"You will be the same person in 5 years that you are today except for 2 things: the people you meet and the books you read."
-- Charlie "Tremendous" Jones

We enjoy reading. Therefore we have created a Library page to serve as a forum for this community to make and receive reading recommendations. There will be no restrictions on subject or form. Anyone who is a registered member can make recommendations or comment on those already posted. (Email library@matzenfinancial.com) We will assign a star value to each book. The review is written by us, unless otherwise noted. Feel free to submit your own reviews. Once we have enough, we will archive reviews by date and rating.

Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less Barry Schwartz   Review: Schwartz does a good job of explaining how too much choice may not be a good thing. We are facing an ever increasing number of choices and, not surprisingly, spending more time choosing. The surprising conclusion here is that we may actually be worse off because of this. The choices restrict us and generate more regret. At time this book meanders, but on a whole this is an excellent read that opened my eyes and gave me a few ideas on how to deal with so many choices. An especially important piece of advice was, “Decide which choices in our lives really matter and focus our time and energy there.” -- Jeff

What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business Harry Beckwith   Review: This is a book of one or two page ideas on business common sense. It was easy to pick up for 5 minutes at a time and get some good ideas. While all topics can’t apply to each situation, there is enough good advice in here for everyone. Some of the more interesting topics were: “Snap Judgments Stick” “No Superlatives” and “Thank You.” I am sure this style of book will annoy some and it would be tough to agree with all of Beckwith’s ideas, but this is an excellent read. -- Jeff

The Number: What Do You Need for the Rest of Your Life and What Will it Cost? Lee Eisenberg   Review: What is your Number? Eisenberg’s idea of a Number is the amount of money that you will need to live the rest of your life the way you want to. He spends this book describing how different people get to their Number and what significance it has for them. People discuss their goals and how they are going to achieve them. Although this book is certainly not a how-to financial guide, it brings to the forefront a topic that more people should consider. Eisenberg’s writing is good and while this one is not destined to be great literature, The Number is a quick, fun read. -- Jeff

The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success Andy Andrews   Review: This book was a pleasant surprise. My wife somehow brought it home from the local home-improvement store and so I was skeptical. Andrews uses fictional stories to bring his seven key concepts to us. The main character loses his job and travels through time to seven key periods in history. At each stop, the character meets up with a historical figure and learns an important lesson. It tends to be simplistic, but I would suggest everyone will enjoy this book. His writing is Christian based, but it is more inspirational than religious. -- Jeff