Buzzard's Best Books of 2018

2018 was another rich year of reading. As always, my list is not a list of books published in 2018, but a list of the books I read in 2018 that I profited from and enjoyed the most. When it comes to reading I chase my curiosity, I aim to read in many different fields—so this is an eclectic list. See the bottom of this post for links to past year's lists.The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, by Brad Stone. This book was published a few years ago and Amazon is growing so fast, so I judged this an outdated book as was going to pass. But, I spoke with my friend who works for Google X and formerly worked for Amazon—he said this is must reading for understanding Amazon and Jeff Bezos. I devoured this book, thanks to Brad Stone's incredible research and writing (I'm eager to read Brad Stone's latest book). This book showed me the enormous size of Jeff Bezos' vision. I finished the book and immediately bought some Amazon stock. It was that convincing.Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life, by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, & Matthew Linn. This small book looks like the children's book, but you need to read it. It's a fresh take on St. Ignatius' Examen. A couple of months ago I began nightly asking the two questions this book teaches you to reflect upon. I think what this book taught me will stick with me the rest of my life.Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann. I want David Grann to write many more books. A decade ago he captivated me with his book, The Lost City of Z. Here Grann delivers again with a tragic, dark, page-turning piece of American history.Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders, by Jack D. Schwager. I'm an investor, not a trader, but this classic taught me a lot that I'm now factoring into how I look at economics and how I invest. I love the format of this book and getting to learn from such a diversity of traders.12 Rules for Life, by Jordan Peterson. You've heard enough about this book, you don't need to hear more from me. Yes, working through Peterson's tome is worth your time. I enjoyed learning how Peterson thinks and makes an argument, and his rules provide rich fodder for robust conversation on critical topics that you can engage people from all walks of life with. I spent much of July arguing and agreeing with an extended family member as we read through this book together and he sided with Peterson's evolutionary-stance and disagreed with portions of Peterson's Jude0-Christian/biblical stance, while I did the opposite. It was great fun.What Really Matters: The Seven Values of an Inside-Out Leader, by Bill Wellons. Bill Wellons is one of the best things to ever happen to me—he's a dear friend and mentor. With great enthusiasm I read and endorsed this book, it's like having a cup of coffee with Bill and listening to all his best wisdom about how to grow as a leader.Force of Nature, by Jane Harper. I love Jane Harper's fiction, this is the second of her works to feature on my lists. Read this Aussie.Measure What Matters, by John Doerr. OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are a helpful, flexible way to set big goals, make progress, and lead your team. OKRs are used extensively in Silicon Valley companies, and after reading Doerr I now use OKRs to lead our staff team because I find it a superior aligning, goal-setting, and progress-making mechanism than what I previously used.Made for Friendship, by Drew Hunter. Confession: I didn't read this entire book, I just skimmed it. My wife read the whole book and found it profound, she's now leading a group of women through this book. I skimmed it this summer and found it so rich, and told myself to read the book page by page in the future. I haven't done so yet, but will. Our relationally-stunted culture needs this work on friendship. I'm so glad Drew Hunter wrote this.The Judgment of Paris: The Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine, by George M. Taber. If you're into wine, you'll likely be into this account of the famous 1976 tasting, which also doubles as a history of Napa Valley.Basic Economics, by Thomas Sowell. 600+ pages of an economic education. I read this book very slowly, often 3-10 pages a night, over the course of a year. If you want a better understanding of economics, which can enhance and make sense of all of your other areas of leadership and influence, this is your book.Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi. I slowly read this book along with three friends, of diverse ethnicities, from my church (we actually still need to finish the last section of the book—the book is huge) and as we finished a section we gathered for discussion. I learned a lot about how deeply entrenched racist ideas have been in America's history. This was not an easy book to read, it often churned my stomach and boiled my rage. The structure of the book is masterful, looking at racism through the lens of a handful of historical figures. This book is full of surprises (most of them sad surprises), but also good surprises such as unlikely leaders (and many of them white) who had the self awareness, cultural awareness, care, and courage to speak out against the racist ideas of their day.Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of The Dyatlov Pass Incident, by Donnie Eichar. This July I read this book by day, and told my sons the story (with some embellishments) by night. Fascinating piece of Russian history.Insider Outsider: My Journey As a Stranger in White Evangelicalism And My Hope For Us All, by Bryan Loritts. Bryan Loritts is my friend, he lives and pastors down the freeway from me, and he's written a book here that I hope gets a wide reading. I love the style Bryan wrote this in—a memoir style that gets the reader deep into Bryan's experience, allowing you to feel what his experience has been like as a black man trafficking in an America full of a culture he names "white evangelicalism" (to be distinguished from individual white evangelicals). I think Bryan is spot on about white evangelicalism. I haven't talked this through with Bryan yet, but I disagree with him on one point of this book where I would draw a shaper line/bring more clarity, but that squabble is not on the topic of race which this book is about and I want many to hear his message about race and culture and his personal experience.The Barnabas Factor, by Aubrey Johnson. I'm passionate about encouragement—I love giving it, I love receiving it, and I think most people are starved for encouragement and would flourish with more encouragement. So, I wanted to read a book on this topic this year and stumbled on this one. If you practiced what this book proclaims, our world would be a better place. Please read it and please encourage someone right now.The Escape Artists: A Band of Daredevil Pilots and The Greatest Prison Break of the Great War, by Neal Bascomb. A riveting story. And, as all war stories do, it will help you put your current suffering in proper perspective.Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler. I'm was a Communication Studies major in college and have read many books on communication. This book is really good, you can immediately put its principles to use to better navigate the countless crucial conversations in your life. The section on "Expand Shared Pool of Meaning" has been my biggest takeaway.Unless You Become Like This Child, by Hans Urs von Balthasar. I want to spend the rest of my life becoming more childlike, so I'm seeking to learn all I can about this way of life Jesus invites us into. This small book had some great insights. It also had some Catholic theology I don't agree with.Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More, by Morten Hansen. I will never forget one of the main insights of this book: Do less, then obsess. The Magic of Thinking Big, by David J. Schwartz. This is an old book and plenty full of some strange, hocus-pocus-ish thinking, yet also full of a wonderful invitation and challenge to think bigger that I find deeply compatible with Ephesians 3:20 and my God who can do far more abundantly than all I ask or think.A Camaraderie of Confidence: The Fruit of Unfailing Faith in the Lives of Charles Spurgeon, George Müller, and Hudson Taylor, by John Piper. I love this series of brief bios by John Piper. This volume may be my favorite yet, I'm so inspired by the lives of these three men. I named my middle son after Hudson Taylor.Click here to read Buzzard's Best Books of 2017, and to get links to all my past year's lists.