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.

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.

On a recent episode of Talking Billions, Bogumil interviewed Richard Oldfield, who referenced his book Simple But Not Easy a couple of times during the conversation. I enjoyed the episode and, by association, tend to hold Bogumil’s guests in reasonably high regard

Generally, if I come across a book highlighted on the Richer, Wiser, Happier podcast, I can be reasonably confident I’m going to enjoy it. That was certainly the case when I picked up Brad Stulberg’s latest book after hearing him on RWH.

I read The Nvidia Way last year and for a while now, The Thinking Machine by Stephen Witt has been sitting in my Audible recommendations. After a couple of recent below par book selections, I decided to give this one a go.

I didn’t have this on my radar at all, but I’m glad I stumbled across it. Open: An Autobiography came to my attention after David Senra reviewed it on the Founders podcast, stepping outside his usual focus on business owners and entrepreneurs.

I’ve mentioned The Investors Podcast network before when reviewing Richer, Wiser, Happier, and The Intrinsic Value Podcast sits under the same umbrella while maintaining its own dedicated feed.

Among the podcasts I listen to regularly, Talking Billions hosted by Bogumil Baranowski is one of the more recent additions, although it’s been a good few months now since I discovered it. In that time, it’s quickly become one of my favourites.

I first read Extreme Ownership not long after its release just over a decade ago. I can’t recall exactly how I came across Jocko Willink for the first time, though I strongly suspect it was through a guest appearance on a podcast.

I recently listened to The Joys of Compounding: The Passionate Pursuit of Lifelong Learning by Gautam Baid following the audiobook release mid last year. It’s a wonderful book that I can’t recommend highly enough, both to investors and generalists alike.

Dave Itzkoff’s biography of Robin Williams. It’s a strange thing to read about someone you feel like you know a lot about only to realise how little you actually understood. The book revisits films I’d forgotten Williams was in, along with others I didn’t even realise were part of his catalogue.