JMRD Watson's Summer Reading List
We hope that you will enjoy the 5th edition of JMRD’s summer reading guide. It has been a fast paced 2020 with barely a moment’s rest, and we thought this would be a timely list to help supplement your reading list. We hope you will find something interesting from the wide variety of books the team is currently enjoying. If you have some great recommendations to share, we would love hearing about your favorite authors and books!
Jaden has been enjoying: A Spy Among Friends, Ben Macintyre's thrillingly ambitious new book, tackles the greatest spy story of all: the rise and fall of Kim Philby, MI6's Cambridge-bred golden boy who used his perch high in the intelligence world to betray friend and country to the Soviet Union for over two decades.
This remarkable story, told with heart-pounding suspense and keen psychological insight, and based on personal papers and never-before-seen British intelligence files, is Ben Macintyre's best book yet, and a high-water mark in Cold War history telling.
Adam, like a lot of you is missing sports right now. To get his fix, he has been reading Endzone, John u. Bacon. This Version includes an all-new, 57-page Afterword covering Michigan's triumphant 2015 season, and never-dull 2016 off-season. Informed by exclusive, in-depth interviews with Jake Rudock, Blake O'Neill, Jake Butt, Jim and Sarah Harbaugh and his parents, the Afterword addresses the players' initial shock at Harbaugh's long practices, their renewed confidence, and the story behind the stunning finish to the Michigan State game, the Wolverines' comebacks against Minnesota and Indiana, and their Citrus Bowl victory over Florida. It also goes a long way to answering the question on everyone's mind: How long will Harbaugh stay in Ann Arbor?
Paul highly recommends: The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger. This story of the leadership over the past 20 or so years of Disney. Robert Iger, spends a lot of time on the major risks and challenges they went through which is very interesting considering they are dealing with maybe their biggest ever challenge currently with COVID 19 changing their business.
After watching the great Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance”, Paul really found the leadership and coaching style of Phil Jackson fascinating. He just finished 11 Rings, Phil Jackson. It and it really is amazing how he was able to manage such different personalities into Teams winning multiple consecutive NBA championships and doing it more than once.
Sarah Enjoyed: Girl, Wash Your Face : Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be. Do you ever suspect that everyone else has life figured out and you don't have a clue? If so, Rachel Hollis has something to tell you: that's a lie . As the founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Rachel Hollis developed an immense online community by sharing tips for better living while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own life. Now, in this challenging and inspiring new book, Rachel exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively, lies we've told ourselves so often we don't even hear them anymore. Sarah enjoyed it so much, she is going to read it again.
Zach always finds some interesting reads, but this one may put you to sleep and that’s a good thing! Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, Matthew Walker. With two appearances on CBS This Morning and Fresh Air's most popular interview of 2017, Matthew Walker has made abundantly clear that sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life. Until very recently, science had no answer to the question of why we sleep, or what good it served, or why we suffer such devastating health consequences when it is absent. Compared to the other basic drives in life—eating, drinking, and reproducing—the purpose of sleep remains more elusive.
Drew is currently studying for his CFA and enjoys reading finance books for fun too! George Soros is unquestionably the most powerful and profitable investor in the world today. Dubbed by BusinessWeek as "The Man Who Moves the Markets," Soros has made a billion dollars going up against the British pound. Now, in The Alchemy of Finance, he shares the investment strategies he uses to read the mind of the market.
Jamie has just started the Century Trilogy’s first book, Fall of Giants, Ken Follett. Fall of Giants is a historical novel published in 2010 by Welsh-born author Ken Follett. It is the first part of the Century Trilogy which follows five interrelated families throughout the course of the 20th century. The first book covers notable events such as World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.[1] The sequel Winter of the World covers World War II and was published on September 18, 2012. The third book, Edge of Eternity, covers the Cold War and was published in 2014.
And Finally: American Dirt, Jeanie Cummins. A favorite read of Reg, Zach and Oprah!
“American Dirt just gutted me, and I didn’t just read this book―I inhabited it….Everything about this book was so extraordinary. It’s suspenseful, the language is beautiful, and the story really opened my heart. I highly recommend it, and you will not want to put it down. It is just a magnificent novel.” ―Oprah
“A heart-pounding, page-turning, can’t-put-it-down, stay-up-till-3 a.m., adrenaline-pumping story…that examines, with sensitivity, care, and complexity of thought, immense, soul-obliterating trauma and its aftermath.” ―Los Angeles Times
Reading not your style? Check out these great podcasts
Animal spirits is a show about financial markets, life, and investing. Join Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson as they talk about what they're reading, writing, listening to and watching. Look for new episodes every Wednesday morning.
This has been a long time favorite of many members of the team.
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Art of Boring was created for curious and passionate investors. We share strategies, frameworks, and insights to help readers and listeners make better investment decisions. Our aim? To provide some bottom-up, long-term investing signal to cut through the short-term noise.
Click here to access the podcasts
Bloomberg Opinion columnist Barry Ritholtz speaks with Jeremy Siegel, who is the Russell E. Palmer professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and senior investment strategy adviser at WisdomTree Asset Management. His book "Stocks for the Long Run: The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns & Long-Term Investment Strategies" was named by The Washington Post as one of the 10 best investment books of all time. He is also the author of "The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New."
Click Here to access the podcast