“Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” ~ William Arthur Ward
Photo Credit: Kevin Jordan, January 2025 of “Legends #2” by Sugarboo & Co.
Greetings -
I hope you, your families and friends are well as we navigate the beginnings of this new year! Where did January go?!
We had a lengthy visit with our lovely daughter over parts of December and January, as she was home from school. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together. It is always a treat to spend time with her and see the many ways in which she continues to grow and flourish.
As I resume writing, I thought it might be nice to lead off with a recap of the great books I read over the latter part of Q4 and during my extended break. They are listed in no particular order or reading preference. I hope you enjoy some or all of them as much as I did.
I will be back in early February with our regularly scheduled content and programming.
As always, happy reading and listening!
Be well, take good care of your families and community.
-kj
PS - (Missed a newsletter? Past editions can be found here: https://www.kevinjordan.coach/blog. And if you hit paywall on an article(s), feel free to send me a note and let me know what you need. I have subscriptions to many of the sources that I cite.)
And Yet the Books ~ Czeslaw Milosz, translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Robert Haas
And yet the books will be there on the shelves, separate beings,
That appeared once, still wet
As shining chestnuts under a tree in autumn,
And, touched, coddled, began to live
In spite of fires on the horizon, castles blown up,
Tribes on the march, planets in motion.
“We are,” they said, even as their pages
Were being torn out, or a buzzing flame
Licked away their letters. So much more durable
Than we are, whose frail warmth
Cools down with memory, disperses, perishes.
I imagine the earth when I am no more:
Nothing happens, no loss, it’s still a strange pageant,
Women’s dresses, dewy lilacs, a song in the valley.
Yet the books will be there on the shelves, well born,
Derived from people, but also from radiance, heights.
“Our investment in reading changes the book because the book has changed us. ... If books are merely a means of transferring information, then perhaps, yes, a book is a waste of time. If a summary of its thesis and key points could be presented in a brief article or Substack post, why not just save the hours and read the Substack post? All the more if the information is outdated or questionable for one reason or another. But that mistakes what a book is for. A book is a tool. It’s a machine for thinking. And “all machines,” as Thoreau once said, “have their friction.” The time it takes to engage with ideas—whether factual or fictional, emotional or intellectual, accurate or inaccurate, efficient or inefficient—might strike some as a drag. But the time given to working through those ideas, adopting and adapting, developing or discarding, changes our minds, changes us. It’s not about the wisdom we glean. It’s about what wisdom we grow.” ~ Joel Miller
Business Reads to Start 2025
Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect ~ Will Guidara
"Will Guidara was twenty-six when he took the helm of Eleven Madison Park, a struggling two-star brasserie that had never quite lived up to its majestic room. Eleven years later, EMP was named the best restaurant in the world.
How did Guidara pull off this unprecedented transformation? Radical reinvention, a true partnership between the kitchen and the dining room—and memorable, over-the-top, bespoke hospitality. Guidara’s team surprised a family who had never seen snow with a magical sledding trip to Central Park after their dinner; they filled a private dining room with sand, complete with mai-tais and beach chairs, to console a couple with a cancelled vacation. And his hospitality extended beyond those dining at the restaurant to his own team, who learned to deliver praise and criticism with intention; why the answer to some of the most pernicious business dilemmas is to give more—not less; and the magic that can happen when a busser starts thinking like an owner...Guidara urges us all to find the magic in what we do—for ourselves, the people we work with, and the people we serve." [KJ: For foodies and fans of the FX show Bear, Will is a producer and writer. This is an excellent ode to providing superlative service in any industry.]
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection ~ Charles Duhigg
"In this groundbreaking book, Charles Duhigg unravels the secrets of the supercommunicators to reveal the art - and the science - of successful communication. He unpicks the different types of everyday conversation and pinpoints why some go smoothly while others swiftly fall apart. He reveals the conversational questions and gambits that bring people together. And he shows how even the most tricky of encounters can be turned around. In the process, he shows why a CIA operative was able to win over a reluctant spy, how a member of a jury got his fellow jurors to view an open-and-shut case differently, and what a doctor found they needed to do to engage with a vaccine sceptic.
Above all, he reveals the techniques we can all master to successfully connect with others, however tricky the circumstances. Packed with fascinating case studies and drawing on cutting-edge research, this book will change the way you think about what you say, and how you say it." [KJ: Great, pragmatic, research-backed ideas and frameworks.]
This Is Strategy: Make Better Plans ~ Seth Godin
"With Godin's trademark clarity and insight, This is Strategy provides a framework for effective and elegant strategic thinking, offering essential building blocks to turn vision into reality. It’s a rallying cry for doing work that matters."
Non-fiction & Poetry Reads To Start 2025
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering ~ Malcolm Gladwell
"Through a series of riveting stories, Gladwell traces the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering. He takes us to the streets of Los Angeles to meet the world’s most successful bank robbers, rediscovers a forgotten television show from the 1970s that changed the world, visits the site of a historic experiment on a tiny cul-de-sac in northern California, and offers an alternate history of two of the biggest epidemics of our day: COVID and the opioid crisis. Revenge of the Tipping Point is Gladwell’s most personal book yet. With his characteristic mix of storytelling and social science, he offers a guide to making sense of the contagions of modern world. It’s time we took tipping points seriously."
Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier ~ Kevin Kelly
"On his 68th birthday, Kevin Kelly began to write down for his young adult children some things he had learned about life that he wished he had known earlier. To his surprise, Kelly had more to say than he thought, and kept adding to the advice over the years, compiling a life’s wisdom into these pages.
Kelly’s timeless advice covers an astonishing range, from right living to setting ambitious goals, optimizing generosity, and cultivating compassion. He has wisdom for career, relationships, parenting, and finances, and gives guidance for practical matters ranging from travel to troubleshooting...This is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to navigate life with grace and creativity." [KJ: A slender gem of a book, packed with thoughtful goodies.]
World Class: Purpose, Passion, and the Pursuit of Greatness On and Off the Field ~ Grant Wahl
"Spanning four decades of storytelling, World Class collects for the first time the finest work of Grant Wahl, from his college thesis to his twenty-five years of reporting at Sports Illustrated to his deeply personal work for Fútbol with Grant Wahl for Substack. Grant was the multi-tool modern clear and direct; able to write long, short, or in between; cosmopolitan; socially aware. He never talked down to the reader but at the same time refused to sell them short. He was keen to shed light and unafraid of the heat his work might generate." [KJ: I used to read Sports Illustrated cover-to-cover, including Wahl. He is a fantastic writer and keen observer of the human condition. The best piece, IMHO, has nothing to do with sports; it was his Princeton senior thesis written about his mentor and never before published until now.]
Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity ~ Peter Attia, MD and Bill Gifford
"A groundbreaking manifesto on living better and longer that challenges the conventional medical thinking on aging and reveals a new approach to preventing chronic disease and extending long-term health, from a visionary physician and leading longevity expert."
Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World ~ Pema Chödrön
"...Pema Chödrön offers new wisdom, heartfelt reflections, and humor and insight...In an increasingly polarized world, this spiritual resource provides us with tools for finding common ground, even when we disagree, in order to build a stronger, broader sense of community. With never-before-told personal stories, simple daily practices, and powerful advice, Pema guides us on our journey to become compassionate beings even in times of hardship."
Solito ~ Javier Zamora
"Javier Zamora’s adventure is a 3,000-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks...A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home." [KJ: a harrowing true tale told from the vantage point of his 9 year old self. Solito is a beautifully written and intricately told story.]
A Field Companion for Wandering ~ Conner Bouchard-Roberts
"A book for being lost on real and imagined borders."
Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World ~ Pádraig Ó Tuama
"Expanding on the popular podcast of the same name from On Being Studios, Poetry Unbound offers immersive reflections on fifty powerful poems. In the tumult of our contemporary moment, poetry has emerged as an inviting, consoling outlet with a unique power to move and connect us, to inspire fury, tears, joy, laughter, and surprise. This generous anthology pairs fifty illuminating poems with poet and podcast host Pádraig Ó Tuama’s appealing, unhurried reflections. With keen insight and warm personal anecdotes, Ó Tuama considers each poem’s artistry and explores how its meaning can reach into our own lives...Through these wide-ranging poems, Ó Tuama guides us on an inspiring journey to reckon with self-acceptance, history, independence, parenthood, identity, joy, and resilience."
Fiction Reads To Start 2025
The All of It ~ Jeannette Haien
"Jeannette Haien’s award-winning first novel relates the seemingly simple tale of a parishioner confiding in her priest, but the tangled confession brings secrets to light that provoke a moral quandary for not only the clergyman, but the reader as well. Set in a small town in Ireland, Haien’s intimate novel of conversations and dilemmas...is 'an elegantly written, compact and often subtle tale of morality and passion that gives voice to an age-old concern in a fresh way.' (New York Times Book Review)."
Trust ~ Hernan Diaz
"Even through the roar and effervescence of the 1920s, everyone in New York has heard of Benjamin and Helen Rask. He is a legendary Wall Street tycoon; she is the daughter of eccentric aristocrats. Together, they have risen to the very top of a world of seemingly boundless wealth—all as a decade of excess and speculation draws to an end. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune? This is the mystery at the center of Bonds, a successful 1937 novel that all of New York seems to have read. Yet there are other versions of this tale of privilege and deceit.
Hernan Diaz's Trust elegantly puts these competing narratives into conversation with one another—and in tension with the perspective of one woman bent on disentangling fact from fiction. The result is a novel that spans over a century and becomes more exhilarating with each new revelation."
The Maniac ~ Benjamín Labatut
"The Maniac places [Hungarian polymath John] von Neumann at the center of a literary triptych that begins with Paul Ehrenfest, an Austrian physicist and friend of Einstein, who fell into despair when he saw science and technology become tyrannical forces; it ends a hundred years later, in the showdown between the South Korean Go Master Lee Sedol and the AI program AlphaGo, an encounter embodying the central question of von Neumann's most ambitious unfinished project: the creation of a self-reproducing machine, an intelligence able to evolve beyond human understanding or control."
Trust Her ~ Flynn Berry
"Three years after they narrowly escaped the IRA's worst punishment for informing, Northern Irish sisters Tessa and Marian Daly have built a new life in Dublin with their young children. Though Tessa is haunted by the abrupt and violent end to her old life, she does her best to immerse herself in the joys of Finn's childhood and the rhythms of her new job at the Irish Observer.
It's a small island, though, and just as quickly as they disappeared, figures from the sisters' past surface to drag them back into the conflict. Tessa is told she must track down her old handler from MI5, Eamonn, and attempt to turn him into an IRA informant, or lose everything."
The Crowded Grave ~ Martin Walker
"Life in south-west rural France is not the sleepy idyll you might suppose. Local duck and goose farms are being attacked by animal rights protestors attempting to halt the production of foie gras. A senior policeman has been shot by terrorists believed to be the Basque Separatists of ETA. And if that weren't enough, a group of students have just unearthed a 'modern' skeleton during a dig at one of the ancient sites of this famous region and home to pre-historic man - a dig that has brought an influx of foreigners to the Dordogne. It is up to Chief of Police Bruno Courreges to get to the bottom of these seemingly unrelated events. Martin Walker spins a surprising and compelling mystery, laced with charm and a deep knowledge and love of France, past and present."
The Devil's Cave ~ Martin Walker
"It’s spring in St. Denis. The village choir is preparing for its Easter concert, the wildflowers are blooming, and among the lazy whorls of the river a dead woman is found floating in a boat. It’s another case for Bruno, the town’s cherished chief of police. With the discovery of sinister markings and black candles near the body, it seems to him that the occult might be involved. And as questions mount—regarding a troubling real estate proposal in the region; a suspicious, violent death made to look accidental; and the sudden reappearance of a politically controversial elderly countess—Bruno and his colleagues and friends are drawn ever closer to a climactic showdown in the Gouffre de Colombac: the place locals call the Devil’s Cave."