Books I Read In 2021

Baba
12 min readDec 27, 2021

Short reviews of the books I’ve read this year. Same drill as the last couple

12. Hip-Hop (And Other Things) by Shea Serrano

“A curious thing about “I Don’t Like”: because of the song’s production, which is thundering and aggressive and swollen, it feels very much like the track is rooted in hate or in anger or in some other equally strong emotion. The lyrics, however, suggest otherwise. The lyrics are mostly just Chief Keef telling you the things that he doesn’t like which suggests annoyance or possibly irritation or, at the most extreme, aggravation. Bad weed? Chief Keef does not like it. Talking to the police? Chief Keef does not like it. Knockoffs of designer brands? Chief Keef does not like it”

Summary: Like in all trilogies, the third instalment — of Shea Serrano’s And Other Things series — is hardly the best of the three but in this case, it’s a high bar. It is still really good. It asks and answers various hypotheticals and questions on Hip-Hop like advice from 50 Cent lyrics, GKMC or MBDTF, an interview with the chicken on Project Pat’s Chickenhead and so much more. The author maintains his high level of crazy humour sprinkled with personal anecdotes. So many of the bits will have you laughing out loud. I think the main criticism here is that Hip-Hop is so broad yet can be so narrow, so if you don’t know the artist then the reference is gone. This wasn’t really a problem with other books as generally the questions were not as narrow, and when they were it was generally easy for him to describe a little to give context. Much harder with music. Overall a very enjoyable read.

Fun Fact: I pre-ordered this but then it never came so I re-ordered it. Cool story

11. The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner

The purpose of innovation is sometimes defined as new technology. But the point of innovation isn’t really technology itself. The point of innovation is what new technology can do. “Better, or cheaper, or both” — Kelly’s rule — is one way to think about this goal.”

Summary: Studying Electrical Engineering, I had come across Bell Labs so frequently that I wondered how so many world-changing inventions sprung out from there. This book answered that question and more, it tells the story of Bell Labs through a few key characters. It weaves together stories of how they all worked together, and tries to explain what drove the innovation and paints a picture of how these innovations were received at the time. It shows the personalities of these key people and even toward the end touches on their work after leaving the Labs. It describes the role of the government, regulations and even war in innovation at the Labs. It even chronicles the demise of the Labs too. The depth of research taken into writing the book is clear and the author interviews also add color to the narrative. All in all it is a book about how that tries to understand how deep impactful innovation can be fostered by looking at Bell Labs, perhaps one of the best examples. Highly recommend for lovers of science and innovation

Fun Fact: Perhaps the oldest book in my book wish list

10. My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor

“A lot of stroke survivors complain that they are no longer recovering. I often wonder if the real problem is that no one is paying attention to the little accomplishments that are being made. If the boundary between what you can do and what you cannot do is not clearly defined, then you don’t know what to try next. Recovery can be derailed by hopelessness.”

Summary: The book is a brain scientist’s story of her stroke and recovery. I had high hopes going into reading this as it was the irony of a brain scientist made for a good story, the fact that she recovery showed great resilience which might be worth learning from and the fact she had expertise in brain matters meant a lot of it would be grounded in fact. However, I was left a little bit disappointed by it, the first chapters start way too technical so imagine my surprise when the rest of the book delved into a lot of wishy washy pseudo science and stuff about Nirvana and being at one with the universe. See now that stuff is not normally my cup of tea but I don’t mind it but I really did not think it would be that kind of book. There were some good bits though when it came to here recovery journey. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this

Fun Fact: Had very high reviews on Amazon so my expectations were even higher

9. One More Thing by B.J Novak

“If the market had never existed, would anyone miss it? Would anything really be different? Did anyone actually really care about the market, or did they just think they could make money from it? And then there were all those people who said they hated the market, and they always seemed so much cooler and better looking than the people who liked the market — were those people right? Were they on to something? Was the market soulless? Evil? Pointless? Harmful? Bad?”

