie with some slight changes.
RR: 5/5
Imagine: How Creativity Works, by Jonah Lehrer
Started/Finished: October, 2012
Notes: A great examination of imagination in business, including stories from Pixar, … note that I was not aware of the controversy regarding made up quotes in this book when I read it. The author lost his job at the New York Times Magazine for making up Bob Dylan quotes, which did not affect the central message of the book.
RR: 5/5
Mindset, by Carol Dweck
Started/Finished: January, 2012/January, 2012
Notes: A fascinating and honest book about the psychology of limiting ourselves in many ways, and how almost anything can be learned. With not only great examples, but excellent writing about how the simple difference between believing that skills are innate, or can be learned, can make a world of difference.
RR: 5/5
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Steven PressfieldS
Started/Finished: May, 2012/ June 2012
Notes: I didn’t know much about this book at all before purchasing it, but wow, was it powerful. Steven Pressfield has a very high rating in my book based on the very strength of his writing. This is a highly, highly recommended book for anyone that runs or owns a business, is involved in writing, creative works, or embarks on physical fitness goals. The concept of what he calls resistance, and how to overcome resistance, is clearly stated and more powerfully discussed than 10 of the leading self help books. (And this is not meant as a self help book). This book is a needed kick in the pants to me and many others.
RR: 5/5
The Arabian Nights, by Anonymous
Started/Finished: February, 2012/December, 2012
Notes: 2000+ pages. Amazingly richly written. Has so many of the common themes of power, romance, cheating, dominance, surprise, magic, that are timeless classics. Not only is the overall story of Scheherazade fascinating, and with lessons for our time, but the individual stories stand up
RR: 5/5
The Art of War, by Sun TzuStarted/Finished: February, 2012/Notes: Well written and fascinating, and not only a look at another era, but more than that – a book with many lessons for business, relationships, life, and strategy for everything.
RR: 5/5
The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson
Started/Finished: January, 2012
Notes: A simple, but great book. The premise is how very slight improvements daily over time in areas of your life (health, wealth, relationships) can have greater effect than large scale changes. A very powerful concept, and this is a well written book.
RR: 5/5
The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred, by Phil Cosineau
Started/Finished: February, 2012/February, 2012
Notes: I really enjoyed this book, although I didn’t think it was my type of read. The author talks about making the most of travel by making it meaningful. Visiting whatever spots in the world have always interested you, and have meaning for you, and getting your head in the right space before, during, and after your travel, to get the most out of travel. A discussion of the worldwide sites where labyrinths exist is also extremely interesting. Highly recommended.
RR: 5/5
Your Money or Your Life: Vicki Robins
Started/Finished: March, 2012/April, 2012
Notes: This book has an interesting history, and two authors, one of whom hasn’t been alive in decades. But it is a convincing invitation to look closely at what you really want money for, what your relationship is to money, and what is really important in your life.
RR: 5/5
Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, by Mark Goulston and Keith Ferrazzi
Started/Finished: May, 2012/May, 2012
Notes: A great and very practical guide to communicating with difficult people. Keith Ferrazzi is the author of another book I enjoyed this year on this list, and Mark Goulston is a former hostage negotiator, and together they go through scenarios including fighting couples, angry executives, family problems, and show how shifting back and making the other person feel felt diffuses the entire problem, to the greater accomplishment of the goals to be completed.
RR: 5/5
The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande
Started/Finished: May, 2012/May, 2012
Notes: Kept hearing about this book and had to read it, and found it powerful. This is a re-examination of the power of to-do lists, in checklist form. Every business and industry, from airline pilots, to emergency room nurses, from fast food to the assembly line, has found that checklists have the power to make sure that things get done in the right way, whether you’ve done something once or hundreds of times before.
RR: 5/5
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Started/Finished: May, 2012/June 2012
Notes: Decided to revisit this classic work this year, and read it again, as Mr. Bradbury died this year. This is usually discussed in combination with censorship, but it is the strong storytelling that really makes this book interesting. Bradbury said that he did not write science fiction – he wrote dilemmas involving regular humans. And this book embodies that with its protagonist firefighter and his dilemma throughout the book.
