Recommended Reads from the Xentum Team

At the start of the summer, we invited members of the Xentum team to recommend their favourite books.  Here’s a selection of their responses, hopefully some of these recommendations will resonate with you too.

James Spencer, Managing Director

‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu.

It came as a surprise to most of us in the team that it’s not a book about war! As James says: “The book may have the word ‘war’ in its title but it’s a book about life, relationships and the application of values. It has stood the test of time and many of the world’s strategy and self-development books draw on its reflections of the world.”

Laura Clark, Financial Planner

 ‘Homo Deus’ by Yuval Noah Harari.

Laura says: “All of his books are amazing, and I would re-read all three, but this is a brilliant, futuristic journey which looks at humankind’s experiences and our prospective future. It is interesting, thought-provoking and a must-read!”

Ed Stubbs, Financial Planner

 For fellow runners:
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Run for Your Life by Mark Cucuzzella

For inspiration:
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
The Sports Gene by David Epstein
Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed.

Jonny Lord, Financial Planner

  ‘The Psychology of Money’ by Morgan Housel.

Jonny says: “This is one of the best books I’ve read recently. It’s in short story format so easy to dip into and it’s one of the best illustrations of why dealing with money is so hard.

My favourite quote from this book is ‘wealth is what you don’t see’ which speaks to the concept of living a life that looks wealthy and leaves you empty versus genuine accumulation of wealth which comes in many forms – as we well know.”

Faye Evans, Technical Specialist

 ‘PS I Love You’ by Celia Ahern.

She says: “I read this when it came out in 2004 and it captured my heart. The prequel ‘Postcript’ was on another level, if not better. She’s a great writer – Irish wit and humour – maybe not one for the boys but who knows?!”

Michelle Guirey, Paraplanner & Investment Committee Lead

 Factfulness by Hans Rosling.

She says: “It’s a book that changes our perspective of the world and how we think about it.”