The Best of 2022

Welcome to my eighth annual best-of-the-year list. You can check out the prior lists here for other great content: 2021,?2020,?2019,?2018,?2017,?2016,?2015.

Like last year, I'm keeping this list simple: the best writing, best "not writing" (movies, TV, podcasts, etc), and best products of the year.

This year I became a book reader. Late in 2021, I finally read James Clear 's Atomic Habits. In turn, I created a new habit for myself: Read a book for 10 minutes a day, every day. The results were pretty profound. Rather than reading 1-2 books (my normal), I've read eight so far this year (and will probably finish 1-2 more by December 31). I started the year off strong with ~53 days of consecutive reading and then faltered for about three months. I read a book during my honeymoon and then jumped back into daily reading toward the end of the summer. I'm currently on a 101-day streak of reading for at least 10 minutes a day—all tracked through the Apple Books app. Accountability is key.

Long story short: If you want to read more, just carve out the time to read for 10 minutes and commit. Everyone has 10 minutes. Oftentimes you'll surprise yourself and read significantly more. You'll be deeply surprised at your results this time next year. I know I am.

And with that, let's jump into my favorites for the year. Hopefully, they keep you entertained while enjoying a train ride, flight, car ride, or quiet evening at home during the holiday season.

For the "not writing" section especially, this year is one of the strongest in recent memory. We're in a golden age for television.

In no particular order...

Best Writing

• Project Hail Mary — Andy Weir, the author who wrote The Martian, spins an amazing story of a man who wakes up alone in a room. Little does he know he's in outer space and on a mission to save the planet. Read it before the movie starring Ryan Gosling hits theaters.
• Burn Rate — Another amazing book from another Andy. Andy Dunn , the founder of Bonobos, shares a candid account of building a B2C retail brand while also coming to terms with and dealing with his bipolar disorder diagnosis.
• ‘The Rings of Power’ Showrunners Break Silence on Backlash, Sauron and Season 2 — A behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to be a showrunner for the biggest TV show ever made.
• Monday Musings — Every Monday evening, I can count on David Perrell to deliver something thoughtful to my email inbox. I'm sharing two of his Monday Musings that I found especially thought-provoking. Here's one on cultivating good taste. And here's another where he shares 28 value pieces of advice for his 28th birthday.
• CEO Patrick Collison's email to Stripe employees — November has been a tough month of layoffs for so many of my peers in tech. This note from Patrick Collison is a masterclass on how to share news of a reduction in force with your team with poise and compassion.
• What No One Understands About Your Job — Derek Thompson is my favorite writer I discovered this year (Go 'Cats). In this post in his must-subscribe newsletter, "Work in Progress," he asked his readers to share what others don't understand about their job. The results are eye-opening.
• Your Career Is Just One-Eighth of Your Life — He's my favorite writer of the year for a reason. Derek Thompson shares sage career advice that everyone should read (and I wish I wrote).
• Exhalation — A book of short stories by Ted Chiang at the intersection of technology and the future. My favorite is about a device that allows people to create and communicate with an alternate reality.
• The Epic Family Feud Behind an Iconic American Weight-Loss Camp for Kids — A bonkers and devastating story of what it was like to go to (and run) Camp Shane, a camp for overweight children in the Catskills.
• The Culture Code — A wonderful book by Daniel Coyle that digs deep into how wonderful team cultures are built and maintained. Spoiler: it's about building safety within a group, being vulnerable within it, and establishing a strong purpose for everyone involved. Thank you Julian Clarke ?? Marketing at Wisq for the recommendation.
• Platformer's Reporting on Twitter — The coverage from Casey Newton and Zoe Schiffer about all things Twitter has been nothing short of remarkable. While I pay for a subscription (and encourage you to do so, too, if you're reading this), I hope they both don't mind me sharing the links to two incredibly well-reported articles from November (Twitter, cut in half & Inside the Twitter meltdown). Be sure to subscribe for more.

