My favorite books in 2023

Finding time to read was a challenge in 2023; there was just a lot going on.

Nevertheless, books continue to be for me one of the most effective ways to interpret the world, answer deep personal questions, or imagine the future.

Some of my favorite books this year have also helped me find more time. By improving my ability to focus, by reducing the time I spend on social media, or even by exercising in a more thoughtful way.

With so many books out there, getting recommendations remains the best way to make the most of the time set aside for reading. I received many excellent suggestions after last year's post - keep those coming!

10. The hitchiker’s guide to the galaxy - Douglas Adams

I learned in Elon Musk’s biography that this was his favorite book; I thought I had to give it a shot. This is a philosophy book disguised in a science fiction satire, multiplying absurd situations with deeper meaning. It kicks off with Earth getting obliterated to make way for a hyperspace highway, and then takes us on a wild ride following the misadventures of the last man as he explores the galaxy.

9. Not everybody lives the same way - Jean-Paul Dubois

This novel won the Goncourt prize in 2019. It is a modern tragedy, with most protagonists resigned to their sad destiny. We meet the main character in a Montreal prison cell and explore his past to understand the chain of events that inexorably got him there. This bittersweet story asks to which extent we really choose the life we live and shows the beauty of maintaining dignity in adversity.

8. Liker sa servitude - Louis Diesbach

Louis Diesbach uses philosophy to question our relationship with social media, and the reasons we choose consciously or unconsciously to spend so much time on platforms that do not really make us happier, smarter, or nicer human beings. A useful read to reflect on our own usage, and how it influences our behaviors, our political choices and our society in general.

7. Exercised, Daniel Lieberman

“We live in unprecedented times” is a cliché in many keynotes. It is however true when it comes to exercise, with more people than ever before having desk jobs, access to too many calories and sedentary lifestyles. In that context, the author, professor at Harvard, highlights the importance of exercising including what evolution and science can teach us about how to best exercise.

6. Stolen Focus, Johan Hari

I noticed that I struggled more and more to maintain focus, whether it was for reading or work. This book helped me understand why; and how our attention has been deteriorated by phones and social media, but also by lack of sleep or unhealthy food habits. The author argues that this is a societal problem that policymakers need to address. While I tend to agree, the book also suggested concrete personal changes that I incorporated to get my focus back.

5. Klara and the sun, Kazuo Ishiguro

In a potentially not too distant future, this book is written from the perspective of a robot offered as artificial friend to a sick, lonely girl. The author won the Nobel Prize for literature, and has a very distinct, poetic style, blending Asian and Western influences. Combined with the movie “Her”, it offers a captivating preview of a potential world where artificial intelligences become our companions.

4. Wizard of the Kremlin, Giuliano da Empoli

The war between Ukraine and Russia tragically persisted throughout 2023. This novel helped me understand how the Kremlin works, and Valdimir’s Putin rise to power. Beyond a compelling story and interesting insights on Russia, it is more broadly a great exploration of the nature of power, and how it corrupts.

3. Devils and Saints, Jean-Baptiste Andrea

This novel starts with a man playing the piano in train stations, as though anticipating someone's arrival. The rest of the story will explain who he is waiting for, and why. The author won the Goncourt prize this year. He strikes a balance between darkness and humor, in a beautiful narrative of camaraderie, love, and music. I consumed the book 300 pages in less than 24h during the holidays.

2. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer

I was recommended this book as the definitive guide to understand the Third Reich. Stretching over more than a thousand pages, it details how Nazism slid from bad to worse, the Germans and then the Allies’ inability to react before it was too late, the war, and the last days of the regime. I particularly liked the extensive use of primary sources: letters, speeches, memoirs, all quoted extensively throughout the book.

1. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande

My grandmother died early this year, after a long and painful battle with Alzheimer. In “Being Mortal”, a practicing surgeon reflects on the advancements in medicine that have extended life but also made the final stages more agonizing, ranging from impersonal nursing homes to aggressive therapies.

This is not a fun read with many real-life stories of how patients confronted their last days. It is an important one though, with the author urging us to embrace crucial conversations about what we truly desire for our final moments. It reminds us as well that there is only only so much control we can have - and that the ultimate goal should not be to have a good death, but a good life.