The Books I Read in 2022

I take reading rather seriously, and try to make it a non-negotiable part of every day, no different than eating, sleeping and working out. I still don't get to read as much as I would like, or think I should, but I completed more than my usual annual average number of books in 2022. Still, I am nowhere near attaining my membership in the "book a week" club.

Anyway, here are the books I read in 2022, listed in the order I read them, with some exceptions where I sequenced books consecutively if they were related in some way, such as being of a similar subject/theme, and/or because one book prompted me to read another.

1 Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life - Anne Lamott

Yes, I am an aspiring writer, although not necessarily a fiction writer, which is the focus here. But I am also interested in the writing process for its own sake, for what it can teach us about creativity and observing the world around us. There are plenty of insights here that can be applied to business, and - true to its title - to life.

2 Love, Alice: My Life as a Honeymooner - Audrey Meadows

A fun look at one of my favorite classic comedy shows. Not a ton of surprises or deep insights in this memoir by the actress who played Ralph Kramden's wife Alice, but enjoyable nonetheless, not the least for its glimpses into 1950s nostalgia and old-school values.

3 How to Take Smart Notes - Sonke Ahrens

A wonky book for geeks like me that are into "Personal Knowledge Management" (PKF) - a structured process for capturing and curating things of interest from books, online sources, movies, conversations, etc., to use for later reference, inspiration or writing. The methodology in this book is what's known as Zettelkasten. This, and other PKF methodologies, are essentially more highly-engineered versions of the commonplace book, used by thinkers in the 17th and 18th centuries.

4 Building a Second Brain - Tiago Forte

Another book on PKF. While Forte's "CODE" methodology (Capture - Organize - Distill - Express) is useful for writing and creative work, I found his "PARA" scheme for the Organize phase (Projects - Areas - Resources - Archive) equally useful for managing files and organizing work-related information that is directly relevant to my job and company. I would coin my own term for this - Professional Knowledge Management, to distinguish it from Personal Knowledge Management - if not for the unfortunate sameness of the resulting acronyms.

5 The Righteous Mind - Jonathan Haidt

A thought-provoking look at the moral frameworks of both sides of the political spectrum, seeking to explain, as its subtitle aptly puts it, "Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion." It helps one understand - and hopefully respect - how and why people on "the other side" (whatever that means for you) have the perspective they do.

6 Why Learn History (When It's Already on Your Phone) - Sam Wineburg

A look at some of the ways the education system has tried to teach history, and why so many programs and methods have failed (some wasting a lot of taxpayer money in the process). Although I am not an educator, I was drawn to this book by a general interest in how we learn, and the value of memorization and retention that seems to have been discarded in an age where the world's library of information is in your hand at all times. The book includes insights on critical thinking, avoiding biases, and discerning fact from fiction.

7 Grant - Ron Chernow

I was inspired to learn more about Grant after my December 2021 reading of Team of Rivals, a well-known Lincoln biography by Doris Kearns-Goodwin. I enjoy reading biographies such as this more for their lessons on leadership and resilience than for the historical arc of the specific subject, but this book was well worth it on both counts. There is much inspiration to be drawn from the many failures and extreme stresses Grant endured on his journey, and, having thought of him mainly as a Civil War general (especially after reading Team of Rivals), I learned much I didn't know (or remember) about Grant as president after the war.

8 One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories - B.J. Novak

A book of humorous short stories by the actor, director and screenwriter probably best known for The Office sitcom, where he was a writer, executive producer, and member of the cast. As in any book of short stories, some were better (in this case, funnier and/or more insightful) than others, while some were downright weird (not necessarily mutually exclusive with being funny and insightful!)

9 The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking - Edward B. Burger & Michael Starbird

A short read on actionable ways to improve your thinking and problem-solving. Takes the perspective that better thinking can be achieved with a specific approach, independent of one's innate level of intelligence.

