TONYMANNINO

Bookshelf

2020

Eat a Peach
Eat a Peach
David Chang
Dune
Dune
Frank Herbert
Sowbelly
Sowbelly
Monte Burke
The Tipping Point
The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
Lords of the Fly
Lords of the Fly
Monte Burke
★★★★★
A wonderful history on fly fishing for tarpon. I'm slowly getting into fly fishing myself, and this book is just a wonderful step in keeping me hooked.
Stand on Zanzibar
Stand on Zanzibar
John Brunner
★★★★★
This book is fucking crazy. I saw a suggestion to read it on Twitter, and it was probably my favorite book of 2020. Its a science fiction novel from the 70's that predicted so much accuracy of how the world is today, and what kind of problems and issues we struggle with. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It has a very unique writing structure, but after a few chapters it becomes second nature and fun. I love this book.
The Habit of Rivers
The Habit of Rivers
Ted Leeson
I'll get back to it eventually.
Deep Work
Deep Work
Cal Newport
Educated
Educated
Tara Westover
killing rage
killing rage
bell hooks
The New Jim Crow
The New Jim Crow
Michelle Alexander
Sister Outsider
Sister Outsider
Audre Lorde
Mindhunter
Mindhunter
John Douglas & Mark Olshaker
Two Hours
Two Hours
Ed Caesar
The Orphan Masters Son
The Orphan Masters Son
Adam Johnson
Medium Raw
Medium Raw
Anthony Bourdain
★★★★☆
This book really painted a different Anthony Bourdain than Kitchen Confidential. You really get a closer glimpse of who he was closer to his passing. Its a lot of one off stories and anecdotes that don't really go together, but you appreciate for their uniqueness and his writing style. RIP.
A River in Darkness
A River in Darkness
Masaji Ishikawa
★★★★★
The power in this book lies in the truth and weight of the words. It may not be the best written book, but the story and struggle that people are still abused with today is where its power lies. Fuck North Korea.
Can't Hurt Me: Master your mind
Can't Hurt Me: Master your mind
David Goggins
★★★★★
Took a number of sittings to really get into it, but I'm glad I read it. David Goggins is a one of a kind human, who can help shift your mindset into making you a better version of yourself. I really like the concept of callusing the mind and pushing through stressers.
New Waves: A Novel
New Waves: A Novel
Kevin Nguyen
★★★★★
I learned about this from Live Laugh Conf. It was amazing. I wish I could go back and read it with fresh eyes again. Basically two friends who met online growing up find out they work at the same company, and love and heartbreak and resent ensues. A very emotional and captivating experience.
White Fragility
White Fragility
Robin Diangelo
★★★★☆
Reality struck hard this year, and I felt the guilt and pressure to better educate myself as anyone else. This book was OKAY. I think the message of the book could be a little different, and the structure of how the author presents their information. I am happy to have gotten into this genre regardless. I'm looking forward to the other books I have on my list.
Why We Sleep
Why We Sleep
Matthew Walker, PhD
Kitchen Confidential
Kitchen Confidential
Anthony Bourdain
★★★★★
A wonderful roller coaster into the life of Anthony Bourdain. I loved every second of this book.
The Burning Edge: Travels through Belarus
The Burning Edge: Travels through Belarus
Arthur Chichester
★★★★★
Watch some Bald and Bankrupt on YouTube. He wrote this book about an experience in Belarus. Good read.
Ruined by Design
Ruined by Design
Mike Monteiro
★★★★★
All about how we have designed the digital (and physical) world we live in. Criticizes big tech and sociological factors we have today. It came out late 2019 and is still relevant to society today. I thought it provided good commentary on things.
How Not To Die
How Not To Die
Dr. Michael Gregor
★★★★★
This is a very important book if you're interested in eating more vegetables. A lot of the studies and research are very positive for the effects of a plant based diet. My only suggestion is to refrain from watching the authors YouTube videos before, else his voice might narrate the book in your head and he can be a little much.
Devin in the White City
Devin in the White City
Erik Larson
VALIS
VALIS
Philip K. Dick
★★★★☆
I got this through Prime reading on my kindle and forced myself through it. Some of the canon shit that the main character comes up with was mind blowing, but also some parts were hard to get through. May or may not continue on to the next books.
Solaris
Solaris
Stanislaw Lem
★★★★☆
Okay so I finished it and did some research afterwards. I hate the protagonist, the story gets a little wishy washy and cuts to the chase, and its just a weird book. BUT, I enjoyed it.
The Art of Loving
The Art of Loving
Erich Fromm
★★★☆☆