RR: 5/5
Drown, by Junot Diaz
Started/Finished: May, 2012/June, 2012
Notes: A collection of short fiction stories about the immigrant experience for Dominican Republican emigres to New Jersey (Diaz writes about what he knows). Better than his other book, the short fiction stories are perfect for his writing skills and he tells a great story in each of the stories in this book.
RR: 5/5
The Hidden Reality, by Brian Greene
Started/Finished: May, 2012/ June, 2012
Notes: Brian Greene really has the gift of explaining string theory, large scale astronomical physics, and even quantum mechanics well. This book is long, but very interesting. I was excited again about String Theory after reading this book, and found it fascinating.
RR: 5/5
Turing’s Cathedral, by George Dyson
Started/Finished: June, 2012/August, 2012
Notes: An amazing look at everything that went into the early days of electronic computing, and the persistence of teams of scientists, along with the tragic story of Alan Turing. An in depth look at how computing came about, with stories of Von Neumann, Von Karman, Einstein, Dyson, and mathematical geniuses that helped build the first computer, ENIAC, and all the rules of computing.
RR: 5/5
What do you Care What Other People Think?, by Richard Feynman.
Started/Finished: June, 2012/ June, 2012
Notes: This is actually the second time I’ve read this, as I read Feynman’s works (all of them) from 1997-1998. He has such a lightness about his biographical writings, and the subjects are presented in so an interesting a manner, that this book is really a great read.
RR: 5/5
Galileo’s Daughter, by Dava Sobel
Started/Finished: August, 2012/August, 2012
Notes: A really, really well written account focusing on Galileo’s daughter, a nun, but really about his persecution from the Catholic Church and the effects of his invention, the telescope, and his writings about the telescope, and how they were used to accuse him of disputing the biblical account of the structure of the heavens. This is the second or third Sobel book I’ve read, and she is an amazing writer.
RR: 5/5
Mao’s Last Dancer, by Li Cunxin
Started/Finished: August, 2012/September, 2012
Notes: Wow. This was an amazing story. I had heard about the inspiring film, which I have not yet seen, but decided to read the book. The story of a young boy in rural China during Mao’s Great March, who becomes a ballet dancer, and then defects in Houston to the West. His experiences in communist China during his childhood, his eye opening experiences visiting the U.S.A., and his rise to become an adult, a brilliant dancer, and a political pawn, is a really, really thrilling read. Highly recommended.
RR: 5/5
Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate about The Nature of Reality, by Manjit Kumar
Started/Finished: August, 2012/September, 2012
Notes: This is a really well written book. Not a complaint here about the discussions and debates between Einstein and Bohr in the 30s and early 40s about the puzzle of Quantum Mechanics, and Kumar has a real gift for making the puzzling concepts of the discovery of the probabilistic quantum nature of the universe understandable. Highly recommended.
RR: 5/5
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Started/Finished: September, 2012/December, 2012
Notes: At 944 pages, this book is the second longest I read (other than Arabian Nights). This book caught my attention at least five years ago, but not until late this year did I finally get to tackle it. This is not only a biography of Lincoln, but a close look at all the members of his presidential cabinet, many of whom were his rivals during the political campaign. The movie “Lincoln” credits this film for part of its plot, and it is an amazing effort. You may think you know the 13th Amendment, or politics in the 19th century, or Lincoln, but you don’t once you read this book. Very impactful.
RR: 5/5
The Millionaire Mind, by Thomas Stanley
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: A well written book and an easy read, but definitely thought provoking. Building on his best seller, “The Millionaire Next Door”, Stanley does research on people living in certain millionaire rich environments, and analyzes their responses to how they live, spend, and think about things. The big lesson of the Millionaire Next Door was how average the homes and cars of most millionaires were, and here we learn about their dating, marriage, and family life, and what millionaires think about time management, and home building.
RR: 5/5
The Secrets of Power Negotiating, by Roger Dawson
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: While none of these are truly “secrets”, this book is the most in depth book about negotiations I have ever read. The workbook pages are helpful to get to what you want to achieve and what you (or your side) are willing to give up, and what strategies might be best towards achieving those goals. A clear well written book on an important subject.
