Business of Life




  

    
      
John Klein

    

    

      
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POSTED: Mon, 02/22/2010 - 19:34

            
Reading

      
 
We all know that Warren and Charlie spend a large portion of their day reading. I think we should talk about here about what they like to read. Not just in business, but what they read outside of business as well (although as I understand it, Warren almost solely focuses on business related books). 


For the business ones, can you give us a quick run down of what they read?


For the non-business ones, what genres do they like? 


Also, I am really curious on the speed that they read, even though I know you probably won't be able to tell us  precise words per minute. I know Bill Gates, and probably Charlie, read insanely fast, probably over 1,000 wpm. I am just curious if Warren is like this, or if he has to try cut corners slightly, being an efficient reader instead (that is, not reading everything, just scanning for important things). 


Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

    

    

  

  

    
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handworn

    

    

      
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POSTED: Sun, 07/11/2010 - 12:54 — handworn

            
People here might enjoy "The

      
 
People here might enjoy "The Right Nation" by Micklethwait and Wooldridge (two writers or former writers for The Economist magazine).  A biography/history book I've been recommending for years is William Lee Miller's "Arguing About Slavery."  A multi-reader to me, both of them.

         

    

    

  





  

    
      
Looking 4 Wet Hills

    

    

      
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POSTED: Thu, 06/10/2010 - 11:20 — Looking 4 Wet Hills

            
Re: Reading

      
 
I agree this is a brilliant idea for a thread. I was excited when I first saw it listed off to the side, but disappointed to see nobody has posted since your last reply, Alice.


I have read through all of Malcolm Gladwell books recently. I believe they are all worth reading, however I was particularly impressed with "Outliers" and also certain chapters of "What the Dog Saw."


In any case, I would be happy to join this thread from time to time if it becomes more active. I hope others will view it and add their input. 


Good books can be golden in more ways than one.

         

    

    

  





  

    
      
John Klein

    

    

      
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POSTED: Tue, 04/06/2010 - 20:50 — John Klein

            
Yeah I was surprised as you

      
 
Yeah I was surprised as you said when he recently said something about reading Ricardo, Smith, Keynes, etc. At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if he actually read these things in the office, since I don't think he makes any distinction between the office and his home; he works everywhere. Its funny to me to think about this though. Imagine walking into Jamie Dimon's office and seeing him reading The General Theory or The Wealth of Nations.


On a similar note, Alice, can you tell us about the books that Buffett keeps in his office? In this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNY9WrfAbYk


He walks into his office at 2:02 and there are a bunch of books everywhere, and several on his desk. I imagine some of them are reference books, like books full of economic statistics going back years and years (he always seems to know these, so I assume he has a book like this). I also can make out the World Book Encyclopedia in the shelf above his desk. Can you shed some light on some of the others?

         

    

    

  





  

    
      
aliceschroeder

    

    

      
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POSTED: Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:00 — aliceschroeder

            
reading

      
 
this is a great idea for a thread. i think we should turn it into the book recommendation thread as well because people like to make book recommendations.


Charlie reads popular science, biographies and social science books as well as some classics. He is less fond of biographies of contemporary figures than the "eminent dead" as he puts it. He also stays up to date on politics. Given a choice, though, Charlie would rather read a biography of Einstein.


Warren reads non business books, contrary to popular belief. He likes biographies - mostly of contemporary figures. He also likes books about politics, economics, media and occasionally sports. 


Getting into things like wpm of reading is a bridge too far. These guys read a lot and they read fast. They also read deeply when something is important as well as feeling free to skim. One lesson from them is to learn to use a book properly by taking what you want from it. People sometimes trudge through books as though they were homework assignments, but it isn't cutting corners to skim a book or set one aside once you have started it. Not all books are worth reading to the end; and some are worth reading several times.