Last updated 09/01/2022
I have been reading less than normal in the second half of 2021, owing to my busy life and the work schedule that allows me less time to pick up and read at any time, randomly, I feel like. Another contributor has been that I have had trouble finding engaging books and dropping many books after 100 pages. Some books are not even worth giving them half an hour. The time constraint has made me pickier when choosing a new book. However, I enjoyed some books this year, which I want to recommend.
I have been focusing on reading more fiction and trying to vary the genres I read, but in the end, I always come back to the same things: science fiction and non-fiction. I have been updating what I read in my Newsletter throughout the year, so if you want to keep up with my reading, you can join here.
Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The first book that has been amongst my top reads of the year is Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning; It is the only reread book I have included because it is amongst my all-time favourite books. It has had a huge impact on the way I think and the way I go about my life. I have been reading the book for the whole year, rereading a couple of passages at a time after rereading it in February. Every time I pick it up, I learn something new. It is short, to the point, and offers an insight into the mind of the concentration camp prisoner, which can be extrapolated to mundane life. One of my favourite passages is about impermanence and struggle:
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”.
Whenever anyone asks for a book recommendation, I always give this because of the impact it can have and because of how easy it is to read. Pick it up if you haven’t already.
The Code Breaker By Walter Isaacson
During the Summer, I read Walter Isaacson’s latest book, The Code Breaker, about Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and the race to develop gene editing techniques. The book is comprehensive and explains the concepts thoroughly. The biographical aspect makes the book read like a story and helps it be engaging, like every one of Isaacson’s books. The ideas in this book are at the forefront of gene editing and explain the possibilities this field has, even more so after the pandemic has turbocharged research.
The Covid-19 pandemic will be to gene editing what World War II was to engineering; the state of things ups the stakes, increases funding, and results in huge advancements in the field over the coming years. The book also makes an interesting comparison between this wave of innovation and the computer revolution in the 1970s, the main difference being that, because of regulation, the main propulsor of the computer revolution, which was hobbyists and amateurs, is nowhere to be seen in the genetic revolution.
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
I read Freakonomics in September. This is a great introduction to the applications of economics. Using anecdotes, the book explores and explains different abnormalities using economics. The writers apply the economic lens to pop culture and explore the reasons behind uncovering cheaters in examinations and sports. They also explore information networks by examining real estate sellers and organised gangs. My favourite chapter is titled “The economics of drug dealing”, which explores how the crack cocaine industry worked in 1980s Chicago at the street level. The writers compare the industry to a franchise model business like McDonald’s. Each chapter is independent and explains a different aspect of economics.
The main idea behind the book is that things are not always as they seem.
South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
I loved reading this short novel set in Tokyo, where the main character is a single child, and it had interesting takes on being a single child like myself. The book is short and fast paced; I read it one weekend this summer while I had my leg in a cast. Without giving too much away, it is the story of a guy in post-war Japan who owns a bar who reencounters a childhood love 30 years later.
Dune by Frank Herbert
Finally, I read Frank Herbert’s Dune, which had been on my to-read list for a couple of years, and I wanted to read it before watching the movie, which always damages the reading experience for me.
The first third of the book is a bit slow-paced as Herbert builds the world, and it needs a 10-page glossary to explain all the intricacies of the Dune universe. However, after this, the pace picks up and the book becomes engaging, and having the backstory makes the characters more human and their motives clear. Another point for the slow start is that this is not a standalone book but a part of a large universe that expands over 10 books; the world-building length of the first book is put into context. The movie is also very good with beautiful dessert shots, and like the book, it starts slow but builds up for a sequel. I will be reading the second book in the series soon.
Honorable Mentions
Antifragile by Nassim Taleb
Long Walk by Stephen King
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela