Three Awesome Books I Read Recently

In: Books By: Brian Armstrong

1 Mar 2010

I read a bunch of books over the last 3-4 months. Many of them were unremarkable, others were pretty good, and three were really outstanding.

Here is a quick write up on the three outstanding ones.

1. Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) – by Richard Feynman

This is an auto-biography of Richard Feynman, the Nobel Prize winning scientist, who worked on the atom bomb in the 40′s (amongst other things). From that description alone I thought it might be a pretty academic book, but I was totally wrong.

It was at times laugh out loud funny, and other times made me want to cry. It’s basically just a collection of funny stories from his life, from pranks he used to pull while at MIT, to how he learned to pick up women in bars, to how the army mistakenly diagnosed him as mentally insane, to how he learned to pick the locks on safes containing national secrets for fun.

I think what I liked about this book is that it is a great model for how to live life – he always stayed curious. Here you have a brilliant guy, by any measure, but you can see how he deals with adversity and setbacks, and learns to just appreciate the little things in life. He was a renaissance man also, having lived abroad for years in Brazil (a trip which reminded me of my time in Argentina) and he made an effort to learn from many fields outside of physics (art, music, etc). I was actually really sad when I finished this book because I was starting to look forward to reading it every night. It just…made me happy. A book hasn’t done that for me in a long, long time.

2. Hacker and Painters: Big Ideas From The Computer Age – by Paul Graham

One way to judge a book is by how many “holy shit” moments you have when reading it. A “holy shit” moment is when something clicks in your head – a connection you hadn’t seen before, an articulation of an idea that you always knew to be true but couldn’t quite put into words, etc. A moment that gives you a new perspective on life, and often a practical way you can change something in your life (or business) for the better. A good book for me might have two or three “holy shit” moments buried in the pages and you have to read the whole book to find them. Hackers and Painters was averaging about one of these per page at times.

The first half of the book is the best. The collection of essays cover a variety of topics from education to building wealth. They are deep and fascinating. Paul Graham is turning into one of my favorite writers. The writing style of the book is actually similar to Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point and his other books. I’m actually really surprised after reading Hackers and Painters that it isn’t more famous than The Tipping Point or a book like that, because I think it’s actually better in many ways. On thing is for sure, Paul Graham is the MASTER of analogies (summing up an idea by comparing it to an similar one that everyone can relate to) – he uses them liberally and they are very effective in driving his point home.

The second half of the book gets into some more nerdy topics related to computer programming which may not be as interesting to most audiences. Even as a certified computer science super-nerd I found these slightly less interesting. But the first half of the book alone makes it worth reading. I recently got to (sort-of) meet Paul Graham in person at a recent Y-Combinator event, so that was pretty sweet.

If there is an overarching theme to this book (a big if, given the scope) it is to compare the current technology renaissance in Silicon Valley to the 15th century artistic renaissance in Florence, and how they both changed the world.

3. Atlas Shrugged – by Ayn Rand

I decided to read this book after listening to an interview with Jimmy Wales (the founder of Wikipedia) where he described this as one of the books that most influenced him.

It did not disappoint. On the one hand this book is a masterful piece of fiction that can hold its own amongst the best. Ayn Rand’s writing is like poetry at times (albeit 1,000 pages of it) as she beautifully describes the interaction between characters. To top it off, the main character, Dagny Taggart, is possibly the strongest (and sexiest) female character I have ever come across in fiction. The fact this was written in the 50′s makes it even more impressive.

But the book is not famous for being a work of fiction. It has a very strong motive underneath: to convince you of something important (and controversial) about how the world works. I won’t give away exactly what it is – that would spoil the surprise of reading it – but there is no doubt this book is polarizing. People typically come away either absolutely loving it or absolutely hating it.

I definitely came out more in the former camp of loving it, but I needed little convincing about its message. The book is not without its faults either – there is a rather preachy diatribe toward the end which I thought was a bit long winded, and at 1,000 pages it certainly isn’t an easy read. Also, Rand’s philosophical roots show through in her arguments at times which could be viewed as overly-intellectual (and thus unconvincing) by some audiences. But given the number of people who list this amongst their favorite (and most influential) books of all time, I think it’s something everyone should read.

The weird thing is that this book seems to change you permanently after reading it. It’s almost like being able to “see the matrix” after reading it (just as Neo did in the movie) because it gives you a new lens through which to see the world. For weeks (and now months) after reading this I keep thinking about it as I overheard little pieces of conversation or discussions on the radio. I also feel like I have entered a secret society of people who have read (and subscribe to the ideals of) this book. They identify each other discreetly, but we know who each other are when we cross paths.

