Boom! This is Books & Biceps #332!

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BOOKS

Two weeks ago 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…

I divided the authors up into fiction and non-fiction.

Last week I revealed the 5 non-fiction authors who earned the coveted Books & Biceps Grand Slam (4 book recs), which you can read here in Issue #331. It’s funny looking at book recommendations like that… Because that is a pretty eclectic mix of authors and topics. Guaranteed you won’t find this crew banded together in any other lists haha.

This week, we’re revealing some of the most-recommended fiction authors in Books & Biceps since we started. I’m leaving off several blockbuster authors whose books I/we have been reading for decades and who I recommend periodically for nostalgia purposes or because I hadn’t read a particular book yet. I’m talking about some of my favorite authors like Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, John Grisham, Stephen King…

This list is reserved for authors who have released several recent books or a series of books over the last 5-7 years where I’ve read all/most of them and can’t wait for their next book. Maybe I discovered this author after you, but I’ve been having fun reading them lately and so I shared them here in B&B. Got it? Good!

And please share your most-read author list. Always love finding new authors to dive into…

Let’s goooooo:

FICTION:

ANDY WEIR

Project Hail Mary: A Novel

Artemis: A Novel

The Martian: A Novel

NOTES: Project Hail Mary is one of the most entertaining, extraordinary books I’ve ever read. It is fascinating, philosophical, scientific, action-packed and beautifully written. This is one of the few books you will devour that feels like more than reading - like it’s a separate experience. We’ve got new technology, new worlds, new characters, aliens, adventure and yet, the novel is grounded in humanity. If you haven’t read it yet, make it your next book. You’re welcome.

MEG GARDINER

Heat 2: A Novel

UNSUB: A Novel

Into the Black Nowhere: A Novel

NOTES: I had not heard of Meg Gardiner or any of her books until Heat 2 came out a few years ago. The novel is both a prequel and sequel to the iconic film, Heat, and it is somehow equally as awesome. The characters are amazing, the action sequences kick ass and the plot and cat—and-mouse storyline is even better. My first thought was, “If Michael Mann is partnering with Gardiner to write this book, she must be incredible.” Then, after reading her own books, I agree. I started with Book 1 in her UNSUB series after Heat 2 and loved it. Right up there with Silence of the Lambs. A smart, scary detective/thriller.

SCOTT VON DOVIAK

Lowdown Road: Pursuit Doesn’t Get Any Hotter

Charlesgate Confidential: Would the Heist of the Century… Take a Century to Unravel

NOTE: The best compliment I can give Von Doviak’s Lowdown Road is this: the novel reads like a Quentin Tarantino movie. In fact, if Tarantino or one of his film disciples doesn’t turn Lowdown Road into a Pulp Fiction-esque or Reservoir Dogs type masterpiece we were robbed, because the book is just that: a masterpiece.

The dialogue is truly on par with any in a Tarantino movie and the characters are so unique and cool you sometimes smirk at their behavior and comments. The plot also involves a half-dozen storylines, each with a character’s entire lives/careers at stake - and the stories start off far apart but all converge at a huge event, in this case in the story’s climax: Evel Knievel’s Snake River Canyon jump in 1974. The book is a period piece, action-movie, pop culture nod and chase all rolled into one. Read it.

DON WINSLOW

City on Fire: A Novel (The Danny Ryan Trilogy Book 1)

City of Dreams: A Novel (The Danny Ryan Trilogy Book 2)

City in Ruins: A Novel (The Danny Ryan Trilogy, 3)

NOTES: I didn’t discover Simpson or the Danny Ryan Trilogy until I read a raving review from a writer friend of mind about the second book, City of Dreams. This was about six months after the second book came out, which was great timing because I read the first book in about three days (it’s phenomenal) and then bought and read the second a little while later. Again, this book was terrific. I hate to use the phrase “sweeping epic” but that’s what these books felt like: sweeping crime epics that crossed generations of characters. The good news for me was that at the time, I only had to wait a few months for the third book to come out. The good news for you is that you can read all three back-to-back-to-back right now. And you won’t regret it.

T.J. NEWMAN

Falling: A Novel

Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421

Worst Case Scenario: A Novel

NOTES: T.J. Newman has released three books in three years and I’ve recommended all three in Books & Biceps. Her personal story is cool: airline stewardess who worked on her first manuscript on overnight flights (Falling) while her passengers slept, got rejected by a ton of publishers, then became an international bestseller.

But most importantly, Newman picks big, fascinating premises for her books - and then delivers on character, tension, research and thrills. Doesn’t matter which book of hers you start with, so far they’re all fast, exciting reads.

BICEPS

I’ve never done this before officially, but I decided to take stock of a few end-of-year fitness and gym stats.

But instead of being all over the board in terms of what I’d measure, I stuck to a few basics that are easily trackable and that matter to me in terms of how I train and what I compete in, namely: swimming, lifting and 5ks/tris.

That being said, here’s the five things I came up with:

BENCH PRESS: 225 for reps

PULL-UPS: 1 Set to Failure

50 & 100 METER BUTTERFLY: Timed

1-MILE RUN: Timed

5K: Timed

And here are my best times/efforts of 2024:

BENCH PRESS: 225 by 12 reps (305 Max over the summer)

PULL-UPS 1 SET TO FAILURE: 21

50 FLY: 29.78

100 FLY: 106.73

FASTEST 1-MILE RUN of 2024: 7:43

FASTEST 5K: 25:28

My goal is to at least maintain my reps in my bench press and pull-ups while improving my speed and times in all of the above races. The hardest for me is the 5K because I hate running haha. But I’ve only scratched the surface in butterfly and I’m pumped for what I can accomplish in 2025.

What’s on your list? What personal records are you trying to break next year?

Hit me up and I’ll share them with the B&B crew.

QUICK FLEXES

This is one of my favorite things to share every year at this time. Watch it:

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

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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:

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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!

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