“I read and read and read. I probably read five to six hours a day.” – Warren Buffett
Good for you, Warren Buffett. Unfortunately, six hours a day is not achievable for any “normal” person. The reality is that we all live busy lives, and sitting down to read a book typically falls pretty far down the list of priorities. Plus, if you’re anything like me, you likely collect books 10x faster than they can be read anyways.
Six hours a day, or whatever other measurement is perpetuated by those aiming to puff their intellectual chest, is not the standard. So don’t let it discourage you. Maybe 30 minutes is all you can afford, maybe 15. The most important thing is make an attempt. Try to build a regimen by cutting out an episode of The Office and instead forcing yourself to open what’s next on the shelf.
It is true that the greatest path to knowledge is avid reading. It’s my favorite way to go to bed smarter than I woke up each day. I was able to check off some awesome pieces last year and want to share them with you all!
- Factfulness by Hans Rosling
This book fundamentally changed the way I view the world. An excellent crash course in the errs of our perceptions and a reminder to do the research before drawing conclusions.
Description: When asked simple questions about global trends―what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school―we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.
In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective―from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).
Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases.
It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.
2. A Young Doctor’s Notebook By Mikhail Bulgakov
An old Russian book of short stories circa 1925. A fun read that reminds me of the differences in human personality, value of technology, and opportunity we have in any industry to improve society.
Description: In this collection of short stories, drawing heavily from the author’s own experiences as a medical graduate on the eve of the Russian Revolution, Bulgakov describes a young doctor’s turbulent and often brutal introduction to his practice in the backward village of Muryovo.
3. The Richest Man Who Ever Lived by Greg Steinmetz
A biography of Jacob Fugger, one of the greatest businessmen of all time. You’ll recognize a lot of his business practices in today’s world too. Some great stories in here!
Description: In the days when Columbus sailed the ocean and Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, a German banker named Jacob Fugger became the richest man in history.
Fugger lived in Germany at the turn of the sixteenth century, the grandson of a peasant. By the time he died, his fortune amounted to nearly two percent of European GDP. In an era when kings had unlimited power, Fugger dared to stare down heads of state and ask them to pay back their loans—with interest. It was this coolness and self-assurance, along with his inexhaustible ambition, that made him not only the richest man ever, but a force of history as well. Before Fugger came along it was illegal under church law to charge interest on loans, but he got the Pope to change that. He also helped trigger the Reformation and likely funded Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe. His creation of a news service gave him an information edge over his rivals and customers and earned Fugger a footnote in the history of journalism. And he took Austria’s Habsburg family from being second-tier sovereigns to rulers of the first empire where the sun never set.
4. Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
An easy to read, fascinating introduction to behavioral economics and consumer behavior. 10/10 would recommend.
Description: Why do our headaches persist after we take a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a fifty-cent aspirin? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup?
When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we’re making smart, rational choices. But are we?
In this newly revised and expanded edition of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They’re systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational.
5. The Marshall Fields by John Tebbel
Another biography, this one of the famous Marshall Fields. A great character study in grit and determination, but also a reminder that wealth and success on its own is worthless, it’s life outside of work that’s most important.
Description: Unavailable
