The Rich Life: books

I set a crazy goal to read 100 books in 2008. This really was crazy for me since not very many years ago I set a goal to read 10 books…and I think I came up short that year.

So, how’d I do? Although I didn’t reach the century mark, I absolutely crushed any prior year in my life: I read over 70 books in 2008.

So, what’s that catch? There are a few caveats:

I probably was only looking at ink on paper for a few of these books. Translation: I am a HUGE audio book fan.
I listen to audio books at between 1.5 and 2.0 times normal speed. Yes, I speed read audio books. Here is my prior post on how I do it.
Some of these “books” are very, very short. Several of the ones on Project Management were in the 90 minute range.
Some of what I am counting as “books” aren’t books. Example: The Constitution of the United States. Regardless, I’m glad I read it.
Some of these are re-reads of prior year favorites.
As you can see, the vast majority of these are non-fiction.
I did not include any of the countless times I have read “Good Night Moon”, “The Runaway Bunny”, “Chickachickaboomboom”, “Where the Wild Things Are”, or “When Sophie Gets Angry”. P.S. Don’t tell Sophie that I frequently turn more than one page at a time.

With those caveats, below are most (I may be missing one or two) of the “books” I “read” during 2008 with brief comments for most (several aren't even worth commenting about):

Joseph Smith & His Relationship with God. Enjoyed it
The 8^th Habit. I’m a big Covey fan, but this seemed contrived. Stick with 7.
Made to Stick. Very good. Should be required reading for anyone in the business world.
Great Speeches of the 20^th Century. Educational
The Tipping Point. I LOVE all of Gladwell’s stuff. Third time reading this.
Principle Centered Leadership. Very good
Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon. Very interesting
The Wisdom of Crowds. One of my favorite books in recent years. This was my third or fourth time reading it.
Blink. Very good. Third time reading this.
Words that Work. You may disagree with the man behind this book, but his content is good
25 Things to Say to the Interviewer. Lame
Analyzing Financial Statements. A snoozer
Freakonomics. Interesting. I disagree with some of his findings. Second or third time reading it. Check out his research on infant car seats on TED.
Rich Dad’s Guide to Becoming Rich. Simple, powerful concepts that 99% of the people don’t heed
How to Make People Like you in 90 Seconds. Lame
Super Crunchers. A contender for my favorite book of the year. I’ll definitely re-read this one.
The Birth of Plenty. Similar tone as Collapse. I enjoyed it. The author is not LDS, but he identifies 1820 as the pivot point in western prosperity. Coincidence??? I’ll re-read this one.
The Woman in White. Fiction Alert! Becky read this in her book club, so I was curious.
The Blue Ocean Strategy. Started, expired before I could finish. I plan to finish in ‘09.
The Declaration of Independence. Words to live by
The Constitution of the United States of America. Read it
The Bill of Rights. Now I know
The No Ass Hole Rule. Summary: don’t be a jerk and avoid them at work
A Perfect Mess. A few valid points. It received so much buzz from messy people looking for validation.
Crashes, Booms, & Panics. Timely read
22 Immutable Laws of Branding. Educational. Second or Third time on this one.
Living the 7 Habits. Great. At least my third time through this one.
Getting to Yes. Good
Stumbling Upon Happiness. Interesting. I will probably re-read.
The Happiness Hypothesis. Started, expired before I could finish. Will finish in ’09.
The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner. Skip it
Wikinomics. Very good. Way too long. Find an abridged version. Their point was very convincingly made long before the book ended.
The Long Tail. A must read.
The Mormon Way of Doing Business. Good
Crucial Conversations. Decent. As I am writing this I can’t remember anything about this book.
Crucial Confrontations. Same as above. I can’t remember anything about it.
You: The Owner’s Manual. Very good. Read it.
Optimal Thinking. Stupid. I stopped after a couple of chapters.
Personal Efficiency Program. Good stuff
Freedomnomics. Some professor’s response to Freakonomics. It expired before I could finish it. I will probably not finish.
Men Are From Mars Women are From Venus. Summary: Men, the challenges you have with your wife are not unique to your wife; you would have similar challenges with any woman. So, love the one you’ve got. There’s probably some advice in there for woman as well.
Mars & Venus in the Bedroom. Read it
Blown to Bits. Good
101 Best Answers to Interview Questions. Unless, of course, you are in a behavioral interview…
250 Job Interview Questions. May help to get you thinking
Total Workday Control. Still working on this one…not available in audio format!
Gold, Hard Money, & Financial Gurus
Innovative Strategies in Risk Management
Project Management: So you think you are done?
Project Management: Taming wicked projects
Project Management: Ten questions your sponsor should ask
Predictably Irrational. A contender for my favorite book of the year
50 Killer Ideas for Delivering Successful Projects
In Defense of Food. I highly recommend
Talking Your Way to the Top. Summary: Chances to speak (in meetings, giving presentations) are your best chance to shine at work
Work Less, Make More. Forgettable
The Articulate Executive. Sadly for the authors, I don’t remember anything about this book
Twilight. Fiction Alert! Stephenie is my friend.
The World is Curved. Absurdly timely. The guy knows what he is talking about.
New Moon. Fiction Alert!
Eclipse. Fiction Alert!
The Host. Fiction Alert!
Discover Your Inner Economist. Good
The On-Time, On-Target Manager. Weak
The Secret. Forgettable: whatever the Secret is, I can’t remember it
How to Talk to Anyone. Why do I keep selecting books like this? Had one piece of advice I remember: Never give empty “Thank Yous”. Make it clear why you are thanking someone.
Monsters of Templeton. Fiction Alert! A very enjoyable read. Warning: Contains about 10 F-bombs and acknowledges the existence of sex.
Living Well in a Down Economy. Clearly a rush-to-publish job with innovative gems like “bring a lunch from home”
Buyology. Quite interesting. Anyone in Marketing should read.
Why We Buy. If you interact with the retail world in any way, you will enjoy reading this book. I liked it better than Buyology.
Breaking Dawn. Fiction! I was hoping for a little more action in climactic final “battle”
Midnight Sun. Fiction! I’m about halfway through actually reading this (eyes on the page…or computer screen in this case)

