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Kerry Wang

Reading List

In Progress

Books

  • How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie

    I don’t think I’m all that great in social contexts, and thus am looking to improve. Getting better at remembering people’s names is a tip that I really want to get better at.

Audiobooks

Completed

Books

  • Atomic Habits by James Clear

    An excellent book to read! My biggest takeaway is that forming habits is all about consistency. Follow the author’s rule to never skip a habit two days in a row. To build off of that, realize that even doing a “fraction” of a habit is still worthwhile.

    Just last night, I was finishing up Bad Blood and ended up only sleeping for ~5 hours. I snoozed my alarm 6 times (10 min each), from 6:20am till 7:20am. Now, I didn’t go to the gym the day before, but didn’t want to break this rule. So I still ended up going to the gym. Was only there for 23 minutes (did a set of squats and a set of pull ups), before running out of time. But nonetheless, I feel great today!

  • Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

    This is a book about the Silicon Valley bio-tech start-up Theranos did a lot of deceit. Eventually leading to the key executives being imprisoned for fraud.

    There a series of questions that resonated with me, relating to investing in a company (Chapter 23: Damage Control, page 273-274)

    • Why was the founder so secretive about her technology?
    • Why did the founder never recruit a board member with even basic knowledge of their field?
    • Why hadn’t a single venture capital firm with expertise in their field put money into the company?

    I think there was a lack of due diligence involved. Holmes was able to convince reputable people with her charm. Those reputable people provided reputability for the company for other reputable people. The cycle continued so far that even the vice president of USA gave a shout-out to Theranos. For it to all come crumpling down within a year.

  • The Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z by David & Susan Schwartz

    A super cool, coffee-table-worthy book. I’m a big fan of logistics, and understanding everything Costco does to make their business model work is fascinating. Great history lesson at the beginning.

  • Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen

    An in-depth look at protocol and decision-making in the event of nuclear war — covers succession, responsibilities, and contingency planning.

  • How to Travel the World for Free by Michael Wigge

    Documents a man travelling from Europe through the Americas to Antarctica. Full of unique travel methods and ways to make money!

Audiobooks

  • The Body by Bill Bryson

    It’s a fascinating tour through how the human body works, with the kind of entertaining explanations Bill Bryson is known for.

  • Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

    Cool take on how hospitality can affect people outside the industry — lessons about how we treat people in general. Really interesting restaurant stories, too.

  • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson