Scott Barstow

Books to Read - January 2012

I usually pull most of the books I recommend each month from my current reading list.  Last month, however, was a particularly bad month for reading for me.  I seemed to get in a rut of books I didn’t like and had a hard time getting out of it.  That is, until the last week and a half or so.  I only have three books on this month’s list, but all of them are very much worth a read.

Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rarely do I read a book that so gets ahold of me that I have pages of notes after only being half way through it.  Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are certainly two of them.  Emerson’s essays on self reliance are simply brilliant and will push you into uncomfortable questions about yourself.  This group of essays has been republished by Seth Godin’s Domino Project and I can’t recommend this reading any higher.  It’s January’s must-read.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

This is my first time reading the classic by Orwell, and I have found it to be both very entertaining and creative as well as prescient to our modern age as well.  Although the book was clearly focused on the gaping holes in Communist ideology (and practice), there are a remarkable number of practices in modern government that are played out in the drama on Animal Farm.  The self-importance, privilege and self-proclaimed aristocracy practiced by Napoleon and the pigs of Animal Farm will sound entirely too familiar.  This is a very easy read (I read it in about two or three hours), but well worth it.

The Litigators by John Grisham

I have been a fan of John Grisham from his first books.  He always seems to release a new book around this time of the year, and I usually end up reading it not long after.  The Litigators is an entertaining, easy-to-read story in the Grisham tradition of the small firm taking on the machine.  In this case, it’s toy manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies that play the villain, but it’s still classic Grisham fare.  If you are looking for something to read to relax, this is a good book to pick up.

Thanks as always for the feedback.  I am reading a book this month recommended by one of the regular readers, and am looking forward to reviewing it next month.  Until then, happy reading and happy new year!

Books to Read - December 2011

As we wind down 2011, the following is my must-read list for December.  These books are a combination of recently read and a classic that have a theme of great adversity and the triumph of the human soul.  Seems fitting for the end of this year.  I hope you enjoy all of them!

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

From the author of Seabiscuit comes a book that you will simply not be able to put down.  I have read a lot of books this year, and this one is at or near the top of the entire list.  The story of Louis Zamperini is one of the most compelling accounts of human drama I have ever come across.  From his early days as an Olympic runner to his harrowing experiences in the Pacific and in Japanese POW camps, it is simply amazing. It is on par with Touching the Void for courage in the face of incredible adversity.  I am about 3/4 through this book and it is keeping me up every night till the wee hours.  Buy it and read it.  

The Great Bridge by David McCullough

I have talked about this book before on my reading list, but I saw it on the shelf a few days ago and thought about it again.  The story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is simply unbelievable.  McCullough does his usual stellar job of storytelling and keeps the story interesting throughout.  This is a great selection for those days off at Christmas.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

We are reading this classic for our family reading time.  Our kids are really enjoying it, and it is a great book to raise discussion questions about intense subjects.  I first read this book in high school and have read it again at least once since then.  Lee’s classic tale of race relations in the mid-century south is a great one to put on your list and read again.  The story-telling is so good.

That’s it for this month!  I wish everyone a great December and will see you in the new year with a brand new list!

Books to Read - November 2011

Here is the list for the month of November.  I hope you enjoy each of these books as much as I have!

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Not surprisingly, the biography of Steve Jobs tops my list for this month.  It’s a fantastic read and will not disappoint.  I will have a separate post later this month that has more details.  I can’t take the proper amount of space to write about it here.

I’m Feeling Lucky:  The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Doug Edwards

I picked this book up on a bit of a whim this past month.  I knew it could go either way, but I was willing to take a shot at it just to hear about the early days of Google.  While there is an annoying focus on Edwards’ battles with Marissa Mayer, I thought the meat of this book was really interesting.  Much like Steve Jobs, Larry and Sergey made (and make) decisions based on their view of the universe without regard for what anyone else thought.   They knew that their path was the right one, even when it looked like they were completely wrong.  The stories of schlepping machines around and duct-taping systems together so that they could land the big deals rang completely true to me.  I recommend this book with the warning that Edwards will annoy you at various points, but it’s worth pushing through.

