There is this weird catch 22 where I always hear this book or that book or this or that article is a "must read" for a startup founder. But on the flip side, I also have no time to read it.
I never really understood this mentality. I haven't met anywhere, whether it's a funded startup founder or the CEO of a Fortune 1k company, or a single parent with a full-time job, who doesn't have 20 minutes somewhere they can spend reading.
I can understand if the argument is that it's so far down the list of priorities that by the time you get to it you'd rather just go to sleep. I get that. But don't say you're too busy to do it, say it isn't enough of a priority.
But, as someone who sometimes reads the types of books recommended on this blog post, I've found they have usually been a worse use of my time than writing code.
So, "I don't have time for ___" could be rephrased as "there are better uses of my time than ___." And I think that's a reasonable point of view in this case.
OK, it isn't enough of a priority then. My main point was that if I were to read through the entire list provided, I am doing so at the opportunity cost of reading a book on Heterogeneous Computing or ZeroMQ or something.
I'm an avid reader... but for some people, reading non-fiction is not very good for relaxation. For entrepreneurs, time (especially relaxation time) is at a premium.
Try audiobooks. I use Audible.com, only $14 a month for 1 audiobook per month. The cost to buy the audiobook is almost always greater than $14 and unused credits roll over. I find audiobooks a great option for walking, the car, gym, subway, etc.
