[Roosh]

I wanted to get a thread going on the books or materials that have helped you the most. I'll go first...

The Layguide - My first exposure to game

The 48 Laws Of Power - required reading for all men

The Art Of Seduction - gets you thinking about the many different ways to seduce, though not much practical advice

Influence - how persuasion works

Think & Grow Rich - replace money with sex and it still applies

[Hiro]

(09-03-2008 08:50 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

I wanted to get a thread going on the books or materials that have helped you the most. I'll go first...

The Layguide - My first exposure to game

The 48 Laws Of Power - required reading for all men

The Art Of Seduction - gets you thinking about the many different ways to seduce, though not much practical advice

Influence - how persuasion works

Think & Grow Rich - replace money with sex and it still applies

You forgot Bang

[Roosh]

Don't i self-promote enough?

[Trotter]

Full Facts book of Cold Reading

[broken]

Deida - Way of the Superior Man

[GMoney]

Sun Tzu - The Art of War , replace "weapon" with penis, and "enemy" with "woman", cities or treasure with "vagina".

"Therefore the skillful leader subdues the woman's defenses without any drink buying or listening to their boring stories; he captures their vaginas without laying siege to them; he overthrows their vaginas without lengthy operations in the field."

17. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
(1) He will win who knows when to game and when not to game.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior chicks.
(3) He will win whose wingmen are animated by the same spirit throughout all their ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the female unprepared.
(5) He will win who has testicular capacity and is not interfered with by the cockblockers.

Live it, learn it my friends.

[duncanidaho]

(09-04-2008 06:05 PM)GMoney Wrote:  

Sun Tzu - The Art of War , replace "weapon" with penis, and "enemy" with "woman", cities or treasure with "vagina".

and change "warfare" with "entries into a woman's vagina"...

All entries into a woman's vagina is based on deception, hence;
-if you want to get into her panties, act like you don't want to go anywhere near her panties,
-when running game you must appear to not be running anything at all,
-when nearly into her vagina, you must appear as though you are far away from getting into her vagina
-when you are far from entering her vagina, you must appear as though you're very close to getting into her vagina

[Roissy]

mystery's ebook "mystery method - the venusian arts" was pretty helpful for tactical advice. style's crib sheet (don't remember what it's called) from his annihilation method is also pretty good, especially his pebbles (similar to negs, but more playful). also, early DYD cocky/funny got me up to speed quickly.

[zorgon]

(09-05-2008 02:01 PM)Roissy Wrote:  

mystery's ebook "mystery method - the venusian arts" was pretty helpful for tactical advice.

How does it compare to the Mystery Method (non-electronic) book? I picked up that book and was pretty disappointed. Poorly written and organized (he would use terminology before defining it, for example). Lacking in concrete examples and full of rather complex theory that didn't seem straightforward to put into practice. Every so often there would be a few pages that were really solid practical material, followed by 25 pages of bloviating. The tone of the book was really condescending to the reader, too.

Example of what I didn't like: there was all sorts of stuff about how at certain points in an interaction it is necessary to "DHV" (Demonstrate Higher Value). And yes, I'd basically agree with his analysis. Yet the book was strangely lacking in concrete advice as to *how* to DHV in real, normal-sounding circumstances. (Advice like "pick up an 8 or two first and use her selection of you to DHV to your real 9/10 target" is far from helpful if you figure the average guy reading the book is a beta who, in his cluelessness, manages to pick up a 6-7 by blind luck every so often.)

It was a really strange contrast against Bang, which I bought at the same time. Every single page of Bang was full of concrete advice that I've already started putting into practice in the field, one step at a time -- and Roosh's tone was that of "one ordinary guy talking to another."

[broken]

(09-06-2008 04:03 AM)zorgon Wrote:  

(09-05-2008 02:01 PM)Roissy Wrote:  

mystery's ebook "mystery method - the venusian arts" was pretty helpful for tactical advice.

Example of what I didn't like: there was all sorts of stuff about how at certain points in an interaction it is necessary to "DHV" (Demonstrate Higher Value). And yes, I'd basically agree with his analysis. Yet the book was strangely lacking in concrete advice as to *how* to DHV in real, normal-sounding circumstances.

A lot those books are. As for how Mystery does it, there's a video of him telling the "me and my stripper girlfriend were in a Camaro in SW Florida, and I almost got into a fight to protect her.."

