Reading Tier List

I've read and listened to so many books over the past few years that I started losing track of what I read. While I consumed books for entertainment, they were mostly nonfiction books that I sought to learn from. But how can I remember what I learned when I can't even remember all the books and their main arguments?

That's why I decided to make a list of all the books I read and, of course, rank them. I originally thought of doing 1 to 5 stars, but since the categories of books are so diverse, a tier list seemed like the best way to not get too complicated on the rating structure.

This is not meant to be a objective ranking, but rather a subjective reflection of how I resonated with each book. For example, some books that would be great for academic study went more in-depth than I cared about and were harder for me to read. That doesn't mean the book was bad, but it means that it didn't resonate with me at that period of time.

So here are all the books I read since July 2023 and how I feel about them:

S: Must-Reads

These are the books that greatly impacted me and that I think everyone should read at least once in their life.

Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko
Ceremony follows the story of half-Laguna, half-white WWII veteran returning home desolate and finding himself again by reconnecting to nature and Native American ceremonies and by rejecting witchcraft and racism. The story is scattered between fragments of time as the protagonist, Tayo, deals with PTSD and frequent flashbacks. Through his struggles, Tayo learns to let go of the burdens of the past and reject the continuation of witchcraft that causes war, racism, and the self-hatred seen in his Laguna buddies who returned from the Philippines with him. This book was transformative for me, and as you read Tayo's story, you will likely feel yourself starting to reject the evils of witchcraft around you.

Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehesi Coates
Between the World and Me is an extended letter written by Coates to his fifteen-year-old son, reflecting on what it means to have a black body in America. I've read many books on race issues in a more academic format, but Coates' raw, unfiltered commentaries on his experiences makes these issues real in a way that academics can never achieve. Coates does not spare any criticism against the "Dream" of Suburban White America, telling white Americans that they must reject the Dream and seek to lift Black Americans to equal standing. I genuinely believe that if everyone in the United States read this book, racism will end, because Coates' description of the black experience is so powerful that the existence and horrors of racism so often obscured by media become undeniable. If you want to destroy racism, read this book. You will not regret it.

Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl's memoir of his time in Nazi concentration camps is world-renown for a reason. He describes the horror in such detail but also the strange redemption that he found in spite of the torture by recognizing his will. Frankl's development of "logotherapy" (the second part of the book) is also extremely insightful, especially in a day where the superficiality of modern life leaves little of true value. Frankl's voice still cries from the dust, telling us that there is always something to live for. The message of this book is life-changing, and I believe it is always worth a read or a re-read. We must not forget the past and the lessons that people like Frankl learned and anxiously passed on to us.

Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, Peter Beinart
Many have given their take on Israel's wrath upon the Gaza Strip after the October 7th attacks, but no one has done it with the clarity and focus that Peter Beinart gives in this book. Beinart, a left-leaning Jew living in America, goes deep into Israeli history and Jewish tradition to confront the root causes of Israel's response to October 7th: Zionism, systemic racism against Palestinians within Israel and its territories, and the perpetual story of victimhood that Israel replays when attacked and criticized. Many people will tell you whether or not they think what Israel is doing is wrong, but if you want to understand why Israel is behaving the way it is and how the Jewish people can move on from their past narratives of victimhood, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza is an essential read.

When the Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka
Julie Otsuka brings the reader into the world of Japanese Internment by following a fictional Japanese-American family as they are kicked out of their home and sent to first a horse stable at a dilapidated track and then Topaz Internment Camp in Delta, Utah. Otsuka changes perspectives to give an encompassing view of what internment did to mothers who were suddenly scrutinized by their communities, fathers who were suddenly out of work, and children who lost friends and were too confused to know what was going on. This book is beautifully written and shows the pain that an often-overlooked injustice from the United States caused generations of Japanese-Americans.

A: Highly Recommended

American Girls, Nancy Jo Sales
I have read a lot of books about the perils of smartphones and social media, but American Girls was the first that really showed me the weight of the changes it has on our lives. Instead of trying to back up a thesis for why technology is perilous, Nancy Jo Sales sought to understand how technology shaped adolescence by interviewing hundreds of teenage girls. Sales masterfully mixes news reports, scholarly reports, and conversations between girls aged 13-19 into a quest to learn how social media impacts every aspect of adolescence and the feminist movement. This book is a fresh breath of journalism in a world crowded with generic arguments.

