February ‘24 Recap

episode SUMMARY:

In this episode of the Books for Men podcast, host Douglas Vigliotti expresses gratitude to listeners for supporting the show and spreading the word about it. He mentions that he plans to bring back interviews later in the year and introduces the concept of "Special Edition” episodes that will focus on art, entertainment, and books. Vigliotti then provides a recap of the books featured in February 2024. The first nonfiction book discussed is The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, which simplifies the complex topic of time and offers philosophical musings. The second nonfiction book is Outlive by Peter Attia, which explores a proactive approach to healthcare and longevity. The one work of fiction for the month was Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, a quirky novel that delves into themes of trauma, sexuality, and accountability. Vigliotti reflects on the genre of women's fiction and its historical context. He concludes with a reminder to connect with him on Instagram @douglasvigliotti, and provides information on how to access episode transcripts and the monthly newsletter.

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Welcome back to Books for Men, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do. So this week is a recap episode, so all monthly recap episodes. I first like to send a big thank you to everybody who listens to the podcast and supports the podcast and any of the various forms that you could do. So the most important one, of course, is word of mouth. So if you're out there telling friends, family members, or other people who you think might enjoy it about the show, that means the world to me. Not just because you're supporting the show, but because it is inspiring more men to read. More awareness around the show means more awareness of men reading books that they might not have otherwise. And of course, the other way that you could support the show is through rating or liking, following, subscribing, or taking 30 seconds to do any of those things on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on.

(01:08)

It goes a long way in again, supporting the show and also inspiring more men to read. On that note, I just have two quick things before we jump into the actual recap for the month of February. And those two quick things are, one I told you last year that I was thinking about and going to bring interviews back on the podcast for 2024. And that's still something that I'm looking to do. It's just something that I will more than likely do later in the year. However, in the meantime, and this brings me to the second item, is that I will be doing what I call “Special Edition” episodes. And I want you to think of those more along the lines of those listicle articles that you see online. Top five this, top 10 that, and I will center them around art and entertainment and books and all of that good stuff.

(02:01)

The first one you'll hear next month, and it's called “9 Reasons to Read Fiction.” So obviously I thought that it was appropriate, and I'm not going to get into it now, but you'll be hearing it in the very near future. Alright, so that brings us to the recap for February 2024. And it was a three-book month, two nonfiction books, and one work of fiction. And so that first nonfiction book was The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, and I can't recommend this book highly enough. Yes, it tackles a very daunting subject in time, and he is a theoretical physicist, but his ability to simplify complex topics without oversimplifying them and making them understandable to a wider audience is really something to be applauded. The writing is lyrical, it's philosophical, it's not too far out there. Kind of brings it back home to the individual and what it means to the individual, even though he is talking about what we know collectively about time and what the research.

(03:10)

And all of the great theoretical physicists from Aristotle to Sir Isaac Newton to Albert Einstein have said about the vast subject matter. And then he brings it back to, as I mentioned, the individual and provides some of his own thoughts as well. One of my favorite musings from the book is the idea that the world is not a collection of things, it is a collection of events. And so in an attempt to understand the world, you have to do so through change and how things are correlated with each other, not looking at things in an isolated fashion. As for the second nonfiction book of the month, I chose Outlive by Peter Attia, and this really is, in my eyes, required reading for anybody who is serious about their health or wellbeing. In the book, he basically lays out his philosophy for providing healthcare, which is a migration from what he calls Medicine 2.0 into Medicine 3.0, Medicine 2.0 being a very reactive way of providing healthcare, and Medicine 3.0, being a very proactive approach to providing healthcare.

(04:23)

And yes, the book is labeled as a book about longevity, but it's not about being superhuman, it's about getting the most out of the body and mind that you have for as long as you can. So it's comparing lifespan and healthspan lifespan being how long you live health span being, how long you stay healthy. Ideally, you want to be as healthy as you can for as long as you can. And in order to do that, as Attia states in the book, you have to try to stymie or stave off or reduce your risk around what he calls the four major horsemen, which are cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic disorders. So if you're interested in either of those two nonfiction books, then I would definitely suggest going back and listening to the episode or even taking it a step further and buying the book or listening to the book, whatever tickles your fancy.

(05:22)

Now, let's move on to the one work of fiction for the month. And it was called Big Swiss by Jen Beagin. It was a 2023 novel and it's about a transcriptionist for a sex therapist who is a disenchanted, lonely woman who writes letters to her deceased mother, and she falls for one of her employer's patients, a repressed Swiss woman who is much younger and has never had an orgasm in her life. And it's this really strange love story that is an exploration of trauma and sexuality and accountability. And I really just enjoyed the overall vibe of the novel. It's funny, it's quirky, it's unique in a way that I got to live inside of the shoes of people that I otherwise wouldn't have if I didn't read the novel. And for that, I am always grateful and always entertained when done well. One thing I did bring up in the episode was the genre that this book happens to fall in the women's fiction genre.

(06:39)

And I had made the mention that if there was a genre called men's fiction, it might inspire some men to read more. But one of the things that I failed to account for is the fact that men dominated fiction for a very long time in that there was an overwhelming amount of male authors and books for men and men's fiction, so to speak. So the fact that there is a genre called women's fiction might be partially in response to that initially. But in no way am I backing off what I said in the episode, either saying that I do believe it to be a market response over time, as in men don't read fiction. There's no market incentive or economic incentive for there to be such a genre. I think that both things can be true and probably are true. So I know that for a lot of you that may not matter, but it was something that I thought about after I recorded the episode.

(07:42)

So I said, why not mention it when I had the opportunity to do so? Alright, so that's all I've got for this recap episode. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, as I led off this episode with, please share it with friends, and family members. And I'm not going to go into the big spiel again, I already did it early on, but I did want to remind you that if you want to connect with me, you could always do so on Instagram at Douglas Viti. It's the only social media that I have. And lastly, you could visit BooksforMen.org for more information where you can get full transcripts for all of these episodes. And more importantly, sign up for the newsletter, which is a monthly roundup of every episode complete with full book and author information, all the best quotes, and newsletter-only book recommendations. Again, you could sign up for that at BooksforMen.org.