Reading List: Zoovy CEO Brian Horakh

In “Reading List,” we ask ecommerce professionals to name some of their favorite recent books and blogs and tell us why they read them. In this installment, we corresponded with Brian Horakh, CEO and founder of Zoovy, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based ecommerce software platform provider.

Brian Horakh

Horakh’s Top Five Recent Books

NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training by National Academy of Sports Medicine

NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training (Hardcover) by National Academy of Sports Medicine.

“Due to long working hours, I have to get to the gym during off hours. But it seems like something is always coming up at work that keeps me from being able to maintain a regular training schedule. So I decided to start reading the study guide to becoming a personal trainer. I was amazed at how little I knew about my own body and how it worked.”

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On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.

“When I started to get healthy, I knew I needed to stop eating out, which meant I needed to start cooking more of my own food and, more importantly, planning what I eat and what I put in my body. Walking through a grocery store, I realized that I realistically only knew how to use 1 percent of the food in it — and that all the dishes I knew how to cook weren’t really healthy. This book was recommended by an employee who also happens to be a classically trained chef. It answers questions like ‘Why do egg proteins coagulate when you cook them?’ It was amazing to start to understand the chemistry behind cooking, and that helped me sort through recipes and start to develop a more sophisticated palette.”

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Italian, Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs Simon & Schuster’s Pimsleur

Italian, Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs by Simon & Schuster’s Pimsleur.

“I was looking for something I could do during the long hours of jogging on the treadmill. I read that speaking out loud while exercising strengthens your core muscles and forces you to breathe, so I decided to multitask and pick up Italian. I’ve always thought it was a very molto bella (very beautiful) language. I’m hoping to travel to Italy and spend some time there in the next few years.”

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SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

SuperFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

“I absolutely loved Freakonomics and couldn’t wait for the sequel. I read SuperFreakonomics in one night. It’s funny, informative and makes you really pause when you see the relationship between cause and effect. I think it also encourages a healthy disdain for trusting what are considered well accepted facts (like reading to your children at night makes them smarter!).”

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The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence by Deepak Chopra

The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence by Deepak Chopra.

“For me, 2010 was all about finding myself and reorienting my life. While I read a lot of Deepak Chopra books (and his audio books are really great), I think this was probably my favorite. It helped me reconnect with spirituality and gave me the motivation to work on mediation, which has helped me immensely in all aspects of my life, including my management style.”

Horakh’s Top Five Recent Blogs

Slashdot

Slashdot.

“I read Slashdot every day just to keep abreast of geeky things, technology trends and what’s coming down the road in the next 3 to 5 years. Slashdot also does a good job of digesting news coming out of other tech publications, like TechCrunch and Gizmodo, and letting me know about the latest gadgets.”

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Silicon Alley Insider