BookMark: Books of 2017
We've come to the end of another great year of reading. Reviewing the things I have learned and the insights gained over the past year, investing in my education is something I'm excited to continue into 2018. In my opinion, reading and digesting the experiences/best practices others have found is one of the most valuable things you can do.
I've always said, even if I only get one new idea from a book, it is well worth the investment. There is some great reading planned for the next year, and if you'd like to stay up to date on books I think you might find value in, I've been putting together monthly recommendations over the past few years based on the books I'm reading. To join the growing list of BookMark readers, enter your email below and you'll receive a short message from me once a month with a list of books I've been enjoying.
The Books of 2017
Philosophy
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu - The way I often decide to commit to reading a book is after hearing about it from two or more reliable sources. If someone feels strongly about it, I add it to the list. This was the most consistently recommended book among all of the world-class guests in Tools of Titans, and the praise from music producer Rick Rubin moved it to the top of my to-read. In his words, "What is great about it is that it is 81 short pieces that could be looked at as poems. If you were to read the book today, you would get one thing from it and if you picked it up in 2 years and read it again it would mean something entirely different… and always on the money. Always what you need to read at that period of time. It is a magic book in that way in that it always fits." I read the majority of it during my flight home on New-Years day, and it provided a lot of food for thought to begin 2017. It will be one to return to again and again, and I'm sure I'll get something new from it each time. If you're going to pick it up, I'm told the Stephen Mitchell translation is best.
Civilization and its Discontents by Sigmund Freud - I had come across this book from enough intelligent people that it was time to read through it. Sigmund Freud is a name I have heard many times but hadn't gone deeper in understanding what he's all about. In this, one of his more well known works, he explores the fundamental tensions between civilization and the individual. The primary friction stems from the individual's quest for instinctual freedom and civilization's contrary demand for conformity and instinctual repression. Worth thinking about.
The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts - We are seeking psychological certainty, trying to apply meaning where it doesn't exist. I felt that the ideas in this book meshed well with a Stoic viewpoint, while adding some valuable new insight. I deeply enjoyed this book, and it has changed or enhanced my view of the world. The points are clearly and simply articulated, and I would recommend this short read to challenge or question your point of view.
The Art of Living by Epictetus - Skip all self-help books. Read this instead. Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher, born a slave in 50 AD. His work was a large influence on the writings of Marcus Aurelius and his Meditations, and what makes the art of Stoicism so great is that it applies to both slave and emperor alike. Out of all the books I've recommended, this is one that I'm most confident will have an immediate impact on your thinking and outlook.
The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant - This book has been mentioned by many intelligent, successful individuals. The recommendation from Ray Dalio (billionaire founder of the worlds largest hedgefund firm, Bridgewater Associates) on the Tim Ferriss podcast finally convinced me to move it to the top of my list. The Durant's wrote an eleven-volume Story of Civilization, and this relatively short book was put together afterward, as a summary or introduction to their life's work. You wouldn't think it possible to sum up the history of civilization in 13 short chapters, but they do it brilliantly. Concise, insightful and incredibly well written, it is one of the best primers on the history of civilization. It provides context to current times, and understanding history is so important to operate successfully in the world. I've been building my understanding of history, and I'd also recommend Dan Carlin's podcast Hardcore History (start with either Wrath of the Khans or the Celtic Holocaust episodes).
Zen in The Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel - This book details the journey of a German philosophy professor as he studies archery in Japan as a means of understanding the concept of Zen. Through years of study and discipline in an art, you develop an inner understanding and competency, discovering truths that you otherwise might have missed. Considered a classic text, it is often referenced as the inspiration for books like Robert Pirsig's Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Its lessons are broadly applicable.
The Enlightened Mind: An Anthology of Sacred Prose by Stephen Mitchell - A collection of ideas from some of history's greatest thinkers on understanding the meaning of life. It's great to have all of these thoughts complied in one place, and I decided to read this after his great translation of the Tao Te Ching.
Biography
Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson - Walter Isaacson has written some of my favourite biographies. Steve Jobs. Benjamin Franklin. Einstein. If you're interested, this recent Tim Ferris Show interview with him is great. What I loved most about this book is the insight into the mind of a genius, but also a human character. I really took away the importance of being multi-disciplinary, building skills in a variety of areas and allowing them to inform each other. I also took away the importance of noticing even the tiniest details, the importance of fostering imagination and following your curiosity.