RR: 5/5
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain
Started/Finished: August, 2012/September, 2012
Notes: Cain notes how much of the progress in the world have been accomplished by “introverts”, i.e., thinkers- those people that are in their heads. Gravity, Relativity, Evolution, and almost creative efforts in art, and most inventions of the Tech world, are made by those that prefer to be alone and introverted. The problem is that we live in a world that prizes extroverts, and reward extroverts. The chapters having to do with the differences between Asian classrooms and USA classrooms was very interesting, and although I’m not sure I agree with the genetic introverted differences discussion (which is presented without proof), this is a great book about an important subject.
RR: 4.5/5
Turn Right at Macchu Picchu, by Mark Adams
Started/Finished: September, 2012/October, 2012
Notes: This is a thrilling travelogue about one man’s attempts to retrace the discovery of Macchu Picchu in Peru, including learning all he can about Hiram Bingam, the (re)-discoverer of the archeological structures. Well written.
RR: 4.5/5
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: This book is some 6-7 years old, and was an Oprah Winfrey book club choice, which was where I first heard about it. I did not see the film, but this post apocalyptic fiction story, about a man and a boy traveling along a road (and in a world) full of dangers was extremely suspenseful and a great read.
RR: 4.5/5
No They Can’t: Why Government Fails but Businesses Succeed, by John Stossel.
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: I realize that neither this book, or John Stossel, or the Libertarian philosophy, are for everyone. I was impressed seeing Stossel speak at CalTech, and his segments on 20/20, and this book makes a compelling argument that business, not government, (and specifically competition in business) makes for progress in society, economic growth, and equality and fairness for all. Covering public safety, health care, the food industry, the military, the environment, he makes a solid case showing how intuition signals us to do one thing, but sometimes the counter intuitive solution is better, long term.
RR: 4.5/5
Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies, by Ben Macintyre
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: This is a thrilling story about the quirky band of almost misfit spies that actively mis-informed the German military about the location of the D-Day invasion. Their proclivities, their code names, their techniques to make sure that the true location was never revealed, and more importantly, that a false location was clear to the Nazis, is a well written and amazing story.
RR: 4/5
The Tools: Transform Your Problems Into Courage, Confidence, and Creativity, by Barry Michaels and Phil Stutz
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: This book I may have not completely used as intended, but wasn’t interested in repeating. The authors have used four fundamental problems that are universal to the human experience, and come up with reframing exercises, drills, to solve those problems and get unstuck. Every problem is a challenge, the authors keep saying, and you can’t argue with that, but this seems to be a workbook for people to use for specific problems, rather than a book to read and be inspired by.
RR: 4/5
Speak to Win, by Brian Tracy
Started/Finished: September, 2012/October, 2012
Notes: This short book is full of great, and extremely helpful, practical tips for presenting to audiences, small or large. Matching the audience, limiting the scope of your presentation, and even suggested jokes to use, are included.
RR: 4/5
The 11 Laws of Likeability, by Michelle Tillis Lederman
Started/Finished: August, 2012/September, 2012
Notes: An excellent read with principles that make sense. Love the personal stories and how well written this book was. Lederman shows that what we perceive as “likeability” is actually a series of learnable skills.
RR: 4/5
Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the making of Meaning, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: I always enjoy Professor Csikszentmilhalyi’s works, and his incredible book “Flow”, last year, led me to purchase and read this book, which is focused on leadership and business skills at work. Definitely more focused on creating a business environment conducive to flow, and letting workers/employees be their best.
RR: 4/5
Ultra Metabolism: The Simple Plan for Weight Loss, by Dr. Mark Hyman
Started/Finished: February, 2012/February, 2012
Notes: Interesting, and well written, but not enough substance. There are references to appendixes about supplements to take, but not enough information about interactions, side effects, or dosage to make this book as useful as it would like to be.
RR: 4/5
One Year to an Organized Work Life, by Regina Leeds
Started/Finished: January, 2012
Notes: A 52 week program for organizing your life, one week at a time. A great concept focusing on one skill or area of your life at a time. This author has other books focusing on home life or finances, but this covered a lot of ground that would have to be repetitive of her other books. As you might expect, some of the weeks are more substantial than others, and some chapters (weeks) felt like they were being stretched to cover a concept more than necessary.
