Book notes
On WritingPart autobiography, part instruction, part taste and opinion on how to write fiction well from one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
Save the Cat! Writes a NovelBrilliant explanation of story and plot for fiction writers. Risks being read as formulaic, but many classics fit her interpretation of good story structure.
The First 90 DaysTailored more to a VP/C-level global blue chip audience, but a useful read in advance of any promotion or new company transition.
The Long and the Short of ItComprehensive evidence-based review of advertising effectiveness, recommending a 60/40 balance between long and short-term marketing. Mostly B2C focused.
How Brands Grow (Part 2)Excellent follow-up to the first book, answering many of the lingering questions I had. Another essential read for marketers.
How Brands GrowEvidence and research replace opinion and faith-based belief in marketing. Pretty shocking it took so long to get here. Extraordinarily valuable.
Scientific AdvertisingA historical curiosity from 1923 and not scientific in any way. Has its charms as an artefact of early advertising thinking, but most can safely skip.
Hey Whipple, Squeeze ThisThe world is full of shitty ads, but Sullivan and Boches tell you how to make a good one. (And they do it with a sense of humour, too.)
The Innovator's DilemmaMany well-managed companies fail because they don’t adapt to disruptive change. This book explains why, and what to do about it.
Crossing the ChasmA strategy and marketing classic, still as relevant as ever. Dissects the difficulty of moving from early interest to wide adoption for disruptive tech.
Sales PitchDunford's done it again with a clear and compelling approach to selling. If you're even remotely involved in software startups, it's worth reading.
The ShallowsDetailed and thoroughly researched, but perhaps not forceful enough. An interesting exploration of how the internet is, to put it bluntly, bad for our brains.
Amusing Ourselves to DeathShould be read by anyone who uses the internet. Remarkably prescient and indispensable for understanding our current media landscape.
The Medium is the MassageThis cult classic from the sixties was talking about television, but it feels eerily accurate today with the rise of social media and life online.
On BullshitA neat, concentrated exploration of what bullshit really is and a foray into why there's so much of it. Can be read in a single sitting. Beautiful stuff.
Extremely OnlineA remarkable history of the social web, from early blogging to TikTok. Highlights the formative, often unrewarded roles of women and people of colour.
No Bullshit StrategyClear on fundamentals but thin on execution. A consumer goods marketer's perspective. For deeper grounding, read Rumelt's Good Strategy/Bad Strategy.
WantingA walkthrough of René Girard's philosophy of mimetic desire. A truly interesting way of looking at the world, powerful at explaining modern phenomena.
Good Strategy/Bad StrategyRumelt knows exactly what strategy is, what it means, and has endless examples to back it up. The wisdom of decades, packed into a fascinating book.
Fermat's EnigmaThe fascinating story of how one of maths' hardest problems was solved. A survey of mathematical history that doesn't demand much knowledge of maths.
The Brand GapPacked with hard-won knowledge, devoid of the usual business book padding. If you want to know what 'brand' really is, there's no better place to start.
Influential Internal CommunicationUnderwhelming and lacking pragmatism, but not bad as an introduction to the importance of internal communication.
Smart BrevityI've read smarter and briefer. It's not entirely terrible, but it'd probably be better to read Strunk instead.
Play BiggerToo long-winded and full of waffle, but interesting. I'm still sceptical anyone can create a category, but if you want to try, this is the book to read.
Category CreationA practical, marketing-first guide to category creation. Not suited to broader strategic discussions — read Play Bigger for that — but enormously useful.
The Brand Positioning WorkbookA straightforward guide to positioning consumer brands (less suited for B2B). Stops short of defining deliverables, an important step to miss. Still useful.
PositioningNot as strong as 22 Immutable Laws and dated in its examples, but still a fascinating read for marketers. Only covers how to position towards the end.
The 22 Immutable Laws of MarketingThe best marketing book I've read. Useful for understanding marketing strategically and worthy of a re-read. Makes 22 arguments with sparing words, no fluff.
