something new!

Announcing Big Dave's Book Club

Hey, Gang!

It’s been about six months since I migrated my little blog over to this Substack platform, and I’ve been really happy to see the growth not only of this community, but also of Substack itself, with the addition of new tools like podcasting, video, and the latest feature, “threads.”

What I really like about Substack is their focus on creating a space where readers can take a break from the “attention economy” that is the modern internet and just, you know, read. In a recent piece, Hamish McKenzie, Substack’s Chief Writing Officer said, “Doing the right thing for writers means doing the best thing for readers.”

So let’s take it a step further: Today I’m announcing the launch of The Unremarkable Brain Book Club!

remember books?

I love books. My mother tells a story of a certain preschooler — let’s call him “Little Dave” — whose teacher expressed concern that during play time, when all the other kids gravitated toward toys and dolls and stuff, he could be found in the corner reading by himself.

So what better way to rekindle that romance, to “reclaim our attention,” than in this community? Here’s the idea:

• Each month we’ll pick a book that pertains to health, fitness, wellness, brain health, and the like.

• I’ll announce the title at the start of the month.

• Those who would like to participate can grab themselves a copy and do some reading on their own time (Kinda like homework! Who doesn’t love homework!?)

• Throughout the month, we’ll have weekly “threads” here on the site, where we can share quotes, insights, ideas and reflections. (If you haven’t seen it yet, Substack Threads is kind of like Twitter, but for grown-ups.)

• At the end of the month, we’ll have a live, subscribers-only Zoom session with the author, where we can ask questions, have in-depth discussions, and all kinds of other fun stuff.

november’s selection

So here goes: for this month, the book is my good friend Vinnie Tortorich’s Fitness Confidential. Vinnie has generously agreed to do a live session with us on the evening of Tuesday, November 29th (Save the date! Zoom details to follow).

If you’re interested, read on for more about the book:

I’ve read Fitness Confidential several times now — often when I’m looking to do a New Year’s “reset,” or get some motivation to get back to my workout routine. It’s a great combination of advice (“Use the Gym, Don’t Let it Use You” — Chapter 9), behind-the-scenes memoir (“Jack Lalanne Saved My Life” — Chapter 7), and inspiration (“Cut the Crap” — Part 4), all told in Vinnie’s signature, offbeat (occasionally off-color) style.

Here’s a selection from Chapter 1, “I’m Your Trainer,” to give you an idea:

“I usually train the rich and famous but now I want you to think of me as your trainer. I’ve spent decades helping people and now I’m going to help you. And when we’re done, you’re going to know how to get in better shape than you’ve ever been in your life.

I’ll teach you the right way to exercise and diet (hint: don’t diet). Maybe you’ve never exercised a day in your life. Maybe you’ve tried a hundred diets and failed a hundred times. Maybe your house looks like a garage sale filled with unused Gut Busters and Sweatin’ to the Oldies tapes.

Don’t worry.

I got this.

During the course of our adventure together, I’m going to give you tons of helpful hints. I’ll tell you the single best piece of fitness equipment ever invented — and it’s affordable to everyone. I’ll tell you which is more important to losing weight, diet or exercise (and no, the answer isn’t ‘it’s both!’) I’ll show you the exercises that give you the best bang for your buck.

Remember, I’m your personal trainer now.

You can see a preview of the whole chapter on Amazon, and it’s available there as a paperback, a Kindle book, or on audible. I hope you’re able to join us on this journey. It promises to be a wild ride!