Book Reviews 2022

Review: 8.7/10

Amazing book about how to maintain and form habits in your everyday life. I was very impressed with how well he was able to put analogies and give easy and measurable ideas for how to grow and improve.

Clear takes us through his four-step process of forming good habits – cue, craving, response, and reward – as well as showing how small incremental changes can add up to big differences over time. He also shares insights on how to break bad habits and replace them with better ones. A lot of the things in this book seem obvious now that I've read them, but the way he explains it shines light on different aspects of habits and mindset ideas that I wouldn't have previously thought of. Amazing read and beautifully written, highly recommend.

Rating: 7.7/10

Grover takes you on a journey from his days as Michael Jordan’s personal trainer to working with some of the world’s most successful athletes, including Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. He gives insight into the psychology of winning and the mindset required to be successful in any endeavor. Through anecdotes, examples, and inspiring stories, Grover provides a roadmap to success.

My favorite part of the book was when Grover talks about what he calls “The Inner Circle” – a group of elite athletes who are mentally strong and always strive for excellence. He talks about how these individuals have the mental toughness to push themselves further than anyone else no matter what obstacles they face.

The reason for the somewhat harsh rating is the verbiage and pretentious way that this book was written, as well as his lack of detail in certain areas where he resorted to overgeneralizations.  

Rating 7.6/10

This book provides readers with a unique look at the art of communication, helping them hone their conversation skills for better results in both personal and business interactions.

Jones takes the reader on a journey from the basics of effective communication, to mastering the subtle nuances that can often be the difference between success and failure in any given situation. Throughout the book he provides simple yet powerful tips that can help anybody become more persuasive in conversations with others – whether it’s making a sale, creating an impactful presentation, or just building relationships.

I love how Jones breaks down his topics into easy-to-understand steps that anyone can use to improve their conversational skills. He also shares some great examples of how people have used his techniques to get ahead in business and life.

If you want to learn more about effective communication, then I definitely recommend checking out “Exactly What To Say” by Phil M. Jones!

Rating: 9.8/10

If you'd like to understand more about what people are actually thinking about and believe, rather than what they're saying to you in person. In the book he goes through different data sources online to reveal the questions and searches that people are making after various different events, time periods, and how differently people's react publicly versus in their online forums and google searches. I cant recommend this book highly enough and I think its incredibly revealing about human psychology. A must read.

Rating: 9.6/10

After reading Everybody Lies it was only fitting that I went on to Seth Stephens-Davidowitz's next book "Don't trust your gut". After writing his first book and receiving feedback on it, he decided to write a second book that was tailored towards what he realized people really wanted -- a self help book. This was another amazing read, but unlike Everybody Lies this book specifically looked at what differences you can make in your life to see changes. As well as going into a variety of other topics such as: Relationships, Parenting, Wealth, Success, Luck, and Modern Life.

It seems clear to me that I had a theme in my reading this year, but with a large amount of time to myself during the pandemic and my senior year of college I found that I wanted to improve myself in any way that I could. I want to thank Liam and Laura for recommending Atomic Habits and Everybody Lies to me, I think that these books have made significant changes to my life for the better.