RR: 4/5
8 Weeks to Optimum Health, by Andrew Weil
Started/Finished: April, 2012/May, 2012Notes: Suprisingly common sense, very well researched and engaging eight week program to introduce you to healthier habits. Very light on new age nonsense. Some of the “sugar is better than fats” advice may be a little dated in the light of research, and the effects of some herbs and organic foods overall might be overstated, but the book is well written, hard to argue from, and following even some of the recommendations made me healthier (and would make anyone healthier).RR: 4/5
The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want, by Sonja Lyubomirsky
Started/Finished: May, 2012/June, 2012
Notes: Heavier on research than practical application, this is a happiness book straight from the source. Focusing on achieving goals, and increasing happiness (despite the name), this book relies heavily on the science of journaling (much like another book I highly recommend, 59 seconds).
RR: 4/5
Why We Get Fat (And What to Do About It), by Gary Taubes
Started/Finished: May, 2012/ June, 2012
Notes: A shorter version of his excellent book “Good Calories, Bad Calories”, with some new information, but generally in an easier to read format (meaning less footnotes). I found the discussions on insulin and food, exercise, etc., to be very well done. This book in combination with Good Calories, Bad Calories, has enough research notes to make almost unassailable that carbohydrates cause fat storage, and low carbohydrate, high protein and high fiber diets cause weight loss. Some statements like “all diets cause weight loss because they lower carbohydrate intake”, and “if you want to lose weight you must stop exercising”, are more controversial and are not (yet) supported by the science, but this is an easily digestible summary of the science of weight loss.
RR: 4/5
One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com, by Richard L. Brandt
Started/Finished: May, 2012/ June 2012
Notes: An interesting business book and biography of someone that is woefully underrepresented in both business books and biography. The focus of the book is Amazon’s patenting of the “one click” technology (and aggressive enforcement of that patent), including a look at the inventor of the patent, and the more controversial uses of marketing by Amazon.
RR: 4/5
Spin Selling, by Neil Rackham
Started/Finished: May, 2012/June 2012
Notes: An in depth look at what works (based on experimentation) in selling, and what doesn’t work as well, and the types of selling. Some of the discussion of the types of sales and the sales process are highly informative. Some of the study results of the winning sales tactics seems like a problem of causation vs. correlation. But sales, in particular, is an important area of business that seems to be left up to either ‘hunches’, or the advice of “sales geniuses”, that have advice that has not been validated or falsified in any way.
RR: 4/5
The Strangest Secret, by Earl Nightingale
Started/Finished: May, 2012/ May, 2012
Notes: This very short book pre-dates “The Secret”, but discusses how strange it is that you would become what you think about the most. A simple but very powerful concept.
RR: 4/5
Fundamentally Different: Building a Culture of Success through Organizational Values, by David J. Friedman
Started/Finished: May, 2012/June, 2012
Notes: Although I am not sure that I agree with the concepts discussed in this book, the discussions about how important the concepts of culture are within a business organization are well outlined. Even better, the author’s many personal experiences towards the end of creating a culture in his business, are well written and a good read.
RR: 4/5
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz
Started/Finished: May, 2012/June 2012
Notes: Sometimes violent and profane, very well written, and an interesting look of Dominican Republic culture in New York City. This is a simple story about a nerdy guy that made it his life mission to experience a woman, and picked the wrong woman, the girlfriend of a gangster, and paid the price. An insightful and good read about a slice of life many have not experienced.
RR: 4/5
Subliminal: How your Unconscious Brain Rules Your Behavior, by Leonard Mlodinow
Started/Finished: June, 2012/ July, 2012
Notes: I have seen Mlodinow speak at CalTech, where he is a professor of theoretical physics, but never thought he would tackle the science of the mind, brain, or psychology, ever. But he’s done a great job here, and there is so much to the unconscious mind, and how many “hard wired” routines our brains have that calculate things that are important for our survival, but are unappreciated by us. The breakdown of subjects related to unconsciousness by the author in this book shows the genius of how Mlodinow tackles the subject and addresses it thoroughly.
RR: 4.5/5
How to Instantly Connect with Anyone, by Leil Lowndes
Started/Finished: June, 2012/ July, 2012
Notes: Little tips, some dubious, some genius, some bland, about interacting with other people. The tricks here, the ones that are palatable and actually work, could improve your communication with all types of people in all types of ways, as email, party conversation, friendship and relationship communication tips are discussed.
RR: 4/5
The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, by Leonard Mlodnow
Started/Finished: June, 2012/ July, 2012
Notes: This book is one you want to hate, but can’t. The author makes a compelling argument that everything we do (and even things we admire), from sports records, to CEO performance, to good things (and bad things) that happen in your life, are completely random, and that randomness is the major force in the universe. Many of the concepts I had to re-read, because there are things that seem intuitively not random, but, as the author explains, are very much random.
RR: 4/5
The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls
Started/Finished: June, 2012/ July, 2012
Notes: A sad but compelling memoir of growing up with smart, very unsuccessful, homeless parents. Her childhood in Arizona, California, and Las Vegas, and in a West Virginia mining town, is both sad and inspiring, in that she somehow is surprisingly understanding about her parents, and became a successful Manhattan based writer. At times this is a difficult read because of the things this family had to endure.
RR: 4/5
Road to Wealth, (Revised Edition) by Suze Orman
Started/Finished: July, 2012/ July, 2012
Notes: This book is a wealth (no pun intended) of information, not just about wealth building, but about credit reports, bankruptcy, mortgages, various types of insurance, health concerns, and avoiding spouse conflict regarding finances. It seems like information spit out in each chapter, but is well organized. A good reference book.
RR: 4/5
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Started/Finished: July, 2012/ August, 2012Notes: Such a fun read, and a great romp through details of the rise of computers, video games, and especially the 1980s. A great writer and a very fun read for persons of a certain age (probably 35 to 55), with so many inside jokes you might miss many of them.
RR:4/5
God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, by Christopher Hitchens
Started/Finished: July, 2012/ August, 2012
Notes: Such an amazing writer, and it is a shame that he died so young last year. Pulling no punches, Hitchens uses his considerable intellect and documents the history of the world’s religions, and abuses past and present in religion. He makes a strong case that evil is woven throughout the books of the bible and their lessons, and that there would be a more peaceful progressive society without religion at all. While I don’t think that would ever happen, and that religion is, in fact, part of being human, reading Hitchens or watching him speak, as I had the opportunity to do many times live, is seeing an intellectual well read genius from another century, with facts and figures at his fingertips, come to life. That’s worth the price of admission here.
RR: 4/5
The Age of Entanglement: When Quantum Physics was Reborn, by Louisa Gilder
Started/Finished: July, 2012/August, 2012
Notes: This is a title that I was not sure I would like, but was very interesting, and well written. It is written as a conversation between Albert Einstein and Heisenberg, Bohr, and many of the big names in the early discovery days of Quantum Physics. Using the notes and correspondence of the scientists, these are fictional discussions, but using real people and their real writing styles and positions regarding physics. A great read.
RR: 4/5
The Portable Atheist, by Christopher Hitchens
Started/Finished: January, 2012/ February, 2012
Notes: Really shows the deep literacy of its author, short quotes and essays by Omar Khayyam, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, and many many others, on belief and religion. An interesting review of history and historical figures who have written about the nature of God, or Gods, and whether or not they exist.
RR: 4/5
You, Staying Young, by Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen
Started/Finished: August, 2012/September, 2012
Notes: A solid review of healthy foods, exercise, and supplements, that act to keep you looking and feeling younger. With less puns than the “You: On a Diet” and other similar books. A short but helpful book.
RR: 4/5
Lost and Found, by Geneen Roth
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: Geneen Roth is known in some circles as an overeating guru, but this is the story about how she lost all of her money to Bernie Madoff, and learned some lessons about it. She has a relaxed writing style and this is not a life-changing book, but an excellent reminder about how much we already have, and how little we truly need to be happy. The author goes into some detail about how unwilling to look into finances she used to be, and how much of a spender she was, and how whiny about everything she was. Only when she truly lost everything was she forced to rethink every aspect about her life.
RR: 4/5
Overcoming Life’s Disappointments, by Harold S. Kushner
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: An examination of individuals and coping with hardships throughout life, this is a book written by a Rabbi, and has a very biblical / spiritual bent. It is very compassionate and understanding, and teaches to always look at the long term, no matter what life throws at you.