The Body Keeps the ScoreAn extraordinary exploration of modern psychology through the lens of trauma and its impact on our lives. A life's work from an expert, beautifully written.
JuniorDecent advice for someone in advertising or an adjacent role. Some interesting tips on creative writing techniques, but nothing too in-depth.
Powerful B2B ContentPossibly the highest-value-per-page specialist book I've read. Only worth it if B2B content is your thing, but if it is, you're in for a treat.
What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of MarketsA thorough dive into market values at work in our lives. Poses interesting questions and follows them up with convincing answers. Sandel at his best.
Thinking In SystemsLife isn't so simple, most everything has nuance, and it takes more than you think to make changes or corrections.
The Art and Craft of Feature WritingIncredibly useful on writing feature-length articles, with full example pieces. Rooted in newspaper journalism, so consider how it applies to other media.
Crush It!A thin volume of opinion & the epitome of 'Hustle Porn'. Also reasonably outdated and likely ineffective tactics by now.
PonzinomicsA thorough history of the MLM phenomenon that pulls no punches about how immoral, fraudulent and cult-like they are. Repetitive in parts, but worth it.
The PR MasterclassA straightforward guide to traditional press and media PR. Biased towards a British print media perspective, but provides solid generic advice nonetheless.
Building a StorybrandA helpful and straightforward system for building a compelling 'story' as the basis for framing your brand. Helpful with regard to website content especially.
Promise LandA critical, insightful and often very funny look at the world of self-help. Worth reading if you've ever wondered why you own so many self-help books.
Obviously AwesomeA coherent, straightforward guide to product positioning. No filler, useful stories, and first-principles thinking rather than a rigid system or steps.
The Four AgreementsThe agreements themselves are sound and the philosophy is a useful life model, but it's spoiled by generalisations and new-age drivel. Wisdom buried in waffle.
With the Old BreedGruelling because of the horror of the Pacific theatre, compelling because of Sledge's fine prose. One of the two memoirs HBO's The Pacific is based on.
The Elements of Style (Illustrated)Useful, straightforward rules for writing well. Some conventions skew North American and of their time. Won't transform you overnight, but it helps.
SHAMUseful criticism of the self-help industry. Starts with an interesting assessment but goes off the rails — the second half is opinion over substance.
Health, Wealth, and HappinessA history of the New Thought Movement and how it led to the start of the Prosperity Gospel. Beyond that, it was not so interesting.
The Psychology of MoneyIn the 'I wish I'd read this 20 years ago' ranks. Rather than bland money tactics, Housel uncovers the unusual psychology driving our financial behaviour.
Band of BrothersThe story of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, whose story through WW2 is incredibly compelling.
Don't Make Me ThinkA practical, well-written introduction to web usability and testing. Some elements feel dated, but the core concepts remain just as valid today.
The Cathedral and the BazaarEssays on the history of computing, hacking, and why open source is revelatory. Interesting insight the layman rarely sees, though dense with jargon at times.
Everybody WritesAn excellent introduction, but if you already know the world of content publishing — especially with other books on the topic read — it may be too light.
What Is Life?A wonderful introduction to biology written by one of the most qualified biologists around today. Brief, beautiful and optimistic.
Never Split the DifferenceNegotiation techniques that work in the real world, not the classroom. Also thrilling — chapters open with compelling hostage negotiations Voss was part of.
How to Become a RainmakerOld-fashioned, cheesy sales advice that reads like Glengarry Glen Ross. Still a good reminder of what sales is really about and what salespeople should do.
Tao Te ChingI might have read this book, but I haven't really read the Tao. You can't; the Tao that is called Tao is not the Tao.
The GoalWritten like a thriller, but about manufacturing. Sounds bananas, but it's surprisingly effective at explaining Lean principles via the Socratic method.
