📚 Year of books

I personally think there is significant value in taking time to reflect upon your actions, and setting some intentions going forward.

For reflection, I have been recording a second of my entire adult life as a form of yearly reflection from June-June, and now have this blog to express my intents on a more frequent basis.

However, I also like to set my own New Years Resolutions, as a significant Temporal Milestone I can guide myself against for the year ahead. I still struggle with writing effective goals, but I typically manage to tick at least half of them off.

One of the goals I set myself for 2023 was to read 10 books. I used to love reading as a kid, and have fond memories of ignoring the calls to go to sleep from my parents when I was 8, churning through the Harry Potter and Alex Rider series. Since I left school, for some reason I had dropped out of the habit of reading, and I quite missed it. So, I set up a Goodreads account, signed up to Audible and tried to track my progress in some shoddily written reviews.

The following has been extracted from a short script I co-authored with the help of ChatGPT, to export all of my reviews made in 2023.

TL;DR? #

Clearly I have some progress to make on my own writing…

These reviews are pretty slopping and fairly valueless, and even while writing them I found I hadn’t always absorbed the content of the book as well as I would like.

That being said, it is an amazing start! I am very proud of myself for making this much progress, and have become very fond of my kindle/audible unwind time, and may have even learned something along the way!

I’ve learned that reading lists, much like TODO lists have this funny habit of forever getting longer, the closer you get to the end, and that I am a bit of sucker for a certain style of front cover.

For 2024, one of my primary goals is to write more, and to write more publicly (fail fast, thanks Levels).

This is the start of my efforts to contribute to this goal, hello!

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals #

4/5 ⭐ find online

(not provided)

Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track #

5/5 ⭐ find online

Very interesting read, and a sure addition to my bookshelf I’ll be referring to for years to come! Very well laid out references too

1984 #

5/5 ⭐ find online

(not provided)

21 Lessons for the 21st Century #

4/5 ⭐ find online

Not quite as interesting as the more historical/informational Sapiens and Homo Deus, but still good to read. Contains more opinions than I’d probably say necessary but still insightful!

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones #

5/5 ⭐ find online

Whilst itself not containing anything groundbreaking, I would recommend reading this at least once (ideally repeat reading it every few years) to remind you to focus on your priorities and motivate you to not become a “fair weather person”.

Value(s): Building a Better World for All #

4/5 ⭐ find online

I appreciate the reflective focus of this book. I recall lots of focus on the impacts of the global pandemic and the global financial crisis (of which his section on the unravelling of the crisis from his perspective as a trader was my favourite). However I am left with a feeling that perhaps I haven’t learnt much, if anything what I have come away with is a renewed appreciation of planning for adverse scenarios and aligning incentive structures/markets for a shared purpose. Perhaps this is one of those books that aim only to ignite questions.

What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions (What If?, #2) #

4/5 ⭐ find online

(not provided)

Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most Dangerous Hackers #

5/5 ⭐ find online

Having read this recently after finishing the similar but less focused “This is how they tell me the world ends”, I’m left ironically with a greater sense of dread from this book. “Sandworm” does more to focus directly on the Russian links to various high profile hacks in the 2010’s, and notes the direct and indirect links these have had with the Russian/Ukraine conflicts of the 2010’s and 2020’s. For me, much of the contents of the book detailing NotPetya and WannaCry have been published elsewhere, but I find more curiosity in the US defence exercises conducted on the electricity grid. Highly recommended read, along with “this is how they tell me the world ends”, but beware that this book will play on (perhaps very accurate) fears of the Russian state, at every opportunity.

Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity #

4/5 ⭐ find online

Interesting read. As with any leadership book it is generally an ego massage for the writer, however this one does bear some important messages. He describes the importance of having a product mindset for yourself (delivering value, building diverse but relevant experience), and of the difference between “drivers” and “passengers”.

I’m not sure what the key takeaway would be that I’ll implement in my own life, but it’s a good thing to read occasionally to remind yourself to stay on the track creating the most value

The Happiest Man on Earth #

5/5 ⭐ find online

I’m not sure it’s possible to give this book a bad review. Eddie is clearly a very inspiring spirit, having lived through the hardest of times and still left with a kindness in his heart. Reading this you are jerked into reflection on your own position in life. The audible narration is also fantastic, and a great match with what you would imagine the author sounds like.

