Post: #151

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Probably the greatest book ever written. Imagine a world where everyone followed this advice.

Post: #152

The Song of Kali by Dan Simmons.

Fuck, this was a good book, especially after I've been battling (unsuccessfully) Doesteyevsky's Crime and Punishment and Don Quixote (on hold). Blew through Dan's book in one day. Superb stuff, and it's his first novel.

Post: #153

In Defense of Elitism by William A. Henry III.

Henry debunks egalitarian notions of fairness and argues that elitist values are what make a culture worthwhile.

His criticism of feminism was especially scathing. Highly recommend this book.

Post: #154

Just finished Becoming Steve Jobs. I actually found it a great complement to Isaacson's version. This one showed the more human side of Jobs. Really romanticized (which I enjoyed) how every fiber of his being was dedicated to creative work.

Post: #155

Models: Attract Women Through Honesty by Mark Manson

I love this book so much that I couldn't help but read it again. I think his lifestyle advice is incredible and his Game advice is good for beginners.

Post: #156

How To Get Rich, Felix Dennis

This guy is a nutcase. I wish all books were written like this. I recommend everyone who wants money to read this.

Post: #157

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
by Raymond Carver
Collection of short stories. His writing style and the minimalistic narratives are great to read and invite the reader to think about them intensively.




Traumnovelle (engl. Dream Story)
by Arthur Schnitzler
Book on which the movie "Eyes Wide Shut" is based. Good, short and thrilling read.

Post: #158

Tested Advertising Methods--John Caples


This should be the very first book you read on copywriting. It's incredibly thorough, and anything you need to know more about is summed up in John Carlton's and Gary Halbert's work. 4 entire chapters on writing headlines. An entire chapter on how to test advertisements to find the best one(s). It won't tell you how to find a job, but for all the most important bits, you can't go wrong with this book.

The Castle--Franz Kafka


This is the first book I read by Kafka. He died writing it, and the book ends abruptly in the middle of a sentence. Some of the chapters don't have names, either. Still, I enjoyed reading this novel. Just when it was beginning to drag for a couple chapters (sometimes the endless dialogue does become tiring) the "last" chapter picked back up and made me wish for more. There are a lot of themes I find applicable to modern society, from a search for companionship to the complete standstill of bureaucracy. Looking forward to his other books.

Trust Me, I'm Lying--Ryan Holiday


I've had this book in my reading app for a year now and I finally remembered it. Sometimes I think RVF should have a required reading list, and this book is one of my picks to go on it. I still find myself getting duped by sensationalist headlines and bullshit news, and this book paints a clear picture why even the most levelheaded people can become victims of the faux outrage and fabricated, baseless "news" that sites like HuffPo and Gawker shit out on a regular basis. I don't think I can do the book justice in a handful of sentences, but suffice it to say that Ryan Holiday worked under Robert Greene (though I admit his anecdote and note-taking skills aren't quite the same caliber), so if you liked the 48 Laws of Power you'll probably like this.

Moving on to a Vietnamese novel, a book on disease outbreaks, and a book on logic, grammar and rhetoric.

Post: #159

Influence the Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

These are the brief notes I took while reading it.

- Because is a useful word when asking/selling something.

- Rule of Reciprocation - When you do someone a favour they feel obligated to return it.

- Asking for a big request first and then asking for a smaller request increases compliance with the second request as well as less resentment.

- Commitment and Consistency - People want to be consistent. Asking for a small favour/sale can lead to an increase in compliance for larger items in the future.

- Commitments are most effective in changing a person's self-image and future behaviour, when they are active, public and effortful.

- Don't bribe or threaten children, we must arrange for them to accept inner responsibility for the actions we want them to take. Doing the former will mean children will comply when you are around but the latter will make it more likely they will comply when you aren't present.

- Social Proof - One of the means people use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct

- Association - We associate the messenger with the message. We view people who bring bad news negatively. We view people who bring good news positively.

- Obedience to Authority - People will do almost anything if told to do it by someone they view as an authority figure.

- Titles and clothes are both symbols of authority.

- Scarcity has a large impact on decision making. People are often more motivated by losing/missing out on something vs gaining something.

Post: #160

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling

I haven't read this in years and I am honestly shocked at how well it holds up. Seriously, this is an inventive world with great characters and just enough thrills to match the jokes. It is so obvious why these books took over the world. Also, the audiobook is narrated by Stephen Fry who does an absolutely brilliant job, of course.

Expect to see the rest of the series follow as I take a short break from all of the thinking and learning I've been doing lately.

A bit of Honorable Man trivia: I had my parents buy me books 2-7 at midnight and finished every single one of them in one sitting.

Post: #161

Finished up a couple of books recently and look forward to reading many more that have been collecting dust on my bookshelf:

Cocaina: A Book On Those Who Make It, (Magnus Linton) very interesting read on the devil's dandruff, he writes about the entire history of the drug and the industry surrounding it with a focus on Colombia and how deep the drug industry is ingrained in all aspects of the country, from those who make it in jungle labs, to the narco-trafficers, politicians, street dealers and addicts themselves, cocaine plays a huge role in Colombian society. Recommended for anyone interested in Colombian history and society as well as travelers to the country.

Skeletons On The Zahara (Dean King) An account of the journals of two survivors of the American ship wreck Commerce off the coast of Morocco back in 1815, the book tells the story of first hand accounts of the survivors' very difficult journey from the Western Sahara up to the Moroccan capital and eventually back to the USA. Their journey was extremely difficult and they went through a lot of hardships and suffered much mistreatment by their Arab captors, the main character, James Riley went on to campaign against slavery once he returned. The book published by Riley was influential in the USA at the time and was read by Abraham Lincoln who was said to have been inspired by the captain's accounts to abolish slavery.

