July Books: The Power of Habit, Beta China

This month was RSS/bookmark catch-up, so I only finished 2 books. Here’s my Evernote which shows my non-book readings.

Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg [Amazon]

One of my 2013 favorites. Here’s a 1-page cheatsheet.

Researchers have learned that cues can be almost anything, from a visual trigger such as a candy bar or a television commercial to a certain place, a time of day, an emotion, a sequence of thoughts, or the company of particular people. Routines can be incredibly complex or fantastically simple (some habits, such as those related to emotions, are measured in milliseconds). Rewards can range from food or drugs that cause physical sensations, to emotional payoffs, such as the feelings of pride that accompany praise or self-congratulation.

Beta China by Hamish McKenzie [Amazon]

I consistently enjoy Hamish’s PandoDaily posts: strong research, crisp syntax, and a clear point-of-view. Here’s a great example. This “special report” – unfortunately – misses his usual mark, but given the tough subject matter (for example, it’s an opaque business environment, and entrepreneurs speak limited English), and the low price ($1.99), I’d rate it a “buy”.

Until recently, their [big tech cos like Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Sina] preference was to raid the best talent from startups, copy the most successful products, and move on. They already controlled most of the distribution channels and could quickly push their own versions of products out to their existing user bases, which number in the hundreds of millions.

Here are previous months.

What have you read and loved? Please share! Thanks folks.