The books this episode covers
Paul Graham's Essays
Paul Graham · Reading rank 29 · in 11 other episodes
David describes Graham's essays as extremely valuable for founders and worth repeated study.
Dedicated episode · Founder theme · Explicit praise · Reread language
Schlep Blindness
Paul Graham · Reading rank 374 · in 2 other episodes
David says he has read 'Schlep Blindness' a bunch of times.
Founder theme · Reread language
How to Work Hard
Paul Graham · Reading rank 375 · in 1 other episode
David introduces 'How to Work Hard' as another excellent Paul Graham essay before covering it in depth.
Explicit praise · Founder theme
How to Think for Yourself
Paul Graham · Reading rank 386
David calls 'How to Think for Yourself' an excellent essay and closes with its core argument that curiosity should guide your work.
Founder theme · Explicit praise
What I've Learned from Users
Paul Graham · Reading rank 386
David says he absolutely loves this essay summarizing what Paul Graham learned building Y Combinator.
Explicit praise · Founder theme
Books David recommends along the way
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Eric Jorgenson · Reading rank 33 · in 18 other episodes
David finds substantial overlap between Naval Ravikant's 'find work that feels like play' idea and Paul Graham's essays.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
Amazon Unbound
Brad Stone · Reading rank 135 · in 7 other episodes
David uses Bezos's aim-and-shoot language from Amazon Unbound to argue that most reversible decisions should be made quickly.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
How to Do What You Love
Paul Graham · Reading rank 246 · in 4 other episodes
David calls this Paul Graham essay his best on the topic of finding work you love.
Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise
Aliens, Jedi, and Cults
Richard Burton · Reading rank 376 · in 1 other episode
David names Aliens, Jedi, and Cults, says listeners should read it, and describes it as a way to understand people who build exceptional companies or movements.
Explicit praise · Founder theme
Also mentioned
Damn Right!
Janet Lowe · Reading rank 164 · in 5 other episodes
David uses Charlie Munger's business-history-curriculum idea from the book to explain why startups are counterintuitive.
Cross-episode reference · Founder theme
The Defiant Ones
Allen Hughes · Watch & Listen · in 11 other episodes
David calls The Defiant Ones a great HBO documentary while introducing a Jimmy Iovine anecdote about fear.
Explicit praise
Each note is a short paraphrase of why David brings the book up. Book pages show every piece of evidence and its review status. How ranking works