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Author
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Title
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Summary
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Jack Kerouac
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On the Road
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A staple of the Beat Generation. Read this in a night while I was trapped in a winter snowstorm in my house; it was the first time in a long time that I had devoured a book that fast. Well worth the time.
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Isaac Asimov
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The Left Hand Of The Electron
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A favorite of mine that I re-read for the fun of it. Deals with topics that touch on several areas of hard science, but in ways that one wouldn't usually think about (like how water is the easiest substance to make an ocean out of... but why?)
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Frances Moore Lappe
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Diet for a Small Planet
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Written in the early '80s, this dealt with the reasons why a meat-centric economy was not just bad for one's health, but bad for the global environment. Lappe was a large part of the movement to move away from America's fixation on meat and towards a more vegetarian diet.
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Nikolai Gogol
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Dead Souls
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This book is often referred to as one of the most accurate descriptions of Russia in the 1800s, when serfdoms were all the rage. The book stops suddenly at the end, since Gogol died prior to its completion.
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Frantz Fanon
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The Wretched Of The Earth
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A portrait of the effects of colonialism on the colonized as individuals and as a whole. As this is certainly not my field of expertise, a lot went over my head... definitely worth a re-read at some point in my life. Jean-Paul Sarte wrote the introduction, which gives you an idea of the weight of this book.
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Lisa Genova
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Still Alice
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AAAAAAAH.
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Ben Horowitz
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The Hard Thing About Hard Things
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Good overview of the horrible things that a CEO (or other founder-type figure) might have to do to keep the company alive. Horowitz doesn't seek to say whether he was right or wrong; rather, he lays out what he did, and why, and lets the result of his work speak for itself.
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Andrew S. Grove
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High Output Management
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Some (now) old-school management advice from one of the most successful managers of our time. Though not technically a founder, Andrew Grove was around throughout intel's history, and can be credited for their revolutionary pivot into the microprocessor industry, turning away from their big business of DRAM production. My personal opinion - it's a dated book, with hierarchcal principles that are just unacceptable in today's companies, but it has some excellent points on what a manager truly is that should not be ignored.
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Tony Hsieh
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Delivering Happiness
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Tony, the CEO of Zappos and a founder of LinkExchange, explains how he found meaning in building businesses, and suggests some ways to extend that realization to one's own life. A solid narrative.
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John Updike
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Rabbit, Run
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A beautiful, dramatic portrait of a young man's life in Central Pennsylvaina. One of the best books I've ever read; I didn't know what to expect, and was happily surpised. Pick this up, if you haven't.
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Isaac Asimov
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Opus 100
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A wonderful exploration into the author's works, a selection curated by Asimov himself. Gives a great insight into the mind of the writer.
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Christopher McDougall
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Born To Run
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Tells of the mythical Tehuaca(? check this) people, renowned the world over for their feats of endurance running, and a group of runners from America that seek to match, and defeat, them at their own game. Explores the biology and the nature of human running. Great nonfiction work.
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Mark Behr
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The Smell of Apples
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A story of the time of Apartheid in South Africa, told through the eyes of a child of an Afrikkans Army General. It's heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. '
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Lily King
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Euphoria
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An "anthropological love triangle" is the best way to describe this book. Set in the islands of Indonesia, a young anthropologist meets a (married) kindred spirit who helps him shape the way he sees the world. Incredibly good book, with eloquent and engaging prose.
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