Jeff Bezos was interviewed by Lex Fridman last week, and he gave this answer on how humans invent new technologies and we co-evolve with these technologies (I recommend checking out the whole interview).
In there he mentions how books, video games, whatever we put our minds too – train our brains. Our brains are plastic, and the inputs and experiences we encounter shape them.
He also discusses how books are a way to train yourself to have a longer attention span.
I believe this will continue to be an increasingly valuable skill.
To that end, let’s talk about books.
Books I Read 📖
- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy was a challenge for me. I switched to kindle about 1/3rd of the way through so I could use the dictionary feature. A challenge, but well worth it. Beautiful writing about terrible events. This depicts an unromantic side to the “wild west” and all the sin & violence that came with it.
- Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe et. al documents “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s. I couldn’t put it down at times. It tells the story about this complicated time in Irish history.
Books I Listened Too 🔉
- Musashi is a 53 hour epic following a Japanese samurai in the 1600s. It is a ton of fun to listen to and helps the listener get a better understanding of the warrior spirit deep in Japanese culture.
- The Two Towers & Return of The King by JRR Tolkien finished off my re-visiting of my favorite story: The Lord of The Rings. There is a chapter left out of the movies called “the scouring of the Shire.” It describes how evil crept into the Shire in the absence of the rangers’ protection. It made me think of the state of our cities & police force today.
- Be Useful, read by the author, Arnold Schwarzenegger, will give the reader a strong dose of motivation.
- Animal Farm by George Orwell is short, I first read it in one sitting, and powerful. A fictional critique of totalitarian organizations & promises.
- Story Worthy & The Score Takes Care of Itself were both pretty good. I got half way through both before abandoning them. Story Worthy is about finding stories to tell from your every day life and The Score Takes Care of Itself is a book on leadership by coaching legend, Bill Walsh.
Let me know what you are reading to finish up the year!
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Next week I’ll share my favorite books & content from 2023.
I wish you all a happy holidays.
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