The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander
Michelle Alexander makes the case that mass incarceration of men of color is a new form of racism meant to destroy Black families and communities while creating a new undercaste of "felons" who are deprived basic rights. This book exposes racism in every layer of the criminal justice system and how the United States, which claims to be "colorblind" after the Civil Rights Movement, shifted institutional racism into a new form that is less obvious but potentially more dangerous than Jim Crow. Your eyes will be opened to how our justice system carries significant racial bias that undermines freedom for all races.

Second Class Saints, Matthew L. Harris
Matthew L. Harris does a deep dive into the inner workings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its leaders during the tumultuous years of the Civil Rights Movement, the Church's eventual lift of the priesthood ban against members of African descent, and the elongated pain caused by racist teachings that were disavowed much later than the ban's lifting. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I found the information in this book enlightening and sometimes a little troubling, but it helps me understand that the road to correct past injustices can be slow and painful, even for previous church leaders that I admire. I would consider this required reading for anyone who has questions or concerns about the priesthood ban. Harris does an excellent job of presenting the facts and narrative in an unbiased and highly informative way, giving a picture of how many events and influences affected church leader decisions.

Against the Machine, Paul Kingsnorth
Do you feel that something has gone terribly wrong with our society and yet instead of taking things more slowly, we are speeding faster and faster towards destruction? Paul Kingsnorth labels this "The Machine" (and sometimes as "Progress"), and his book explains what we sense but cannot fully describe about our society. As a writer who moved his family to rural Ireland to get away from TVs and smartphones and the other plagues of modernity, Kingsnorth reflects on how Western Civilization traded Christianity for Capitalism, nature for increasing material goods, and deep communities for shallow technological interconnectedness and eventual human transcendence. Kingsnorth's suggested way out is not socialism, conservatism, or techno-futurism, but a return to the people, places, traditions, and religious practices that have united cultures for centuries. This book helped me shift my focus from political progress to progress with each other and a return to what has sustained us. If you feel that sense of dread and are desperately looking for a solution like I was, I would highly recommend this book.

Lost Connections, Johann Hari
Out of the three Johann Hari books I have read, this is my favorite. Reflecting on his past failures to overcome depression with Paxil, Hari looks at the current depression epidemic under an entirely social lens, leading to some fascinating insights about how our lost connections with nature, our bodies, and our sense of self (among other things) contributes to depression and suicide. Hari's exploration also contains powerful anecdotes that drive his thesis for depression being a largely social problem; "The Apple" and "The Cow" are two I think of often, teaching me that social problems need social solutions. His book ends with the declaration that depressed individuals are not broken but are living under a broken society, and that by changing our society, we can solve the majority of depressive cases. While this book is not self-help for depression, it was extremely impactful in my search for answers about my mental health challenges, and the unique view it provides is worth your time.

The Seven Habits of Highly-Effective People, Stephen R. Covey
This is, in my opinion, the most beneficial self-help book I've read. I've seen a lot of books that focus on a single catchy idea that is marketed as a cure-all for procrastination, depression, and any other life problem. Covey's approach is different in that he condemns what he labels the "Personality Ethic", which is any technique that is meant to make you appear better or persuade others (think How to Win Friends and Influence People). Instead, Covey insists that we must develop our character and engrain seven principles into our being so that we can become better in our positions. While the habits have short slogans and diagrams like other self-help books, the principles themselves are substantial and are in no way easy fixes. This book is worth a periodic reread to inspire yourself to develop the character traits that Covey identifies.

Refuge, Terry Tempest Williams
Williams' masterpiece work is well worth the read. She interweaves her love of birds, Utah's attempts to rein in the Great Salt Lake, and her mother succumbing to cancer to teach us about how nature takes its course and how us humans should adapt around its needs. You will be in awe of Williams' writing and storytelling.

