Reading Recommendations

James Clear has a seemingly simple life thesis: changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them.

He learned this the hard way, through a slow recovery from a traumatic sports-related accident in high school that ultimately led to success on the college athletic field.

This book resonates with me because Clear takes the idea of compounding, which is simultaneously simple to calculate and remarkable to behold, and applies it to everyday life.

Clear’s extensive research into human behavior helped him identify key components of habit formation and develop a straightforward framework for making change in our lives possible.

He posits that a habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic. The ultimate purpose of good habits, contends Clear, is to solve the problems of life with as little energy as possible.

Clear calls his framework “The Four Laws of Behavioral Change” and presents a simple set of rules we can use to build better habits. They are: (1) make it obvious, (2) make it attractive, (3) make it easy, and (4) make it satisfying.

Since your habits are shaped by the systems in your life, Clear discusses his Four Laws throughout Atomic Habits to demonstrate how to use them to create a system in which good habits emerge naturally.

The author is also a compelling speaker. You can hear James Clear discuss the ideas in this book on The Peter Attia Drive podcast Episode #183.

-RK

Researcher Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance and Retirement Planning for Morningstar, recently published How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement.

In the book, Benz interviews academicians and practitioners from the world of personal finance and retirement, with specialties in financial planning, tax, estate planning, insurance, asset allocation, Social Security, healthcare, and hospice care.

Each chapter is structured in a Question-and-Answer format, so the reader is able to engage as an observer of an interview.

In addition to lots of good advice about managing finances in retirement, Benz also moves beyond dollars and cents.

She says: “When, and how to retire is less than 50% related to money. Yes, you need to have the funds. But more important, you need:

• A network of people who care about you
• To practice healthy habits and take care of your body
• A plan for your days
• Activities that bring you joy”

The book is both information rich and thought provoking and will be a good resource for those in retirement, or approaching that milestone.

-RK

The journalist Charles Duhigg currently writes for the New Yorker Magazine; has written three books on habits and productivity; and was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for a series of articles on the business practices of technology companies.

Duhigg is probably best known for The Power of Habit, which posited that behavior, whether of individuals or groups, can be changed by disrupting the “habit loop” of trigger, routine, and reward.

His follow up Smarter, Faster, Better focused on productivity.

In Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection, Duhigg explores the art and science of effective communication, offering insights into how individuals can foster deeper connections and navigate complex conversations.

Duhigg puts forth a framework for understanding the type of conversation an interlocutor is trying to have (Practical, Emotional, or Social), and then explains ways that individuals can align with the type of conversation at hand to promote meaningful engagement.

I found that a lot of the material in the book boils down to the application of common sense.

But I also find it helpful to have a new lens for looking at recurring situations, and practical tools for improving vital skillsets that foster productive communication.

The mid-20th century sociologist Willam H. Whyte said: “The greatest problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”

Readers of Duhigg’s book may be better positioned to avoid this “greatest problem”, and instead benefit from clearer communication and, subsequently, deeper human connection.

-RK

The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham, has been called “by far the best book about investing ever written” by investment superstar Warren Buffett.

Even so, you will be excused if you log onto Amazon, or visit your local bookstore, and choose to make another reading selection.

Graham’s book was first published in 1949 and contains references to companies and situations that may be unfamiliar to the 21st century reader.

But the third addition of the text, released last week, on its 75^th anniversary, might be attractive to financially adventurous readers, in part as an interesting artifact, but also for contemporary commentary provided by the Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig.

Graham was born in London in 1894 and entered Columbia University at age 16. Before the end of his senior year, Graham was offered faculty positions at Columbia in three different departments: English, Philosophy, and Mathematics.

Graham went on to start a successful investment company, in addition to holding university faculty positions.

His most famous student, while teaching at Columbia Business School, was none other than Warren Buffett. In addition, Graham was one of the original supporters of an investment certification program that eventually became the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation – of which I am a proud holder.

HarperCollins Publishers turned to Jason Zweig in June 2003 to revise Graham’s initial text. The second edition was published in 2005, and Zweig took on the new assignment of writing annotations for each chapter in the 3^rd edition.

Among many important concepts, Graham introduced the idea of margin of safety: the belief that an investor should not focus exclusively on how much money can be made but on how much money can be lost, because even the best investors are likely to be wrong roughly 45 percent of the time.

For individual investors, the value in Graham’s “definitive book on value investing” may be more about what not to do, than what to do, with your money.

-RK

David Brooks is a Canadian-born American conservative political and cultural commentator who writes for the New York Times and The Atlantic.

He’s also written for the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Weekly Standard. He joined Weymouth, Massachusetts native Mark Shields from 2001 to 2020 on PBS News Hour and continues to comment on PBS.

In his recent book How to Know a Person, he offers observations and personal experiences that help us become more skilled at the art of seeing others and making them feel seen, heard, and understood.

Chapters include: The Right Questions, The Art of Empathy, and What Is Wisdom?

In Brook’s words: “I’m hoping this book will help you adopt a different posture toward other people, a different way of being present with people, a different way of having bigger conversations.”

-RK

Summer Reading Series: Non-Fiction

How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg

Fair warning from someone who has read this book: it, unfortunately, does not guarantee infallibility.

However, upon reading, it will ensure your errors are backed by logic. Filled with real-world examples of fallacies, corrections on common statistical mistakes, and rebuts of common arguments, How Not to Be Wrong makes you think about how you think.

In an intuition-driven world, slowing down one’s thought process can help provide insights to vexing problems. Luckily, the reader does not need a robust understanding of convoluted mathematical topics (such a book would’ve gone right over my head).

Ellenberg breaks down key concepts for you into their essential aspects. Pertinent and applicable, How Not to Be Wrong leads to greater understanding of the world in which we live.

-Greg