Best Not Writing

• Better Call Saul, S6 (AMC) — With its final season in the books, Better Call Saul will go down as a top-five TV show for me. Absolute perfection from Vince Gilligan, Bob Odenkirk, and Rhea Seehorn.
• Fred Again..'s Boiler Room Live Set (YouTube) — I listened to this Boiler Room live set on a whim when it came out in July. I had never heard of Fred Again.. and had randomly seen it trending on Twitter. Fast-forward four months, I've listened to this live set 30+ times, easily, and I'm in the top 0.5% of listeners on Spotify. And, I deeply admire his production style and creative process. This is the absolute best live set I've ever heard with a much-needed new sound for EDM. For more about Fred himself and his process, check out this interview with Zane Lowe.
• Euphoria (HBO Max) — I'm definitely late to the game here. That said, I can't recommend this show enough. The acting is some of the best I've seen. Zendaya crushes it. With a few more seasons like the ones already under its belt, it will rival any show for the best ever.
• Severance (Apple TV+)— This new series aces the dystopian future plot while corralling fantastic performances from top names such as Adam Scott, John Turturro, and Patricia Arquette. I'm anxiously awaiting season two.
• Blackbird (Apple TV+) — Apple is starting to find its footing with some fantastic content. This limited series about nabbing a serial killer, while gut-wrenching, was very well done. Taron Egerton has a bright future ahead of him.
• Stranger Things, S4: Vol. 1 & 2 (Netflix) — The Duffer brothers created a cultural moment over the summer as our favorite kids from Hawkins took on Vecna. Plus we all got an amazing cultural moment from it.
• The Northman (watch on Amazon Prime Video) — Two Letterboxd reviews say it best: 1) "feel like I might not have thrived in Viking times" and 2) "I thought I was a grown man until I saw Alexander Skarsg?rd as a Viking and realized I am a mere child."
• The Bear (Hulu) — A chef from the best restaurant in the world goes to work at a family-run hole-in-the-wall joint in Chicago. It's a quick series that you could finish in a weekend.
• The Patient (Hulu) — A masterclass of acting from Steve Carrell and Domhnall Gleason. It's another show that you could easily finish in a weekend.
• The Inside Outtakes (YouTube or Netflix) — Bo Burnham is a national treasure. That is all.
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Amazon Prime) — Damn, it feels great to be back in Middle Earth. LOTR ROP makes this list rather than Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon for me. I deeply enjoyed the story, the cinematography, and the action sequences. With the final twists of the finale, season two has a high bar to meet. The show inspired me to finally read the books, and I'm about halfway done with The Fellowship of the Ring.
• The White Lotus, S2 (HBO Max)— This show somehow makes you crave watching the adventures of unlikable and unscrupulous people. Plus, it has killer title credits music.
• Ozark, S4: Parts 1 & 2 (Netflix) — A strong ending to a show that, while amazing and fun, will end its reign rated lower than Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul in my book. That said, Ruth Langmore will go down as one of the greatest television characters of all time.
• Hustle (Netflix) — Embarrassing fact: I watched this entire movie not realizing that Bo Cruz is played by a real NBA player, Juancho Hernangómez. I'm really enjoying Adam Sandler's next phase of his career.
• Sam Morril: Same Time Tomorrow (Netflix) — It's rare for me to find a new standup comedian who I instantly love. This special is laugh-out-loud funny.
• Top Gun: Maverick (available to rent) — Somehow, 36 years after the original, this sequel simply rocks. Is Tom Cruise the best action movie actor of all time?
• How to build a powerful marketing machine | Emily Kramer (podcast) — A fantastic episode of Lenny's Podcast to dive deeper into what it takes to build the marketing function at early-stage companies.
• The Batman (available on HBO Max) — Having loved Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, I went into Matt Reeves' movie with a healthy dose of skepticism. This movie reinvented Batman for me. Robert Pattinson put a unique, grittier spin on Bruce Wayne, and Paul Dano's Riddler was deeply disturbing (in a great acting kind of way).

Best Products

• Kyte — This company makes renting a car easy, cheap, and fun. If you live in Manhattan, they will deliver the rental car to your apartment and pick it up too. I've frequently gotten upgraded for no reason. The cars are all generally new (and often have Apple CarPlay). 12/10 for Kyte. Use referral code rossg1 for $50 off your first ride.
• Midjourney AI — It's been a long time since a technology product stopped me in my tracks. That is Midjourney AI. Fun fact—the background for the graphic to this article was made using AI. I'm very excited to see how AI continues to mature and become a creative tool going forward.
• ChatGPT — Blown away by how much you can do with this AI tool. Want a 3-day itinerary to any city in the world? Need help crafting an Excel function? Not in the mood to write that email? ChatGPT has you covered.
• American Express Platinum Card — In the last few years, I've been addicted to ensuring my spending maximizes my points. This card prints points in its first six months. More points = more international business class flights. I recommend following The Points Guy and Zachary Burr Abel to master how to use your credit cards.
• CLEAR – I just activated CLEAR for free through my American Express Platinum Card and my new favorite game to play is how fast can I make it from curbside at the airport to the food on the other side of the TSA line. My personal best is with CLEAR: 6 minutes.
• TikTok — I spend way too much time here, but it's incredible that one product can perfectly blend hilarious dog videos, marketing best practices, DJ live music sets, and human-interest content with such tact.