B: Satisfying

How Music Got Free, Stephen Witt
Witt masterfully ties three narratives concerning the rise of streaming in the music industry: Karl Brandenburg and his associates at Fraunhofer Institute developing the MP3 format, Doug Morris' turnaround of Universal Music Group and tirade against piracy, and a CD factory worker named Dell who starts stealing unreleased discs to gain credibility in an online forum. This book takes an unknown chapter of the history of music and makes it an exciting tale of intrigue that is hard to put down.

Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey
Edward Abbey's love letter to Southern Utah can be extremely harsh towards modernity at times (there are only a few threats to destroy the then-planned project for the Glen Canyon Dam), but even for the most suburbanite, mechanized-dinosaur-driving clueless tourists who would prefer a fifty-foot walk to Delicate Arch over a multi-day hike, Abbey's description and care for nature will make one want to run outside and enjoy nature once again. Abbey speaks out of a deep connection to the unique Utah landscape as if with a sacred stewardship that is impressive to see, and his perspectives on our scarring of the natural landscape are just as eloquent.

The Haves and Have-Yachts, Evan Osnos
Journalist Evan Osnos created a collection of essays he wrote for The New Yorker covering the lifestyle of the ultra-wealthy. Osnos' investigative curiosity is evident in the breadth of his work; his essays span the ultra-rich judging status based on gigayacht length, hiring Flo Rida to emcee a bar mitzvah, rallying New Greenwich progressives to support Trump, and attending rehabilitation clinics for white-collar crime. You will see that the world inhabited by the ultra-rich is very different from our own and how you always need to get a little bit more money to squeeze into the next tier of status. This is an insightful read.

Quiet, Susan Cain
Susan Cain unpacks the research that compliments traits associated with introverts, such as quietness and sensitivity. She also criticizes our worldview that places extroversion as the most desirable of attributes, instead arguing that both introverts and extroverts are needed in teams and organizations to be successful. As an introvert who has always been a little self-conscious about my lack of socializing or "being out there", this book helped me realize the strengths that I have. I would highly recommend this book for anyone else in my position.

Essentialism, Greg McKeown
This self-help book on stripping away non-essentials from your life and refocusing on what really matters is true to itself: McKeown does not mince words or overexplain his point. It is a short read perfect for motivating yourself to be a little more intentional with your time and resources.

Sprint, Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz
Sprint develops a method for developing and testing a business idea in five days. While there is a lot of talk about project management and prototyping, Knapp's model gives the best methodology I've found to devote the needed time and focus to the most important questions of your business. After running hundreds of Sprint sessions, they have a lot of advice to offer on what to do and what not to do. If you want to test and implement changes at a quick pace, read this book.

Stolen Focus / The Magic Pill, Johann Hari
After taking on depression in Lost Connections, Johann Hari spends his next two books researching inattention and obesity, two problems that have also influenced him greatly. In Stolen Focus, Hari relates the three-month vacation he took on the beach away from his phone, blending the benefits he experienced with research supporting those claims. However, on returning from his vacation, Hari relapses into his phone-driven life, prompting him to ask how much of our inattention can be solved through self-discipline versus collective action against companies hacking our attention for their benefit. The Magic Pill covers Hari's experience with Ozempic, leading him on a quest to understand how the western world developed such high obesity rates, the impacts of increasingly-thin beauty standards, and whether or not a drug that slowly becomes less effective and may carry health risks is the best option for our current epidemic. Hari's vulnerability and thirst for answers make these books compelling and hard to put down.

Mood Machine, Liz Pelly
Pelly uncovers the history of music for productive / functional purposes and Spotify's goal to create the perfect playlist using AI. She also exposes Spotify's shady practices, such as filling up playlists with ghost artists and having artists exchange 30% of their royalties for higher playlist placement. Towards the end of the book, Pelly explores the lives of artists seeking a living on Spotify whose incomes are at the whim of a single playlist placement, as well as artists and activists trying to pave more equitable futures for musicians. This book is accessible and will convince you that Spotify doesn't care about music - just serving you ads.

