From zen to investing

Each week, we talk with regional executives about books they're reading, media that inform them and more

Ryan P. M. Allis is reading three books right now.

In Nelson Mandela's autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom," (Little, Brown & Co., $17.99) he's at the part where Mandela writes of his experience at Robben Island prison. In "Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements" (Scribner, $24.95), Allis is learning about methods the legendary investor uses to pick winning companies.

And in "Peace Is Every Step" (Bantam Books, $15), which he received Christmas Day, he's reading about a more humanitarian perspective on the world. The book is written by a world spiritual leader and Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh.

The diversity of the topics -- and number of them -- reflects the ambitious spirit of Allis, the 24-year-old CEO of a 150-employee, $15 million-a-year company. Allis, who leads e-mail marketing firm iContact of Durham, is drawn to books on business, politics and social matters. But he says they often have a common thread.

"I tend to read a lot of nonfiction," said Allis, who has written one book of his own, "Zero to One Million," about the growth of iContact.

Nonfiction is "immediately usable," he said. "It teaches you about life."

Allis reads about three books per month, squeezing in 30 minutes or so of reading a day and more time when he's traveling. He chooses some books on the recommendations of his mother, who has similar taste. But he's also prone to wandering the business and biography sections of bookstores in search of a good read.

His friends influence his consumption of day-to-day information as he mines links on social-networking sites such as Facebook. He regularly checks RealClearPolitics.com and RealClearMarkets.com and visits Yahoo's Finance pages a couple times a day.

Despite the gravitas of his job and heft of his reading list, Allis isn't a stiff.

"I like to dance," he said.

Hip hop is his favorite style of music, but he also likes more mellow artists such as Jack Johnson and John Mayer.

On Friday nights, you can often find him at a club in Chapel Hill, where he lives.