I don’t have a favourite book, but here are some reads I particularly enjoyed recently:
Let My People Go Surfing – Yvon Chouinard
by the founder of patagonia. the book is beautiful + makes me want to wear Patagonia (even though I’ve never bought their items)
Foundation series – Isaac Asimov
One of the few series where I enjoyed the last 2 books as much (if not more) than the original trilogy. I deeply enjoy Asimov’s writing (I Robot, The God Themselves, etc)
Three-Body Problem series – Cixin Liu
third Re-read it & the concepts are still mind-bending and evokes a certain sense of spirituality
stories of your life and others – ted chiang
a lot of interesting concepts. i've been specifically mulling on the ideas of sequential vs teleological awareness & how it affects the way we perceive reality, time, and purpose.
nexus - ramez naam
a delightful and easily digestible read. it also made me reflect about when / if our society should decide a technology should be hampered or destroyed
Risk Game – Francis J Greenburger
didn’t think a book about a real estate mogul could be so wonderfully interesting
The Unpublished David Ogilvy & Confessions of an Advertising Man – both by David Ogilvy
his wit shines through his writing & is clearly a phenomenal advertisement of himself / Ogilvy & Mather
Sam Walton: Made in America – Sam Walton
Interesting that he didn’t open the first Walmart until he was 44. It proves brilliant people can do brilliant things at all points of their lives & not necessarily have to be a 22 y/o mastermind to do so
The Fish That Ate the Whale – Rich Cohen
High agency in a person. Every time I consider saying ‘I can’t do this’, Sam Zumarray haunts me now & I shut right up lol
Poor Charlie’s Almanack – Charlie Munger
I generally don’t read self-help / advice-styled books, but this writing is sharp, ideas are clearly articulated, and surprisingly hilarious (and, of course, Charlie Munger is an inspiration to all!)
A Man for All Markets – Ed Thorp
This is the default book I recommend for anyone with mild interest in going into finance / investment banking. It also makes me shirk from investing (money/time) into areas I don’t have an edge on
The Coddling of the American Mind – Jonathan Haidt
I think the people who need to read this book would not read this book lol
De Profundis – Oscar Wilde
It’s a letter he wrote to his lover while in prison, and it was breathtaking. It's an interesting contrast to the brief, info-dense writing we covet in modern writers/thinkers (it’s vivid & decadent, but still sharp & interesting)
Harry Potter series
I always tell my friends to read this if they fall out of love with reading. It feels a little silly because many of us read this when we were 8/9, but it’s always worth a re-read every few years :)
