This past year was a slower year for me with reading. Partially because of a very busy work schedule and also because Melissa gave birth to our daughter Iris this past November! And last but not least, because I chose to read some really challenging ones this year and I ain’t smart enough to read so good I guess.

Snow Crash (re-read, Neal Stephenson): I read this as a nerdy teenager and loved it, and I read it again this year as a nerdy middle aged adult and still love it! Zuck didn’t invent the term metaverse, we have this book from Neal Stephenson to thank for that. But that probably won’t stop Meta from trying to trademark it.

The Obstacle is the Way (re-read, Ryan Holiday): I’ve called this book Stoicism for dummies and if there’s something wrong with that, call me a dummy! I read this once every 1-2 years because it’s a quick read and a good way to recenter on a mindset that guides my best actions.

The Art of War (re-read, Sun Tzu): People say this book is a business classic but it’s really just about how to win at war.

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braidd (Douglas Hofstadter): This was a heavy but enjoyable and stimulating read about consciousness and the creative mind.

Game Theory 101 (William Spaniel): I read a lot on this topic but this one does a great job of compiling many of the concepts. I would not recommend it as a comprehensive book on game theory but it does a good job of summarizing many areas.

The Checklist Manifesto (re-read, Atul Gawande): The first time I read this over a decade ago, it was a life-changing manual on productivity and task management. Today there are so many good project management apps that work so intuitively that relying on this book to deliver groundbreaking best practices just feels outdated.

The Visual Handbook of Energy Conservation (Charlie Wing): Excellent book for those of you looking to better understand energy efficiency in construction.

Be Here Now (re-read, Ram Dass): Reading this book is like taking shrooms and spending the day with a yoga instructor.

Calm Face (Bud Smith): Fun tales of a Jersey guy and his adventures in New York.

How To Talk To The Other Side (Kevin Wilhelm & Natalie Hoffman): Excellent playbook for effective communication in today’s polarizing world where the people on both sides of every debate are usually dumb or short tempered or both.

The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s (Mark P Mills): Much of what this book talks about is happening or about to happen…interesting and exciting look at the impact of tech to come in this decade.

Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration (Amy Wallace/Ed Catmull): How to lead with creativity at the forefront; or why micromanagers make for the shittiest business leaders.

The Birth Partner (Penny Simkin): Where do babies come from and what are they like-style stories for boys who goofed off or slept during sex education class.

Neuromancer (re-read, William Gibson): When I am stressed out I re-read comfort books from my teen years and this cyberpunk classic always does it for me.

Memoirs of Hadrian (Marguerite Yourcenar): A Roman emperor reflects on his life. If this book was a Jimmy Buffett song it would be called A Roman Emperor Looks At 60.

Stillness Is the Key (Ryan Holiday): Stoicism for dummies book 2 of 3.

Norwegian Wood (Haruki Murakami): Murakami tackles love, mental illness, friendship, coming of age, and a really wild sex scene with an old lady. This is my favorite Murakami book so far.

The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky): The book that broke me and made me feel dumb but I was determined to finally ready it all the way through. An old friend recommended that I read The Grand Inquisitor but after reading that, I decided to just go for it and read the entire novel. Dostoevsky’s masterpiece tells the confusing and dark tale of Russian people with multiple names, a dad and his sons who are pretty much all Eskimo brothers, depressing, darkly funny, and weird – I can see why this is a classic.

That’s it for this year…have fun!