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson - I finally started this book on Einstein during a trip to Toronto, and it was fascinating to finally learn what made him such a genius. From the description: "His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane."
Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance - I love reading biographies, finding out how people became the way they are, what makes them tick. My wife and I made our way through this one in the evenings before bed. This is a fascinating, highly recommended book, with great insights into Musk's unique worldview.
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman - After reading the biography of Einstein, I followed it up by learning more about another brilliant scientist. Richard Feynman was a theoretical physicist who won the Nobel prize for contributions to quantum electrodynamics. He was also a very interesting character and amazing teacher. It's hard to find a better source of thinking and philosophy of science and thinking in general are hard to find a better source on the philosophy of science and how to develop as a thinker. He was known for constant doubt and questioning, and he is someone I return to often as an example on how to experiment in thinking. Another excellent book about him is "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", which is often quoted as a favourite by many successful people.
How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell - With his study of life, Montaigne explored questions common to us all. How to live. How to die. He was a pioneer of an experimental approach to life, and is cited as an inspiration for many people I respect. Creator of the essay, Montaigne collected observations on a wide variety of subjects. He used life as a form of self-observation, and one of the things I found most valuable was his idea of a "commonplace book," an accumulation learning and wisdom collected in a central place. I view my website as a sort of commonplace book to gather and expand on ideas. Ryan Holiday has a good brief introduction to Montaigne, as well as a quote that simplifies and captures my love of philosophy: "Philosophy is not just spending a lot of time inside your own head but articulating what you find there, fleshing it out and turning it into something."
Business/Other
Principles by Ray Dalio - An amazing distillation of operating systems for life and work. You can also read it in pdf here. He has also put out a brief introduction on how the economic machine really works, which is well worth the 30 minutes.
Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday - Ryan Holiday is someone I really admire. His depth of knowledge across a variety of topics amazes me, and his ability to produce so much great work is something I aspire to. His latest, Perennial Seller, more than lived up to my expectations of his work. With plenty of great, relevant examples, he explores the factors that go into making creative work in any field that is designed to last, to be "perennial". It's a guidebook that I plan to return to often and implement as I work on creating works of my own, and as I read it I thought of many ways to begin putting it into action. What I love most about the work Ryan has created throughout his career is his willingness to be open, to share the process and to pull back the curtain and give an honest account of what it takes to be an author, a creator, a businessman. He's continually won me as a fan, and he is so in-depth as to put many other creators to shame. Take this latest compilation on how exactly to write a book from beginning to end for example. Awesome.
The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier - I came across this via Ramit Sethi who is a master copywriter and student of the craft of persuasive writing, and this is his favourite book on copywriting. I love discovering surprising or less well-known books. If you read what everyone else is reading, you'll only be able to think what everyone else is thinking. I'm fascinated with principles of persuasion, the ability to influence with words, it's such a powerful skill. In order to learn that skill, it's important to study and learn how the best think about the way they choose their words. What I love so much about studying persuasion, sales, and decision making is that you never truly master it. There's always refinement, ways to become better. Working to become better in this will translate to success across many areas in life.
Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink - I can't recommend this enough. Jocko is a Navy SEAL, and is one tough, no-nonsense dude. Read this for your daily dose of motivation. It's not a bad 3 word life philosophy- discipline equals freedom. It's so much more applicable and meaningful taken from an individual who lives the philosophy every day.
Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss - As you know, I'm a huge Tim Ferriss fan. Tim's latest book, Tribe of Mentors, came about after he turned 40 and decided to gather answers to some of his biggest life questions from the best in the world. To be honest, I was a bit hesitant to buy this one. It seemed a bit rushed, more of a gimmick to get out the month before Christmas and gather sales. However, thinking about it, I realized- even if I just take away one idea from the book, if there is only one thing I end up putting to use, it's an amazing return on investment. What I've been doing is reading one or two profiles a day, and there's definitely some great stuff in there.
Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono - This is one about metacognition, or "thinking about thinking". It explores developing a way of analyzing your thought process, identifying and separating out each component. Putting on each "hat" and viewing the problem or situation from that perspective while suppressing the others. The six hats are White (facts), Red (feelings), Black (cautions), Yellow (benefits), Green (creativity) and Blue (process). This concept of learning how to learn or thinking about thought is one of the keys to successful development.
