My top books on my reading list
Books Books Books! Reading isn’t nearly as exciting as growing through what you are reading!
I know not everyone loves reading, and that’s okay. Well, I don’t like reading either. I do the audiobook thing – Audible. You will see all the books below is available on Audible.
If you like the hard copies book, and can only get one, I most definitely recommend the Lean Startup – There are charts and graphs in there that translate into audio with a little bit of difficulty though.
Without further ado, here’s my reading list.
Personal Finance / Business Books
Here’s my most awesome mix of entrepreneurship, personal finance and business books that I recommend. Out of all of these, the first one is my favourite, as I have done this myself practical in testing ideas and concepts.
The lean startup
By E. Ries
This book is brilliant in explaining why startups fail – and what you can do to measure and learn from your mistakes so that you can grow your startup.
This is done by what Ries calls validated learning – doing small tests and validating an outcome.
He also dedicates quite some part of the book to validated accounting – i.e. how can you measure if a startup is worth investing in or not.
Rich dad poor dad
By Robert Kiyosaki
Well, this book is a classic. Though there’s loads f controversy over the legitimacy and ‘correctness’ of what some may call pop psychology, I believe this is worth a read – even if it’s just for the mindset change.
This is a great way to redefine what is an asset and what is a liability, as well as give a little insight here and there into using systems and the rich mindset.
The millionaire next door
By T.J. Stanley & W.D. Danko
This is an interesting book due to the fact it busts the myth about how the true rich lives. It gives insight into everyday frugal people that do not splurge on expensive, useless things.
It also gives insight into the traits these people have, e.g. the wife is in 95% of cases more frugal than the husband.
Audio Courses Special mention
Critical business skills for success
By the great courses
This audio course (if bought through audible) establishes foundational concepts in strategy, marketing and all the way to logistics and technology.
This course is from beginner to advanced and is refreshing and interesting.
Books on mindset
Business books are great – the knowledge of things is wonderful. Getting the knowledge into your brain and applying it is a bit more challenging. These are my favourite books on so-called pop psychology – which in my opinion can be quite useful!
The subtle art of not giving a F*
by M. Manson
This book seems to be making waves due to the number of times he uses the F word.
The reason I am recommending this though is not because of this, but because of the clear message: You only have a certain amount of ***** to give, make sure you give them to the things that really matter.
At the core, this book is like a long blog post, but definitely worth the read.
Atomic habits
by J. Clear
This book is really well written. It has details on what you can do to form better habits and how to make bad habits more difficult to do. In a nutshell, the book teaches:
Every time we perform a habit, we execute a four-step pattern: cue, craving, response, and reward.
If we want to form new habits, we should make them obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.
You can use a habit tracker as a fun way to measure your progress and make sure you don’t fall off the wagon.
Audio Courses Special mention
The science of mindfulness
By the great courses
This audio course (if bought through audible) is all about being fully present to the now – its focus is a theoretical and practical one and helps with stress management, gaining better knowledge of your actions and having better well being.
This course includes practical mindfulness exercises you can follow along with.
Fictional books
To get your mind off your crazy life, I suggest every now and again read/listen to fiction. Even Einstein said that
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales”
Murder on the Orient Express
by A. Christie (Audible edition)
This is a great audio production of the classic book. It’s still full of suspense, and even if you did watch the movie, this is worth a listen.
It’s great for relaxing on a commute or listening while doing the dishes.
Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling
I think no book review list will be complete without the classic Harry Potter being in the list.
This book is about a boy wizard – who didn’t know he was a wizard – that went to Hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry. The book tells about his antics, adventures and mysteries that happen while he is at the school.
If you are looking for a fun relaxing read, this is it!
Conclusion
There are gazillions of books out there, and I know there’s not nearly enough space to write about all the books in the world, but these pages that I’ve read, made me who I am today.
Keep a good balance between resting and learning in your books collection – learn a bit, and grow a bit as well.
Happy investing!