Zarella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design and Engineering of Contagious Ideas by Dan Zarella

I picked up this book while reading The Accidental Creative.  It’s a good book if you operate in the social media space and want to understand better how to use it as a platform for your company or cause.  It’s an easy read, and has some practical tips for navigating the landscape.  

Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World by Tom Davis

In the interest of full disclosure, Tom Davis is a good friend of mine and I support the work he is doing at Children’s Hopechest.  They are a tremendous organization, and I urge you to check them out.  Priceless is a novel based on Tom’s real-life journey into the seedy underbelly of the Russian sex-slave trade.  It’s a fantastic story, and one that will have you turning the pages and unable to sleep until you get to the end.  Once you finish, you will be compelled to do something about it.

Let me know your thoughts on these books as you read them.  I would love to know what you think of them as well.

Books to Read - October 2011

It’s been an unusually good month on the book front.  I hope you enjoy October’s selections as much as I have.

The Lean Startup by Eric Reis

This book, in my opinion, is a must-read for anyone in business today.  I have talked in this blog about the Lean Startup methodology and my disposition toward approaching all problems looking through the lens of the practices put forth in this book and it’s predecessor, The Four Steps to the Epiphany.  Reis does a masterful job in this book of laying out the case for applying the lean principles that made Toyota the standard for manufacturing to any line of business.  The anecdotes from the companies Reis explores, as well as his own personal successes and failures are so compelling that you will wonder why you have not been following these practices all along.  The lessons taught in the book about eliminating waste and guesswork from the startup of a company are invaluable and things that you can start right away, regardless of whether you are working for someone else or yourself.  Get this book.  You will get something from it.

The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille

Why do Americans buy the kinds of cars we do?  Why are we so obsessed with weight while at the same time being the most obese society on earth?  Clotaire Rapaille takes a really interesting look at the underlying reasons why we behave the way we do, and why it must be understood if you are going to market to Americans.  I found out about this book while reading The Accidental Creative and have found some very insightful perspectives.  Chief among them is that America is an adolescent country, and this manifests itself in our behaviors and habits.  I have never been one to study the psychology behind movements or people, but I very much enjoyed this book and the stories in it.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

My brother recommended this book to me last month.  I have avoided Donald Miller books up to this point because of other people telling me they didn’t like him at all.  I have to say that for the first five or six chapters of this book, I hated it.  The writing style is not one that I generally like.  It’s a bit wandering and tedious.  However, by about the seventh or eighth chapter, I started to get hooked.  The premise of the book is that your life is telling a story.  Do you want it to be a story about buying Volvos and going to the supermarket, or about doing something epic.  While certainly cheesy at times, there were some stories in here that will make you think about how you are spending your most valuable commodity: time.  I plan to re-read this in October.  I do this a lot.  I read through a book, then come back to it and take notes and sit with it a bit.  

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay picks up with the heroine Katniss Everdeen becoming the spokesperson for the rebellion against President Snow after being rescued from the Hunger Games.  While I must say that this book has been my least favorite of the trilogy, it’s still a must-read to finish off the story.  It’s a bit slow and repetitive at times.  My wife told me I gave away a critical part of the story in last month’s post, so I won’t say much more about this book.  It’s a good one.  

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

Set in the Vietnam war, this is the story of two photo-journalists living in and around Saigon in the throws of the war.  Sam Darrow is a Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran who has a love-hate relationship with covering wars.  Helen Adams is a fresh new reporter who runs into Darrow early on in her career in Vietnam.  Like Darrow with war, Helen can’t leave or stay with Sam Darrow.  Helen’s personal journey is one of shock and revulsion to the war, followed by the inevitable jading as she falls in love with Vietnam. The story-telling and imagery in this book are amazing.  I really enjoyed learning about the country of Vietnam and the culture.  I am not sure how much research Soli did for this book, but it had to have been extensive.  The attention to detail allows you to see everything as if you were there.  I read the intro for the book and thought I would hate it, but ended up really enjoying it as a diversionary read.

So, there you have it.  A great set of books this month, and something for everyone.  Happy reading, and please let me know what you think of the books on the list.

Books To Read - September 2011

The weather is cooling off, and for that I am really grateful.  This summer has been brutal for a lot of us here in the Southeast.  With a chill in the air, here are my books to read for September 2011.

