Just finished Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, first book of the year. Very good read, it explores the early days of Nike, how he built the business and the major battles he had to go through.
As with many others, I’m trying to create a system to read more this year. I have a Note on my phone that has a good list of recommendations, which I envisage will always have a book I want to read & complete.
The mention about how books provides less dopamine than your phone really resonated. I didn’t start to love reading again until after I had no social media on my phone. Would love to hear more about the book club!
Started reading “The Nature of Training” by Manuel Sola Arjona about complex system theory and how it applies to training (author is a cyclist, but the ideas apply to any type of endurance training). Only about 60 pages in, but the idea of naive intervention in the first part is an interesting concept that applies to any type of system, not just training, that perceived short-term benefits may be detrimental in the long-term.
I love this new "Minted book club" idea! I think we all know by now how addicting and dopamine-driven everything around us is---but it's always interesting to hear how intentionally designed everything is to grab our attention. Thanks for your reflection on the book! One book I just finished was The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim, and I highly recommend it. It touches on a few similar points discussed in Addiction By Design, and I'm sure you would enjoy it.
love it, i recently started reading again… trying to delve more into fiction. i used to be a solely non-fiction type but the more i dive i to older fiction the more i realize many of my own issues were felt hundreds of years ago and also that those people were mad creative even though they had so little in terms of means
Just finished "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield. It's a historical fiction book on the Battle of Thermopylae (Battle where 300 Greek Spartan warriors died while fighting the Persian Empire). Its basically a deep dive into the Spartan way of life while also having a fantastic narrative that keeps you locked in.
Highly recommend if you love history and want a fiction book for a change (Although the battle was real). Also would recommend "The War of Art" by the same author as well.
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari tackles a lot of similar themes, extending the analysis of why we can't focus to other causes like food quality and environment
Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age is my recommendation around the topic of Digital technology impact on humanity.
My notes to this. Our brain has been mapping our memory function to remember things to an external source so our natural brain function of recalling now has become to reach outside of our own memory. Think about this for a second. You are trying to answer where is X place. If you haven't been visiting this place numerous times, our instant reaction is to consult an external memory source instead of going down our memories to recover it's location. One can argue about efficiency yes, much faster to check your phone etc, but the impact of the "Never forgetting source" doesn't have a positive impact only as forgetting and recalling are basic functions of our brains that effect our brain function. Like a Runner that doesn't do slow runs if I can butcher this a little to form a paradigm.
Currently reading The Art of Doing Science and Engineering - Learning to Learn by Richard W. Hamming.
Been heavily enjoying this book. I’ve been in a similar state as yours, reading less the past few years due to working mainly and picking up my phone as an escape rather than a book. This book however, is making me fall in love with reading again. I think your approach to trying to read rather than pick up your phone is a good one that I will also try to apply to my day to day life.
Felt the same about missing reading for fun at the start of last year. I do a ton of reading for work but hadn’t picked up a book to just enjoy in a while. Made it a goal and finished over 60 books last year. Some of my favs were TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW, OLD ENOUGH, and CRYING IN H MART.
Outlive by Peter Attia was a good read for those wanting to gain insights into improving quality of life, longevity and ultimately bettering themselves physically
Made it a goal this year to read through all of Cormac McCarthy's work. Finished "The Road" recently, and now reading through "No Country For Old Men." I highly recommend both if you're looking for an escape from reality feeling, as McCarthy does an excellent job keeping the reader engaged with his illustrative writing style.
Just finished Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, first book of the year. Very good read, it explores the early days of Nike, how he built the business and the major battles he had to go through.
As with many others, I’m trying to create a system to read more this year. I have a Note on my phone that has a good list of recommendations, which I envisage will always have a book I want to read & complete.
I remember reading this and resonating with a lot of the day-to-day bs that he was dealing with. Great read
Great read. Listened to the audiobook and the story was captivating.
Such an epic read
I looooved Shoe Dog!!
