Books like Reality Check — picked by fans

While the term the “Metaverse” usually makes people think of a fully digital, immersive world, my own feeling is that technologies that bring digital information and entertainment into our physical world is a much more powerful and important arena. This leads us to the transformative and still-developing world of Augmented Reality.

David Rose of the MIT Media Lab has been working with Augmented Reality for more than a decade, and Supersight is an overview of what he's seen and what he’s learned in this time. 

What I love about Supersight is that while David is clearly as excited about this topic as I am, he’s also a realist, and openly discusses issues and challenges with Augmented Reality. Perhaps most valuable are the 14 Augmented Reality Design Principles that he outlines – super realistic, super useful.

After reading this, you’ll have a very grounded idea of the capabilities and potential of… show more.

If you’ve ever wondered how on Earth Mark Zuckerberg ended up betting his Facebook empire on the unproven technology of Virtual Reality (VR), this is the recent history book for you. 

Blake Harris starts with Palmer Luckey, a homeschooled teenager who shrugged off the received wisdom of all of his elders, and just went ahead and built the first commercially viable VR headset. (That’s an amazing story in itself.) And then he got Mark Zuckerberg so excited about this new experience that, yes, Zuckerberg ended up buying Luckey’s company – and eventually forcing him out.

The History of the Future is about technology, business, the consequences of acting on visionary thinking, and, above all, about how technology is ultimately created and developed by human beings. 

Stepping away from the topic of immersive technology, The Ransomware Hunting Team instead looks at the realities of cybercrime in the US, and why especially our government infrastructure has such a hard time fighting it effectively. 

Like all the other books on my list, it’s an examination of what happens when the rubber meets the road with a new technology, and how we humans often just aren’t very good at adapting to change.  

Part of the key problem is that hackers – including the white hat hackers that you want on your side to bring down the bad guys – tend not to be social animals, and our official organizations are far happier hiring a smiling guy in a suit than a scowling nerd who would rather work from his dark bedroom at home. (Apologies for the stereotypes, but – this really is a problem!) 

This book is an absorbing… show more.

Adrian Hon is the founder of the truly fabulous fitness app Zombies, Run, in which you listen to a story in which you are a character as you run or walk to work out. 

Yes, there was a zombie apocalypse in this story, and every so often, the zombies appear – and you have to run!! (I didn’t know about Zombies, Run before I read this book, but I have since started using it, and I love it!)  

Adrian has been in the gaming world for a long time, and he is highly aware of how gaming can become coercive. He built Zombies, Run specifically to avoid coercion of any kind, but is deeply infuriated by all of the games out there that shamelessly continue to rely on coercion to generate usage and, of course, cash. 

In You’ve Been Played, Adrian outlines just how nasty some techniques can be,… show more.

This book is a game-changer for anyone who wants to grow their business and make their clients fall in love with them.

It's all about understanding what your clients really want and need, and then delivering it to them in a way that is authentic and meaningful. 

I love Beckwith's short-chapter writing style as it’s very easy to read, and his insights are incredibly valuable.

Putting his thoughts into practice, like “Respect your client’s time,” “Be specific,” “Before you pick a name, test it.” “Take time and write notes by hand.”…will all help make you more relevant and more trusted by your clients.

So if you’re looking to create a roadmap on how your team can better connect with your own clients and make them feel truly appreciated, What Clients Love will help you build it.

Never Lose A Customer Again is my go-to recommendation for readers that are interested in learning the psychology behind customer loyalty. Joey Coleman details the eight emotional stages that customers go through in the 100 days following a purchase and how you can strategically anticipate their reactions to strengthen your relationships. Everyone that has read Never Lose A Customer Again has told me that it’s helped them improve their relationships with everyone in their lives, not just their prospects and customers. 

For writing online beyond your own website, I highly recommend this book. It presents both the big picture and the nitty-gritty of content marketing for small businesses.

What I like about this book is that the authors understand that as a small business, you can’t do everything and be everywhere. So, choose where you want to be and create content that captivates, educates, and inspires your audience.

This book completely changed how I think about communicating with my audience. Donald’s framework for clarifying your message is simple yet incredibly powerful. It taught me how to position the customer as the hero of the story and clarified my role as their guide—a mindset shift that has made my writing and marketing (and my strategic advice) so much more effective.

I love this book's interactivity, especially the inclusion of a StoryBrand template, which I completed as I read through it the second time. 

I don’t think I’ve ever read a better book on management than this one. Charles Koch is, of course, no ordinary business leader—his results speak for themselves. Building one of the largest private companies in the world requires not just strategic brilliance but a deep understanding of human nature, incentives, and organizational design.

What sets Koch’s approach apart is his profound respect for human excellence. His Market-Based Management (MBM) system is one of the most person-centered frameworks I’ve encountered. Unlike the rigid structures of traditional corporate hierarchies, Koch embraces dynamic, self-organizing teams. There are no job descriptions or top-down mandates—teams select their own members and redefine roles based on each individual’s strengths, experiences, and comparative advantages. It’s simple, obvious in hindsight, yet uncommon and revolutionary in practice.

His philosophy aligns closely with my own conviction that true value creation is rooted in empowering individuals to operate at their highest… show more.

This is a captivating read that delves into the world of creating a fan base for any business.

Using Lady Gaga as a fun and intriguing example, the book demonstrates how she cultivated a loyal following while many talented artists struggle to gain recognition. Huba's choice of subject matter not only adds an element of entertainment but also highlights the effectiveness of Gaga's strategy.

The book breaks down the process into easy-to-follow steps that anyone can implement within their own business. One key lesson from Monster Loyalty is to "Make Them Feel Like Rock Stars," emphasizing the importance of making your fans feel special by acknowledging their contributions, highlighting their input, and incorporating their submissions into your work.

What sets this book apart is the simple template it provides, making it straightforward to apply the principles in a business setting.