Anyway, check them out and let me know what you think!

Until next time, keep breaking free!
Brian Armstrong

Be Sociable, Share!

28 Responses

Haider

March 1st, 2010 at 8:28 am

Hi Brian,

I haven’t read the first two books. As for the third, welcome to the club. ;)

Actually, I didn’t finish reading Atlas Shrugged. When I started reading it I was very much anti-capitalism and anti-US, so I thought Ayn Rand was the anti-Christ.

I stopped reading the book half way to read up on Ayn Rand’s philosophy, and her non-fiction writings certainly don’t disappoint. My personal growth writings are heavily influenced by her ideas.

Thank you for the recommendations. I’ve been reading Seth Godin’s books lately (The Dip, Tribes and Linchpin). They are essential reading for anyone doing anything worthwhile.

Brian Armstrong

March 1st, 2010 at 9:01 am

Yep, love Seth’s books as well. Thanks Haider!

Chuck Cohn

March 1st, 2010 at 2:29 pm

Brian, if you liked Atlas Shrugged, you should definitely read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. One of my favorite books. She’s the ultimate capitalist. And it’s an exciting read as well, in addition to the political commentary.

Brian Armstrong

March 2nd, 2010 at 6:07 am

Yep it’s on my list now… I think I read part of it when I was really young, but a lot of it was over my head at the time.

Frederick Butler

March 1st, 2010 at 2:33 pm

Brian,

I’m going to have to check these out! I read the Fountainhead (Rand) and had a similar experience. My buddies told me Atlas Shrugged wasn’t as good, but I’m going to check it out anyway after reading your critique.

Later!

Brian Armstrong

March 2nd, 2010 at 6:08 am

Cool deal, had no idea you read this blog man :)

Chick J

March 2nd, 2010 at 12:47 am

Richard Feynman, one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, yet how few have ever heard of him. I love his book. If you want to know more about him read Genius by James Gleick. It is one of the best biographies I have ever read.

Atlas Shrugged should be require reading by anyone who wants to get ahead. Just a side note. There is a fantastic fantasy series by Terry Goodkind called the Sword of Truth. Starting in book six till the end, he got a lot of flack from reader because he incorporated Ann Ryan concepts into the series. I love it.

Brian Armstrong

March 2nd, 2010 at 6:09 am

Nice, will take a look at those two Chick J. Thanks!

Frank Denbow

March 2nd, 2010 at 3:07 am

Thanks for the list. Were you taxing about the Mixergy interview with Wales? I just found that site and its filled with great info.

I think I would start with the Hackers and Painters first :)

I just listened to Gary V’s Crush It. Its more motivational than practical but its worth a listen for a general attitude towards new media and connecting with your customers.

Brian Armstrong

March 2nd, 2010 at 6:09 am

Hey Frank,

Yep heard it in the Mixergy interview (which I’m a fan of). Had a similar experience with Gary V’s book – more motivational than practical, but I like his stuff.

Mar

March 7th, 2010 at 3:48 pm

Just had to mention that I love Gary V’s stuffs as well — highly perky and motivational, no not just motivational, inspirational.

Btw, Brian, do you speed read or go through every word? Any tips on that?

Brian Armstrong

March 14th, 2010 at 2:28 am

Hi Mar,

These I tended to read every word because they were good (although my regular reading rate is definitely faster now). The other books which I didn’t like as much I definitely speed read. Usually if the first 2 chapters haven’t hooked me I’ll skim the rest in 15 minutes to see if there are any other parts which catch my eye.

Brandon

March 2nd, 2010 at 4:14 am

Atlas shrugged has been on my list for awhile now. Maybe I should bump it up a few spots.

Brian Armstrong

March 2nd, 2010 at 6:10 am

Totally!

Mehul Kar

March 2nd, 2010 at 2:52 pm

The only experience I’ve had with Paul Graham is this speech I read a long long time ago:
http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html

I’ve been wanting to read both Malcolm Gladwell and his stuff, but haven’t gotten around to it.

I agree with Atlas Shrugged. It’s either love it or hate it. I happen to be on the love it side.

Frederick Butler

March 2nd, 2010 at 3:52 pm

@ Brian, I caught it through your buzz… Neat blog though. You know I always admired your “boldness” and willingness to take a gamble. Life is what YOU make it!

