It is time to share the 2023 Reading list...

Once again, I am able to finish 33 books in a year. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body and is such an ordinary and essential activity that we think little about the actual physical task of reading words. Reading can bring back the lost power of focus and concentration. If you feel that using modern technology lowers our productivity, then develop the healthy habit of reading every day. What did Mark Twain say about reading? The man who does not?read?good books has no advantage over the man who cannot?read?them.

I hope you can find a pick from the list. Please share your recommendation for my 2024 list.

My top 5 recommendations:

Born in Blackness by Howard W French

This is not a comfortable or comforting read, but a masterpiece. The way we think about history is entirely wrong, says Howard W French at the start of this magnificent, and absorbing book. The problem is not just that the people and cultures of Africa have been ignored and left to one side; rather, they have been so miscast that the story of the global past has become part of a profound “mistelling”. Africa has a rich and complex history but there is widespread ignorance of this heritage.

WASTELAND BY OLIVER FRANKLIN-WALLIS

In?Wasteland, journalist Oliver Franklin-Wallis takes us on a shocking journey inside the waste industry—the secretive multi-billion dollar world that underpins the modern economy, quietly profiting from what we leave behind. For decades, wealthy countries exported their waste to poorer countries, and although the practice has diminished, there is a painful legacy. Writing about his trips to India and Ghana, he shows us that they have waste problems of their own, many so massive they might be impossible to overcome.?Solution? - Avoid consumerism and buy less.

The Story of the Human Body by Daniel Lieberman

A captivating account of how the human body evolved over millions of years and of how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and the modern world is fueling the paradox of greater longevity but more chronic disease. Lieberman illuminates how these ongoing changes have brought many benefits, but also have created novel conditions to which our bodies are not entirely adapted, resulting in a growing incidence of obesity and new but avoidable diseases, including type-2 diabetes.

China in Ten Words by Yu Hua

I have read several books on China still find this one a captivating read. Yu Hua is a Chinese author, widely considered the foremost writer of avant-garde fiction and one of the greatest living authors in China. Framed by ten phrases common in the Chinese —“people,” “leader,” “reading,” “writing,” “Lu Xun”, “disparity,” “revolution,” “grassroots,” “copycat,” and “bamboozle”— China in Ten Words reveals as never before the world’s most populous yet oft-misunderstood nation.?

No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention?by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer

Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings reveals the unorthodox culture behind the success of Netflix. Humans are much more comfortable when going along with the herd. In many areas of life, this is not bad. But it may push us to go along with or even actively support an idea that our instinct or experience tells us is crazy.?In most of the places, management wants to create processes. Processes provide management with a sense of control, but they slow everything down. No Rules Rules is the fascinating story of one of the world's most innovative and successful companies.