January through June 2023 Reading Reflections
Averaging two books a month so far this year with 12 total through June! Here’s the list, in order read:
The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives, and Where We Go Now by Anya Kamenetz (Public Affairs, 2022)
I’ve long thought, even since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, that the greatest second-order tragedy of the pandemic would be the effect on the current cohort of elementary school students’ learning and development. Kamenetz details a sobering picture, and I hope her book gets into the hands of policymakers. Available from various retailers via the author’s website.
A Very Punchable Face: A Memoir by Colin Jost (Crown, 2020)
I haven’t watched SNL as regularly the last few years as I did in my twenties, but Colin Jost had always been one of my favorite cast members so this was a fun, quick read for me. Available from various retailers via the publisher’s website.
Upside: Profiting from the Profound Demographic Shifts Ahead by Kenneth W. Gronbach with M.J. Moye (AMACOM, 2017)
Unfortunately this book is not one I can recommend. The writing is particularly bad, and it ended up being lists of companies to invest in with the mind-numbing disclaimers that the authors are not investment advisers.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath (Broadway Books, 2010)
The basic outline of the change management strategy the Heath Brothers discuss in the book is as follows (the metaphor is of a person riding an elephant, which makes more sense after reading the book but the gist of each point is clear enough):
Direct the Rider: What looks like resistance is often lack of clarity.
Follow the bright spots: Investigate what’s working and clone it.
Script the critical moves: Don’t think big picture, think in terms of specific behavior.
Point to the destination: Change is easier when you know where you’re going and why it’s worth it.
Motivate the Elephant: What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.
Find the feeling: Knowing something isn’t enough to cause change.
Shrink the change: Break down the change until it no longer scares.
Grow your people: Cultivate a sense of identify and instill the growth mindset.
Shape the Path: What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.
Tweak the environment: Change the situation to change the behavior.
Build habits: Look for ways to encourage habits.
Rally the herd: Help the behavior spread.
Available from various retailers via the authors’ website.
Influence is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Charge, and Making Good Things Happen by Zoe Chance (Random House, 2022)
Just a few tidbits I noted while reading:
“Every journey starts with a baby step. How can you make the first step as close as possible to effortless for everyone – including you?” / Framing: monumental or manageable or mysterious (depending on the ask) / Pause while public speaking
Negotiation with value creation questions
How could this be better for me?
How could it be even better for them?
Who else could benefit?
Strategies for handling objections
Witness and explore their resistance
Affirm their freedom of choice
Softening resistance with a soft ask
Available through the author’s website.
Ejaculate Responsibly: A New Way to Think About Abortion by Gabrielle Blair (Workman Publishing, 2022)
I would like there to be far fewer abortions, and I also think that blanket bans are a very imprecise and very ineffective way to actually achieve that goal. As one alternative, Blair focuses on the role that men can have in reducing the number of unintended pregnancies, which not incidentally reduces the number of elective abortions.
Available through the author’s website.
Space Craze: America’s Enduring Fascination with Real and Imagined Spaceflight by Margaret A. Weitekamp (Smithsonian Books, 2022)
I just have to read a space-related book every year. Available from various retailers via the Smithsonian website.
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton (Grand Central Publishing, 2022)
The witty memoir of the actor who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series. Available from Amazon.
Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone by
Sarah Jeffe (Bold Type Books, 2021)
Jeffe analyzes various industries, professions, and occupations for the ways workers often, and often by design, get the poorer end of the deal. Available via the book’s website.
Deliberate Calm: How to Learn and Lead in a Volatile World by Jacqueline Brassey, Aaron de Smet, and Michiel Kruyt (McKinsey, 2022)
“What this world needs now are leaders who can also be learners even in the most challenging circumstances.”
Unaware > Delayed > Perceptive > Resilient > Adaptive
Available from various retailers via the book’s website.
Strength for the Fight: The Life and Faith of Jackie Robinson by Gary Scott Smith (Eerdmans, 2022)
Apparently I also have to read a baseball book every year! Chronicles not just Robinson’s most famous achievements on the baseball field, but also his (and Rachel, his wife’s) advocacy work in the decades after. Available from Amazon.
The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans – And How We Can Fix It by Dorothy A. Brown (Crown, 2021)
Brown analyzes various elements of the modern American tax system to trace their origins and their present effects on Black Americans. Quite an informative read. Some of her policy recommendations made me a little uncomfortable, though I suppose that just proves the point that I, as a mostly white person, benefit greatly from the tax code at the expense of my Black fellow taxpayers. So I do hope that this book has made it into the hands of policymakers. Available from various retailers via the author’s website.
I Remember You: A Thriller by Brian Freeman (Thomas & Mercer, 2022)
Finally got around to some fiction as I began my summer break. An enjoyable read! Available from various retailers via the author’s website.
Have you read any good books so far in 2023?