Here are my favorite new reads for '08 (I'm excluding some of the great books, like Blink, on the above list that were re-reads for me):

Made to Stick
Super Crunchers
The Birth of Plenty
Words that Work
Wikinomics
The Long Tail
You: An Owner's Manual
Predictabley Irrational
Why We Buy

I've been plowing through books recently. Here's what I've covered so far this year, in chronological order:

Joseph Smith’s Relationship with God -- Some interesting points. I liked it.

The 8th Habit -- Covey probably should have stopped at 7.

Made to Stick -- Very good. I will "reread" this one.

Great Speeches of the 20th Century -- Funny how the political speeches all pretty much sound like they could still be given today.

The Tipping Point -- My third time through this book. I'm a big Gladwell fan. He is a fascinating storyteller. See Blink below for more...

Principle Centered Leadership -- Very good stuff.

Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon -- Like chiasms, there are unknown gems in the text.

The Wisdom of Crowds -- My second read of this one. I recommend it.

Blink -- Probably my third time through this one. Very good. For a taste of the unusual author, watch this...

Words that Work -- Some will find the author's approach and background unsavory. He has some very good points, though.

25 Things to Say to the Interviewer to Get the Job You Want -- Pretty hoacky

Analyzing Financial Statements -- A snoozer

Freakonomics -- My second time through. I disagreed quite strongly with most of his conclusions the first time through. This time it was less offensive. I still think he is wrong on many topics. Despite having said that , I recommend it.

Rich Dad's Guide to Becoming Rich -- Robert Kiyosaki has become an industry unto himself, but he has some very good advice.

How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less -- Pretty weak. I lost interest about 1/3 of the way through it.

Super Crunchers -- Very closely related to Freakonomics & The Wisdom of Crowds. I recommend it.

The Birth of Plenty -- Similar academic tone as Collapse. I liked it. More on one particular finding of this book in a future post.

Woman in White -- Becky recently read this in her book club. She was so excited about it that I decided to read it as well. A good read. I recommend it.

A Perfect Mess -- A few good points. I think the authors wanted very badly to find evidence for a position they supported.

Crashes, Booms, & Panics + Government Regulations -- Decent info and history of the markets

22 Immutable Laws of Marketing -- My second listen to this book. Most of the examples seem quite anecdotal. I would like to see examples backed by stronger evidence.

The Rich Life

12/23/10

Currently Reading: Googled

8/12/10

Currently Reading: What the Dog Saw

8/8/10

Currently Reading: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

1/5/09

2008 Readings

4/8/08

Recent Readings