Another year, another reading list.
In 2022, I was able to keep up my resolution of reading more than a book a week but other than that a lot has changed. Given the pressure at work, I consciously read a lot more fiction (specifically sci-fi and myth) this year, as I wanted something that would help me relax.
I also listened to a lot more audiobooks than in the past as my hectic schedule meant I often doubled up my workout time by listening to fiction in the background. Worked beautifully for me (though it works better on cardio sessions than strength and is not recommended for listening to something that requires a lot of dedicated attention).
That is not to say reading was always light work. In fact, one of the easiest ways for me to enter a state of flow is to pick up a good book! And my resolution for next year is to take more out of the books I do read – so lesser books, more non-fiction and hopefully some interesting blogs and Twitter threads.
Having set the context, let’s dive into my list of ten favourite books from 2022.
1. A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman
My favourite book from a year where I read a lot of exceptional books – and Backman is already one of my favourite authors. A man called Ove is such a powerful paean to love and loss and the things that connect all of us no matter how different we may look on the outside. At many points in the book, it felt like I was delving into things and places from my own past – it’s the kind of book that will give a sense of Deja Vu to almost all who read it. Kind, funny and deeply insightful, this is a book that I am sure I will read more than once. With a movie starring TomHanks on the way, a lot more people will get to live this lovely story.
‘Loving someone is like moving into a house,’ Sonja used to say. ‘At first, you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you, as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake had been made, you weren’t actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. Then over the years, the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of all its perfection, but rather its imperfections. You get to know all the nooks and crannies. How to avoid getting the key caught in the lock when it’s cold outside. Which of the floorboards flex slightly when one steps on them or exactly how to open the wardrobe doors without their creaking. These are the little secrets that make it your home.’
2. Anxious People by Fredrick Backman
A second book by the same author, Anxious People is perhaps one of the best books I’ve read about the kindness of strangers. A cast of characters who are given a life of their own and a situation that should have been scary but is immensely funny. As with his other book, there is an underlying message that makes you think through how you interact with other people and sometimes, despite feeling lonely, how we are all part of the same journey.
The plot is full of twists and turns and the ending will make you feel absurdly nostalgic, happy and wanting to become a better, kinder person. There is hardly a higher praise you can have for a book than the fact that it changed you for the better.
“They say that a person’s personality is the sum of their experiences. But that isn’t true, at least not entirely, because if our past was all that defined us, we’d never be able to put up with ourselves. We need to be allowed to convince ourselves that we’re more than the mistakes we made yesterday. That we are all of our next choices, too, all of our tomorrows.”
Faithful and the Fallen Series by John Gwynne
John Gwynne has been a revelation for me this year. While not as outrightly original at the time of printing, not since LOTR have I seen a mythical world so beautifully crafted with just the right amount of background and details. But what really takes this book to another level is the masterful story arc that makes the characters interact with one another in ways you never imagined when you first meet them. There is a really long list of interesting characters and the technique of each chapter being from the point of view of one of them (even some of the perceptibly negative ones) really brings them alive. At 2500+ pages, the series is a long read (or listen), but well worth the time you invest in it.
“I shall stay and tell my tale, hope that it may serve some purpose, that eyes shall see it and learn, that the future will not repeat the mistakes of the past. That is my prayer, but what use is prayer to a god that has abandoned all things . . .”
4. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
I wish I had the time and opportunity to read more historical texts. However, if more historical texts were like this book, I am sure it would be a lot easier. Written with the factual accuracy and in-depth research of a scholarly text but the prose of a generational myth, this tome covers the making and the unravelling of one of the largest empires in human history, and how it transformed the world. After all, this was an empire that was fighting Crusaders at its one end at the SAME time that it was fighting samurais at the other!
With a much more accurate view than western authors have historically taken, the book covers a portrait of a great leader and his legacy, not just of conquests but a civilisation that moved the world forward.
“In twenty-five years, the Mongol army subjugated more lands and people than the Romans had conquered in four hundred years. Genghis Khan, together with his sons and grandsons, conquered the most densely populated civilizations of the thirteenth century. Whether measured by the total number of people defeated, the sum of the countries annexed, or by the total area occupied, Genghis Khan conquered more than twice as much as any other man in history.”
5. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Amor Towles took the literary world by storm with his novel A Gentleman in Moscow which was on my best book list of last year and will probably be a contender for my book of the decade list. The Lincoln Highway may not be as beautifully written and thought-provoking as its predecessors, but it is also a different type of book. Written in the 1950s USA through the eyes of the four teenage protagonists, it is a coming-of-age tale and a road trip saga rolled into one.
Eventually, though it is also an ode to a bygone era, and I could only wish someone would about stories from the Indian past as wistfully in English (no disrespect to legends like Premchand – this is just the language I am more comfortable in).