RR: 4/5
Breathe Easy: Relieve Stress and Reclaim Balance, by Mark Sanborn
Started/Finished: September, 2012/September, 2012
Notes: Featuring Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, Zig Ziglar, and others, with an extended seminar by Laura Stack, this is a series of helpful chapters geared towards learning effective stress release skills. Some very solid suggestions in this small book.
RR:4/5
Real Happiness, by Sharon Salzberg
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: A discussion on meditation, and specific meditations, towards making one happier. Discussions of gratitude, and seeing the positive, are solid and well discussed.
RR: 4/5
The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: Reviewing people and institutions that use habit to effectuate change (including the Civil Rights movement and Saddleback Church), and how stimulus cues, and effects (resulting in a habit), with a reward, are at the nature of almost all good or bad habits, and are also their secret to change.
RR: 4/5
First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: This book is based on a survey of 80,000 managers and itemizes skills used by the most successful managers. It discusses how leadership differs from management, and goes into each skill separately, which was very helpful.
RR: 4/5
Lighten Up: Love What You Have, Have What You Need, Be Happier with Less, by Peter Walsh
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: Enjoyed this author’s take on living with less. He discusses the amount of space and money each of us have devoted to clutter, and how that can lead to clutter in your financial and health lives. The concepts of how living with less can make you happier, and also be freeing, and better for the planet, resonated with me.
RR: 4/5
The Art of the Sale: Learning from the Masters About the Business of Life, from Philip Broughton
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: Based on discussions from Harvard Business School about sales and business, this is a low key and interesting review of sales and their place in business, based upon case studies involving real world companies.
RR: 4/5
Mao’s Great Famine, by Frank Dikotter
Started/Finished: November, 2012/ December 2012
Notes: This important book by a German scholar is a fascinating look at how Mao’s decision to create a “Great Leap Forward” caused the deaths of 45 million people, and a massive government cover-up.
RR: 4/5
Get Rich Click: The Ultimate Guide to Making Money on the Internet, by Marc Ostrofsky
Started/Finished: September, 2012/October, 2012
Notes: This book is liable to be outdated very quickly, but has a very basic coverage of the various methods, from domain name purchase and resale, to affiliate sales, to drop shipping, to sales through your own website. One of the big problems about this book, other than the author constantly puffing up himself, is the need to visit his links, QR codes, or supplemental information not in the book but available through his website. This seems like an elaborate scavenger hunt, rather than a book about business.
RR: 3.5/5
Dave Barry’s Money Secrets, by Dave Barry
Started/Finished: October, 2012/October, 2012
Notes: This book is more comedy than anything, and half of it is effective comedy. A fun read.
RR: 3.5/5
Unconditional Confidence, by Pema Chodron
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: This is a meditation handbook, based on a talk from Chodron, a Canadian Buddhist Nun. She is a great speaker and writer, and this is more about being solid in your own skin and dealing with your own internal problems, rather than seeing confidence from outside.
RR: 3.5/5
A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking
Started/Finished: August, 2012/September, 2012
Notes: Revisited this book, which I hadn’t read since the late 1980s. While I disagree with many that Hawking is a good writer, this has some very interesting concepts that continue to be interesting, and fresh.
RR: 3.5/5
Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
Started/Finished: November, 2012/December, 2012
Notes: Has an examination of beliefs that make up your personality, and how that can lead to your most positive contributions to your career and life. Supposedly based upon analyzing two million people and their strengths, this is a combination book and online test, which is somewhat burdensome. Interesting, but not sure how this correlates to something in real life. The main lesson here is that it’s much, much more effective to concentrate on your strengths than try to remedy your weaknesses.
RR: 3.5/5
The Real Crash, by Peter D. Schiff
Started/Finished: November, 2012 / December, 2012
Notes: This book seemed like more gloom and doom than sound economic theory, but the author makes a point – that primarily the Federal Reserve’s deep involvement in manipulation of interest rates, the government’s uncontrollable borrowing, and, in connection with this, the maintaining of unsustainable social programs are causing a problem that will only end with a re-correction that will be painful for the country.
RR: 3/5
The New Meditation Handbook, by Gelsing Gyatso
Started/Finished: January, 2012/January 2012
Notes: The meditation part of this is wonderful. But the unreadability of the commentary makes me wonder if this was a poor translation from the original author’s writing, in Tibetan.
