My Top 5 Books from 2023
Hello!
As the year concludes, sharing my top 5 books has become an annual tradition. Here's a list of books I listened to throughout the year, with the help of the Libby app (one of the best free apps available!). I've bolded my top 5 (tough process, but I have to proceed):
4000 Weeks, Oliver Burkeman
Deep Work, Cal Newport
A World Without Email, Cal Newport
Designing Your New Work Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
Linchpin, Seth Godin
The Body, Bill Bryson
The Icarus Deception, Seth Godin
The Song of Significance, Seth Godin
When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, Bernie Sanders
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew Perry
How to Be Perfect, Michael Schur
The Storyteller, Dave Grohl
Belonging, Michelle Miller
Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
Hello, Molly! Molly Shannon, Sean Wilsey
Let's Talk About Hard Things, Anna Sale
If you've been tracking with me throughout the year, you should already recognize some of these titles from previous newsletters. You can't go wrong with any of them, really. They all add something interesting to your knowledge base, if you invest in them. Here's a quick blurb for why each of these 5 stood out:
4000 Weeks, Oliver Burkeman - the productivity book to end all productivity books. You only become more productive once you stop using busyness to avoid the bigger, heavier life questions or for chasing a future you will never fully realize. In a world more interconnected than ever, the fear of missing out - and the resentment from having to continually make hard choices - is never more evident than now.
Designing Your New Work Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans - the chapter on disruption alone makes this worth reading. Especially if you already read the original "Designing Your Work Life." The iterative lifestyle approach is not one to avoid, but embrace. In line with Burkeman's book, design thinking helps you live in the here and now, moving forward. As the authors like to emphasize: life is an infinite game with no winners or losers. Don't just play it - enjoy the process as you do.
Linchpin, Seth Godin - there are proper and shameless tactics to become irreplaceable at work. One is to hoard all your secrets and keep a tight lid on them so no one can eliminate your job. The other is to keep adding value in ways so creative, a company would be foolish to let you go. Playing the long game is difficult when short-term dividends are so appealing, right? Let Seth help you generate ideas on how to stay the course. Becoming a linchpin isn't selfish - it's what gives you the stability to fully contribute.
The Body, Bill Bryson - a mix of science, history, and humor that should replace every high school biology class (though I concede that frog dissection is an essential rite of passage). Seriously, this book would make high school learning (or any health professional school) so much more interesting and efficient. Learning how we discovered the full mechanisms of how the body functions keeps us from taking our systems for granted. The discovery process becomes fascinating when you don't have to worry about a pop quiz afterward, as well.
The Storyteller, Dave Grohl - Yes, I enjoyed listening to Nirvana growing up. But I hardly knew anything about the drummer, let alone bothered to learn anything about him. For his mom to realize her son was better fit for a musician's life after high school than to push him toward a more conventional path... that's courageous. And to see how much preparation, learning, persistence, and opportunity to have a successful career many covet but few actually experience... amazing.
Like any of these? Disagree? Want to share your own? Send me a message. I look forward to your response!
