Best of 2023: Director Picks

MCPL Director and CEO Aaron Mason shares the books and musical albums he enjoyed most in 2023!

Every December, MCPL staff reflect on the past 12 months and share their favorite reads, listens, and watches of the past year. It’s a fun way to swap notes, get to know each other, and add titles to everyone’s TBR (to be read) lists. This year, we asked MCPL Director and CEO Aaron Mason to share his favorites of the past year, and—as you’d expect from a Library Director—he had a long and varied list! Check out his “Best of 2023” picks below and find more staff favorites on the Best of 2023 Blog.

Director’s “Best of 2023” Picks:

Nonfiction Books

• An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville by Reza Aslan
• Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—And What They Mean for America's Future by Jean Twenge
• Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman
• Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
• The Bezels of Wisdom* by Ibn-al-ʻArabī

Music

• Come to My Garden* by Minnie Riperton
• Ex Machina* by Orchestre National de Jazz and Steve Lehman
• Autoamerican* by Blondie
• Juno by Remi Wolf
• Little Dragon* by Little Dragon
• Know What I Mean? by Cannonball Adderly with Bill Evans

Art Books*

• Tracing the Line: The Art of Drawing Machines and Pen Plotters by Generative Hut and Vetro Editions
• New Ground: Jacob Samuel and Contemporary Etching by Esther Adler (The Museum of Modern Art)
• New Grammar of Ornament by Thomas Weil and Heinz Schütz
• The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion by Antwaun Sargent
• Josef Albers: Midnight and Noon by Josef Albers, Elaine de Kooning, Colm Tóibín, and Nicholas Fox Weber
• Subway by Bruce Davidson

Title may be available via MCPL’s free Interlibrary Loan service.