What I read in 2023

More than a few books short of my goal, but still lots of good stuff.

Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar

Roughly what I expected it to be. It’s a quick read and worth the time for a different perspective on education and a somewhat unusual writing style.

Utopia for Realists

The epilogue was the best part about this book. Mostly the ideas didn’t feel new and were presented in a pretty typical fashion (and maybe would have benefitted from a little more self awareness around the potential to be wrong). But I did like the epilogue:

Calling my ideas "unrealistic" was simply a shorthand way of saying they didn't fit the status quo. And the best way to shut people up is to make them feel silly.
My advice is to cultivate a thicker skin. Don't let anyone tell you what's what. If we want to change the world, we need to be unrealistic, unreasonable, and impossible.

Leviathan Wakes

I was hoping that I would really enjoy this book, but it was just okay. I greatly enjoyed the TV series but something about the character presentation and story telling in the book just didn’t click for me.

The Southwest Airlines Way

Pretty good. Particularly interesting because the book is a few years old now and I have lots of first-hand experience as a Southwest passenger.

Free Speech

Too much history of free speech and not enough discussion of the challenges of free speech. Arguably you can’t have a coherent discussion about the challenges without the history but I think this book needs to be paired with a something that recognizes the many ways in which the ideal of free speech have caused challenges for society.

The Terraformers

Lots of interesting ideas in this book, but I didn’t find the writing or the story particularly compelling.

A Prayer for Owen Meany

A second time reading this book and while I remembered the key plot points, I had forgotten so many of the rich details of the story. It’s a lovely book and I found the story warm and thought-provoking.

Chaos Vector

Second book in the series. Still compelling, though lots of things happen and it’s a little hard to keep track of what’s important.

The End of Everything

I thought I would enjoy this book, but it didn’t hold my attention. As much as I appreciate the discussion of the physics, I just couldn’t connect it to my day-to-day reality. Some good humor though.

Hope in the Dark

Fantastic book. A reminder that even when progress feels slow, we must remember all the work that has come before. The effort is worth it. Best book of 2023 for me.

Win Every Argument

This is both very practical and an amusing read. The author’s own argumentative exploits are a main subject, but he also offers some genuinely useful tactics for preparing to make your case.

At Home

This book is such a meandering exploration of history that I frequently found myself wondering why we were on this topic in the first place. I would have preferred more history about the home rather than a view of history through the home. Additionally, this book feels like it lacks the rigor to make many of the claims that it makes: not nearly enough citations. And given some other researchers’ experiences with historical records, I’m pretty confident that many of the claims are just wrong.

The Ministry for the Future

Purportedly science fiction, but this book is too real to put fully in the fiction category. It’s far more intense than I expected, but also slow and deliberate. It’s a troubling good look at our likely future and pairs well with Hope in the Dark.

Anything You Want

The antidote to all those business books that prescribe a formula for success. Excellent.