2023: My Year in Books
Reflections on the reading
When I think holistically of my reading this year, I would rate it a 3.5 of 5.
Not only did I read fewer books than in 2022 but I read fewer books which I really enjoyed. As my ratio of “really good books” was down, I will need to dig into some of the data to understand why.
Conversely I elected not to finish three books that I started as I didn’t find them compelling enough to continue my efforts and I will consider that personal progress.
Having favorites
Books are not children so you are allowed to have favorites! I decided this year that I cannot consider a book in my list of favorites if I have only read it once. A book needs to hold its regard across multiple readings throughout different times in life.
The implications of this rule for this year are as follows:
Reread Slaughterhouse-Five for I believe the fourth or fifth time (at this point I will no longer bother to count) and can confirm I will keep it in my favorite books list.
Completed a second read of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance after the initial read in either 2019 or 2020 and I am keeping it in a top contenders list but am undecided on whether it is truly a favorite.
Top Picks of 2023
Top picks are exclusively books which I read for the first time this year.
What I thought was interesting is though each book is quite different, my top three picks have strong themes of revolution and resistance with core years of the story occuring in the 1960/70s.
What a strange and unexpected theme for the year!
In order of preference:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
The Full List
With notes, in the order I started reading them:
Ask Iwata by Satoru Iwata
A compilation of learning from Nintendo’s late CEO Satoru Iwata. It’s light reading for a business book but a heartwarming story about a leadership style focused on people. A thanks to my friend and former colleague Ryan B. for the recommendation!
Find my recap and favorite passages here.The Map of Knowledge by Violet Moller
The Map of Knowledge traces the journey of the ideas of three of the great scientists of antiquity across seven cities and thousands of years. Each Chapter focuses on a different city and highlights the cultural, religious, and scientific happenings which allowed this knowledge to be sustained throughout time, despite myriad challenges.
My biggest learning was the impact the Islamic community had on the preservation and transposition of these concepts, without which we would likely have never entered into the Renaissance era, and who knows where we would be now!
The pace was a bit slow, but it is a more academic read so that is to be expected. I found this one placed prominently on the Hatchard’s display shelves in our early days in London, so thank you Hatchard’s!
This was one of the first books I bought when we moved to London in 2021 as it was featured prominently in my favorite book store Hatchard’s.Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (reread)
How to describe it? It’s like sitting down with a great uncle who served in the war, deeply affected by PTSD and deeply into alien conspiracy theory - but in the best way. It’s the story of Billy Pilgrim, who was an American soldier who served in Germany in WW2. It’s told through a series of flashbacks and time travel.
It’s a unique book and makes me happy and sad all at once. You can read more of my thoughts in my post here.
I can’t remember exactly when I first read Slaughterhouse-Five; it was definitely after university and likely in 2015 as I was on a war book kick and also read All Quiet on the Western Front per the recommendation of my friend Lauren Walker and They Shall Not Have Me.Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
This book is rooted in reality but as I remember back to reading it almost a year ago, the story seems dusted in a bit of magic. Eva Luna is brought into the world under strange circumstances and orphaned at an early age. We see her grow up and encounter a strange cast of characters from parental figures.
My procurement of this book was coincidental, which seems to flow with much of the story itself. In need of a book to read at an Italian restaurant while in search of the best plate of lasagne in London, I stopped in a used book store just a block ahead of the restaurant. This was the first day I was to visit both Enoteca Rosso and the Oxfam Charity Shop and both now rank amongst my favorites for their wares.
This is one I will plan to reread as a candidate for my list of favorites in coming years!Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
If you’ve ever read Ken Follett, then you already know. Follett is a master of historical fiction. Pillars of the Earth is set in 1100s England and follows the family of an aspiring Mason, and ambitious Prior both looking to make their mark on the world — and a cathedral in Kingsbridge brings them together.
In the 1090 pages you dive deep into the lives and times of feudal England. It’s a wonderful but hefty read! A thanks to my friend Kate for introducing me to Follett’s Fall of Giants 10 years ago!Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
A story I’d long been familiar with, but never read. I think Fannie Flagg does an excellent job of capturing time and place and building characters. I was a bit surprised by some of the language though.
