MishMash: Musings on books and personal development

 So, my friend has a New Year's Resolution to create a book club that reads only classics. She sent me a text: "Are you in?"  I resolutely hate classics. I've tried many over the years and with the exception of a few, in the words of Ella Fitzgerald, I just can't get started . However, in the interests of being a good friend and challenging myself, I agreed to partake. I then set about trying to find a classic book I hadn't already read that I thought I might vaguely be able to tolerate. My initial thought was a dead philosopher, something like Thoreau. I went down an internet rabbit hole for hours trying to find a few books in different genres when I struck upon complete gold. I found a public domain PDF of Mark Twain's "The Diaries of Adam and Eve" . Technically, this is two short stories by Mark Twain, which were later merged together. This is the funniest thing I have ever read.  Whether you have any interest in the Bible or the Christianity

I generally read over 300 books each year but there are some books whose impact on me lives on well after I finished reading. Here are my top two favourite books that I read in 2023: 1. "Finding Ultra" by Rich Roll : This memoir appeals to my love of all things adventure, quest and self-improvement and did not disappoint. I was inspired to read Finding Ultra after listening to Rich Roll's interview on the Diary of a CEO podcast . His story was so unbelievably inspiring and engaging, but what I loved most was the way he answered questions. You can tell a person who has really worked through their shit by the way they speak and I was beyond impressed by his emotional intelligence, genuine compassion and insight. If you like running marathons, are interested or curious about veganism, peak performance, overcoming addictions or the like, this book is a great read.  2. "Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts" by Josie Shapiro:  As a kiwi, I have a confession to