This year was a big year for me and reading. I focused heavily on a few specific areas. Leadership and management, practice and skill acquisition, and self-help style books to work on anxiety and finding and understanding happiness. Below is a complete list of everything I read this year, my rating of the book on a 1-5 scale (you'll notice nothing under 3. If I think a book is so bad, I will stop reading it. Life's too short for a bad book!).
Yet, at the top of the list, I am putting my favorites of the year and why.
The best:
Atomic Habits, by James Clear (5/5) - I started 2023 with a goal of getting in better shape and losing weight. Not for any other reason than I felt I was no longer in control of my health and I needed to gain that control. Atomic Habits helped me set up a system in which I no longer set a goal of losing weight, rather, I instilled daily habits of someone who lives a healthier life. In turn, I was able to lose weight and feel better, but my weight was never the goal. It was just to be a healthier person. Creating this habits have me 1 week away from a full year of walking every single day, a habit I struggled to form before opening this book.
The Minimum Method, by Joey Thurman (5/5) - This was the health book that changed it all for me. Becoming healthier, more active, and losing weight didn’t have to be a chore. In this book, Thurman lays out different levels or methods in which you can change your daily life from very little to a lot and achieve your health goals. Finding my balance, coupled with what I learned from Atomic Habits, changed my life.
Radical Candor, by Kim Scott (5/5) - I am a manager of staff. In my fulltime job, but also with assistant coaches on my hockey team. I knew I needed to be better at leading them and developing them. I also knew I was failing at this. Radical Candor helped me unlock new ways to being honest when they didn't do good enough, opening myself up to criticism, and becoming a better leader.
Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke (5/5) - Not a lot to write here, but I couldn't put this book down. Understanding what drives us and our search for a dopamine hit really helped better understand my own anxiety, feelings of depression, and how to better control those dopamine urges.
Start With Why, by Simon Sinek (4/5) - While I think Sinek spends too much time wrapped up in what makes corporate American work, he does seem to genuinely care about workers and their well-being. But in Start With Why, I was really inspired by his ideas around rethinking why we do the work we do. I was able to apply so much of this book at work and on the ice. Why are we spending so much time on this project? Why are we working on this specific drill? I had to answer those before I was able to ask my teams to begin the process.
All the rest:
The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday (4/5)
Legacy, by James Kerr (5/5)
The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin (4/5)
The Four Tendencies, by Gretchen Rubin (4/5)
Unfuck Yourself, by Gary John Bishop (3/5)
We Were Dreamers, by Simu Liu (5/5)
Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin (4/5)
Think Again, by Adam Grant (4/5)
Over the Top, by Jonathan Van Ness (5/5)
Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell (3/5)
Blink, by Malcom Gladwell (3/5)
The Five Senses, by Gretchen Rubin (4/5)
Live Learn Love Well, by Emma Lovewell (4/5)
Stories I Only Tell My Friends, by Rob Lowe (4/5)
The Tipping Point, by Malcom Gladwell (3/5)
The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown (3/5)
Love Life, by Rob Lowe (4/5)
The Infinite Game, by Simon Sinek (4/5)
STFU, by Dan Lyons (3.5/5)
Declutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking, by SJ Scott & Barrie Davenport (4/5)
Leaders Eat Last, by Simon Sinek (4/5)
Give and Take, by Adam Grant (3.5/5)
The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle (5/5) (re-read)
The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle (4/5) (re-read)