Recommendation — Books read in 2022
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Below I present my recommendations from the books of 2022
Top 5 books (All Genres)
Presenting my biased view of top charts
A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson — Have you ever wondered about the cosmos or about where our understanding with relation to space and time stands? This is the book to go for which summarises all we know from the past 300 years, about our universe. A very well written and in understandable format, a book to be on your read shelf.
Four thousand weeks by Oliver Burkeman — Have you ever felt short on time? The book does not solve for or provide patches to solve for everyday problems. It takes on the bigger perspective and shows how every minute is important, and how each emotion or action may very well be the last. The book made me truly understand the meaning of mortality and how to live every moment as if its the last. Definite recommendation to get the larger picture of life into perspective, and not for the faint hearted as it will instil mortality into the psyche forever.
HBR’s 10 Must Reads ‘On Managing People’ — The best articles of the previous decades that have created an impact on the leadership and management thought processes. It is highly relevant read for new age leaders to understand the technical aspects of management. The first few articles have had profound impact to provide terminology and to understand my own way of working, articulate them and to improve upon them. A must read for all leaders if not yet done.
The Red Queen by Matt Ridley — Another masterpiece on evolutionary psychology. Evolution is always the game where the comparative speed always remains the same. To better understand why we are the way we are, and what role evolution played in making us, read the book. Also, a book that will deepen the hook of interest on evolution.
Running & Being by Dr. George Sheehan — Written by the author who made running mainstream, it encapsulates lots of thoughts on how spending time outdoors creates an impact on us. A book that will get you to think about running, or at-least about fitness and binds you the joy of playfulness that existed as a child. It will help you bring that joy back and into that child like existence.
If the list could be extended to include one more
Hinduism by Ashok Mishra — What is Hinduism? What about the Vedas and Puranas? One of the oldest religion, or way of life, of one of the oldest civilisation on earth, it is intriguing to understand its evolution. The book in my view would be controversial, with lots of elements which the reader may or may not connect with, but what it does provide is information. Would advice reader discretion, and would still advice to go through specially the first few chapters to understand the journey better. The later half of the books deals a lot on rituals which may not be of much interest to the readers.
Other books worth reading
Finding Ultra by Rich Roll- Looking for inspiration? An inspirational biography that would push yourself into thinking about the limitations of human power.
Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior by Professor Mark Leary- This was an audio book where the lectures were intriguing and were towards understanding the human behaviors. It should be listened to understand the human nature better, to understand ourselves better, and pave the path to becoming a better person.
The Rational Male by Rollo Tomassi-Another highly controversial book in the list. High reader discretion required. The book does contain moments of high insights but at the same time can be debated from various angles. It is in the list because some of the lines of the books are gems. Other than that, its up to the readers to interpret the book as mysogynist or as a book that massages the male ego or to take the right set of inputs from it.
