The P2P Reading List (2023 May)
Read the best books first, otherwise you will find you do not have time.—Henry David Thoreau
Fuelling the Cycling Revolution: The Nutritional Strategies and Recipes Behind Grand Tour Wins and Olympic Gold Medals by Nigel Mitchell
This month I was participating in a cycling challenge, so I was looking for actionable advice on optimizing my nutrition. Nigel Mitchell delivers it in an easy-to-digest book with recipes, protocols, and a realistic view of diet and supplement fads, reinforcing that what you need to dial in is, first and foremost, nutrition, sleep, and training.
Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier by Kevin Kelly
From how to decide which queue to join in a supermarket to careers and parenting, Kevin Kelly distills the wisdom of generations into witty and artful prose tailored to the 21st century's attention span of a tweet. Each line could have been easily expanded into an essay, but they are not, showcasing careful thought and the mastery of the art of omission. The only danger I must warn you about is that you might not be able to contemplate each piece for a long enough time since you want more. Do not be afraid; this is why we reread books, don't we?
The Strange Case of the Spotted Mice and Other Classic Essays on Science by Peter Medawar
A collection of essays on science by life scientist Peter Medawar provides a glimpse into the science of the last century, including reflections on deceitful popular "science" books of the era, dissecting the personality of a good scientist, the scientific method, and deceit in science.
The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
An exquisite piece of magical fiction, which I needed to read after it was constantly mentioned on the Deep Questions podcast, and one of my colleagues also praised it as exceptional. If you like Harry Potter, you will like this one too. Warning: the third book of the trilogy has been in the making for a while, and after diving into the universe of Kvothe, you might feel like the reviewer on Goodreads who rated the unpublished third book with one star.
Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier by Kevin Kelly
Speaking of rereading, I could not help myself, so I read this book again. The advice is still excellent, and I know that the best way to engrain it in my mind is to put it on repeat. Thus, Excellent Advice for Living will be the newest member of the books I revisit daily.
Run Fast. Eat Slow.: Nourishing Recipes for Athletes: A Cookbook by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky
That cycling challenge called for more sports nutrition knowledge bites. Run Fast. Eat Slow. is more than a cookbook, written by a duo of four-time Olympian marathoner Shalane Flanagan, and marathoner and nutrition coach Elyse Kopecky. It is a nutritional journey interwoven with anecdotes from the authors' lives and seasoned with creativity. I liked the balanced perspective of not promoting any diet at the time, got absorbed by the authors' genuine enthusiasm, and made a very long list of the recipes I want to try.
If you are interested in all the books that piqued my interest, you can also visit my Goodreads profile.