Tag Archive for: Book Reviews

Three books to kick off 2021

These three books are among the best I have read in the past several years.

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GAINcast Episode 207: Good reads

Vern is known as one of the most well read people in sport. In 2020 he ready 137 books. On this week’s GAINcast he shares his favorite books of the year, as well as some insights on the process of reading.

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Vern Gambetta’s top books of 2020

2020 has been a good year for reading. I wanted to keep my top book selection to ten but ended up with twenty. It was just too hard to select. I love to read. My reading is fairly eclectic certainly venturing far outside of sport and training. This past year I read 137 books. I never set out to read a certain number, in fact I don’t count then number until after Christmas. I ranked the first ten after careful thought, numbers eleven to twenty are in random order. I will probably do a podcast or something on social media to talk about each of the books.

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Craig Pickering’s top reads of 2020

At the end of each year, I like to do a round-up of the books I read over the preceding 12 months, as it often serves to remind me of some key ideas and concepts. In 2019, I read 50 books, and in 2018 it was 59; this year it was 56. Here’s the list of what I enjoyed the most or found the most useful; hopefully it’ll provide some good recommendations for you to get stuck into in 2021.

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Brave Enough by Jessie Diggins

I have always been an an avid reader of coaches and athletes’ biographies. Each biography gave me insights into what that athlete tick. How they approached training. How they got into their sport. How they were coached. There is so much to learn  from the experiences of others on the journey to achieve the pinnacle of sport performance. Read more

Some pearls from recent readings

Leonard Mlodinov talking to noble prizewinner Richard Feynman, as described in Feynman’s Rainbow P. 78: Read more

Two books and a movie

Physical Intelligence: The Science of How the Body and the Mind Guide Each Other Though Life by Scott Grafton is one of the best books I have read in quite some time. Very well written in a style that makes a complex subject very understandable without dumbing it down. If you are coach, teacher or therapist this is a must read. I wish I would have had this book years ago, just clarifies mind-body relationships and the things we do every day in coaching to improve athletes’ movements. Read more

Craig Pickering’s top reads of 2019

Last year I read or listened to 59 books. This year, I managed 50. Here’s my list of the books I enjoyed the most, and recommend you at least consider checking out yourself. Read more

2019 best books – Vern’s picks

These are my picks for the best books I read in 2019. As you can see I am light of sport and heavy on history and biography. Read more

Thoughts on getting better

My passion and focus are on getting better at getting better. The longer I coach, the more I realize that we can’t rely on doing more of the same old things we have been doing and hope to get our athletes better. We must use the time and resources better to get better. Here are some thoughts, ideas and concepts I have culled from some of my research and practice on learning: Read more