Book recommendations
Does anybody have any good book recommendations?
I’m currently reading Project Hail Mary and I recommend it if you’re into sci-fi
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I recommend Kama Sutra - excellent for buyside roles
What kind of subject matter are you after?
I’m open to anything really, keen to read different genres
"Where Wizards Stay Up Late" to learn the real history that Gore did not invent the internet. All the Tom Clancyverse books. I keep thumping the drum, but I'll say the Jungle Books again. Won't say some BS like Pride and Prejudice. The Star Wars expanded universe novels are good like Tales of the Bounty Hunters or the Thrawn trilogy before Disney ruined them all (fuck the book of Boba show. That is not how he got out of the Sarlacc. Where the hell was Dengar?)" Starship Troopers is beyond what Verhoven called that ******* of a movie. I mean does no one know there's TWO races of aliens they're at war with? Then there's a real good classic in The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. A yank puts Merlin in his place with a pistol. Beyond that, another interesting one is the original written version of The Day of the Jackal versus the half-cocked Bruce Willis video version.
Things fall apart - Chinua Achebe
Lmaoooooooo had to read this for summer reading in high school
Haha takes me back. But in all honesty, I recommend Plato’s Republic.
Finance/Money Books: Most important thing, Rich dad poor dad, The psychology of money, Stress Test, Barbarians the gate, Wall Street Warrior, Alpha Masters
Historical: Malcom x autobiography, Guns Germs Steel, Lords of Finance
Food/Travel: Kitchen Confidential, A Cooks tour, Medium Raw, Salt Acid Fat Heat
Other (First 2 are kinda heavy): Mans Search for Meaning, Year of magical thinking, 1984, How not to die alone, the alchemist, Hillbilly Elgy, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Greenlights, The Righteous Mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion
Rich Dad Poor Dad is an interesting one. A lot of useful information in there to swtich how you approach time, money, assets, etc so overall is pretty useful. Think the author is a bit of a con man though, definitely the type of guy who has predicted 22 of the last 3 recessions
I'll add Four Hour Workweek. Dont agree with everything whole sale, but really got me to think on a few things
Rich Dad, Poor dad is more made up at points than it is real. The "rich dad" guy is basically made up. Not to crap on the book or the hustle, because I respect hustle, but its a good book to get you started. I've been listening to a lot of bigger pockets stuff, people there love that book. Again, its not bad, just somewhat dumbed down; basically like "invest money--> makes millions". Also I read his tax guys book which his somewhat in the same vein ("buy a new car and expense it to the business", "make your spouse a business partner so every dinner is deductible".)
1. Dune: original six books by Frank Herbert, this is the sci-fi GOAT for a reason. Book #4 is my favorite.
2. ASOIAF - doesn't matter if you watched the show, these might be the most well written books in existence. Maybe GRR Martin might finish the series?
3. Malazan - wild and crazy fantasy series by Steven Erikson, nothing else like it
4. Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe's sci-fi epic series like no other, you'll need to pay attention
5. Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson's Magnus Opus, it's just so much fun!
Edit: spelling
In this vein I'll have to recommend Hyperion, the Martian Chronicles, and the Sirens of Titan.
I also really enjoyed Daodejing and Murakami's Hear the Wind Sing.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Ready Player One
Above are two books that reminded me as an adult that it’s ok to enjoy kid stuff. Both funny and great stories. Sequels to both were pretty mediocre
my brother, was not expecting to see HHGTTG on WSO. It's fantastic, the sequels are alright imo, but the original is great. I'm way overdue a reread, I remember how hilarious they were and how much of a smile they put on my face.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
I’m currently reading Nausea by Sartre and am really enjoying it
Wandering Earth
Three Body Problem trilogy as well — bit of a denser / longer read so start w Wandering Earth and if you like it read 3BP
Fiction/Sci fi - The Stand by Stephen King. Bit of a thicc read (1100+ pages), but a postapocalyptic epic about a militarized virus that wipes out most of the world's population and the resulting good vs evil-type of clash that develops between the surviving communities. The character development, pace, and progression of the story is top notch, and highly recommend even if you're not a typical King reader.
Non fiction - The Anarchy by William Dalrymple- investigative journalist piece about how India was essentially colonized by a group of merchants from a London boardroom... truly mind boggling and incredible.
Non fiction - Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. another investigative journalist piece about the rise of Purdue Pharma, and how the snakes got away with it by circumventing justice at the very very highest levels of power... very unsettling but still a fascinating read.
Would add the show on hulu "Dope Sick" was a docu drama on Purdue Pharma. Good watch (slightly revisionary, but it is what it is).
+1 SB for the Stand. Took me 3+ months to read with work (I normally finish a 300-400 page book in a week even with work) but it is such a fantastic book. It is the ultimate good vs. evil story but more importantly, it shows true, unique character development. It outlines how small actions add up to make us the people we are today, and how people really are capable of change, especially when thrown into completely foreign environments.
