Ask IH: What should I read next and why?

Fiction. No one seems to read anything other than business books any more: I’m as much to blame as anyone! I’ve just read my first fiction for a long time (“Something is out there” - stories by Richard Bausch) and it was a breath of fresh air.

Understand people, understand the world, maybe even understand your customers and you business a little better: read good fiction!

Getting Real by the guys at Basecamp.

• https://basecamp.com/books/getting-real
• https://basecamp.com/books/Getting Real.pdf

It basically teaches the whole product pipeline. From inception to re-inception.
One import takeaway is that not everything you think is important will be important. So build less.
The book is also quite short: 171 pages

As the name implies, Get Real! :)
All the best!

Three thoughts about reading:

First, when it comes to non-fiction books, focus on just-in-time rather than just-in-case. We often just read stuff that is in general interesting and could be helpful, but neglect the fact that we've forgotten most of it when it's needed. So rather prioritize on what you for sure need at the moment, not what you might need in the future. (Learned from a Tim Ferriss podcast).

Second, pick up first principle books. Most books and their ideas are recycled content of past knowledge and only add marginal value to the readers, but in turn sacrifice the first principles for a modern approach / nice storytelling. Find out the book that started and defined the idea and learn the first principles. How? Ask people who are very knowledgeable about their field, which one book to pick up to understand their field the fastest.

Third, read what you enjoy. Yes, pick up fiction, the nerdy comic, heck even the Playboy if you enjoy it. It's no time waste, it's enjoying your time on earth. Media portrays reading as if it's a performance sport ("I've read 36 business books and half of Wikipedia yesterday, what about you?"), but it is not. Never forget that you might consume a piece of art that someone else has dedicated their life to. Even if its just about dragons, a clown in the sewage or some dude named Jay.

I find it useful to read outside of the business book domain. Finding analogous ideas in science, or history can be fun.

That being said I am reading the Mom Test right now.

I usually go to Blinkist for that. Their non-fiction summaries have actionable steps at the end. 😁

Isaac Asimov, Foundation series. If you only read about work, its stressful. You need something to take the edge off.

I struggle to find the time to read at the moment. Managed a few books at the beginning of the year, was really happy/content about it, then life took over again.

I'm planning on doing a bookswap at one of our upcoming meetups.

The Art of Gathering - Priya Parker, This is Marketing - Seth Goding, Braving the Wilderness - Brene Brown

I'm trying to do @soluxos Book Club thing too - https://www.bookerino.com/