What’s the hardest part of reading? More often than not, it’s picking a good book. “L’embarras du choix,” as we say in French: Presented with infinite options, it becomes very hard to make a decision. That’s why recommendations are so helpful.
And who’s best placed to recommend books than people who, you know, write books? With this in mind, TechCrunch+ contacted a handful of authors whose work is closely tied to tech and startups. We asked them a simple question: “What book have you read this summer that you think others might enjoy?”
We heard back from:
- Adam DuVander, author of “Technical Content Strategy Decoded”
- Phil Rosen, author of “Life Between Moments: New York Stories”
- Adi Polak, author of “Scaling Machine Learning with Spark: Distributed ML with MLlib, TensorFlow, and PyTorch”
- Andrew Lee Miller, author of “The Startup Growth Book: 50+ Proven Ways to Scale Your Business Without a Marketing Budget”
- David Kadavy, author of “Mind Management, Not Time Management: Productivity When Creativity Matters”
- Sarah E. Brown, author of “Lead Upwards: How Startup Joiners Can Impact New Ventures, Build Amazing Careers, and Inspire Great Teams”
- Zeke Faux, author of “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall”
- David Spinks, author of “The Business of Belonging: How to Make Community Your Competitive Advantage”
- Purna Virji, author of “High-Impact Content Marketing: Strategies to Make Your Content Intentional, Engaging and Effective”
From fiction to practical guides, from very recent books to a century-old one, here are their picks.
The responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Adam DuVander
After a recent book explaining why generic marketing approaches don’t work on software developers, developer marketer Adam DuVander is now back with “Technical Content Strategy Decoded,” a more actionable follow-on explaining what companies should and shouldn’t do.
Book recommendation: “The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles,” by Steven Pressfield
I re-read “The War of Art” this summer. Again. I return to this book because it describes the life of anyone creating anything — and that is most of us. Our greatest obstacle is not ourselves. Pressfield gives us a scapegoat in resistance and a game plan to transcend its grasp.
Phil Rosen
Phil Rosen is a journalist and the author of two books, “Everywhere but Home: Life Overseas as Told by a Travel Blogger” and “Life Between Moments: New York Stories,” a collection of 12 short stories about the Big Apple.
Book recommendation: “Forever: A Novel,” by Pete Hamill
This is a brilliant novel about an immigrant from Ireland who arrives to New York in the 1700s, and is quickly granted immortality under one condition: He can never leave Manhattan.
It’s a beautiful, tragic story that’s effectively a history of Manhattan through one man’s eyes, and it’s similar to “Forrest Gump” in that he’s always in the right place at the right time through historical events.
Adi Polak
Data and AI/ML expert Adi Polak authored O’Reilly book “Scaling Machine Learning with Spark: Distributed ML with MLlib, TensorFlow, and PyTorch,” a practical guide targeted at AI and ML practitioners.
Book recommendation: “Fundamentals of Data Observability,” by Andy Petrella
Throughout the years and collaboration with O’Reilly, I had the honor of reviewing many books. Andy’s book, “Fundamentals of Data Observability,” is a special one. It captures wisdom and experience beyond traditional tech books. It suggests new frameworks and systems designs that better match the future we are stepping into with AI and analytics. Data observability is crucial for all data-driven systems: BI, analytics and AI.
Andrew Lee Miller
“The Startup Growth Book: 50+ Proven Ways to Scale Your Business Without a Marketing Budget” is Andrew Lee Miller’s first book. It focuses on know-how that can help companies grow organically.
Book recommendation: “Bigger Than This: How to Turn Any Venture into an Admired Brand,” by Fabian Geyrhalter
I love this book and Fabian’s work in general because it’s the opposite of what I teach, and more focused on taking an already scaling company and teaching them how to become a beloved brand. I focus my book on how to get your first bit of traction, but once you do, then what? This book takes off right where my book, “The Startup Growth Book,” leaves off and helps already scaling founders create meaningful brands.
David Kadavy
Humans are not machines; and yet, too many productivity books focus solely on time management. As its title suggests, that’s not the case of David Kadavy’s latest book, “Mind Management, Not Time Management: Productivity When Creativity Matters.”
Book recommendation: “Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long,” by David Rock
“Your Brain at Work” is written by a neuroscientist who uses compelling stories and simple language to explain how various parts of the brain work together when we concentrate, learn, and make decisions — and why sometimes we instead feel stressed, anxious or distracted.
For example, the author explains that almost all our conscious thoughts consist of five functions: understanding, deciding, recalling, memorizing and inhibiting.
This was a life-changing book for me. So much so that I built upon the concepts in this book when writing my latest book.
Sarah E. Brown
B2B marketer Sarah E. Brown is the author of two career advice books for people who work at startups: “Power to the Startup People: How to Grow Your Startup Career When You’re Not The Founder” and “Lead Upwards: How Startup Joiners Can Impact New Ventures, Build Amazing Careers, and Inspire Great Teams.”