Becoming #

5/5 ⭐ find online

An inspiring book from the coolest First Family of modern times. It is reassuringly honest from a political perspective, and is a recommended read for any young person scared of their own social mobility

That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea #

5/5 ⭐ find online

One of a limited set of exciting and insightful biographies of influential entrepreneurs. The story of Netflix is different from what I first imagined, but my main takeaway would have to be Randolph’s Rules!

How Not To Be a Boy #

5/5 ⭐ find online

I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually watched any of Webb’s work. However I can’t recommend this book enough. His message is rarely told from such a first hand perspective, and it’s one that I feel will become more mainstream in the years to come. Personally I still don’t quite understand football, either.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup #

5/5 ⭐ find online

Believable if only in its disheartening representation of Silicon Valley. If you are just looking for a summary of the wrongdoings of Elizabeth Holmes, then this might be a bit overkill and a documentary will suffice. However the events portrayed in this book are an insightful mix of Lying, Cheating, and Sociopathic tendencies.

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times #

3/5 ⭐ find online

Having read Becoming quite recently (and being very pleased with it!), I’m not sure this book offers much more value or new insights. My main takeaway from this book would have to be Grandma Robinson’s tips on teaching independence.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail #

4/5 ⭐ find online

I’m ashamed to admit I started reading this book with an expectation of what I would get out of it. Much like the outcome of Sheryl’s journey, the whole purpose of reading this is about the journey of the unknown. Some parts I felt myself prematurely repelled against (cheating, lying, emotional manipulation, inability to face consequences, sexual promiscuity, assumptions for help, naivety, heroin addiction, swallowing her mother’s ashes). However, what did I expect? I had an assumption this would be another privileged person travelling for the fun of it. Rather, this was a genuinely troubled person attempting to reset by taking on the biggest challenge they could imagine, alone. Some parts did not resonate with me and that’s ok, the experience is nonetheless valid.

The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business #

4/5 ⭐ find online

Erin delivers a clear, concise set of personal anecdotes and a framework for rationalising the effects of culture on communication. The book is very focused on the context of business, but the lessons learnt can be applied to any cross cultural communication. I’d recommend this for anyone engaging in long term cooperation (business or otherwise) with people from multiple diverse countries.

Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class #

3/5 ⭐ find online

This book is perhaps a bit too long, and bounces around the topics of class warfare, race and immigration, with little structure. I admire it for sharing extremely relevant stories from Britain’s political past, but I’m not left with the impression that this book has been impartial in its investigation.

Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making #

4/5 ⭐ find online

To begin, I see other reviewers comment on Tony’s personal failures and unhealthy leadership styles. I can’t comment on this context as the sum total of what I know about this man comes from this book, so I shall only refer to the book review.

Build is a well structured, if a little petty, guide to a product focused mindset. A lot of the concepts around finding product market fit, storytelling, focusing on press release first, structuring an organisation to ensure stakeholders have to agree (i.e making support sign off on new sales) feels like well founded advice and common sense. Some parts felt needlessly petty (a constant revert back to why google is awful), and some parts just felt like reflections on luck (right place right time hiring for Apple).

In general, I found the book very enjoyable to read, however I would be concerned with repeating all but the product focused points. I fear most organisations would not tolerate such abrasiveness.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad #

5/5 ⭐ find online

To be honest, I don’t know what to do with this information. But this is a good framework for analysing your current position (cashflow and balance sheet) and making steps to prioritise asset building. In the UK it’s a little less impactful to “pay yourself first”, and many recurrent tax efficient investment schemes are not available. However this book is probably one of the most impactful triggers for learning more on the subject!

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos #

3/5 ⭐ find online

The book is far too long, contains numerous logical errors or contradictions, is both harsh and heartfelt and I fail to see what I actually learnt from this book. That being said, I don’t think it is completely without value, and to the right audience it clearly resonates. I just think it should be called “12 vague themes for struggling young men” instead.

Outliers: The Story of Success #

5/5 ⭐ find online

Outliers is one popular science book that is well worth reading. He proposes the concept that “genius” is a combination of:

• A sufficiently high IQ (though beyond 120 has negligible effects)
• Proper upbringing (concerted cultivation, as he notes in a few case studies)
• Practical intelligence (derived from the latter upbringing)
• Situational luck (noting similarities of prominent figures and their economic situations during formative years).

Anyone who falls trap to society’s worshipping of the “lone genius” should read this book to zoom out a little. A related book for the latter chapters around the power distance law and cultural effects on education and work, I would recommend “The Culture Map”.