10 Company of One - Paul Jarvis

Popular among the creative, solopreneur set, this book, subtitled "Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business," describes how to work for yourself and design the life you want, while keeping work and life in balance by not pursuing growth for its own sake. The author, having moved to a small island off Vancouver, also directs his lifestyle-design advice to people working for larger companies. It is somewhat interesting from that perspective, but I did not find much that was revelatory in his business advice. I thought this book would be more about staying "small" when leading a larger business - i.e., purposefully choosing to be smaller and more profitable, rather than taking on unprofitable business and allowing complexity and bureaucracy to take hold - but it is geared mainly toward individuals, particularly those pursuing remote work arrangements as employees, contractors or entrepreneurs. As such, it is likely to remain a popular book in the post-pandemic era.

11 Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow

The inspiration for Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical, although in this case it was the musical that inspired me to read the book. Hamilton, having never become president, and dying relatively young after being shot in a duel by Aaron Burr, does not seem to have quite the same high profile as other Founders, but the sheer volume of his accomplishments is nothing short of incredible: stabilizing U.S. finances and credit rating after the Revolutionary War; establishing what would become the Federal Reserve, the tax system, the Customs Service, and the Coast Guard; and amazingly prolific writing, responsible for most of the Federalist Papers that helped persuade our new nation to ratify the Constitution.

12 Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power - John Meacham

I am trying to work through biographies of each of the Founders. I read Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow in 2020, John Adams by David McCullough in 2021, and in 2022 Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (listed above) and this book on Jefferson. Jefferson is interesting not just as a politician but as a polymath; much like Hamilton (whom he loathed), he was both a philosopher and a doer. Like any of the books covering the post-Revolutionary War period, one is struck by the level of political discord: This was no honeymoon period, and it gives perspective and comfort to those troubled by today's political disharmony. It is also interesting that today's two political parties bear little resemblance to the Federalist party of Washington, Adams and Hamilton, nor to Jefferson's Republicans.

13 Miracle at Philadelphia - Catherine Drinker Bowen

The story of our Constitution. Most of the book is about the Constitutional Convention, with a portion on the subsequent state ratification conventions. Bowen brings the Constitutional debates to life and makes you feel like you are there. I enjoyed her writing style so much that I also purchased another of her books for my queue, John Adams and the American Revolution.

14 How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci - Michael J. Gelb

From a study of one of the greatest geniuses of history, the author distills seven principles for enhancing creativity and intellect, living a deeper life, and becoming a more well-rounded "renaissance man" or "renaissance woman."?I found most of the "exercises" suggested in each chapter to be somewhat cheesy and not for me, although I did find value in following Gelb's prescription to write down "100 questions." Even without doing the exercises, there is inspiration to be found in the book.

15 Discover Your Genius - Michael J. Gelb

A follow-up to How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci summarized above, here Gelb goes beyond da Vinci to draw insights on creativity and intellect from ten other geniuses - the subtitle is How to Think Like History's Ten Most Revolutionary Minds. Each chapter is about one of the ten - examples include Plato, Columbus, Copernicus, Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Einstein and Gandhi - and is structured similarly to Gelb's da Vinci book, with narrative followed by exercises.

16 The Wave - Susan Casey

Written for a general audience and not overladen with technical information, Casey explores the phenomenon of large waves, and the people that chase them, ride them, and study them. She ties her narrative together from the perspective of big-wave surfers like Laird Hamilton, interspersed with chapters on rogue waves, tsunamis, etc. I enjoyed this book on several levels - I am a weather geek, fascinated by storms and large waves, and have always been interested in the world of surfers (although I am not one myself). Most importantly, as a storm chaser, I enjoyed reading about the similar motivations of big-wave surfers. If I were to write a book about storm chasing, which I intend to do one day, the structure of this book could provide a potential model.

17 Headwaters - Dylan Tomine

This is essentially the memoir of an obsessive fly-fisherman, and consists of individual essays (many, or perhaps all, previously published in various magazines) in which Tomine shares life lessons found exploring the world's waterways in search of steelhead. I am not a fly-fisherman, but after reading a Wall Street Journal review of the book, I was inspired to read it as another potential model for the book I would like to write about my own storm chasing obsession.