The mention about how books provides less dopamine than your phone really resonated. I didn’t start to love reading again until after I had no social media on my phone. Would love to hear more about the book club!
Started reading “The Nature of Training” by Manuel Sola Arjona about complex system theory and how it applies to training (author is a cyclist, but the ideas apply to any type of endurance training). Only about 60 pages in, but the idea of naive intervention in the first part is an interesting concept that applies to any type of system, not just training, that perceived short-term benefits may be detrimental in the long-term.
Had never heard of this one but I think I'm going to check this out - sounds fascinating
I love this new "Minted book club" idea! I think we all know by now how addicting and dopamine-driven everything around us is---but it's always interesting to hear how intentionally designed everything is to grab our attention. Thanks for your reflection on the book! One book I just finished was The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim, and I highly recommend it. It touches on a few similar points discussed in Addiction By Design, and I'm sure you would enjoy it.
love it, i recently started reading again… trying to delve more into fiction. i used to be a solely non-fiction type but the more i dive i to older fiction the more i realize many of my own issues were felt hundreds of years ago and also that those people were mad creative even though they had so little in terms of means
I am also a mainly non-fiction person. I used to read so much fiction when I was much younger. Might be time to dive back in
Just finished "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield. It's a historical fiction book on the Battle of Thermopylae (Battle where 300 Greek Spartan warriors died while fighting the Persian Empire). Its basically a deep dive into the Spartan way of life while also having a fantastic narrative that keeps you locked in.
Highly recommend if you love history and want a fiction book for a change (Although the battle was real). Also would recommend "The War of Art" by the same author as well.
Fascinating - might check this out
Right now I’m reading The Courage to be Disliked. It’s about breaking out of self made barriers and being a better version of yourself.
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari tackles a lot of similar themes, extending the analysis of why we can't focus to other causes like food quality and environment
Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age is my recommendation around the topic of Digital technology impact on humanity.
My notes to this. Our brain has been mapping our memory function to remember things to an external source so our natural brain function of recalling now has become to reach outside of our own memory. Think about this for a second. You are trying to answer where is X place. If you haven't been visiting this place numerous times, our instant reaction is to consult an external memory source instead of going down our memories to recover it's location. One can argue about efficiency yes, much faster to check your phone etc, but the impact of the "Never forgetting source" doesn't have a positive impact only as forgetting and recalling are basic functions of our brains that effect our brain function. Like a Runner that doesn't do slow runs if I can butcher this a little to form a paradigm.
Very interesting read
Currently reading The Art of Doing Science and Engineering - Learning to Learn by Richard W. Hamming.
Been heavily enjoying this book. I’ve been in a similar state as yours, reading less the past few years due to working mainly and picking up my phone as an escape rather than a book. This book however, is making me fall in love with reading again. I think your approach to trying to read rather than pick up your phone is a good one that I will also try to apply to my day to day life.
Felt the same about missing reading for fun at the start of last year. I do a ton of reading for work but hadn’t picked up a book to just enjoy in a while. Made it a goal and finished over 60 books last year. Some of my favs were TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW, OLD ENOUGH, and CRYING IN H MART.
I don't think I'll ever be calling a slot machine anything but a "one armed bandit" from now on. Great read, and book club idea is awesome
Definitely recommend Shoe Dog as Mur has.
Some that I've read...
Dead In The Water
Non-Fiction but reads like a thriller. About a murder and the shady-ness of the Shipping industry.
Open - Andre Agassi
A remarkable book about what it takes to become a Tennis Pro.
Outlive by Peter Attia was a good read for those wanting to gain insights into improving quality of life, longevity and ultimately bettering themselves physically
Totally into the idea of a Minted Book Club
Made it a goal this year to read through all of Cormac McCarthy's work. Finished "The Road" recently, and now reading through "No Country For Old Men." I highly recommend both if you're looking for an escape from reality feeling, as McCarthy does an excellent job keeping the reader engaged with his illustrative writing style.