One of my annual traditions is to report on my favorite books of the most recent year. For some reason or another, I skipped the 2022 review, but here is a prior year with links to years before it. Made it through 25 books in 2023 which was quite an accomplishment given blogs, podcasts, newspapers, and magazines that continue to get my attention and time.
During the holiday, our family had a lot of interesting table talk about books in general. The correlation to reading could not have been more profound. Many in their 6th decade and above never listen to a book while those in their 20'-s to 30’s listen to books almost 100%. I have found listening to books to be its own unique and developing skill set and am somewhat of a tweener-I tend to both listen and read primarily through the brilliant Whispernet which syncs where you left off either reading or listening so that you can automatically pick up right where you left off, regardless of which medium you use (side note: as best I can tell Amazon discontinued the more global Whispernet brand and now uses Whispersync as the descriptor). For those who use this, what you lose when reading non-fiction is the ability to use Amazon highlights, which syncs your highlights to your own personal page within Amazon. For something even cooler, you can use clippings.IO to export those highlights to your repository of choice (Evernote for me since the early days, but I have lots of friends on the notion). These super cool ingtegrations allow easy access to pull in for references or for teaching/remembering and now include AI features that make it even easier-we live in great times.
Without any rank order, here are my top 10.5 books for 2023.
The Exchange: After The Firm by John Grisham
You would have to look long and hard to find any fiction books in my top book list but this one was quite fun. I distinctly recall reading The Firm such a major page turner many moons ago which I believed launched the entire Grisham enterprise. While not as good as its predecessor, for those that remember Mitch and Abby McDeere and the crimes of the Memphis law firm of Bendini, Lambert, and Locke, you are in for a treat. After some necessary time off, Mitch of course becomes a partner at a large NY City international law firm where once again he finds himself in the middle of a rather complex plot. I particularly enjoyed learning about their kids, family, and some of the rest of the story of the characters from the original. Hopefully they won’t waste their time on a movie of this sequel but a good, quick read.
Scarcity Brain: Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough by Michael Easter
I always lean toward social science and neuroscience books, and this is no exception other than it is easily translated and applied as though you weren’t reading any books backed by science. Easter, also the author of Comfort Crisis, understands behavior change and traces our battles with cravings from our ancestors. In essence, scarcity brain is a feeling that we can’t get enough. Everyone knows that everything is fine in moderation. Then the question is: Why are we all so bad at moderating? Our brains are bombarded with “scarcity clues,” and the magnitude of these triggers is aided by multiple modes-from apps to commercials to food, both obvious and subtle.
I enjoyed his detail on slot machines from the designer and the impact of unpredictable awards (which makes it addicting!). He also details a lot of fun work on how to make baseball less boring and, more importantly, how adopting the mindset of a hunter/gatherer might be the antidote to the craving mind.
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia MD, Bill Gifford
For those who are not podcast listeners, this is the best way to get caught up with the prolific Peter Attia and get practical and research-backed information on how to live healthier and longer. This is not so much a how-to book (although it has plenty) but detailing how you can one day participate in the “Centenarian Decathlon” by focusing on nutrition (vs. dieting), use of technology, and personalizing your approach is probably the key. For those who are confused about ApoA, ApoB, and why cholesterol measurements have their limitations, the good doc demystifies!
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Mandela’s incredible autobiography. This was a family read as we visited Robben Island and literally got to unlock his prison cell (actually, it was my daughter-in-law as a reward for finishing it first) as well as visit the courtyard where he literally hid parts of the printed manuscript that many years later made its way into this book. It is a tremendous, moving read, complete with sorrow, anguish, exhilaration, and, most of all, leadership. This is now one of the best leadership books, in my opinion, along with Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns.
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Isaacson does a great job of getting you inside the “mind” of Musk from the time of his getting beat up by bullies to his insatiable desire for risk. Is he a great man? It is complicated but there is no denying his complexity, success, innovation, and persistence. My favorite Musk company is Starlink and I particularly enjoyed those parts of the book along with his constant quest to get rid of friction points. My favorite Musk innovation is he is credited with getting rid of unique login names and replacing it simply with your email- probably why I never use eBay cause the logon preceded this better technique.
David A. Jones Always Moving Forward: A memoir of friends, family and building Humana by David Jones and Bob Hill
This is a terrific biography written by his son (proud to call him friend) and Bob Hill, a noted Louisville columnist, about the entrepreneurial journey of a local Louisville attorney who, with a cofounder, built and defined a “not non-profit” healthcare business pivoting from nursing home to hospital to health insurance. I had the privilege of being mentored in several 1–1 sessions with David Sr., which were impactful and inspirational. This book delves much deeper into his efforts in transporting his business success into philanthropic success, including rebuilding the Romanian healthcare system and a monumental park system in Lousiville. Long before there was Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk, humble, family-first David Jones set the path for future entrepreneurs and healthcare companies everywhere and set the stage for Louisville companies like the one I work in. This book memorializes credit where it belongs- his vision and leadership.
Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work — Now and in an Uncertain Future by Kellerman and Seligman
The future of work has never been more unknown or confusing in this post-pandemic period, and thanks to positive psychology founder Martin Seligman and his colleague Gabriella Kellerman, we can be a bit more assured by accessing key skills in resiliency, innovation, and networking. This would be a great work team read as it will inspire, cultivate, and enhance any work environment.
The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology by Nita Farahany
There is continued evidence that neurotechnology will be able to control our interactions while also threatening our privacy and freedoms as we know them. The book does a great job of exploring all this from the ethics perspective. Imagine a world where you can both be triggered proactively for seizures and migraines while also being able to eliminate painful memories, but with this comes enormous potential trade-offs. Farahany provides both sides to this, and there is no question this evolving technology leaves us and our minds better off.
Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk by Billy Walter and Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar by Alan Shipnuck
I paired these together because they both should be read in succession. Phil Michelson can best be described as the brother of a different mother to Elon Musk in terms of addiction to risk. He also might truly be the marvel of marketing and self-promotion, which works until it doesn’t, as Shipnuck details. This includes his special addiction and affinity to gambling, which, of course, gets you to his gambling partner Billy Walters, a Kentucky native whose rags to riches and back several times, including time in jail. There is quite a bit of “he said, she said,” which comes out much favorably on Billy Walters, who transforms his life into successful entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts. Please be forewarned Walters wrote this book and narrated the Audible edition with a particular instruction to learn from his failures! You will be educated, including some very fine practical football gambling tips. I particularly enjoyed is recollection of growing up in rural KY and in south end of Louisville.
How Do We Know Ourselves?: Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind by David G. Myers
Myers does the difficult task of sifting through reams of social science research and presenting it in digestible, practical form. He delivers 40 essays ranging from when to trust intuition, our inability to correctly hear Musical Lyrics, decision-making Fatigue, and What Are Best Efforts to Increase Empathy and Collaboration. This is a gem for those that love the best in psychological literature presented in a way that makes you want to use it to your advantage.
Hope you enjoyed this year’s edition and to happy reading. Would love to hear of your favorite reads.
larry
@physicaltherapy