Permanent Record #

5/5 ⭐ find online

Something I didn’t expect to take away from this book would be an understand of how manipulatively flawed it’s intelligence organisations are structured. The fact that security clearance is not necessarily related to public/private roles seems strange.

The book provides an insightful (yet slightly dull) overview of his time contracting and training through the intelligence community, until ultimately suffering from a burst of epileptic illness, and after spending considerable time indoors, monitoring the traumatic events occurring throughout the Arab Spring, he forms a clearer view of where his own government is failing their people.

My review of Edward’s character is overwhelmingly positive. From his description of events, given his oath to the American people, he did the right thing by disclosing wrongdoings of the 5 eyes governments.

“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character #

5/5 ⭐ find online

The tales do occasionally come off as a bit show-offish, and he is clearly a bit arrogant of his own abilities. However it’s possible that this was entirely reasonable!

I’m not sure what I expected when going into this book, but it is very much focused on how the man operated, and not on his achievements. So without undertaking external research of Feynman, you are still left with only hints of what his main achievements were about.

His mind was certainly a curious one, and it is extremely refreshing to hear someone detail the ins and outs of his lifelong(!) passion, enthusiasm and energy for all things science. Additionally, after around 1945 the extracurricular focus of his life gets progressively saucier, having switched subjects, cracked safes, learnt languages, moved countries, played in a “band”, frequented bars, drew models professionally, and repeatedly mentioned his adoration of women! Although his “womanising” manner may appear a bit out of fashion nowadays.

Whilst I wouldn’t consider him a direct role model, his curiosity is infectious, and I wish all readers absorb at least some of his passion!

Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World #

5/5 ⭐ find online

I thoroughly agree, with about 50% of the solutions in this book, and the remainder I feel are too optimistic and not realistic.

Degrowth is a damaging name, for a movement that sounds like it makes sense for humanity: factor in the costs of all externalities (especially negative) when pricing a good or service, and provide a metric of economic progress that is more human-values driven (quality of life, sustainability etc) than merely monetary-value.

The book is well written, and the audiobook is similarly well narrated, however this type of book is more valuable in print format, where you can refer back to sections of interest later.

Something I don’t agree with, or at least haven’t formed a good enough of an opinion around yet, is that this book strangely reiterates the claim that distributing wealth equally would result in an instant improvement in quality of life for all. As far as I am aware, economies currently rely on inequality to price goods competitively, however more reading on my part is required.

Regulation and individual behavioural changes alone are a tough thing to rely on, which this book unfortunately primarily suggests. I however primarily like the concepts of:

• Mandatory N year guarantees on new products
• Community share-stations for seldom used goods
• Limitations on lowest-highest compensation ratios
• Direct democracy for long term societal strategies
• Externality Tax on goods and services, based on their negative externalities on society/environment. Positive externality becomes a grant.

Overall, I think this is a good book for the future generation to read, but I don’t expect much action to come along with it, until the public is genuinely aware of the societal problems we will face if we continue to exceed our planetary quotas.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business #

4/5 ⭐ find online

A good book, but not one I would recommend as a “must read”. The author presents many insightful case studies, although some of which are slightly dubious, and I would have preferred a less opinionated form of writing, presenting the facts first.

The key takeaway for me, is identification of the cue, routine and reward habit loop; keystone habits; and that a habit exists primarily within the basal ganglia, and away from conscious thought.

Life Time #

4/5 ⭐ find online

An interesting book, although I’ll admit that a combination of my reading times, and the bombardment of unfamiliar medical terms/acronyms meant the book had an ironically sleep inducing quality!

My main takeaway would be that “sleep is important”, with a side order of “when you take medication or eat food in relation to sleep is important”.

I’ll admit that I’m not the perfect target audience, as I don’t feel reading this book has given me the filtered information I need to actively improve my own health, although I have absorbed the gist of it.

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon #

4/5 ⭐ find online

A great autobiography of Amazon and its infamous founder. However it is starting to show its age a bit. Quite poetic considering the opening chapter describes a conversation with Bezos, who questions whether the book is being written too soon.

I didn’t realise quite how… ruthless Amazon is/was. It is quite happy to engage in savage business tactics, and suck the humanity out of any worker, all in pursuit of the hallowed customer experience.

I quite liked the final comparisons between Steve Jobs (who valued profit extraction from addicted customers) and his own biological father (who ran the same small niche shop for decades).

Well worth a read, but be cautious of the survivorship bias of tech CEOs from this era.

Appendix #

Code for parsing Goodreads data export #

Affiliate Links #