My Year in Books - 2023
Turning the page on another year
Happy New Year! As we begin a new year, I trust you have found time to rest and recharge with family and friends over the last few days. I hope 2024 brings you happiness and prosperity and exceeds all your expectations.
While 2023 was quite a turbulent year, one thing that stayed relatively consistent for me was my reading. After a lackluster 2022 where I read ten (mainly non-fiction) books, I found a better reading groove last year by a) adding reading to my pre-bedtime routine, b) adding in more fiction, and c) keeping up the trend of not hate reading books to completion, only sticking with the ones that resonated at the moment. I now usually have a few books going at a time and switch between them depending on the mood which makes for a better and more consistent reading habit.
A big unlock for my reading this year was also Spotify adding audiobooks. Being able to ‘read’ while on a drive or a flight, and switching modalities from visual to audio, helped me with recall and engagement on a story. I highly recommend trying it out!
As always, below is the list of sixteen books from 2023 with quick thoughts on each. As I pull together my reading list for 2024, please click the link below and send me your book recommendations! And for my past years’ reading lists, click here.
Note: * indicates a strong recommendation
Fiction:
Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by TJ Newman
The second book by former bookseller and flight attendant TJ Newman (I also read her first book, Falling, this year). About a plane that takes off only to find itself crashing into the Pacific a few minutes later. Drowning is a quick read and a great way to escape into what is a totally new set of challenges that we (hopefully!) aren’t likely to face any time soon.
Falling by TJ Newman
This one is a thriller about a pilot faced with an impossible choice when his family is kidnapped, and he is ordered to crash his plane to save them. Also a great vacation read, it was made to be a movie (which looks like it will become).
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles *
I’ve become a huge fan of Amor Towles ever since I read A Gentleman in Moscow a few years back. Set in the 1950s, The Lincoln Highway follows eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson on a journey across America after his release from a juvenile work farm. Along with an eclectic group of companions including his younger brother, Emmett travels the Lincoln Highway (the first transcontinental road for automobiles) towards New York, and along the way encounters various adventures and challenges that explore themes of destiny, redemption, and the American dream. An outstanding read.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by a butler, Stephens, in post-WWII England while on a roadtrip to visit a former colleague, The Remains of the Day features some exceptional prose while tackling a very poignant underlying question: what happens when you begin to question the ideas upon which you have built your life? Be warned, it’s a bit slow at times, but well worth the time.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin *
T&T&T tells the tale of two childhood best friends who go on to start a gaming company together. A wonderfully written story, it is probably one of the best reads on the power of co-founders and how a team can push each other to heights impossible to reach on one’s own. The best work of fiction I read this year.
The Verifiers by Jane Pek
Online dating meets big data meets the immigrant experience in The Verifiers. Claudia Lin, a young woman working at a tech startup that investigates the authenticity of people's online lives becomes entangled in a case involving the mysterious disappearance of a client and uncovers complex layers of fraud and manipulation. In the category of quick and entertaining reads.
Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway
A fast-paced narrative set in a cyberpunk dystopia, the book focuses on detective Cal Sounder, who specializes in cases involving Titans—near-immortal beings who have undergone a body-resetting drug treatment. Cal acts as a liaison between law enforcement and the Titans, who are mostly ultra-rich and powerful individuals and finds himself embroiled in an unprecedented case when a Titan is murdered. Combining wit, action, and thoughtful social commentary, the story presents a complex world through Cal's sardonic internal monologue, replete with high-stakes fights and political intrigue, as he navigates moral ambiguity and overwhelming odds to uncover the truth.
Non-Fiction:
Founder Vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO by Elizabeth Zalman and Jerry Neumann
By my friend, Liz Zalman, a repeat founder and CEO, and Jerry Neumann, a 25-year venture capital legend who has invested in companies including Datadog, StrongDM (one of Liz’s companies), and Trade Desk, the book presents both sides of the founder and investor table authentically and openly. It’s easy to read despite being very detailed, proactively addresses the unsaid things between founders and investors on a host of major topics ranging from fundraising to growth, and serves as a wonderful explainer with actionable tips, tricks, and takeaways for both founders and investors. For more, read my interview with Liz and Jerry here.
Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood by Michael Lewis *
I am a big fan of Michael Lewis. I am also a father to a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. So when I discover Michael Lewis has written a book about his early years as a father parenting young children, I will naturally read it. It didn’t disappoint - a wonderfully hilarious set of stories about the joys, challenges, and realities of raising kids.
Same as Ever by Morgan Housel
The world around us seems to be changing faster than ever. Same as Ever by Morgan Housel (another great storyteller) is the book-length expression of the quote, “The more things change, the more they stay the same”.
Starry Messenger by Neil deGrasse Tyson
A series of meditations by probably the most well-known astrophysicist since Carl Sagan, Starry Messenger is Neil deGrasse Tyson’s attempt at looking at the world and some of our challenges through the eyes of a scientist. While it does a good job of reframing our lives in the context of the infinite cosmos, and he is an engaging storyteller, it felt a little light in terms of substance.
The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall
We are a storytelling species. This light read by Jonathan Gottschall, an English professor at Washington and Jefferson College, is a reasonably good examination of why story and narrative have played such an important part in shaping society. It pairs nicely with a chapter in Morgan Housel’s Same As Ever called “Best Story Wins”.
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant *
This is a non-fiction book that reads like a novel. Set in Eastern Russia, it tells the tale of a man-eating tiger that wreaks havoc on a local community. It elegantly weaves Russian history, zoology, tracking, hunting, and human psychology together with prose that one cannot help but stop and ponder. "
Caught off guard and off balance, Andrei, whose life was finished though his heart still beat, swiveled slightly to the left. He would have been amazed to hear and see this avatar of doom so unbelievably close and closing fast.
This is a book I read and listened to at the same time, and it was awesome.
What’s Our Problem by Tim Urban
Tim Urban, author of the famous Wait but Why blog, spent 6 years writing this book, attempting to make sense of why we as a society span such a wide spectrum from politics to climate change to social media. The first few chapters were quite interesting, but it was difficult to get through in the middle section.
(Auto)Biographical:
Open by Andre Agassi
I had heard great things about Andre’s autobiography when it first came out in 2009, but only just now got around to reading it. If you’re a tennis fan, it is a must-read. Even if you’re not, it’s well worth picking up. I so vividly remember watching Agassi v. Sampras as a kid. To read him recounting the matches, the tennis tour beef, how he actually hated tennis, and the physical pain he experienced as he came to the end of his career added so many dimensions to my experience as a fan.
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara *
Will Guidara is the former owner of the world-famous Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York. At one time the best restaurant in the world, in Unreasonable Hospitality Will goes into how he and his team constantly pushed the boundaries of hospitality to create the award-winning experience. This book pairs exceptionally well with my most gifted book last year, Setting the Table by Danny Meyer. It shouldn’t come as a coincidence then that Will Guidara happened to work for Danny Meyer before turning Eleven Madison Park into what it is today. And as I wrote about Setting the Table, this book is relevant not just for restaurateurs but for anyone building a business, in a managerial role, or who works with others. I cannot say enough good things about this one.
Quote I’m thinking about: “…we are compelled to share our discoveries in the form of stories. Much is made of the fact that ours is the only species that does this, that the essence of who and what we understand ourselves to be was first borne orally and aurally: from mouth to ear to memory. This is so, but before we learned to tell stories, we learned to read them. In other words, we learned to track. The first letter of the first word of the first recorded story was written—“printed”—not by us, but by an animal. These signs and symbols left in mud, sand, leaves, and snow represent proto-alphabets. Often smeared, fragmented, and confused by weather, time, and other animals, these cryptograms were life-and-death exercises in abstract thinking. This skill, the reading of tracks in order to procure food, or identify the presence of a dangerous animal, may in fact be “the oldest profession.” - John Vaillant in The Tiger
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I would recommend the Mark Leonard Constellation Software letters.