What I've Read in 2021

[Moonlight J]

Sharing in case others see something they're interested in or would like to discuss. Bolded my 3 favorite in each category



Professional Reads:

• Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
• It Takes What It Takes by Trevor Moawad
• Thinking Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Give and Take by Adam Grant
• 10% Happier by Dan Harris
• Upstream by Dan Heath
• Switch by Dan Heath & Chip Heath
• The Power of Moments by Dan Heath & Chip Heath
• Catalyst by Jonah Berger
• The Disruption Mindset by Charlene Li
• Be Where Your Feet Are by Scott O’Neill
• Think Again by Adam Grant
• Decoding Greatness by Ron Friedman
• Effortless by Greg McKeown
• Alchemy by Rory Sutherland
• The Customer Success Economy by Nick Mehta
• Never Lose a Customer Again by Joe Coleman
• A World Without Email by Cal Newport
• So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
• The Cult of the Customer by Shep Hyken
• The Membership Economy by Robbie Kellman Baxter
• Pre-Suasion by Robert. B. Cialdini
• Principles by Ray Dalio
• The Anticipatory Organization by Daniel Burrus
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• Nine Lies About Work by Marcus Buckingham & Ashley Goodall
• The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers by Chris White
• Tiny Noticeable Things: The Secret Weapon of Making a Difference in Business by Adrian Webster

Leisure Reads:

• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
• Wilmington’s Lie by David Zucchino
• Gumption by Nick Offerman
• The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
• Big Hair and Plastic Grass by Dan Epstein
• Loose Balls by Terry Pluto
• A Little History of the United States by James West Davidson
• Washington’s Immortals by Patrick K. O’Connell
• The Minuteman by Greg Donahue
• A Promised Land by President Obama
• Begin Again by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
• K: A History of Baseball by Tyler Kepner
• Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
• Curveball at the Crossroads by Michael Lortz

[rhd]

I always thought this site should have an "Exceelent Books" thread. This isnt exactly it but close enough for me.

I dont read nearly enough as I should but currently I'm reading "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" by T.E. Lawrence. He was the real "Lawrence of Arabia" and the book is what the movie (one of my all-time favorites) was based on. So far, it's quite different than the movie but still enjoyable, altho pretty wordy and it's hard to keep straight who all the people and places are.

Next book might be "The Immortal Dragon" by Michael Peterson, which I've had for years but never read. It's a historical novel about the history of Vietnam.

Then I might try a baseball book called "The Universal Baseball Association, Inc." by Robert Coover. I'd never heard of it until it was highly recommended by some baseball chat or podcast I listened to and it sounded interesting. It's about an accountant who starts a sim baseball league where the outcomes are controlled by dice rolls.

[chancellor]

Wow...that's a very impressive list. My list is much more modest:

- An Introduction to Constitutional Law by Randy Barnett and Josh Blackmon - read/watched videos of this while my daughter was taking ConLaw in law school.
- The Soul of Battle, Victor Davis Hanson - Great read on three of the greatest military leaders in history, one of whom is barely known.
- A War Like No Other, Victor Davis Hanson - Didn't like this one as much, but if you have an interest in Ancient Greek history, it's the best summary of the Peloponnesian War
- Before They Were The Packers by Denis Gullickson and Carl Hanson. Longer story to follow below.
- Knowledge and Decisions by Thomas Sowell.
- The Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morely. I don't fully agree with Morely's theology, but it was good to think through the challenges he presented.
- The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. I'd read some of Pournelle's previous work, but none of Niven's. Now I get why Niven is such a revered writer in sci-fi. This is definitely in my top three for sci-fi books ever.

Before They Were The Packers was an exceptionally fun read for our family. My wife's side of the family has a lot of verbal history that's been passed down about their involvement with the early Packers, and we were able to get official confirmation that her grandfather actually did play for one year on the very early Packer teams.

[DMT]

Sadly, I barely read books anymore, but I just finished a most excellent book, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.

I also read Cash, an autobiography by the Man In Black. Solid.

[revo]

Decision at Sea by Craig Symonds - currently reading this, after I just finished his epic WWII at Sea. Highlights 6 of the most important naval battles in American history.
WWII at Sea by Craig Symonds - simply amazing. An exhaustive history of the major naval battles of WWII.
Houdini by Adam Begley - Always liked Houdini, this was an easy, solid bio.
The Conquering Tide by Ian Toll
Pacific Crucible by Ian Toll
The Fleet at Flood Tide by James D. Hornfischer - the two Toll books along with the Hornfischer book give an exhaustive view of the Pacific Theatre in WWII. Symonds and Hornfischer are probably the pre-eminent naval historians today.
I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt - the inspiration for "The Irishman," the tale of the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. I'm off and on with this one.
The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson - love Atkinson, and never really read a major history of the Revolutionary War, but if you want one, this should be it


I also re-read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts.

[TranaGreg]

My reading dropped a lot this year - don't really know why - but a couple of books I did enjoy - Adventures on the Wine Route (a book from the 80's re: buying wine from different regions of France), and Children of Time, a serious Sci-Fi epic.

We did have an exceelent reads thread a while back ... but it hasn't been used in years