My Q3 Reading List

I really only do a handful of things outside of building my business and spending time with my family. I don’t have a lot of crazy hobbies or extra-curricular activities. Of the few hobbies that I do have, I put a lot of energy and effort into them. One of those hobbies is reading. I read 20-30 minutes every morning and periodically listen to audiobooks while driving or while out walking. I had previously published the books that I read during the first quarter and during the second quarter. Below, you’ll find a list of books that I’ve read from July through September of this year.

Here are the non-fiction books I read during the third quarter:

• Angel Investing: The Gust Guide by David Rose – This book provides a great overview to anyone that wants to raise money from an angel investor or anyone that wants to become an angel investor. It even comes with some sample term-sheets in the back of the book.
• Launch by Jeff Walker – This book teaches Jeff Walker’s course, The Product Launch Formula. While it contains a lot of the “what” behind Walker’s strategies, a lot of the nitty-gritty how-to content, is missing. (I assume this is because he wants you to pay for his course).
• Profit First by Mike Michalowicz – This book is about managing your company’s finances in such a way that there’s always profit. Essentially, the message is to start at your profit margin and work backwards. There’s a lot of details about the approach to business finance that the author suggests, which is definitely welcome.
• When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley – This is a short book about work-life balance that I consider a must-read for any working professional with a spouse or kids.
• Everything is B******* by Priceonomics – This book could easily be considered a successor to Freakonomics. It covers a lot of different topics using the same investigative method as Dubner and Levy do in Freakonomics, but I could have done without the provocative title.
• The Millionaire Masterplan by Roger James Hamilton – This book helps you identify what kind of entrepreneur you are and how to get to the next economic tier based on your specific set of strengths. I don’t know that I got a ton out of it, but I can see how it would be useful for some people.
• The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Boggle – Written by the founder of Vanguard, this book essentially says that you should invest in cheap index funds and should avoid professional money managers and actively managed investments to get the maximum return on your money.
• Networking is Not Working by Derek Coburn – This is a great book for any professional service provider (lawyers, accountants, financial advisers, etc.). It provides a breath of fresh air into the world of personal networking and provides an alternative to simply attending networking events and handing out cards to other people that are also trying to get you to do business with them.
• Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes – This is a health book that effectively declares war on carbohydrates and added sugar. It suggests that the reason people get fat is because elevated blood sugar causes your body to store fat. (On a personal note, I followed the dietary recommendations in the book for 4 weeks and lost 8 pounds).
• The Warren Buffet Way by Robert Hagstrom – This book describes Warren Buffet’s investment strategies and provides several case studies about companies that he has invested in and why he invested in them. It’s a bit dated now (released in 2004), but provides a great overview of Warren Buffet’s investment thesis.
• Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy – This is a short book that effectively says that we should knock-out the most challenging task of our day and avoid any distractions until that task is done. If you can understand that concept, you probably don’t need to read the 200 page book.
• The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holliday – This is a 21^st century stoic philosophy book disguised as a business book. There’s a lot of good stuff in this book, such as that the best way to overcome challenges is to face them head on and work through them.

Here are the fiction books I read during the third quarter:

• The Martian by Andy Weir – This book is a must-read for anyone that has ever read a science-fiction book. Effectively, it’s Apollo 13 on Mars. One astronaut gets left behind after a freak windstorm and has to find a way to survive the harsh realities of the Martian environment.
• The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Guardian by Jack Campbell – This is the latest book in the Lost Fleet series. Honestly, it wasn’t as good as some of Campbell’s earlier books in the series. I think he’s already done about everything he can do given the universe he created.

Clearly, I need to find some more decent fiction books to read. If you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments below.