Monthly Reading List - September 2023

Author

Jamil Vanheyningen
October 05, 2023

Monthly Reading List - September 2023

In September, I tried my hand at bigger book. I finished a couple of biographies and a short story anthology.

Here’s a look at all the books, and we’ll get into each below

This book sat on the shelf for years before I got the courage to pick it up. It’s 838 pages of wisdom from arguably the most successful investor of all time.

This book took me a couple of weeks to read not only because of the page count, but because I was taking notes constantly. The best description of Buffet comes from the biographer toward the end of the book: “the not simple man of simple tastes.”

To understand Buffet a bit without reading the book, here are some themes that came up in the book most often:

  • Extreme attention to detail in business as well as friendship. This includes deep research, personalized gifts, and being thorough.

  • Principles matter — a trait he got from his father.

  • A mental file of countless stories. This is due to the combination of a vigorous reading routine and near photographic memory.

  • First principles thinker. Always “inverts” problems to get to the core of the issue.

  • Draw a circle of competence and stay inside. Focus on a few things and forget about anything not in those domains.

I mentioned this last month, but chances are you’ve watched something influenced by Philip K. Dick’s writing. Here are a few of the movies and shows that are based on his stories:

  • Blade Runner

  • The Minority Report

  • The Man in the High Castle

  • Total Recall

  • The Adjustment Bureau

This short story collection was full of characters experiencing a sense of paranoia or a forgotten world. I’m a big fan of reading short fiction over novels before bed, and these did not disappoint. I’m reading a Fitzgerald collection next, but after I finish that one I’ll order another of PKD’s collections.

If you are someone who likes reading at night, give a short story a shot! I prefer it over novels because there isn’t that potential risk of reading past your usual bedtime because of cliffhangers.

This biography of Hayao Miyazaki was not what I expected. It was equal parts animation textbook, environmental treatise, and biography. Nonetheless, all are important to me so I enjoyed reading it.

If you haven’t watched any of the Studio Ghibli films, watch one today and thank me. Miyazaki’s films are different in that they portray mostly normal people in extraordinary settings. His protagonists are typically young girls, which was not typical of the industry in the 80s and 90s. If you want a good place to start, my personal favorite is Spirited Away.

Other than insight into his filmmaking process, the most important thing I learned is how you become an all-time great creator. It requires a dedication and standard that borders on obsession. Good enough is never good enough, and no matter if you are a director or a businessman, it does you no good to keep standards low.

If you end up checking out any of these books, let me know, and let’s talk about them! If not, hopefully, the bit of info about each helped entertain or inform you in some way. Anyway, have a great week, and thanks again for subscribing!