“When we’re young, so much time is spent teaching us the importance of keeping our vices in check. Our anger, our envy, our pride. But when I look around, it seems to me that so many of our lives end up being hampered by a virtue instead.”
6. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
The second of three really exciting sci-fi/myth book series I read this year, the three-book series Red Rising is set in a future where humans have colonized Mars but turned their back on a lot of advanced technologies. Humans are divided into coloured clans, all of whom have designated roles, with the Reds mining away deep within Mars’ crust without being aware that a better life is already available on the surface.
Part Hunger Games and part Total Recall, the character arc of Darrow of Lycos as he rises through the ranks of society to turn it from within was fascinating. Don’t look for political nuance or societal commentary. This is very much a hero’s tale but in a grandiose setting and with a central character you can root for.
“You do not follow me because I am the strongest. Pax is. You do not follow me because I am the brightest. Mustang is. You follow me because you do not know where you are going. I do.”
7. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
While most people know Leigh Bardugo thanks to the Shadow & Bone trilogy (now a Netflix series), I think the Six of Crows duology is the best series she has written. The best way to define this series would be a mythical heist complete with a hard target, a team of no-hopers led by a charismatic leader with a shady past and a complex plot where everything falls into place at the end. There are a lot of twists and turn, and maybe the story does drag a little toward the end of the second book, but the characters keep you going and rooting for them.
One of those books where the characters could definitely stand on their own for a longer run (though tbh the crew does make appearances in some later works by Bardugo).
“The easiest way to steal a man’s wallet is to tell him you’re going to steal his watch. You take his attention and direct it where you want it to go.”
8. Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
I consider myself a productivity geek. In the past, I’ve made it a point to read a lot of work on productivity and books like Atomic Habits, Deep Work, and So Good They Can’t Ignore You have a pride of place in my library. Stolen Focus is another great book solving a little different and probably a more pressing problem of our times.
We live in a world where we are so inundated by data that we can’t focus anymore. The human brain has not evolved significantly over the last 40,000 years and it definitely did not evolve to handle this amount of information overload. Result: a society moving increasingly fast but also increasingly shallow as we don’t find the focus to go deep into our work, relationships or life in general.
This book follows two tracks. On the one hand, you will find a lot of useful information about what you can do in your personal life to find it easier to find focus. But it also has a track with revolves around shedding the light on some of the reasons why we are losing focus on society. While most of the information is not new, it is quite well collated across various sources to give you a very clear picture. And a lot of the tips can help you figure out how to lead a more meaningful and deep life.
“A life full of distractions is, at an individual level, diminished. When you are unable to pay sustained attention, you can’t achieve the things you want to achieve. We need to deal with our attention problems before we try to achieve any other sustained goal.”
9. Super Pumped by Mike Isaac
As someone who was one of the early people in through the doors as an employee at Uber India, I’ve seen the company more closely than most. I have a lot of respect for Travis as a founder. But there’s no denying the fact that even from the inside, it sometimes had the feeling of a madhouse run by people drinking Red Bull from the firehose.
Mike Isaac does a brilliant job of uncovering the behind-the-scenes of a story that still served as a cautionary tale for founders and investors alike (and both felt hard done by at the time). The nature of startups and venture capital is unlikely to change – but this book does give an intriguing take on how it works…and how it breaks when the shit hits the fan. It could have been shorter, but then which Uber ride could not?
“You treat us like mushrooms: feed us shit and keep us in the dark – an investor about Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick”
10. The White Darkness: A Journey Across Antarctica by David Grann
This entry is different in the sense that instead of a book I actually read it as a long article published in the New Yorker (call it a novella if you will). We live in a world where a large part of the surface of our planet has already been explored and life, while safer, is also perhaps missing the appeal of adventure.
There are some though, who still manage to find journeys that showcase the extent of the human spirit at a time when it is constantly in question. The White Darkness centres on the expedition of British explorer and army officer Henry Worsley who travelled to the gravesite of Ernest Shackleton, one of the most famous polar explorers to commemorate the centenary of Shackleton’s Nimrod Expedition. The preparations and trials, while not for everyone, is an insight into the mindset of people who have the willingness to take risk in the hopes of achieving glory (which as a matter of fact a lot of founders do too, if not at the same level).
The story doesn’t have a happy ending either – after a successful trip, Worsley tried another expedition in 2015 but unfortunately lost his life. The story may serve as inspiration to some and a source of fear to others (I am firmly in the first category), but eventually, it will stay with you long after you’ve turned/scrolled through the last page.
“Men go out into the void spaces of the world for various reasons. Some are actuated simply by a love of adventure, some have the keen thirst for scientific knowledge, and others again are drawn away from the trodden paths by the ‘lure of little voices,’ the mysterious fascination of the unknown.”
So these were my top 10 books of 2022. What were the books you loved? Any book recommendations for me for the coming year?
Here is to hoping you have 2023 full of laughter, warmth, health and knowledge.