The Sum of Us, Heather McGhee
McGhee's The Sum of Us goes on an exhaustive journey to show how racism - pitting poor whites against Blacks and other minorities - leads to worse economic outcomes for both parties. She gives the reader a view of concrete-filled swimming pools and many other public benefits cut in the name of zero-sum politics: the view that any gain made by non-white is an attack on white sovereignty and therefore must not happen. At the end of the book, McGhee shares her vision of a world where the public sector is expanded to provide jobs and public benefits to all people, strengthening our economy and unity. If you want to understand just how widespread the cost of racism is on our economy, this book is a must-read.

C: Novel

How to Know a Person / The Second Mountain, David Brooks
David Brooks is a very thoughtful and inquisitive writer who seems to sit on the sidelines and look at life from a zoomed-out perspective. How to Know a Person is Brooks' attempt at understanding our lack of empathy in our modern day and how to regain the crucial skill of making deep connections. The Second Mountain is Brooks observing those who, after seeking personal success (the First Mountain), become unsatisfied and give themselves more fully to the service of others (the Second Mountain). While I don't think anything Brooks wrote down is life-changing advice, reading his books is like walking along with him to understand big, ethereal concepts that often go overlooked.

iGen, Jean Twenge
iGen explores the fundamental characteristics of Generation Z and explains paradoxes such as how "iGen" is more tolerant yet more toxic online and more sexually open but have sex less than previous generations. I thought this was a fascinating read, and it helps back up or refute the claims made against Gen Z with substantial research.

How Will You Measure Your Life?, Clayton Christensen
After his famous talk to Stanford graduates, Clayton Christensen elaborated his points into How Will You Measure Your Life? Christensen applies management theories to help us focus on what matters most and properly navigate the small decisions that can add up and take us off course. The book is short and manageable while containing some great insights on living with more integrity and purpose.

The Creative Act, Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin, the famous mixing and mastering engineer, collects his loose thoughts on creativity in this anthology of short essays. Drawing from experiences in music and other arts, Rubin shares how to receive transmissions from "The Source", turn it into a work of art, and appreciate what has been created. This book is great for seeking creative inspiration when in a rut.

The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff
This book explores the explosion of political aggression on college campuses starting in the mid-2010s and presents three false ideas that were instilled upon current generations that cause them to act in the way they did. I thought it was a good overview on the topic with enough background information to lay out the case without being too overbearing. The problems and solutions laid out are clear and actionable. I preferred other books that were more specific on the issues they presented, but I still enjoyed it and found it informative.

Who, Geoff Smart and Randy Street
This business book gives a framework for finding, selecting, and maintaining the best employees for your team. They have a very specific set of processes and interview questions that they swear by, but the gist is pretty simple: 1) Create unique outcomes that the candidate must be able to fulfill, 2) Focus your interview on assessing strengths and weaknesses and verify them with as many references as possible, 3) Make sure you fulfill the needs of your prized candidate to get them to accept the job, and 4) Always be looking for the next person for a position. The book is short and clear, which makes it easy to refer to in times of need.

Atomic Habits, James Clear
This book received a lot of praise, and while I didn't think there was anything profound in it, it's the best resource for managing habits that I've read so far. Clear adds enough helpful ideas to inspire you on how to improve your habits without overburdening you with tidbits or complicated frameworks. It's a short and easy read that is good to reference when you find yourself failing a habit.

AI Snake Oil, Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor
With all the talk of AI today, Narayanan and Kapoor distinguish fact from fiction in explaining what AI can and can't do. If you are really interested in AI, this book is valuable. However, it is fairly academic and goes into more-than-surface-level details. The main point is that generative AI works really well, content moderation AI is mediocre, and predictive AI is almost impossible to achieve (and thus anyone hawking predictive AI products is selling "snake oil"). If you don't want the technical definition, a few web searches should provide the same information.

Every Screen on the Planet, Emily Baker-White
Baker-White gives the most detailed history of TikTok that we have to date, and it proves to be both informative and exciting. As a journalist who has covered the app for years and leaked important TikTok security risks to the public (and had TikTok search her IP Address because of it), she is the most qualified person to present this information, and she does a terrific job. If you want to understand TikTok's philosophy and where it is going, read this book.