I bought this at the Oxfam bookshop along with Eva Luna that day and have bought but not yet read another one of Flagg’s books since reading. It’s a good fiction read about the US south if that is what you’re looking for!The Library of Great Masters: Fra Angelico by John Pope Hennessy
This is an 80 page book with 88 illustrations, so calling it a book may be a stretch. If you are a Fra Angelico fan, then it’s a great little resource to own. Fra Angelico was a Dominican Friar and artist during the Italian Renaissance.
He painted some of my favorite versions of The Annunciation as well as much of what is on the walls of San Marco Cathedral (my favorite cathedral) in Florence, Italy. Annunciation in The Prado, my rendition Annunciation Distorted.Of Saints and Miracles by Manuel Astur
I bought this book and When I Sing, Mountains Dance ahead of a trip to Spain in May at Stanford’s bookstore in London. I almost cannot separate the two in my mind as I read them in quick succession but though they were different books had such strong thematic ties.
Similar to Eva Luna, these are grounded in reality but have a bit of a magical feel. Both books have really wonderful commentary on family, nature, the passing of time and changing of communities. If that sounds interesting, I would recommend them both!
Here is my recap of both books.When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà
See the above!The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
It’s almost as if the tourism board of Italy commissioned von Arnim to write this with the message “Italy will heal you.” It’s the story of 4 women of London, relatively unknown to each other, who elect to spend a month together in an old Italian Castle. Through their time together they are each able to address a specific pain they have been facing.
If you’re looking for a whimsical story to read by the pool or the coast, this is a good one. I wrote about it here.Conversations with Friends - Sally Rooney
I’ve read three of Rooney’s novels in the past two years and they all blur together a bit. They aren’t formulaic in structure like an Agathe Christie novel, but more so in the characters: girls who are friends and deserve more from themselves and the men they are dating.
Of those I’ve read I would rank Beautiful World, Where are You? above both Conversations with Friends and Normal People purely for the back in forth the two friends have in their email conversations. I only buy these used and wouldn’t pay full price for another Rooney novel.The Fran Lebowitz Reader - Fran Lebowitz
I actually picked this up accidentally thinking the spine said Lebovitz. As I noted in my post about this book, I typically do not read 1) Essays, 2) Sardonic Social Commentary but really enjoyed her book of essays.
Selfishly, I liked this book because it was a little catalyst into writing some essays for myself, and based on the small and rough sketches I’ve outlined so far, I might even call them sardonic social commentary, but of a different flavor than Fran’s.I wanted to know how she wrote - physically how did she get thoughts into reality, as much of her work predates the personal computer and I found this interview with Interview Magazine here - it’s gritty and perfectly her and perfectly New York.
Caesar’s Vast Ghost: Aspects of Provence - Lawrence Durrell
An interesting read as it is a mix of history of the region of Provence and the lasting impact of Julius Caesar (his vast ghost) and recollections of the decades that Durrell spent living there. The idea of living somewhere for decades away from home is an interesting thought, and having lived many places on top of that is nicer still.
I think it’s probably a great read for the right person but the romantic prose wasn’t what I was expecting and that threw me off a bit, which is a reflection on me, not the book itself.Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi
A cafe in Tokyo which allows you to travel back in time as long as you are back before the coffee gets cold.I liked the premise of the story and found the idea of the characters that we met and their reasons for traveling interesting enough but felt it was missing a combination of character and emotional development to really make it impactful.
Mona Lisa: The People and the Painting - Martin Kemp & Giuseppe Pallanti
The Mona Lisa is the world’s most recognizable painting, and while many are familiar with Leonardo da Vinci, many are unfamiliar with the sitter herself, Lisa Gherardini. In this book we learn about both her and her husband’s family heritage and business which would have put them in close ties with Leonardo’s father.One of my favorite elements of the book was the description and visuals of the city blocks in Florence and the realization that not only were many of the great masters around Florence at the time, but living within a stone’s throw of each other.
I found this book in the small used book section of Library Galignani which is on the Rue de Rivoli across from the Tuileries Gardens, mere minutes away from the painting itself! Here is my recap if you want to take a peek.Here I Am - Jonathan Safran Foer
Foer wrote the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close which is the book that to date made me cry the most in my life. It is incredibly beautiful so I picked up Here I Am, which turned out to be very…different.
