First off – it’s absurdly hard to find a business book that’s not too fluffy on anecdotes of one-off successes or simply full of really common-sensical repackaged tips.
Thankfully – the $100 Startup was neither.
The book revolves around the idea that starting a business doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Unlike a lot of other business books that attempt to show you how to navigate expenses or complexity – Chris Guillebeau argues that you can really just cut them out.
When I publish this post, the content will zip out of the back of my computer over my head to my wireless router.
From there, my router sends the info over to my modem – which is connected to “The Internet.”
Before I read this book, I knew that much.
As a spectator, watching a running race mainly involves standing around for a while, then watching for a few seconds as runners crest the hill and run by. And that’s that.
On television, watching running is about as almost as gripping as falling asleep to a ceiling fan.
But kudos to the publishers at Vintage International for believing that reading about running could somehow be interesting.
Because writing a book about running is exactly what famed novelist Haruki Murakami has done – and done masterfully well.
The book is in a memoir-ish format and talks about running as a background and constant theme of Murakami’s life as a professional novelist.
Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day.
That is one of the many, many memorable quotes from Walter Isaacson’s biography of Benjamin Franklin.
I picked this book up immediately after hearing Elon Musk talk about it (and later finding a whole slew of fans of it). It’s 500 pages – and well worth the read.
I had always had this sort of elementary school version of Ben Franklin in my head like most every American, but I was really blown away by just how ingenious, influential, industrious, and insightful Ben Franklin was.
With the move to Atlanta, new job, and new routines, it took me an embarrassingly long time to read Bill Bryson’s short little work on Shakespeare (it only just reaches 196 pages). Either way – it was a fun read, and just the type of book that’s easy to pick up and put down frequently. Here’s why…
I grew up about 10 years too late and on the wrong side of the world to fully appreciate Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – but it was a really fun, fresh, and fascinating novel.
The book set in 2030 where everyone spends all their time digitally immersed online to escape the awful dystopia outside.
The economy is dominated by just 2 online firms – and one firm’s eccentric founder dies leaving his fortune to whomever can solve a treasure hunt involving riddles and trivia centered around the 1980s American geek sub-culture.
I’ve never thought of memory as skill until I read Moonwalking With Einstein.
The book is Joshua Foer’s exploration into not only mnemonics, but also the subculture of “memory athletes,” and his adventure in experimental journalism where he goes from covering the US Memory Championships (yes, there is such a thing) to participating in – and winning the following year.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a classic novel that tells the story of Okonkwo, a leader in an Igbocommunity, and his struggles with the intrusion of white missionaries and colonial government into his tribal society.
From 2007 to 2012, I read 263+ books. But I did not stop there. I haven’t kept up the same pace – but have kept on tracking every book I’ve read since. Ideally, I’ve also written a short lessons learned or review of each. Here’s the books I’ve read this past year.
*all the links below go to Amazon for convenience, but I definitely recommend purchasing books from Alibris. They support local booksellers, and often have even better used pricing.
This post covers books read in 2013. You can also read from,
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Most Recent Full Reviews
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is a story of a family’s journey to the Congo in 1959. The Price family, led by Nathan Price, an overzealous Baptist minister, is determined to bring Christianity to the people of the Congo.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes is a classic Spanish novel that has been widely regarded as one of the greatest works of literature ever written. It is often cited as the first modern novel and is considered a founding work of Western literature.
Last week I read a post by Julien Smith called “Lessons I Learned Reading Over 200 Books.” It was really fascinating and well done. I was quite jealous.
But then I realized, “wait, I’ve done that.”
Since January of 2007, I’ve read about 263 books. I say “about” because I was only half keeping track until September 2008 – when I converted to a spreadsheet and really started tracking.
I’ve decided to start reviewing (nearly) every book I read here. And that means getting caught up.
Unlike Julien (who put everything in 1 ridiculously long post), I’m going to split mine up into 6 ridiculously long blog posts (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). I’ll also keep going after this initial push to 2013 and beyond.
2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Most Recent Full Reviews
I’m just going to write a couple sentences for each – and only what I remember about the book, and a short bit of review.
Here we go…
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson is a memoir that takes readers on a journey through Bryson’s childhood in 1950s America. The book follows Bryson’s alter ego, the Thunderbolt Kid, as he navigates his way through family oddities, friendships, and his own rich imagination.
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson is an exploration of the history, evolution, and current state of the English language. Bryson blends humor with historical research and linguistics to examine many of the peculiarities of English dialects, pronunciation, grammar, spelling, and syntax. He establishes three themes throughout the book: the role of English in the world, the history of English, and the evolution of language.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a philosophical novel written by Friedrich Nietzsche and published in four volumes between 1883 and 1885. The book introduces some of Nietzsche’s most important philosophical ideas, as presented by a fictional ancient prophet named Zarathustra. The protagonist is nominally the historical Zoroaster.
Blowback by Chalmers Johnson is an incisive and controversial book that examines the dangers of American empire. Johnson argues that the United States’ post-Soviet outlook has transformed it into a hegemonic empire, and that the foreign policy undertaken in its name will lead to blowback from oppressed peoples the world over.
The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W. Bly is a comprehensive guide to copywriting for both print and online media.
In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson is a travelogue that chronicles the author’s journey through Australia.
The book follows Bryson as he travels around Australia by train and car, conversing with locals and reflecting on the country’s history and culture. He visits places such as White Cliffs, where there is not much to do but a pub, gas station, café, grocery store, laundry service, and an opal shop.
Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew by Bart D. Ehrman is a book that explores the various forms of Christianity that existed in the early days of the religion. It examines the writings, controversies, and beliefs of these “lost” Christianities and how they shaped the faith we know today.