I’ve decided to keep a reading list, by tagging books on del.icio.us as I start reading them (or finish them, can’t decide. Probably some combination of the two). Amazon seemed like a natural choice for the destination web link, but I wondered if there was an alternative. It seems many books have their own website. For the rest of this post, I’m going to try to link to an obvious page, rather than the easy choice, just to see if it can be done.
Some books you just know you’ll go back to again. This list of books to re-read is partly for my own benefit, to remind myself to pick them up again in the new year.
- Getting Things Done by David Allen – changed my life and made me want to be more organised and relaxed, and helped me discover the source of most of my stress.
- Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box – made me think about the nature of selfishness. Not every book does that.
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki – gave me some ideas, though has very little substance and made me wonder whether Rich Dad ever existed.
- StrengthsFinder, Now, Discover Your Strengths – gave me an another way to think about strengths and team roles (having known about Belbin since starting at IBM).
I finally read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell recently (which he could have compressed into the first chapter. I got what he was trying to say very quickly, and most of the book was repetition), which made me think I should probably also get round to reading his earlier book, The Tipping Point. Also, I’ve never read Friedman’s The World is Flat. Should I?
Oh, and despite all of the above, most of what I read is actually fiction.. (I’m currently reading and enjoying The Life of Pi).
I’ve been getting interested in Getting Things Done after listening to Merlin Mann’s podcasts interviewing David Allen. Normally, I’d think something like that would be a load of bollocks, but it’s actually very pratical…
Not sure about Thomas Friedman’s book, but I can highly recommend pretty much anything from the ‘other’ Friedman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism_and_Freedom
Roo, have you tried LibraryThing? It’s a great way to catalog your books.
Ooh. Thank you Kelly. Playing…
Your minimalist recommendation has made me read Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box . Thanks for that. I liked the storytelling approach, and, as “advertised” by you, it is really making me think. A lot.
My 2c for anyone else feeling tempted by the book: it is a book for anyone dealing with humans, no matter if the leardship stuff has any appeal to you.
The world is flat?
Watch a thought-provoking 13 minute Overview on the Web:
http://www.mkpress.com/FlatOverview.html
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Read more: http://www.mkpress.com/Flat
Xavier: I am rather honoured that you tried the book based on my (very) minimalist recommendation. Impressively thought-provoking, no?
Scottie: Thanks. It seems not everyone is a Friedman fan after all then. Bafflegab is a word I had not come across before. I promise that if I read his book I will read the Aronica and Ramdoo critique too.
I thought Blink and Tipping Point were both very good, I enjoy listening to Gladwell.
The World is Flat is also pretty incredible, its really long and some sections could be broken up into peices of their own. Definately Read it.
I’m almost done with Now, Discover Your Strengths I was wondering if anyone knew where to find some rebutals to it. They talk about the unique individuality of all humans however everyone ONLY has 5 dominant strengths? Are there some people with more or less? Are there variations to all of your “non dominant” strengths, for example some people feel more empathy than others even if it isn’t their main strength.
I understand to focus on your strengths, I do. But I also want to exercise damage control on some of my weaknesses. Is that totaly wrong?
Physiologists should think before putting down the instinct of self-preservation as the cardinal instinct of an organic being. A living thing seeks above all to discharge its strength — life itself is will to power; self-preservation is only one of the indirect and most frequent results.
Nietzsche