Summer 2016: Top 5 Books

This has definitely been the summer that I got back into reading. Reading is a weird thing for me. I honestly love reading, but I am also a horrible reader. I tend to get distracted very easily, so I’m not ashamed to admit it probably takes twice as long for me to read a book as it does for a normal person.

One quick recommendation before I get into the books I enjoyed reading this summer: if you’re into eBooks, consider getting a dedicated e-reader, like a Kindle. In addition to wanting a device I could easily lay out and read under the bright sun, I found myself getting super distracted by the other apps when reading off my iPad. I invested in a Kindle earlier this summer and have not regretted the purchase once.

Here are the five books I enjoyed reading most this summer. In case you're interested, I've also placed a link to each book on Amazon.

(Weird observation: Apparently I like books with short main titles and obnoxiously long subtitles.)

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

The rest of the books are in no particular order, but I do have to admit this was probably my favorite read this summer. Just like the title suggests, the Heath brothers provide a lot of practical information on how to make decisions. I would even go as far to say that the practical applications they share in this book go beyond decision making into just being a better thinker in general. The Heath brothers provide a lot of good examples to help drive their point across. I definitely expect some of their ideas will show up in my future blog posts.

Historical Jesus: What Can We Know and How Can We Know It? by Dr. Anthony Le Donne

Not a new read for me, but this is a book I enjoy re-reading every year or so. A small book and quick read, Le Donne is a fantastic author. Not to belittle them, but I find other authors in his field to write at a level that goes way over my head, so I appreciate Le Donne’s ability to bridge both the casual reading world and super academic reading world.

Anyway, about the book! Even though the book is dedicated to historical Jesus studies, the true gem of this book, in my mind, is Le Donne’s conveyance of memory studies. Sure, these memory studies are fascinating when aligned to historical Jesus studies, but the memory studies alone make this book an easy recommendation for anybody, regardless of their interest in historical Jesus studies. Like Decisive, I definitely expect memory studies and how they can relate to business to show up in future blog posts.

(Quick plug for Le Donne: He has another book, The Wife of Jesus, that I also loved, and he has new book, Near Christianity, set to release in September that I am super excited about. Do yourself a favor and check his work out. You won’t regret it.)

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

The official biography of Elon Musk, I am fascinated by the fact that guy can been a major driver in three radically different markets. Not to say Musk isn’t smart in each of these specific fields, but I think his true genius comes in the fact that he has been able to assemble teams under each of these organization’s banners that have led revolutions in these fields. Heck, I wonder if Musk could lead revolutions in ANY industry. Vance does a great job penning Musk’s life thus far, so I would definitely encourage this read.

Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation by Blake J. Harris

I honestly purchased this book because I saw a flash sale on Amazon selling it for $2 at one time, and it’s about the video game industry. It was definitely $2 well spent! Harris’s style of writing is captivating and easy to follow. The most interesting part of this book, to me, was the various marketing tactics Kalinske and his Sega team took to drive Sega to be a real competitor with Nintendo. Like when Sega blasted Bentonville, Arkansas with all this advertising and free play areas just because they wanted to onto Walmart’s shelves. (Walmart’s HQ is located in Bentonville.) If you like video games or simply are interested in learning about some very creative marketing tactics, check out this book.

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin

Confession: I haven’t finished reading this book yet. I’m about halfway through but expect to finish within the next couple days. It’s no secret that I’ve taken a recent interest in marketing along with Godin’s works, so perhaps I am biased. Anyway, I am still very captivated the thoughts Godin has shared in the book thus far and am eager to work my way through to the end. I could be wrong, but I definitely expect this book to remain in my summer 2016 top 5 at the point when I finish.