If you believe in the evolutionary psychology switches he talks about, then the story incorporates all the switches.

As for how to work it "naturally" into a conversation, That is handled a few ways

1) You have 100 stories "in the can" that can be brought up when a chick gives you a keyword to riff off of. This is probably already the case, as most people have thousands upon thousands of memories. If you understand the principles of DHV, you can punch up your own memories pretty easily.

2) You "hold the frame" and ignore the unnaturalness of telling a story.

3) The natural way

A good # of my extended circle are naturals. This one particular night, my boy had come back from a haunted hotel that his girls's company had booked them in. The company thought it would be funny/cool, and no one seriously believed that there were actual ghosts. Well of course some strange stuff happened that no one could fully explain.

So we're all out one night, and given his personality he's telling a lot of different people the story. Some were friends like me, some were acquaintances, many were strangers. But he'd tell the same story, using the same words mostly, within earshot of people he just talked to.

It didn't bother him one bit, because he was just sharing something that happened in his life. The listeners didn't reject him out of hand either. They listened, they were glad to listen, they commented, they joked. In his reality, there are no fights for social dominance. He just doesn't see the world with that mindset.

His "game"..His "frame".., swagger, charisma, authenticity..Whatever you want to call it, that's how he has pulled many a crowd, as well as the females in it.

[zorgon]

(09-06-2008 01:03 PM)broken Wrote:  

A lot those books are. As for how Mystery does it, there's a video of him telling the "me and my stripper girlfriend were in a Camaro in SW Florida, and I almost got into a fight to protect her.."

Sure... it's just that, reading the book, that's exactly what his examples all sounded like. My reaction: "yeah right, back in reality, for those of us who live ordinary, often boring/dull/tedious a good chunk of the time, lives..." And sure, I know it's possible to take dull material and frame it in such a way that it sounds more exciting and pushes female attraction buttons -- I've seen examples of this -- but that's *not* what the Mystery book did.

If the book was targeted at beginners, which it seemed to be, then it needed a lot more nuts and bolts and a lot less (poorly explained) theory. Don't just tell me to Demonstrate Higher Value, explain to me *how* to DHV using material that sounds like it came out of a "I sit in a cubicle all day and then play video games with my friends" beta guy's life rather than out of an "I am a rock star" alpha guy's life.

Just saying that I would recommend *against* that book for anyone who is a novice.

[twigman]

I just finished reading maybe 1-2 hrs of stuff from the web, which is interesting, in addition to roosh's blog.

My background is not pick up and game theory, and I am finding sifting through the ideas very interesting.

I counsel men and women for a living, and I come across many relationship books. I can recommend 2 good books that have stood out for me this year, which has been a real growth year for me, having come out of 3 yr relationship.

1-- Intimacy & Solitude - Stephanie Dowrick

This book is about 'sense of self'. Basically with a sense of who you are, you will seem confident and put off a good vibe. No amount of technique or tricks will give you that. This is real fundamentals type stuff. A bit hard to read, and dense, but well worth the money and time spent on it. Will bear rereading. I'd especially recommend if you are going through a break up of a long term relationship/ marriage.

2-- Passionate Marriage - David Schnarch

Don't be put off by the title. Its not just for married people. For me this introduces many ideas of how couples stay interested and eroticised to each other over years and years. It is pure gold. Well written. Hard to read from start to finish, but a book to keep. If there was one book to buy on relationships this is the one.

I also read popular books about dating set out for women, these have also proved to be instructive from my end. One I would recommend is: He's Just Not That Into You - a hugely popular and successful 'blockbuster' book for women. A bit on the shallow side, but makes some good points about bottom lines in dating. I bought this for a friend's sister when a guy was giving her lukewarm signals and she was spending days worrying about him and making excuses for his assholish behaviour. She really got alot of of it she said. Its now dog-eared - I read it and liked it too for its simplicity and common sense.

[brianmark]

(09-06-2008 04:03 AM)zorgon Wrote:  

(09-05-2008 02:01 PM)Roissy Wrote:  

mystery's ebook "mystery method - the venusian arts" was pretty helpful for tactical advice.