RR: 3/5
The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan, by Barbara Rolls and Robert Barnett
Started/Finished: March, 2011/February, 2012
Notes: This book was highly recommended by my Weight Watchers leader, and the basic principle of the book is that the body needs a set amount of mass/bulk per day, and can be tricked by eating foods that are lower in energy density into consuming lower calories. Foods that are higher in water (vegetables, fruits, brothy soups, salads) are key to this plan. This one sentence is stretched into an entire book, which seems to be weakest when it discusses other approaches at consuming less calories and finds them deficient without full discussion.
RR:3/5
How to Grow a Backbone : 10 Strategies for Gaining Power and Influence at Work, by Susan Marshall
Started/Finished: February, 2012
Notes: Information presented in typical business book style, meaning boring, stretching out simple concepts for pages and pages, and using lots of stories of fictional persons that didn’t have a backbone, and then decided to have one. No surprises here.
RR: 3/5
Outwitting the Devil, by Napoleon Hill
Started/Finished: May, 2012/June, 2012
Notes: Another book by a classic author, this strange book posits an interview with a captured Devil, on how he gets his victims from society and manipulates society through education, fear, and the media. This book was written by a possibly mentally ill Hill in 1938, and he comes across a little bit looney in this book in particular, although the religious tone of the time, and the long lasting effects of the Great Depression still going on when this book was being written, that might explain some of his “second self” and his “visions” about the devil.
RR:3/5
The ABC of Sales, by Daniel Milstein
Started/Finished: May, 2012/ June 2012
Notes: If nothing else, this is a fascinating look at the story of it’s author, who went from immigrant from Russia to McDonalds employee, to mortgage salesperson (at the height of the market), to having his own mortgage company and becoming a millionaire. Very self-absorbed, and very much in the framework of “I’m a millionaire because I work 100 plus hour weeks”, rather than examining the power of an effective team, delegation, leverage, working smart vs working hard, or any of a number of other things that could have been discussed.
RR: 3.5/5
The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics, by Leonard Susskind
Started/Finished: June, 2012/ July, 2012
Notes: Sort of a bragging rights book about the bets and challenges between Stephen Hawking and Leonard Susskind, this was interesting, but too focused on the two scientists to be of popular use or much more interest to me than this one reading.
RR: 3/5
Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
Started/Finished: July, 2012/ July, 2012
Notes: Sometimes poorly written, annoying how much self doubt inner dialogue there is, which gets old fast. Some hot scenes, and this being such a phenomenon with women makes it a “must read” for men. The main characters, and especially the side characters, are stereotypically badly fleshed out, and would have more depth if they were on a soap opera. But this is solidly fantasy, not real life, so the more you check your ability to tell how the world really works at the door, the more enjoyable this book will be.
RR: 3/5
Fifty Shades Darker, by E.L. James
Started/Finished: July, 2012/August, 2012
Notes: Begins after the breakup of the two main characters, and then becomes more unbelievable from there. There are some logical leaps that are almost too difficult to make seriously, but the relationship between the two main characters progresses, there is life threatening drama, and a marriage proposal. Again, fantasy (especially in how fast this all happens), and the less it’s analyzed, the better the read.
RR: 3/5
The McKay MBA of Selling in the Real World, by Harvey Mackay
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: Received this book when it was released. This year, as part of my efforts to improve business skills, I concentrated on Leadership and Sales. This book seemed to be recycled information from other sources, and according to others, from MacKay’s own works. (I haven’t read McKay’s other works). Lots of fluff and very few nuggets.
RR: 3/5
How To Save Your Own Life, by Michael Gill Gates
Started/Finished: August, 2012/August, 2012
Notes: A very short book, but a great set of lessons to remember. Goes into some depth about his personal history, and even though this book sort of seems like an expanded list of “things to keep in mind through your life”, it’s a good read. Covers some of the personal stuff in “How Starbucks Saved My Life”, his other book. Nothing advanced here, but it’s a good reminder to shut off your electronics, spend time with your loved one, and be willing to be nice to others.
RR: 3/5
How to Give Her Absolute Pleasure, by Lou Paget
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: I heard a female friend talking about this book, and thought it would be worth a read. This is a relatively short book for this subject, and the reason why is that it seems very basic. Likely not much that you have not heard before in other sources.
