Yalo’s Back-to-School Reading List

The kids may be the ones headed back to class, but it doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who could benefit from logging a little more reading time now that summer’s coming to an end. Check out some of our favorite recent reads to help you get pumped for a productive and inspired fall.

The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance – David Epstein

The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training? The truth is far messier than a simple dichotomy between nature and nurture.
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From Cradle to Stage: Stories From the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars – Virginia Hanlon Grohl & Dave Grohl

The debate is as old as physical competition. While the Grohl family had always been musical-the family sang together on long car trips, harmonizing to Motown and David Bowie-Virginia never expected her son to become a musician, let alone a rock star. But when she saw him perform in front of thousands of screaming fans for the first time, she knew that rock stardom was meant to be for her son.
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Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain – Danny Goldberg

In early 1991, top music manager Danny Goldberg agreed to take on Nirvana, a critically acclaimed new band from the underground music scene in Seattle. He had no idea that the band’s leader, Kurt Cobain, would become a pop-culture icon with a legacy arguably at the level of that of John Lennon, Michael Jackson, or Elvis Presley.
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Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation – Jeff Chang & DJ Cool Herc

Based on original interviews with DJs, b-boys, rappers, graffiti writers, activists, and gang members, with unforgettable portraits of many of hip-hop’s forebears, founders, and mavericks, including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop chronicles the events, the ideas, the music, and the art that marked the hip-hop generation’s rise from the ashes of the 60’s into the new millennium.
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I would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became An Icon – Touré

Celebrated journalist, TV personality, and award-winning author Touré investigates one of the most enigmatic and fascinating figures in contemporary American culture: PRINCE.
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Smash!: Green Day, the Offspring, Rancid, Nofx, and the ’90s Punk Explosion – Ian Winwood

Two decades after the Sex Pistols and the Ramones birthed punk music into the world, their artistic heirs burst onto the scene and changed the genre forever.
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The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and The Evolution of Culture and Style – Nelson George

An authoritative history of the groundbreaking syndicated television show that has become an icon of American pop culture, from acclaimed author and filmmaker Nelson George, “the most accomplished black music critic of his generation” (Washington Post Book World). 
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The Weight Of This World – David Joy

Critically acclaimed author David Joy, whose debut, Where All Light Tends to Go, was hailed as “a savagely moving novel that will likely become an important addition to the great body of Southern literature” (The Huffington Post), returns to the mountains of North Carolina with a powerful story about the inescapable weight of the past.
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The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure – Grant Cardone

This book unveils the principle of “Massive Action,” allowing you to blast through business clichés and risk-aversion while taking concrete steps to reach your dreams. 
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Catch Fire: How to Ignite Your Own Economy – Douglas Scott Nelson

Nelson provides the simple tools and the knowledge to teach you how to achieve financial freedom. Doug reveals how money works for and against you, while debunking numerous financial myths. 
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The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success – Darren Hardy

The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. 
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The Latte Factor: Why You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Live Rich – David Bach & John David Mann

The Latte Factor demystifies the secrets to achieving financial freedom, inspiring readers to realize that it’s never too late to reach for your dreams. 
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