Hi everyone,
Please enjoy another special post - my favourite books of 2024!
Crime and Punishment and Notes From the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Wow - I was so glad I got into Dostoyevsky this year. Friedrich Nietzsche referred to Dostoyevsky as “The only psychologist from whom I have anything to learn.” Dostoyevsky is able to portray the inner world of his characters in a way no other author can.
Dan Millman is a former world champion gymnast out of University of California, Berkeley. This book is an amazing descirption of his chance encounter with a gas station attendant who goes on to teach Millman the path to spiritual enlightenment. Highly enjoyable read.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and A Leg to Stand On by Oliver Sacks
A women who forgets the idea of left? A man who believes it is 1965 and that he is a teenager? This only scratches the surface. I have recently come to love reading Sacks. His books outline some of the strangest cases of neurology with patients experiencing symptoms that one could hardly fathom. If you’re into the brain, you’ll be into Sacks.
Have you ever been in a fight? Could you imagine fighting for your life? Well, that’s essentally what this book is about. Sheridan probes into the minds of world class fighters from boxing, to MMA to muay-tuay, providing unparalleled insight into how fighters approach their craft.
How is it that famous professional athletes can have ‘everything’ they ever wanted yet still be miserable? That is exactly the story of Barry Zito: a Cy Young Award and World Series winning pitcher, Zito’s story outlines the hidden costs that come with a life dedicated to excellence, and how he found personal fufillment.
You’ve likely heard me reference books such as Road to Character and The Second Mountain, also by Brooks. Brooks writes books about morality, character, and ultimately how we can be better people. I think we can all benefit by grabbing one of his books.
The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer
Reading these books offers what all great books offer - a chance to time travel (in this case thousands of years) to an entirely different time and experience the world in a different light. Divine intervention? War? Offerings to the gods? What is all this stuff? I already can’t wait for my next read through these works of art. I reccomend the Emily Wilson as its highly accessible and digestable.
Honourable Mentions:
The Giver by Lois Lowry was an wonderful piece of dystopian fiction. I had high expectations, but Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act was a great meditation on creativity. The Confident Mind was one of the best pure sport psychology books I’ve read. Of Mice and Men is simply a classic, and I will be reading it again no doubt. The Flame of Attention was a impactful (philosophical?) text on the nature of thinking and attention. The Will to Meaning by Viktor Frankl was a no brainer, however it is mostly concerned with Logotherapy. Dipping into marketing, All Marketers Tell Stories packed a punch and provided tangible takeaways.
Thank you for your time and attention this week!
Much love,
Kyle
Wow. You have been doing a lot of reading ! Your grandfather, my brother, read a lot as a kid, but it was adventure magazines, like Argosy, and I can't remember other names. There was a nearby second hand book store at Broadway and Alberta Street, where you could trade comics and magazines. When Gordy went out, I would enjoy reading his magazines. Some of my favorite books are Remembrance of Things past by Proust, and Howard's End, by E.M Forster. Also the Barbara Pym novels. The Alexandrian Quartet, for a taste of Egyptian culture.