Summary: Really enjoyed reading this book. Imagine if all the times you came up with a funny bit or scenario and thought “I should write this down” or “I should be a comedian”, you actually wrote them down. This is a collection of stories that are all comedic on some level but some are a bit deeper/philosophical while others just stretch the funny bit/scenario/analogy to a full story. It ranges from stories about the rollercoaster we call life, how we came to have calendar and the market being a person that was down to falling in love with a sex robot and going on a date with a warlord. If you like literal jokes and puns then you will probably enjoy this. Though there were some of the stories that I just did not get, most of them made me laugh out load or at least chuckle internally

Fun Fact: This book was a birthday present

8. Normal People by Sally Rooney

“Their feelings were suppressed so carefully in everyday life, forced into smaller and smaller spaces, until seemingly minor events took on insane and frightening significance.”

Summary: Normal People follows the story of the 2 kids as they go through life from school to university. In school Connell is one of the popular kids though he comes from a lower income class, Marianne is a bit of an outcast but comes from a well to do family. They have a connection but the story looks at how they manage connection both personally and in the context of the social settings they find themselves, which evolve as they get to university and changes as they grow as individuals. I fell it does a fantastic job of describe what mental health feels like, you feel enormous sympathy for the main characters. It touches on other subjects like classism, activism, gendered violence and family conflicts. While set in Ireland, it still feels very relatable. I raced through this one and may even watch the TV Show.

Fun Fact: Was on my wish list for years but got it as a birthday present this year

7. The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell

“When you make the leap to say that we will no longer try to aim at something specific, then you cross a line. Then you have to convince yourself that there is no difference between a soldier on the one hand and children and mothers and nurses in a hospital on the other. The whole argument of the Bomber Mafia, their whole reason for being, was that they didn’t want to cross that line. They weren’t just advancing a technological argument. They were also advancing a moral argument about how to wage war.”

Summary: This is a story set in war that looks at two schools of thoughts regarding aerial bombing. One on hand was precision bombing, i.e aiming at strategic infrastructure targets and minimising deaths. The bomber mafia and Haywood Hansell, were disciples of this from the earliest days of innovation and were ahead of their time so the technology wasn’t ready for their approach. The other approach was area bombing: not even aiming at anything and trying to hit widest possible area, personified by LeMay, a get stuff done kind of guy. He believed to minimise impact of war one had to relentless and devastating, ending the war as quickly as possible. Though one side is easier to swallow, the story gets you wondering which side would you have been on. It also shows how technology can be both a force of progress and devastation, and only people with strong principles that don’t give in to the smallest temptations can make it a force for good.

Fun Fact: Author spoke at my company just after I had bought the book and he said the book was actually made as an audiobook first

6. The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Dantica

“he reminded himself of his own personal creed, that life was neither something you defended by hiding nor surrendered calmly on other people’s terms, but something you lived bravely, out in the open, and that if you had to lose it, you should also lose it on your own terms”

Summary: The book is split into different chapters that focus on particular characters in the story and over time you can piece together how these characters are related when they cross paths. The book also paints a picture of the turbulent political landscape in Haiti at the time the story was set and it also shows the immigrant experience in America as well, trying to maintain connections with home and adapting to the newIt mostly revolves around the story a barber in America who had a very murky past in his country of birth, Haiti. It shows the ripple effect of his actions on other characters even many of years later. He moves countries and tries to live with his past but fearful it will catch up with him, but some of those impacted by him did not get the same second chance he got at doing life again.

Fun Fact: Went for a picnic organised at a park and one of the people there had just finished their Masters in Literature or something at SOAS and gave this book like a 10/10, so I went and added it to my list

5. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.

“For being a foreigner, Ashima is beginning to realize, is a sort of lifelong pregnancy — a perpetual wait, a constant burden, a continuous feeling out of sorts. It is an ongoing responsibility, a parenthesis in what had once been ordinary life, only to discover that the previous life has vanished, replaced by something more complicated and demanding. Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes, is something that elicits the same combination of pity and respect”

Summary: This is book about identity and its ever changing nature. It starts of with the story of a young couple who leave Calcutta to start like in United States but the primary focus in on their first child Gogol, and his cross-cultural experience growing up. It also looks at the experiences of his parents who were essentially starting new lives in a foreign country. It explores the parts of the culture the characters try to hold on to, those they try to run away from and parts of the new culture they try to embrace. The story spans over a number of years and shows how all of these things change over time. It looks at the effect of culture on relationships as well. The back stories of all the major characters are detailed and you feel closer to them as a result. I finished the book thinking, it would be a decent movie and turns out it is hah

