A shorter journey to work for more than half of the year and more time off on holiday meant a slight drop in my total number of books however overall I was very happy with most of the titles.
So here goes:
Audiobooks
** All Marketers Are Liars - Seth Godin
** Purple Cow - Seth Godin
I started the year under the influence of Seth Godin, also thanks to Joe Karthauser's recommendation. I found these books to have some great advice and good examples but overall I thought the core message was the same. So for some time I do not intend to get another book from the same author.
*** Living Without Stress or Fear - Thich Nhat Hanh
I thought this is an amazing lecture. I recommend this wholeheartedly to anyone looking for insights into mindfulness and relaxation. Thanks to Rob Brown for recommending it!
** Mindful Leadership - Maria Gonzalez
This book has confirmed my thinking around mindfulness and application in business environment. I am afraid not much more than that in it although if this is your first book on the subject it could be useful.
*** Positioning - Al Ries and Jack Trout
This has been a real eye opener for me and has dramatically changed the way I sell stuff. Highly recommended.
** Pitch Anything -Oren Klaff
I have mixed feelings about this book. Oren's stories are interesting, his approach is quite aggressive. I believe some things could be useful but be mindful of the environment and the culture as these techniques can easily upset people.
* Good Business - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Having previously heard only good things about the author I was a little disappointed with this book. In principal I am in agreement with a lot of it however the "flow" he describes can easily be mindless and I see no good things coming out of it!
* David and Goliath -Malcolm Gladwell
This is the first ever book I pre-ordered. However while there's a lot of value in the advice and the examples after listening to the book I felt disappointed and I would not recommend it.
*** The Lean Entrepreneur: How Visionaries Create Products, Innovate with New Ventures, and Disrupt Markets - Brant Cooper, Patrick Vlaskovits
I think this is a good book. It can be really valuable for entrepreneurs looking for more effective ways to build a business. I personally have found some useful insights that I have used myself.
** Real Influence -Mark Goulston, M.D., Dr. John Ullmen
*** The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative, Revised and Updated - Steve Denning
I very much enjoyed listening to Steve Denning read his excellent book. Highly recommended
*** The Ultimate Introduction to NLP: How to Build a Successful Life (Unabridged) Richard Bandler, Alessio Roberti, Owen Fitzpatrick
This must be the 3rd or 4th NLP book that I read and for the first time I found the concepts presented here easy to remember and apply. If you're looking for single book on NLP I recommend this one
** Rewire Your Brain - John Arden
I think this is a good book although for me it confirmed my thinking which I have already formed by reading other similar books (like David Rock's "Your brain at work"). Nonetheless I think this book is a good read.
Kindle
12 Brain Rules - John Medina*** Non Violent Communication - Marshal Rosenberg
To me this is not just a must read but such a powerful idea which has the potential to change the world. Having read the book twice I am definitely re-reading it again this year.
** The Start-up owner's manual - Steve Blank
Good manual overall, much easier for me to read compared with his first book. I do however prefer the practicality and style of Ash Maurya
*** Running Lean - Ash Maurya
I am a big fan of this book. Very practical, actionable advice with good examples and backed by lots more content online. If you are interested in building a web product I recommend reading this book.
Paper
** The 4 steps to E.piphany - Steve BlankI am sure the content is valuable because I have read Steve's other book (See above). However I found this one to be extremely difficult to read after the first chapter.I'd suggest going for the startup owner's manual. Oh yes and there's some ideas I do not agree with (will blog about these soon).
** Personal Kanban - Jim Benson
Personal kanban is great, I use it every day. Does it need a book? I don't think so. It can be explained in a blog post. The book repeats over and over the same ideas. For beginners it might be great. If you already know a bit about this stuff find some info on the web.
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