I had a brief conversation with my colleague a few days ago, who just became a mom end of last year. She had a list of books that she plans to read but not sure if she would have time to do it in between being a mom of an infant, having a full-time job and part-time baking. I could totally relate to her. But because we love reading and we want to inculcate the reading habits in our kids, we will try our best to find the time to read.
Our conversation then led her to conclude that our purpose of reading is different and she believes that there are 3 types of people – (1) read to learn and better ourselves, (2) read to escape reality and (3) read because they are being forced to because they hate reading. I fall in the first category while she falls in the 2nd category. To add to that, I like to read books that paint me a glimpse of the future, one that gives me hope, that inspires me, and that makes me dream of what I want to achieve in the future and learn how to get there.
One of the recent interview questions I had to answer is “Which book do you think every investment professional should read?”. An excerpt of my response was as follows (can’t show all given that the interview will only be displayed only in the next few months or so):
Nothing specific because the books we read should also evolve as the industry evolves, more frequently than we expected. In fact we should read all the books recommended by the successful billionaires from the likes of Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates to understand how they think and do. One thing is for sure, they read a lot every day!
I guess that testifies my purpose of reading.
What’s yours?
Dayana Omar 