Book Notes

These are the summaries and notes of books I have read. These notes are the result of wanting to further process books and retain information. After years of reading books one time and then forgetting most of them.

My current reading process

Give the book a quick read through.
Read the book a second time, highlighting anything I want to remember along the way.
Read through highlights and try to distill key points in my own words, or just writing down words straight from the book that I want to remember.
Share.

You can use these notes to remember key points. Or to help decide if a book is going to help you with a specific problem. Books are sorted by highest rated. Click the titled link for each book to see my detailed notes.

Dopamine Nation (9/10)

This was a very insightful book. Knowing the balance between pain and pleasure is essential to living in modern day society. Where scarcity is no longer an issue. Our brains are not adapted for a world of abundance. So the forces that kept us alive for thousands of years, are now making us miserable. Consider this a primer into understanding addiction and over consumption. And steps you can take to mitigate this.

The Psychology of Money (9/10)

Holy cow was this eye opening. Not only in regards to money, but the principles apply to many aspects of life. Strong story telling, clear and concise. Worth reading multiple times.

The Power of Positive Dog Training (9/10)

This book is a no BS guide to dog training without being a jerk. Any dog can be training with progressive reinforcement techniques. The author even explains why aversive training not only doesn’t work, but it makes problems sprout up in other areas of your dogs life. Loaded with how-to’s on all of the basic things you should treat your dogs and dealing with common problems.

Meditations (9/10)

I enjoyed reading this more than I thought I would. The emperor spent a great deal thinking about what it means to be human, philosophy, on life, on dying, and how best to navigate the world. Both the internal world of the mind and soul, and the external world of matter and other people.

This book makes me want to keep a better journaling habit. And study philosophy. And not worry about things that do not matter. Because we all become dust in the end anyway.

Marcus Aurellius also cut through what does matter. Such as service to others. Speaking truthfully. Not letting your situation bother you.

Your Brain on Porn (9/10)

Excellent primer on how addiction wires your brain. Explains the negatives of porn use without going into anything religious. Also gives tips on quitting porn use and includes many anecdotes of people describing how their lives changed when giving up porn use.

Nonviolent Communication(8/10)

Easy concepts to grasp, challenging to apply to the real world. This is how we communicate with other people. I have been trying some of the methods and mindset while I was reading this book. Sometimes the strategies of using empathy and getting to know the needs behind words and behaviors have helped resolve tensions but other times it falls flat on it’s face due to me being very mechanistic about the whole thing. This is going to need a re-read at some point.

There is clear direction in my mind about what other areas to study in order to get better at this:

Getting better at Empathy
Being in touch with your own needs and feelings
Saying “No” without Feeling Guilty
Negotiating without compromising (Identify and satisfy the needs of both sides)

Million Dollar Weekend (8/10)

I took a lot of highlights with this one. Motivational, inspiring, and practical. I will be coming back to these notes over and over as I embark on my business ventures. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. In fact, develop your asking powers like a muscle. Also, don’t try to figure out how to do something before you start. Just start and figure out how along the way.

The 12 Week Year (8/10)

This second half of the book was almost an identical copy of the second half of the book. But still filled with solid advice on establishing a vision, settings goals, measuring the effectiveness of your actions, and other tidbits about being effective and taking action.

I have been implementing most of this and needed to go back through to make sure I’ve got down the process.

I highly advise you make your own outline so you do not have to read everything “twice again”.

Anything You Want (8/10)

Quick read about creating the business (and life) that you want. These lessons spill over into other areas of life, maybe accidentally. Life isn’t all about maximizing profits and accelerated growth. Do what makes you happy. Treat your customers like rock stars and they will tell everyone.

The Blog Startup (8/10)

If you are wanting to blog as a business, you need a sound strategy and business model. Filled with practical tips on identifying your audience, email strategy, branding, marketing, things to watch out for, etc. Definitely read this if you are wanting to start a blog.

123 Magic (4/10)

Don’t argue with your kids. Manage behavior without getting angry. This was an exciting method at first but became un-managable. Focuses too much on last resort when all other methods fail. Instead of focusing on the all other methods. Very easy to use “breaks” and rewards to try and manipulate your child instead of teaching lessons and trying to get activities to be enjoyable in and of themselves. Read Playful Parenting instead.

Bliss of the Celibate (4/10)

Sex drive is a powerful force. And misusing it brings you down to the level of an animal. You must conserve and transmute this force to reveal your true gifts. Feeding lust makes you never satisfied, and spills over into all other areas in life. Giving a low rating because it’s overly religious for my tastes. And says that if you have sex, then you won’t have guy friends because you are afraid of being gay. Other than those two things, it’s a decent intro on the benefits you can experience from controlling your sexual side.