What I read in 2022
books
lists
I hit my Goodreads Reading Challenge of 50 for the second year in a row. If you want to, you can jump straight to the list of all 50 books here.
My Favorite Non-Fiction Reads of 2022
- Boyd - The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The Art Of War by Robert Coram: John Boyd is probably up there in list of most influential Americans of the 20th Century that very few people have heard of. A great fighter pilot who then went on to design the F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft and ended his career as a military theorist whose ideas the US successfully used in both Gulf Wars. Boyd was an iconoclast who continually found himself fighting the Air Force hierarchy. As well as in-depth biography of Boyd, the book also provides an eye-opening inside view of Military-Industrial complex that Eisenhower warned of. Boyd was deeply flawed in many ways but had a personal code of honor that guided him throughout his career. My favorite quote of Boyd’s from the book is:
“If your boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, then give him loyalty”
Born A Crime - Stories From A South African Childhood by Trevor Noah: This had gotten rave reviews when it first came out, and they were well-deserved. Trevor Noah is a huge success today, but he’s had a remarkable and difficult early life. Along with being his personal story, this is also a story of South Africa during and after the overturning of Apartheid. Noah lets the reader see what it was like growing up poor and black in South Africa but always showing the humanity of the people he came into contact with.
Freezing Order - A True Story Of Money Laundering, Murder, And Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath by Bill Browder: A follow up to Red Notice this time continuing the story through the American court system. Lots of amazing twists and turn as Browder tussles with Russia in the courts.
Never Split The Difference - Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss: I thought this was going to be one of those “one-idea” books that litters the broad self-help genre, but actually it was both entertaining as well as full of very practical tips. I used some of the tips in a negotiation in 2022 to good effect :-)
Honorable Mentions - Non-Fiction
High Conflict - Why We Get Trapped And How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley: I read this as part of my ongoing desire to understand why our society is becoming increasingly polarized and what we can do to understand each other better. A number of good takeaways from this book - for me the primary one was to avoid binary classifications that inevitably become “them and us”.
Talk Lean - Shorter Meetings. Quicker Results. Better Relations by Alan Palmer: Lot of useful tips in this book about how to use more precise language to get better results. Some of the examples feel very British but I think the advice is universal.
Lords Of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed: Fascinating account of the period after the First World War where many countries fell into recession and depression and the attempts of key central bankers to try and prevent that from happening but that often made things worse. I feel understand the role of central banks much better after reading this.
Altitude Or Attitude - A Geeks’s Travel Log; San Francisco To Concordia-K2-Gondogoro La Of Pakistan by Ifti Mirza: This was gifted to me by the author who was a colleague at Meta (although we never met in person). The writing could do with some editing, but the story is an unexpectedly thrilling account of getting to the K2 basecamp and back. I have no particular interest in climbing and I really enjoyed this book, so if you have a passion for climbing I’m sure you’ll love it. It made me realize this particular trip is something I will never want to subject myself to!
The 6 Types Of Working Genius - A Better Way To Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, And Your Team by Patrick M. Lencioni: I’m a fan of Lencioni’s books and this one provides useful insights into the sorts of things that might provide different people either joy or frustration at work. I used the model from the book with my team at Meta for our second team “summit” (aka offsite in the world of Finance) and found it very helpful.
Seven Brief Lessons On Physics by Carlo Rovelli: Another slim volume from Carlos Rovelli that packs many interesting facts to ponder on, wrapped up in Rovelli’s at times poetic style of writing.
The Lion Tracker’s Guide To Life by Boyd Varty: Recommended by a friend who grew up in South Africa and has received personal coaching by Varty. The book provides insights into a whole world that I knew very little about but that we can learn a lot from.
The Psychology Of Money - Timeless Lessons On Wealth, Greed, And Happiness by Morgan Housel: This felt like a series of essays on how to live, but using money and wealth as a hook. I enjoyed it.
Re-reads
The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team - A Leadership Fable, 20th Anniversary Edition by Patrick M. Lencioni: A classic that I assigned to my team at Meta for our first team “summit”. Easy, short read that is valuable for anyone working in a team (which is pretty much everyone).
Be The Hero - Three Powerful Ways To Overcome Challenges In Work And Life by Noah Blumenthal: Another short and easy read in the “business fable” genre. I re-read this as I had recommended it to my (grown-up) kids to read and I thought I should remind myself about the contents.
Fiction
The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August by Claire North: A variation on the time-travel genre that I’m a sucker for. The premise is that there are people whose life keeps repeating starting from birth but they remember everything they experienced and learnt in previous lives. The chief protagonist, Harry August, is one such person. Well thought out and generally self-consistent - I recommend it if you like the genre.
Underground Airlines by Ben Winters: A book in the “alternative history” genre, which is another genre I like. The premise here is that the American Civil War never happened and slavery is still legal in 4 US states.
Full book list
| # | Book Title | Author | Type | Genre |
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