A Mind in Motion

Reading List – December 2018

December was a slim month of reading, completing only eight books. With cold temps and challenging workouts, it’s harder for me to take notes, so it takes me much longer to get through a book. Of the eight, there was only one that I’d recommend.

Top honors goes to “How to build self-discipline to exercise” by Martin Meadows. Martin has written many short books on motivation and self help, and I avoided his work for quite some time. But since they are so short, I thought I’d finally give one a try… I was pleasantly surprised. He knows his stuff. While I’m not a fan of the idea of self-discipline, I do agree with many of his ideas. This is a quick listen, and you’ll definitely find some valuable information.

The least valuable book of the month was tossup between “Mindshift” by Steve Chandler, and “The inside out revolution” by Michael Neill. Both of these books are dripping with spiritual drizzle. They make bold claims that can’t be backed up, and essentially position the ‘ego’ at the center their work. It’s unfortunate, because both of these men have produced other good works without the schlock. Don’t waste your time on these two.

Here is my December reading list, in the order that I listened to them:

TTC Becoming a Great Essayist ***
Super Coach – Michael Neill ***.5
TTC The Psychology of Performance – Eddie O’Connor ***.5
How to Build Self-Discipline to Exercise – Martin Meadows ****
The Inside Out Revolution – Michael Neill **.5
The Quiet Rise of Introverts – Brenda Knowles ***.5
Mindshift – Steve Chandler **.5
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – John Maxwell ***

(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)

Reading List – November 2018

Of the ten books I listened to, there were four that I’d strongly recommend.

My favorite by far, getting a rare 5 star rating is “Radical Honesty” by Brad Blanton. This book doesn’t pull any punches, and is one of the most insightful books on psychology I’ve ever come across. Can’t recommend it enough.

There were no books that really tanked on this list, but of the bunch, I’d say that “Victorian Secrets” was the least interesting.

Here is my November reading list, in the order that I listened to them:

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind – Shunryu Suzuki ***
Turn Your Pain Into Art – Ariel Bloomer ***
In Search of Memory – Eric Kandel ****
Hi Bob! – Bob Newhart ***
Strong Ending – Audible Original ****
No Land’s Man – Aasif Mandvi ***.5
Victorian Secrets – Audible Original ***
Radical Honesty – Brad Blanton *****
Blue Dreams – Lauren Slater ****
Give and Take – Adam Grant ***.5

Reading List – October 2018

Of the eleven books I listened to, there were four that I’d strongly recommend.

My favorite by far, getting a rare 5 star rating is “The Future of Mental Health” by Eric Maisel. This book should be recommended reading to anyone in education, politics, leadership, mental health… well, everyone should read it.

There were no books that really tanked on this list, but of the bunch, I’d say that North by Scott Jurek was the least interesting.

Here is my October reading list, in the order that I listened to them:

Never Split The Difference – Chris Voss ****.5
The War on Normal People – Andrew Yang ****.5
Sapiens – Yuval Harari ****.5
The Future of Mental Health – Eric Maisel *****
Crushing It – Gary Vaynerchuck ***
Great at Work – Morten Hansen ***.5
A User’s Guide to the Brain – John Ratey ****
Where Should We Begin? – Esther Perel ***
North – Scott Jurek ***
Girls and Boys – Dennis Kelly ***
The Theater of War – Bryan Doerries ***.5

Reading List – September 2018

September… Of the thirteen books I listened to, there were three that I’d strongly recommend.

My top picks are: “Factfulness” by Hans Rosling, “Shop Class as Soulcraft” by Matthew Crawford, and “On Intelligence” by Jeff Hawkins.

The biggest loser of the month was a tossup between “Kickass” by Mel Robbins and “The School of Greatness” by Lewis Howes.

Here is a list of the books I read in September, in the order that I read them:

The Art of Gathering – Priya Parker ***.5
Angst – Jeffrey Kahn ***.5
The Sky Below – Scott Parazynski **.5
Why We Make Things and Why it Matters – Peter Korn ***.5
On Intelligence – Jeff Hawkins ****
Teeth – Mary Otto ***.5
The Myth of Race – Robert Sussman ***.5
Kickass – Mel Robbins **.5
Shop Class as Soulcraft – Matthew Crawford ****
Good Business – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ***.5
The School of Greatness – Lewis Howes **.5
Option B – Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant – ***
Factfulness – Hans Rosling ****.5

Reading List – August 2018 – 30 Books!

August was my biggest month of reading EVER! I wanted to see if it was possible to listen to a book a day for the entire month, and still take careful notes, and fully process the ideas I was encountering. In the end, I fell one book short, having listened to thirty books in thirty-one days. What a mind opening experience! Of the thirty, there were eight that I’d strongly recommend.

My top picks are: “The Man Who Wasn’t There”, “Running is My Therapy”, “The Coming Storm”, “Million Dollar Outlines”, “A River in Darkness”, “The Lucifer Principle”, and “Atheism – A Very Short Introduction”.

While all of the above books are important reads, the book that really stood out for me was “The Man Who Wasn’t There” by Anil Ananthaswamy. This book is a deep dive into the nature of self. By looking through the lens of various mental ‘disorders’, Ananthaswamy demonstrates the fictitious nature of our sense of self. If you want to better understand what makes you and others tick, this book will open your eyes, and hopefully your mind to our narrative realities. It’s both very informative, and fascinatingly interesting. The only reason not to read this book, is that you want to remain behind the veil of ignorance, believing that you are the master of your conscious world.

The biggest loser of the month was “The 10X Rule”, by Grant Cardone. This book is FILLED with some of the worst advice I’ve ever heard. Although I will borrow his 10X rule for this review – Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Don’t read this book! Heck, I think 11X is better than 10X any day – Don’t read this book!

Here is a list of the books I read in August, in the order that I read them:

Running is My Therapy – Scott Douglas ****
The Beekeeper’s Lament – Hannah Nordhaus ***.5
The Argonauts – Maggie Nelson ***
Letting Go of Worry, Embarrassment, and Regret – Jennifer Allison **.5
The Coming Storm – Michael Lewis ****
Rise and Grind – **.5
The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work – John Gottman ***.5
Hardcore Self Help: F*ck Anxiety – Robert Duff ***
Touching a Nerve – Patricia Churchland ***.5
Perennial Seller – Ryan Holiday ***
Million Dollar Outlines – David Farland ****
A River in Darkness – Masaji Ishikawa ****
Side Hustle – Chris Guillebeau ***
Freedom From Pain – Peter Levine ***
Cognitive Surplus – Clay Shirky ***.5
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do – Amy Morin **.5
Super Rich – Russell Simmons **.5
The Tetris Effect – Dan Ackerman ***
Natural Disaster – Ginger Zee **.5
Shrill – Lindy West ***.5
The Lucifer Principle – Howard Bloom ****
The Lean Startup – Eric Reis ***.5
The 10X Rule – Grant Cardone **
Chronic Depression – Anthony Wilkenson **.5
Atheism – A Very Short Introduction – Julian Baggini ****
Four Futures – Peter Frase ****
Good in a Room – Stephanie Palmer ***
Book Yourself Solid – Michael Port ***.5
The Man Who Wasn’t There – Anil Ananthaswamy ****.5
Heart of a Lion – William Stolzenburg ***