Boom! This is Books & Biceps #331!

Welcome to our hundreds of new readers and a special shout out to everyone who bought Generation Griffey this week!

If one of the 20,700+ awesome B&B readers shared this with you, add your e-mail with the subscribe button below:

If you’re a new subscriber or missed my yearly book round-up, The 16 Most Memorable Books I Read in 2024, you can read it here.

This week’s title sponsor is Qualia! Odd name, I know, but I like what they’re trying to do with products for anti-aging, brain function, sleep, mitochondria boosting and more…

A great way to support Books & Biceps is to click on their link below and check out their products.

Halt Aging with Qualia Senolytic's Cell Renewal

Qualia Senolytic arms you against the ever-present advance of senescent cells, or "zombie cells," that usher in the unwelcome signs of aging. With this bi-monthly supplement, engage in a proactive strike to clear out these cellular underperformers, ensuring you stay as vibrant and vigorous as ever. Feel the difference in your joints, energy levels, and recovery times.

Get 50% off your first order. No Code Needed.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

BOOKS

Last week I released my annual reading list, the 16 Most Memorable Books I Read in 2024’. It’s always the most popular and most read post of the year and I got some great feedback, including books to read for next year and thoughts on some of your favorites.

I also got the same question a few times:

“Finkel, what authors have appeared on this annual reading list the most since you started it?”

The first reading list I did pre-dated this newsletter, in 2017, so while this is the 4th year of the Books & Biceps annual reading list, I’ve actually been sending one out to friends and family for seven years.

I liked this question and while I had an idea off the top of my head, I went back and looked and found a bunch of authors whose books I’ve recommended the most the last seven years…The basic criteria became pretty simple: 4 book recs from me in the last 7 years, or one book every other year or so…

I divided the authors up into fiction and non-fiction, so I’ll reveal the 5 non-fiction authors who earned the coveted Books & Biceps Grand Slam this week and then the fiction authors next week. It’s funny looking at book recommendations like this… Because this is a pretty eclectic mix of authors and topics. Guaranteed you won’t find this crew banded together in any other lists haha.

Also, instead of having a zillion links, click on the author’s name to be brought to their author page:

NON-FICTION:

Candice Millard

River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill

NOTES: Candice Millard is the best historical non-fiction writer we have. I’ve gifted each of these books several times and they never fail. River of Doubt is one of my all-time favorite books and Destiny of the Republic should be taught in every American history class for its research and impact and every English class for the quality of writing. You can’t miss by picking a book from Candice.

Ben Mezrich

Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive History's Most Iconic Extinct Creature

Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption

Dumb Money: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal

NOTES: Mezrich is one of the kings of the novel-to-movie pipeline. Just about all of his books have movie deals while he’s still writing the manuscript, and that’s because he has a knack for picking book topics that demand headlines and attention. You all know about The Social Network and Dumb Money, but I really enjoyed Woolly, which chronicled the effort to bring back the woolly mammoth. Mezrich is really strong at pulling the interesting traits out of unique characters and building suspense into difficult topics. Always enjoyable to read his behind-the-scenes books on culture-shaping people, companies and events.

Jeff Pearlman

The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson

Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty

Football For A Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL

Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton

NOTE: Pearlman cranks out a major sports biography or sports book every 2-3 years and each book is the compilation of nearly 1,000 interviews, hundreds of sources and impeccable research. He prides himself on the nitty gritty digging and pulling on loose threads that great journalism is built on. He’s written the definitive book on several legends and legendary teams, but his recent bio of Bo Jackson is my favorite.

Shea Serrano

Basketball (and Other Things): A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated

Movies (And Other Things)

Hip-Hop (And Other Things)

ACTION HERO SCOUTING REPORT

NOTES: Serrano is an author after my own heart, mixing in big mainstream published books with self-published passion projects through his Halfway Books imprint. His “And Other Things” series is tremendous if you grew up an NBA, movie or hip-hop fan and my most enjoyable read was his book on hoops. I also loved Action Hero Scouting Report, which is only available as a digital download but man, it’s fun.

Susan Casey

The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks

The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean

The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean

Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

NOTES: If you’ve read more than two issues of this newsletter then you know I’m a swimmer. I love the water, I compete in US Masters Swimming and I’ve done a bunch of ocean swim races. I’m drawn to books about the ocean and Susan Casey is the best ocean / natural science writer around. All her books feel like they’re about a mysterious new world, but it’s a magic trick, because she’s writing about our world, our oceans and the creatures who live there. Devil’s Teeth is one of my all-time favorite books, but I will say that The Wave is a phenomenal read as well, especially if you’re into surfing or curious about surfing. A tie for me.