Zen Mind, Beginner's MindAll the time I spent reading and taking notes would probably have been better spent simply sitting in zazen. But here we are nonetheless.
Content Strategy for the WebA straightforward guide to building content strategies. Pitched at the person in a business rather than the broader spectrum of content creators.
Content DesignShort, sweet and endlessly valuable. Written by the woman who transformed gov.uk from a messy tangle of websites into a resource millions rely on.
The Right StuffThe story of the seven Mercury astronauts, the first Americans in space. It's hard to describe how good this book is without you reading the whole thing.
IkigaiAn underwhelming survey. The concept of Ikigai can be found in a succinct diagram on the back of the hardback, mostly voiding the point of the book.
The Tyranny of MeritMade me reconsider assumptions I've carried my entire adult life, while reframing how I think about the last decade — Trump and Brexit in particular.
The Art of Startup FundraisingFor a layman like me, this was a helpful ready reckoner covering the ins and outs of how startups work from a financial point of view.
ObliquityProbably had more value as the FT article it started as. I quit with 25% left — the same point repeated endlessly. Worth the first few chapters only.
Finite and Infinite GamesA philosophical out-of-body experience that will subvert the way you understand the world. Remarkably dense and abstract — go slow. Tapers off at the end.
The Lessons of HistoryExtraordinarily enlightening for such a compact volume. A broad survey of history through government, war, religion and economics. Astonishing in its brevity.
The Tao of PoohExplains Taoism through the lens of Winnie the Pooh — who is, according to Hoff, a Taoist. I think he's right. A wonderful warm-up to the Tao Te Ching.
The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinA portrait of a fascinating life well-lived, and it's comforting to know that 'life hacks' are not just the preserve of the internet age.
Show Your Work!Worth reading by anyone with an interest in doing creative work, especially online. An instruction manual presented in an approachable, relatable way.
Atomic HabitsBoring and repetitive. It feels like it should be practical and useful, but it isn't. Trite productivity advice trotted out as wisdom.
On Writing WellZinsser lays down the law. A reassuring starting point for the fundamentals of writing quality non-fiction, even if the finer points are debatable.
Consider the LobsterArticles, essays, speeches and miscellany by the singular David Foster Wallace. A collection suffused with deep sadness and humour at the same time.
SiddharthaAn exploration of life's meaning through a boy who becomes a man and reaches enlightenment. Told as dialogues with those who pass through his life.
Man's Search For MeaningPart autobiography, part philosophy, part psychology, part prayer — an incredibly human exploration of how meaning and salvation can be found in suffering.
The Effective ExecutiveDated but contains some of the best writing on productivity, time management and decision-making I've come across. Can be dry in places.
This is WaterOn the ethics of how we choose to think and what that means for our daily lives. Originally delivered as a commencement address at Kenyon College.
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!Dated and clearly a misogynist, yet a brilliant collection of anecdotes showing an extraordinary mind — unafraid of opinion, obsessed with scientific truth.
A Technique For Producing IdeasThere is a replicable process for coming up with ideas. A brief, 80-year-old volume that enjoys a special place in the history of writing about ideas.
The War of ArtA resounding rallying cry. Names the enemy of creative work — 'The Resistance' — and shows how to defeat it. Pick it up in the morning, done by the afternoon.
Born Standing UpA fascinating insight into Steve Martin's early career, with lessons on the creative process, originality, and consistently working at your craft.
Anything You WantA short, powerful read from one of the web's original entrepreneurs about how to do business. An enormous amount of insight in a tiny volume.
Where Good Ideas Come FromAn eye-opening exploration of how ideas form and innovation actually works. Busts a lot of myths and misconceptions along the way. Strong recommend.
How to Take Smart NotesThe number one book I wish I'd read before university. A plain-English system for managing your own thoughts and ideas. Changed how I think about learning.
All Marketers Are LiarsOne of my favourite marketing authors explains the realities of brand-driven marketing in the 21st century. Repetitive but mercifully short.