I’ve been making a list of my favorite books for a few years now. These are usually the ones that inspired me the most, were fun to read, or gave me that tingle of sadness as I turned the last page. Those that, for some reason, struck a chord with me.
Sometimes a theme or two emerge — I delved into eating habits and veganism, I tried to get more insights into building great products and a culture, I resorted to reading to focus more and develop better habits. And I did my usual fiction and autobiography stints.
What I often came to appreciate is what I read during the past 365 days punctuated the global and personal events of the year for me. I remember reading Will Smith’s biography as Russia invaded Ukraine (and before the incident at the Oscars), thinking about my stolen focus while exploring the beauties of Santa Maria, settling with my family into a new home while reading The Stand, traveling to Chicago wholly unprepared for a marathon but devouring Masters of Doom, or going through big changes at work while reading Build.
Here are my 5 favorite reads of 2022.
This one has been a long overdue read. In Masters of Doom, Kushner tells the story of how the two Johns built a gaming revolution with Doom. Who doesn’t love the story of how two misfits went on to change the world, and how human and flawed these geniuses also were? I know I did. The cherry on top is how Masters of Doom delivers on the nostalgia that makes Stranger Things so irresistible — all of a sudden, I was going back in time to the days of Wolfenstein 3D. Fun!
Building a company is a rollercoaster ride. The company I started three years ago went from 2 people in a coworking space to about 100 this year. We have gone through so many twists & turns and emotional ups & downs that stopped keeping track. And one topic in particular has weighed on me through it all: how do we build and sustain a strong culture in such a rapidly changing environment. The Culture Code is not a blueprint, but it is a very inspiring book that touches on many key aspects of developing and fostering a strong culture.
Alright, alright, alright: this is one rambling book. I’m not a fan of Matthew McConaughey and, honestly speaking, this book didn’t make him more likable in my eyes. But he is one heck of a storyteller and packed his Greenlights full of quirky, unlikely, sad, funny (and sometimes cheesy) stories. I can’t think about the Dooleys without laughing.
Build is a condensed encyclopedia about building a company and great products written by someone who truly knows what they’re talking about — none other than the father of the iPod and the co-creator of the iPhone. It was energizing, inspiring and thought-provoking. I took so many notes and stole so many ideas and principles it’s embarrassing.
What’s going on here? I’m giving the #1 spot to a fiction book for the second year in a row. This was the second King book I read (the other one was Billy Summers) so I’m by no means a fan or someone who loves his horror and fantasy books. Though I do have a soft spot for dystopian, post-apocalyptic read. And reading The Stand through COVID was timely to say the least. The Stand is a great story, with a drumming pace where 95% is build-up, and with thick characters you can’t feel indifferent about. M-O-O-N, that spells great!
As I was writing this post, I changed the ranking quite a few times. It’s always hard to name a favorite, and to trim the top 5. So here are my honorable mentions, my other 5-star Goodreads books of the year:
- Atomic Habits, by James Clear (2018). I want to take the pages of this book, frame them and put them all over my walls (actually, I have ordered a poster that summarizes the thesis of the book). “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems”. Atomic Habits is a practical book that compellingly demonstrates that the path towards getting where you want is not through lofty goals, but through systems and habits that you must build into your routine. I loved it, and I’m using it thoroughly in my day to day.
- Billy Summers, by Stephen King (2021). No horror, no supernatural here. This is great, gripping, crime fiction of a war veteran turned mercenary sniper. But it’s also so much more.
- Good to Great, by James C. Collins (2001). A very articulated, well-researched assessment of what makes a company that was average become and remain great. While it is dated, most of its underlying points still hold well.
- Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer (2009). I could relate a lot to Foer. Perhaps because he went from raging carnivore to vegan. Or maybe because he finds it hard to reconcile why it is OK to eat some animals but not others. In any way, I think this book is especially powerful because — despite his natural bias — Foer approaches the question of eating animals from a journalist’s perspective. The book includes interviews with and combines the perspectives of family members, activists and slaughterhouse workers. For this reason, Eating Animals reads more like an educational book than a rally for veganism.
- Factfulness, by Hans Rosling (2018). In Factfulness, Professor Hans Rosling addresses how most of us get basic global trends wrong, such as what is the percentage of the world’s population living in poverty or what is the global vaccination rates for children under 1 year of age. Factfulness is a reality-check, it debunks much of what “everybody knows” but is plainly wrong, and gives us the tools to avoid these traps.
- Freezing Order, by Bill Browder (2022). Freezing Order picks up where Red Notice left off. Bill Browder continues his crusade against Putin and his regime, and tells a story that is packed with murder, intrigue, corruption and organized crime. It would be a great fiction book and what is disturbing is that it is a real-life story.
- Stolen Focus, by Johann Hari (2022). If you can’t help feeling annoyed whenever you realize you have picked up for phone for the nth time in the day for no good reason, whenever you notice how many hours you spend scrolling through Instagram, or whenever you look around at a restaurant and see half the people with their heads down looking at their phones instead of talking to the person in front of them, this book is for you. Fueled by these annoyances, Hari went on to explore why we suck at escaping the grip of our devices and how we can reclaim our focus.
- This is Vegan Propaganda, by Ed Winters (2022). This is an unapologetic case for veganism. It’s fact-based, educational, morally-challenging, compassionate and many times hard to read. Maybe it won’t turn you vegan or vegetarian. But if you’re not used to putting any thought into the food you put in your plate, you probably will after reading this.
Finally, these are five books on top of my to-read list for 2023:
- Carrie Soto is Back, by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2022)
- Dilla Time, by Dan Charnas (2022)
- Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic Above the Clouds in Ethiopia, by Michael Crawley (2021)
- Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World, by Matt Alt (2021)
- The Power of the Dog, by Don Wislow (2006)