I’m quoting the Amazon description for this one as I am struggling to find the words myself “How do we fulfill our conflicting duties as father, husband, and son; wife and mother; child and adult? Jew and American? How can we claim our own identities when our lives are linked so closely to others’?.. Here I Am is the story of a fracturing family in a moment of crisis.”
Foer has a special talent around character development and entwining you within their emotions and struggle. There were points in the book where I didn’t love what was written - it seemed crude and unnecessary, but having finished it several months ago, I really appreciate it overall. In light of the recent events in Israel and Palestine, some of the specific fictional events hold even more gravity than when I read it.Italian Lessons - Isabetta Aldolini
This was a book I found based on an author I followed on Instagram last year. It was her first novel and self-published, so I have to give her kudos for that! I liked the premise more than I liked the book itself. I found the main character a bit too self-indulgent.The High Mountains of Portugal - Yann Martel
Yann Martel also wrote The Life of Pi, which I really loved reading around ten years ago, so I picked up The High Mountains of Portugal based on that fact.The story is told in three parts across a centuries time and covers the topics of journeying and loss of faith. If this had been an unknown author, I would rate it 5/10, but knowing what Martel is capable of with Life of Pi made this book even more disappointing. It was not bad, but it was not good and that’s not an enviable place to be.
A Common Uncommon Life - Steve Cowan
You may not know Steve Cowan, but I do! I would consider Steve both a mentor and a friend since we met him when living in California in 2019. Steve has lived a storied life and he details much of it in his book of essays.
In response, I typed over 20 pages of notes and mailed them to Steve and we have several lively email threads in follow up discussion! This was the second book of essays I read this year and further inspiration to start writing more myself.
Learn more about it here in my blog post called My Friend Steve: A book and blueprint for livingThe Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
This is the third of my three top reads this year and if I had to give it a tagline, it would be: philosophy and love under Soviet occupation. It leans heavier into some philosophical pondering at the beginning and more into love and the many ways it can wreck you throughout the remainder of the novel.
It’s not like Slaughterhouse-Five but I think there are key themes shared in that it’s a mix of war and history and a mix of strange dreams which give insight into the fears and psyche of the main characters and introduces concepts of identity and loss.
I picked this up at Waterstones in London as I’d heard the title but knew little about it. If you pick it up, I think you’ll be intrigued by the end of the first page. Here are some of the quotes I like, grouped by theme. Upon sharing that I’d read it, Caroline and Mariana both commented that they were big fans - and I’d trust both of their recommendations!Cracking the Sales Management Code: The Secrets to Measuring and Managing Sales Performance by Jason Jordan & Michelle Vazzana
This is a sales book, obviously, so it gets judged on a different scale. My biggest insight from the book, which seems obvious in highsight, is that you cannot coach to outcomes, only to inputs.
An example they give in the book is that you cannot simply tell a student to get better grades and expect meaningful results - you cannot coach to that outcome. What you can coach to is a certain amount of practice of math each day to improve the skills so that they may do better on assignments and tests to ultimately get better grades.
The same is true in sales, you cannot coach to 20% more revenue, but you can coach to the right targeting in prospecting, the right approach in the deal cycle which will impact your pipeline, deal velocity and win rate, all which will influence the revenue outcomes. This was mentioned on the Topline podcast.Medieval Bodies: Life, Death and Art in the Middle Ages by Jack Hartnell
Another one of the books I bought early on in our time in London at Hatchard’s. An interesting enough read for someone who isn’t necessarily interested in anatomy. Each chapter takes you through a different part of the body and details both this historic understanding, importance of, and prescribed treatments for ailments during the medieval times.Isaac and The Egg by Bobby Palmer
Isaac is going through some extreme depression when he hears yelling in the woods and finds a small egg-like creature which he decides to take in. It’s a story of battling and coping with extreme loss. Again, it was one of those where I liked the concept of the book more than the book itself. I think I was probably not the right reader for this book.The Challenger Sale - Dixon and Adamson
More sales books! The Challenger Sales I supposed would be considered a “modern classic” in the sales book world? Its key lessons are Teach, Tailor, and Take Control of the sale. Plenty of good learning specific to my work environment!Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig (reread)
Zen is a relatively dense book which drifts between lanes of theoretical philosophy and narrative. It was my second read of the book and even at some points I needed to reread a specific passage again for comprehension.
