books
"Uncommon Stock: Exit Strategy" by Eliot Peper
The final book in the Uncommon Stock series hit the shelves on July 29, 2015 and if you were like me you had already pre-ordered it so it would be instantly sent to your Kindle.
If you missed the launch of the Part III, don’t worry you can pick it up from Amazon for only $4.99 (it is a steal).
Trust me you will not be disappointed with Part III, just as the first two books were well worth it. Now if you haven’t read them yet I would suggest you read all three in order (here is my take on Part II, Uncommon Stock: Power Play).
I was really excited to see how the whole journey of Mara and James unfolded in this book and it was too perfect that it hit the shelves right before I had a long trip to China. I started reading it on my long flights and wished I wouldn’t have had other things that kept distracting me along the way.
However, since the team I was with never went into work until 8am I had plenty of time after waking up at 4am, as I wasn’t able to sleep any longer, to continue reading. The only bad part about that was I didn’t want to put it down when I knew it was time to catch the cab. Also, it helped that domestic flights in China seem to be delayed often which allowed me to finish the book and write this posting.
Now onto Exit Strategy, the story puts you right back into the fast-paced life of the Mozaik startup roller coaster.
Eliot does a great job keeping your thoughts focused on wondering what Mara is going to do next and how are they ever going to take down Maelstrom. Not to mention you are captivated by the underlying story about Mozaik, the company you have been rooting for since Part 1. He does a great job walking you through some of the real-life examples of the pains that Startups go through from the beginning all the way through IPOs. Honestly, this is one of those books that touches on so many topics that it probably appeals to people that like all kinds of books from mystery, suspense and action. Then to top that off it is about this Startup company trying to catch people involved in financial fraud, murder, and deception.
Now I could probably write on and on about what happened but that would just ruin the fun of reading it. So I will at least give you a couple of my favorite quotes/sayings from the book that stuck out to me. I think each of these just go to show the amount of information beyond being a good story is packed into this book and more specifically this series.
The short version is that when you lay good code on top of bad code, the result is still bad code.
You can’t wait until you had enough time for exercise. You had to make time for it no matter what.
Economics, the science of explaining tomorrow why the predictions you made yesterday didn’t come true today.
There is something ephemeral but infinitely satisfying about starting something yourself. Your shit is on the line and you and your team are where the buck stops. If you get a kick out of that, then you end up having few other employment choices. If you’ve got that bug, you essentially have to start a company or get involved with startups. Otherwise, your brain starts to rot and you get all bitchy and miserable.
Finally, at the end of the book after it is all done (don’t worry I am not going to spoil the ending) but Eliot Peper hinted at coming out with a new book (not part of this series) in Spring of 2016. So if you are like me and enjoy his style of writing you probably should following him on twitter (@EliotPeper) and subscribe to his newsletter from his website.
"Uncommon Stock: Power Play" by Eliot Peper
Finally got around to putting some real thoughts into the book I read a while back called “Uncommon Stock: Power Play” by Eliot Peper. I actually got and read this book right around the time it was published back in November/December but things started to pick up at my old job and I never got a chance to put the rest of my thoughts in writing about the book.
The book is very captivating as it is about a Startup company that gets caught up in a money laundering scheme. One of the great things I like about this book is that it discusses real issues that I have heard founders face in Startups today, which is then mixed into the suspense of the characters lives.
Eliot’s style of writing is very engaging and hard to put down. However, if you do have to HAVE to put it down because a child is crying or children or fighting it isn’t hard to pick right back up where you left off.
Overall, it is a great book and I would suggest picking it up from FG Press since at only $4.95 for a digital version it is a steal. Then why you are there you might as well pick up the Uncommon Stock book in the series titled “Uncommon Stock: Version 1.0” as it only costs under five dollars as well.
Finally, Eliot is planning on publishing another books in this series this year titled Uncommon Stock: Exit Strategy, which I can’t wait to read. To make sure you don’t miss out and are in the know on his upcoming book you should probably following him on twitter (@EliotPeper) and subscribe to his newsletter from his website (http://www.eliotpeper.com/).
This is a very long overdue post about a book I read titled “Sleep your way to the Top (and other myths about business success)” by Jane Miller. I was actually lucky enough to get a copy from FG Press not long after I had written about the number of books I had been listening to so far in 2014.
Honestly, when I got the email with instructions on where to get the book I had no idea what the book was about. Since I was lucky enough to get a copy of the book, I decided to take the challenge of reading it. It was defiantly worth my time and I would encourage anyone and everyone to read this book. It is packed with great life lessons/thoughts based on the situations, successes, and mistakes that Jane made.
“No decision is a bad decision… if you learn from it.” - Jane Miller
It touches on various topics like resume writing, interviewing, being a team player, and when is the right time to leave a company. At the end of each chapter, there are questions to ask yourself, that I believe are designed to make you more aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Also, depending on where you are in your career you can use some of the questions/situations she poses to help you try to figure out what your dream job is and how that may or may not relate to your current job/role.
I wish I could have read this book when I was in college getting ready to graduate as there are some really good life lessons that everyone goes through in the world of business. The best part is that all of those tips and lessons are embedded in a funny and captivating story.
“Let me tell you something. You stupid little runt. I own you. You’re my bitch. So don’t walk around here thinking you have free will, because you don’t. I could crush you anytime I want. So settle in, ‘cause you are here for the long haul.” - Dave Harkien, Horrible Bosses (film)
Finishing this book was really easy, the only painful part was my lack of sleep since I couldn’t put the book down as I always wanted to finish another chapter before shutting my eyes.
So if you are looking for a good book to read I would definitely encourage you to find this book and while you are at it check out Jane Miller’s website to read other things she has written.
Books, Books, and more Books
I have been spending a lot of my spare time lately reading listening to books. So far this year I have completed 24 books (listened to 22, read 2). I won’t list out all of the books as it probably wouldn’t be all that interesting but if you are curious you can check it out here. I have found that listening to books is a good way to pass the time while working on various house projects (e.g., Painting the House).
Also, I stumbled upon the author David Baldacci who has some really good books out there. The topics of his books are around espionage, war zones, traitors and good guys on a mission to contain/eliminate the problems of the people who don’t have the United States interests at heart. If you are interested in those types of Spy/Detective books I would really encourage you to check out the many books he has written (http://davidbaldacci.com/). My favorite series so far is The Camel Club.
So what is next for my book reading? I might take a little break from listening to books and go back to actually reading a couple books that have been in the queue (partially because there isn’t an audiobook for them). What books are you reading or any suggestions you have of good books I should check out? Leave it in the comments section.
Another reason, I might slow my reading/listening to books down is I have been thinking of picking up a couple new projects in the near future. I have a couple of ideas but need to put some more thought on what I hope to accomplish and then reach out for some advice.
Finished Reading...
Just finished reading Bad Business by Robert B. Parker… Great book if you like detective novels..