18 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

In my summation of Headwaters above, I mentioned a Wall Street Journal review that inspired me to read Headwaters as a potential model for the book I want to write about storm chasing. That WSJ review likened the attempt to find meaning in fly-fishing as analogous to finding meaning in motorcycle maintenance, an obvious reference to this classic book by Pirsig. I knew of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but had never read it. I thought that this, too, might provide a potential model for a book on storm chasing - not only because the WSJ had associated it with Headwaters, but also because my storm chasing partner had independently suggested the same thing. ZAMM is a deeper book than I expected, and a familiarity with ancient Greek philosophy is practically a pre-requisite for getting the most out of the book. Written in the 1970s, some of the language is outdated, but the themes resonate equally today.

19 The Antidote - Oliver Burkeman

A unique take on the pursuit of happiness. Burkeman takes the reader on a tour of various philosophical schools of thought, such as Stoicism, and how they view "happiness," showing that "positive thinking" is not necessarily all it's cracked up to be, while embracing the negative - including our own mortality - can be the path to contentment.

20 The Gathering Wind - Gregory A. Freeman

A non-fiction account of the loss of the tall ship Bounty during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. This is the second book I have read on the incident, the other being Rescue of the Bounty by Michael J. Tougias and Douglas A. Campbell, which I read five years ago. I have always enjoyed true tales of marine disaster and heroic rescues, and always find larger lessons and themes in them that apply to business and life.

21 Lost In Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life - Zena Hitz

A philosophical look at what it means to pursue an "intellectual life," the value of learning and thinking for its own sake, and how / whether one can pursue an intellectual life while still fully engaged in the work-a-day world.

22 The Razor's Edge - W. Somerset Maugham

Almost all of my reading is non-fiction. I picked up this novel after reading Lost In Thought, which highlighted The Razor's Edge for its depiction of a young man that returns from World War I and rejects good job opportunities in favor of traveling the world in the pursuit of an intellectual life. The veteran is one of several colorful characters, each searching for something. This novel was written in the 1940s, so some of the language is dated, but it's a classic.

23 Martin Eden - Jack London

The only other novel I read in 2022, and choosing this one, like The Razor's Edge, was inspired by its mention in Lost In Thought. The eponymous protagonist is a young uneducated sailor that falls in love upon first sight of a young lady of the bourgeoisie. Eden, said to be an autobiographical sketch of Jack London, sets off on a mission of self-education, ultimately deciding to become a writer. Eden's resilience in the face of failures in his attempts at writing, and in his class struggles with his love interest's bourgeoisie social circle, are thoroughly engaging.

24 The Intellectual Life: Its Spirit, Conditions, Methods - AG Sertillanges, O.P.

After Lost in Thought, The Razor's Edge, and Martin Eden (summarized above), The Intellectual Life was the fourth and final book in the mini theme of pursuing an intellectual life. Sertillanges was a French Catholic thinker that followed the philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas. For Sertillanges, the intellectual life is one focused on theology and a search for Truth, but one does not have to be of any particular spiritual persuasion to benefit from his specific recommendations for how to approach reading and learning, in as little as two hours per day for those who also need to work for a living. In fact, many of Sertillanges's ideas inform the more modern and secular concept of "Deep Work" popularized by Cal Newport. The Intellectual Life is translated from its original French, and dates back to 1921, so the combination of translation and period results in language that is somewhat dense and awkward at times.

25 The Management Myth - Matthew Stewart

A cynical, sometimes comical, and mostly truthful takedown of management science and those who ply the trade: management consulting firms, book-writing management gurus, and business schools, from Frederick Winslow Taylor to the current day. The book chapters alternate between Stewart's specific targets, and his own misadventures in a management consulting career. Stewart's philosophy education informs his views, one of which should be quite obvious, yet apparently is not, given we are awash in leadership books and videos: Being a good leader and manager is largely about being a good person.