It’s a long and somewhat winding book, of which I do like all of it, but there are parts in the middle which I enjoy the most. The parts I like the most might rank higher than what I like about most other books as they are an inquiry into reason and life versus just story.
Find my favorite passages here and if you have read or do read it, please let me know! It would be a good one to discuss.Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven the summer when I was 14 and entering 9th grade. I clearly remember being in the back seat of my Nana’s car with tears streaming down as we delivered Meals of Wheels to people in her community. I was you and had not at that time really read any books that talked about life and impact in that way.
I asked my friends for book recommendations earlier this year and Sandra mentioned Tuesdays with Morrie. It was a title I’d heard of for years, so I finally picked it up and it did not disappoint.
Years after graduating university, Mitch Albom reconnects with one of his professors whom he had been close with in school after learning about his diagnosis of ALS. He starts to fly weekly from Detroit to Boston to spend Tuesdays with Morrie where they recount Morrie’s experience and perspective on life. This true story is very touching and valuable for anyone who reads it.The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
The story of a young woman who is not convinced her life is worth living is given the chance to play different scenarios to see how her life might have been if she had made a series of different choices. It speaks to “the joy to be found in living.”
I feel like it was one of those books lots of people talked about in the last year. It’s a good read for light fiction when pondering the larger questions about life. Zen and the Art and Unbearable Lightness both mentioned above are a bit more weighty and explore these larger themes.Sell The Way You Buy - David Priemer
The last of the sales books for the year (that I have finished!) and this my favorite of the three. Priemer brings in tactical advice backed by psychology and my friend Daniel Kahneman in the behavioral economics department to back it all up.
I still need to go back and take notes on this one, but would definitely recommend it to anyone in a sales role.Down the Drain - Julia Fox
Julia Fox started to gain wider popularity after starring in the film Uncut Gems along with Adam Sandler. She also dated Kanye West for a short time and has appeared at recent fashion shows with very eccentric looks. She had been quite known in the Manhattan downtown scene for years before.Twain said “Truth is stranger than fiction” and my thought when reading her autobiography was roughly “you could not make this stuff up”. From growing up between estranged parents in both NYC and Italy, substance abuse from a young age, to trying her hand as a dominatrix just out of high school, dating Kanye West was arguably the least interesting thing she wrote about in her memoir.
Fox excelled at writing poetry from a young age and her writing skills shine in this book. She takes on some pretty dark matter from her life and comes out the other side with a compelling narrative on the wild events that have been her life so far.The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
This book has been on my mental “to be read” list for years. Years! I finally bought a copy a few months ago and took it with me on our trip home to Texas for the holidays.
Does the perfect book exist (in general, or for oneself)? Unlikely, but I think this one inches pretty close to perfect for me. It touches on big topics like negative impacts of European Colonialism, US unseating African rulers to create more western-friendly (read: governments who are amenable to us exploiting their land) local governments, and Baptist missionaries and is told through the lens of a family suffering their own internal crises.
My full post is here. I was with my cousin this weekend who is an educator and she mentioned this was a great pairing for any high schoolers who read Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, so I am just 17 years or so behind on that pairing.Still Life with Oysters and Lemons - Mark Doty
This short prose offers Doty’s insights on life through the lens of analyzing still life painting, specifically the Dutch still lifes of the 1600s. His narratives intertwine his personal experiences including comments on a friend who owns a Dutch still life to collecting blue and white second hand china as his mother had, which connected her to her childhood.
It was a romantic read that I enjoyed but will need to revisit as I read it in the blurred transit from Texas to the.
Started and did not finish within the year
Chromorama by Riccardo Falcinelli
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson
Gap Selling by Jim Keenan
Little by Edward Carey
Abandoned and donated as I did not care to finish:
Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag
Quid Pro Quo: What the Romans Really Gave the English Language
Putin’s People: How the KGB took back Russia then took on the West
