10 great books I read in 2018
2018 is a luxury year for me. In addition to debating with a great editor and great reviewers in Science, I have found some time to completely read (listened to) ~20 (audible) books (~50 times in total). Now I would like to share 10 of them that have a great impact on me.
No. 1: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey
Read/Listened to 5 times in 2018 (50+ times in total)
This book will become 40 years old next year (2019). But this classic has continued to be one of the best sellers at Amazon in the category of leadership and self-help book. In my opinion, if anyone wants to be a highly effective person, a top performer, an elite, but only has time to read one book, this book is the right choice, though it needs to be read again and again! This is because, as the author said, those habits are life principles that we never really master and that the closer we come to their mastery, the more aware we become of how far we have yet to go. So, we need to keep reminding us those principles, keep living by them and keep coming back whenever we fall short. To myself, even though I have read (listened to) them more than 50 times, I feel guilty during my every re-reading (re-listening to): I have conquered none of them, instead, the more I read and practice, the more I realize I need to practice more. The good thing in our life is that it is never too late to learn and to practice, as long as we have set it as our mission.
No. 2, “The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream” by Paulo Coelho
Read/Listened to 1 time in 2018 (5+ times in total)
Being published in 56 languages, “the Alchemist” has won the Guinness World Record as the most translated book by a living author. So, it does not matter which language you can read, you should consider reading it as soon as possible, especially if you still want to fulfill your dream. As written by the author, when you want something all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it if you listen to your heart. Also, when you read the book, you may understand why the author rarely use the name of the hero (Santiago), instead of using “the boy” most times. It is because it could be you!
No.3 “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life” by Mark Manson
Read/Listened to 2 times in 2018 (2 times in total)
You can try everything, every day, everywhere to accumulate rich experience. But can that make you happy? Not necessary. You tried a lot of things which means you did not spend much time on any one thing and had mastered none of them. In the other word, you have some rich but mediocre experience, and you are a mediocre person with the voice that no one cares about. Stop trying. Follow your heart, find your dream, and stick on it day in and day out. You will become a fulfilling and extraordinary person.
Borrow a quote mentioned in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by the second Secretary-General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold: It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses.
No.4 “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
Read/Listened to 2 times in 2018 (5+ times in total)
I guess many people probably have known and read this timeless bestseller already. In some sense, along with the Bible, it has formed the foundation of the American culture, similar to the role of Buddhism and Confucius in Chinese culture. But different from Confucius, which seek to influence people by being a model (self-cultivation), this book is all about how to please people (by granting a feeling of importance), and then get oneself popular. Thus people grown up in the US are very polite and friendly, which make the US a harmonic place to live. However, from the standpoint of science, the ideas taught in this book is similar to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy. This book is very important for a nice interpersonal relationship. However, if we maximize the ideas taught in the book and everyone is so diplomatic that no one speaks truth and principles, the death of the world will eventually occur (Heat death of the universe will occur when reaching maximum entropy). So, there must be something else that keeps the world and universe in order. That is principles taught in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and many other great books. Based on the principles taught in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, we may interpret “How to Win Friends & Influence People” as “how to be an effective manager (habit 3)”, but not “how to be an effective leader (habit 2)”.
No. 5, “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk” Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Read/Listened to 3 times in 2018 (5+ times in total)
There are limited choices regarding the parenting book. Among them, this one may be the best. This is a parents-children communication book. It is basically habit 5 of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”: seek first to understand then to be understood. But there are more examples adapted specifically for children maybe 5-10 years old.
No. 6 “Thinking, Fast and Slow”by Daniel Kahneman
Read/Listened to 2 times in 2018 (2 times in total)
A 2012 Nobel Laureate writes this book. It is a bestseller in cognitive and decision making. Different from textbooks written by many college professors, this book very readable. If you want to know how politician, scientists, businessman el al think and make decisions, it is the right choice for you.
I bought this book because a talented Ph.D. student mentioned it during our discussion. He said that what I talked about was same as what an author wrote in a book and the author is a Nobel laureate. I felt so complimented that I bought the book immediately. Later, I found that what I talked about is related to the “overconfidence”. As a scientist myself, I know scientists are very confident (overconfident) on their ideas. During our discussion, what I told the Ph.D. student was that even though we are confident on our ideas, we should keep in mind that the chance of those ideas work is up to 20%, i.e. the chance of failure is at least 80%. In addition to scientific research, the chance of failure is similar in any filed that strongly relies on original and innovative ideas, including decision making in politics and economy. On the contrary, the chance of failure is probably only one per million in industry, such as car accident and airplane crash. Ironically, many times, we believe in politician and scientists much more than mechanician.
No.7 “The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure” by Grant Cardone
Read/Listened to 2 times in 2018 (5+ times in total)
This book talks about two things: first, setting goals 10 times bigger than you think you are capable of; second, making 10 time more efforts than ordinary people, then you will be surprised what you can achieve. If we describe them using some more famous people’s words, the first one is “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the star”; the second one is “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” If you follow the authors’ advice, you will find that the only limitation is your imagination. This book will also help you out of the ‘get-rich-quick’ trap.
No. 8 “The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage” by Mel Robbins
Read/Listened to 1 time in 2018 (2+ times in total)
We know that we more often regret those things which we did not do than those which we did. Mark Twain also once said: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” But the problem is that we most time don't dare to do so. If you crave those courages, please read this book.
No. 9 “Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think” by Hans Rosling
Read/Listened to 1 time in 2018 (1 times in total)
It is a bestseller on Amazon in the category of Statistics of Social Sciences. It told us that the world is much better than we thought based on the statistics. However, I bought it not because I want to know the world is better than I thought. Instead, I bought it because of Bill Gates’s recommendation, i.e. I deeply believe in his recommendation. It does not disappoint me as well, though it is unnecessarily my top 5 choices, and I also would like to recommend it to you. It immediately taught me a lesson regarding giving recommendations: I should have refrained from doing it because I don’t think I have enough credential to do so.
No. 10 “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki
Read/Listened to 2 times in 2018 (5+ times in total)
Even though many stories written in this book is kind of fiction, it still told me the fundamentals of finance and eliminated my financial illiteracy, such as the difference between assets and liabilities. So, if you want to learn some basics of finance, it may also be a choice for you.
I would say that the above is an incomplete list. For example, I would like to put all of Stephen Covey’s books I have read into the list, such as “the 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness”, “the 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems”, et al. If you are not satisfied to be a highly effective person but a great person; if you are not satisfied to be a top performer but a leading figure; if you are not satisfied to be an elite but a guru, you need to read those additional books after you have mastered the first one, “the 7 habits”.
Although not every single book I read can be rated as a great book, every single reading broadens my mind. Such as “Never Eat Alone” taught me to be generous and don’t keep score (the favor we gave to the others). The last story in “13 things mentally strong people don’t do” taught me the essence of humanity and service. As William Blake said, “I sought my God and my God I couldn't find; I sought my soul and my soul eluded me; I sought to serve my brother in his need, and I found all three; My God, my soul, and thee.”
In 2019, I plan to read another 20 books, including 5-10 new books. In reality, I may buy much more new books than that has planned to read. But I will use the habits and principles I have established to force me to focus on old and classic books as it is essential to gain new knowledge and mastery by reviewing old. One of the principles I often used to make a choice is “Things (books) that matter most must not be at the mercy of things (books) that matter least.” It also means that most of the 10 great books reviewed above may appear on my 2019 lists next year.