I Read 67 Books in 2022
Right off the bat, I’m the type of person who loves reading books. I like learning new things through any possible means available, that’s the one way I get to expound my knowledge and challenge my mindset on different issues. I must admit that ever since I mastered the art of reading books, I’ve managed to learn lots of skills, habits, mindset, lessons, and so on.
Spoiler alert, I might ruffle some feathers with this statement, but, I tend to prefer non-fiction books as opposed to fictional books. It's okay, hear me out — the only two reasons I’m saying so is that first, fictional books appear too imaginative, it’s like you are navigating in a fantasy world. Secondly, non-fictional books tend to address factual issues and stick to reality, which I find quite interesting and captivating. But, wait I’m not saying fictional books are bad, as such. Personally, I’ve read some fictional books, but the number of books in that category cannot match the amount of non-fictional books I’ve read.
To cut the long story short and to put it under perspective books are an absolute necessity to advance human imagination. That’s why even the world’s billionaires have mastered the art of reading books every time and then. For instance, look at Bill Gates, he reads a lot of books yet he’s still one of the richest guys on the planet. You might be thinking, but why? It is because books contain knowledge and information, reading books it widens your perspective and mindset about anything, and you expound your knowledge to a much higher level.
I first mastered the art of reading books in a rather simple way; I vividly recall my first book was called Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou — Covering the Story of Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos — which was seen as the elixir of blood testing diagnosis. I found the book very interesting and I searched for a documentary about the fall of Theranos and the future of Silicon Valley startup companies.
Afterward, the habit grew like an atom and the enthusiasm only grew bigger with time. Up until now, I cannot finish a week without reading a single book. It doesn’t matter the topic, but specifically in the non-fiction category. Reading books has upscaled my productivity and creativity and I can’t recommend you better than advising you to start reading books — now!
Just to sprinkle some spice on top of the cake: This is just but a sneak peeks of my book club odyssey, Right up front — One of my top 2022 year resolutions, was reading at least 100 books by the time the year ends. Honorable mention: We are already wrapping up the year and when I check my book club list, I can confidently say the progress is quite promising. I managed to read 67 books ever since the year started. Here is the list of those books:
1. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou.
2. Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism by Anne Applebaum.
3. Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired By a Life On The Move by Nanjala Nyabola.
4. Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge.
5. Preventing The Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-science by Peter J. Hotez, MD, Ph.D.
6. White borders: The HISTORY of RACE and IMMIGRATION the UNITED STATES from CHINESE EXCLUSION to the BORDER WALL by Reece Jones.
7. Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move by Reece Jones.
8. Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China by Leta Hong Fincher.
9. Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom by Rebecca MacKinnon.
10. Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
11. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds.
12. The New Climate War by Prof. Michael E. Mann.
13. This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jerkins
14. The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart by Alicia Garza
15. Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore our Nation by David French
16. The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right by Max Boot
17. Viral BS by Seema Yasmin
18. White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin Diangelo (Foreword by Michael Eric Dyson)
19. Against White Feminism by Rafia Zakaria
20. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
21. How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley
22. Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century by Kehinde Andrews
23. We Need to Talk about Putin: Why the West gets him Wrong, and how to get him right by Mark Galeotti
24. Putin’s World: Russia against the West and with the Rest by Angela Stent
25. The View from Flyover Country Dispatches from the Forgotten America by Sara Kendzior
26. Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America by Sarah Kendzior
27. How Propaganda Works by Jason Stanley
28. Surrender White People by D. L. Hughley
29. Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine by Anne Applebaum
30. How Not to Get Shot and Other Advice From White People by D.L. Hughley
31. Will by Will Smith
32. Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright
33. Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data Driven World by Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West
34. Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution by Elie Mystal
35. Stopping the Next Pandemic: How COVID-19 Can Help Us Save Humanity by Deborah Mackenzie
36. Pandemic Inc: Chasing Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick by J. David McSwane
