5 non-travel books worth reading

Hey {NAME}, How's everything going? Sorry for the incredibly long delay between this email and the last. We were moving email systems! Anyways, I've been reading furiously the last few months, but many of the books were non-travel related or simply weren't that good! Today, I wanted to share some of the more interesting non-travel related books I've read recently: Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley by Antonio Garcia Martinez Ever wonder what Silicon Valley is like from the inside? How do people fail but still have jobs? How do companies get funded? What's it like to work for one of the big name companies? In this book, Martinez describes his time in the late 2000's early 2010's starting an ad company, selling it Twitter, and then taking a job at Facebook. He was one of the early people in the Facebook Ads department and talks in depth about how that platform came to be. In the process, he gives you a detailed inside look at how just a few companies in the world control your data, the role banks play, and why everything you do is tracked online. The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin The famous movies, Searching for Bobby Fischer, was based on child chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin. In this very interesting book, Josh talks about his learning process and how chess, Tai Chi and martial arts taught him various problem solving techniques. He explains in clear detail how a well-thought-out, principled approach to learning is what separates success from failure. Rather than focusing on climactic wins, Waitzkin reveals the inner workings of his everyday method, from systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs, to honing techniques into states of remarkable potency, to mastering the art of performance psychology. I found this book a very interesting way to look at creating the systems you need for everyday success. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller You can't walk into any bookstore these days without seeing this book prominently displayed. I think it's sold over one million copies already. Short a book for a flight, I finally picked it up - and devoured it. It's a really quick and easy read but it was very powerful. I loved how he framed everything around asking yourself what is the one thing you can do to make your life better - daily, weekly, yearly. He hits so many things spot on - multi-tasking, the psychology of switching, to the power of planning and systems. This book told me a lot of things I subconsciously knew but wasn't putting into practice and was a great wake up call to finally do it. I highly, highly recommend this book. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, WALL-E, and Inside Out. But how did it come to be? This book is the story of Pixar and a really interesting book on how the movies we love are made. Catmull, the CEO and one of the co-founders of Pixar, uses the book as a way to describe the management style at Pixar. He's writing this book for people looking to inspire employees but even if that is not you (and there were many parts about that I skipped over), I found this book a riveting look at how one of the most consistent creative companies in the world works! The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson This book is another book that flies off the shelves. Mark Manson's book about learning to not sweat the small stuff is an incredibly powerful read. It's the right book at the right time. I may be friends with Mark but that doesn't change my opinion that this book is powerful. I think so many of us get caught up in the small stuff that we miss the bigger picture. A lot of people think this book means not caring at all but that's not the point of the book at all. If you're looking for a great book on how to stop letting the little things bother you, this is it. Heck, there's a reason why, ten months after it came out, it's still in the top ten in Amazon and the #1 most read book on the website! That's all for this month. If you have any book suggestions, let me know. My reading list is getting surprisingly low. Travel books are especially welcome! Best, Nomadic Matt [Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 407 W University Ave, Georgetown, Texas 78626