5 Books I Recommend for Your 2023 Holiday Reading

With the holidays approaching, if you are looking for books to read, you are in the right place. Below are 5 books that you can consider putting on your reading list. I loved reading these books myself and shared with many friends and colleagues who later also told me they loved reading these books.

Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

This book is a captivating biography of the Renaissance genius who combined art and science in his quest to understand the world. Isaacson draws from Leonardo’s notebooks and new discoveries about his work to present a narrative that reveals his personality, passions, and flaws. This biography is not just about Leonardo's achievements, but also about his approach to learning and observation, making it an inspiring read for anyone interested in the power of curiosity and creativity. One thing we could all learn from Leonardo is to be curious, relentlessly and randomly curious about everything around us!

Guns, Gems and Steel by Jared Diamond

This book explores why some societies are more materially successful than others. Diamond argues that the main factor is geography, which affects the availability of crops, animals, and resources that enable agriculture, technology, and civilization. He traces the history of human societies from their origins to their divergent fates in different continents, showing how environmental advantages and disadvantages shaped the development of cultures, languages, and political systems. After you read this book, you'll understand our human civilization in the past 13,000 years to a much deeper level!

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

This book explores why people are bad at predicting what will make them happy in the future. Gilbert argues that our imagination and memory are flawed and biased, and that we often misjudge the impact of events on our emotions. He suggests that we can improve our happiness by relying more on the experiences of others who have been in similar situations, rather than on our own fantasies and expectations. The book combines scientific research, anecdotes, and humor to challenge the common assumptions about happiness and human nature. If you'd like to understand how your brain works when interpreting happiness, definitely read this book!

Waking Up by Sam Harris (both book and app)

This book explores the nature of consciousness and spirituality without relying on religion or dogma. Sam Harris draws on his own experiences with meditation, neuroscience, and philosophy to show how we can achieve a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world. He also has a meditation app with the same name Waking Up. The app is based on neuroscience and psychology and aims to help you learn the nature of your mind. It's the best mediation app that I have used. I've been meditating much more frequently ever since I discovered this app. If you are into meditation, I highly recommend trying it!

Business Adventures by John Brooks

The book is very interesting and well-written, and it has been praised by famous people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. The book tells the stories of 12 different events that happened in the world of business and finance in the 1960s. These 3 short stories are my favorite: 1) The Federal Income Tax: its history and peculiarities 2) XEROX XEROX XEROX XEROX 3)The Last Great Corner: a company called Piggly Wiggly. I see a lot of parallels between what is happening now and what happened over half a century ago.