Good to Great / Built to Last, Jim Collins
Jim Collins' famous business books are based on years of research on companies that achieved consistent greatness has many insights. While most business books I have read focus on frameworks conjured up in the mind of the author and backed by anecdotal evidence, Collins' rigor and approach makes it unique. I thought that Good to Great, which focuses on factors differentiating renown companies from competitors, was more insightful than Built to Last, which focuses more on initial strategy and image. But I would recommend both books since they build on each other. Some of the ideas Collins introduces, such as the Level 5 Leader and the Hedgehog Concept, still linger in my mind and are worth studying.

Feeling Good, David Burns
Feeling Good is an oft-recommended book for people suffering with depression, and I think it is a good resource. I've read books that focus on physical aspects like getting more Omega-3s, exercising, sleeping well, etc. Feeling Good establishes the merits of Cognitive-Based Therapy (CBT), an important development in the treatment of depression that is proven to work with clients. Burns lays out how to talk back to negative narratives, overcome dependence on other people, and calm feelings of anxiousness. The techniques that Burns introduces in the book are foundational to current CBT therapy practices, and they are helpful for anyone to implement, whether or not you are experiencing mental health challenges.

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Huxley's view of the future has many parallels to our day, but I don't think the plot is anything special. Much like in 1984 by George Orwell, the plot is a vehicle to explore more aspects of the dystopian society. But I think it is worth reading (or at least reading a summary) to understand Huxley's predictions on disdain for parenthood/natural childbirth, an oversexualized society, media brainwashing propaganda, and a reliance on drugs and entertainment to keep the populace braindead. While Orwell was right for totalitarian countries like North Korea, Huxley's vision is prescient for Western countries like the United States and the UK.

Riders of the Purple Sage, Zane Grey
Zane Grey created an exciting narrative following Jane, a Utahn woman who is escaping a forced plural marriage set up by her Mormon bishop, with the help of the cowboy Lassiter. We also learn the story of Venters, a cowboy who finds a dream valley in which to start a new life. This is classic western literature set in the world's conception of late 1800s Utah, and if you like the genre, it is very engaging.

Originals / Think Again / Hidden Potential, Adam Grant
I went through a phase where I listened to Adam Grant's five nonfiction books. They have the perfect blend of narrative and social psychology for the average reader, although it was a bit hard for me to grasp the points Grant makes because he takes on such open-ended questions while I was used to reading about specific social problems. Originals explores what makes great original thinkers, including how they are often risk-averse and disagree with the status quo. Think Again discusses how to "think like a scientist" so you are open to new ideas instead of trying to win people to your side. Hidden Potential argues that character and developed skills are more important than innate talent and gives points on how to develop potential. If you want to learn something new but don't want heavy books on a narrow issue, Adam Grant's books are perfect for your needs.

The Prosperity Paradox, Clayton Christensen
Clayton Christensen makes the case that we can best improve conditions in third-world countries through open market innovation. He contrasts "pushing" money onto governments with no incentive to help others and into projects that people aren't prepared to upkeep to local entrepreneurs who have "pulled" in resources such as electricity and running water after building manufacturing plants for their new businesses. Christensen's proposal seems much more effective than simply dumping money onto nations, and it allows them to develop as they wish instead of the current resource extraction model we see when the West interacts with poorer countries. While Christensen goes deep into management and economic theories to back his position (as he does in How Will You Measure Your Life?), making it a less accessible read, I would at least research his thesis to understand the important point he is making.

The Goal, Eli Goldratt
The Goal is an extremely important book in the development of operations management, and Goldratt takes a unique approach in putting it
in a novel format instead of just laying out his theories. The story follows Alex Rogo, a plant manager, who seeks the help of Jonah, a physics professor based on Goldratt, to save his failing plant. Goldratt, through Jonah, introduces the Theory of Constraints, a much-cited system for increasing production capacity, as well as other concepts to help readers understand operations improvements. While I teetered between appreciating the storyline to thinking it was in the way of teaching the book's principles, Goldratt's method of applying his principles to the fictional plant and life of Alex made them much more memorable than a simple explanation.