This is not a horror book at all, but more a book about the preciousness of life than anything else. This is a book that puts your life into perspective, and should help you appreciate all that you do have. It really reminded me to show an increased level of gratitude toward the most important things in my life (my health, my family, the stability, etc.).
I consider myself a serial reader and this is one of the few books that I think everyone should take a crack at. Yes it is long, it is tedious at times, but it is so fulfilling.
Lastly, this is a book that essentially encompasses what COVID would have been like had it had a 99% death rate as opposed to just an infection rate.
I also recommend the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.. one of my favorites!!
The gunslinger was really good but in the subsequent books when it devolved to portals and mechanical bears I dropped it. Seems odd to start with minimal Sci fi then jump right into time jumping. That being said Roland is a badass.
The New Kings of New York by Weinraub - Good read on the development history of Manhattan if you're into that type of thing
Think this one would be interesting even for people outside of the real estate/development industry. high level stories of really big deals and even bigger personalities.
Storm of steel ernst junger
Sci-Fi: Old Man's War series, Ender's Shadow series, Terms of Enlistment series, The Expanse series, The Murderbot Diaries series, World War Z
Finance/Industry: The Psychology of Money, Zero to One, The Hard Thing about Hard Things, The Master Switch
Personal Development/Life: Never Split the Difference, 12 Rules for Life, Man's Search for Meaning, Models, When Breath Becomes Air,
Strong Towns: great book about the financial effects of post-WW2 urban development in the US
Orthodoxy: GK Chesterton book, need to reread this one
Reflections on the Revolution in France: thought-provoking. Planning to read Thomas Paine's rebuttal (Rights of Man)
The Children of Hurin (anything in the LOTR universe tbh but this one is a truly tragic story): one of the most tragic stories I've ever read (in the classic Greek heroic tragedy tradition). Wild amount of hardship that all the characters go through
The Cloud of Unknowing: great read on contemplative/meditative prayer in the Western Christian tradition
The Ride of a Lifetime: Bob Iger's business book, really good
pepsi
A Man for All Markets by Edward Thorp.
Extremely interesting read if you're into maths, gambling, and public markets. He is the author of ''Beat The Dealer'' which presumably inspired Bill Gross (co-founder of PIMCO) to get into bonds.
Based on Thorp's book, he claims that he is among the first to have used the Black-Scholes formula before being publicized and he also demotivated its clients about investing in Madoff's funds 10-20 years before his conviction. He also offers some insights into how certain financial instruments appeared, the reasoning behind some simple HF strategies, and some bits of history related to HF.
At least, that's what I'm reading now.
Man for all markets is a great book and one of the first "finance" books I read.
Another good one about quant style trading is the man who solved the market about jim simons,
Reading The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin right now. The writing style is decent at best but the narrative itself is fascinating. Also highly recommend Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges — it’s basically a collection of unrelated stories, most of which are outright mind-blowing.
My three favorite books of all time (in no particular order): the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, and Moby Dick by Herman Melville. All are on the longer side but very worthwhile. David Copperfield is a bildungsroman, a coming of age story, so it might be nice to read depending on where you are in your career.
Fiction: Don Quixote, Dune, Catch-22
Non-fiction: Code of Capital by Katharina Pistor, Sapien by Yuval Harari, Thinking Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman, any Carl Sagan book
I’ll second the TFAS selection. Read it during an inflection point of my life and it actually helped me even though that wasn’t really the point of the book lol
Infinite Jest
When Genius Failed
Flash boys
The smartest guys in the room
Barbarians at the gate
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity - Peter Attia/ Bill Gifford (halfway through, but it's worth it already)
andrew huberman has been plugging that book a lot recently!
Yeah, Andrew is great as well. It's a beautiful thing now that scientists/ MD's can have a bigger platform outside of our faulty 'big medicine' system. Anecdotally, I'm seeing a lot of doctors leave the constraints of large health networks in favor of private practice.
It might be wishful thinking, but hopefully it leads to changes in insurance and the overall incentives in medicine.
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. Skip all the books recommended by others and stick to this one. The majority are recommending best-sellers that appeal to the masses and satisfy their dopamine cravings.
P.S. Pulitzer prize, by the way. Enjoy the read.
A long fucking read lol. I'd argue if you want to read Caro you should start with his Lyndon Johnson Biographies. Those were epic.
"The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
was one of the best books I've read in the past few years. Essentially a history of the discovery of Ebola and related filoviruses (eg Marburg)
Discussion Materials by Bill Keenan is a good one for finance-based humor. Also a huge fan of anything Michael Lewis puts out. In terms of Sci Fi the thrawn series (think heir to the empire is book one) is a classic star wars book. also feel free to try the codex alera if you like fantasy-based stories.
Best of luck!
The Holocaust on Trial is a good read. It is about the Irving v. Penguin Books trial which is basically the first trial about the historiography of the Holocaust instead of the history of the Holocaust.
Ugly Americans by Ben Mezrich is great
Blood & Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob - The Mafia’s Most Violent Family
If you like true crime, this is probably the most interesting book about the Mafia. It describes the rise and fall of the Philly Mob from the
80s and 90s.
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