My top reads of 2021!
After consistently failing to build a strong habit for years, I finally found some momentum with my reading this year. It has been very fruitful, and highly rewarding.
Here is the list of books that I found amazing:
#1: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
This book has been my “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book during the pandemic. I have read it multiple times, whenever/ wherever, even when I don't have to have a definitive reason for reading or referencing it. The book is an amalgamation of Naval Ravikant’s thoughts through the years. He is someone I have come to respect as an investor, entrepreneur, and philosopher. It is definitely worth reading and even gifting to someone/ anyone or everyone if it resonates with you.
Free version of the book is also available here
#2: No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer
This company and its founder need no introduction. The other author Erin Meyer is a decorated INSEAD professor and an expert on culture and organizations. The book is a great insight into how Netflix is built, and how this unorthodox culture is one of the key reasons for its success. It gives us in-depth insight into the rationale behind the very unique culture. It is so different and absurd from how organizations are run that it actually makes a lot of sense. Truly remarkable book!
Go check out her other book called “The Culture Map” here
#3: Relativity made Relatively Easy by Barry Parker
The book is a great beginner's guide to understanding relativity. This book walks through Einstein’s early life and the great discoveries in the world of theoretical physics. Barry Parker aims to easily explain everything related to relativity, black holes, gravity, and curved space-time and does so with ease through this book. It is almost as easy to understand as Stephan Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time”. If you liked that one, maybe this one is the next step.
Go Geek out!
Go watch the Netflix documentary if you end up reading the book
#4: The Innovation Stack by Jim Mckelvey
Jim Mckelvey is the other ‘not-so-famous’ founder of SQUARE. This is a story that had to be told and is one of the best self-narrated books I have read this year. Jim walks through the early years of Square and how they built this company on the principles of the “Innovation Stack”. It is a great book for anyone trying to understand the complexity of building a startup in the fintech space, and right under the noses of giants like Amazon, Mastercard, and Visa. Very well written with highly pronounced examples. It almost prompted me to buy the company shares on Nasdaq. In the end, I didn't give in :).
#5: Insane Mode by Hamish Mckenzie
For anyone working in the electric mobility space, this book is a great inspiration! It talks about how Elon Musk and Tesla have sparked an electric revolution. More broadly it talks about what it takes to change the outlook of an entire industry that has seen no innovation for the last 30 years. Not everyone will like it, but for everyone in electric mobility — go read it. Reading about what has happened in the last decade, truly gives one hope about what all can happen in the next decade. It truly is INSANE!
BONUS BOOKS
#6: High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil
If you are a FOUNDER and are building a company, this book is for you! Elad Gil has invested and seen the growth of a handful of the companies in the Valley. His experience in scaling companies is really one to envy! In this book, he interviews different key men/ women from well-established tech companies and systematically walks through major organizational challenges. When reading this book, I found myself nodding and relating to challenges associated with scale and growth at my current company — Beam Mobility. Some of the issues discussed include hiring, managing the board, setting up processes, building an executive team, etc. A big caveat is that this book is NOT a 0 →1 book, but for the story after that period. It's for those founders that have crossed the initial blip and are now ready to scale the organization 100X, building companies that last decades.
#7: Lifespan by David. A Sinclair
“Age truly is just a number” is stated by Dr. Sinclar multiple times in this book. The first step to understanding the possibility of age reversal is to accept that it is possible. Going into this book, I was just looking for clues and ideas on how to improve health — but it turned out completely different. It did get technical and sometimes too hard to follow, esp. names of proteins, DNA elements that help understand the aging process in humans. I did not actually finish this book cause I got bored at the end, but nevertheless a great book. I have not read anything like this before and am now, ready to learn more about this topic.
The idea here is to build a digital repository of books year over year. Let me know if there are books that you would recommend!
Happy Holidays!
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