Y2K, Collette Shade
Shade's collection of essays on the Y2K era looks back on the hopes of a US that convinced itself it reached the new age of the future. Y2K peers into Shade's life as a youth of the age, including her online chats with strangers over the internet, sexual exploration sparked by MTV and pop culture, and anxieties over climate change inaction and the Bush Administration's War on Terror. The Y2K era, symbolized by Shade's inflatable, metallic-sheen chair that deflates until it is unusable, takes a dent with 9/11 and its aftermath and dies with the Financial Crash of 2008. As someone who only became cognizant of the world by the time that era finished, Y2K helped teach me about the cultural and political influences of Millennials (including my older siblings). If you want a disgruntled view of this period from one who grew up in it, Collette Shade is your best hope.

That We May Be One, Tom Christofferson
Christofferson paints a portrait of what it is like to be living as an openly gay Latter-day Saint, including his wrestle with God that led to him to separate with his male partner and live a celibate life. He expresses the need to love and support all of God's children, no matter their sexual orientation or identification, as they work with God to answer the difficult questions of life and find their way forward. We need much more literature on the LGBTQ+ Latter-day Saint experience, and Tom Christofferson's book is a brave foray into this world.

Lift, Ryan W. Quinn and Robert E. Quinn
This book gives four dimensions of leadership based on the forces that work on airplanes in flight. They argue that leadership is a state of mind where you are centered on your purpose, guided by your values, prioritizing the needs of the group, and being open to feedback and change. The book goes into detail about these attributes and has some good anecdotes and practices to improve on each skill. I thought the book had some good points and would be helpful in becoming a respected leader with the ability to positively influence others, but the things it shares are pretty straightforward.

E: Go Read a Summary

The Canceling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott
This book is a follow-up to The Coddling of the American Mind but is, in my opinion, a little more narrow. The entire book focuses on cancel culture, explaining the dangers and remedies (which I think are pretty self-evident). However, I thought the explanation of how cancel culture works on the political Left and Right was helpful, as well as their documentation of how the thought pattern underlying "speech is violence" has gained traction over time. I would only suggest this book if you are really fascinated by cancel culture; otherwise, it's mostly arguments about why it is bad and many examples of people from different occupations being canceled.

Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber
David Graber takes on the inflation of upper management in his book Bullshit Jobs, a critique of the current labor market. While Graber is not an economist and thus sometimes grazes through economic issues without proper attention, his insight as an anthropologist provides an excellent historical backing for our modern-day ethos around work, worth, and the building of character. I thought the book was a little condescending at times and slow during the explanation of the theory (particularly the first few chapters), so a summary might be best for those who don't want to explore the topic in full-depth. But despite my criticisms, I think Graeber asked the right questions and came up with plausible answers that make one think about the role of jobs in our society, whether they are meaningful or not.

Enshittification, Cory Doctorow
Doctorow's now-famous term, referring to the degradation of tech platforms once they reach monopoly status, is fully fleshed-out in this book. While I was entertained by the many case studies that Doctorow presents in the book, looking back, I felt that there was not a whole lot of development on the theory than what I knew before. The concept of enshittification is pretty easy to understand, and while the case studies show how new methods like cloud software licenses and AI-managed independent contracting exacerbate the issue, I wouldn't recommend the book unless you were really naive about how tech platforms operate. I did find Doctorow's suggested solutions a fresh approach to keeping platform degradation in line: instead of making platforms more compliant with the law and exposing us to regulatory capture, we should make individual platforms less important by increasing competition and mandating interoperability.

Move Fast and Break Things, Jonathan Taplin
Taplin addresses the issues of Big Tech by showing how libertarian ideology seeped into Silicon Valley from Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and other influential entrepreneurs. He builds upon Meta's former internal motto, "Move Fast and Break Things", to explain that the industry's lack of accountability in order to obtain profit undermines democracy and human dignity. Taplin's background in music and film gives him the unique perspective of how the winner-takes-all libertarian ethos kills competition and undervalues creativity. After reading/listening to so many books on Big Tech, I didn't think this one stood out, but seeing the issue in conjunction with the rise of libertarianism is a crucial part of the story.

