My Top Books of 2023...
My annual list of books that shaped me, that I think are important, and that are worth adding to the to-be-read pile in 2024.
In a world of exponentially accelerating information, where we are offered, confronted, and bombarded with text all day, every day, it is easy to get overwhelmed and to simply want to turn it off. It is precisely this reason that I think that books are so important. In a world where our attention is more divided than ever, the ability to pick up a technology that can teach us without offering additional distractions (which is one of the many redeeming qualities of a physical book) is an increasingly important element of our own lives and learning as we head into a year where technological disruption will be exponential and accelerating.
Without further delay, here are the books that I have enjoyed the most in 2023….
Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect (Will Guidara)
Filled with moving stories and tons of wisdom, this is one of my favorite books for three reasons: (1) It’s brilliance is applicable to whatever work you do. (2) In a world where “being extra” is too often overvalued or even expected, a return to the small things is refreshing. (3) It’s just beautifully written. Some of the finest writing I have seen this year.
The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone (Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach)
This book is a fascinating exploration not only of the ways that human beings learn, but a profound exploration of our interdependence to accomplish virtually anything in our lives. It is a highly-researched glimpse into the connectedness of human beings, the importance of ideas, of being honest about what we know and don’t know, and how we might better understand and appreciate the glorious work of thinking and living together.
Care Ethics in the Age of Precarity (Edited by Maurice Hamington and Michael Flower)
I am increasingly convinced that feminist ethics of care is one of the most under-appreciated schools of thought on the planet, and that we would all do well to learn about it as quickly as possible. This edited volume is a quick introduction to some of the concrete ways that this field contributes to our understanding and (re)making of the world that we have into the one that we need. The initial essay that breaks down the difference between precariousness (a part of the universal human experience) and precarity (socially manufactured and maintained systems and realities of vulnerability) is worth far more than the price of the book. Brilliant. Insightful. Will change the way you think about the world.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being (Rick Rubin)
I used to really pride myself on not getting sucked into the books that were “all the rage” but this one caught my attention as possibly something other than the latest offering from the PR machinations of publishers, podcasts, and platforms. This book does not disappoint. This is not a book you read quickly, or once. It is something that I will return to again in 2024 and beyond. Keep this one close at hand, even if (or especially if) you don’t consider your work to be all that “creative.”
The Knowledge Economy (Roberto Mangabeira Unger)
Certainly one of the more theoretical reads of 2023, but absolutely brilliant about the ways in which learning, expertise, and its economic power and potential will emerge as the next primary driver of the economy. If you want a glimpse of the future, if you are an expert trying to figure out your place in the market, or if you want some ways to think about building the world of tomorrow by the decisions that we make today to prevent knowledge, wisdom, and expertise to be the exclusive asset of a powerful few…read this book.
My Pile of Books for 2024…
Brain, Mind, and the Narrative Imagination (Christopher Comer and Ashley Taggart)
Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation (Gary P. Pisano)
Expertise: A Philosophical Introduction (Jamie Carlin Watson)
Full-Spectrum Thinking: How to Escape Boxes in a Post-Categorical Future (Bob Johansen)
Manifesto for a Post-Critical Pedagogy (Naomi Hodgson, Joris Vlieghe, and Piotr Zamojski)