Books I’m Reading

I’m reading a book a week in 2010.

There’s a reason that the most successful people read more. Books are full of ideas can change your perception of reality. Books can help you achieve things you didn’t think possible.

At the start of the year I took on the Julien Smith’s (co-author of Trust Agents) challenge to read one book a week for 2010. If you’d like to follow along search for #bookaweek on Twitter.

This year I wrote my first e-book, The Art of Being Minimalist: How To Stop Consuming and Start Living. It’s available now for only $9.95 for the first 1000 people who buy it.

The other fundamental text on being minimalist is Leo Babauta’s e-book A Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life.

These are the books I’ve read:

I’ve left any books that I hated off this list. Everything on this list I recommend to you.

January 2010:

What The Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell — Brilliant stories about minor geniuses.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink — Learn the secret of intrinsic motivation, and how modern companies are harnessing it.

Viral Loop: How Today’s Smartest Business Grow Themselves by Adam Penenberg — A history of successful viral businesses. Leans a little toward the nerd in us all.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin — The resistance is keeping you from harnessing your inner creativity and shipping. Seth offers a solution to a problem we all face. This book is indispensable.

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan — Simple rules to healthy eating. Pollan takes his denser work on food and simplifies it so anyone can understand and change their eating habits.

The Truth of Suffering and The Path to Liberation by Chögyam Trungpa — We make ourselves miserable, because we choose to Trungpa applies Tibetan wisdom to help us end our suffering, but we have to work for it.

February 2010:

Writing Begins with the Breath: Embodying Your Authentic Voice by Laraine Herring — Blending yogic philosophy with the art of writing, Laraine believes that writing comes from the entire body; the key to writing is to take care of yours.

Unleashing the IdeaVirus by Seth Godin — This free e-book redefined what it was to be a marketer many years ago. It’s essential reading for anyone who wants to start their own business.

True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art by Chögyam Trungpa — Tibetan Buddhism applied to the creation of art.

Project M-31: Simplify Your Life in 31 Days by David Damron — Essential reading for anyone making the attempt to liberate themselves from clutter and focus on the important.

Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur by Pamela Slim — Basically the best advice ever for anyone who’s thinking of leaving the 9-5 and striking out on their own.

Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles for Decluttering Your Home and Your Life by Joshua Becker — An outstanding book on ‘rational minimalism’; the kind that doesn’t involve throwing away all of your stuff and getting on planes. Great read.

Simply Car-free: How to Pedel Towards Financial Freedom and a Healthier Life by Tammy Strobel — Amazing book for anyone who’s thinking about abandoning their dependence on their cars.

March 2010:

Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts — This book claims to be about travel, but it’s not. It’s about living life. Definitely a must-read for anyone seeking to live unconventionally.

Unautomate Your Finances: A Simple, Passionate Approach to Money by Adam Baker — If you’re having trouble living within your means and eliminating your debt, this e-book is the ultimate solution.

Rework by Jason Fried and 37Signals — business doesn’t have to be big. In fact, it’s way better if your business is incredibly small. The incredibly successful software company 37Signals explains why.

The 4 Hour Work Week: Expanded Edition by Timothy Ferriss — This is a classic must read. Anyone who’s needs the skills to live and work from anywhere should read this!

April 2010:

The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki — expert advice from one of America’s most legendary starters.

Good to Great by Jim Collins — What makes a good business great? This applies to life too, got me thinking.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig — I’m convinced that Robert Pirsig is from another dimension. This book blew my mind wide open-er.

These are all affiliate links. If you happen to purchase these books, you’ll support my writing here at Far Beyond The Stars.