This week has been a bit crazy for me with most of my sim rides being late at night (9-12ish) meaning I’m getting an idea of what it’s like for people that work the late shift. In the midst of this I’ve also attempted to implement a new policy of limiting my time spent on the computer. What this means is that I’ve had to focus my time on good writing and good information. Here’s the quality stuff I’ve read in the past couple weeks.

1,000 True Fans - Kevin Kelly — The Technium

Secret Service - Glenn Packiam’s Blog: Like a Butterfly…

Lessons In Manliness: Benjamin Franklin’s Pursuit of the Virtuous Life - Art of Manliness

Friends at work, divine of disaster? @ Awake at the Wheel

7 Universities and Websites Offering Free Business Entrepreneurship Courses Online

Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business - Wired Mag

the counterargument - The Myth of Free - Sam Davidson also by Sam - A Culture of Once

Homeless: Can you build a life from $25? - Christian Science Monitor

Everything I Know About Blogging - I Will Change Your Life

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Reading is one of the best ways to learn, develop and change. However, the immense benefits of reading are only as great as one’s ability to remember and process the information. Nothing is more frustrating than reading a great book and not being able to recall any of the major points a year or even a month later. It makes the whole process seem like a huge waste.

My family are all avid readers and they instilled that passion in me. I try to read at least 2 books a month, but often more. Over the past few years I’ve made a much greater effort to be more intentional about my reading, making sure to get the most out of the process. Here is some of the best advice I’ve come across when it comes to remembering what you read:

1) Read With the Goal of Teaching Someone Else - My friend Glenn has one of the most brilliant minds I know. He can read a book and process the information, quickly adapting new ideas into his life and teaching others along the way. The secret to Glenn’s ability started during his childhood. Every weekend his family would go to the local library to read. During dinner they would teach the other members of the family what they learned that day. This ritual formed a wonderful habit in Glenn of reading comprehensively in order to teach someone else. He had to constantly think, “How will I be able to explain the main ideas of this book to others.” In doing so he delved deep into the book and the information stuck with him.

2) Read the Last Chapter First - This one is more geared towards non-fiction as I can already hear people screaming, “But it’ll ruin the ending!” At the end of most books is a summary chapter that gives the main ideas and how they all tie together. By reading this first you are then able to catch these ideas and themes more easily as you go through the book. It also allows you to read like the author would read his own book, with a full understanding of where everything is going.

3) Take Notes - Lots of people utilize this technique in school, but let it go when they toss their caps at graduation. Taking notes allows a reader to right down key points, themes and memorable quotes. In doing so the information is then processed twice, once when read and once when written. This gives the reader a much greater chance of remembering. My friend Beau uses a pencil to mark and highlight in the book as he reads and then transfers this information into Google Docs. He has a great summary of his method here.

4) Read When You’re Awake - Most people read right before they go to bed. After a long day, they’re usually tired and hardly in the best state to process and retain information. By reading at other times throughout the day chances are their minds would work much better. If you are a night person maybe it is the best time for you to read. The important thing is to know your body and know what times of day are best for thinking and concentrating. Try to schedule your reading during these times and you will give yourself a much better chance of remembering what you read.

5) Discuss What You’re Reading - Some of the books we remember most vividly are those that we read in our high school English class. Why? It is the practice of nearly every teacher to have lively class discussions and debates over each section of a book. In discussing the book we were able to process the information as a group, bouncing ideas off each other and hearing different perspectives. All of these made us use the information in various ways cementing it in our minds and helping us remember. Most of us are no longer in high school, but the options are endless. Join a book club, or if you have a good group of friends, start one. Discuss the book online in book forums or in a social networking group like Facebook. The important thing is to talk about what you’re reading.

6) Read the Cliff Notes First - We’re not in high school anymore, so it’s not cheating. Especially for some of the classics, reading the cliff notes before starting the book can provide all kids of insight into characters, themes, symbolism and author background. By reading these things beforehand you are helping ensure that you won’t miss them as you read the book. Another benefit of reading summaries is the mental debate you will have each time you reach a controversial section as you ask yourself whether you agree with the conventional interpretations.

7) Find Your Reading Environment - Sometimes more important than how you are reading is where you are reading. Is the television on? Are the kids crawling all over you? Do you do your best reading on the airplane? Some things can’t be helped, but finding a good reading environment goes a long way. I had never thought much about where I read until reading a great post Ben Casnocha wrote on optimizing activity for location a couple months ago. He explained, “…when thinking about what you’re going to do, think about where you’re going to be, and how that place will affect your productivity at completing the activity.” Find your reading environment and enjoy remembering what you read.

I just got done packing for a trip to Florida this week where I’ll be going through the Air Force’s Water Survival Course in Pensacola, FL. Since, I’ll be off the radar for a bit I thought I’d leave you with some great articles and blogs that I’ve been reading to comfort you in my absence and hopefully give you a few lessons in skilled living.