White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
This book introduces DiAngelo's term "White Fragility", which refers to the defensive outrage white people feel when you tell them they are racist / acting on racial prejudice. I thought the book's explanation of Critical Race Theory was well done, especially with the concept that all white people have prejudiced attitudes simply by being exposed to so much racist messaging sent out by the media and government. I wouldn't recommend this book for everyone since a lot of it is elaborating on how white people react to being called racist (spoiler alert: they don't take it well) and on a number of cases where white people should be informed that their actions, even if well-intentioned, are racist or are evoking past incidents of racism. I think it's good to know that things you are doing can be offensive, but DiAngelo's final point that you should create genuine friendships with people of minority races and learn how to live without constantly triggering them is, in my opinion, the real key to eradicating racial prejudice instead of textbook-learning all the possible ways you can offend someone.

Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble
From my understanding, Umoja Noble is a pioneer in researching racial bias in algorithms and software, and I'm sure this book was a groundbreaking compilation of evidence that racial discrimination via algorithm is real. However, the book is now more than ten years old and many of the examples have been fixed, so it seems outdated. Instead of Google searches being the main vehicle for algorithmic discrimination, it is now through AI chatbots and TikTok-like user feeds. Certainly there is bias within these systems, and reading this book to understand how patterns can transfer from one technology to another is helpful, but I don't think you need to read this book unless you are doing academic research (it is, after all, in a heavy academic format). Perhaps that means the book did its job and now it is time for books on newer technology.

Start With Why, Simon Sinek
Sinek become TED-talk famous with this concept of beginning your business/organization strategy with "why" before "how" and "what". This idea has always been present in modern business, but the focus on "why" has become central to businesses in the past decade, perhaps on part of people like Sinek preaching the value of gaining customer and employee loyalty by matching them to your mission statement. Since this is such a standard principle now, I don't think this book is very novel anymore. The concept of "Start With Why" is easy to understand and most people do not need the elaboration that Sinek gives into the benefits of being motivated by a purpose as an organization.

Give and Take, Adam Grant
Adam Grant's first book describes how being a "Giver" in a business or organization (someone who is willing to give their time and effort to help other people) end up being more successful than "Takers" (someone who works for their own expense). I feel like this narrative is self-evident in the age of networking and mentorship (and in our ethos about work), but I guess that perceptions inside businesses seem to favor Takers, and it is nice to have some empirical evidence to back the claim up. I don't, however, think you need to read this book to understand that people will like you if you help them and thus respect you and help you in return.

Digital Madness, Nicholas Kardaras
Kardaras' follow-up to his groundbreaking book "Glow Kids" focuses on the negative mental health impact of screens on adults and adolescents. Kardaras has some unique topics in his book compared to other anti-Big-Tech books I've read, such as describing how modern technology is not compatible with our evolutionary way of living, how adolescents are becoming less prepared for stressors because of technology, and how social media has led to social contagions such as an outbreak in Tourette's Syndrome. Kardaras' points on how to overcome digital madness is to live life like the ancients who sought wisdom, creativity, and human connection. I think this book makes valuable points, but with the volume of books on how social media / excessive screen time is bad for you, I don't think this book should take priority in your reading list.

Luigi: The Making and the Meaning, John H. Richardson
Richardson compares his time reporting on the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, to what he is seeing now with Luigi Mangione. He makes the point that Luigi, like Ted, became disillusioned with "The Machine" (Luigi gave high praise to Paul Kingsnorth's essays on GoodReads) and decided the only way to stop our doom track was to kill people important the current world order. Kaczynski mailed bombs to scientists and lobbyists, and Luigi shot a healthcare CEO in an attempt to unite people of both parties against a common enemy. I thought Richardson did a fairly thorough analysis given the limited information we have on Luigi (he hasn't been convicted or confessed yet), but that makes the book feel premature. If Richardson writes another book on Luigi and his killing's ability to garner so much support and sympathy in a year or two when we have more information, then that would be a book worth reading. Right now, we're mainly just thumbing through his GoodReads and social accounts to pick up any clues, so reporting is bare-bones as of now.

