My Favorite Books of 2014
15 Jan 2015I made a lot of time to read in 2014. Here were my favorite books:
- Hatching Twitter — Incredible read about the dysfunctional founding team of Twitter. I couldn’t put it down…definitely a page turner
- The Rosie Project — Fictional book about a nerdy guy who tries to find love by giving out surveys to bachelorettes. He tries to apply the scientific method to love and fails, but in the process, finds love unconventionally.
- Ending Aging: Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging In Our Lifetime — Aubrey de Grey argues that our view towards aging is wrong. We strive for cures to cancer, diabetes, stroke, etc, but are fine watching our bodies age. Aging is just an accumulation of damage in the body. Aubrey gives lots of examples of how we could stop aging, as well as the status of those medical breakthroughs.
- 10% Happier — Dan Harris, a TV anchor on Good Morning America, had a panic attack on air. He decided to get his anxiety under control with meditation, and claims that meditating every day makes you 10% happier…I agree
- The Goldfinch — An orphaned child steals an artistic masterpiece. He travels around America, from NYC to Las Vegas, having life-defining experiences while always holding on to his beloved Goldfinch painting.
- Throwback — Jason Kendall, an MLB catcher, explains baseball from an insider’s angle. I enjoyed reading about what the catcher/pitcher signs and signals actually mean.
- Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal — Everyone knows that there is food waste, but I never understood just how much food is wasted in all steps of the food production process. Farmers waste crops when they don’t look the way consumers expect them to. Food production plants throw out heaps of excess production when supermarkets won’t take their supply. Supermarkets throw out food past the sell by date, even though the food is safe and edible.
- Schulz and Peanuts — Howard Schulz, the inventor and creator of Charlie Brown, struggled mightily in his early life. After each failure, he kept drawing, eventually resulting in the most successful cartoon series ever.