Outliers
This is the second book by Gladwell I've read, (the first being Blink) and once again he does not disappoint. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell poses some pretty interesting ideas, not due to their complexity, but rather due to their simplicity. These are the kinds of statements that you've probably always wondered about in the back of your mind, but never expressed or reflected upon.
If you want to understand success, this is a great place to start. Also, as with any Gladwell book, you'll learn a great deal of interesting facts and tidbits of information about everything from aerodynamics to hockey along the way.
Finding the Cheese in Life
Sometimes big things can come in small packages, as with the short story titled “Who Moved My Cheese?” After first flipping through the pages of this thin 96-page book, I was surprised that it wasn’t supposed to be in the children’s section of the bookstore. I noticed the large font, wide margins and simple syntax and thought it would be almost impossible to learn anything useful from a book of such simplicity. Looking back, I see how wrong I was for making such a hasty judgment and from here on out, I vow to never judge a book by the size of the letters or the number of pages, in addition to the more well-known maxim of not judging a book by its cover. I say this not without warrant; for I probably learned more pertinent information about life and success from reading “Who Moved My Cheese?” than from tons of other business books combined. The author of this great story has accomplished something worthy of applaud. Spencer Johnson has taken a great deal of tried-and-true advice and cut out the fat, strained out the fluff and boiled it down to the pure necessity of what works in real life. With his philosophy at hand, anyone can realize that change happens whether we’d like it or not. It is up to us to either adapt to that change, or be left behind in the dust of our own stubborn foolishness.
Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar
I recently read a great book titled Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar: How Self-Education and the Pursuit of Passion Can Lead to a Lifetime of Success by James Marcus Bach. All I can say is: Wow! If you're even somewhat interested in what it means to be self-educated, you must read this. At just 193 pages, Bach does an excellent job of not just telling us, but showing us, that one can be successful in life without the compulsory school system.
As someone who was homeschooled (or unschooled) from the fourth grade and up, I can personally relate to Bach's message; that if learning is the goal, our best teacher is our own curiosity and the classroom is the world all around us.