Reading List

Thanks to so many friends, co-workers, and mentors for recommending some stellar books. I’d fallen out of the habit of reading in college but never forgot to write titles down, so the real backlog is far FAR longer than this…

Memorable Reads#

  • The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World, Patrik Svensson (2022)
  • The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World, Anthony Brandt, David Eagleman (2022)
  • This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrant’s Manifesto, Suketu Mehta (2021)
  • The Midnight Library, Matt Haig (2021)
  • Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood, Trevor Noah (2021)
  • Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles (Aug ‘20)
  • Stop Reading The News, Rolf Dobelli (Jul ‘20)
I reduced my news consumption out of exhaustion a couple years ago, but I didn't think about it constructively enough. Dobelli's series of theses don't just encourage you to stop reading the news, but rather focus on reading specifically constructive, contextual, and focused content. Far too often, mainstream news is the opposite of all of that. Reinvigorated my drive to keep my reading habit going strong, and made my decision to reduce news consumption more proactive and conscious. Also made me realize how much my brain fuels a desire for shortform, quick, easy content after a few years of lots of internet, not enough books.
  • Bombay Stories, Sadaat Hasan Manto, translated (Jul ‘20)
  • Maximum City, Suketu Mehta (May ‘20):
Reminded me that everyone, even the seemingly ordinary have stories to tell, sometimes you just have to gently draw them out. That's an art I hope to learn. This book gave me a glimpse into the culture and history of 90s Bombay, a time of change for the city, which I found particularly interesting. Also, its just an incredibly captivating narrative nonfiction.
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Charles Duhigg (2019) - Zero to One, Peter Thiel (2019) - Stories of Your Life, Ted Chiang (2018) - Elon Musk, Ashlee Vance (2017) - The Time Machine, H.G. Wells (2015) - Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (2015) - The Elephant Vanishes, Haruki Murakami (2015) - Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (2013) - The Republic, Plato (2012)

Next:#

  • Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari
  • The Argumentative Indian, Amartya Sen
  • Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond