I listen regularly to Ben Carlson on the Animal Spirits podcast, and he’s also been making the rounds on several other investing shows recently following the release of his new book.

When it comes to podcast hosts whose work I follow consistently, I almost feel an obligation to check out any books they release and support them.

I came across Jeremy Grantham for the first time recently on an episode of the Excess Returns podcast. Having enjoyed the interview and realising that his book The Making of a Permabear had already come across my radar on Audible recommendations several times I decided to give it a go.

Runnin’ Down a Dream by Bill Gurley is one of those books I find myself slightly torn on, although I think that comes down more to my own preferences than any shortcomings of the book itself.

The core message of the book is about finding work you genuinely love and the success that can come from building a career around it.

On a recent episode of The Compound and Friends, they interviewed Neeraj Khemlani and Matt Ankrum on the topic of identifying 100 bagger stocks. Whilst I wasn’t familiar with either guest beforehand, it made for a fascinating discussion and ultimately led me to pick up The Coffee Can Investor: A Stock Picker’s Journey to Build Generational Wealth.

I was already familiar with Demis Hassabis prior to reading The Infinity Machine, largely through documentaries and podcast appearances. It’s clear from any interview with him that he operates at an incredibly high level of intelligence so I was interested to learn more.

I’ve read a number of books on Warren Buffett over the years, covering both his life and his investment philosophy, particularly during his time at Berkshire Hathaway. Ground Rules may now be one of my favourites amongst them.

I was slightly surprised when listening to a recent The Tim Ferriss Show episode featuring Jim Collins to hear about his new book What to Make of a Life. My association with Collins has always been through books like Good to Great and Great by Choice, which are firmly rooted in the world of business.

Considering it was first published in 1732 and consists entirely of one line aphorisms and short reflections; Poor Richard’s Almanac contains wit and wisdom that remains remarkably relevant to this day.

University of Berkshire Hathaway carries the subtitle 30+ Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting. It could just as easily have been titled 30+ Years of Common Sense Lessons in Successful Investing.

I came across The Book of Elon when it was covered on a recent episode of Founders and then again on The Acquirers Podcast where Eric Jorgenson was interviewed. It was the latter of the two that persuaded me to give it a go.

The Unspeakable Level by Christopher Mayer was a rather unexpected find.

My previous experience of Mayer came through his book 100 Baggers, and based on that I had, incorrectly as it turns out, placed him firmly in the world of general or value investing.

Talking Billions continues to be a strong source of new book recommendations based on recent interviewees. This time it led me to Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.

After my recent review of The Contrarian, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir and the Rise of the Surveillance State. I went into it wondering whether it would follow a similar vein on political leaning bias in its portrayal or present a more balanced view.

It’s getting a bit difficult to break out of the Audible algorithm at the moment. Even though I’ve been branching out across different categories, whenever I come across new books through podcasts the recommendations still tend to pull me back towards investing.

I decided to give Pathfinders by JL Collins a go.

Periodically I re read Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, yet until recently I’d never ventured into any of his other books. I’m not entirely sure why, given the value I seem to take from Man’s Search every time I revisit it. Regardless, I’m glad I broke the pattern when I picked up Embracing Hope during a recent visit to the local bookstore.

As any avid reader will know, there are periods where it becomes surprisingly difficult to find something new worth reading.

I’d been in one of those stretches recently when I came across an interview with Vitaliy Katsenelson on the Excess Returns podcast.

I have to confess I had little to no knowledge of John Malone before diving into Born to Be Wired. The book came up during a recent episode of We Study Billionaires, which explored Malone’s approach to deal making and valuation structuring.

It’s not unusual for me to pick up recommended titles without digging too deeply into the synopsis. When I came across The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power, I assumed it would be a fairly straightforward biography of Peter Thiel.

I can’t even recall what originally prompted me to buy The Richest Man in Babylon, although I suspect I heard it referenced either in an investing book or on one of the many recommended reading lists I’ve come across over the years.

I became familiar with Robert Hagstrom a good few years ago now, taking a particular liking to his books The Warren Buffett Way and Investing: The Last Liberal Art. Recently, through the The 100 Year Thinkers podcast, I’ve become reacquainted with him so to speak, as part of the monthly show he participates in with Bogumil Baranowski and Matt Ziegler.