How does it compare to the Mystery Method (non-electronic) book? I picked up that book and was pretty disappointed. Poorly written and organized (he would use terminology before defining it, for example). Lacking in concrete examples and full of rather complex theory that didn't seem straightforward to put into practice. Every so often there would be a few pages that were really solid practical material, followed by 25 pages of bloviating. The tone of the book was really condescending to the reader, too.

Example of what I didn't like: there was all sorts of stuff about how at certain points in an interaction it is necessary to "DHV" (Demonstrate Higher Value). And yes, I'd basically agree with his analysis. Yet the book was strangely lacking in concrete advice as to *how* to DHV in real, normal-sounding circumstances. (Advice like "pick up an 8 or two first and use her selection of you to DHV to your real 9/10 target" is far from helpful if you figure the average guy reading the book is a beta who, in his cluelessness, manages to pick up a 6-7 by blind luck every so often.)

It was a really strange contrast against Bang, which I bought at the same time. Every single page of Bang was full of concrete advice that I've already started putting into practice in the field, one step at a time -- and Roosh's tone was that of "one ordinary guy talking to another."

This is about the book the Mystery Method. I’m glad I’m not the only one that was unhappy about this book. I had the audiobook and listened to in twice about a year apart. I am experienced with game but wanted to see what all the PUA stuff was about. I enjoyed his chapter on Evolutionary Biology.
-
The book comes across like a bucket of gibberish, unless you know all the PUA acronyms. In fact to read it you need the PUA lingo dictionary right next to just to understand what he is talking about. Maybe this was in the back of the book, but for an audio book It sounds insane. By using tons of the PUA lingo, he made easy topics difficult to understand. In fact I learned in a college technical writing class that people that use an excessive amount of complex language, really aren’t saying too much. In fact many sentences will have 2 or 3 acronyms in them, when he is just trying to say something like I took her into the next room.
-
I liked it more the second time when I listened to it because I tried to ignore the bullshit and just see how many things I thought he got right. I like the fact he loves women, because many PUAs come across like they actually hate girls because they’ve been wronged by them. Overall he got a lot right and lot wrong too. I think the 3 second rule is good, but I don’t know where to find that in the book.
-
Another silly thing he says is you don’t care if that girl flakes on you because you’ve got 10 other girls waiting to go out with you. Yeah right, Mystery, that’s why the guy is reading your book because he is dating 10 girls!
-
I honestly think Mystery is his own worst enemy and that if he didn’t dress and act like such a weirdo he could expand the range of girls he dates. Many normal girls are not going out with a guy that dresses like that with big hats, goggles on his head, and paints his finger nails black. It takes a special kind of girl to like that look. Hey, he’s 6’5’’ and good looking. If he did nothing but say hello, he’d get a lot of girls just based on his looks!
-
There are now almost as many comical videos on YouTube making fun of him and his technique as there are real ones.

[soup]

People knock on Mystery too much. Yes, a lot of the details he presents are now obsolete, but the guy did push towards getting a formal, easily communicable structure of game going.

And, the basic tenets of what he presented still hold true- there is a linear structure to getting pussy.

Don't look to Mystery for the most up-to date information. I'd look to him as a kind of Bach of game.

[metalhaze]

Pimptory of my life by IcebergSlim and Black players: secret underworld of black pimps.

[Basil Ransom]

The Blueprint by Tyler Durden: I posted an insight from this book on here recently, and it was very well received. Durden discusses social dynamics on a deeply satisfying level. For instance, he discusses what distinguishes cool people from un-cool people. He has a knack for discerning these novel observations, that, once read, are impossible to deny. Durden was big in PUA, but was also a philosophy major in college, and it shows through.

The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa: If you had to pick one man to represent the ideals of this forum, this man would be it. Class, style, ambition, taste, stamina, beauty, daring - he had it all in spades. Credit to G Manifesto for keeping the legend alive. His spirit lives on - tell girls your name is 'Porfirio,' and enjoy the fruits sure to follow.

Taken in Hand (Link): Personally, I've found BDSM novel, but overall too theatrical and affected. You don't need a bunch of strange devices to dominate a woman, and you definitely don't need to confine it only to the bedroom. The whole ritualistic, overwrought nature of BDSM has always seemed a little nerdish and cowardly to me - it's like a little game of dress-up - "Let's play for an hour or two, I'll pretend to be a big bad man, and then I'll go back to being my regular pussy self afterwards." It's just too estranged from reality to pour over into your being as a person, so it just compartmentalizes you instead. That said, I've never done much strict BDSM, so I could be wrong.

