The Books that Made the Most Impression on Me in 2023
Stoner by John Williams - Fiction
Dear Heavens, a gorgeous novel with beautiful sentences about the psychological struggles of a young, farm-bred man who, having shed the naivety of his background, contends with fitting into the intellectual life in an American city. The university may have expanded Mr. Stoner's worldview, but did it equip him to navigate difficult human relationships?
The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist - Neuroscience & Psychology
I've likely watched more of Iain's YouTube conversations this year than any other, and that's because of his compelling take on aspects of cognitive science that invite listeners into new understanding about the workings of the brain, and his gestalt on literature, biology, philosophy, meditation, and most importantly - the sense of the sacred. It's impossible to read this book without pausing to contemplate almost every page or littering it with bookmarks as Iain throws in heart-stopping sentences that are as beautiful as the insights they reveal.
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson - Biography
Everything about the man, the maverick and the meme 😊. Given my rather slow reading pace, I finished this 600-plus tome in less than two weeks and I hope to share my impression about the book, which might mostly focus on the biographer, Isaacson Walter.
The Age of AI: And Our Human Future by Henry Kissinger, Daniel Huttenlocher & Eric Schmidt - Technology & Social Science
A fitting non-techy introduction into artificial intelligence that explores its origin, promises, challenges, geopolitical consequences, etc., which I reviewed HERE. I especially enjoyed its philosophical summary of how machine learning works - “To enable machine learning, what mattered was the overlap between various representations of a thing, not its ideal — in philosophical terms, Wittgenstein, not Plato."
Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science & Religion by Nicholas Spencer - Science & Religion
For £0.99, this book was a heist but then BookBub is the booklover's Pornhub for discovering the most pleasurable and thriftiest books. So far, I've read its reviews than its pages but I'm delighted by its focus on subjects that have occupied my mind since my childhood fascination with where science and religion reconcile or diverge.
God Meant it for Good by R.T. Kendal - Christianity
Since watching Jordan Peterson's 15-part YouTube videos in 2019 or 2020 on The Psychological Significance of Biblical Stories, I've begun to take a different look at familiar stories of the bible. Despite Joseph's story being one of my favourites, Peterson illustrated some dynamics I would never have imagined, and reading this book, beyond serving as a spiritual supplement, has been deeply fascinating.
Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economies of Artificial Intelligence by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans & Avi Goldfarb - Technology & Economics
If artificial intelligence could be reduced to a word, it would be - decision, illustrating its capacity to optimise outcomes. As this would undoubtedly upend systems, this book spots the light on the nature and extent of system disruption that is about to happen and gives it economic context.
Here’s to more reading in 2024.
God Meant it for Good Is a remarkable book I read in 2010. I got a better understanding of God’s gifts, the place of pride and ultimately redemption.