Looking back at 2023, I put together the following list of some of my favorite media, books, and applications I’ve used this year. Hoping this will inspire some recommendations to come back my way from other curious people in my little corner of the internet:
Books
The Wager – David Grann
It’s hard to imagine what it was like hopping on a wooden ship and floating around South America without electronics in search of a potential of gold. Incredible drama and adventure in a book that has had its movie rights already purchased by Martin Scorsese (could potentially be his final film?).
American Prometheus – @Kaibird123
One of the best biographies I have ever read, Bird makes it clear it took over 25 years to research and write with no detail left behind. The effort made to gather info and opinions from all sides helped deliver a complete picture into an extremely complex story. Also, was interesting seeing how Oppenheimer was a guy that was found at exactly the crossover needed between raw intelligence, hard-work, and personal resources required to achieve his level of greatness → right guy, right time, right place
Poor Charlie’s Almanac: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
Contender for my favorite book of the year. @stripepress reprinted Poor Charlie’s Almanac and released it within days of his passing. A true lifelong learner that had each day filled with the purpose of pursuing his curiosity. The book is a collection of 11 speeches Munger made between the 1980s and 2005 with many timely points that are easily identifiable with our ability of hindsight review. If we could all be as curious as Munger seemed to be with what makes the world tick, we’ll all be much better off. Behave – Robert Sapolsky Why do we do the things we do – it’s a question worth pursuing and Sapolsky offers his stab at addressing. Definitely gets a bit heavy on the technical details at times, but it’s all necessary to paint the ultimate points the author is making throughout the book (disclaimer: I haven’t taken a biology course since high school). Excellent read for anyone looking for details on how our decisions are influenced down to the cellular level from events in and outside of our control.
Elon Musk – @WalterIsaacson
Isaacson has become a must-read author for me and his latest on Musk is no exception to the rule. Inside look at one of the most polarizing entrepreneurs of our time.
Four Foundations of Golf – @practicalgolf
Think of golf from a data analysis perspective and start shooting lower scores. Ultimately, we play to get the ball in the hole in the lowest number of shots and Sherman leverages newfound amateur golf statistics on what is currently holding many back. I’m not a fan at all of generic golf tips when they influence swings or how to hit shots as we all are different sizes and strength levels. This book outperforms by helping readers approach their decision making in a more data-driven way, something we can all get a bit better at.
Same as Ever – @morganhousel
It’s extremely difficult to predict what will change in our society in the next 25 years, but Housel decides to take a crack at showing what will never change → underlying drivers of human nature that impact all of our decision making whether we are living under the rule of Caesar in Rome or today in 2024. This read combined with Behave are a great pairing of cross-learning.
The Creative Act – @RickRubin
A wild read from a wild guy that lives on the edge and has tapped into greatness. Many might find him crazy, and that’s what makes this read great. There is value to be found where someone has pushed the boundaries of an industry forward for decades, especially if they seem to continuously go against the grain in everything they do.
What’s our problem? – @waitbutwhy
Of course our society has problems, but ultimately it’s not all bad and we can fix these over time. Reading news from both sides of the aisle, being open to all ideas, seeking the truth, and interacting with idea labs (rather than echo chambers) are a few steps in the right direction. I completely agree with Urban’s take that many of us in society have tried shutting down speech and ideas simply because they go against what a minority might believe. A well functioning and thriving society considers all ideas and picks the best to pursue. I’m bullish we can return to something like it.
Invent and Wander – @JeffBezos “It’s still day 1” Movie / Show / Documentary Oppenheimer Succession Season 4
Podcast & Episode
Costco @AcquiredFM Episode
One of my favorite podcast episodes of all time. Costco is an incredible company that consistently finds ways to drive value for its customers. Too many incredible takeaways from this to list and i’ll leave you with just one – Costco stocks 40x less SKUs than Walmart, but sells an average of 15x more volume for each. Find your target customer base, and do everything you can to provide value to them and watch the profit follow.
Invest Like the Best with @patrick_oshag – Bessmer Venture Partners
Great insight into one of the oldest VC shops in the world. Patrick is a great interviewer and continues to deliver world-class guests.
Conversations with Tyler – @paulg
Great insight from one of the most talented minds in the startup space. App Chat GPT 4 Many have written long form articles this year about GPT 4 and I’ll let the others summarize for you. I’m a daily user of Chat GPT and am continually amazed by its capabilities. Google Calendar Not a new app by any stretch, but one I used most often in 2023. Helps organize and plan my personal life. No more overlapping plans and forgetting birthdays, it was time to become an adult.
Arc Browser – @arcinternet
I’ve always had a problem separating my interests in sports, comedy, social media and the like with more serious topics like financial markets, personal investing, and career growth. Historically I was a google chrome user, but eventually started using chrome for the ‘fun’ stuff I would view online and safari as the ‘learning’ I would be pursuing. The idea was to avoid becoming distracted with ads or anything else that might lead me away from my intended goals each day. The Arc browser lets me separate my interests into different tabs, and synchs automatically with the app on my phone, allowing all of the tabs I have up on my computer to seamlessly load on my phone while i’m on the run. Huge fan of the product they’ve put together and mini updates the team continuously sends users over email with feature updates.
Project TBR (https://projecttbr.com/?goodreadsProfile=61974571-mike-murphy&library=bpl&format=ebook-kindle…)
App I found on HackerNews that lets you synch your Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf with your local library, providing you with a list of what is available and what is currently a wait to rent.
HackerNews – @hackernews
Certainly not a new website, but 2023 was the first year I consistently read HackerNews on a daily basis and haven’t looked back. I know I’m in the right corner of the internet when half of what i’m reading seemingly flies over my head, but is still incredibly interesting.
mike murphy 