Books Read in 2024
5 books
The Midwich Cuckoos
by John Wyndham
★★★★★
My first book from this author, and it was great. The BBC also has a fantastic Radio Sci-Fi version featuring Bill Nighy among others.
The Family Game
Playing Can Be Murder
by Catherine Steadman
★★★
This genre is not for me, but it wasn't a bad listen. The author narrated the audiobook, which is always my preference.
The Tipping Point
How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
by Malcolm Gladwell
★★★★Going Zero
Two Hours to Vanish. One Chance to Escape.
by Anthony McCarten
★★★★Wanderers
by Chuck Wendig
★★★
Way longer than it needed to be. Really dragged on.
Books Read in 2023
12 books
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
★★★★
A dystopian future where conditioning, conformity, and the pleasure-inducing drug soma shape a society. It explores the consequences of unchecked scientific progress and individual suppression. Great listen!
Do Nothing
How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving
by Celeste Headlee
★★★★
Can be reduced down to the concept "less is more". Explores the diminishing returns of powering through and the importance of rest. Inspired me to change my desk setup from three monitors to one.
Outliers
The Story of Success
by Malcolm Gladwell
★★★★½
On the pop psychology end of the spectrum, but you can't deny that he's a good story teller.
Effortless
Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most
by Greg McKeown
★★★½
Practical advice for making tough stuff easier. Here's a great summary from the book itself.
Cultish
The Language of Fanaticism
by Amanda Montell
★★★★½
Words and how we use them have a lot of power. Especially in groups. Especially when they give people meaning or fill a need.
Rendezvous with Rama
by Arthur C. Clarke
★★★★½
I love short chapters. Not only did this story hold my attention, but it held it with perfect-sized chunks. Easy to pick up and put down when needed.
Artemis
by Andy Weir
★
Not a bad author, but gave up halfway through. Found the dialog unbelievable. Just didn’t captivate me.
Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury
★★★★
Great book. 70 years and this still holds up. Illuminates the importance of retaining the shared knowledge of the past.
The Personality Brokers
The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing
by Merve Emre
★★★
Deep dive (maybe too deep) into the very unscientific origin of the Meyers-Briggs test. I got a much bigger kick out of deep diving into the enneagram than this book.
101 Things I Learned in Architecture School
by Matthew Frederick
★★★½
I love industry jargon, which is what drew me in. Design applied to physical space isn't my forte so it was fun to learn about.
Build
An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
by Tony Fadell
★★★★
Fascinating insights and advice if you're into building large scale products or teams. I prefer to work small, but great listen.
The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
★★★★★
Started the year off re-reading of one of my favorite books of all time. You never saw so many phonies in all your life. This is the best audio version of this book I've found.