Skip to main content

Best and Worst, 2023

I read some fifty books in 2023. These are the ones that stood out, both good and bad, with links to my reviews. Thank you for reading!

PS: If you'd like to support my work, feel free to use this affiliate link at Amazon to do your shopping. I'll be paid a modest affiliate fee on anything you purchase, at no extra cost to you. I thank you!


Best (5/5 stars or close):

Worst (1/5 stars or close): 

More Posts

Good Thinking: The Foundations of Probability and its Applications by Irving J. Good

This collection of scientific papers is a challenging but useful discussion on statistical methods, probability, randomness, logic and decision-making. Much of the book centers around Bayesian statistical methods and when and why to use them, as well as "philosophy of science"-type discussions on when a scientist should--or sometimes must--apply subjective judgments to scientific problems. It will help enormously if you've had a semester or two of statistics to really get at the meat of this book. If not, scroll down a few paragraphs for a short list of layperson-friendly books that address many of these subjects more accessibly. [A quick  affiliate link to Amazon  for those readers who would like to support my work here: if you purchase your Amazon products via any affiliate link from this site, or from my sister site  Casual Kitchen , I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!] Author Irving Good worked with Alan Turing at ...
Read more

The Dhandho Investor by Mohnish Pabrai

Worth reading, and rereading, and re-rereading. An elegant book that teaches fundamental principles of value investing, and much more. The Dhandho Investor  also has the highly unusual quality of being useful at a wide range of reader sophistication levels: you can gain tremendously from this book as a beginner or as a deeply experienced investor. I'll single out Chapters 5 and 6 for particular mention: Chapter 5 describes author Mohnish Pabrai's investing framework, with nine interlocking and synchronistic rules. Chapter 6 describes in very simple language all of the gigantic structural advantages of investing in the stock market, as it offers low frictional costs, a tremendous selection of possible businesses, and, most importantly, periodic incredible opportunities. These two chapters explain why you will take a pass on almost all investments--but then, once in a while, make large bets on specific situations that meet your requirements. [A quick  affiliate link to Amazon ...
Read more

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

"You can't understand me, we belong to two different generations." This is a novel you can read over a weekend, but think about for years. We try to speak to each other, to communicate with each other, but we can't. It's not that we don't talk: we do, constantly, piling up words at each other. But the words conceal or exaggerate, they distract or cause others to react, or they are simply lies we tell others and ourselves. [A quick  affiliate link to Amazon  for those readers who would like to support my work here: if you purchase your Amazon products via any affiliate link from this site, or from my sister site  Casual Kitchen , I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!] Likewise, the characters in Fathers and Sons  talk, a lot, but they cannot communicate across the chasm of a single generation. Imagine how much better off Bazarov would be if his father could help him see, ahead of time, the journey from arrogant, nihi...
Read more