www.dpingram.com

I’ve been so damn busy with this new company i joined, Brownbook (www.brownbook.net), that I’ve not posted for a while. (which incidentally leads me to wonder if all regular bloggers are just not very busy people!!! ). I figured I should pull my finger out when my neighbour said he was just damned BORED of looking that the smart pen (below). So, where better to (re)start than updating my recent reading list. Here’s what I’ve been reading recently:

(not started yet) We-Think - Charles Leadbeater

I read an early draft of this online, that was great so when I saw this in the shop I just had to buy it.
(not started yet) The Idea Generator - Ken Hudson

A small pocket book that I will one day dip into.
(Brill) The Black Swan - The impact of the highly improbable - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Brilliant, and the one that I am reading right now.
(Great) The Undercover Economist - Tim Harford

Great, but not quite up to the hype on the cover. Sure there are some interesting observations about the world, but its not like I started walking round seeing things totally differently (as the cover suggested I might).
(Eye-opening) Straw Dogs - thoughts on humans and other animals - John Gray

Recommended to me by the Chairman of Brownbook.net’s parent company, I saw it on the edge of his desk one day. Figured it’d be good to see what the boss was into. This book WILL change how you think about yourself and your race. Very, VERY good.
(Self-important CRAP) Playing With Fire - Gordon Ramsay

I love Gordon Ramsay, so I was VERY disappointed with this. The cover promises a rags to riches story, problem is he seems to get from rags to riches in about two pages, and the rest of the book is a load of self-important ‘look how great i am’ CRAP. I guess thats why we like him, eh?
(Brill, better than the title suggests) The 4-Hour Work Week - Timothy Ferris

This one is REALLY worth a read. Not for the fact that you will really work just 4 hours a week, but for the timesaving tips and practices that he preaches. Using one of his tips I have outsourced some of my weekl;y donkey work to a virtual personal assistant in INDIA. And why not, why should outsourcing just be for corporates and big jobs, my Indian guy is a pharmacology graduate, brilliant, polite, efficient, and $10 per hour. Beat that. You should try it.

See ON MY BOOKSHELF for more reading recommendations