Taken in Hand is a website devoted to cultivating traditional patriarchal relationships, where the man leads and the woman submits to his authority freely and lovingly. You project your dominance onto the woman who has chosen to accept you, and she is deeply satisfied by your taking the reins. It pitches itself to married couples, but I see no reason it can't be fully applied to other romantic relationships. I haven't put the practices of this site to use yet, but I plan to try them out for future LTRs. My hunch is that guys become feeble in relationships because they're doing the relationship wrong, and not because they're in a relationship at all. I could see a relationship as promoted by this site as taking your game to the next level, gracing you with a detached dominant air in your relations with women.

Much of the content is from readers writing of their positive experiences; they are women who have come to terms with what actually arouses them: a man in control. Pretty refreshing to see women who aren't telling you to do exactly the opposite of what arouses them, eg this. A lot of this stuff goes down to a deep level that I just haven't seen anywhere else - if even a fraction of the billing is true, it's potent stuff. Unfortunately, the site's contents can be pretty vague, so putting it into practice will require some thought and creativity. Think more 'Art of Seduction' than 'BANG.' If you liked 'Way of the Superior Man,' you'd probably like this. The site's pretty new to me, and I'm still exploring it, but I'm definitely looking to implement it with the right girl or two. I find it appealing on a lot of levels.

[pitt]

Art of love by erick fromm - I read this one when i broke up with my girl years ago, it was a classic book. Dont be fooled by the title, im not planning to settle down (at least for now) but i still recommend this book, it will help you to build strong relationships with those around you.

[scotian]

I just bought "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" on my Kindle, thanks for the suggestion Roosh, look forward to reading it.

I don't read much game literature but books about psychology and especially persuasion will definitely help me, especially at work where I have to get clients to sign off on time tickets, sometimes a little persuasion is needed, especially when I bill them 10 hours for a 3 hour job. I can see how this could help with game also, persuasion is huge!

I bought "48 Laws of Power" last week, I must have the condensed version or something because its basically point forum and very concise, it doesn't elaborate much on each law, or maybe that's just the way the book is written, good read anyway.

[blurb]

The Millionaire Fastlane

The author lets you download the first three chapters for free.



This book was recommended by YoungMobileGlobal, and so anything that's endorsed by the forum gets automatically considered into my reading list.

This book is written by a self-made millionaire.

First, a little background on the author.

This is a rags-to-riches story. This book is about a man who grew up poor in a single-parent household whose dream was to own a Lamborghini. Through a chance encounter that happened in his childhood, he never gave up on his dream and kept trying to find the path to wealth. He made his first million when he was 31 and retired at 36 if I am correct. Although he admits he could have accomplished this sooner in his 20s if he had the knowledge, it took a while for him to learn the right business skills and mindset. So consider yourself lucky if you're reading this at a young age.

I have to be careful about overhyping a book, but whereas Roosh/Roissy is the red pill for women, this book is the red pill for wealth. It is that good.

The author makes a very strong argument about how the traditional go to college, find a job, work for 50 years life plan is basically flawed and risky.

He explains in his opinion why most business fail and offers a valid solution. (Namely, need-based entrepreneurship, NOT doing what you "love" or going after your dreams first).

He is blunt in that everyone has dreams and want to have a dream lifestyle where they can do what they love but have to choose between a soul-sucking job or living in near-poverty trying to do what they love. The main hindrance that sets people back from following their dreams or doing what they love is a lack of money.

I'll be honest in that the book starts a bit boring, slow, and general at the beginning, but it really gets pure gold fast past the few opening chapters.

I remember reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and although it had few good things, I remember the most profound thing I read in that book was that "Poor people work for money; rich people let their money work for them." It was the first time I became acquainted that you don't have to trade your time for money. The rich live off of passive income from their huge wealth or assets that generate income. This frees their time. All right, if one was wealthy, all one would have to do was live off of the passive income from the assets, but the book never went on how to build those income-generating assets in the first place! The Millionaire Fastlane does. He also points out the hypocrisy of what he calls the the "gurus" in most books on wealth.

