Appreciate everyone sharing their favorite reads from 2023
Paying it forward, here are 10 books I really enjoyed reading this year. A mix of books I read for the first time and some re-reads, too.
Hope everyone finds something they might like, and here’s to 2024…
1. I re-read Christensen’s Innovators Solution. The predecessor gets all the hype, but IMHO this one is better
The stuff in here about integration vs modularity should be required reading for every operator and investor
2. McPhee is the OG of long-form non-fiction journalism. He has been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 1965 and is also a Professor of Journalism at Princeton.
The first story here, Atchafalaya, is one of the finest essays I have ever read
3. This was my favorite read of 2023
Guidara co-owned Eleven Madison Park, which has held 3 Michelin stars since 2012, and was ranked first among The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2017.
Quickly becoming a modern business classic
4. The Looming Tower won the Pulitzer. And for good reason.
It’s the deeply-researched story about the rise of Al-Queda and Islamic Fundamentalism and the story behind 9/11
5. Meehan’s Bartender Manuel is an absolute delight, even if you have never (and don’t plan to) work in a bar.
Full of recipes, beautiful photos, fundamentals, musings and so so much more. Can’t recommend it enough!
6. The best book ever written about the Federal Reserve, probably.
Caro-esque, it is broken into segments which chronicle the high inflation of the 70’s and 80’s, as well as a masterful section on the birth of the Fed
7. @ByrneHobart Tipped me off to this one, and I’m glad he did
It’s a modern classic about how State’s win, solidify, manage, and mis-manage power.
And as Byrne has written, it has many applications to the mega-cap companies that wield tremendous power today
8. America’s story is the story of immigrants - indeed, it is part of my family’s story, too. So perhaps I’m naturally drawn to books like this
I won’t spoil too much, and it’s also more than any summary because it’s a book about many things
9. I’ve been on a journey to expand the cuisines I cookEach year I pick a new one - this year was Middle Eastern.
This is an encyclopedia - it’s massive, there’s even a recipe for Camel’s hump. Haven’t tried that one yet, but I’ve tried many recipes and they’re all excellent
10. Lastly, I loved A Fine Balance. I hope you read this one.
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