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Book Reviews
Books I read, with what I took from each one.
- The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People
Got about halfway through this. It's a solid book - the habits make sense, though I thought that Atomic Habits was a little better and a repetition of it. That's why I stopped reading it. And I believe it's overrated.
- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Naval distilled. A collection of his ideas on wealth, happiness, and how to actually think about life. Not a normal read - more like a collection of ideas you sit with. I keep coming back to it, and some things just come back with even more colour as life moves.
- The Art Of Persuasion
Less about manipulation and more about how real persuasion works - relationship first, always. People buy from people they like and trust. Simple. But most people skip it. This book probably taught me more than Influence and the more known Cialdini books.
- The Art Of War
Ancient Chinese military strategy that somehow applies to everything - business, competition, life. The stuff about knowing yourself and knowing your enemy, about when to fight and when not to… it's deeper than it sounds on the surface.
- Atomic Habits
It's about the system behind habits - not motivation, not willpower, but the actual mechanics of why habits form and how to design your environment so the right ones stick. The 1% better every day idea. Probably my favourite self-help book.
- A Beginner's Guide To The Stock Market
Exactly what it says. I wanted to actually understand stocks - not just 'buy index funds' but what is actually happening. Good starting point. Still use the principles inside this book to keep up with investments and see how things in the world are moving.
- The Changing World Order
Ray Dalio mapped out how empires rise and fall throughout history. The scary part? When you look at the patterns, we're literally in that part of the cycle right now - the part right before everything shifts. It's not pessimistic, it's just the data. I really started understanding how politics work, how money moves internationally, and how power gets passed around.
- Cold Hard Truth On Business, Money and Life
O'Leary is just unapologetically blunt and I respect it. This is basically him telling you the truth about money that people sugarcoat or avoid. No emotions, no excuses - just how business actually works. The first money/business book I've ever read.
- Das Kapital
One of my grandfather's last things he said to me was to read this book. That alone is enough reason to get through it. The vocabulary is brutal and dense in a way that's hard to push through without losing the meaning. Going to give it another shot when I feel ready. The ideas in here matter too much to rush.
- Fahrenheit 451
Classic dystopian fiction - a world where books are banned and firemen burn them instead of putting out fires. It's really a book about censorship, thinking for yourself, and what happens when a society just stops questioning things.
- How To Read A Book
Sounds like the most boring book ever written. But it's actually kind of insane - most people read passively, and there's a whole system to actually extract the maximum from a book. Levels of reading, how to argue with the author, how to synthesize across multiple books. I use the techniques from this book every time I read anything now.
- Influence
Cialdini breaks down the 6 principles of influence - reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity - and once you see them, you see them everywhere. A little overrated, but still a good base for those starting in marketing and psychology.
- The Man Who Wanted To Be Happy
This is my favourite book right now. Most self-development books are basically the same book - different author, different examples, same ideas. But this one is completely different. It's a story. And through the story it teaches you things about who you actually are - your beliefs, your fears, what's really stopping you. I re-read this book every year.
- Ogilvy On Advertising
David Ogilvy is basically the godfather of advertising, and this book is him just telling you how it's done. Old school, direct, no fluff. Some of it is dated but the principles? Timeless. My life principle is simple - understand the basics and you'll understand the rest. Amazing book for advertisement.
- The Psychology Of Money
It's not about how to invest or what stocks to buy - it's about the psychology behind why people make dumb decisions or smart decisions with money. Housel breaks down why we panic sell when we know we shouldn't, why we buy things we don't need, and what 'enough' actually means. Really changed how I think about risk, patience, and what enough actually means.
- Purple Cow
The whole idea is that being good isn't enough anymore - you have to be remarkable. Like, a purple cow in a field of regular cows. No one notices the average. You have to build something worth talking about. Short book, sharp ideas.
- Reality Transurfing
A completely different way of looking at reality - the idea that we live in a multi-dimensional world of 'life lines' and that most of our problems come from giving things too much importance. Pendulums, excess potential, importance scores - it sounds out there, but it actually clicks. The core message is simple: stop fighting, stop overthinking, lower the importance, and things start flowing.
- The Richest Man In Babylon
Another story-format book - set in ancient Babylon but teaching real principles about money. Save a percentage of everything you earn, make your money work for you, avoid bad investments. Simple. But told through stories that make it stick in a way a textbook never would.
- Sapiens
The whole history of humans - how we went from being one of many animals to basically owning the planet - told in a way that makes you question everything we take for granted. Money, nations, corporations… all just stories we agreed to believe.
- Storyworthy
How to find stories in your own life, how to structure them, how to make people feel something. Underrated. Being able to tell a good story is one of the most powerful skills you can have - in business, in conversations, in everything. I still use storytelling tricks from this book every day.
- Surrounded By Psychopaths
The title sounds dramatic but it's actually really useful. It's about understanding different personality types and how to not get walked over by people who don't have your best interests in mind. After reading this you start noticing patterns in people that you never saw before. You're able to read people a little easier and make your interactions more real.
- The Alchemist
A story about a shepherd boy following his dream - but it's really about following what you feel you're supposed to do in life, and how the universe kind of bends toward people who commit to that. It teaches through the story, not through explaining. That format is just great.
- The Tipping Point
About how ideas, trends, and behaviours spread - literally why something goes viral before 'viral' was even a word. It breaks down the types of people that make things tip, and the conditions that need to be right. Changed how I think about momentum and what makes something catch.
- The Ultimate Sales Letter
Pure direct response copywriting. Kennedy is old school but he knows how to write words that make people buy. Very tactical, very practical. More about structure and technique than theory. Good if you want to actually write something that sells.