Back to the bookshelf

Typographic jacket · original cover not fetched

FROM THE SHARED SHELF · 2006–2026 SAMPLE

Losing My Virginity

Richard Branson

7 readers recommend it across 7 discussions

Topics are model-inferred labels.

Keep it on your reading list

THE WORD OF MOUTH

What made it worth passing on?

Original Hacker News comments, in the readers’ own words.

rayalez
Here's my usual list of recommendations, the best books I've read in the past 5 years. Fiction: - Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality If you know nothing about this book you might naturally hesitate to read "Harry Potter fanfiction" and assume that it's dumb/horrbile, but it's not. Just suspend your disbelief and read the first 5-10 chapters. Trust me, it's brilliant, hilarious, and life-changing. - Atlas Shrugged Controversial, I know, a lot of people here hate it for some reason, but it was incredibly influential on me, inspired my passion for entrepreneurship and science and philosophy. Still is one of the best books I am aware of. Nonfiction: - Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham Also a collection of his essays that you can find on github. He is one of the most clever writers I am aware of, but I assume you know that, since you're on HN. - "On Intelligence" by Jeff Hawkins This book explains in simple terms a very awesome and elegant theory on how mind works. Incredibly fascinating, I've learned a lot from it and it explains a lot of things, and will change the way you think about thinking process. - The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins…
timmm
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho. King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Moore and Gillette The lean startup Paul Graham how to start a startup Mark Hyman Ultimate Mind Solution Tribal Leadership Wheel of Time Think and Grow Rich Superior Man David Deida The Fountain Head Eckhart Tolle New Earth 50th Law Good to Great Jed Mckenna Earl Nightengale Long Walk to Freedom Outliers Good to Great Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz (Self-image) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey(Being awesome) Wealth of Nations Wayne Dyer The Tao System of the World Origin of Species Brave new world Thank you economy Crush it Built to Last Who Moved my Cheese Stillness Speak Eckhert Tolle Mastery George Leonard Steve Jobs Biography The Last Lecture Steve Pavlina Books Iacocca Striking Thoughts Bruce Lee Carlos Castaneda Ghost in the Wires Richest Man in Babylon Way of the Superior Man Losing My Virginity Think and Grow Rich Delivering Happiness
nopassrecover
Some books that stood out this year (many not for their intended reasons) The 4 Hour Work Week (Tim Ferriss) - In parts entertaining, interesting, self-promoting, educational, inspirational, attractive and undesirable. Definitely worth the read and a great call to action. Will make you consider what you want and how you can achieve it. The Game (Neil Strauss) - Truly interesting story and an interesting view on human dynamics and hacking one of the more important systems (dating). A great view on what is most important - ends or means. Will make you consider how people work, what motivates them and whether success cures emptiness. Losing my Virginity (Richard Branson) - The awesome and entertaining story of Virgin with lots of great advice and startup David vs Goliath inspiration. Will make you consider what determination and the little guy can achieve. Business Stripped Bare (Richard Branson) - Branson's more focused take on business advice and patches on bits of the Virgin story since the first book. Will make you consider the power of being genuine and growing a company with people treated as smart humans. On Writing (Stephen King)…
iterationx
The best selling book is Tony Robbins "Unlimited Power" with like 9 million copies sold, but its also about fitness, so its not as targeted as you might like, although I liked it, but I'm not rich. Another one which I liked was, "Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way" Richard Branson It's how Branson got rich which is pretty interesting.

Also recommended in this reply

colinplamondon
The World is Flat The Post American World Losing My Virginity - Richard Branson's Autobiography Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie The Second Coming of Steve Jobs Inside Steve's Brain The Seven Day Weekend- Book by Ricardo Semler of Semco on company organization and management, Semco essentially operates as a socialist enterprise with election of bosses, profit sharing, open information, flex-time, etc, but with the twist that Ricardo is the majority stock owner. Fascinating book and well-written to boot. Founders at Work should go without saying :)
colinplamondon
The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie- there's an unmistakably personal feel to it, as if Carnegie is sitting right there imparting the lessons and stories of his life to you and you alone. He's an incredible writer and it shines through in every page. Free download link (don't you love the public domain?): http://manybooks.net/titles/carnegiea1797617976-8.html Richard Branson's autobiography, Losing My Virginity, is also a great read even discounting the perfect title- together, Branson and Carnegie really drive home the importance of taking risks and leveraging up at every opportunity.

Also recommended in this reply