37. The Art of War by Tsu
38. His Name is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and The Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels & Toluse Olorunnipa
39. The Child in The Electric Chair: The Execution of George Juniue Stinney Jr and the Making of a Tragedy in the American South by Eli Faber
40. Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics(And Everything Else) by Olúfémi O. Taáíwò
41. Privacy is Power: Why and Jow You Should Take Back Control of Your Data by Carissa Véliz
42. How to Loose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict by Nina Jankowicz
43. Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and how to take advantage of it) by William Poundstone
44. The Solo Thought Leader: From Solopreneur to Go-To Expert in 7 Steps by Diego Pineda
45. The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You by Eli Pariser
46. Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon
47. Indistractible: How to Control Your Attention, Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal & Julie Li
48. How to Prevent the Next Pandemic by Bill Gates
49. The Prosperity Paradox by Clayton M. Christensen
50. Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte
51. Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Kenya by Nanjala Nyabola
52. Designed by Apple in California by Apple
53. Mindset: Changing the Way You Think To Fulfill Your Potential by Carol S. Dweck
54. 48 Laws Of Power by Greene, Robert
55. Buyology by Martin Lindstrom
56. Lords of Impunity by Rasna Warah
57. The Creators Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs by Amy Wilkinson
58. Do Epic Shit by Ankur Warikoo
59. Battling the Big Lie by Dan Pfeiffer
60. 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
61. Stealing Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
62. The Seven Levels of Intimacy by Matthew Kelly
63. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson.
64. Finish What You Started: The Art of Following Through, Taking Action, Executing, & Self-Discipline by Peter Hollins
65. Atomic Habit: An Easy Proven Way to Build Good Habits, Break Bad Ones by James Clear
66. Ikigiai: Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hècror García and Francesc Miralles
67. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
It seems like a long list, but for sure these books taught me a lot of things. Despite not reaching my target of reading 100 books before the year ends, I’m pretty much happy with the books I managed to read. It’s all about recalibrating the goal from the number to the amount of knowledge you want to gather.
That aside, just to sieve the list, here are now my top 19 best books that I read in 2022:
1. Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
2. Building Your Second Brain by Tiago Forte
3. Indistractable: How to Control your Attention, Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal & Julie Li
4. Stealing Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
5. Atomic Habits by James Clear
6. Ikigiai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hèctor García and Francesc Miralles (currently reading)
7. The Seven Levels of Intimacy by Matthew Kelly.
8. Travelling While Black by Nanjala Nyabola
9. The Subtle Art by Mark Manson
10. The Prosperity Paradox by Clayton M. Christensen
11. Will by Will Smith
12. Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China by Leta Hong Fincher.
13. Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move by Reece Jones.
14. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds.
15. Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data Driven World by Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. West
16. This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jerkins
17. Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism by Anne Applebaum.
18. Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge.
19. Preventing The Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-science by Peter J. Hotez, MD, Ph.D.
The biggest takeaway in my book club odyssey — even as I wrap up this year — is that “Don’t worry about reading more books, focus on reading better”, Don’t turn the number into the goal, but rather what you want to be.
In addition, I managed to learn the fast reading technique, by reducing sub-vocalization and recalibrating how I read a book, placing my eyeballs at the center of the page as compared to the periphery. Here is where the kicker is, some books you can read faster, and some you can’t. But, the point is not reading faster but reading effectively but also saving time.
What I’m working on now is a book review summary of every book that I’ve managed to read ever since the year started. Afterward, I will publish it on my personal blog sites. It is such an incredible idea and project since people will have the opportunity to have a glimpse of what a certain book entails, like a quick overall summary. Albeit, it sounds tedious, I’m working on it.
I hope to read even more books in 2023.
It’s alright, I get it. For those asking where they can find my personal blogs. Here are the links:
1. Medium — https://medium.com/@nelson.wgichuki
2. WordPress (Nelson The Epitome) — https://nelsontheepitome.wordpress.com
3. Substack (Nelson’s Newsletter) — https://nelsonwachira.substack.com/?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2-nav.
So that’s all, feel free to drop me any thoughts that you may have from the articles that I’ve written.