What's Bill Gates Reading?

[farnamstreet]

He has some pretty interesting energy book recommendations that seem useful to investors. Another book he liked was Physics for Future Presidents? Has anyone read that?

 

http://goo.gl/WRzD7

[biaggio]

Farnham, I check your blog regularly.

 

The breadth + depth of stuff you write (and read about) is quite impressive.

 

How many hours a day do you spend reading?

 

Have you ever taken any speed reading courses ?

 

 

[jjsto]

I hadnt looked at your blog in a while and I randomly came across the list earlier today while sorting my bookmarks.  It convinced me to buy the Roubini book (which I had been on the fence about) and the Physics for Future Presidents books. I just started the Physics book, and so far so good...Where did you get this list from?

[farnamstreet]

@biaggio -- Thanks for the compliment. Rather than try to spend as much time as I can reading, I really just try to avoid things that take up time with little benefit to me. That leaves a lot more time than you might think. I don't have cable. I don't spend a lot of time talking on the phone. I don't spend a lot of time commuting.

 

I also try to take Munger's advice.

 

At the morning with Charlie, a questioner asked for Charlie's ideas on "ideas of self improvement," saying "in a meeting a few years ago, you mentioned that when you were younger you sold the best hour of the day to yourself." I thought Mungers response, which he's said many times, is worth considering. I'll quote the response from the transcript.

 

Munger: Yea, I did.

 

Questioner: Would you define that and flesh it out....

 

Munger: Well I'd come into my office in the morning and I'd stay that was a very good hour for me—the early morning hour. And I'd said well my most important task is improving myself so I'll use that hour for myself and whatever self-improvement I was engaged in and the rest of the day I sold to clients. I'm not saying that is the correct answer for everybody but that's what I did. Most people would not admit it if they did it. Particularly to clients.

 

 

@jjsto -- You can almost always find a source reference at the bottom of my posts. Exceptions are made when I write the entire post myself or I forget.

[netnet]

I enjoyed Physics for Future Presidents, the (non-text) book.  The book is based on the text from a U.C. Berkeley Physics course.  The course is online at iTunes U, Muller Physics 10.  I have not read the textbook of the same title that is the course reader, and is more expensive and has twice the material.

 

For a general physics book, I enjoyed Thinking Physics, rather than Physics for Dummies.

 

Farnam,  man I love your site.  I read it an least three or four times a week.