Tweet

Weekend Books

Written by: Brad Feld

Article Overview: I've been in a reading slump lately - I just haven't felt like reading. This happens sometimes and whenever I break my "at least two books a week" rhythm, I just roll with it until it changes.

Weekend Books

I've been in a reading slump lately - I just haven't felt like reading. This happens sometimes and whenever I break my "at least two books a week" rhythm, I just roll with it until it changes.

Yesterday was a three book day. I absorbed the books into my brain as though it was meant to be. All three were non-fiction, although only one was "challenging non-fiction" (in a good way.)

Math You Can't Use: Patents, Copyright, and Software by Ben Klemens was superb. This is a detailed, thoughtful, comprehensive, and (other great adjective goes here) book about why patents are completely fubared for software. Ben has created the End Software Patents Coalition and this book could easily be its manifesto. While I put it in the "challenging" (e.g. you have to actually read it vs. skim it) category, it's extremely well written and a pleasure to read. If you are in the software industry in any role and have ever encountered software patents, this is a must read.

Next up was The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. I met Tim at the predinner for the New New Internet conference in DC last month. It appeared I was the only person at dinner that hadn't heard about Tim and his revolutionary idea to have a 4-Hour Workweek which is apparently the rage in Silicon Valley right now. Tim's a fun character and his story is very entertaining. I thought the first half of the book was a blast and the second half (where he gets deeper into the "how to" mechanics) became tedious and overwrought. Tim - you need a better editor (yeah - I know, so do I.)

I usually don't call out crummy books on this blog, but since the third one - Make The Right Choice - was part of my Saturday reading trifecta, I thought I'd mention it. I can't remember who recommended it to me (I would have never bought it without a recommendation) but I thought it was silly and dull. After about 30 pages I skimmed it looking for some meat, but never found it.

Read this article in Brad's blog.

Related Articles
  How Long Does it Take for Salespeople to Get it?
  PR Tactics: What Are the Best Days to Send Press Releases?
  Time To Honor Real Inspirational Leaders
  Become an SEO Bartender
  How Smart Is Your Local Business Marketing?

Article Tags: adjective, hour workweek, internet conference, klemens, manifesto, math, mechanics, non fiction, pleasure, rage, revolutionary idea, rhythm, right choice, second half, silicon valley, slump, software industry, software patents, tim ferriss, two books



Related Forum Posts
I hate holidays... - My zine readership always goes down from Friday through Sunday... but it really gets bad during the holidays - in particular three day holidays like this Memorial Day Weekend! Wouldn't be so bad if I thought people were actually doing Memorial Day things... saying thanks to our Armed Forces of past and present... but it's just a way to get out and get some sun and not read webzines...
Top 19 Copywriting books - 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley. 2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner. 3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill. 4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin. 7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books. 9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association. 11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books. 12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books. 13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books. 16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books. 17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall. 18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop. 19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley. This should keep you busy for at least a year. Enjoy!
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: 20 Reasons why you must be a reader - 18. Books shaped the world we live, the Bible gave the Christians direction. Lenin change the way Russians should be govern when he read the book of Karl Marx on communism
Books Not For the Entrepeneur - The thread on books *for* the entrepeneur is popular...it might be helpful to have a list of books that aren't any good? Books that we shouldn't waste our time or money on?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Convening a focus group for a niche product

Mistakes Made by New or Inexperienced Sales Staff

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.