Weekly Bookmarks –
129th Edition – July 25, 2021
… I was always reading. I have always been an avid reader since I was a kid. And I just fell into reading books. I would always read books, especially on the road, before naps, before games, that was my thing …
Chris Bosh – The Tim Ferriss Show
1. Ten Favorite Books
Friend and long-time financial executive, Gary Aldridge, asked me about my ten favorite business books. How about asking me about the favorite of my three kids? Instead of pondering for days on this list, I shot Gary the following list within a few minutes.
- Barbarians at the Gate (Burrough)
- Relevance Lost (Johnson and Kaplan)
- The Goal (Goldratt)
- The Machine That Changed the World (Womack and Jones)
- The Effective Executive (Drucker)
- The Wisdom of Finance (Desai)
- The Management Myth (Stewart)
- The Great Game of Business (Stack)
- Extraordinary Circumstances (Cooper)
- Everybody Ought to be Rich (Farber)
If I were to do this list again, three or four of the books might be swapped out for others. What are your top 10 books of all time?
2. A CFO Bookshelf Reader’s Favorite Books
I always appreciate the personal messages I receive on LinkedIn regarding the newsletter and podcast. Sean Frick is the CFO at CommutAir dba United Express. After hearing our five favorite books in the first half of 2021, Sean mentioned his standouts:
- Steven Bragg’s finance and accounting series
- Chernow’s, Washington: A Life (a recent read)
Regarding Steven Bragg, I have six or seven of his books. That guy is a writing beast. I have no idea how he can write so many books.
In our email thread, I mentioned to Sean that I have Titan and Hamilton, also by Chernow, but I haven’t had time to read them.
3. Summer Reading
I consider investing and baseball books brain candy, and that means I limit myself to both types of books each year.
Next week, I’ll start my newest baseball book–Finley Ball. Many readers enjoyed Moneyball by Michael Lewis. Moneyball is the process of building a baseball team on analytics.
Before Moneyball, the same team reinvented itself through a unique way of winning that brought their team three straight championships. I also had no idea the owners during that time period were outsiders from the insurance industry.
4. Olympics Reading
Have you been watching the Olympics? I haven’t even started.
If I were creating a top ten list for non-fiction, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown would be on that list.
This book is more than an epic quest for a 1936 gold medal in rowing. Instead, it’s a beautifully written manuscript about how any person and group of people can overcome any obstacle.
There are two endings. There’s the ending that even Hollywood writers couldn’t have scripted. The other ending is the epilogue which is pure gold.
5. Fiction That Sticks
I wish I had more time for fiction. As a former Vince Flynn junkie who has read his original series, I like drama and mystery. If you are looking for some summer reading ideas in fiction, here are a few of my favorites:
- 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King. Don’t let the name of the author scare you away. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and the ending has not left my mind.
- A Simple Plan by Scott Smith. This book wore me out, but the characters and plotline drew me into the story from the first page. The movie is good, but different. Watch it, but only after you’ve read the book.
- There’s no Kindle version, so you might have to opt for listening to Replay by Ken Grimwood. Prediction–after a couple of chapters, you won’t be able to stop listening. Regarding this book, think Groundhog Day without the humor with lots of drama.
Recent Bookmarks – 128 | 127 | 126
Deep from the Archives – Robert Coram’s Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War was a mind-bender and one of the most thought-provoking books I had read in years. I was thrilled to interview Mr. Coram in 2020.
Thank You For Reading. Thank you for making this a successful newsletter.
If you like the content above and the posts at CFO Bookshelf, may I ask a favor? Feel free to share this with other readers along with commenting on your favorite blog posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
Always be learning and growing.
Leave a Reply