Post: #162

Methuselah's Children By Robert Heinlein - I didn't enjoy this book at all and ended up skimming through the last third of the book. Some of that probably had to do with all the praise and good reviews I had seen. So I thought it was going to be a good novel as I had enjoyed Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land. To be fair I read both of those books close to 15 years ago. So my tastes may have just changed.

Arnold by Arnold Schwarzenegger - The first half of the book talks about his youth and his journey to becoming a champion body builder. The second half is about exercises and diet. I enjoyed the book and learning about Arnold's mindset.

The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert- Letters that the late copywriter Gary Halbert wrote to his son while serving time. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in copywriting, direct marketing and/or selling any kind of product. It is available for free as a PDF file.

I'll share his steps to Direct Mail Success which could be applied to other fields.

1)Find a hot market.
2)Find or create a product to sell to that market.
3)Create a direct mail promotion that describes the product.
4)Make a test mailing.
5)Analyze results.
6)If results are good, mail more.
7)If the results are still good, mail more and watch the money pile up.

I am currently working a shutdown and have lots of time on my hands. So I have been reading 7-8 hours a day. I should have a few more books over the next week to add.

Post: #163

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

Ugh, this book was fantastic. I don't even think I'm being blinded by nostalgia, this is one of the most realized fantasy worlds ever created.

Post: #164

^^haha, I know the feeling dude. I devoured all the books in about 2 weeks. Rowling is a hell of a writer (best female writer ever?)

Post: #165

She's no Jane Austen, but she's certainly extremely capable and deserving of her fortune. What was your favorite book in the series? Mine was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I've read it a few dozen times.

Post: #166

(04-17-2015 11:49 AM)Honorable Man Wrote:  She's no Jane Austen, but she's certainly extremely capable and deserving of her fortune. What was your favorite book in the series? Mine was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I've read it a few dozen times.

They're all equally great though I immensely enjoyed Prisoner of Azkaban. Damn, I might have to re-read now that you have brought it up.

Post: #167

Since you are returning to the series, I would recommend the audiobooks narrated by Stephen Fry. He is incredibly expressive with his reading and manages to give almost every character a distinct voice.

Post: #168

The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric
Mirriam Joseph


I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book, because for some reason I was surprised it was so dry. It's basically a short-ish textbook. I skipped most of the parts on grammar but found the sections on logic and rhetoric useful. If you want a good in-depth look at the foundation of the liberal arts this book is great, but don't expect to be enthralled or entertained.


Dumb Luck
Vũ Trọng Phụng


Holy shit, this was one of the most entertaining novels I've ever read. You can finish this in one sitting, as it's just shy of 200 pages. Set in Hanoi, Vietnam in the Interwar period. The characters are just fantastic. The name of the title basically drives the plot, so rather than summarizing I will just include a few quotes.

"Like a true political leader, Joseph Thiết was deeply concerned about the good of the nation while simultaneously despising the tastes and amusements of the masses."

"In short, the speech possessed all the necessary attributes of a formal oratorical address by a great man of letters or an important politician: embellishment, fabrication, exaggeration, fantasy, and duplicity--all dressed up in the dishonest language of literature. The crowd applauded enthusiastically."

"Inadvertently, Xuân had just discovered a principle that most philosophers only recognize after their hair turns white: the value of playing hard to get."

"Red-Haired Xuan left, his heart full of hope. He was oblivious to the fact that she [Mrs. Deputy Customs Officer] momentarily despised him, just as she despised all men who were truly moral."

Post: #169

(04-09-2015 02:45 AM)Paracelsus Wrote:  The Song of Kali by Dan Simmons.

Fuck, this was a good book, especially after I've been battling (unsuccessfully) Doesteyevsky's Crime and Punishment and Don Quixote (on hold). Blew through Dan's book in one day. Superb stuff, and it's his [i]first novel.[/i]

Check out Hyperion, probably the best science fiction I've read. Its actually the first part of two books. Simmons can write, but I was let down later by Terror and Summer of Night. They are interesting and suck you in, but simply not at the genius level Hyperion was at. Still better than most. A lot like Heinlein, his "bad" books are still very interesting.

Post: #170

I've gotten some serious reading done over the past few weeks.

Post: #171

Old Fritz, Quiet and Dumbing Us Down are both on my reading list. How did you like them?

Post: #172

(04-18-2015 11:45 AM)Sweet Pea Wrote:  Old Fritz, Quiet and Dumbing Us Down are both on my reading list. How did you like them?

I like both of them. Quiet helped me understand my thought process better since I am an introvert. Dumbing us down was the nail in the coffin on considering college. I agree with the book when it talks about just going after the education you want. I've always believed that books and a mentor would suffice better than institutionalized education.

Post: #173

Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy - Talks about advertising, advertising companies and managing an advertising company. If you are interested in advertising or business it is worth reading.

Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins - Good book on advertising. Fairly short and an easy read.

Animal Farm - I sort of felt like I was reading a book for children. I didn't find it that interesting.

Post: #174

Book of Pook - Good book for someone who is terrible with women. My only complaint is that the book is repetitive at times. If I knew someone who was struggling with women, this is the book I would recommend to them.

Post: #175

Legacies of Betrayal - an anthology by a host of Black Library writers.

The Ultimates Volume 1.

Both pretty good fantasy/sci-fi.