2023 Books

4 minute read

This blog entry contains a list of the books I read or listened to in 2023. Links included for the summaries and notes if I added them to my site.

Books

Title Author(s) Summary
Amazing Joy Melissa Kelly It took a tragedy for Melissa to truly embrace joy. Through counseling, introspection, and deepening faith, Melissa documents her journey through grief and arriving at a place of gratitude and beyond.
Think Again Adam Grant The bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals examines the critical art of rethinking: learning to question your beliefs and to know what you don’t know, which can position you for success at work and happiness at home.
Arkansas Beer - An Intoxicating History Brian Sorensen An explosion of breweries around the state has since propelled Arkansas into the modern beer age.
Row the Boat P.J. Fleck and Jon Gordon In Row the Boat, Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Coach P.J. Fleck and bestselling author Jon Gordon deliver an inspiring message about what you can achieve when you approach life with a never-give-up philosophy.
Investments Unlimited 9 Authors A Novel about DevOps, Security, Audit Compliance, And Thriving in the Digital Age
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living Ryan Holiday 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living


Audiobooks

Title Author(s) Summary
Alien: Out of the Shadows Tim Lebbon and Dirk Maggs There was evil, hibernating and waiting for suitable prey. Their only hope lies with Ellen Ripley, the last human savior of the salvage ship Nostromo.
Wayward Galaxy Jason Anspach and J.N. Chaney The future isn’t whay they expected. A company of Army Rangers is sent on an interstellar colony ship to secure a foothold on a dangerous, alien planet.
Rambo: First Blood Part II David Morrell The most dangerous man in the world is back. Rambo must return to the Vietnamese prison camp from which he escaped and find the missing Americans rumored to be prisoners there.
Stillness is the Key Ryan Holiday Holiday draws on timeless Stoic and Buddhist philosophy to show why slowing down is the secret weapon for those charging ahead
Wayward Galaxy 2 Jason Anspach and J.N. Chaney Their foothold established, Reach and the soldiers sent to secure Amir have only begun to repair the destruction inflicted on them by hostile neighbors when a terrifying new threat emerges from the deep woods and dark jungles of Amir
The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien Introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent.
Godzilla Greg Keyes Follows the heroic efforts of the cryptozoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and its ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah.
The Silence of the Lambs Thomas Harris A serial murderer known only by a grotesquely apt nickname—Buffalo Bill—is stalking women. He has a purpose, but no one can fathom it, for the bodies are discovered in different states.
The Obstacle Is the Way Ryan Holiday The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. This book reveals that formula for the first time—and shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage.
Hannibal Thomas Harris Years after his escape, posing as scholarly Dr. Fell, curator of a grand family’s palazzo, Hannibal lives the good life in Florence.
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) James S.A. Corey Humanity has colonized the solar system—Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond—but the stars are still out of our reach. Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted.
Only the Dead Jack Carr With the odds stacked against him, James Reece is on a mission generations in the making.
Discpline is Destiny Ryan Holiday It is what prevents us from risk and catastrophe. What helps us maintain our habit, our flow, even our savings. Discipline keeps us in check to do the right.
Ego is the Enemy Ryan Holiday filled with cautionary tales of those who let their egos run amok and were eventually undone by the resulting damage, as well as stories of those who practiced restraint and sobriety, and found success in their endeavors.
Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club’s estranged narrator leaves his lackluster job when he comes under the thrall of Tyler Durden, an enigmatic young man who holds secret boxing matches.
Halloween Party Agatha Christie At a Hallowe’en party, Joyce – a hostile thirteen-year-old – boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When no-one believes her, she storms off home. But within hours her body is found.
Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life Arnold Schwarzenegger The seven rules to follow to realize your true purpose in life—distilled by Arnold Schwarzenegger from his own journey of ceaseless reinvention and extraordinary achievement, and available for absolutely anyone.
The Martian Andy Weir Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.
Courage is Calling Ryan Holiday Now, in the first book of an exciting new series on the cardinal virtues of ancient philosophy, Holiday explores the most foundational virtue of all: Courage.