My Book Report: 2018
This is the second year I’m rounding up what I read. Here goes…
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
As Told to Alex Haley
Malcolm X lived his youth as a hustler-gangster in Boston and New York City, hit rock bottom in prison and converted to Islam, and emerged to be one of the most controversial and influential people in modern history. By the mid-sixties everyone knew who Malcolm X was and was either afraid, empowered, or confounded by a type of person they had never seen at the public pulpit. This book taught me much about the civil rights and black power movements. It’s fascinating to understand more about how he clashed and contrasted with MLK. The evolution of his ideologies throughout his life is amazing to follow, especially as he splits from the Nation of Islam and where he arrives after pilgrimage to Mecca and shortly before his dramatic assassination.
Furthermore, it’s an utterly gripping and dramatic read. Alex Haley is a master journalist (also with an amazing story — a member of the Coast Guard who taught himself journalism while at sea). Haley explains how he worked closely with Malcolm X to capture his life story, which brings the whole thing into even more stunning color.
And I re-watched Spike Lee’s film, which holds up really well.
And it’s $7 in paperback or Kindle so just buy it now. I read it in paperback.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
By Alex Haley
Reading Malcolm X got me interested in Alex Haley, so I read Roots next. Haley was inspired to write this epic after being so close to Malcolm X. Roots is the first American novel to capture the full timeline of American slavery. Starting with Kunta Kinte’s kidnapping from his West African village and his sale into slavery, it follows his family through seven generations up through the Civil War and reconstruction and their migration to the North.
It’s beautifully written, deeply researched, and extremely personal for Haley (for reasons you’ll discover).
And I haven’t watched the mini-series, the original or the reboot, but I should.
(I also read this one in paperback)
What to Think about Machines that Think: Today’s Leading Thinkers on the Age of Machine Intelligence
Edited by John Brockman
This book is a compendium of short essays (some only a few paragraphs) from leading thinkers about artificial intelligence. I like it because it brings in so many voices, not just leading scientists but musicians (Brian Eno), journalists (Maria Popova), and dozens of others. You can skip around (as I did), they’re super short essays. If you feel on the outside of the AI discussion, this is a good way to get a multi-perspective view.
10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works — A True Story
by Dan Harris
This one was very influential for me this year and I’ve been recommending it a lot. It’s basically an intro to the teachings and logic of mindfulness meditation through the lens of a successful TV news anchor. Interesting setup, right? Harris is a journalist for ABC News, an anchor on Nightline, and co-anchor for Good Morning America. As he’s fighting his way to the top he’s using cocaine and Ecstacy to energize his work binges. His self-induced brain chemical imbalance leads to an on-air panic attack (which you can look up).
As a guy with no interest in religion, it’s ironic that he’s assigned to the faith beat. This, and his recent meltdown, lead him gradually to Western Buddhist teachers. He finally does his first 10-day Vipassana retreat and he’s hooked.
I think this book will especially speak to people who are competitive, hyperdrive professionals who want a balanced mind but don’t want to get woo-woo and soft. I think it nails it.
(I did this one as an audiobook read by the author, which I recommend. He’s a news anchor, after all.)
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
by Priya Parker
Priya Parker both throws awesome parties and facilitates conflict negotiations in the Middle East. She knows what she’s doing. This book is her treatise on how to bring people together; whether a dinner party, board meeting, field trip with friends, baby shower, etc. She’s strongly opinionated (Don’t Be a Chill Host!) and she’s put all her theories into practice. For me, 2018 was marked by a number of very meaningful gatherings, and this book really helped me understand what makes the magic happen.
(I did the audiobook)
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
By Kim Scott
This book really hit me hard this year. Kim Scott designed Apple’s internal management trainings and before that she was in senior positions at Facebook and Google. Radical Candor is her hard-won philosophy of communication, leadership, and management. The core of it is: care personally, challenge directly. So simple, so hard. Her ideas really struck me at a critical time in my personal experience growing as a leader, manager, and company co-founder, and frankly set off all sorts of revelations for me as I read it. Everyone at Artiphon has heard about it, and I even designed and presented a Radical Candor slideshow at our Friday team meeting.
If you’re leading people, or you’re struggling with those who are leading you, get in here.
(I did the audiobook)
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
By Adam Grant
I’ve struggled to give a compelling summary of this book when describing it to friends. My description is always like: “a book by Wharton’s youngest tenured professor about how people come up with new ideas.” Which sounds boring, but he does it well. Grant draws on tons of research and case studies to paint vignettes of people fighting groupthink, creating cultures of innovation, and (on the flip side) falling into inflexible thought traps (think Polaroid’s downfall). It’s not a hard read, but I think you’ll find yourself doing a lot of highlighting, as I did.
One study he describes that stuck with me: people did better at public speaking when they told themselves I am excited, rather than I am calm.
(read as Kindle)
Two Others:
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
By Ben Horowitz
This was a worthy reminder about how very difficult building a business can be (I draw courage and perseverance from stories like that), and it’s especially useful if your business has gotten big, valuable, and/or, at risk of crashing. If you’re a founder you should probably just get to it sooner or later.
(I did the audiobook)
Finding My Virginity
by Richard Branson
This is his new autobiography, and this guy has actually done enough amazing things since the last one to fill another book. Branson is a great reminder of how irreverence, playfulness, and oddity can be applied to business. He’s a true Original, as Adam Grant would say. I never know how much to believe is really true about Branson, but I left this book quite fond of him. He’s dyslexic, a rampant note-taker, an effective philanthropist, and an utterly prolific business-starter.
(I did the audiobook)
I very much encourage you to write your own! I’ll link to it in mine (it went great last year). Thanks for reading!
