This year’s summer reading list starts as a profoundly personal intellectual growth-hacking (“Think Again”) and problem-solving exercise (How to Avoid a Climate Disaster) only to take us on a fictional trip to outer space (“Artemis”).
From there on, we re-energize (“The Headspace Guide To Meditation And Mindfulness”) and get back into the mindset (“Stan Weinstein’s Secrets For Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets”) to again breathe fire as the markets return from their summer break in fall.
The team at Tramondo wishes you a relaxing summer break. Stay safe!
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
Adam Grant
Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman (portrayed in an earlier Book Club post) calls this #1 New York Times bestseller brilliant and “guaranteed to make you rethink your opinions and your most important decisions”.
In this masterpiece, organizational psychologist Adam Grant, a top-rated professor at Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Business, proposes to argue like one’s right, but at the same time to listen like one’s wrong. He goes so far as to choose courage over comfort and bring much-needed nuance to charged conversations.
Grant does this by masterfully weaving together research and storytelling, leading Brené Brown, Ph.D., a #1 New York Times bestselling and the author of “Dare to Lead”, to proclaim that she’s never felt so hopeful about what she didn’t know.
We listen to opinions that make us feel good instead of ideas that make us think hard. The ability to rethink and unlearn as taught in this book could not be more relevant in a rapidly changing world. If you are ready to challenge views that no longer serve you well and prize mental flexibility over foolish consistency, then you should start your summer cognitive hacking session with this one.
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
Bill Gates
Continuing with another #1 New York Times bestseller: Bill Gates of Microsoft fame lays out a wide-ranging, practical plan on how to avoid a future climate disaster by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
Leveraging the financial firepower and access of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and pulling in experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, Gates spent over a decade drilling down on the causes and effects of climate change.
In this gripping book, he outlines what it takes to avert a certain environmental disaster in no uncertain terms. Gates wouldn’t be Gates if he did not chip in his profound understanding of innovation and technology and how it can be utilized more effectively. This includes pointing out the technological white spots in this approach and who is already at work in providing much-needed innovation.
We trust you are not one of those tin hats accusing Bill Gates of a wide-ranging global conspiracy. Still, you might carry some reservations about the causes of global warming. So may we suggest you prime your mind by revisiting the first book in this summer reading list?
Artemis: A Novel
Andy Weir
If leveraging brutal intellectual honesty to save the world is not your thing, leaving our beloved planet might be a rewarding alternative. This gripping near-future thriller takes us to Artemis in the late 2080s, the fictional first and so far only city on the moon.
Like “The Martian”, “Artemis” was written by Andy Weir, a stickler for nerd-like scientific attention to detail. Prepare to be amazed by the consistency in depicting the inner workings of the lunar city, from the physical infrastructure down to the social implications of its tourism-led economy.
The no less fascinating storyline will make you revel in the enterprises of Jazz, our novel’s heroine, in her quest to become a criminal mastermind that ultimately lands her in the middle of a conspiracy for the control of Artemis itself.
You’ve trusted us with our Star Wars novel recommendation in the past. Trust us on this one too, and you will be rewarded by a brilliant yet entertaining read that will make your mind swirl.
The Headspace Guide To Meditation And Mindfulness
Andy Puddicombe
By now, we’ve re-wired our brains to solve complex problems on earth and possibly even more crazy ones on the moon. Mind you, this is in addition to our stressful everyday challenges at work and home, while we ride out the later-stage COVID-19 waves.
You may be like us, more of the cynical sort, wondering what a meditation book can do for you other than turn an already busy day into a chaotic one by introducing the social pressure to “relax”.
What if that deep relaxation routine only took you ten minutes each day? Enter Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk who began his meditation practice as a regular, busy person with everyday concerns. The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness offers simple yet powerful meditation techniques that positively impact every area of physical and mental health: from productivity and focus to stress and anxiety relief, sleep, weight loss, personal relationships… the benefits are limitless.
Try this one. You will not regret it. And if you spend minimal time heeding its advice and following its techniques, chances are your friends and family will like it as well. And they’ll like the more relaxed you!
Stan Weinstein’s Secrets For Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets
Stan Weinstein
Many consider Stan Weinstein’s “Secrets For Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets” the closest to a trader’s bible as it can get, which is an honor not easily bestowed upon the countless books the investing and trading genre has produced over the decades.
So powerful a mark has this book left on readers that on Amazon, it often ends up being the first and last book someone cares to review online.
Weinstein detaches the reader from any specific industry, sector, security, formula, or software. Instead, he essentially teaches us to identify the stage or cycle a publicly traded security is in and which stage it is heading next. Thus, Weinstein manages to square the peg by staying generic while being hyper-specific.
Many investors are old enough to regret not having picked up the book when it was first published in 1988. However, it is never too late to dive into one of the industry’s iconic works that happen to be written in a relaxed yet concise manner. A rewarding read that will prime you to return to your trading desk all fired up after your summer break. You’re welcome.