Option B, Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
Sheryl Sandberg writes about the grief cycle after her husband's passing. If you are going through a difficult time or are helping someone go through a difficult time, I think this book has some good information, as it combines Sandberg's observations with Grant's psychological understanding to explain how to best process and help others process grief. I think I just wasn't in a relevant situation for this book to pique my interest, but I see how it could be beneficial.

Everything is Predictable, Tom Chivers
Tom Chivers explains how Bayes' Rule, the fundamental theory behind inverse probability and Bayesian statistics, is fundamental to our thinking process. Essentially, Bayesian modeling takes a prior distribution that we have from historical data and multiplying by a new distribution we get from an experiment to get a new model of information. Chivers goes chapter by chapter demonstrating how this principle applies to health, science, and even our day-to-day decision-making process with our brain. I personally felt this book was drawn out more than it should have been for such a simple principle. However, the history on Bayes' rule being adopted by mathematics and the explanation of how our brain processes information in a Bayesian way are interesting, but unless your are really interested, a summary would be a better way to get this information.

F: Would Not Recommend

Co-Intelligence, Ethan Mollock
Ethan Mollock writes about the development of AI and how we can use it as a tutor and creative aid. I admittedly scanned through this book because I have heard so much about adopting LLMs that I didn't find anything to be novel in this book. It could have been really insightful when it came out, but to me, it didn't seem that impressive. I don't see any reason to read this book now that AI has become ubiquitous and information about it is so widely available.

Burn the Boats, Matt Higgins / The Power of Starting Something Stupid, Richie Norton
This is one of those self-help books that I feel relies more on hype than any novel ideas. Higgins came from a poor background and describes how his willingness to take on new opportunities allowed him to advance to a venture capitalist role. His thesis is that the mindset of having a "Plan B" stops you from reaching your dreams; in order to fully achieve your goals, you must "burn your boats" (the Plan B) and work for your dream without any reservations. Norton is similar: he decided to follow his dream and become a motivational speaker to tell other people to follow their dreams. His thesis is that you should start something "stupid", meaning that idea that you always reject because it sounds crazy and idiotic but seems central to your life. I think hype self-help books can be good if you need to motivate yourself to do something, but there isn't anything particularly novel other than a potential helpful model or paradigm shift. All of that is to say that you can skip these hype self-help books.

Find Your Why, Simon Sinek, David Mead, and Peter Docker
This book follows up on Sinek's Start With Why to give you a framework of how to find the "why" of your own life or your organization. This is probably just personal bias, but I don't like strict frameworks like the one in this book that insist they are the only proven way to achieve an outcome. I didn't find any interesting principles outside of their prescribed formula for discovering your why, so this book felt one-dimensional to me. I would only recommend it if you have failed to develop a reason for your organization to exist, and then again, finding an outline online would be a much simpler approach.

Zucked, Roger McNamee
After all the anti-Big-Tech books I've consumed, this one was my least favorite. McNamee, a former advisor to Mark Zuckerberg, talks about how he became disillusioned with Facebook's ability to be a beneficial social platform and worked with others to set up the US congressional hearings against Facebook. My main complaint with this book is that it is narrowly focused on election interference, which I thought was discussed more concisely by other authors. McNamee's personal insight into the congressional hearings is valuable, especially if you are trying to study that topic in-depth, but for general-purpose listening, this book is not worth your time.

A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle
Fun Fact: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel, whose plot is well-known through television adaptations, has a backstory involving revenge against Mormon polygamists in Utah who marry his girlfriend and make her so miserable that she dies. The book has two parts, with the first part covering Holmes solving the murder case in London, and the second part covering the backstory. Go ahead and read Part 1 if you'd like, but Part 2 is not necessary to understand the murder case.

Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut
This was my first (and so far, only) Kurt Vonnegut book, so I didn't know what to expect. From what I've read online, people familiar with Vonnegut said this book is much more distracted than his others and is mainly a vehicle for Vonnegut's satirical views. Don't get me wrong, I was amused by the absurdity of the plot and tangents, but there wasn't anything on substance to this book. Go read another Kurt Vonnegut novel (or, if like me, you were looking for Slaughterhouse Five at the library but they didn't have it, just wait a week or two).