My 2021 best reads

These books stand out from all those I have read during 2021. It doesn’t mean all the others were not good. Often is not about the book itself but how it resonates with you or sparks your interest. I know my 30-year-old version wouldn’t care less even about these here. Reading wasn’t “my thing” back then. But when the student is ready, the teacher shows up.

From each, I’ll jot down one single sentence/excerpt as a highlight. Useless to say, I have no affiliation with the authors or publishers, and this is just sharing and word of mouth.

MasterMind (How to think like Sherlock Holmes)/Maria Konnikova:

“They take the hot system Watson route — action, action, action — underestimating the crucial need for just the opposite: a moment of quiet reflection”

Sonic Boom (Globalization at Mach speed)/Gregg Easterbrook:

“Yale University economist William Nordhaus estimates that 70 percent of the goods and services of the year 2.000 did not exist in 1.900. It’s hardly a wild guess to suppose that 70 percent of what will be common in 2.100 does not exist today.”

How to have impossible conversations/Peter Boghossian:

“It is much easier to instil doubt, than it is to nudge people toward a belief or to change their preference”

Essentialism/Greg McKeown:

“We live in a world where almost everything is worthless and very few things are exceptionally valuable. An essentialist, in other words, discerns more so he can do less.”

The Essential Rumi/Coleman Barks:

“It’s not always the blind man that falls in the pit. Sometimes it’s the one who can see.”

The Paradox of choice (why more is less)/Barry Schwartz

“The downsize of abundant choice is that each new option adds to the list of trade-offs, and trade-offs have psychological consequences.”

Tuesdays with Morrie/Mitch Albom

“Let’s begin with this idea “everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it.”

The Answer/John Assaraf:

“worry is a prayer for what you don’t want”

Psycho Cybernetics and Self-Fulfillment/Maxwell Maltz

“We possess a power of creative imagination, which makes us more than creatures — creators. And because of this productive imaginative power, our goals are limitless”

Smarter Faster Better/Charles Duhigg

“The trick, is realizing that a pre-requisite to motivation is believing we have authority over our actions and surroundings. To motivate ourselves, we must feel we are in control.”

I’m half way gathering the books/list for next year (I need to know there’s always some books on the shelve ready to be picked up). If you have any recommendations, please do so on the comments, I deeply appreciate it.