Best books you read in 2021

Been a while since we had a book thread in the off-topic forum. Thought I would make this to see what you people read so far this year, and inevitably add some of them to my ever-growing list of books that I have to get around to reading. 

Favorite book this year has to be Hard Rain Falling by the late and great but forgotten writer Don Carpenter. One of the best books I've read in a while. On a totally separate note, I also enjoyed Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, I ripped through the whole thing in like two weeks. I don't know how many of you read fantasy but if you do I recommend giving it a shot.

 

im reading dortoyevskys 'the idiot' just now, its a complete slog, too much dialogue. ive been reading it on and off for probably over a year but I just picked it up and read 100 pages (out of 700) this fine sunday, because its been sitting on my shelf pissing me off. antagonising me to read it.

others ive read this year- 
radical candor (I found this in a bag outside a random house while I was out walking)
start with why
feeling good
mr.pikes (recommended if you like ibiza and hedonism) 
my manor 
shogun - I randomly put this on YouTube one day and listened to about 6/7 hours of it
barbarians at the gate
an actor prepares
stanford Meisner on acting
in search of lost time (put this down, too confusing)

what a weird list. genuinely all over the place. ive got a list of about 200 I need to read in addition to the 30 or so I have lying around. I've been lurking on reddit books and I think im going to get some camus or voltaire next. here is a list of 4chans 100 most recommended which I found on reddit and is surprisingly good. 

https://postimg.cc/nXMrnFwX

 

I have Crime and Punishment on my shelf been on there for over a year and have to give it read soon. Hopefully by the end of the year. 

 

I’d love to hear suggestions on books that are interesting to read but also provide valuable lessons/info/ideas. Books that can improve people’s lives or make them smarter.

 

influence by cialdini - prob my favourite. 
thinking fast and slow
the art of thinking clearly (this Is quite dull/academic)
mans search for meaning
Marcus Aurelius meditations
the charisma myth

edit:
pyscocybernetics
emotional intelligence - goleman
never eat alone
strategize to win - Carla Harris
7 habits of highly effective people
moonwalking with einstein
how to talk to anyone

 

 
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ASOIAF is great, read the whole thing a few years ago. But it's definitely a commitment lol took me 4 months.

 

Siege was a newsletter written by James Mason, a neo-nazi and convicted child pornographer.  Please leave this board asshole

 

A pedo? That's funny, considering most of woke beliefs come from Foucault, Derrida and... John Money, all of which are liberals pedos. But that's okay I guess?

Never discuss with idiots, first they drag you at their level, then they beat you with experience.
 
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Thanks! The audiobook thing it's a great idea, I have thought about doing the same. But how do you keep focused only listening for 3h? Also, do you retain well the information? 

 

I finished On China a couple weeks ago, it was really good. I have Diplomacy at home which I want to read before World Order.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

first time reads: mark spitznagel save haven, various dostoyevsky essays, pablo neruda poetry, nassim taleb's statistical consequences of fat fails, carlo cippola's book on stupidity, seneca on the happy life, miguel de unamono tragic sense of life, some epictetus, jocko willink leadership tactical book, some thomas aquinas essays

re-reads: nassim taleb's entire incerto ex-bed of procrustes, seneca on the shortness of life (annual tradition), jocko willink extreme ownership

coming soon: descartes, kant, bertrand russell, and sextus empiricus

best new stuff I read this so far year was definitely dostoyevsky, I wish I'd discovered him sooner

UPDATE: best book I've read by far this year is die with zero by bill perkins, highly recommend. I take issue with some of the details, but the sentiment is spectacular

 

Also, I think you might enjoy William T. Vullman. Especially his greatest work which is Rising Up and Rising Down. I believe it’s a seven volume series where he attempts to develop a moral calculus for when it’s okay to use violence. Though you might have to shell out a couple grand for the set. There is an abridged version on Amazon but it’s not the same. I haven’t read it yet myself but from what I know it sounds like something you might enjoy. WTV is great in general, I read his debut novel, You Bright and Risen Angels which was awesome. Planning on reading his seven dreams series next.

 

That's your anti-intellectual non-target side talking again

 

I read the first Dune book but it just didn’t click for me. I can see how it’s good and the rest of the story sounds epic but I just couldn’t get into it. Have you ever read anything by Ian M. Banks? I read Consider Phlebas and that was a really good read, going to read the rest of the series soon.

 

Yeah that's the same way I felt about Dune too, it's a really interesting universe but I couldn't finish the first book yet.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Ride of a lifetime - Igor great inner dialogue of M&A framework and inherent biz principles

Titan - Chernow - Rockefeller absolute G used scale to oblierate competition and talks through the rise of C-corps via holdingcos. Great historical overview of O&G as well. Hint bid Oil

Grant - Chernow - I think the depth of Civil War and reconstruction period is highly underrated. Grant fascinating figure as well. Echoes of today's media environment,, when the media or historians were quick to judge. The narrative not the facts led peoples perception of him. Reconsuctrion period good insight into the political sausage making as well

Sum of little things - great insight to consumerism and impact of branding. How people vote with their dollar based on their principles and implied social signals

Blood for Oil - insight to MBS fascinating, talk about a cutthroat figure / peep into the geopolitical framework

Profiles in Power - about JFK Presidency. Should be must read for anyone who tries to confer a opinion on political decisions and just an absolutely crazy time of history

The Discoveries- dan boorstein so many fascinating cultural nuggets and look into the rise of society & general progression of man kind

