I’ve been taking notes on books I’ve read since 2009, and more recently, on articles and podcasts. I’m slowly working through the archives and publishing all those notes (and new ones) here.
The Art Of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
Summary: 8/10 – An excellent book in the philosophy of learning, high performance, and being a competitor. These notes are worth going through any time you’re embarking on new competition or new venture… it shows you the mindset to be a top competitor and ways to think about the proceeds.
I read this when I was working as an assistant at a literary management company and studying lit contracts, so that’s where a lot of my notes go. Will be interesting to revisit this and think about how it applies to my new ventures and new competitive pursuits.
Not necessarily a knock on the book, but after seeing a few interviews with Josh, there seems to be a disconnect between Josh’s writing and his personality, e.g. he’s much more down to earth (and swears a lot more) than you’d think based on the book.
As If!: The Oral History of Clueless by Jen Chaney
Summary: 8/10 – I’ve made the argument that Clueless is one of the most important and underrated films of the 90s. This book (which I read after making that assertion) was extremely helpful in providing the evidence I need to bolster my argument. If you’re a fan of the film, definitely read.
The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow
Summary: 8/10 – Automatic customers (subscribers) increase the value of your largest asset, increases the LTV of a customer, smooth out demand, they’re free market research, and you get paid automatically. Good primer on the subscription model with many examples.
The Big Picture by Ben Fritz
Summary: 8/10 – An excellent analysis on the future of both film and television in the age of the new Hollywood playbook that relies heavily on franchises.
Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
Summary: 7/10 – An imperfect but impressive debut. A bit too tidy, a bit too late. Read fast to get to the end, but good language as well. Interesting parallels between this character and Jessica Jones (she wrote while on hiatus from the show).
Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez
Summary: 6/10 – Antonio’s journey through the Silicon Valley startup world, first through AdGrok then on the Facebook ads team. Interesting parts, well written but found myself losing interest as there was no transformative arc AND the Silicon Valley parts don’t apply to me right now. Would pick back up as a refresher into how deals get done.
Creativity, Inc by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
Summary: 7/10 – This book often goes a bit too far into the weeds, but if you work on creative teams, Ed Catmull’s explanation of the rules and guidelines to successfully run a Braintrust are invaluable. Terrific for managerial insights, especially for managing and working with creatives.
Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Summary: 8/10 – What I appreciate about this book is that I listen to the GaryVee podcast about 3-4x a week. Yet I still found a lot of insight in this book.
The important reminders are:
- If you want something, you have to be willing to work for it. However, you have to make sure you’re listening to *yourself* about what you actually want (and not anyone else.
- There are a lot of different approaches to success. It’s good to see different angles.
- Be in it for the long-run. That’s okay — fingers crossed, you’re going to be around for a while anyway.
The Danish Way of Parenting by Jessica Joelle Alexander, Iben Sandahl
Summary: 7/10 – “This practical book presents six essential principles that Danish parents learned to raise happy, successful kids.” Certain principles are important (e.g. Play, Togetherness) when it comes to parenting. These principles are congruent with my values. However, I feel the book could have been condensed to a single blog post with the same impact. I’ve tried to do that in my notes.
Dissect Podcast – Season 2: Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Cole Cuchna
Summary: 7/10 – A terrific deep dive into Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, as well as how Kanye evolved as a producer and rapper.
The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick
Summary: 8/10 – A deep dive into the history of creating Facebook. An important read to understand key decisions Facebook and Zuckerberg made early in FB’s life and its ramifications on culture and media today. Relevant cross-reference material: Chaos Monkeys.
The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google by Scott Galloway
Summary: 9/10 – “Professor Galloway dissects and analyzes the biggest companies in the world: how did they get so big? What makes their defensive moats so powerful? And how do individuals and smaller companies thrive in a world of the The Four?”
There were some parallels to The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly. Both were good, but I appreciated the specifics of The Four, while The Inevitable felt a bit more hand-wavey.
High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way by Brendon Burchard
Summary: 8/10 – Not a “good morning habits to win the day” kinda book. These habits are hard, and that’s (probably) what makes them valuable. I read this in the middle of doing my planning for 2020, then assembled the habits I want to remember into a checklist to refer back to on a daily basis. Excellent book for mid- to high-level personal development geeks.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
Summary: 8/10 – This book was a key building block in learning about personal finance, and I still recommend it for folks looking for tactical, step-by-step advice on getting their finances today. When my siblings needed a book on personal finance, I bought them this one. Strong recommend. Disclosure: I worked for Ramit, though I read the book years before we met.
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
Summary: 7/10 – A good philosophy or mindset book to understand how to create value in the workplace today or as an entrepreneur. I think it’s important to read this early on in one’s career, to kill any ideas of entitlement one may have in their minds. With that said, the book probably could have been cut by 100 pages or so, or even be the same length as The Dip.
The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires by Tim Wu
Summary: 7/10 – Some incredibly interesting, rich stories. Got about 50% the way through, then stopped. Mostly enjoyed the Bell stories and Zukor. Stopped before getting deeper into the Internet.
The Operator by Tom King
Summary: 9/10 – Terrific biography about David Geffen, one of the great Hollywood moguls in the modern age. Part of required reading if you’re interested in a career in Hollywood as an executive.
Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency by James Arthur Miller
Summary: 9/10 – Fascinating, thorough history on CAA, one of the big four talent agencies in Hollywood and in the 90s, the only agency that mattered.
Rework by Jason Friend and David Heinmeier Hansson
Summary: 8/10 – Great high-level, quippy nuggets about how to take control of your work and career. Fast read to change your paradigm on what kind of work you should be doing.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Summary: 10/10 – Amazing story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, from the late 60’s to the 70’s, and leading all the way up to Brexit. Covers the Provos, the rise of Sinn Féin, and The Disappeared.
Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of The WB and UPN by Susanne Daniels and Cynthia Littleton
Summary: 9/10 – Anyone interested in a deep dive on how networks are created or is a student the tv/film industry will enjoy this book.
If you’re interested more in the craft of creating story, it’s still worthwhile to jump around to sections where Susanne discusses working with different writers, like Joss Whedon, Kevin Williamson, and J.J. Abrams.
Setting The Table by Danny Meyer
Summary: 7/10 – This book did a terrific job highlighting some of the paradigms shifts that made Danny Meyer so successful as a restauranteur (e.g. “moving the salt shaker back to the center”). He also talked a lot about the tactics that he used to execute so well across his many restaurants (Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, Shake Shake, etc.)
For example, during Restaurant Week he gave more value and also gave them gift certificates afterward.
However, all the stories are told through a rosy prism and so, therefore, it feels like you never really got to know the man much better. Unlike, for example, Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, where you feel like you got a real behind the scenes look at the restaurant scene in NYC.
Still, if you work in the restaurant industry or aspire to work in the restaurant industry, this is an important read.
Who Is Michael Ovitz? By Michael Ovitz
Summary: 9/10 – Fascinating, thorough history on CAA, one of the big four talent agencies in Hollywood and in the 90s, the only agency that mattered.
Win or Learn by John Kavanagh
Summary: 8/10 – John Kavanagh’s (and Ireland, and Conor McGregor’s) MMA journey. Highly recommend for MMA and McGregor fans, a great look into the mind of a coach with an intelligent outlook on the game.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel
Summary: 8/10 – Full of counterintuitive ideas around business and start-ups, this is an important read to help you rethink your approach to building a big business. Some ideas I found interesting: (1) competition is destructive and not a sign of value, (2) monopolies all start with a combination of proprietary technology, network effects, economies of scale, and branding, and (3) all startups should start with a small market.