What are you reading, other than forex-related books, and why?
I’m currently enjoying Richard Branson’s original biography, Losing My Virginity. A great insight into the entrepreneur and a genuinely funny and entertaining book. I plan to read his more recent follow-up when I’ve finished this
(Yes, I changed the thread title just to get you to look. Worked, didn’t it)
I’m currently reading Everybody Lies, it’s a book about how Google is basically our confession box and how the author has learned about the relationship of what people do/say they do vs. what they’re actually doing. Also a lot of big data analysis.
Here’s an interesting paragraph I bookmarked:
Walmart uses data from sales in all their stores to know what products to shelve. Before Hurricane Frances, a destructive storm that hit the Southeast in 2004, Walmart suspected—correctly—that people’s shopping habits may change when a city is about to be pummeled by a storm. They pored through sales data from previous hurricanes to see what people might want to buy. A major answer? Strawberry Pop-Tarts. This product sells seven times faster than normal in the days leading up to a hurricane.
Based on their analysis, Walmart had trucks loaded with strawberry Pop-Tarts heading down Interstate 95 toward stores in the path of the hurricane. And indeed, these Pop-Tarts sold well.
Why Pop-Tarts? Probably because they don’t require refrigeration or cooking. Why strawberry? No clue. But when hurricanes hit, people turn to strawberry Pop-Tarts apparently. So in the days before a hurricane, Walmart now regularly stocks its shelves with boxes upon boxes of strawberry Pop-Tarts.
Lots more from relationships to politics. Can you also share one or more paragraphs that stuck out to you from your book? 
Sounds interesting,@eddieb! Makes me curious of his storytelling style. Haha. Just like @purtle, I’d love to read your favorite part, so far!
As for me, I’m currently reading Marketing 4.0 by Philip Kotler. It’s been about how digitalization has revolutionized the marketing industry, and really put extra pressure on brands to seamlessly interweave the physical and digital experiences in their brand engagements. I’m enjoying it so far, eye-opening.
I’m currently reading …
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR - Eric Carle
I’m about half way through it 
It’s the story of a retail trader who had such a hunger for trading and no matter how much fruit he at (Aka… TRADES HE PLACED AND PROFIT HE MADE) it was never enough.
The story also tells of the mindset of how HAVING A HUNGER can lead you to BECOMING A BUTTERFLY (Aka… Having Success)
where the reality of the situation is a Magpie will probably fly down and eat you before that happens (Aka, Account Blown out)
I just felt like everyone needed a good laugh hehe
@eddieb Great read… shows how close he sailed to the wind in the early days… It appears he was in the right place at the right time in the music business… except for Dire Straits…
Joint anyone…
Another good read (old book now) is Hard Drive, an early Microsoft/Gates bio… It gives you a glimpse of how Windows as we know it came to be and why certain software prevailed (Like Excel over Lotus 123 etc.) and others didn’t…
@_bob
hehe… You liked that huh hehe
Nothing like a glass of Milo while reading the Very Hungry caterpillar
Man, and No kIdding , there is now a you tube vid on it… Music and everything 
During his time at boarding school, Branson used to sneak out to meet a girl. Eventually he was caught and summoned to see the headmaster…
‘What were you doing, Branson?’ he asked.
The only answer I could think of was the worst one I could possibly have given, albeit the truth: 'I was on my way back from your daughter’s room, sir.'
Not surprisingly, I was promptly expelled and my parents were told to come and collect me the following day.
That evening, unable to think of any way to escape the wrath of my parents, I wrote a suicide note saying I was unable to cope with the shame of my expulsion. I wrote on the envelope that it should not be opened until the following day but then gave it to a boy who I knew was far too nosy not to open it immediately.
Very, very slowly, I left the building and walked through the school grounds towards the cliffs. When I saw a crowd of teachers and boys run after me, I slowed down enough for them to catch me up. They ‘managed’ to drag me back from the cliff and my expulsion was overturned.
has nothing to do with forex.
harward business school book on MBA level teachings.
The Innovators Dilemma
Free PDF download:
edit: why reading this? general interest.
C’mon MrDE, we all know you’re hiding a copy of Playboy in that book.
@eddieb
of course mate, everyone knows it
what do you think the D stands for in @MrDE hehe
he just put an E on the end to not make it look so suspicious
huh? no 
pipstradamus forced me to change the name, originally it was [removed by staff], but some of the grannies on this site did complain about it 
Still reading “Losing My Virginity”.
What does come across is Bransons fulsome praise and respect for others and how this contrasts with playing down his own contribution in various events in his life.
An excellent read thus far
@Penelopip
A nice quote from Branson, could almost be aimed at forex traders
’It is only by being bold that you get anywhere. If you are a risk-taker, then the art is to protect the downside.’
I agree. In fact, we’ll add it to the website quotes found at the bottom of some of our site pages. Thanks for this, @eddieb!
I haven’t read anything from Branson yet, but I’ve become really interested since you seem to be enjoying his work.
My first introduction to marketing was in 1976.
An advert was being drawn for a tool rental company, they came up with an image of a large cow alongside an image of a carton of milk.
“You don’t need to buy the cow to get the milk” was the caption.
Another item on that course sticks in my mind - ‘do not use negatives, do not plead,’
Next time you see an advert " why not try our gizmo?" - a negative with pleading, then figure " Carlsberg, probably the best lager in the world" - check out some of Virgin’s ads, for example his latest entitled
The Bright Side of Brexit | Virgin Atlantic (youtube)
Branson builds a brand on positives.
I read the early autobiography - was not impressed with the bloke’s integrity. !
i totally agree
and i’m not saying that i’m branson and i’m not being a smart arse
but i have always told traders. Protect your account before making profit
as for being bold @_bob is always bold and yet he gets into shyte for it
i think if branson had an account on this forum i think he’d be flagged every day
i also am bold to a point, i don’t like BS and i like to be direct and take calculated risks and i like to tell others to be bold
but i have been told by the mods when doing so hehe
things like this
Now … here is my view on it
ok, i understand they are newbies but this is more of a reason to tell them
but the mods are like… You’re gonna scare them away
and my view is… if this site wants to enourage people to be soft in trading, then why should you be here to begin with
I hold a high respect for the education part of this site and i always refer people to it
as for the forum… hehe Not so much
and as for showing understanding
well. yeah
i understand they are not bold and they don’t get forex, so let’s make them bold
but we are not allowed because we have to show understanding hehe SUX HUH
oh well i guess they will be unbolded for now and can only hope to achieve italics at best
and not to bag @Penelopip but just to give my 2 cents worth here
Penelopip has said
so obviously to serve as inspiration of WHAT TO DO … right ?
but then when people encourage the newbies to do it… why are we flagged for it ? see my point
when we try to enforce these things
we are flagged
we are punished
we are told to TONE IT DOWN
I have a question for you Penelopip
what do you think would happen if you told Branson HEY DUDE, TONE IT DOWN hehe
yeah… Nothing more needs to be said… right
this is my 2 cents worth
I’m also re-reading Gerald Durrell The Authorised Biography, by Douglas Botting.
First read this a couple of years ago, possibly my favourite read of all time, fiction or non-ficton. I can’t imagine there have been many people who have had so many weird, unusual, things happening in their lives.
Yes, its about young Gerry from the TV series The Durrells. The series is loosely based on a trilogy he wrote about the family’s time in Corfu, but grossly distorted and sugar-coated. Don’t let the TV series put you off the book
Sadly, I’ve not read very many autobiographies. Which one would you say is the best you’ve read? I’ll add it to my list!