BookThinkers Newsletter #7 - When You Can Tell the Book Without Seeing the Cover
Published about 1 month ago • 2 min read
BookThinkers Newsletter #7
This Week at BookThinkers
Some weeks it's the small moments that say the most. This one started with a photo of some very worn-out books — and turned into a conversation worth having.
Here's what's going on:
⭐ Instagram Highlight - The Books You Know With Just A Glance
Nick posted a photo of the three most beat-up books on his shelf:
The Daily Stoic — Ryan Holiday
Rich Dad Poor Dad — Robert Kiyosaki
The 4-Hour Workweek — Tim Ferriss
Then something interesting happened. Someone commented that they could tell which books they were just from the edges of the cover — not the spine, not the title. Just the wear pattern on the pages.
That's what real reading looks like. Not a pristine shelf that signals taste, but a book that's been opened so many times it starts to hold the shape of your hands.
Live Author Readings — John David Mann | May 19 at 7 PM EST
Next Monday night, John David Mann joins us for a live reading — and this one is worth clearing your calendar for.
John is the co-author of The Go-Giver, one of the most beloved business parables ever written, with over a million copies sold and translations in 38 languages. The term "go-giver" has become its own movement — the idea that shifting your focus from getting to giving is not just a moral choice but a strategic one. Adam Grant, Daniel Pink, Marie Forleo, and Dave Ramsey have all sung its praises.
John is a 4x New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Hearing him read live is a genuinely different experience from reading the page.
Nick posted three logo options on 99designs this week for Live Author Readings and opened it up to the community — and the response has been great. The vote is still open if you want to weigh in. This is the kind of thing that takes 14 seconds and actually shapes something real.
Podcast Flashback — Ep. 246: Ryan Leak | How to Work with Complicated People
Ryan Leak is a New York Times bestselling author, executive coach, and speaker who delivers over 100 keynote talks a year to Fortune 100 companies and pro sports teams. His newest book tackles something every author, leader, and human being runs into eventually: the people around you who make things hard.
His core finding from a national research study might surprise you — job satisfaction has less to do with what you do and more to do with who you do it with. You can push through a tough job with people you enjoy. Even a dream situation can turn difficult with the wrong team.
A practical, honest conversation worth your commute.
The beat-up book post got more engagement than almost anything this week and I think I know why.
There's something honest about a worn-out book. It doesn't perform. It doesn't sit on a shelf looking impressive. It just shows up, over and over, doing the work.
That's the kind of reader I want to be. That's the kind of person I want to be.
If you've got a book that looks like it's been through something, it probably has. And so have you.
