Mar 24 2010

The books I read on my “break”

Published by at 8:52 pm under Uncategorized

As I said in my post “OK Its Official Now”. When I was unemployed and between Microsoft and Neudesic I set some simple commitments to keep me motivated and more importantly to simply ensure I got out of bed each day. One of the commitments was to read a non-technical book a day. I came across some great reads during this time and I would like to share them with you. So, in no particular order here is a list and a few comments.

51Q3K589P5L._SL500_AA240_[1] Software Product Management Essentials ~ Alyssa Dver
51Kz7ATqTRL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_[1] Software Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. ~ Karl E. Wiegers
51QJfolb2XL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_[1] More About Software Requirements: Thorny Issues and Practical Advice ~ Karl Eugene Wiegers
51blqRBNDVL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_[1] Infoenza: Why Projects Fail And How To Fix Them ~ Troy Malone

Troy is a buddy that started Pelotonics a cool project & group management site. He produced this book which is a very cool short read.

41u4CVo1boL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_[1] Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project ~ Karl Fogel

This was an interesting read and changed how I would run any project.

51NDKNZVN6L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_[1] This Man’s Army ~ Andrew Exum

I am not much of a fan of ?war? books but looking to get some perspective on our current conflicts I picked this one up. Andrew provides some terrific insight. A second book in this same genre that provided additional context was The Middle East ~ Bernard Lewis.

41xDqVazvPL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_[1] Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain ~ John J. Ratey , Eric Hagerman
51FSaZaVA3L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_[1] The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich ~ Timothy Ferriss

Wow is what I say, each time I read this book. I can?t believe how much I get out of it!
Note: it looks like there is a new and expanded version of this book but I have not read it but if you are getting it new I would check it out.

31BQCxsXubL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_[1] The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference ~ Malcolm Gladwell
51GYR23861L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_[1] The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary National Bestseller That Changed The Way We Do Business ~ Clayton M. Christensen

This is quite an interesting read. My father had given it to me a while back but I had not found the time to sit down and read it until now. I highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to implement something new inside of an existing organization.

51SBECD8PFL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_[1] The Definitive Book of Body Language ~ Barbara Pease
412mHGHqzzL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_[1] Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity ~ David Allen

All I can say is from the day at BarCamp LA where Heather introduced me to this book in her amazing session on GTD I have tried to live the GTD way (often failing). This book has helped me tremendously!

51BLiMYq7TL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_[1] The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life ~ Erving Goffman

I can?t say enough about this book. I read this book for the first time when my wife was getting her sociology degree. In fact, I read all of her books when she was in school and this one and one from her Fundamental Forms of Religion class were the most interesting books from her four years at school (for me at least). I reread this one every few years to simply remind me why we humans do the stupid things we do!

So feel free to let me know about your favorite books. I want to keep up my reading momentum. Now that I am not receiving hundreds of emails a day I have much more time to read.

3 responses so far

3 Responses to “The books I read on my “break””

  1. "Self-Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society" by John W. Gardner. We were required to read this book in my Pol Sci class back in college. I am glad I just did that – I have reread this a couple of times since then. The thoughts written in the book are really timeless. Awesome book. Everyone should read it.

  2. woodyp says:

    Marlon,
    Thanks for the suggestion I have it on order i sounds like a good read.
    — Woody

  3. ReWork is a great book. A must read for tech and non-tech people.