Prior 2020

The Soul of a New Machine
The Soul of a New Machine
Tracy Kidder
★★★★★
Wonderful story of the little guy. I read this as I was in the middle of a huge project at work, and it seemed to motivate me harder and give me inspiration in ways I hadn't before. Great point in time history for computing.
The Jungle
The Jungle
Upton Cinclair
★★★★★
Hard to get through, Heavy, and sad. I think its an important book for people to read, it paints a clear picture of the corruption and terrible conditions these meat packing people went through.
Salt
Salt
Mark Kurlansky, PhD
Counting Backwards
Counting Backwards
Henry Jay Przybylo, M D
A River Runs Through It
A River Runs Through It
Norman Maclean
Out of the Silent Planet
Out of the Silent Planet
C.S. Lewis
★★★★☆
The Fall
The Fall
Albert Camus
★★★★☆
A fairly quick read, but an almost Edgar Allen Poe-eqsue story.
The Handmaids Tale
The Handmaids Tale
Margaret Atwood
★★★★★
Yes. So good.
The Testiments
The Testiments
Margaret Atwood
★★★★★
Double yes. Also so good.
Hillbilly Elegy
Hillbilly Elegy
J.D. Vance
★★★★★
As someone who spent much of my formative years in the south, I gravitated to this book. It's a very realistic and hopeful story from the authors perspective. I really enjoyed it.
Search Inside Yourself
Search Inside Yourself
Chade-meng Tan
★★★★★
One of the benefits of working for a big company is they shill out $$$ to send you to fancy trainings and stuff. I had the fortunate experience to go through a full 3 day Search Inside Yourself course and it was incredible. The book is basically the course in written form, but whenever life gets a little hectic and I find myself in need of a reset, this book brings me back to the mindfulness and journeling training that I went through. I highly recommend anyone willing to dive into mindfulness training to give it a go. It IS very tech focused, but if you can get over that aspect its solid.
Fish!
Fish!
Lundin, Paul, & Christensen
★★★★☆
I was moving to Seattle, and a family friend gifted it to me. Cheesy, but a good message.
The Fabric of the Cosmos
The Fabric of the Cosmos
Brian Greene
★★★☆☆
At some point I just realized I didn't care enough to finish this book.
Want Not
Want Not
Jonathan Miles
★★★☆☆
I bought this on a whim at an airport and probably got halfway through it during my flights that day and never picked it up again. It has a fun premise, just, probably will not go back to it.
The Dice Man
The Dice Man
George Cockcroft
★★★★★
Favorite book of all time. Its dirty, its smutty, its intelligent, its crazy, its wrong, its right, its a mess. But something about it keeps me coming back, and I love the trials and tribulations of Luke Rheinhart.
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
★★★★★
Going to be honest the ending of this made me cry. I read it on a road trip after I graduated college and was pretty vulnerable and it hit me hard. I wouldn't say the book was amazing, but I really got sucked into the struggles of WW1.
The Old Man and the Sea
The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
★★★★☆
Monkey Mind
Monkey Mind
Daniel Smith
★★★★★
I read this the summer before I started college and honestly have to say it was my first understanding of anxiety. I think the story of the book was great, but having learned what this was like years before I had experienced these feelings myself was a very nice thing.
The Power of Habit
The Power of Habit
Charles Duhigg
★★★★★
Super Freakonomics
Super Freakonomics
Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
★★★★★
Freakonomics
Freakonomics
Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
★★★★★
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Stieg Larsson
★★★★★
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Stieg Larsson
★★★★★
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson
★★★★★
This was another book I read for a class. The task was to compare a book to its film adaptation, and high school me had no idea what I was getting into what I started it. I just couldn't put it down.
1984
1984
George Orwell
★★★★★
A classic. Read it the first time for a book report in high school, and have been hooked on the genre ever since.
The Power of Now
The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle
★★★★★
I was recommended this book by my highschool econ teacher. I went to catholic school, so a lot of lessons and such were from religious authors. Aside from the god stuff, this book was my first dip into mindfulness. It took years before I realized it was mindfulness that I had learned, but it was a powerful book at the time.