Reading Update - Jan'22
The not-so-great reset
I didn’t really spend enough time reading last year.
It wasn’t really about the number of books I read, more the quality of the books and the amount of time I spent reading.
I fell a little out of love with it and took some time to get back to it later last year.
So, with that said, I reset the clock and the count this year, so, here we go.
For my last update from May 2021, please go here
The books I read were:
Write Useful Books - Rob Fitzpatrick
I’m a huge fan of this author, he previously wrote a book called ‘The Mom Test’ and was gracious enough to send me a copy because I couldn’t buy it in India
I actually really liked reading this, as someone who harbours hopes of someday getting around to writing an actual book, this was an excellent practical primer on
how to go about getting a captive minimal audience to beta-test the book
how to gather feedback and incorporate it
how to attract publishers
how to go through edits
simplifying your message to the end reader
It also goes into some detail about how this book was written along with suggestions on tools to use. I’ve read some material on the creative process of writing, but, the stumbling block to actually putting things together has been what the practice of writing and rewriting needs to look like and this was a great primer for the new age of book publishing that we seem to be getting into.
Ayoade on Top - Richard Ayoade
My cousin kept telling me to read/listen to this book since she thinks Ayoade sounds like a smarter me (or I like a dumber Ayoade) when it comes to our sense of humour.
I absolutely loved it, a laugh riot, I read it and listened to the audiobook and I have to say for someone who rarely listens to audiobooks this was worth every penny.
This is a book about the film ‘View from the Top’ starring Gwyneth Paltrow, in the sense that all books are, but, this book goes a few steps further than most to help us experience the movie and all its twists and turns in detail.
The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense - Gad Saad
I used to follow the author on twitter a while ago, which is where I found the book.
I really wanted to like this book, but, it fell significantly short of my expectations, this is obviously not a comment on the author himself who I still find interesting because of his provocative nature.
It fell short maybe not because its a bad book, but, because the positions and the arguments that were proposed and discussed in it were not fundamentally new to me. This is maybe a reflection/review of me more than the book itself.
There were several points where I found myself disagreeing with the author.
Honestly, I felt the same way when I read 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson, the only difference being that I still like Gad Saad as a person.
Atomic Habits - James Clear
I usually start the year by reading ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ but, it felt like a chore when I started reading it this year.
So, I switched it up and finally read the Millenial version of the book, Atomic Habits.
I liked it, the messaging was very similar and it was filled with practical and sound advice. However, the key parts of the book I found practical and usable were the parts about
How to Create an Environment to help you succeed which I mindlessly created last year when it came to my fitness, my room now currently has a table to work on one side, and an entire gym setup on the other, it has helped me build and maintain a healthy exercise habit,
and the thoughts around how break a bad habit which is something I try to pick up and fix every year, I pick one bad habit that I want to stop/reduce every year and do my best at it, I’ve failed for 2 years straight and I’m doing much better this year so far mostly thanks to the messaging in this book
The Practice: Shipping Creative Work - Seth Godin
I can’t begin to tell you how cool I find Seth Godin, the guy is a legend, I’m sure he’s amazing as a marketer, but, to me his impact is far higher as a hype machine and motivator.
The last book I read by him was Tribes - We need You to lead us and I remember how energized I felt after reading it, the same thing this time around.
This book is about the practice of shipping, just keep shipping, how to keep your motivation levels up, what to do when you miss a date you planned to ship on, how to get back on track. I absolutely loved it and my ‘creative’ output has gone up significantly just over the past 2 weeks thanks to this book.
I should just read a Seth Godin book every 3 months.
Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense - Rory Sutherland
I found this book very easy to read - i.e very readable, it’s more a collection of speeches than a book in a sense, I liked it.
Some of the insights were remarkable, but, it did suffer from the syndrome that a lot of business/marketing books suffer from where an idea is repeated far too often and maybe the book is a bit longer than it needs to be. Overall, I found the author likeable, relatable, the concepts simple yet missed in real life.
A particular passage came to mind when I was watching the Australian Open final that Rafa WON to win his 21st Grand Slam! 🏆 🏆
"Tennis scoring isn’t quite socialist – one player can demolish another – but, in such uneven cases, the contest is over in a mercifully short time. There is, however, a kind of social security system in the sport’s scoring system, which means that for the duration of any match, the losing player feels he might still be in with a chance. It’s frankly genius.
The system of watertight games and sets means that there is no difference between winning a game to love or after several deuces. A 6–0 set counts as a set, just as a 7–5 win does. This means that the losing player is never faced with an insurmountable mountain to climb. The scoring system also ensures variation in how much is at stake throughout the game; someone serving at 30–0 is a relatively low-engagement moment, while a crucial break point has everyone on the edge of their seats. This varies the pitch of excitement, and consequently makes the game more enjoyable for players and spectators alike
Specifically, “This means that the losing player is never faced with an insurmountable mountain to climb”
For some reason the beauty of the scoring system is something I hadn’t noticed keenly enough despite watching tennis since 2006.
Currently Reading
We - Yevgeny Zamyatin (incredible book so far)
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
Cancer Ward - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn ( I really need to finish this )
Green Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
If you have any recommendations or comments leave them below.
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I hope to keep writing these posts going forward and not skip months like last year.
I’ve refound my love for reading which I kind of lost as I mentioned earlier.
Thank you for reading
Sainath