Book Updates: Added Remarks and Notes - July
A summary of book recommendations and updates from the books page for the month of July 2016. This is a monthly post emailed out to my newsletter. I'm also always on the hunt for good books contact or tweet @juvoni.
Books Added:
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
by Cal Newport
Rating: 8.5/10 Reading Ease: 3/4 Reading Time: 9 hours
“Two Core Abilities for Thriving in the New Economy 1. The ability to quickly master hard things.2. The ability to produce at an elite level, in terms of both quality and speed.” — Cal Newport
3 Reasons to Read
- Improve your ability to focus and do Deep work that will allow you to tackle cognitively demanding tasks.
- Improve your skill to produce better results and learn things more quickly.
- Learn how to switch from consuming to producing and add value to the world.
Ego Is the Enemy
by Ryan Holiday
Rating: 7.5/10 Reading Ease: 3/4 Reading Time: 6 hours
“One might say that the ability to evaluate one's own ability is the most important skill of all. Without it, improvement is impossible. And certainly ego makes it difficult every step of the way. It is certainly more pleasurable to focus on our talents and strengths, but where does that get us? Arrogance and self-absorption inhibit growth. So does fantasy and ‘vision'.” —Ryan Holiday
3 Reasons to Read
- Learn how to manage and overcome Ego.
- A wide range of stories, from literature, philosophy, sports, media, and history revealing how ego has shaped many and broken much more.
- At every stage in life Ego has the potential to hold us back and stop our growth, learn about it's nature and cycle.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
by Chip Heath, Dan Heath
Rating: 6.5/10 Reading Ease: 4/4 Reading Time: 7 hours
“The bigger the change you're suggesting, the more it will sap people's self-control. And when people exhaust their self-control, what they're exhausting are the mental muscles needed to think creatively, to focus, to inhibit their impulses, and to persist in the face of frustration or failure. In other words, they're exhausting precisely the mental muscles needed to make a big change. So when you hear people say that change is hard because people are lazy or resistant, that's just flat wrong. In fact, the opposite is true: Change is hard because people wear themselves out. And that's the second surprise about change: What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.” — Chip Heath
3 Reasons to Read
- Learn about the tension between your rational and emotional mind and how it makes change difficult
- Learn how to influence other individuals and organizations
- Improve your ability to build and break bad habits
Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha
by Tara Brach
Rating: 7.5/10 Reading Ease: 3/4 Reading Time: 9 hours
“Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns…We may want to love other people without holding back, to feel authentic, to breathe in the beauty around us, to dance and sing. Yet each day we listen to inner voices that keep our life small.” —Tara Brach
3 Reasons to Read
- A heartwarming narrative based introduction to Zen Buddhism.
- If you're dealing with insecurities and low self-esteem.
- Learn about the power of Radical Acceptance and overcome the fear of imperfection.
Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life
by Paul Ekman
Rating: 7.5/10 Reading Ease: 3/4 Reading Time: 7 hours
“Emotions change how we see the world and how we interpret the actions of others. We do not seek to challenge why we are feeling a particular emotion; instead, we seek to confirm it.” —Paul Ekman
3 Reasons to Read
- Become more consciously aware of when you are becoming emotional, even before you speak or act.
- Be better at choosing how you behave when you are emotional, so you can achieve your goals without damaging other people.
- Become more sensitive to how others are feelings and improve your emotional intelligence.
An Anthropologist on Mars
by Oliver Sacks
Rating: 7/10 Reading Ease: 3/4 Reading Time: 8 hours
“This is what I get very upset at…' Temple, who was driving suddenly faltered and wept.‘I've read that libraries are where immortality lies… I don't want my thoughts to die with me… I want to have done something… I'm not interested in power, or piles of money. I want to leave something behind. I want to make a positive contribution—know that my life has meaning, Right now, I'm talking about things at the very core of my experience.' I was stunned. As I stepped out of the car to say goodbye, I said, ‘I'm going to hug you. I hope you don't mind.' I hugged her—and (I think) she hugged me back.” — Oliver Sacks
3 Reasons to Read
- Gain new insights into the workings of the mind through individuals who have had injuries to it.
- An engaging collection of seven neurological case studies.
- You're interested in learning more about Oliver Sacks and how he works with patients.
Notes Added:
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
by Peter Thiel
Rating: 8.5/10 Reading Ease: 3/4 Reading Time: 6 hours
“Creative Monopoly means new products that benefit everybody and sustainable profits for the creator. Competition means no profits for anybody, no meaningful differentiation, and a struggle for survival.” —Peter Thiel
3 Reasons to Read
- If you are interested in or involved with startups to any degree
- Discussion on globalization, competition, technological innovation and how real progress fits in
- Analysis and Insights into the history behind some of tech's biggest failures and what makes a great company and team
Smart Customers, Stupid Companies: Why Only Intelligent Companies Will Thrive, and How To Be One of Them
by Michael Hinshaw, Bruce Kasanoff
“The networked economy knows more than companies do about their own products. And Whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.” — The Cluetrain Manifesto
3 Reasons to Read
- Discover the tools and traits of smart customers.
- Learn about the four disruptive forces driving business change.
- Learn to become a more forward thinking business.
One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way
by Robert Maurer
Rating: 7/10 Reading Ease: 4/4 Reading Time: 5 hours
“When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don't look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That's the only way it happens—and when it happens, it lasts.” —John Wooden, one of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball
3 Reasons to Read
- You're too busy to make big changes in your life and still need a way to make them happen.
- Improve your focus and detailed thinking.
- Improve your ability to break down goals into small steps.
Slide:ology
by Nancy Duarte
Rating: 6/10 Reading Ease: 3/4 Reading Time: 8 hours
“Presentations are a very human medium. And that's what sets them apart. It's you. You are unique. You are the only one like you from anywhere for all time. You have your own fingerprint, your own experiences and your own story that can be told like no one else can tell it. Your passion is your own and its expression can only come from you.” — Nancy Duarte
3 Reasons to Read
- Learn how to turn ideas into informative graphics.
- Connect with specific audiences.
- Develop truly influential presentations.