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The Observe and Rapport Newsletter
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A weekly guide of my favorite books, articles, products, and lifestyle habits.
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October 13th, 2023 | by Kyle Brennan
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Thought of the Week
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What would you tomorrow want you today to do?
Most self-help can be boiled down to Short Term Sacrifice = Long Term Gain.
It's like the famous marshmallow experiment. Do you want one marshmallow now, or two marshmallows later? Hard choices are difficult in the present but pay off in the future. Easier said then done.
But looking at it through a 24-hour filter is much more digestible. Is the choice I'm making now one that I will regret tomorrow, or be happy about tomorrow?
Hard Choices, Easy Life.
Easy Choices, Hard Life.
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What I'm Reading
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Ask the Dust is one of those books that I was supposed to like. People whose recommendations I weigh heavily, like Charles Bukowski, Tim Ferriss, Ryan Holiday, and Neil Strauss all raved about John Fante's writing - specifically this book.
The writing is undoubtedly phenomenal, and I was blown away at Fante's ability to write in the first person for the protagonist, Arturo Bandini. I don't know if it's just me, but I have a tough time getting engrossed in novels where I have no clue where the plot is going, and if it will even get resolved.
Hyped as a neglected classic but it isn't. The book does have a raw energy and the occasional nice turn of phrase. The main character is a supremely self-absorbed, erratic, casually racist lout trying to pass himself off as essentially good, possibly because of his overhang of Catholic guilt. His decisions and actions are often repetitive. There seems to be a good story buried in here amidst the clumsiness.
Don't get me wrong. It was an easy read and I never wanted to STOP. It was just, I don't know, a rather plotless thing begging me to fall in love with its characters (as all plotless books do), and I just couldn't fully deliver.
So not bad and not great.
Rating: 2 / 5 ⭐️⭐️
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“Learning to choose is hard. Learning to choose well is harder. And learning to choose well in a world of unlimited possibilities is harder still, perhaps too hard.”
The Paradox of Choice illustrates why too much choice can be debilitating. Our modern world provides us with endless choices and possibilities - forty different types of toothpaste, seventy-five brands of cereal, and jeans that are straight, slim, skinny, relaxed tapered, or bootcut.
We are completely spoiled for choice in every aspect of our lives, and these choices aren’t just limited to material goods; there is a parallel proliferation of new ideologies, movements, and theories. Though it may be perceived as advantageous to have so much agency and free will over every aspect of our lives, Schwartz argues that abundance and proliferation of choice are actually detrimental to our physical health and psychological well-being
Psychology professor Barry Schwartz's basic thesis is that the world is divided into two types of people: maximizers, who want to find the absolute best option, and satisficers who want to find something that is good enough and not worry that something better might be out there.
Rating: 3.7 / 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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What I'm Watching
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I didn't really become a soccer fan until around 2010. By that point, David Beckham was playing in the MLS for the LA Galaxy. I knew he was a global superstar, after all, he was everywhere. Handsome, fashionable, married to Posh Spice and the namesake of the 2002 movie Bend it Like Beckham.
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I assumed he was a talented footballer, known for his incredible free-kicking prowess, but I thought of him as a celebrity more than anything else; a guy who was more concerned with flashy outfits, advertising, and covers of magazines than playing well.
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This documentary taught me a lot. Not only was he way more talented of a footballer than I had previously assumed, winning the treble with Manchester United and vaulting the England National team to near World Cup finals, but also he is actually an incredibly soft-spoken down-to-earth guy. The 4-part series also examines the downsides of celebrity - the brutality of public scrutiny, the lack of privacy, and the constant need to examine every last detail of someone's life.
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This is a great show for couples as it fills two needs - sports and celebrity.
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My Latest Article
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What’s something you used to believe that you have since changed your mind about? It’s an interesting question to ponder, forcing us to come face to face with the ways in which we (and our beliefs and values) have changed over time.
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Quote I'm Pondering
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I will never forget when my grandfather said to me, "Our life was tiring for the body, but it was comfortable for the soul. Your life today is comfortable for the body, but it is tiring for the soul."
-@classicsoulmates
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Keith and Kyle sit down to discuss the spirit of the collective American voice, Plato, three of their current favorite books, and how running too much can make you shit your pants.
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Check Out My Amazon Favorites Bookstore
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Browse my favorite book selections hand-curated by me. I also earn commissions so if you buy anything, those earnings get reinvested right back into this fancy newsletter ;)
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Kyle's Published Work
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33 Life Lessons on My 33rd Birthday
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Thirty-three was a big one. Mostly because I became a dad. Our daughter was born on New Year’s Eve — a fitting arrival for a kid destined to reset everything. It’s been a beautiful, if slightly sleep-deprived blur ever since. I’ve only been “Dad” for less than ten months, but if I’m being honest, I’ve been preparing for the role for over …
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Depth Over Downloads: Why Spending Time with Books Still Matters
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Everyone wants faster information. But no one asks if faster information leads to better understanding — or a better life. In the age of AI and tweet-sized wisdom, we’ve confused information with transformation. But there’s a massive difference between knowing what a book says and being changed by it. The Delusion of Instant Learning In a recent interview, political journalist Ezra Klein admitted he once believed …
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The Jack Reacher Approach to Never Being Caught Off Guard
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There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, ‘Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,’ and an optimist who says, ‘Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.’ Either way, nothing happens.” —Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia I don’t read much fiction, but I’ve always been hooked on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. He’s not your typical …
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