The Obligatory Year in Review Post
A look back at all the books I read in 2023 with thumbnail reviews.
This year I read over 20 books. That’s about one and a half per month! The following list begins with my library rentals and ends with the advanced reader copies (ARC’s) from Reedsy.
You’ll notice that I did not publish reviews for all these books. This is mostly because I have too few publication dates (about 25 a year). Sometimes it has to do with time. Occasionally, I don’t understand or have any strong feelings about what I've read. Nevertheless, I will include thumbnail reviews of those books I didn’t get to this year. One exception is The Canceling of the American Mind, which I intend to review after I reread it.
Library Books
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Madly, Deeply by Alan Rickman (did not finish)
Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin, PhD.
Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor
Woke, Inc. by Vivek Ramaswamy
Everything Reminds Me of Something by Adam Carolla
The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss
Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell
The Canceling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff & Rikki Schlott
When Christmas Comes by Andrew Klavan
Reedsy Books (ARC’s)
Simple Day Trading by Ingrid Camacho
Thumbnail Reviews
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Tyson delivers what the title promises. In about 4 hours he goes over the Big Bang Theory, the search for extraterrestrial life, the basics of quantum mechanics and more. It’s a great introduction for anyone who’s not familiar with these topics. However, if you’re like me you’ll already know most of what’s in this book.
Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin, PhD.
According to Grandin, thinking can be divided into two parts: visual and verbal. Visual thinking is just that, thinking in pictures or movies. It can be further subdivided into object thinking and pattern thinking. The visual thinkers have advantages over the verbal ones. However, their “gifts” are often overlooked by educational systems and employers who prefer verbal thinking, or just don’t understand visual thinking. I believe Grandin is correct in that visual thinkers have the potential to improve the world if only they can be better accommodated. It is, however, a dry read. Also, Grandin occasionally goes off topic (see chapter seven).
Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor
In the “Author’s Note”, Cranor says the novel was inspired by true events. This is a detail worth remembering as I describe the plot. The Ledfords are white supremacists attempting to shore up their dwindling numbers. However, there aren’t enough racists in Grady, Arkansas, so they resort to making deals with Mexican cartels and bribing junkies with meth. There are lots of meth-heads in Grady because the town was poverty-stricken by the closing of its nuclear power plant. There is a lesson here; hopefully we’ll learn it. Anyway, it's a satisfying Southern noir even though the twist ending is predictable. In fact, it was so predictable that I think Cranor realized it and attempted to downplay it in the second half of the book. For a similar twist done better I recommend Matthew Lewis’ The Monk.
Woke, Inc. by Vivek Ramaswamy
In the spring of 2023, I came across an interview with the presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy. He intrigued me and not necessarily because of his politics. Ramaswamy and I are about the same age, grew up in the same town and attended rival high schools. There is a possibility that we bumped into each other at a football game. Now, it’s no secret that I am anti-woke. This is not a political, left vs. right issue; liberal comedian Bill Maher, for example, appears to be anti-woke as does conservative personality Tucker Carlson. Ramaswamy discusses wokeism in corporate America and offers solutions to excise it. I am not knowledgeable enough in the field of business to praise or criticize Ramaswamy’s views, but it is worth a read for anyone concerned with wokeism.
Everything Reminds Me of Something by Adam Carolla
I have been a fan of comedian Adam Carolla since the ‘90s, namely, Love Line and The Man Show. This is his sixth book. Of the two I’ve read, Everything Reminds Me of Something is my least favorite. First, the question-answer format doesn’t work. Second, Carolla is at his best when he improvises. In I'm Your Emotional Support Animal Carolla would go off script, have conversations with his audio guy, Mike Dawson, and otherwise add information and details not in the printed format. Everything Reminds Me of Something mostly sticks to the script (there are exceptions), and the production suffers because of it. Nevertheless, there are moments of good advice. For example, talking about bucket lists, Corolla says, “Live your life as if someone you haven’t seen in a while is going to ask, ‘What are you up to?’ You don’t want to answer, ‘Binge watching Ninety-Day Fiancé.’”
The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss
I am not a fan of self-help books, yet I read a lot of them. It’s partly an exercise in Einstein's definition1 of insanity. It’s partly because they’re short, and The 4-Hour Body is about 4 hours. Go figure. However, it’s bullshit. In fact, the Wikipedia page cites a number of skeptical experts. Although, I would like to test out the “15-minute female orgasm” on a partner. Volunteers?
Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell
Whenever I attempt to write about Sowell, I find myself typing, “Read him for yourself.” There is nothing I can write that’ll do him justice. Regardless of your personal views, Sowell will challenge what you think is true. Social Justice Fallacies does just that. It highlights the assumptions in the social justice movement that are wrong. One is the fallacy of equal chances. It turns out people don’t get equal chances. Sowell uses hockey as an example: there are more chances to play hockey in countries with colder climates. Who knew? While Social Justice Fallacies is a fine book, I’d recommend first reading Black Rednecks and White Liberals. It’ll blow your mind.
When Christmas Comes by Andrew Klavan
I was surprised at how good this book was. Klavan is an excellent writer capable of painting a vivid picture and eliciting genuine emotion. He, like Bill O’Rielly, is best known for his conservative punditry. His ideology occasionally leaks into the writing. For example, the character May is a right-wing stereotype of a left-wing college student. To Klavan’s credit, he portrays May as sympathetic. Even so, I must be consistent about this: I don’t like ideology in novels, generally speaking2.
Simple Day Trading by Ingrid Camacho (ARC)
I have considered entering the day trading game, but I know nothing about it. I opted to review this book for Reedsy hoping I would learn the basics. Unfortunately, Camacho doesn’t explain the concepts well and her visual aids are unhelpful. By the end of it, I had no new understanding of day trading. Hard pass.
“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” I am aware that Einstein probably didn’t actually say this.
My thoughts on this topic are more nuanced and conflicted than I have time to enunciate here.