Normally, I’d be up to 10 to 12 books a month by April, but I’ve been rather busy, so I topped out at 8 listens. All of the books I listened to were good, and even my lowest rated book “The Craftsman”, was still a good listen, just a bit heady at times.
The book that really stole the show was, “Meditation in Action” by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who just so happens to be one of my favorite thinkers of all time. This book is his introduction to an American audience, so it lacks much of the Buddhist terminology that makes his later works less accessible. The information in this book is presented in a very simple, understandable, and yet powerful way. Rather than sharing from a place on high, he relates to an audience not yet versed in Buddhist philosophy. This may very well be the best introduction to Buddhist thought that I’ve come across.
Another great list was “The Great Illusion” by Paul Singh. This book is an approachable discussion of free will and cognitive neuroscience, although it does become a bit too logically exhaustive in the later parts. If you are curious to know more about current thinking around free will (whether we have it or not), this is a good place to start.
Here is my April reading list, in the order that I listened to them:
The Craftsman – Richard Sennett ***
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone – Lori Gottlieb ***.5
The Path is the Goal – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche ***.5
The Great Illusion – Paul Singh ****
Go Wild – John Ratey, Richard Manning ***.5
Conscious Coaching – Bret Bartholomew ***.5
The Beautiful Brain – Hana Walker-Brown ***.5
Meditation in Action – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche ****.5
(if you are not yet an Audible member, you can get one of these books for free, by signing up for a 30 day trial – use this link, and you’ll help support my work as well – Audible Trial Membership)