In my last blog I spoke about how to get the most out of your day. Something I have spoken about before is reading. Numerous successful businessmen such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Marc Cuban have extolled the virtues of reading. Buffett speaks of reading 500 pages a day and that reading is like compound interest, while Bill Gates produces a reading list regularly. I strongly believe the more you read the wider a view point you get and this leads to better decisions being made. I also find that if you read a lot generally when you are meeting someone for the first time you can find something to connect with the person. I will break it down into two blogs and this one I propose to focus on the books that I really liked. These are just the ones that I liked and there are numerous other examples out there.
- Adults in the Room: My Battle with Europe’s Deep Establishment by Yanis Varoufakis
I read this quite recently and it was a revelation to me, I admit I had a very different opinion of Varoufakis before I started reading his books. This is in an in depth analysis of the Greek debt crisis and in particular his time as Finance minister. I couldn’t put it down and it made me think just how much of our thoughts are influenced by the media around us.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34673467-adults-in-the-room?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=4Jie9UHCQI&rank=1
- Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
This book will have been on many people’s lists of books to read and its place is well deserved. It is a great read and reinforces how important it is to surround yourself with the best people. You may not necessarily agree with them or even like them but when they have a legitimate view it will help you to make smarter decisions particularly if they have strengths that you don’t have.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2199.Team_of_Rivals?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=XPZlanZatB&rank=1
- Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World by Rutger Bregman
You may remember Bregman from that video clip in Davos where he discusses increasing taxes on the wealthy, which went down well. I loved this book and the ideas he put forwards. I believe that business can help improve society and that by changing policies or even just thinking a bit differently the world can change for the better. His ideas are logical and realistic.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40876575-utopia-for-realists?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=40jXknqTEP&rank=1
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
I previously wrote about this book but I think it is a very important concept and that it is something everybody could benefit from. How many of us are guilty of multi-tasking? Yes the task gets done but could it be done a lot better? Well worth a read.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=aDWSecYq2J&rank=1
- Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright, Bradley Hope
Finally something a bit light, this is a great story and I found it hard to put down. It is almost unbelievable but gives a good insight into some of the practices that took place. It is amazing what one man could do and got away with for so long. The amount of money involved is staggering.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38743564-billion-dollar-whale?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ZLvmbJoQoj&rank=1
These are just some of the books I have enjoyed. I try to read one book a week. I find that no matter what book you read you will learn something new and it may change your perspective. In the next blog I will discuss some of the magazines I think are worth a look at.
Andrew