Book recommendation: “The Self-Care Mindset: Rethinking How We Change and Grow, Harness Well-Being, and Reclaim Work-Life Quality,” by Jeanette Bronée
“The Self-Care Mindset” unveils a groundbreaking perspective on self-care amidst the evolving dynamics of our transformed world and work environment. In the face of unprecedented change, Bronée challenges the conventional notions of self-care, transcending the perception of it as a mere checklist of solitary activities. Instead, she introduces a revolutionary mindset that not only empowers individuals to achieve peak performance and growth, but also encourages the nurturing of one’s well-being without compromising health and joy.
Bronée’s expertise shines as she offers actionable insights that reshape our understanding of self-care at work. With an all-encompassing approach, she equips readers with the essential tools to safeguard their humanity — the ultimate resource — in the demanding landscape of modern professions. By mastering stress management, breaking free from survival mode, and skillfully navigating fear, uncertainty and doubt, readers are empowered to embrace change, regain control and reconnect with their passions.
Through proven frameworks such as “Power Pausing,” the “C.A.R.E. Framework” and “AAA,” Bronée guides readers toward a future where the conventional work-life balance is transformed into a profound work-life quality. Fostering a culture of inclusion, well-being, and care, “The Self-Care Mindset” foresees a harmonious era where peak performance and collaboration thrive, making it an indispensable guide for individuals striving to balance success, fulfillment and happiness within their professional lives.
Zeke Faux
In “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall,” investigative reporter Zeke Faux chronicles the ascent and demise of Sam Bankman-Fried and his pals — and the global ramifications of what he dubs “the crypto delusion.”
Book recommendation: “Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy,” by Kit Chellel and Matthew Campbell
I love adventurous nonfiction and this thrilling true story of piracy and hijacking and an unsolved murder fits the bill. By two of the best writers at Bloomberg Businessweek, it’s about an attack on an oil tanker called Brillante Virtuoso. But it’s really an exploration of the criminal underbelly of the shipping industry and the maritime insurance market.
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on abroad those giant ships that criss-cross the ocean supplying global trade, this is the book for you. It’s also just an amazingly fun read. If you enjoyed David Grann’s “The Wager,” this would be a great next one to pick up.
David Spinks
Author and community consultant David Spinks is the founder of CMX, a network of community professionals acquired in 2019 by Bevy, which now runs its annual CMX Summit. As for Spinks, he now pens his own Substack newsletter and wrote a book: “The Business of Belonging: How to Make Community Your Competitive Advantage.”
Book recommendation: “Project Hail Mary: A Novel,” by Andy Weir
This book is science fiction, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. The captivating story is filled with science and math in the most fun and entertaining way. After reading it, I wanted to pick up every book by Weir.
Purna Virji
Content strategist and keynote speaker Purna Virji recently published her first book: “High-Impact Content Marketing: Strategies to Make Your Content Intentional, Engaging and Effective,” featuring frameworks and examples to follow.
Book recommendation: “Scientific Advertising,” by Claude C. Hopkins
Incredulous as it might seem to recommend on TechCrunch+, the book I reread this summer was published 100 years ago. Yup. It’s an entire century old. Before you scroll past in horror, here’s why you’ll enjoy it, too, especially if you work in marketing or advertising. Creators are empowered in ways we couldn’t have fathomed five years ago. What will things look like five years from now? We’d hardly have answered that correctly five years ago, let alone now with today’s rapidly increasing rate of change. To future-proof your efforts, bet on what won’t change. The key to success is the most timeless element of marketing: human behavior.
That’s why I regularly reread Claude Hopkins’ “Scientific Advertising,” first published in 1923. It’s long been a cult classic for its exploration of human behavior. David Ogilvy even said, “Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It changed the course of my life.” As Hopkins writes in the book, “Human nature is perpetual. In most respects it is the same today as in the time of Caesar. So the principles of psychology are fixed and enduring.”
Times change, people don’t. How we communicate may have changed, but we still think the same as we did a century ago. Take for example the power of the element of surprise. We might think people are jaded, ad-blind and simply unsurprisable, but that’s not true. They’re just bored of the same old stuff. We can still surprise and delight. However, what many people don’t realize is that surprise can supercharge other emotions, too.
A word of warning: It can turbocharge both positive and negative emotions. Remember back when people were outraged when Netflix suddenly announced they were raising prices? That was not a good surprise, so it caused a mild annoyance-level change to be seen as outrageous. But if used carefully, surprise is a powerful weapon to enhance positive sentiment and drive people to take action.
Understanding human behavior is a superpower for marketers, especially in this age of AI. While AI is all about making us more effective, what makes us human will always be in demand. When the barriers to entry are lowered and everyone uses the same tools in similar ways, it takes being human to stand out. The future is far more human than we realize.