My books of the year: 2023
Thematic reading in health, science fiction, and biography...with a beautiful novella to boot
In the past, I’ve written about the importance of reading on a multitude of fronts. And each year on social media I like to post the books I’ve read that year including my “top 5.” This year, I wanted to offer a substack write-up of the books that impacted me most organized by themes for the year. I’d love your suggestions as I build my reading list for 2024!
2023 was a light reading year for me, but a few themes stood out.
First, as I’ve entered my 40s, I’m paying more attention to my health and trying to be more thoughtful about my diet, exercise, and mental health among other things. The best book I read this year on health was Peter Attia’s Outlive. In it, Attia, who is a physician, outlines his own health journey and the advice he has for others on countering the top causes of death for most people—things like cancer, heart disease, and memory loss. Some of the results are unsurprising (we should all exercise more, avoid alcohol and tobacco, eat better). But the details in the book were exceptional. I ended up taking a few new measures for heart health, for example, including a Calcium test and a new blood test; and I even started a preventative dose of a statin based on advice in the book. I started rucking to replace some of my running (which has worn my knees and Achilles more as I’ve aged) and begun new mental health practices. I coupled Attia’s advice with what I read in Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones—a study of the habits of those who live in geographies with an unusual number of people who age to 100 or more. And my biggest takeaways from the Buettner’s fine book have been to dramatically reduce my meat consumption and lean even more into healthy communities and relationships.
I love a good novel (I even published my first novel this year!), and I often enjoy sci-fi. A few years ago my top reads on that front were Cixin Liu’s remarkable Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy (the first book of which was The Three Body Problem) and Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves—both of which explored quasi-realistic space-based scenarios that delved into fantastical and fascinating explorations of physics. This year my favorite new fiction trilogy was Pierce Brown’s Red Rising. Brown’s writing is not yet as developed as Liu’s or Stephenson’s, and his focus is not on realism or explorations of physics. Instead, he constructs as universe in which—in the aftermath of catastrophic wars—the human race has spread through the solar system under the control of a caste based governmental system in which all people are divided by their “colors.” These genetically engineered people groups are ruled by the “Golds”—a warrior race based loosely on Spartan or Roman society—with other races filling specific roles (including the Reds, who are the bottom caste responsible for most labor in the society). The trilogy follows a Red who is genetically engineered to be a Gold and instigates a revolution. It’s a fun read that’s also thought provoking in its presentation of social dynamics and its mixture of Roman/Greek themes within a futuristic human civilization.
Speaking of crafting futuristic human civilizations, my favorite biographies of the year were two from Walter Isaacson—Musk and Einstein. Isaacson, Ron Chernow, and Adrian Goldsworthy are my favorite contemporary biographers, and Einstein and Musk provide unique insights into two men who have done as much to shape the modern world as anyone in contemporary life. Both Musk and Einstein are brilliant if troubled men, who deeply care about human civilization while finding it remarkably difficult to construct healthy relationships with individual human beings. Einstein of course faced rampant anti-semitism and class discrimination en route to becoming one of history’s most brilliant scientific minds—a legacy punctuated by laying the scientific foundation for mankind’s most dubious and dangerous invention, the atomic bomb (a fun book to couple with the new movie Oppenheimer). Einstein’s personal life meanwhile was fascinating (I loved the insights into his friendship with Marie Curie) but marked by incredibly callous treatment of others and questionable political decisions. Enter Musk, whose own story has echoes of Einstein’s, though Musk is focused on practical impact while Einstein was obsessed with theoretical foundations. Unlike Michael Lewis’s almost weirdly credulous and fawning Going Infinite, Isaacson presents a balanced portrait of Musk based on almost inconceivable access granted to Isaacson by the man at the center of the biography. What emerges is the picture of a person with a troubled past, who overcame incredible hardship to emerge as the most important inventor and business leader of the modern era. Musk’s ability to not just identify world changing projects to focus on but ultimately make almost magical progress toward their achievement is inspiring and challenging. It’s also fascinating to read an Isaacson bio written not after its protagonists death, but in the midst of the story. The next chapter is being written right in front of our eyes.
Finally, for those simply wanting a fun, beautiful, thoughtful, and exquisitely constructed holiday read, I recommend Norman Maclean’s novella, A River Runs Through It. I read the book for perhaps my tenth time this year, and I learn something new from each reading. Its depictions of faith, the beauty of nature, the art of fly fishing, and the quiet complexity of male relationships are near-perfect. And I absolutely love Maclean’s story…a lumberjack and park service employee turned literature professor who wrote his first book—this fictionalized story of his own life and the life and death of his troubled brother—at more than 70 years of age. Some of the passages in A River Runs Through It are as beautiful as anything written in the English language and the closing paragraph is perhaps the most beautiful in literature. If you’re a man or someone who wants to understand the men in your life there’s no better book.
Of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I hope you will consider checking out my own debut novel, Miracles, published this year. More than 130 people have reviewed it on Amazon, and I feel humbled by the consensus so far, with Connie Dunn saying it’s “One of the best books I’ve ever read!” and Andrew complementing its “Captivating storytelling.” Please consider buying, review, and sharing with friends!
I hope you all have a blessed holiday season, a Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year. May your reading list for 2024 be long and productive. And please share any and all suggestions!