First, read this

Employee Evolution is a blog I came across tonight focusing on the millennial generation and the workplace, great thoughts, especially here

Ever wonder what happened to the food pyramid? Akshay checks it out here

Ben Casnocha on where we should read

Fast Company article on the new theory that slams the Tipping Point

Beau Suder on talking to yourself…its good seriously

The Next 45 Years has some great content on personal development and a carnival that threw me a link

Amazing new blog on writing by the author of Zen Habits

Some good personal finance and investing blogs here and here

Finally, Ramit Sethi ran a very interesting survey looking at: “Are you spending less because of a possible recession?”

Since finishing UPT about a month ago I’ve had lots of free time on my hands. Here’s what I’ve been reading lately:

Books:
- A New Brand World: Eight Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the Twenty-First Century by Scott Bedbury

- The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

- Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich

- Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in an Everyday Life by Eugene Peterson

- Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality And Spirituality by Rob Bell

- Pour Your Heart into It : How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Howard Schultz

Blogs:
- Ben Casnocha: The Blog - entrepreneurship, writing, books and tons of other good stuff

- Ramit Sethi: I Will Teach You to Be Rich - personal finance

- Seth Godin: Seth’s Blog - marketing

- Brian Reese: Brian Reese Blogs - investing, books, business, faith

- Lawrence Cheok: A Long Long Road - personal development

- Akshay Kapur - great blog on health care, economics and business intelligence

- Andrew Pratt: Andrew’s Thoughts - books, business, grad school

- Justin Steinhart: Steiny’s Corner - faith, books, life

Its about that time again when much of the media will be focused on creating their year-in-review pieces. Like my blogging friend, Ben Casnocha, I love “Best of” lists. So, without further attempts to write for the sake of hearing my fingers hit the keys, here is a list of my favorite books I read in 2007:

Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England by Lynne Olson

My latest read, a story about the band of young MP’s in Britain that broke party ties on the eve of WWII in order to topple the Chamberlain-led appeasement government and make way for Winston Churchill. Starts out a bit slow, but gains rapidly after the first 6 chapters. Incredible insight into the internal struggles many of the young politicians faced in going against their party and standing for what they believed was England’s only chance at survival, all-out war against Nazism. The book raises interesting questions concerning loyalty, party politics, the role of the press and leadership. Lynne Olson has made great tale in describing the behind the scenes workings of a few that helped change the world for so many.

Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks

Go to any college campus, resort town, or urban-chic hotspot in America today and David Brooks’ “Bobos In Paradise,” could act as an incredibly detailed and relevant tour guide. Everyone knows a Bobo whether they realize it or not…in fact they may be one themselves, though they would never admit it. After reading this book I realized that I am in fact a Bobo. Brooks cracked the code for me on things I had always noticed, but never been able to put into words regarding the new class of society forming in America; the exotic coffee drinking, urban outfitter/anthropologie wearing, mutual fund owning, I go climb Himalayan ranges barefoot and drink yak’s milk tea with the sherpas over Spring Break for fun because all the “tourists” stay in Kathmandu, class of society. The people that will not like this book are the ones that take themselves way too seriously…most likely because they are probably Bobos too, but too proud to admit it. Entertaining to say the least!

Londonistan by Melanie Phillips

Shocking commentary on the rise of radical Islam in London. Finally, someone who is not afraid to call a spade a spade. Melanie Phillips should be commended for her courage and tenacity in tackling head on an ideology that is seldom confronted out of fear of being labeled “intolerant.” Ideologies of hate simply cannot coexist with freedom. “Londonistan” shows the front lines of a culture war that has been brewing for centuries and is nearing its critical mass. This book should sound as a warning for every American, highlighting the consequences of appeasement and the philosophy of moral and cultural relativism. Prepare to walk away angry and shocked.

The Brothers Karamazov (Everyman’s Library) by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Not much to say on this book, its a classic for a reason. Dostoevsky has an amazing ability to take characters and make them your friend, brother, father, etc. The story of a Russian family and their struggles for power, money and blood. Some of the greatest writing I have ever experienced. Examines nearly every big philosophical question: meaining, purpose, good, evil, God, man. If you read one classic, read this.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Taleb

Most predictions are flat out wrong, just listen to any “expert” on CNBC give a prediction of where the market is headed on a given day. Yet, we love predictions because they help us feel like we understand what’s going on around us much better than we actually do…the idea of randomness is uncomfortable. The reason our prophecies fall so short is our lack of understanding of the Black Swan and its impact on both history and the future. The Black Swan as Taleb describes it is:
1) an outlier 2) carries extreme impact 3) produces explanations only after the fact.

The bulk of Taleb’s book explains in great detail, clarity, and wit the error most humans make in failing to account for the Black Swan in their thinking. He explores various theories ranging from our eagerness to interpret the “causes” in history (confirmation bias, narrative fallacy, etc.) to our inabilities to predict the future (the expert problem, herding and the character of prediction errors).

Finally, Taleb doesn’t stop with mere theory; he gives the reader help in how to think in a Black Swan world. His advice, make black swans gray by being aggressive in gaining exposure to positive Black Swans and extremely conservative when under the threat of a negative Black Swan. You’re probably reading this right now going, I think I know what he is talking about, but you don’t, just read the book and be prepared to have your comfort zone shattered and your mind exercised.