Year-end book recommendations

So the year has come and gone and the holiday season is once again upon us. And unless you are one of the poor unfortunate souls with a sadistic MD and pitch the day after New Year's, you're probably looking forward to some down time between now and year-end. I know I am, and one of the things I enjoy doing during this time is picking up a great book to read, preferably one with the potential to change my perspective on things, understand something or someone better, or just make me think. Along those lines, I thought I'd share a few of the better books I've read recently in the event any of you find yourself in front of a warm fire with a glass of scotch and a few hours to kill. In no particular order:

1. The Five Elements of Effective Thinking by Edward Burger and Michael Starbird. One of the things I've been focused on this year is thinking methods and thought patterns, and this is one of my favorite books on the subject. It comes recommended by Stanford math professor Keith Devlin (it was actually required reading for one of his Coursera math courses which is how I found out about it), and it was written by a couple of mathematicians, so you can rest assured the techniques are battle-tested and the book is worth your time. Spend a few weeks with this book and you'll find yourself much more confident in your ability to learn new things, tackle complex problems, and just be a thoughtful person.

2. Lying by Sam Harris. I know there are a lot of Sam Harris fans on this site, but even if you aren't, this is a great book. In it, Harris detours from his usual subject matter (God an atheism) and instead lays out a pretty compelling case as to why lying is more or less never justified in any circumstance. He walks through several difficult scenarios along these lines -- a friend asks if you think he's gained weight, someone gives you a gift you don't want and asks you if you like it, a person fleeing a murderer hides in your house and the murderer subsequently knocks on the door and asks if the intended victim is in your house. He even recounts a personal experience where, upon returning to the US after some time in Asia, a US customs agent asked him if he had used drugs while abroad. Incredibly, Harris told the agent YES. You've got to be damn committed to telling to truth to go down that path. But as you will quickly realize, Harris contends that path is the only route to a fulfilling, authentic life and truly meaningful relationships. Overall a great, thought-provoking read. A short one too, so you can knock this out in an evening or two.

3. No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert Glover. Let's face it, there's a lot of confusion out there as to what it means to be a man in modern society. A lot of people have chimed in on the subject, but few have as original a view as the one Robert Glover presents in No More Mr. Nice Guy. His basic premise is most modern men suffer from what he dubs "Nice Guy Syndrome" -- the tendency to seek approval from others, hide flaws and mistakes, put other people's needs before one's own, and do everything "right" -- and that this leads to unsatisfying relationships, unfulfilling careers, and a loss of personal power. To back his assertion, he cites numerous examples of "Nice Guys" in action that we have all seen before: the guy whose wife runs the show, the guy who can never say "no," the guy that gets shit on at work but never gets any recognition for his efforts, the guy that is always available to help out even when inconvenient, or the guy that can't make a decision or speak his mind. So what's the solution? Glover basically recommends guys do the opposite of what got them into the mess in which they find themselves. In other words, put their needs before others', stop seeking approval from everybody, and more or less decide what they want to do and what they think is right, and then do it -- everyone else be damned. Sounds simple, but it's surprisingly hard to do for a lot of guys given they've been conditioned to seek approval since birth by schools, mothers, churches, governments, and corporations. So if you are a guy and your life is fucked up and you don't know why, stop reading nonsense articles that tell you the key to being a man is shaving with a $60 razor and properly matching your belt with your shoes, and pick up this book.

4. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This book is more a collection of vignettes than a full book, so it's a fast read. But don't let that fool you, there's a lot to be gleaned from these pages. The gist of the book is we all have something we want, no need to do -- write a book, build an app, start a business, learn that new skill -- but something holds us back. That something, Pressfield contends, is Resistance. Resistance comes in many forms: procrastination, mindless entertainment, health problems, personal conflicts, drugs, sex, "urgent" to-dos, bullshit emails, etc. Whatever its form, Resistance plays for keeps and everyday you have to make a decision to battle Resistance and do the work you were put on this earth to do. Now, you may be thinking this sounds like another "overcome procrastination / time management" book, but I can assure you it's not. More like The Art of War for work.

That's my list. If any of you out there have some recommendations as well, I'd be eager to hear them. Happy Holidays monkeys.