Reading Log 📚
2021
Man’s search for meaning
Viktor Frankl put his theories of logotherapy to the test in the toughest of circumstances: the concentration camps of Nazi German. His story and insights are shared in this classic.
Gentle and Lowly
What is Christ’s heart like? In Gentle and Lowly Dan Ortlund meditates on Matthew 11:28-30, the passage where Jesus says “for I am gentle and lowly in heart". Drawing on scripture and the reformers he expands to share good news.
Dominion: the Making of the Western Mind
Tom Holland lays out the case for the seismic impact of Christianity and the Western mind. Key theological ideas such as love being the primary command; God would die for the worst sinners; the value of the poor and lowly are still felt today. Even conflicts between American Conservatives and American Liberals are a fight between those who focus on the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.
Reading While Black
Black Christians have a long tradition of reading the Bible and interpreting certain scriptures differently than white Christians. Esau present their hermeneutical tradition and makes the case for justice.
How to Pray by Pete Grieg
Prayer is simple but there’s a depth to it which we can explore. Pete takes us through some simple ways to pray as well as the theology behind each part. The P.R.A.Y. System represents pause, rejoice, ask, yield.
A Technique for Producing Ideas by
A chapter long book laying out a technique for generating ideas, focused on marketing but applicable to other areas. The process goes
- Gather (go deep into a topic AND gain outside influence)
- Process (go over things deeply. Think till you can think no more.)
- Distract (enjoy an emotionally engaging experience)
- EUREKA! (the idea will suddenly come)
- Refine (First ideas are rarely perfect, you will need to refine it.) The main mistakes are we don’t deeply research a topic. We aren’t curious in general and taking in other stimuli, we don’t distract ourselves with emotional engaging activities.
2020
Morning Star
The third book in the Red Rising series. A fun conclusion, Pierce grows a lot as a writer and the plot has some classic twists. An enjoyable finale…oh wait, there’s more. Check it out
Ego is the Enemy
If you aspire to anything, or achieve some success, ego is waiting to bring you down. It’s difficult to manage, and doing so is no guarentee of success, but it’s the right thing to do. Ego os the enemy.
Check it out
Marketing Made Simple
A simple marketing plan with clear guidance on how to implement it. One of the key points of Don’s book is that the difference is implementation, that’s why having a simpler, but cohesive, plan is valuable. It’s better to get a simple plan fully implemented than a complicated plan kind of done. Shop your local indie bookstore
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
We are being distracted from what’s important by our modern rushing world. We have more than we’ve ever needed but are less satisfied. We need to recover Jesus' light yoke which is a simpler life, with him at the centre. Shop your local indie bookstore
Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Christians include many different types of people, none of whom are perfect. Bonhoeffer discusses how Christians should approach living and growing together as a community. The Strong need the weak just as much as the weak need the strong. Shop your local indie bookstore
Surprise the World by Mike Frost
Not every Christian is an evangelist, but all of us are called to “witness”. We do this by living “Highly questionable lifes” (Lives that invite questions) and Mike suggests five habits to draw questions. Bless / Eat / Learn / Listen / Sent Shop your local indie bookstore
The New Testament in Its World by N.T. Wright and Michael Bird
The New Testament was written to particular groups of people in history, but our history and culture is very different. Simple words like “religion” can evoke very different images for us and then the first readers. This book goes over some of the common ideas with discussions on alternative perspectives of on the authorship of the books and the background. Shop your local indie bookstore
Algorithms to live by
IThe algorithms we’ve used to solve problems in computer science can help not only large organization but also ourselves. Surprisingly, we naturally do many good practices. Shop your local indie bookstore
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
We’ve heard stories that you need to focus young to be successful. It’s not true in most cases. In fact, it helps to have broad experience and experiment, applying analogical thinking so that you can see what others can’t. Sometimes, the specialists are actually worse than the generalists.
Shop your local indie bookstore
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
In Progress Shop your local indie bookstore
The Accidental Creative
Creative professionals need to be able to produce results on tight timelines but pressures from inside work and out make this difficult. The solution is a series of practices and systems to avoid overwhelm and ensure inspiration so you can create on demand. Shop your local indie bookstore
The Bullet Journal Method
In our 24/7 screen world, we’re constantly rushed and not spending enough time reflecting and doing. Using a paper journal and the bullet journal method can help you focus on doing the right things by becoming more deliberate over what you do.
2019
Atomic Habits
Habits are very powerful due to the compond effect. There are four elements of habits, and you can use these to build good habits or kill bad ones. Use a habit tracker and start small. check it out
Leonardo Da Vinci
Da Vinci was filled with a sense of wonder and curioustiy with the world. He paid attention to things other’s missed like how a dragonfly beats its wings. We should feed our curosity and pay more attention to the everyday things around us. check it out
Digital Minimalism
A great overview of the issues with technology at the moment, a philosophy to address these issues and highly practical steps to implement or adapt. One of the best aspects of the book is how Cal points out that what is right for one person may not be right for you and how you have to work out how to apply these ideas to use technology in an intentional and meaningful way for your life.
This is Marketing
Simply having the best or cheapest product isn’t enough, you need to tell a better story that resonates. To do this, you need to pick a group of people to help and then listen to them so they will listen to you.
Check it out
Never Split the Difference
Most of us try to avoid conflict and settle to easily. This can lead to long-term problems. Instead, we need to use active listening approaches and discover as much information as we can to negotiate better. Check it out
Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad
It would be great if one day we reached “creativity” and everything was easy after that. But the truth is that even after success, it’s a struggle to keep going. But, there is hope and your not alone. Keep Going.
“There is Art left to be made in this world” - Anthony Bourdain
How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, starting to think. You step out of your exsisting views, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
No one really “thinks for themselves” we think together. If we really want to think, we need to find a true commuity to think in where differences are respected not expelled. Check it out
A Walk Across America
Peter Jenkins is fed up of America. He knows that it is divided and sucks. So he sets off to walk across America to see for himself. All the way he is surprised by the generosity of people along the way, and even becomes a christian. Check it out
Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style
The chief copy editor of random house has a humorous take on a style guide. I enjoy his approach but I still can’t understand his position on “and” and parenthetical clauses. Otherwise, we’re good. Check it out
The Old Man and the Sea
A hemmingway classic about fighting even in impossible situations. check it out
The Visual MBA
An MBA course via sketchnotes…well I guess technically visual notes. Jarron uses his illustrating style to convey business ideas simply. I understand so much more jargon than I used to. Check it out
They Ask, You Answer
The Content Marketing Bible. Marcus shares the why, the what and the how of content marketing. Some of the practical ideas have helped my company produce more, higher quality content. Check it out
Red Rising
The first in the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. An enjoyable read and interesting universe. Think, Hunger Games but the roman references aren’t subtle. Check it out
Insurection
What was the message of Jesus? It’s a challenging call for Christians that isn’t just about going to heaven after we die. A theological exploration [Check it out]
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World - David Epstein 📚
We keep getting told that we need to be specialist with stories of Tigger Woods and Chess geniuses. While this works in a few, select areas of life. More areas require a wide range of skills and broad experience. Check it out
Golden Son
The second Red Rising book by Pierce Brown. He has clearly grown as a writer by this book. Far suprior to the first. Check it out
2018
Books I’ve read in 2018
Storybrand
Basically we are overcomplicating marketing for ourselves. Clarity is key.
Arbitary Stupid Goal
Stories of a childhood in New York City and the bitter sweet serendipty of life.
Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for A New Kind of Entrepreneur
The story of CDBaby with some unusual lessons along the way. check it out