I wanted to start the month with something I should’ve read a long time ago. Then I paired that with two books that might prove to be important, especially as a twenty-something figuring things out.
If you want monthly book recommendations from me, subscribe to my newsletter here:
The Short List of What I Read
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip & Dan Heath
Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by Ken Watanabe
More Details About What I Read
1. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
A young Francis tried to get into The Lightning Thief around the time the movies were coming out (I even had a copy of the book with the movie’s cover!), but it didn’t click. I wasn’t sure what it was but I couldn’t get into it before. But with the recent buzz about the Disney+ adaption, I wanted to give this another shot. I’m glad I did.
Now I understand the problem of the movies. (But I still enjoyed the movies).
The book seemed to have way more action (and violence) than what I saw in the movies, which shocked me in a good way. The characters visited places and had fights I wish were part of the movies. It was a fun ride and I’d consider continuing the series.
2. Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip & Dan Heath
Often during work, I’d face the dilemma of having multiple assignments set for the same deadlines. Whenever I faced those moments I knew I had to develop some kind of strategy or plan of attack. That’s when I realized that learning how to make better decisions might be something worth doing. After a quick Google search, I stumbled upon this nice book by the Heath brothers.
The book isn’t about making the right choices exactly, but better choices. The others provide tips like thinking about your opportunity costs, running small experiments, and reframing the problem to arrive at a better decision. It’s helped me become more mindful of my choices, so I recommend it to you if you want to do the same.
3. Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People by Ken Watanabe
While reading Decisive, I realized that at some core level, life is really just a bunch of decisions to make and problems to solve. So naturally I looked for books about consulting to learn how to solve problems better.
I stumbled upon this book (primarily marketed to children) by Ken Watanabe, who was once a management consultant at McKinsey & Company for a couple of years. This seemed like the perfect book for me to read.
While it definitely was a little slow in some parts for me, I’d say I still learned quite a bit from it. The book made me feel like some of the “big” problems in my life weren’t as insurmountable as I originally thought, which was motivating for me. Much like with Decisive, I feel more aware now of the problems I face and how I find ways to solve them.
Let me know which books you’re interested in reading! And if you have a book recommendation, let me know! I’m always looking for something new to read.
If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to share it.
Subscribe to my newsletter to get my weekly posts sent directly to your inbox.