Reading

Last updated: 6. Jan 2023

How I read:

I buy any book I want and give myself a basically unlimited budget for books. I realized that 'financial freedom' to me means being able to buy and read any book I want. This comes out to buying 1-2 every week. Also see: Ramit's Book-Buying Rule.
I open a lot of books and finish probably 1-2 out of every 10, especially for business and self-help types. Why? I smash through books, allow myself quit bad ones, and align with most of Naval Ravikant's 16 reading tips.
Despite loving the touch and smell of paper books, I read almost exclusively on Kindle for the benefit of being able to automatically capture and review my highlights.

Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds by Stephen Kinzer – Reading in preparation for a trip to Turkey!
Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey – Reading in preparation for a trip to Turkey!
Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World by Jason Hickel – Recommended by George Blackshaw. On a personal level, have been feeling like "growth at all costs" is not sustainable. Wanted to look at it from a societal perspective.
Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin – Recommended by Ryan Holiday.
How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life by Massimo Pigliucci
The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan Housel – Everyone keeps recommending it.

Note: Starting in January 203, I've taken an indefinite break from self-help books. It has been liberating.

The Product Ops Pillars: Connect and organise your team to deliver customer value by Simon Hilton – This is so far the best resource on Product Ops out there. I curated the parts that most resonate with me into an internal Confluence page. It should help align with my manager, the PMs, and our business stakeholders.

Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall by Helema Merriman – Recommended by Ryan Holiday in his January 2023 Reading List. The best book I've read in a long time. So readable and I feel like I finally have a good grasp of the Berlin Wall and what it meant for the people who had to live with it, the Stasi, and so on. Berliners will find it so relatable, reading about places that are still here such as Bernauer Straße, Greifswalder Straße, etc. 6/5
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen – I miss feeling engrossed with a book. Found this in a 'best thrillers' list. Took 25% of the book to get going, but ultimately satisfying. 5/5

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover - A page-turner. More than a love story. 5/5.
Bibi: My Story by Benjamin Netanyahu - Engaging and personal overview of what’s going on in Israel and the Middle East. Now I need to check what propaganda has filled my head 😅. 5/5

Watching 'The Lincoln Lawyer' on Netflix got me on a Michael Connelly kick. It was entertaining while it lasted.

The Reversal by Michael Connelly - The Lincoln Lawyer #3. The Netflix show is based on book #2, so I started with #3. Engrossing! 4/5
The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly - The Lincoln Lawyer #4. 4/5
The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly - The Lincoln Lawyer #5. 4/5
The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly - The Lincoln Lawyer #6. 5/5
The Black Echo by Michael Connelly - Harry Bosch #1. A book about Mickey Haller's (the "Lincoln Lawyer") paternal half-brother. It's good, but he's less interesting for me. 4/5