My Top 10 Books From 2023
To investors,
I try to read as much as I can. Sometimes I sit down and read a single book all the way through to the end. Other times I am reading two or three books at the same time. Given everything else I have going on in my life, I am only able to read about one book per week. Hopefully I will be able to find more time in the future.
Reading is not only how I learn, but it gives me fresh ideas about various topics. You would be surprised how often I am reading about history or a non-investing topic, yet I come across an insight that immediately relates back to something in the investment world.
In my private conversations with friends, I have been shocked at how few people read books regularly. By sharing the best books that I read this year below, I hope that more people pick up a book and start reading. Find the time. Invest in yourself and learn. It has been one of the most rewarding things I have consistently done throughout my career.
Here are my top 10 books from 2023 in no particular order:
#1 — Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke
This is a collection of letters from a knight to his children explaining everything he knows about the world in case he does not return from battle. Topics cover include “solitude, humility, forgiveness, honesty, courage, grace, pride, and patience, he draws on the ancient teachings of Eastern and Western philosophy, and on the great spiritual and political writings of our time.” It is debated whether the letters are fiction or not, but the lessons included in the book are timeless. (Buy here)
#2 — Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Isaacson is one of the best biography writers of our time and this book does not disappoint. He follows Elon around for years, along with talking to various people in the inner circle, to better understand the best entrepreneur in the world. The book is filled with insane anecdotes, raw feelings from friends/family, and a solid peek behind the curtain of the craziness it takes to pull off what Elon has done so far. (Buy here)
#3 — How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen
Clayton Christensen is best known for writing The Innovator’s Dilemma but I think this book is much more important. Christensen lays out a set of guidelines for how he found meaning in his own life, which I found directly applicable to my life as well. The book made me think more deeply about what was important and how I wanted to go through life. This is now one of my most recommended books to friends. (Buy now)
#4 — Good Profit by Charles Koch
Charles Koch built Koch Industries into the largest private business in America. His management style is very different from what you would expect — he essentially built a bunch of startups that empower local leaders. This management style, with he calls market-based management, is widely credited with creating hundreds of billions of dollars in value. Good Profit is one of the best business books I’ve ever read. (Buy here)
#5 — The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
This book is guarenteed to motivate you to take on whatever challenge you have been putting off. Pressfield labels these challenges that seem to stall us as The Resistance and uses the book to describe the many ways he has found to slay The Resistance. It is a quick read that I now recommend to anyone doing some sort of creative work, whether it is text, audio, video, or software product building. The book is a quick read too. (Buy here)
#6 — A Matter of Death and Life by Irvin and Marilyn Yalom
A husband and wife are renowned authors and professors. In this book, they alternate back and forth every chapter which each one of them writing a documentation of the end of the wife’s life. As she is dying, they discuss how they are each coping with the situation, how they handle the death of Marilyn, and how Irvin navigates living without her afterwards. Hard-hitting, eye-opening account of an aspect of life that most of us try not to think about. (Buy here)
#7 — Be Water My Friend by Shannon Lee
Bruce Lee is well-known around the world as a martial artist and actor, but he was also a great philosopher. In this book, his daughter Shannon shares the core principles from Bruce’s philosophy, while expanding on them with practical ways to use them in your daily life. The lessons throughout the book are timeless and will make you want to become a better human. (Buy here)
#8 — How To Get Rich by Felix Dennis
The title is absurd so you will have to ignore that, but the book is excellent. Dennis built his net-worth into the hundreds of millions of dollars, but was able to keep his humor and down-to-earth nature throughout the journey. This book is a very blunt analysis of how to build wealth, what rich people won’t tell you, and an expose of all the lies that the wealthy want everyone else to think. You will laugh and learn simultaneously when reading this one. (Buy here)
#9 — The Price of Time by Edward Chancellor
This book was recommended by Stanley Druckenmiller as one of the best books he had read recently. I found it just as compelling as he did. Chancellor writes a history of interest, including the long-debated morality of it and the evolution of a simple concept into today’s complex importance in finance. If you want to better understand how the financial world works today, this is a must read. (Buy here)
#10 — Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
Will Guidara and his partner were the owners of Eleven Madison Park, which was rated the single greatest restaurant in the world. In the book, Will unpacks how they built the restaurant into a world of excellence, including some of the highly unscalable things that would make the guest experience unique and memorable. Regardless of what industry you are in, you can learn how to better take care of your customers from this book. (Buy here)
BONUS: Hidden Genius by Polina Pompliano
Hidden Genius is the culmination of a years-long study of the world’s most successful people. Some of them are wealthy, others have been at the top of their industry for decades, and many of them accomplished an incredible feat. Polina takes various insights from each person and presents them in a digestible format that allows you to understand which aspects you can apply to your own life. Polina is my wife, so this had to be a bonus selection or everyone would say the list was rigged! (Buy here)
I hope this list is helpful to each of you. Please send me any book recommendations that you have — I always am in search of great things to read.
If you wold like the list of honorable mentions, including two books that are nearly impossible to find anymore, you can become a paying member of The Pomp Letter and see it below.
Hope you all have a strong end to the year and I will talk to everyone tomorrow.
-Anthony Pompliano