What Doesn't Kill Us by Scott Carney - This book began as a way for author and investigative journalist Scott Carney to debunk the controversial claims of Wim Hof. As the story progresses, he discovers the validity of the methods as he puts himself through experiments testing the limits of human physiology. You'll learn about the concept of "environmental conditioning." Exposing ourselves to temporary discomfort to be able to better adapt to it, accessing some of our lost evolutionary programming. This has really been an interest of mine over the past year, and I look forward to further development of the breath work and cold exposure. The cold brings you into your center, immediately back to the present moment. Get in a cold shower or an ice bath and try to worry about anything else. It's something I've added into my conditioning program, and a subject I'm deeply interested in.
Running to Extremes by Ray Zahab - I had the opportunity to meet Canadian adventurer Ray Zahab in Toronto at the start of June. To get a bit of background prior to meeting him, I checked out this book along with the documentary "Running The Sahara". The dude has run across the Sahara, explored the South Pole, and crossed the Canadian Arctic by snoeshoe, ski, and bike among many other cool things. Needless to say, I had a blast talking to him!
The One Thing by Gary Keller - I find that a lot of times these business type books are saying the same thing in a slightly different way. I tend to want to read books that have stood the test of time, going to the underlying principles. However, among the many business related book summaries I read, one concept from this book stood out: What's the one thing I can do that, by doing it, will make everything else easier or unnecessary? What is that one thing? Something to think about and consider.
Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck? by Seth Godin - I added this one to my collection, and will certainly be returning to it often for inspiration. It is a large compilation of writing from Seth Godin, who's ideas provoke new ways of thinking. "Getting your ducks in a row is a fine thing to do. But deciding what you are going to do with that duck is a far more important issue."
The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need by Daniel Pink - I read this based on the high praise of Kevin Kelly. It's career advice in the form of a manga comic, and there is some solid advice in there. Not my favourite business book, but it's simple, quick to read, and there are a few good take-aways to think over.
Cosmos by Carl Sagan - A wide ranging, well written book on the cosmic perspective, Cosmos invites you to understand a bit more about this universe we inhabit. It's also a reminder of just how much there is to discover. It gave me a respect and appreciation for those names of people we recognize throughout history that have attempted to lessen our ignorance through exploration. It's one thing to look up at the night sky and wonder. It's another to begin an attempt at some form of comprehending it all. Fascinating book.
Food of The Gods by Terence McKenna - In this, Terence McKenna proposes some radical theories about the development of human consciousness. There are many Interesting observations about historical substance and drug use to meet the human fascination with altered states. Challenges the way we understand and think about the use of alcohol, sugar, coffee, tea, chocolate, tobacco, cannabis, television. Eye-opening.
Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work by Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal - Steven Kotler is known for his work with flow states, and this book seems to focus on “ecstasis,” the Greek word for “stepping beyond oneself.” It actually addresses something similar to "Food of the Gods," why humans are so fascinated with altered states of consciousness. It brings up the “altered states economy” and how people spend trillions of dollars a year seeking altered states of consciousness through a variety of means. My interest was in the cutting-edge approaches to performance that can be found exploring these states of flow. I was excited to see the mention of sensory deprivation tanks and their application. Filled with lots of current research on how the flow state is applied, I identify with the books target audience.
Au Contraire: Figuring Out The French by Gilles Asselin and Ruth Mastron - I heard this recommended across a few different places and finally got around to checking it out. An interesting dive into the French mindset and cultural values, it was described by Derek Sivers as the "absolute best book on describing the mindset of a country." What I enjoyed most was contrasting the cultural values of the French with what we value and how those things came to be important.
Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth by Buckminster Fuller - I've been meaning to learn more about Buckminster Fuller as he is so admired by billionaire Chris Sacca. The book can be a bit dense and complex in sections, but he basically advocates for adaptive, comprehensive understanding as opposed to specialization. It's a short read but you'll need to sit with it a while to wrap your head around it. Also, what a great title!
Be Obsessed or Be Average by Grant Cardone - A good book to read for motivation heading into a new year. Much of it is related to sales, however it could also apply to many different areas. It was a reminder to be ambitious over the next 12 months, and to apply 10X thinking for massive results.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Sean Covey - I checked this out after hearing Ryan Carson mention it a number of times, most recently on a podcast with Kevin Rose. The 4 disciplines are:
Focusing on the Wildly Important
Acting on Lead Measures
Keeping a Compelling Scoreboard
Creating a Cadence of Accountability
The basic premise of developing a strategy to execute on your WIG (wildly important goals) is sound.