This is no 4-Hour workweek here. The author admits that he spent around 100 hours per week on his business startup. Eventually, he spent 80 hours, then 40 hours, then an hour a week. His business gradually developed to where he was making huge passive income. He later sold his business for millions and retired decades before most people do. Now, he can follow his dreams, do what he loves, and indulge in his passions.

YoungMobileGlobal recommends it. Now I recommend it.

[MikeCF]

The Millionaire Next Door - No need to read the book if you grasp this single idea: Wealth acquisition is slow-and-steady. All this stuff quick money and "four hour work weeks" are bullshit. Building wealth means making intelligent choices while taking calculated risks, over a long period of time - decades, not days, weeks, or hours.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Again, it's just an idea to grasp. Getting rich while depending on someone else for a paycheck is going to be hard. Also, when you work for yourself, you get a bunch of tax write-offs. For example, I write off my driving at 52 cents per mile. I can take clients out for a fun night, and write off 50% of the bill. Find a way to get on a 1099.

[Hotwheels]

Mike-Did the deduction for driving change on the first? It was 55.5 cents/mile last I saw.

As far as the books, I like the list for the most part. I read the Millionaire Fastlane and it was alright, but all I really recall from it is set a goal and go get it.

I haven't read any in a long time now, but some good sales books actually help with game as persuading someone to a buy a car really isn't much different than persuading a broad to drop her panties. I read some Zig Ziglar back in the 90's and it helped lay things out. Along that same line, I'm going to check out "Influence", the book Scotian mentions above.

[Kitsune]

Can't really respond to this thread as much as I'd like, but have got to step in as I saw a recommend for the Millionaire fastlane.

I haven't read the book myself, but I've been aware of MJ DeMarco for years. He posts on a few forums I've visited, and I've read hundreds of his posts. Guy is the real deal, speaks the real deal and I wouldn't be surprised if his book was also the complete real deal, so I'd seriously give his book a look if you want to get self-employed!

God, this post sounds like too much of a plug; Here is some related free advice:

Rich people hang out online. I've been to luxury car forums, banking forums, boating forums, etc. If you go there, there will be loads of self-made people posting about their toys, and how they afford them. You can pull up loads of advice this way. I read the author above's posts on a 'Business' board on a Lamborghini forum. Don't know if he is still active there, but I'm sure if you google you can find it. There are a lot of inspirational things going on in those types of forums, and the best thing is it isn't like Business or Internet Marketing forums where everybody is trying to sell you their program.

[OGNorCal707]

I've read a few of Roosh's top recommendations, very thankful for the good advice as always, I've yet to check out "Think and Grow Rich", but have read "The 48 Laws", "Influence", and half way through "The Art of Seduction."

Overall I'd recommend all three, but I think I got more out of Robert Greene's books, at least when it comes to principals that can be applied to improving ones' game. For some reason, I didn't find "Influence" to be that compelling, but definitely still worth the read.

For "game" advice to guys in the beginner to beginning stages of intermediate, I'd recommend the following 3 books:

"The Mack Within", "Ignore and Score", and "Models: a comprehensive guide to attracting women"

(Bang is the best piece of "pick up" or "game" literature, and most highly recommended to guys if you don't already have it).

Other books I recommend that can improve game/relationships:

"The Way of the Superior Man", "The Mastery of Love", and "The Definitive Book of Body Language"

Next up on the docket: "Introducing NLP", plan on reading "30 Bangs", and "Unmasking the Face" is next on the list.

[LowerCaseG]

In my opinion Rich Dad Poor Dad is a must read for the financial genre, especially for those who might just be entering, or just have entered the workforce. Quick Read.

I have not read it, but I have heard that, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" is probably the best sales book you can read.

Game = Sales

Does anyone have an opinion of this book?

[raliv]

(03-04-2012 07:35 PM)LowerCaseG Wrote:  

In my opinion Rich Dad Poor Dad is a must read for the financial genre, especially for those who might just be entering, or just have entered the workforce. Quick Read.

I have not read it, but I have heard that, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" is probably the best sales book you can read.

Game = Sales

Does anyone have an opinion of this book?

How to Win Friends and Influence People is a classic for beginners who have little or basic social skills. A must read for young guys who aren't natural conversationalists. I like to look at it as a early foundation for more advanced social/sales/game skills. Just a basic book that tells you ways to "treat people like you want to be treated." Highly recommended though.