The MOAM Reading List 2023
Article #10
“If you haven't read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren't broad enough to sustain you.”
Former US Secretary of Defence, Jim Mattis.
I remember reading that quote and thinking ‘steady on there Jim!’
But old Mad Dog Mattis is onto something. And he wouldn’t be the first to say it. I aimed to read 30 books in 2023 and failed miserably at 15! I also started maybe another half dozen books I didn’t finish, because life’s too short to read books that don’t grab you.
Anyway, I read because I enjoy it and it’s good at making me sit still and focus on one thing. I also try and read on the fly, be that on buses, trains, planes, or sitting around waiting for any of the aforementioned three.
This keeps me from doom scrolling on my phone. And a book doesn’t need wifi, or a charger.
I’m aiming to get through a minimum of 30 books in 2024.
Will I get there? Well, we’ll find out in January 2024 won’t we!
So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here’s a quick recap of what I got through last year.
As I said in #72, I’m sharing these with you not to say “hey… sure aren’t I great, look at all the books hey.” No mam, I share in the hope there’s something in there for you.
Happy Reading ya’ll - Niall
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1. Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave & Sean O’Hagan
Grief is a difficult thing to put into words. Few of us can articulate an experience that comes to us all. For me, Nick Cave is an exception to that rule. His ability to wrap words in and around death is remarkable.
It’s not all dark. This is a free flowing conversation that also covers not only the impact of loss in his life, but also faith and his creative journey.
So good, I’m reading it again as I type (well… no literally, but you know what I mean).
“I have since come to understand that there is little headway that we can make around grief until we learn to articulate it.”
2. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
I have a lot of needless hang ups about money. I imagine you’re no different. Some we inherit, some we pick up along the way.
This book manged to debunk a lot of the myths I was telling myself and demystify a lot of the fog around getting my financial affairs in better order.
They should put this one on the school curriculum, like everywhere.
“Modern capitalism is a pro at two things: generating wealth and generating envy. Perhaps they go hand in hand; wanting to surpass your peers can be the fuel of hard work. But life isn’t any fun without a sense of enough. Happiness, as it’s said, is just results minus expectations.”
3. Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland
I also have a lot of hang ups about making art and the work of being a creative. And almost all of these I picked up God knows where.
Anyway, this book debunked nearly every one of them.
If you’ve an ounce of creativity inside you bursting to get out, then this is the one for you.
“Making art provides uncomfortably accurate feedback about the gap that inevitably exists between what you intended to do and what you did.”
4. The Betrayal of Anne Frank by Rosemary Sullivan
What caught my eye was the tag line that was on the cover (below).
It opened my eyes to the complexities of war and the desperate things it makes people do. And made me think: would I have acted any different?
A great read.
“Less of a mystery unsolved… than a secret well kept.”
5. The Concise Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
I like to think I’m in control, but this book reminds me I have pretty much the same frailties that my ancestors had hundreds of years ago.
If you haven’t read Greene’s 48 Laws of Power then this book is a great place to start to get a handle on the things that make us all tick.
“The more we can create this visceral connection to people through our common morality, the better we are able to handle human nature in all its varieties with tolerance and grace.”
6. The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
I remember exactly where I was and who I was with, when I found out Kurt Cobain was dead. Nirvana’s Nevermind was handed around my secondary school like an offertory tray at Mass.
But if you’re looking for gossip or juice then jog on. Grohl honours a timebound tradition: what goes on tour…
“Some people’s reminiscence is triggered by taste. Mine is triggered by sound, playing like an unfinished mixtape waiting to be sent.”
7. The Serendipity Mindset by Dr. Christian Busch
I love that old Napoleon chestnut: “Don’t give me a good general, give me a lucky one.”
But what if you could engineer a bit more luck?
Well, this book takes a good a stab at the mechanics of that as any. I really enjoyed it and am actively trying to put some of the lessons into practice.
I was so inspired, I even wrote an article about it.
“Serendipity is the hidden force in the world, and it is present all around us, from the smallest day-to-day life events to life-changing, and sometimes world-changing breakthroughs.”
8. Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
I came back to this book during the actor’s strike, as part research for a series of articles about whether it’s possible to make a living as an actor anymore.