Have like 30 more. Love books please ping if any other suggestions

 
Most Helpful

Cable Cowboys - John Malone the father of EBITDA. Great insight into the formation of a broader industry coalition with cable mafia and navigating regulatory picture. Him using equity/JV to fund content players was genius. You'll notice amazon will do this occasion ahead of delivering a large contract to suppliers. Also the mans aversion to pay taxes is just beautiful

Deficit Myth - If your serious on macro or just investing your PA you need to have this book as the backdrop of your macro thinking imo

Amazon the everything store and unbound - the rise of amazon just remarkable, love that he targeted books because he knew they were a commodity and then his selection prowess / unlimited inventory would win vs. others. Unbound i think was super interesting just to understand the pros and cons of the amazon we know. Obviously, an insane amount of wealth, jobs, and consumer convenience created. One employee just talking about the conditions of working there (summarizing) "it was brutal, we pushed to our mental edges and the end of day i just convinced more people to spend money on amazon prime today on shit they don't need". Amazon ultimately a net benfiti to society but some interesting dark edges within the company .... think them bending 3rd party sellers over

Words that work - fucking genius and great interplay into both politics and marketing

Financial shenigans - more technical based and brilliant. But also just some hilarious fraud stories like krispy kreme just stuffing their inventory channelt

The One Device: Iphone story - great overview on the iPhone story. Apple definitely very shading on the supplier practices in FoxConn and general sourcing raw materials. Perhaps, more impressive is their press // narrative control and no really claps at them for this. Though it was really interesting that it was the app store that really drove initially sales and jobs actually against opening their development framework to allow 3rd parties

Seeking Wisdom - just fucking awesome. The navy boat captain principle was genius. So many good insights and stories. really pragmatic insights i though as well

Grand Strategy of the roman empire - not gonna lie skimmed a decent amount of these (fucking latin is brutal). However, i thought the political thinking as military strategy was fascinating. Miltary strategy of having condensed attacking power instead spread across empire and having zero tolerance for invasions was genius. Nuclear esque deterrent

Nelson's Traflghar - holy fuck was being a sailor in the navy brutal back in those days. Was a little too in the weeds on the battle for me. But British / France implications were interesting particularly post war. The freedom of the seas by the brits helped global trade develop and English language become the signature trade language

Empire of Pain - Excellent, must read given the COVID times. Just talks to the FDA/Gov't being hoodwinked and bribed by the big pharma players. It was just blatant ignorance or stupidity on the gov't part. Talks to the birth of the pharma industry/marketing and to some extent gov't lobby. To the sacklers credit maybe the best financial engineering and game theory on their part as it looks like they'll probably come out big winners. Does not instill faith in the FDA/govt. Opiod crisis is real and just a crazy story HBO Doc on it was great as well.

 

it was so good. Still have his lessons printed out on my desk. Really loved the evolution of the business from them going to streaming with bamTech, but the turnaround story of him identifying animation was their core competency and going back to their roots with the pixar deal. The steve job interaction stories were great as well.

Another business book that I forgot to add was Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Made me want to quit my job and do a start up asap (I have not followed through yet). Him going to Japan and securing his first order without having a product was straight out of a Disney movie.

 

Always set out every year to read at least 12 books. I've only completed 4 so far, but every single one has been an absolute joy. My favorite by far has been Extreme Ownership. It's already changed my life and will continue to do so. It has reinvigorated my work ethic and desire to succeed.

1. 7 habits of highly effective people - Stephen R Covey

2. Digital Gold - Nathaniel Popper

3. Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

4. Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West - James P. Owen

 

Anna Karenina was fantastic, I love Russian literature and need to dive deeper into it. I'm in the middle of American Pastoral by Philip Roth, and he is easily becoming one of my favorite authors. I read The Human Stain last year and it was like a breath of fresh air, his writing style is so different from anything I'd ever read before, and he is just brilliant at writing his characters. 

 

I'm still recovering from 'When Breath Becomes Air' - Paul Kalanithi. Learning about the moral dilemmas and internal battles of terminal cancer diagnosis for a young person at the top of their field really hit a special kind of different. Wealth worth a read if you can stomach it; the epilogue from his wife was one of the hardest things I've ever read. 

 

quick fact: Machiavelli wrote that as satire after the Medici family broke the shit out of his arms

You really think someone would do that? Just go on the internet and tell lies?
 

Robert Caro’s Lyndon Johnson series: Simply outstanding. Worth its weight in gold. Currently reading the Power Broker as well.

Why the West Rules for Now: Sapiens is quite overrated in my opinion. There are better general history books out there with more substance. This is one of them.

The Art of Action: Great book on strategy and decentralized management.

The Fish that Ate the Whale: Very underrated book on the power broker that single handedly shaped the fruit industry.

Papa Hemingway: Great account on Hemingway.

Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

Chernow’s Titan

Vaillant’s The Tiger

Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me: Recommend the audiobook especially.

 

The Caesars Palace Coup. Very interesting and easy to read, would recommend for anyone interested in PE/Distressed HF

 

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success

A very interesting read for investment professionals

 

De Bello Gallico

De Bello Civili

by Julius Caesar

I'll admit I didn't read that much this year. I'm uninspired. Watched a lot of documentaries to make myself feel less bad about it

Never discuss with idiots, first they drag you at their level, then they beat you with experience.
 

On top of my head, I really enjoy two youtube channels, History Marche and Kings and Generals. Both are for nerds of history of military strategy so I can understand they are not everyone's bread.

The quality and quantity of information is surprisingly high, they are very well researched.

Never discuss with idiots, first they drag you at their level, then they beat you with experience.
 

Little Women.

Uber-chad Barry Sommers (square jaw) quoted it in the JLC and asked if anyone knew where it was from. I felt like a big brain when I unmuted myself on Zoom and properly identified it. He seemed impressed..

 

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Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

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Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

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