Books I enjoyed reading in 2022

It has been that kind of a year for me. I started off saying I will try and read a few more than what I did in 2021. Come December, and the count is more or less the same.

I might have missed my targets, but I am happy. Here is the list of books that I enjoyed the most:

1. Do it Today- Darius Foroux
2. Red Notice- Bill Browder
3. Atomic Habits- James Clear
4. Principles- Ray Dalio
5. How the World Really Works- Vaclav Smil
6. But What If we are Wrong- Chuck Klosterman

Do it Today- Darius Foroux

I am a fan of Darius and often read his blogs. A lot of his ideas resonate with me. Based on Stoicism, this book provides simple, pragmatic insights on how to get tackle procrastination.

Now to put all of this into practice… I am waiting for the new year to begin :-)

Red Notice- Bill Browder

A fascinating tale to read. Bill Browder learning to become a hedge fund manager, his experiences in Russia, and the highs and the lows of that experience.

Being from the investment world, this book was a surprise; it reads like a thriller but is not all fiction. When things start going wrong, it is scary.

Atomic Habits- James Clear

The central theme of this book is not new. It is a summary of a bunch of books on the topic starting with the Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg. I read this content just to reinforce the idea that there is almost nothing that cannot be mastered if one can commit to practice. Work in progress for me.

Principles- Ray Dalio

I enjoyed reading the first part of this book. While at the firm we are always thinking of ways to improve, we often find ourselves oscillating between what needs to be done and what should be done. To imagine that being radically transparent works all the time, I am not sure. But directionally, I am convinced that putting systems can help individuals achieve bigger as a collective.

How the world really works- Vaclav Smil

Transitioning the world away from fossil fuels is much, much harder than it seems.

Miracle technologies are unlikely to save us overnight, and we can say that with a high degree of certainty just by looking at how heavily we’ve invested in our current infrastructure and how massive our energy needs are (Barnaby Thieme)

But what if we are wrong- Chuck Klosterman

It is something all of us ask multiple times a day ..But what if ???

Two quotes from the book that sums it up:

“The reason so many well-considered ideas appear laughable in retrospect is that people involuntarily assume that whatever we believe and prioritise now will continue to be believed and prioritised later, even though that almost never happens. It’s a mistake that never stops being made.”

“History is a creative process (or as Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “a set of lies agreed upon”). The world happens as it happens, but we construct what we remember and what we forget. And people will eventually do that to us, too.”

I wanted to read a bit more on history last year , nothing I read was as interesting as I thought it would be. I would be open to suggestions if you have any.

Here is wishing all you a very happy new year 2023 and hoping the new year brings newer perspectives and joy.

Carry on reading :-)