I also came back to it because I really enjoyed it the first time, and even more so the second time. Goldman wasn’t an Oscar winning screenwriter for nothin’. Apparently, he didn’t eat lunch in Hollywood for the guts of a decade after its release.
Whether you’re in ‘the business’ or not it’s a great read. And it brings home one inescapable truth: Nobody knows anything…
“And why did Universal, the mightiest studio of all, pass on Star Wars, a decision that may just cost them, when all the sequels and spinoffs and toy money and book money and video-game money are totalled, over a billion dollars? Because nobody, nobody - not now, not ever - knows the least goddam thing about what is or isn’t going to work at the box office.”
9. Atomic Habits by James Clear
I’ve seen this book prominently placed in pretty much every book shop I walked into in 2023. And I’ve seen a crazy amount of those insanely motivated 20 something’s with copies in their hands.
It is a belter and has practical things you can apply day to day.
But remember, never trust anyone without a vice ;)
“Ultimately, your habits matter because they help you become the type of person you wish to be… quite literally, you become your habits.”
10. 1923: The Forgotten Crisis in the year of Hitler’s Coup by Mark Jones
I heard Mark Jones talk on a podcast about how ‘misinformation’ is not something that was invented by the Internet. The Nazi’s used to print three editions of one of its propaganda rags every day. Yep, every day.
He also reveals how the vile playbook used by that oddball of a failed Austrian painter is still in play today.
So I gave it a read. And I wasn’t disappointed. And he’s right.
“Today, the politics of the beer halls are still with us. The conventions and the rallies of populist politicians and the digital beer halls of the present all bear some resemblance to Munich’s beer halls in 1923… when we think about Weimar’s crisis year, it would be a political mistake if the crucial history lesson went unheard: the politics of hatred can only function when violent and discriminatory speech acts go unpunished.”
11. The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
I’ve always found the intellectualisation of any form of art making to be a two sided coin - potentially fascinating and nauseating at the same time.
For me, acting talk can get very nauseating very quickly. Starting out you can get swamped in half-truths and misty eyed myths. How can anyone accurately describe something that is akin to capturing lightning in a bottle?
Rick Rubin is a music producer who has seen and done it all. As he said himself his reflections are ‘not facts, so much as thoughts’.
What results is a book of rare insight and wisdom.
I’ve a feeling I’ll be thumbing through it for years to come.
“Some ideas may resonate, others may not. A few may awaken an inner knowing, you forgot you had. Use what’s useful, let go of the rest.”
12. This is Marketing by Seth Godin
My second reading of this book. Seth Godin is one of those guys who just speaks a lot of common sense about marketing anything.
He doesn’t talk about hitting the masses, he talks about serving the few.
A must read for anyone who wants to make some sort of change happen through their work. Yep… as lofty as that sentence sounds!
“The true north, the method that works best, has flipped. Instead of selfish mass, effective marketing now relies on empathy and service.”
13. Truth by Susan Batson
So, this is purely for actors this one.
I’m sill trying to figure out how to make the magic happen when it needs to happen and Susan gave me some great ideas.
“Passionately applying yourself to the craft of acting on a daily basis is a never-ending responsibility.”
14. Into the Woods by John Yorke
When I grow up, I’d like to be a master storyteller.
This book not only breaks down how that works but goes deep into why stories are how you and I make sense of the world around us.
So it’s not just a ‘how to’ book, more importantly it’s a ‘why?’ book.
Another one I’ll be thumbing through for years to come.
“Storytelling, then, is born from our need to order everything outside ourselves… every tale is an attempt to lasso a terrifying reality, tame it and bring it to heel.”
15. The Kennedy’s in the World by Lawrence J. Haas
I visited Dealey Plaza (smaller than you think) and the JFK library (bigger than you’d think) in March of this year, continuing a lifelong fascination with Ireland’s favourite emigrant family done good: The Kennedy’s.
JFK even spoke in my home city.
If you’re a history nut, or interested in just how influential three brothers were on American foreign and security policy over 60 years, then you’ll enjoy this.
“The Kennedy story provides a window in our time as well. That’s because America remains what it was in their time - a superpower in search of its most appropriate global role and how best to perform it.”