Keep it up bro.

Brian Armstrong

March 5th, 2010 at 2:52 am

Thanks man! :)

Moses Isaac

March 4th, 2010 at 9:52 am

Excellent post. Keep up the good work.

Moses Isaac

Brian Armstrong

March 5th, 2010 at 2:52 am

Thanks Moses!

Julie

March 11th, 2010 at 6:37 am

I read Atlas Shrugged many years ago, and I, too, was taken by it. Over the years, though, I’ve come to realize something important: Real people aren’t like that. In her universe, good people are (tall, thin) wealthy industrialists who made their way to the top by being honest and responsible. In our world, the people who get to the top get there mostly by selling bits of paper belonging to other people. Not quite the same thing. Henry Ford was, I believe, the last major industrialist to own his company. Once a company is a publicly traded organization, it loses all morality, and exists only to pay dividends to stockholders.

Now, if you’re a die-hard Randian, you might think this is a good thing. But it leads to five-year-olds being forced to work long hours in factories in China, just as they did in the US a hundred years ago.

Coincidentally, in the last couple of days, I’ve received a couple of good blog posts on her work. Here’s one: http://blog.beliefnet.com/apagansblog/2010/03/ayn-rand-the-philosophy-of-freedom-and-a-serial-killer.html

I still think that some of her ideas are worth pursuing….but others need to be looked at clearly and approached with caution. Some of her premises need checking.

Brian Armstrong

March 14th, 2010 at 2:16 am

Thanks for the comment….when you mentioned selling bits of paper I assume you are referring to the wall street bankers? Couple points on that:
1. they got what was coming to them, the market collapsed, Bernie Madoff is in jail etc
2. in this sense the market “worked” as it should and they lost what wealth had been gained (a correction).
3. what broke this correction was government involvement (bailouts) that provided more golden parachutes etc, not the free market

As for getting to the top, I’d claim the opposite – that you couldn’t name a single business owner who has built wealth and kept it over a long period of time who did so fraudulently (or without delivering more value than they gained) provided that:
1. they did so in a (relatively) free market economy
2. they did so without government intervention

You’ll notice inverting those caveats makes it easy to find people who’ve obtained wealth fraudulently…
Kim Jong-il (not a free economy), AIG execs (bailed out by government), etc. Which is somewhat telling.

Anyway, if you can name one let me know in the comments. But the basic point of this is that people aren’t dumb. You might be able to trick them once by selling a bad product, but you won’t be able to do it for long. The only way to build real wealth over the long term is to deliver something of value that people want. In this sense, you could say the people who built the most wealth have helped the most people.

Earl

March 12th, 2010 at 1:32 am

I actually just started reading Atlas Shrugged last week after waiting years to finally begin it..now I’m even more intrigued after reading what you wrote above. And I’ve now added the other two to my list…

Brian Armstrong

March 14th, 2010 at 1:51 am

Cool…I think you’ll enjoy them, and welcome to the site :)

Eric Pizzuti

April 22nd, 2010 at 9:56 pm

Brian, just a heads up…..”it’s” is a contraction for “it is”. You routinely use it incorrectly and it is quite embarassing.

Random Passerby

April 23rd, 2010 at 3:08 am

Eric, just a heads up: “embarrassing” has two letter ‘R’s. Most browsers have built in spell-check, which should help you with spelling difficulties.

I’m not sure what value you felt you were adding to the conversation, but I hope you feel better about yourself for playing grammar police. Your need to put others down is not only sad, it really is quite embarrassing.

Brian Armstrong

April 27th, 2010 at 6:03 am

Eric – I’ve updated the post, good feedback :)

Random – Thanks for coming to my defense :)

Stephanie

July 5th, 2010 at 2:54 am

Hey Brian, awesome blog. Just happened upon it in a google search for books to add to my “to-read” list. Do you have any more like this?

Brian Armstrong

July 6th, 2010 at 6:23 am

Other blogs or books? Read Atlas Shrugged recently and enjoyed it. I don’t have any other blogs for personal stuff (some business). Welcome to the site!

Breaking Free

Three Awesome Books I Read Recently

1. Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) – by Richard Feynman

2. Hacker and Painters: Big Ideas From The Computer Age – by Paul Graham

3. Atlas Shrugged – by Ayn Rand

28 Responses

Leave A Comment

About this blog

Most Popular Posts

You should follow me on Twitter here.