GAINcast Episode 233: Top books of 2021
Vern is a notorious reader and he’s only gaining steam with age. This year he had 151 books on this week’s podcast he shares some key takeaways from his 17 favorite books of the year.
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Notes and quotes
- 0:00 – Introduction.
- 5:00 – Reading to learn.
- 6:00 – Think Again by Adam Grant: “Think again: get away from people who always agree with our conclusions and gravitate towards those that challenge our thought process.”
- 7:45 – The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul: “Too much of our culture focuses on the brain as the soul of thinking, but the body is involved too. Physical activity sharpens our attention, improves our memory, and enhances our creativity.”
- 9:15 – Physical Intelligence: The Science of How the Body and the Mind Guide Each Other Through Life by Scott Grafton
- 10:15 – The Creative Habit: Learn In and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp
- 11:00 – Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding by Daniel Liberman
- 12:30 – How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills by Rob Gray
- 13:30 – The Barcelona Complex: Lionel Messi and the Making–and Unmaking–of the World’s Greatest Soccer Club by Simon Kuper
- 15:00 – Framers: Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil by by Kenneth Cukier, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, and Francis de Véricourt
- 16:00 – The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer
- 17:30 – The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt: “If you are an adult today working with kids, we have to raise our expectations and understand that they can do more better.”
- 18:30 – Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal by George Packer
- 20:00 – The Eagles of Heart Mountain: A True Story of Football, Incarceration, and Resistance in World War II America by Bradford Pearson
- 21:30 – The Good American: The Epic Life of Bob Gersony, the U.S. Government’s Greatest Humanitarian by Robert Kaplan
- 22:45 – Scientist: E. O. Wilson: A Life in Nature by Richard Rhodes
- 24:00 – The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance by Rich Diviney
- 25:15 – The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
- 26:15 – The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer by Steven Kotler
To hear more about these topics you can listen to the full episode above. If you like what you hear on the GAINcast, don’t forget to give us a review and subscribe on iTunes.
Further reading
The following links were referenced in the podcast or provide some additional reading material on the topic:
- Our monthly GAIN Master Class Series features speakers from all aspects of performance. Sign up and learn more here.
- The GAINcast is also sponsored by HMMR Media. Join HMMR Media to get access to a vast library of online training resources, video, articles, podcasts, and more.
- Read more about Vern’s 2021 reading recommendations . You can also see Vern’s list from 2020 and from 2019. Craig Pickering also writes about his favorite books each year. His latest list for 2021 was posted last week.
