Mark Zuckerberg is not like us. For example, when it comes to New Year's resolutions, the Facebook CEO actually achieves things. And in the five short days of 2015 so far, he's already become Oprah Winfrey. Or, to be more exact, he's founded a book club and immediately gotten a book sold out on Amazon.
Not one to look back on an up-and-down year for his company, Zuckerberg is gazing ahead, as is his tradition. In past years, he's learned to speak Mandarin, worn a tie every day, and most famously, gone vegetarian except for the flesh of animals he killed himself.
Since that's a tough one to top, this year Zuck crowdsourced his "personal challenge" in a Facebook post that garnered over 50,000 responses.
And, "look under your seats," because everyone is a winner. This year's personal challenge is a book club, with a new work to be read every other week. Reading! It's "fulfilling," says Zuckerberg:
The club, which already has its own Facebook page, has been a boon for The End of Power by Moisés Naím. In fact, you can't even get it, because it's sold out on Amazon, and that's the only way to buy books. [Update: Amazon emailed SFist to say that it's back in stock. Sidebar: are Facebook and Amazon friends, or just in a book club together?]
The End of Power is subtitled "From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be." It was the Financial Times Best of the Year, and the Wall Street Journal reviewed it under the headline "Singing Them 1% Blues."
Even if Zuckerberg might be seen as bemoaning the decline of power with this choice of text, predictions are being made of another "Oprah Effect." That refers to the incredible boom in popularity for selected books, such as Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan, which sold 853% more copies when Oprah's stamp was added to it.
So should we get ready for the "Zuckbook Effect?" For Jonathan Franzen to pitch a fit when Zuckerberg picks his next novel for the club? Read on, but remember Zuck's advice: "Please only participate in the discussions if you've actually read the books and have relevant points to add."
