4 Books to Read By Summer’s End

A common resolution people often implement into their lives either for the New Year, a birthday, or some other significant moment is the goal to try to read more. More often than not, as with most resolutions of this nature, people (myself included) fall woefully short of their goals. I believe a large part of what contributes to people not finding success is the excess of ambiguity in the resolution. What do you want to read? When do you want to have read it by? How are you going to get your hands on it?

If you answer these questions and start to break your reading list down into actionable goals, I guarantee finding success will be much easier in regards to developing a reading routine. Now it’s time to put theory into practice. I’m committing myself to pick and read 4 books that cover a variety of topics by the end of the summer. Here is what I came up with:

• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles – Author: Steven Pressfield

In addition to writing a blog post every day for the month of July, for module 3 of Praxis, the participants are required to read The War of Art, so this one is an easy choice. Pressfield writes a lot about how to overcome some common creative struggles, and how to conquer any external or internal resistances. Personally, I see tremendous potential value coming from reading this book. I have never been described as anything close to creative – it’s something I’ve always had to work at, and I hope this book can help me sort of get out of my own way.

• The Intelligent Investor – Author: Benjamin Graham

Often coined “The greatest investment advisor of the 20th century, Benjamin Graham published the first edition of his investment philosophy book in 1949 that has gone on to teach and inspire people worldwide. According to the book description, “Graham’s philosophy of ‘value investing’ — which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies — has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication.” As a young professional who is relatively new to the realities of today’s market, I’m confident there are numerous insights and techniques I will be able to learn.

• The Lean Startup: The Movement that is Transforming How New Products are Built and Launched – Author: Eric Ries

“The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.” This book addresses a lot of the reasons that startup companies are failing right now – and importantly how to prevent those mistakes. Considering I will soon be entering the startup world as an apprentice, I feel it will be incredibly helpful in contributing to how I approach potential job opportunities in the future. 

• A Brief History of Time – Author: Stephen Hawking

I’ve been meaning to get to this pillar of science-writing for quite some time. I’ve always been inspired by the idea of “the secrets of the universe”, but I was always intimidated by vocabulary and concepts that were beyond my comprehension. Luckily enough, in A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking explains complex ideas in a language that is quite understandable to the average reader – it’s also heralded to be full of his lasting wit and charm. 

• *Bonus* A Game of Thrones – Author: George R.R. Martin

I’ve been a fan of the “Game of Thrones” television series since about season 4. I was completely engrossed in the world building and storytelling job done by George R.R. Martin, but I never took the next step. I’ve been slowly reading the first book of the series A Song of Ice and Fire, but now I’m committing myself to finish reading it before the end of the summer – just so I can move on to the next one, of course. 

I’ve slowly been re-establishing reading as one of my core habits – there’s much to be gained from reading a book as opposed to perhaps mindlessly scrolling on social media. It’s legitimately amazing when you stop and consider the range of knowledge and experience you can draw from just by picking up a book – and for the rest of the summer you can catch me finding out how to unleash creatively, how to adapt quickly to and succeed immediately in the startup world, or about Jon Snow and the Mother of Dragons.