26 When McKinsey Comes To Town - Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe

A critical look at McKinsey's outsized influence - not only in business, but in government and, by extension, geo-politics. The authors present a number of allegations of McKinsey wrong-doing in varying degrees. In my opinion, the authors' criticism is warranted in some of the cases presented, but not as much in others. Regardless of whether the reader agrees with all of the individual cases, it is hard to deny that McKinsey seems to have made some questionable client acceptance decisions (particularly with governmental entities that are corrupt and/or hostile to the U.S.). Somewhat surprising is the extent of the incestuous relationships between McKinsey and the governmental entities it consults for; consultants move from one to the other, in both directions, and parlay those connections into future work. Overall, an interesting book that brings an enigmatic firm out of the shadows in an unflattering - but, in my opinion, not always fair - manner.

27 Work the System - Sam Carpenter

Many non-fiction books can be distilled down to one central idea that is reiterated throughout its pages. Work the System is an extreme example. Its one simple idea: Work on the business, not in it, by becoming a process thinker and being fanatical about documentation - of strategic objectives, operating principles, and standard operating procedures. There are a few good ideas here, but the book is way too repetitive, and the author spends a lot of time talking about the disarray of his own business and life, which led to his epiphany. As an aside, for Carpenter a "system," is really a "process," and he uses the terms interchangeably. But "systems thinking" and "process thinking" are not necessarily the same things.

28 Do Nothing - Celeste Headlee

Headlee advocates not for laziness, but for a rejection of the cultural values of busy-ness for its own sake and as outward signaling of one's importance. After offering some historical perspective on how work has come to dominate our lives, she cautions against saying "yes" to every new opportunity that arises, resisting distractions, and making time for family, friends and hobbies. A proper approach to work-life balance, according to Headlee, does not have to mean sacrificing career progression or income.

29 Work Clean: What Great Chefs Can Teach Us About Organization - Dan Charnas

The subtitle is "What Great Chefs Can Teach Us About Organization," which caught my eye as a personal productivity geek. This book draws ideas for knowledge workers from a surprising domain - the chef's practice of mise-en-place (pronounced meez-on-PLAHHS) for running an efficient restaurant kitchen. Charnas discusses the three central values of mise-en-place - Preparation, Process, and Presence - and ten behaviors/practices, along with specific advice for how to translate and apply these practices to knowledge work. (Note - the paperback version of this book is published under the name Everything in Its Place: The Power of Mise-En-Place to Organize Your Life, Work, and Mind.)

30 Indistractable - Nir Eyal

I have always been interested in the theme of digital distraction, and how we can work differently - deeper and with focus, concentrating instead of context-switching and multi-tasking. This book is not limited specifically to digital distraction, but instead focuses more generally on how to combat external and internal distractions, and regain focus and mindfulness.

31 Churchill on Leadership - Steven F. Hayward

I'm a Churchill buff and enjoyed this short book that distills several specific leadership skills that are consistent with the book's subtitle, "Executive Success in the Face of Adversity" - for example, learning from mistakes, organization design, self-mastery, communication, etc. For each skill, the author provides historical examples from Churchill's long political career and high-level roles in both World Wars.

32 Making Numbers Count - Chip Heath and Karla Starr

The subtitle of this book is "The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers." A fun and insightful look at how to translate numerical information so that it can be understood and will resonate more meaningfully, especially with an audience that may not be mathematically inclined. This book will be helpful to anyone that has to present financial or other quantitative information. The authors' ideas are organized around key concepts, with specific examples. One illustration: "97.5% of the world's water is salinated. Of the 2.5% that's fresh, over 99% is trapped in glaciers and snowfields. In total, only 0.025% of the water on the globe is actually drinkable by humans and animals" becomes much more user-friendly when communicated this way: "Imagine a gallon jug filled with water with three ice cubes next to it. All of the water in the jug is salt water. The ice cubes are the only fresh water, and humans can only drink the drops that are melting off of each."