The Jerd Library: 10 Books to Educate, Inspire and Entertain

I love to read.  

For as long as I can remember, I’ve devoured written words like they were the nectar of the Gods.

As a little Jerdling I always leaned much further toward arts and literature than math and science (a trend that has definitely continued on into adulthood). I still avoid math like the plague; but I read as much, and as often, as I can!

And while my bookshelves are all overflowing, believe it or no, I have found most of my reading occurs on an e-reader these days. At first I resisted, but the level of convenience having a huge library at your fingertips at all times just cannot be beat.

So thank you, Kindle!

I’m going to go out on a limb and make the assumption that many of you out there love reading as much as I do…

And since we spend so much time focused on the physical, I thought it would be nice to flip the Jerd coin and look at the other side for a bit.

So here are some fitness, business and motivational books that have had a huge impact on me!

Health and Fitness

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe – If you are serious about getting the most out of weight training, this is the book to read.  The amount of detail in this book is staggering; Mark lays down the law when it comes to each and every one of the major barbell lifts. All the whys, hows, dos and don’ts are covered; which is why I recommend everyone pick this one up… beginner and lifelong gym rat alike! If you are going to spend money on a gym membership or on barbells for your house, do yourself a favor and invest in this book first!

There’s a reason why I include it as homework in our basic strength training program.

Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss – Ever wonder why it sometimes feels like the entire world is out to derail your plans to eat healthy? While it might not make you feel any better, this indepth, 50 year look into the food industry at least explains why “convenient” foods are the way they are. Moss is able to turn ,what is arguably, a very dry subject into something both interesting and highly educational. When I put down the book (and the feelings of anger towards the food giants subsided) I felt better equipped to fight back against an establishment who only wants to sell me more and more tasty, unhealthy “food“.

Motivation

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg – A while back I wrote an article, “How to Build Positive Habits“, which was really a summation of the lessons I extracted from Charles Duhigg’s amazing book. I can’t stress how important developing good habits is to leading a healthy lifestyle; without them you are bound to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of slipping back into your old ways! If you’re a person that struggles to make positive changes, or sticking to goals, then read this book now.

I promise you will end up with a new-found understanding of what you can accomplish with the right mindset.

The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama – While his holiness the Dalai Lama gets top billing, this book is actually a series of interviews by Howard Cutler. A very insightful series of interviews. I make it a point to re-read this book every couple years, and invariably it helps me level-set my outlook on life and help me erase a ton of unnecessary stress in my life.  The approach to finding true happiness contained within this book does not come out of a bottle, from physical goods or is it found at anyone’s expense.

It is subtle, light, simple, and unique and I can’t recommend this book enough.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell – This book wrecked my brain. In a nutshell it is a pseudo-manifesto that challenges the American notion that success is due to individual characteristics (talent, hard work, etc…), instead Gladwell postulates that it is the opportunities that present themselves in people’s lives that are the true differentiating factors.

“It is not the brightest who succeed,” Gladwell writes. “Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities — and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.”

From the success of people like Bill Gates, Hockey all-stars, to music legends he gives solid data to back up his hypothesis. Fascinating stuff that really makes you think!

Business

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley – Want to realign your perspective on wealth? Do you automatically think that the people with the biggest houses or fanciest cars are the pinnacle of success? Then this is the book to read. It is a great study of how truly successful people, who are smart with their money, manage to amass ridiculous amounts of wealth over time.It covers all the bases, even the obvious ones of investing safely, living below your means not at or above them and not trying to impress people by “keeping up with the Jones’.”

If you want a financially stable future, then you really need to read this book.

Life, On the Line by Grant Achatz – This book could easily sit in either this category, or up above in Motivation as well. It is the amazing tale of award-winning chef at one of the top restaurants in the country, Chicago’s Alinea, after being diagnosed with advance oral cancer at the age of 32. Achatz ignored medical advance to amputate his tongue and instead opted for a very aggressive treatment of chemotherapy, which left him with his tongue but obliterated his sense of taste. A horrible plight for anyone, but doubly so for a chef!

“Eating was a horrific and painful ordeal to be tolerated three or four times a day. Cooking at Alinea became a gauntlet to run every night: wonderful smells that you can’t taste, food you used to love that you can’t eat” he says in the book.

This is the inspirational story of not only his drive to become one of the best chef’s in the world, but how he coped with a terrible situation and triumphed. Hint – He taught all the other chef’s at Alinea how to mimic his taste palette so the food didn’t suffer… Mind = blown. 

Fictional Fun

Game of Thrones by George. R. R. Martin – It does my nerd heart proud that Game of Thrones, or “A Song of Fire and Ice” as it is officially known, as has become such a cross-over hit due to the HBO show! One of the few cases where the onscreen adaptation truly does the source material justice (and in some cases surpasses it #blasphemy). This modern fantasy epic, filled to the brim with juicy political intrigue, is awesome. The only problem is, the series isn’t finished yet; and as any fan of the series will tell you… the wait is maddening! It might be another decade before the entire tale wraps up, but it is still definitely worth picking up.

Just don’t get too attached to any favorite characters.

What’s Next?

Heroes in the Night by Tea Krulos – This recommendation came to me via a YouTube show, “Read This!” While I constantly talk about becoming a real life superhero, I mean it in an abstract sense. This is the story about people who take it to the next level in the burgeoning RLSH (Real Life Super Hero) movement.

It is supposed to be a non-judgemental look at the people who are inspired by their comic book heroes to fight crime and better their communities.

As someone whose internal moral compass, and sense of fairness and justice, was shaped by comic book superheroes, I’m looking forward to finally digging into this one!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Another “Read This!” recommendation. Here’s the official synopsis of this modern-day nerd classic – “Wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.”

Yes please! How awesome does that sound?!? Oh, and if you want an extra-special treat go for the audiobook. Wil Wheaton narrates it!

So that’s a look at my virtual bookshelf today, hopefully you find something new and interesting to read.

But now it’s YOUR turn – What are you reading currently (other than “The Heroes’ Transformation” by yours truly?)

What belongs in the Jerd library?  Any book recommendations for me?

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