Reading List 2020

  1. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
    Author: Ashlee Vance
    Link: Amazon
    Thoughts:
    The book was given to me by recommendation from a coworker, so I felt obligated to give it a read. It was overall pretty fascinating. Elon is a genius, outright. His brain is a sponge to information, and he's extremely talented at learning everything about something as soon as it grabs his attention. He's terribly awkward, and extremely driven in his goals, which is pretty inspiring. It's hard not to cringe at his constant need for affection and praise, though, as you read through his failures as a husband and father. The book definitely paints him in the light that he genuinely wants to make humans an interplanetary species and is stopping at nothing to make it happen, even if he has to have 6+ kids along the way.

  2. Hacking Growth: How Today's Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success
    Author: Sean Ellis
    Link: Amazon
    Thoughts:
    Another recommendation to me by one of the marketing guys at my current company. Great information and pretty clear examples how certain companies have employed corner-cutting tactics to get to where they want to be incredibly fast. Simple read (listen) and big recommend to any business oriented friends.

  3. Autobiography of a Yogi
    Author: Paramahansa Yogananda
    Link: Amazon
    Thoughts:
    Fwiw, this book was given out to everyone in attendance to Steve Jobs's funeral, by request of Steve. Upon learning that I picked it up and am happy I gave it a listen through Audible. Highly recommended by just about everyone and has some pretty interesting takes. I'll be returning to this one in the future for another read (listen) :)

  4. Fuck Feelings
    Author: Michael Bennett MD
    Link: Amazon
    Thoughts:
    I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked this out to read, but I was browsing recommendations on self help / therapy books just to feel like I could maybe give myself a bit of a "booster shot" in areas of my mental & emotional health that could use some tempering. Overall I think it's a fair resource with a fun "no nonsense" approach to theraputic advices, they curse a lot, and the writing is very relevant and accurate. It's a fun read I guess, but I'd advise just cherry-picking the chapters that you already feel strongly about learning more in.

  5. Leviathan Wakes
    Author: James S. A. Corey
    Link: Amazon
    Thoughts:
    currently reading

  6. Tortilla Flats
    Author: John Steinbeck
    Link: Amazon