2021 Books: 78 Read, 1 Published
Reading has broadened my horizons, connecting me with new ideas and new experiences. This year marked a personal milestone as I published my own debut book, Murder at First Principles, a Silicon Valley murder mystery novel with business strategy themes. My writing is a direct outgrowth of my reading.
Here are the top ten books I read in 2021. My full reading list with reviews is logged at Goodreads.
The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins - Famous for his introduction of the concept of “meme,” Dawkins’ book has much more to offer. His exploration of the gene as the building block of evolution is an important pillar of social biology.
People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present, Dara Horn - Purposefully unsettling and thought-provoking, this boo was one of The New York Times’ recommended reads of 2021.
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Max Tegmark - A fantastic overview of artificial intelligence and its possible future directions.
The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King, Rich Cohen - The amazing biography of Samuel Zemurray, a rags-to-riches businessman and political kingmaker who improbably took control of an entire industry and then further improbably and surreptitiously impacted regional and even global politics.
Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups, Ali Tamaseb - A must-read for any current or aspiring venture capitalist. Painstakingly researched and data-driven, this book dispels many myths and provides actionable insights into successful startup investing and analysis.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph, T.E. Lawrence - Amazing first-hand account of the exploits of “Lawrence of Arabia.” As great a writer as he was a strategist-turned-warrior.
Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, Avi Loeb - Astounding account and theory regarding ʻOumuamua, the very first documented interstellar object that passed through our solar system in 2017.
Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies, Geoffrey West - Really cool theories about the growth characteristics of three distinct yet surprisingly similar entities: biological organisms, cities, and corporations.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami - I “met” Murakami via a New Yorker short story and he has quickly become one of my favorite novelists. A master storyteller whose captivating characters wrangle with blurred time and space.
Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir - If you haven’t read this yet you have been living in a cave. A unique and fun sci-fi thriller. Highly recommend the audiobook as, without giving too much away, there are sounds that figure in the story that are probably best experienced through, you know, sound.
Already have some good-looking titles queued up for 2022, plus another manuscript in final development. Wishing you a healthy and mind-opening new year.