Books offer worlds within worlds. Each turn of a page is a new horizon that has endless promise. So, it’s only apt for entrepreneurs and founders to be so enamoured with them. Be it fiction epics, or biographies, innovators are always on the lookout for the next source of inspo. This week, we picked the brain of yet another founder for our WAYA Book Club: Ramy Khorshed, CEO & Co-founder of Sakneen.

The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Hell, or high water, humans have always found sound explanations to the unexplainable. This book by author and former options trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb examines how the rare and unpredictable events of life impact our existence, and how humans tend to find simplistic explanations for these events.

I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstader

Putting the concept of a strange loop under the microscope, Hofstader pens an in-depth look into the concept to really get to the crux and sense of what make an “I”, really delving into the question of how thought can arise out of matter. An existential whirlwind by the American scholar.

Narconomics: How Can One Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright

One could say that it takes the same zeal and strategy to start a drug cartel, same as it does to start a business. Or at least if ‘one’ was Tom Wainwright. Drawing comparison on how big business can easily serve as major inspo to drug cartels. Be it brand value, franchising, supply chain management or operations, the author’s thesis is a compelling one, claiming that the only way to understand drug cartels is using economics.

The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli

Time has boggled the mind of us all and physicists alike. Warped time, the theory of relativity and the loop quantum gravity are just a bulk of heavyweight terms the author delves into, and it’s a literary treat to those of us looking to understand more about, well, the not-so-understandable.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

One of Silicon Valley’s most revered icons, Ben Horowitz, brings forth essential advice on building and running a startup. Horowitz draws from his practical wisdom for tackling the toughest of situations that business school won’t really cover.