My Top Reads of 2019
My journey to becoming a bookworm, as well as a handful of books I loved.
At the start of 2019, I decided to set myself the challenge of reading 12 books — which was a big step from the 1 book I read in 2018! As someone who rarely picked up a book, I tried to read with as much variety as possible. From such classics like How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, to more thought-provoking books like 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. It was a slow start, but after a month or two I really got into it and something happened that’s never happened before — I actually enjoyed reading! 📚
As the target of 12 got closer and closer, I wanted to see how far I could get and didn’t want to take the foot off the gas. So, 12 months, 5,580 pages and 20 books later, I finished my year of reading and started 2020 with a completely different outlook to reading and personal development. Because of this, I wanted to share my thoughts on my top 5 books of 2019.
AIQ — Nick Polson & James Scott
This was one of the first books I read in 2019 and definitely one of the most memorable and impactful books for me. Working in the data science community, it’s incredibly important to understand how AI is changing the world we live in, and this book does just that. Nick and James not only give an insight into the maths and statistics behind things like the Netflix recommendation algorithm, but they also give a captivating look into the history behind AI and where it all started. If you’re someone who is interested in understanding a little more about AI, this book is the ideal place to start.
Black Box Thinking — Matthew Syed
Black Box Thinking gives its readers an eye-opening look into failure, how it’s so poorly perceived and why it should be seen as a crucial learning tool. Packed with fascinating stories from industries like aviation and healthcare, Syed eloquently explains how important failure is in our success and how we can use it to our advantage. Being part of a startup myself, failure will always be a big thing — but this book helped me harness it for the better.
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
― Matthew Syed
Outliers — Malcolm Gladwell
With a different view of where success comes from, Malcolm Gladwell gives you a look into the early part of a successful outlier’s journey to success, that many either don’t see or even overlook. Outliers is a carefully researched and well-articulated read which includes stories of the likes of Bill Gates and The Beatles, as well as dives into how culture and religion can have a huge impact on success. All in all, it’s a very enthralling read that offers a new viewpoint into success and will leave you thinking about the things that contribute to your own success.
That Will Never Work — Marc Randolph
Founder & First CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph, gives us a taste into the story of Netflix, from the initial idea through to their IPO in 2002. Filled full of anecdotes, insights and stories of their failures, Randolph writes a lot about the early days, the up’s and down and how they dealt with situations — like when they sent some of their customers a pornographic film in 1998 — and finishes the book off nicely with his tips for success. That Will Never Work serves as a very entertaining and enjoyable read that offers a blend of storytelling and business advice.
The Power of Habit — Charles Duhigg
The Power of Habit was by far my favourite book that I read in 2019. Duhigg is an incredibly talented author that’s able to give a simplistic, yet detailed, insight into the complex topic of habits. The book covers three main areas of habit; individual habits, habits of successful businesses and habits in societies. Unlike other habit books, this book goes into detail about both good and bad habits and how we can implement and change them. This book has not only changed the way I look at habits but has also helped me with installing healthy habits in both my personal and work life.
“The Golden Rule of Habit Change: You can’t extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it.”
― Charles Duhigg
If you’re someone who wants to get into reading but finds it hard to fit it into your day, here are a few tips that massively helped me:
1) Schedule time in your day to read. I set myself to do 30 minutes of reading before bed as it’s a great way to close off the day.
2) Instead of endlessly scrolling through social media, use that time to read. The average person spends two and a half hours a day on social media — think of what you could read in that time.
3) Try to always take a book with you. You’ll be surprised at how much you can read whilst on public transport or waiting to get your haircut at the barbers!
With the start to the new year already upon us, I’ve set myself the challenge of reading 25 books over the year. With Charles Duhigg’s latest book Smarter Faster Better proving to be a great first read, I’m excited to see what else 2020 holds.