RR: 3/5
The Six Pillars of Self Esteem: The Definitive Work on Self Esteem, by Nathaniel Branden
Started/Finished: August, 2012/September, 2012
Note: An extremely dry discussion about what makes self esteem. Most interesting parts were the discussions of Branden’s relationship with Ayn Rand, and the concept that as self-esteem, it has to come from within, not from external cues or sources of validation.
RR: 3/5
The Small Business Bible: The Ultimate Small Business Resource, by Steven D. Strauss
Started/Finished: October, 2012/November, 2012
Notes: A categorical discussion of all parts of what makes a solid business. Not much to learn from or argue with here.
RR: 3/5
Enders Game, by Orson Scott Carson
Started/Finished: June, 2012/October, 2012
Notes: A very traditional science fiction book, about a boy recruited to fight a space war, and for that reason, felt like “same old territory” in many respects. The science fictioney nature of this book aside, the plot is solid, and it is told almost as a script for a play. The movie based on this book will be released in 2013, and although this book started out strong and lost me the more it moved towards a predictable finish, I will be interested to see how they treat on screen this when the film is released.
RR: 2.5/5
Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
Started/Finished: July, 2012/August, 2012
Notes: This is an older, classic science fiction book, written in the late 1960s/early 1970s, and it shows. It’s the story of a man who is from Mars, and comes to Earth and learns he has psychic and related powers (including telekinesis). He ends up starting a new religion on Earth, one based on free love and other 60s concepts. Was a good core story, but is too dated by the times it was written in.
RR: 2/5
The Shack: A Novel, by William P. Young
Started/Finished: August, 2012/September, 2012
Notes: This shorter novel is a story about a man who’s daughter was murdered in a shack in the woods, and when visiting the scene of her murder, he has an experience talking to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in human form. Very silly in parts, not effective, and with such a painful start it never quite comes together as a coherent novel.
RR: 2/5
The 123 of God, by Ken Wilbur
Started/Finished: January, 2012/February 2012
Notes: A painfully complicated book, with charts, color schemes, numbers, about people’s belief in God. If you are a believer, this book will not be helpful to you. If you are not a believer, this book will seem like a huge grand waste of someone’s time, and definitely not helpful to anyone.
RR: 1/5
Breaking the Death Habit, by Leonard Orr
Started/Finished: January, 2012/January, 2012
Notes: Welcome to crazy town. This book was recommended to me by a very spiritual bartender that I respect for more than his ability to mix drinks, but this book is kind of a mess. Claims like “thousands of immortals live among us”, and that people can dissolve and reappear, even out of cement tombs, and reappear in any time, even in the future, should be testable claims, but are just taken as fact here. The heart of the book (which, unfortunately takes half the book to get to), is that concentrated breathing, bathing (twice daily), sitting in front of a fire, meditating, fasting, and abstaining from society is the secret to eternal life. This book is the lesser known of his work, which is mainly about “rebirthing” — the process of going through the breath patterns and other experiences of being born. The end of the book has a request to send him $10 per month. No can do, Leonard, sorry.
RR: 1/5
Mastering Your Hidden Self: A Guide to the Huna Way, by Serge Kahili King.
Started/Finished: February, 2012, to March, 2012
Notes: Not my cup of tea. So much of the speculative talk about the psychenesis of children, or Kirlian Photography, which have been discredited, takes away from the simple law of attraction message that you move towards what you think about most.
RR: 1/5
Skinny Bastard: A Kick In the Ass for Real Men Who Want to Stop Being Fat and Start Getting Buff, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnonin
Started/Finished: August, 2012/August, 2012
Notes: Wow, this book is bad, almost dangerous. The authors, in their typical “we are so edgy by using bad words in every sentence”, waiver from “do your own research” to “we don’t trust the research”, to “you don’t need research”in their hard line approach that being vegan equals health. Some of the dangers they warn about is not supported by science, although they are certainly on solid ground not to trust the government or industry for your nutrition advice. But recommending vegan ice cream, lasagna, hot dogs? And no butter, milk, eggs, or leather shoes? Processed food is not going to get you the results you want, in my opinion. Some of the concepts presented as fact here are laughably wrong.
RR: 1/5