Round up of books read in 2018

Never stop learning.

One way to continually inspire yourself with new ideas is to read. 

I like to always have a book or two that I'm reading (or listening to on Audible).

The following list are the books I read in 2018. Not as many as I would have hoped to have read, but hey, 2019 is a new year. The list is not in any particular order.

The list below does contain links to each of the books on Amazon if you're interested in them. No, they are not affiliate links.

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How to Make It in the New Music Business by Ari Herstand
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As a working musician myself, among other things, this book is a must-have manual full of useful, actionable, practical advice for the DIY musician trying to earn income from their craft in this day and age.

It's a thick book coming in at 400+ pages, but it's a keep-on-the-shelf resource for whenever you need a quick reference on a music business topic...at least until the music industry undergoes further transformation, but I am willing to bet money Ari will be on top of any such changes with a new edition.
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If you're a musician trying to make any income from your musical efforts, buy this book and save yourself a lot of time and headaches on trial and error of what can work.

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12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
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This was a great life philosophy book that made you think from multiple vantage points on any given topic related to beliefs, values, and morality. What I liked is that it wasn't preachy, at least in my opinion, but rather a series of logical arguments for and against particular topics that questioned the human condition, spirituality and sociology packed with insights from personal experiences outlined by the author/professor.
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If you're into human psychology you may enjoy this book. I will warn that it gets a bit heady at times, but it worth wading through.

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Buddhist Boot Camp by Timber Hawkeye
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This is a great little read. Especially, if you're drawn to the Buddhist ideals of being in the moment and re-framing many of life's frustrating situations into something more calm and positive.
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This book is a collection of Timber Hawkeye's blog posts. They are each pretty short but contain a distinct message that if consumed and internalized can provoke useful aha moments of clarity that can transform you, even if only a little, into a better person than before you read the book.

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Interning 101 by Emily White

I had the good fortune of meeting author, and successful music business woman, Emily White, at the Between the Waves music conference held in the summer in Madison, WI. Emily was a speaker at the conference, and a very good one at that.

While her talk at the conference was more about her knowledge and work in the modern day music business as the co-owner of Whitesmith Entertainment, she authored a book bringing attention to the importance of, and springboard effect, internships can have on a young professional's (or perhaps not so young professional's) up and coming career in music or any field.
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While I'm no longer an intern myself, it reminded me of the importance of my own internships, and beyond that, the book's information is just plain useful for anyone working in a modern business. It's essentially a strategy book about how to be a professional in any industry.

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The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
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I had read another Charles Duhigg book, Smarter, Faster, Better, and was impressed with his storytelling coupled with research and scientific fact, so this Power of Habit book, which I believe was actually published prior to Smarter, Faster, Better, was on my "to read" list.

What I really enjoyed about this book was that Duhigg outlines, through storytelling and research, why habits are so powerful and hard to create and/or break. The idea though, is that if you understand the elements and mechanics of habits you can create positive habits and/or break negative ones, and habits are useful because, once set, they take less brain power to execute. That can free you up from having to actively think about what you're doing.
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Then the book proceeds to showcase a variety of ways habits are used in business and other applications towards positive, and sometimes negative results. The idea is that understanding how to wield the power of habit can be a useful tool for people and businesses. Good read.

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Expert Secrets by Russel Brunson 
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On this list of books, I have to say, this was my least favorite. It's really all about how to build an expert business related to anything you're interested in and can become an expert in.

There is a lot of useful practical advice that would be very applicable to anyone choosing to become an expert in a subject as their business model, and this book shows how you don't have to spend years being an "expert" in something to run a business as an expert. 
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It's a book about business, and psychological hacks for the expert-style business model. 
What I really didn't like about it was that on the whole, when I read it, the book felt like one giant advertisement for Click Funnels -- the online business funnel marketing application that the author created and sells.

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Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk 
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It's Gary Vaynerchuk, so to me, it's worth reading. Gary Vaynerchuk is the big bravado entrepreneur who built his family's wine business to multiple-millions of dollars from essentially nothing using YouTube videos and commanding industry influence, which later resulted in his understanding of how to repeat that internet influence in other industries. Now he runs VaynerMedia, an influence marketing agency for many big brands. 

While GaryVee (as he's known online) swears a lot and makes bold, in your face statements, he's put in the time and has the business experience to back up what he says and his business predictions are correct more than they're not. 

Crushing It, is a look at individuals who have found something they're interested in, slowly, but surely built an online presence as an authority on their topic of interest and used the internet to distribute their knowledge and related products/services. 
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Reading the case studies from regular people like you and me and following their transformation into their initial and growing business success is worth the price of the book.

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Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans 
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This is a book that was created by two professors who teach life design classes at Stanford within the design school there.

The book is designed for any individual looking to prototype out several futures for their life and career to help hone in on and save time exploring incorrect or incompatible paths that end in failure and frustrating life situations. 
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This book is great, for anyone and everyone trying to figure out their next move(s) in life/career. The reason it's great for anyone is that if you follow the tools it provides you develop an understanding about how to build prototypes of what your life could be (saving time from actually pursuing each scenario) as you decide which actions to take to move your life and/or career in a direction that you really want it to go. It's empowering and puts the control into your hands by teaching design thinking and prototyping methodologies. I highly recommend it.

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Posted by, Nick Venturella

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