Listen to and then gift 60 books.

Done: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

August 4, 2026

Incredible read. Highly recommend. So inspirational and so many practical takeaways. Have shared with my entire department at work and built a strategic offsite for the team to discuss how we can implement some of the concepts in service of our clients.

Done: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

August 8, 2026

This has been recommended many times and in my library forever. Finally listened to it. Did not disappoint. I find the union of psychology, money, and human behavior fascinating. Wish i had read this decades ago. But I guess its not that old. Will pass on the wisdom to my kids I hope. I have intentions this year that should help with that process and that makes me happy. Gifted this one to Macy Brink!

Done: Whistler by Ann Patchett

August 15, 2026

Really enjoyed this novel. It was an easy and engaging listen. The storytelling was clever and compassionate and insightful. Loved the balanced nonjudgmental presentation of all that is modern family dynamics, divorce, separation, and for-longing. The author’s writing style being somewhat sarcastic with lots of little asides, was fun to experience. All in all, just a really interesting novel that kept me wanting to know and uncover more.

Done: Atomic Habits by James Clear

August 24, 2026

Wow what a read. I'd read excerpts before and seen pearls of wisdom from this book quoted in various places and trainings. But, consuming it all in one fell swoop was amazing. Perfect timing for Hello, 60! It became clear that one core outcome of this exercise is for me to develop better habits, discipline, and sustainable outcomes that improve my life and the lives of those in my orbit. Highly recommend this book to anyone at nearly any stage of life. Not sure who I'm gifting this one to yet. I feel like I could justify giving it to just about everyone I know. lol.

Done: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

September 10, 2026

Wow, I loved this book! The historical period covered was a fascinating time of dramatic change in the world, and the book covers the period from the early 1900s all the way up until how the world was a few decades before I came along and learned of our mortal enemy Russia. Nearly the entire book takes place within the confines of a hotel but what a broad and delightful journey Towles takes us on within those confines. The author's writing style is perfection for the story, the characters, and the context. I found myself wanting to sit up straight, speak more carefully and formally, and overall just be a gentleman. The dialogue is so spectacular. It's polished, formal, and ornate. It's elegant and consistent and completely appropriate for Count Rostov. Smart, witty, an understated layer of humor throughout. The way Towles creates these little "asides" that become history lessons, treaties on etiquette or the rules of fine dining, etc. are epic. I didn't expect but found great fondness for the father / daughter story that evolves. A welcome surprise. The way Towles creates these insanely detailed descriptions of a scene and the action and the nuance all while keeping the dialogue on point and moving is incredibly rich and entertaining. Simply a great story. The ending (the very end) was unexpected and still has me scratching my head a little. But I suppose that was the point.

Done: Games People Play by Eric Berne

September 20, 2026

I found this book to be a very hard listen. The pseudo scientific approach paired with the more juvenile labeling of games sort of defines the way this book work for me. I found it paradoxically confusing. Some of the information being presented I would recognize and start to lean into, and then I would be presented with an oversimplified and often times outdated, stereotypical, and bordering on cringy depiction of a social interaction to elucidate the game in question. To be fair, the book was written in 1964, and I can certainly see its appeal at the time and even since. It is very easy to play the game “oh I see so-and-so in that example”. But again, I found the overall presentation as extremely dated and often times even wrong, for example the exploration on the game called “alcoholic”. There are certainly some good takeaways from the book. The very notion of games, the concept of strokes, and the three selves have probably stood the test of time. Anyway, I certainly understand this book’s place in the history and evolution of psychology, and I think once I just started to treat it that way, as a classic, it was bearable. But I still found myself struggling just to get through it and looking forward to my next read. I don’t think I will be gifting this one, unless someone reaches out to me wanting it, perhaps someone in the field of psychology or otherwise looking at the text from a historical perspective.

Done: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

September 23, 2026

- The biggest fear humans have is not death, it is the fear of being fully alive. - The concept of the domestication of humans/people - The first agreement: Be impeccable with your word - The profound power of words. Negative … Misuse, gossip, black magic, like a computer virus, poison. The way we use words against ourselves is even more harmful. Being impeccable with your word gives you immunity to black magic and poison. Your mind is no longer fertile ground. - The second agreement: don’t take anything personally. - The concept of personal importance, the highest form of selfishness, because we make it that everything is about us. Take nothing personal. It’s not about you. It’s about the other person. Even the extremes. Someone shoot you in the head. It’s not personal. Both the negative and the positive. - The third agreement: don’t make assumptions - Have the courage to ask questions. Most assumptions are fast and automatic. We don’t even think about them. We take our assumptions to be true and act on them as if they are infallible. - Find the voice to ask for what you want. - Ask questions until you are clear. - True love is accepting someone exactly as they are without trying to change them. - The fourth agreement: always do your best. It is the action of the first three. - Your best is always changing. There will be times when your best is high quality and times it will not. - No more, no less. Doing more than your best will expend too much energy and deplete you. Too little and you will be unfulfilled. - Doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward. - Let go of the past. Live in the present dream. - Love your body. - Doing your best over time will improve the others. - Beware the judge. - Breaking old agreements. What is freedom. Be childlike. - Mixed feelings on his view on abuse!

Done: The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

September 30, 2026

Eddie Jaku, Auschwitz Survivor, my new friend, it sure was a privilege and a blessing getting to hear you tell your story. Thank you for writing this book. For anybody reading this blurb, I strongly recommend this one. The horrible treatments and atrocities described are hard to even fathom, much less read/hear about in vivid first hand detail. Against that backdrop of the most deplorable and heinous version of humanity, we see the stark contrast of a life lived with love, hope, concern for others, education, gratitude, and family, and just how much more powerful those forces of good are. I’m still struck by Eddie’s sheer will to survive and the mental strength to persevere not just the physical hardships but the constant mental torture, anguish, and manipulation. I could go on and on about the powerful lessons in this one. Trust me, just read it. You’ll be glad you did. As Eddie would say, “May you always have lots of love to share, lots of good health to spare, and lots of good friends who care.“ Gifted to my great friend Erick Baker, who had breakfast with this morning just before I finished the book. Felt right.

Not yet: The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Not yet: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak