Top Reads from 2023

I read 81 books last year. These were my favorites...

A Happier 2024

If you’re curious about the intersection of happiness and money, I hope you’ll join me over at The Happiness Summit this week.

I’ll be a guest speaker on

Vanya Slaveva

’s program and I hope you’ll participate. Vanya does “happiness” better than most people I know. 😀

Here’s a clip from our convo:

See you there!

My Top Reads from 2023

I read 81 books last year. These were my favorites, in no particular order. I’d love to hear what your favorite books were over the last year.

If you’re a book lover like me, follow me on GoodReads. 📚

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

When I was younger I wanted to be a “Renaissance man” when I grew up. (I’d never heard of a Renaissance woman so I didn’t realize that was an option.) What I love about Leonardo’s life is that he pursued his art and interests based on his desire to learn and create, not for monetary gain or publicity. This idea shows up again in the next book too as Rick Rubin discusses creating for creation's sake.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

This reminded me of Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art, but Rick has a different style. If you’re into that kind of thing, there’s a great conversation between the two on Rick’s podcast, Tetragrammaton, about the force that keeps us from our creative work. The Creative Act isn’t really anything new, but I found a great number of important reminders throughout the book.

We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power by Rachel Rodgers

Not only do I think all women should read this, but men who are interested in a better understanding of the women and wealth in their lives would be well served to read it too. I especially liked her “100 Reasons You Should Become a Millionaire.”

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

This was, perhaps, my favorite book of the year. It’s a well-written look at the last days of a president I knew very little about.

Tales of Power by Carlos Casteneda

My favorite of the Don Juan series, this is an exploration of magic and sorcery. Is it based on true shamanic experience or is it fiction? What do you think?

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

I wrote about this here so no need to repeat.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver is a solid writer so I wasn’t surprised that I enjoyed this book. What made it even better was the narration which brought the characters alive.

Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential by Matt Higgins

This is pretty much your standard business motivation book, but better.

A whole lot of Bosch books

Michael Connelly created an empire with his characters Harry Bosch, a detective, and Bosch’s half-brother, Mickey Haller, the Lincoln lawyer. One of my best friends, Keith, suggested the Bosch books after I tore through Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. I tried to get into them, but didn’t really connect with the character. That is until I watched the Bosch series, where Harry Bosch is played by Titus Welliver. As Connelly said, “Welliver breathed life into Bosch.” That created a whole new experience and, after watching the show, I went back to the books.
It helps that Welliver has a great voice and narrates some of the Bosch books because he “is” Bosch.

And of course, The Collective Heart, a collection of true stories of the invisible thread that connects us all, written by me, my clients, and friends.

Have an awesome week,

Mindie

P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for The Happiness Summit here. My spot airs on Wednesday!

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