BICEPS

I posted this photo on Thursday and wrote the following below:

Knees Over Toes Month 3: Incredible mobility progress. 45s for the slant squat all the way down with a pause (started with no weight). Split Squat down to 2 blocks and up to 20 pounds (started super high on a bench with no weight). Cut my overall creakiness by 50% at least so far.

If you follow me on Twitter/X, you know I’ve been posting about my flexibility/mobility training along with my lifting in the Flex Factory and my swimming… But a few people have DMd me something like the following:

This is a valid question and I’ve had to tinker with my schedule the last few months to make it work, but here’s my current weekly training split for those interested:

MONDAY: Heavy Lift: Push Day (chest, shoulders, tris)

TUESDAY: Morning: Knees Over Toes Leg Day / Night: 6:30PM Swim Practice

WEDNESDAY: Heavy Lift: Pull Day (back, bis, abs)

THURSDAY: Morning: Knees Over Toes / Night: 6:30PM Swim Practice

FRIDAY: Light Lifting Full Body Circuit then Hoops

SATURDAY: Rest OR Swim OR Cardio Circuit (my wildcard day)

SUNDAY: AM SWIM DISTANCE

This is a work in progress right now. I want to start running 5ks again so something will have to give… Maybe a run Monday or Wednesday night. We’ll see.

When I get 6 weeks or so out from a swim meet, I’ll lift less and swim more, or I’ll swim shorter sprint workouts and do more flexibility work. It’s all up for what works best and I’m sure I’ll change it as new challenges or goals come up.

What do you think? What’s your training split look like?

QUICK FLEXES

Exactly one year ago this week, the Books & Biceps crew earned a profile in The New Yorker! And my goal of getting the words 'meathead' and 'bench press' in the New Yorker was complete.

This was such a cool honor for all our readers. And writer Ben McGrath's intro is still amazing... "Book whisperer to burly bros" might be on my tombstone hahaha.

READ OUR PROFILE IN THE NEW YORKER HERE!

STRONG LINKS

1) KNEES OVER TOES

This is the EXACT workout I’m using to cure my longstanding low back pain, along with my longtime pathetic mobility and flexibility. The program is called Knees Over Toes. I’ve been doing it for 3 weeks and the results have been remarkable for me. My tight hip pain has disappeared and my low back pain has gone from a constant five down to a two. Doesn’t even hurt to bend and put on socks and shoes, haha.

If you’d like to sign up, please USE THIS LINK FOR BOOKS & BICEPS READERS.

2) MIDLIFE MALE

If you’re a dude over 40 and you used to read Men’s Health or Esquire or GQ, and you’re looking for a digital magazine to get you on top of your game and keep you on top of your game, with incredible A-List interviews (Troy Aikman, Don Saladino, Gunnar Peterson and more), original columns and a curated list of weekly items second-to-none, subscribe to Midlife Male Magazine.

I’ve been helping build this publication from the ground up and it’s the magazine I used to wish existed - and now it does:

3) Is freelance writing one of your New Year’s resolutions? Have you always wanted to learn how to write for your favorite publications, blogs or magazines? My Freelance Fortune Course has you covered. Everything I’ve learned in 20 years of writing for the world’s biggest publications like: The New York Times, GQ, Men’s Health, Yahoo! Sports and more.

In fact, one of our course members just landed his first piece and wrote me:

4) Readers always ask me what supplements I take or what post/pre-workout I use.

I’ve been using the same brand since they launched about a decade ago: Jym Supplements. I’ve known the owner and founder for fifteen years and it’s the best tasting, highest quality stuff around. Try my favorite pre-workout (Blue Arctic Freeze) and protein powder (S’mores) here.

PS: You still reading Gus and Mallory? Thanks for getting through the whole thing! No skimming!

→NEW REFERRAL GIVEAWAY: If you read this most weeks I’d be super grateful if you share B&B with a friend who you think would also enjoy it.

REMEMBER: Share with 1 friend and you get 2 FREE E-BOOKS📚

1) 8 Biographies of Legends (That You Likely Haven’t Read)

2) How to Read a New Book Every 10 Days Like Bruce Lee

If you share with 3 friends you get a free Books & Biceps sticker💪

Your unique sharing link is below. Thanks!

🔥🔥🔥If you want to start your own newsletter, I can’t recommend Beehiiv enough (the platform I use to write Books & Biceps):

→ USE THIS LINK to try Beehiiv and you won’t regret it!

Want the OFFICIAL BOOKS & BICEPS SHIRT?

You know that favorite tee you used to have? The one that's faded and comfy and that you could live in? This is that shirt! It shows that you're a fashion icon. A book lover. A gym rat. An absolute stud. Plus, we faded it and made it comfy for you... so you can actually live in it like people do in apocalypse movies. While flexing, of course.

GET 10% OFF AT CHECKOUT WITH THE CODE WORD: ‘BICEPS’