Five Books We’re Reading Right Now
They say those who read constantly are most successful. Bill Gates reports reading 50 books a year, while Mark Zuckerberg tries to read at least one book every two weeks. Mark Cuban has been known to put in around three hours of reading per day. There’s also Oprah, who selects a new book every month through her Book Club.
Reading these statistics last year inspired me. I realized that most of my reading had been coming from quick articles online pertaining to my industry. I would only pick up a book when I found a few minutes of free time, versus making the time for it. Therefore, a new resolution was born: read 17 books in 2017. This resolution would push me to read a bit more, make a habit of it and truly get back to enjoying reading, instead of just seeing it as a quick pastime. Plus, maybe it would make me a little smarter or successful? Couldn’t hurt.
I am not alone in a sea of readers here at We Are Mammoth. A topic that often comes up in our Slack is what everyone is reading at the moment. Topics can range greatly, from traditional business books, to horror novels to psychology. Our CEO, Craig, has even been known to send out some of his favorite reads to team members throughout the year.
One thing that surprises me is the amount of books I hear my colleagues reading about that I would have never pegged them to be interested in. It almost shines a new light on them, and a new way for us all to form a great connection between each other outside of our day-to-day, remote-working lives. Since a productive workplace is one where colleagues can easily communicate and understand each other, this definitely helps.
This month, I asked some of the team here at WAM what they were reading and to give me a quick reason why they’re enjoying their selections. Keep on scrolling to see what’s on our minds this month, and if you have any other recommendations, let us know in the comments.
“Listening to running books while running is kinda my thing lately. I have really enjoyed ‘Running Man: A Memoir.’ It is a gritty story about an addict turned ultra-runner. The story is raw, hard to listen to, and inspiring all at the same time. It is impressive what we can push our bodies to do. This guy ran across the Sahara Desert. It’s helpful to hear these stories when I struggle with my runs.” — Waylon Martinez, Senior Back-End Developer
2.) Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious
“This book dives into the unconscious self versus the conscious self and how, while Freud was a good starting point, the way our unconscious brain works is very different and fascinating, and informs how we feel and act every single day.” — Suzie Nieman, Project Manager
3.) Rework
“Rework talks about thinking and working less, as a way to work smarter when you do. It has a lot of “shocking” ideas for a business book that feels like the roots of modern businesses, like We Are Mammoth. So far my favorite takeaway is “Say no by default.” But with a team, it teaches about putting everyone on the frontline, where we all pitch in and do the work. It’s something I’ve realized in past roles as well and I think it’s a great to be reminded of it from time to time.” — Wil Spillane, Content Marketing Associate
4.) Mindfulness
“The book Mindfulness isn’t what you’d think: a fluffy book about meditation. Rather, it’s a psychology-driven dive into how mindfulness and its nemesis, mindlessness, affect every aspect of our experience here on earth, from love to work to old age and business.” — Craig Bryant, CEO
5.) Originals: How non-conformists move the world
“This read offers a lot of stories about great achievements in business and other areas of life, but also shows that you don’t have to necessarily be a risk-taker to make it big. Grant talks all about how the biggest names and companies we know today like Bill Gates and Warby Parker were all moreso risk-mitigators rather than risk-takers, and the value of being that way to succeed.” — Lisa DiVirgilio, Director of Marketing
