2019 Book List

I'm starting to better track the books that I read so will put out a list at year end every year. Here was 2019 in descending favorite order:

• Hold Me Tight – Dr. Sue Johnson – Nonfiction – Marriage counselor discussing connection through client case studies. Actionable and applies to all relationships, not just romantic ones. The most valuable book I’ve ever read.

• Devil in the White City – Erik Larson – Nonfiction – Incredible story about the 1893 World Fair in Chicago and the serial killer down the street. Page-turner.

• Plainsong – Kent Haruf – Fiction – Set in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado (like all of Haruf’s books), the story of a teenage girl that gets pregnant and moves in with two old, single, farmer brothers outside of town. Funny and well written.

• Billion Dollar Whale – Tom Wright and Bradley Hope – Nonfiction – The story of Jho Low and 1MDB scandal. Epic yacht parties with Leo and Kanye. Goldman getting charmed. Producing the movie The Wolf of Wall Street using stolen money! Can't make this stuff up.

• Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink and Leif Babin – Nonfiction – Navy SEALs doing business consulting. “There are no bad teams, just bad leaders.” A must-read for anyone that leads people.

• No One Cares About Crazy People (audio) – Ron Powers – Nonfiction – Well written, sad, and educational about mental illness the U.S. through the eyes of a father with two schizophrenic sons.

• The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg – Nonfiction – Top reading for personal productivity, especially if you have trouble with setting and meeting goals, procrastination, or addiction.

• The Coddling of the American Mind (audio) – Jonathan Haidt – Nonfiction – Discusses Safetyism, parenting, and concerning trends at U.S. universities. More thoughtfully researched and vetted than the title suggests.

• Talking to Strangers (audio – this version is great. He uses actual interview audio for all quotes) – Malcolm Gladwell – Nonfiction – Solid Gladwell, timely and timeless, and makes for great discussion topics.

• Saints vol. 1 (audio) – Nonfiction – A history of the Mormon Church starting with Joseph Smith in the early 1800s. Interesting if you’re Mormon. Probably boring if not.

• Why We Sleep (audio) – Matthew Walker – Nonfiction – Fascinating research on sleep science. It’s a little slow, but worth it.

• Killers of the Flower Moon (audio, although I would recommend reading this one. I had a hard time keeping names straight for some reason) – David Grann – Nonfiction – About a series of murders in an Osage native American family and the birth of the FBI. Scorsese has signed up for the movie.

• Bad Blood – John Carreyrou (audio) – Nonfiction – Well done. It’s amazing that Elizabeth Holmes isn’t in jail yet. Easy read.

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams – Fiction – Needed to check it out finally. Funny and easy read.