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin - This is a brilliant book. Waitzkin's philosophy on learning and life is all about seeing the macro from study of the micro. Viewing the big picture by focusing in on minute details of a discipline. He's the child chess prodigy that formed the basis for the movie "Searching For Bobby Fischer". The book also details his process for becoming a world champion in Tai Chi push hands and black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. For a quick introduction to Josh, I highly recommend listening to the highlights from his conversations with Tim Ferriss.
Fiction
Musashi: An Epic Novel of The Samurai Era by Eiji Yoshikawa - This is one of my all-time favourite fiction books. At close to 1000 pages it's definitely an investment, but its lessons are invaluable. It has one of the most exciting and worthwhile endings, keeping you engaged until the very last page... I found myself carrying it everywhere with me this month until I finally finished. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, and a meditation on the path of a warrior. If you're looking for something a little shorter, The Book of Five Rings is an accumulation of thoughts on tactics, strategy and philosophy put together by the real Musashi near the end of his life. I can't recommend these two books enough. For a detailed explanation, check out the in-depth podcast between Jocko Willink and Tim Ferriss where they dissect the book and how the path of a warrior relates to life. Of all the podcasts I've listened to over the past year, this one is probably the best.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - This has been recommended to me countless times, and I finally took the time this year to read it. It's a timeless story about transformation and the "search for enlightenment". Plenty of takeaways from this short, important read.
South of The Border, West of The Sun by Haruki Murakami - Murakami's work gets under your skin. It's just so good. You become the character, you think their thoughts, they mingle with your own reality. I thoroughly enjoy losing myself in the worlds he creates. He describes things that you feel but can't define yourself.
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami - Sadly, I realized I just finished my last Murakami novel this year. Like many of his books, it's definitely strange. I still really enjoyed it, even though it wasn't my personal favourite Murakami book.
Origin by Dan Brown - I had been looking forward to this new Dan Brown novel for quite some time. I get lost in the worlds he describes, and I knew this one wouldn't disappoint based on all of his previous work I've read. I literally devoured this, finishing it off in 2 days. It's just such easy, enjoyable reading, leading you along effortlessly. The themes in this one really connected with me, and I was able to figure out the big twist at the end really early on. Let me know if you figure it out!
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts - We finally finished this one! My wife and I read a bit of fiction each night before bed, and this has been our go-to over the past few months. It's really good. There are plenty of universal truths explained in beautiful phrases, and you'll find yourself attached to the characters. Now we need something new.. if you have a good nighttime reading recommendations, let me know!
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - I came across this fiction book as a recommendation from Bill Gates. I found myself laughing at some similarities that I found between myself and the main character Don Tillman. Good for a light fiction read.
To Build a Fire by Jack London - This is such a good short story. I had heard Jack London recommended many times, and will follow this up with more of his work. Basic plot: Enter the mind of a man and his thought process as he faces the possibility of freezing to death in the North. It's a quick and powerful story that is well worth the 15 minutes or so it takes to read.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - There's a reason this is a classic. The fears it touches on are timeless. There was a lot I didn't know about this story, for example the way it's written as a collection of journal entries from the characters. This early passage in the book had me hooked: "What I saw was the Count's head coming out from the window. I did not see the face, but I knew the man by the neck and the movement of his back and arms. In any case I could not mistake the hands which I had had some many opportunities of studying. I was at first interested and somewhat amused, for it is wonderful how small a matter will interest and amuse a man when he is a prisoner. But my very feelings changed to repulsion and terror when I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over the dreadful abyss, face down with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings. At first I could not believe my eyes.I thought it was some trick of the moonlight, some weird effect of shadow, but I kept looking, and it could be no delusion.I saw the fingers and toes grasp the corners of the stones,worn clear of the mortar by the stress of years, and by thus using every projection and inequality move downwards with considerable speed, just as a lizard moves along a wall. What manner of man is this, or what manner of creature, is it in the semblance of man? I feel the dread of this horrible place overpowering me. I am in fear, in awful fear, and there is no escape for me. I am encompassed about with terrors that I dare not think of." Whoa.