Fun fact: This book was on my Amazon wishlist and I don’t even know why or who recommended it

4. Born A Tuesday by Elnathan John

“Is family really family if relatives are strangers to you? Are they not blood, those for whole you would risk your life and die; those who know how your heart beats, and what makes you cry; those whose secrets are your secrets”

Summary: It is a coming of age story of a young boy in Northern Nigeria, which touches on the regular coming of age themes with boys like discovering sexual attraction and mischievous acts with friends and relationships with friends and family However, it being set in the Northern Nigeria allows the readers to view things through the lens of class, ethinicity and religion. Religion is a big theme in the book and the debates within different sects of Islam play a prominent role in driving the plot. It highlights how easily those with voices are able to sway swathes of the population with religion and how poverty, lack of jobs and foods often drive youth to follow such demagogues. In the end it shows how politicians use such people to drive their own agendas and often instigate violence to their benefits. All in all it was an okay book, was not a big fan of the latter parts of the books.

Fun fact: Nothing really. First book I’ve read set in Northern Nigeria

3. Think Again by Adam Grant

“We go into preacher mode when our sacred beliefs are in jeopardy: we deliver sermons to protect and promote our ideals. We enter prosecutor mode when we recognize flaws in other people’s reasoning: we marshal arguments to prove them wrong and win our case. We shift into politician mode when we’re seeking to win over an audience: we campaign and lobby for the approval of our constituents. The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that we’re right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we don’t bother to rethink our own views.”

Summary: One of my favourite writers Adam Grant writes this book about how we cling on to views about various things contentious topics to career and personal goals to our view of ourselves. The book highlights how rarely we question these beliefs and argues that because the world is so much more dynamic, we should be updating our views on a more frequent basis. Of course he backs these up with anecdotes and facts. It highlights things that make rethinking hard like overconfidence and tethering our opinions to our sense of self and suggest solutions like have people that regularly challenge our views. It touches on how to go get others to rethink their stances(spoiler it’s a dance not a war), and touches on rethinking when it comes to careers, relationships and our sense of selves. Overall, a very good and easy read, littered my funny quips by the author and great use of illustrations

Fun Fact: The book had a bit on Daniel Kahneman, author of the book I read before this.

2. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

“defining feature of System 2, in this story, is that its operations are effortful, and one of its main characteristics is laziness, a reluctance to invest more effort than is strictly necessary. As a consequence, the thoughts and actions that System 2 believes it has chosen are often guided by the figure at the center of the story, System 1”

Summary: This book talks about the two systems of the mind with regards to how we think. The author refers to them as System 1 which operates effortlessly, automatically and cannot be turned off at will and System 2 which deals with effortful mental activities. The book shows the relationship between the two systems and how that sometimes leads to biases in intuition among humans and it tries to define languages to talk about them. It even adds a “Talking about X” section after each chapter. Overall was a very informative book and the biases mention were interesting and backed with research. However, I do wonder how much of that data is still relevant at it seems that is a very dynamic field. The length of the book also felt super long so perhaps it is a book better read in small doses rather than in one sitting

Fun fact: Bought this because I read about the concept of Loss Aversion in a Marketing course at uni which the author of this book came up with

1. Moonwalking With Einstein: The Art And Science Of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer

“How we perceive the world and how we act in it are products of how and what we remember. We’re all just a bundle of habits shaped by our memories. And to the extent that we control our lives, we do so by gradually altering those habits, which is to say the networks of our memory.”

Summary: To quote the author directly: “This book is about the year I spent trying to train my memory, and also trying to understand it — its inner workings, its natural deficiencies, its hidden potential. It’s about how I learned firsthand that our memories are indeed improvable, within limits…”. The techniques to improve memory the book mentions were interesting and seemed effective but, to me, would have little utility in everyday life. However, the book was so much more than those techniques. It gave interesting insights and anecdotes while covering the science, art and history of memory and the way it has changed with innovations, the role of memory in creativity, intelligence and learning. It also showed the importance of practice in his journey to improved memory but most importantly it emphasises the significance of giving more care and attention to what we remember: our memories are the basis of who we are

Fun Fact: A friend really sold this one hard to me, and he did such a good job I bumped it up my list. Worth it? Probably

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