Reading.  It's fundamental.  Yo. 

Here's a pic of the books I'm reading over what I'll call the "postmodern industrial complex holiday period".  That's a insider's way of saying that I get a little bit of vomit in my mouth when I see holiday lights up before thanksgiving like I did last night.  But that's me.

I'm not a big fiction reader, but most of what grabbed my attention to read this holiday season was fiction.  Here's the stack, descriptions, links and why I've decided to read them below:

The rundowns:

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - I'm pitching this one as true, uncompromising creative mind vs. all the #$#t the world wants to tell you is important.  Click on the link for a better description, but this is our holiday book at Kinetix.  It's a pure play talent book, so that's the reason we selected it.  That and the fact it makes our clients and friends of Kinetix look smart by putting it behind their desk.  They are smart, BTW - we're just helping them market that to the world by giving them this book.  #looksmart

Postmortal by Drew Magary - This one was recommended to me by a Capitalist reader to be our holiday book.  Not even sure what it's about (everyone can stop aging in the future but surprise, surprise, they're hidden downsides to that), but the author is a writer at Deadspin, which is actually a model for everything I've tried to do from a writing perspective.  So there's that.  #snarkysnarky

Machine Man by Max Barry - OK, Max Barry is a genius.  Start with Syrup, then come back to this one.  Barry's a former HP guy who writes fiction that's funny, smart and built around the workplace.  +2. #corporatelife

The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland - I'm a big Coupland fan through great novels like Generation X and JPOD.  Coupland has a lot of workplace and generation stuff built into his novels, and this is a story about 2 disaffected workers at your local Staples wondering what it all means in a snarky, edgy way.  Ever wonder what Kurt Cobain would write like if he would have changed careers?  I think he would have written like Coupland.  #frustratedincorporated

That's it.  Hit me with what you're reading in the comments, an email or a tweet.