At the end of the year, I thought it would be fun to review some of my favorite books from the last year.
When I feel overwhelmed by the state of the world, I turn to history. I find it helps to remember that humans have been through – if not this, then something like it – before.
I was shocked to learn about the rapid growth of the KKK through the 1920s, and the book helped me understand the rise of white nationalism in the U.S. today.
My friend Marie wrote the following blurb about this book:
There is much to be learned in considering how people with actually similar goals or core ideas can end up in wildly opposing camps based on how they communicate those ideas. And while I’m certainly not advocating for bringing more politics into the workplace, what’s happening politically in the US remains a pretty big elephant in the room these days.
I recently read Good, Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America’s Dangerous Divide by Keith Payne, a social scientist who studies polarization. There are numerous ways we can consider how to best influence those around us—and Payne’s book adds a great deal of understanding around the psychology of how people on all sides of an issue rationalize their ideas. A worthwhile read as you consider your strategic communication skills!
I stumbled on this collection of essays on Spotify while waiting for a flight, and enjoyed it as a somewhat mindless summer read.
The author, a New Yorker journalist, published these as a series of essays about wealth, inequality, and the lifestyles of the ultrarich.
I particularly enjoyed Chapter 2, which is all about super yachts and Chapter 3, which is about booking famous artists for private parties.
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
I've been listening to Ezra Klein's podcast for the last couple of years, and I think it is among the best contemporary podcasts today.
Ezra’s new book Abundance puts the challenges facing the political left in America into perspective, issuing a call to arms that we must build – more affordable housing, more public works, and more energy solutions – if we want to thrive
Several books about Sam Altman and OpenAI were published recently – one with his full cooperation, one without. Empire of AI is the second of these.
The title is a nod to the fact that empires typically have a few big winners while the vast majority suffer to produce their spoils. This book is a well-reported, high-octane read that delivers a scathing account of OpenAI and Sam Altman’s rush to dominate the AI race.
One thing’s for sure: Sam Altman is an incredible salesperson!
I’ve always known of P.T. Barnum, but never knew much about his life. It turns out the phrase “There’s a sucker born every minute!” is misattributed to him!
Barnum was a hustler and a showman – and quite an incredible character. There’s a lot to learn about showmanship and self-promotion from his example.
Joe Girard holds a Guinness Book of World Record for most cars sold.
The book is written in plain language, and shares Joe's journey into sales, the belief that anyone can learn to sell, and how to do it.
Where a lot of books about sales are technical, describe complex systems, or site a lot of research, this book is humble, approachable, and legitimately fun to read.
This book follows the life of John Boyd, one of the most unsung heroes in American military history.
Even more than his impact on plane design or military strategy, Boyd sacrificed career advancement to push against military bureaucracy and a sense that we do things a certain way because “that’s how it has always been done.”
Anytime I feel the need to reassess my routines, I pick these two books up. Both copies are well-worn. Sometimes just the reminder to leave my running shoes out where I can see them, or to celebrate tiny successes to reinforce a habit, is enough for me to get back on track.
I'd heard the name Michael Easter, but never sat down to read one of his books until recently. I’ve been listening to both The Comfort Crisis, which put Easter on the map, and Embrace Discomfort, which consists of a series of interviews with people who’ve intentionally chosen challenge over convenience.
I stumbled on this book earlier this week on X/Twitter, and it fits with a lot of my approaches to working with children, back to when I worked with kids with autism.
The basic premise is that children ought to be treated with the same respect as adults. Let kids figure things out for themselves. Or in the words of The Morning Star Company, which I wrote about in my book Responsive – don’t use force.
I won’t give my future kids unlimited junk food and unlimited screen time, but I agree with a lot of the ideas in the book.
I've been reading a lot about cancer since my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022.
The Metabolic Approach to Cancer is the most approachable book I've read about this atypical approach, which I believe will be the future of cancer treatment.
For more technical reading, the go-to book is Cancer as a Metabolic Disease by Thomas Seyfried.
The book is about Ken Holmes, who worked in the Marin County Coroner’s Office for thirty-six years, starting as a death investigator and ending as the three-term, elected coroner.
I started reading the book because I recently purchased a home in Marin County, which the book describes as “a study in contradictions.”
The book jacket reads:
Its natural beauty attracts celebrity residents and thousands of visitors every year, yet the county also is home to San Quentin Prison, one of the oldest and largest penitentiaries in the United States. Marin ranks in the top one percent of counties nationwide in terms of affluence and overall health, yet it is far above the norm in drug overdoses and alcoholism, not to mention the large percentage of suicides that occur on the Golden Gate Bridge.
I knew nothing about the work of a coroner when I started, but am fascinated by human anatomy and love Marin County, so this book was a perfect balance across them.
Fair warning: a few of the stories from Holmes’ 36 years investigating death are grisly.
Hopefully, civilization doesn’t collapse and you never need to rebuild basic technologies from the ground up. But just in case, The Knowledge should be required reading for pretty much everyone.
The Knowledge contains the information you need to survive in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe. The book is a step-by-step guide to building a windmill to generate power and grind flour, re-create an internal combustion engine, put together a microscope, get metals out of rock, and produce food.
It is an incredible primer for how things work, and a fun read. I keep a copy in my emergency kit.
This novel was ranked one of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. It is lovely, and completely absorbing. The less said the better, but if you must, here’s the description:
On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo.
Overnight, the world is theirs. Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Lock In by John Scalzi
Narrated by Will Wheaton, Lock In is the first in a series about a fictional disease that leaves one percent of the human population “locked in,” fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimuli.
This story examines how humanity might respond, and follows the story of two FBI agents investigating a murder.
Alongside others of John Scalzi’s books, including Fuzzy Nation and Agent to the Stars, this book is worth the listen.
3 Things I’ve Loved This Week
Quote I'm enjoying:
"Our paranoid, skittish ancestors out-survived and out-produced the ones who stopped to ponder whether their fears were rational." - Hugh Howey
Strategy to try for Rock Paper Scissors
After each round, switch to the option neither player used. If your rock loses to their paper, throw scissors next. If your scissors beat their paper, throw a rock next.
The World Rock Paper Scissors Association has more sophisticated strategies.
I just re-upped my supply of liquid chalk. I use it every day, and it saves my hands from tearing. Just make sure to firmly close the bottle after every singe use.
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Until next week,
Robin
