12 Books I'm reading in 2022!

Dear Network

I promised you my reading list in "My year in review 2021" and here it is. I choose a mix of technical literature, Non-fiction and world literature all of which I very much enjoy reading. Small disclaimer upfront, I'll probably listen to most of the books as audio books. So let's get right into the list and I'll share some thoughts along the way!

1. Plastics in Medical Devices - Vinny R. Sastri

What better book to start the list than one in my field of expertise. I once heard that reading 10 books in your specific work field will likely make you an top expert in said field. My whole career has been focused on plastics with the high requirements and where are the requirements higher than in medical device? I am very excited to read this book and I hope that I can learn a thing or two. If it is only gives me a perspective I haven't though of, it will have been worth reading it.

2. The Physicists (Die Physiker) - Friedrich Dürrenmatt

I loved that piece, when I first read it for my high school finals (Gymnasium). I wanna revisit the wit and humor of the piece that fascinated my 17-year old me to read it in one sitting. By the way something unheard of by then.

3. The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) - Philippa Perry

Yeah, the title says it all. As a new dad I think some literature research for this new job I took over 7 months ago could be beneficial. Until now the task was pretty straight forward. Keep the baby alive. Quite the hard job to do but it's not that cognitively challenging. Although I admit that cognitive performance is not at it's best after two months of bad sleep. But the part that starts now, parenting, is quite the cognitive challenge. How does one parent exactly? I'd say many do it right by instinct. I'd also oppose that many do it terribly wrong by instinct. So lets make sure that I do it right by intention!

4. and 5. Faust I and II - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Not without reason Goethe is considered the most influential figures of German literature. However, I would consider him a bit on the depressive side. I think he made the list because of three reasons: The theme, the fact that I haven't read it before and that I needed something to balance the humorous and satirical element of the physicists.

6. The Demons / The Posessed / The Devils - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Speaking of the depressive. You can say many things about Dostoevsky's novels but not that they are light. They get right to the gist of existence. Murder, suicide, poverty, social issues and moral dilemmas. I have already read "Crime and Punishment", "Notes from Underground", "The Brothers Karamazov" and "The Gambler" from Dostoevsky of which by far "Notes from Underground" was my favorite. I have already started the novel and it's as always brilliant. If you can keep track of the multiple complex characters their difficult to pronounce russian names and their respective nicknames, the novel is a superb drama dealing with the ideological issues surrounding socialism. Note that he wrote this in 1872, a total of 45 years before the October revolution and therefore a half century before the murderous spirit of socialism was exposed for what it is. Talking about prophetic writing capabilities! If I can manage it I'll read "The Idiot" too, but we'll see what 2022 brings or if something else makes the top of the list in the meanwhile.

7. A Practical Guide to Plastics Sustainability - Michel Biron

Well, sustainability and Covid. That was basically 80% of the news the last two years. As a material scientist and earth citizen, who am I to disregard this topic? I am always into improvement and optimization. So if there are smart ways to improve the sustainability of the material recommendations and decisions I make I am always open to learn. I'll certainly share my conclusions from this one with you!

8. and 9. The Bitcoin Standard The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking and The Fiat Standard: The Debt Slavery Alternative to Human Civilization - Dr Saifedean Ammous

Inflation and debt are at an all time high and our society is incentivised?to over consume. Saving for the future is punished and the time preference if shifted to the present causing all sorts of havoc for society and the environment. Have we not learned anything from the financial crisis 2008 / 2009? I have been fascinated by Bitcoin since 2013 when I first heard of it. I mainly was interested in the technical aspects and the feasibility of it. But as so many I didn't take it seriously. I though it was a fad and would go away. Boy I was wrong! Something I will not repeat. And for those of you interested, no I didn't buy Bitcoin in 2013. But I wish I had. Speaking of investments, the best investment in my opinion is still knowledge. So this year I'll go down the rabbit whole of Bitcoin and I'll probably share my insights with you.

10. Untimely Meditations (Unzeitgem?sse Betrachtungen) - Friedrich Nietzsche

Because my reading list totally is not ambitious, let's throw in another heavy weight. The one and only greatest of all time for quote worthy material: Nietzsche. I wanna start somewhere and I was told, by a stranger on the internet, that his untimely meditations were a good place to start. If I can manage I'll continue with number 11 of my list.

11. Human, all too Human (Menschliches, Allzumenschliches) - Friedrich Nietzsche

My goal is to get too Nietzsches most important works and the final goal is to read "Beyond Good and Evil", but it's a long way to there. If you are wondering, since my native language is German I'll read Nietzsche in the original, something I can only wish for with Dostoevsky!

12. Road to Wigan Pier - Georg Orwell

Let's end with a banger shall we? Orwell is in my opinion the absolute greatest literary figure period. Animal farm was one of the first movies we had on VHS tape and I watched it like a thousand times. The story made a lasting impression on me. Orwell had a great sympathy for the working poor, but that made his critique of socialism all the more devastating. The gist of one sentence in the book can be summarized into "Socialists don't care about the poor, they just hate the rich". In a time were #EatTheRich is trending on twitter this work might be more relevant than you think. Let's explore what Orwell has to say about this!