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

I finished up the trilogy this past month.  Where the Two Towers dragged with the seemingly never-ending journey of Frodo and Sam into Mount Doom, the Return of the King is a great page-turner.  The battle for Middle Earth climaxes as Gollum falls with his Precious into the fire of Mount Doom and Minas Tirith is successfully defended from the Orc army.  I got to the end of this book, and even though I knew the ending, I wanted it to go on.  That’s the sign of a great book.  I can’t recommend this series of books enough, especially if you have never read them.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

This is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy.  We are reading these books as a family and they are simply gripping.  The first book ends with Katniss victorious in a very cool twist.  The second book starts with the victory celebrations and the natives of Panem becoming restless.  As President Snow seeks to quash the uprisings, the quarter quell begins.  Katniss is again in the middle of the story as she and Peeta are thrown back into the arena.  We are about half way through this book right now, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Customer-Centric Selling by Michael T. Bosworth, John R. Holland

One of the biggest challenges I have had in starting my new company is understanding the selling process.  I have always been the other guy in the room on sales calls, nodding my head and providing comfort and assurance.  Having to be the sales guy has been hard to get used to, not because I can’t talk about what I do, but rather because I have never had to manage the entire process myself.  This book was recommended to me as a resource to understand how and why people buy, and I have found it invaluable.  I am still implementing some of the things in here, but I can already see a difference in how presentations and things go.  This is a good one to pick up if you are like me and sales is a bit of a mystery.

Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli

There are lots of books out there about having better meetings.  This one came to me free as a part of the Domino Project (which you should be a part of if you are not).  This is a really short read, but it helps to reinforce the necessity of demanding meetings be about decisions and debate, not wasting time.  It’s a great kick in the backside if you have found yourself getting lulled back into the meeting death spiral.

That’s it for this month.  I am reading some really cool books right now and should have them done for next month’s list.  

Thank you, as always, for reading.  I get a lot of great feedback through the various social channels and I really appreciate it.

Books To Read - August 2011

As the hottest summer ever (OK maybe not, but it sure feels like it) rolls on, here are my must-reads for the month of August.  I tend to be reading two books at a time.  One is typically something to help me improve my craft or a topic I am wanting to learn about, and the other is purely for pleasure.  This month, I actually have had three going at one time as we are reading with our kids every night.  

I hope you enjoy the books below as much as I have.  

The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry

I love books that talk help me think about how I can do my work and life better.  This book was recommended to me a couple of months ago by an author I trust, and it did not disappoint.  If you are anything like me, you struggle with setting aside time to let your mind do what it does best.  I tend to rush from one thing to the next and see how much I can get done in a given day.  There are certainly times for that, but there are also times where you need to let your mind work on solving the problems you face.  The myth is that creative people have flashes of lightning and brilliance that come upon them without discipline.  Todd Henry argues pretty convincingly that it requires structure and a deliberate, methodical approach to allow your brain to do it’s best work.  I took two or three things from this book the first time through and implemented them immediately, and I can already tell a difference in my work.  Highly, highly recommend this book to everyone who has to be creative for a living.  That’s pretty much everyone now-a-days.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

Last month I wrote about The Fellowship of the Ring, and you can pretty much bet that the Return of the King will be on September’s reading list.  As I talked about last month, I had never really given these books a serious read in the past, and I am really enjoying taking my time going through them now.  The section of this book where it’s Sam, Frodo and Gollum for about 100 pages gets a bit tedious.  I won’t lie.   However, by the end of this one I could not put it down and immediately picked up the 3rd book and started reading it.  We are about to start watching the movies with our kids, as they have been reading these as well.  I can’t wait to see the movies again.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My wife picked this book up about a month ago and was immediately hooked.  The story takes place in the future, after North America has more or less ceased to exist and has been replaced by a country called Panem.  It is a highly controlled police state. The Hunger Games are a series of sporting events where contestants are drawn from each of Panem’s twelve districts and are forced to kill each other to survive.  The last one standing wins.  The main character, Katniss, takes her younger sister Prim’s place in the games after Prim’s name was drawn in a lottery.  We are actually reading this book as a family each night, and it is gripping from the first chapter on.  It’s an easy read, and very entertaining.