My favorite blog post of the year! This is the time of the year when I look back at the books I have read and pick my top 10 (because the top 5 are not enough).
Last year I wrote about 2022 books on my LN profile. If you are interested, here’s a link to it.
My goal this year was to read 45 books, and I am happy I have managed to do so. It wasn’t easy for me to select those I liked the most, as I liked them all, but eventually, I narrowed down the choice.
Here are my top 10 books I read this year.
1) Greenlights
An absolutely fabulous and inspiring memoir by Matthew McConaughey.
He tells the story of love, happiness, sadness, risks, failures, successes, adventures, goals and expectations, focus, and attentiveness.
McConaughey frames these are red lights, yellow lights, or green lights, depending on whether they enable us to move forward in life or keep us in place.
It’s a very well-written story of life and the art of living, and I enjoyed every page.
As Matthew himself says: “It’s a love letter. To life.”
2) Rising to Power - the Journey of Exceptional Executives
This book resonated with me because it explains many challenges I faced in my new position when I changed jobs in 2021.
For many of these challenges, I had not been prepared. In hindsight, it all makes sense now, but I struggled a lot at the time.
Authors elaborate on how many who become executives lack the proper understanding of what is expected of them in their new role. As such, they enter these new positions unprepared, and the failure rate among newly appointed executives is astonishingly high.
I would recommend this to anyone aspiring to advance their corporate career. It will allow you to skip a few pitfalls and be better prepared for what lies ahead. Or should I say “above”?
3) Can't Hurt Me
Did you know that there are races in which people run 200 kilometers for 24h straight?
Or those that include riding a bike over the whole of North America?
Or that there is a competition in which an individual is attempting to do 4200 pull-ups throughout 24h?
I have read many self-improvement books, but this one was very different. It tells the story of David Goggins, a misfit who managed to become a Navy Seal when all odds were stacked against him. It’s the story of how to conquer our own most dangerous enemy – our mind.
While reading this book, I couldn’t help but remember dreading when I was supposed to run for 5 min more in the gym. Or when I was lazy to go to a gym in the first place.
This book tells the story of how we can all do much more than we think we can.
Simple, yet so inspiring.
4) The Body Keeps the Score
An excellent and very detailed book about the neuroscience of trauma.
We usually relate trauma with psychological issues, but this book explains that it also leaves a biological imprint, which overrides our good behaviors and causes us to harm ourselves and others.
The author explains how trauma changes our brains permanently and that it quite literally distorts our perception of reality – “it literally rearranges the brain’s wiring.”
These areas can be adequately healed and reactivated by several techniques explained in the book.
I love neuroscience, and this book fascinated me. My view on trauma is now wholly different from what it used to be before reading this book.
5) First, break all the rules
This one is probably the best book about management I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot of them. I especially love that it’s based on research Gallup has performed over the years.
It challenges many traditional managerial practices and juxtaposes them with the latest research. Not to spoil anything, but the book’s central premise, and the study showed, is that the essential thing in the workplace is your direct manager, which influences whether you will stay in your job more than all other factors. Book explains in great detail why and how.
I had many insights after reading it, and I’ve realized that a few of the things I was sure I was doing right in my job as a manager could have been done better.
This is the right book for you if you wish to improve your managerial skills and help your organization grow and scale.
6) No Bullsh!t Leadership
If the previous book is the best management book I’ve read, then this one is probably the best one about leadership. And I’ve read many books on leadership topics, as well.
Martin Moore uniquely touches on 7 core aspects of leadership, and all of them resonated heavily with me and my current job role:
- Delivering value
- Handle conflict
- Build resilience
- Work at level
- Master ambiguity
- Make great decisions
- Drive accountability
The author provides many real-world examples from his career, which makes this book all the better. This is an invaluable guide to leadership for everyone who wants to know how to do it exceptionally well.
I have more than 250 highlights from this book and return to them almost daily.
7) Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Why do good guys often finish last?
Why do valedictorians rarely become millionaires?
What is more important for career success: whom do you know or what do you know?
Is it better to follow the rules or not?
This book is a hidden gem! I stumbled upon it – actually, some AI machine recommended it to me somewhere, but never mind that, I am still grateful for it!
It transformed how I look at what it takes to succeed in various situations in our private lives and careers.
8) Atlast of the Heart
A comprehensive guide on human emotions. I like how Brene Brown emphasizes that the language we use to describe our feelings is, in fact, critical.
The book contains details on 87 different emotions! Most of us would be able to name less than 10, and in most cases, we describe our feelings with less than 5 emotions.
Using the wrong language to describe our feelings leads us to process our emotions improperly, making us more reactive and sensitive.
This is the book to go for anyone who aspires to be emotionally literate, which is essential not only in private lives but in leadership positions in our jobs as well.
The only thing I am envious of is that the book is not in my mother tongue, so the whole thing about the language we use is obsolete, but the message is still powerful, and the lessons can be applied to any language.
9) Sylvanas
I have been a massive fan of the Warcraft universe for slightly more than 20 years now, and I enjoy everything related to it – books, games, fan art, conferences, and movies.
In this book, Christie Golden portrayed one of the most controversial characters in Warcraft’s world from all angles.
Sylvanas is an honorable ranger-general and fights for the good in this world. A terrible war, however, causes her to be transformed into a ghost full of hatred and resentment toward everything and everyone. Eventually, it leads her to a very dark path.
The book sheds additional light on the motivation and actions committed by Sylvanas and helps the reader find understanding and compassion for her.
10) Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
Ever since I saw the announcement of this book in the Economist, I eagerly awaited it to be released. And the wait was worth it!
In this remarkable book, Chris Miller first provides the semiconductor industry history, which is quite interesting. Being an electrical engineer, I knew most of it, but I still learned many new things.
Despite knowing the history of semiconductors, I admit I was not aware that they influence geopolitics that much. Cold War, for instance, was won by the US because it had a superior semiconductor industry compared to Soviet Russia.
Fast forward, the book catches on to the ongoing trade war between China and the US. I was not aware of what was at stake.
Anyone who wants to understand geopolitics nowadays properly should first understand the essential role semiconductors play, and this book explains it impeccably.
Bonus: Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Ever since I read “Jobs” by Walter Isaacson, he became my favorite biography writer.
In this book, Isaacson portrays one of the most curious minds that helped set the foundation for today’s American state.
Franklin was a writer, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, public speaker, and scientist. He also was one of the US founding fathers, having drafted and signed the famous US Declaration of Independence.
I love reading biographies, and Franklin’s helped me better understand how this peculiar man left his imprint on the world we live in today.
That’s it for this year! I look forward to reading new books in 2023 and sharing my favorites with you.
