My favorite books of 2021
Read 61 books in 2021.
The shortest book was “The Death of Ivan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy, the longest “Shogun” by James Clavell.
Average book length: 375 pages.
Most popular: “Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden. Least popular: “Дневник Реалиста” by Илья Волочков.
Here are my top 5:
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The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy
“Hailed as one of the world’s supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his dying so much as a passing thought. But one day, death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise, he is brought face to face with his own mortality”
This book creates a great sense of presence. You feel pain, agony, hatred, anger. But all of this vanishes in the end, leaving only peace.
Highly recommend.
I’ve been lucky to visit Leo’s home - Yasnaya Polyana last year. Saw the house he was born in, his garden and … even his grave. Loved the forest and apple trees. Small fact: there are so many apple trees, every year the museum staff has to look for volunteers to help them gather the crop.
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How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need by Bill Gates
“In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical - and accessible - plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe.”
This is a complex topic and Bill does a great job of structuring the available data and paths to move forward.
Unfortunately there’s little you can do on the individual level. Related video from Kurzgesagt:
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Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
“From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction”
My suggestion is to listen to the audiobook. Matthew has a really nice voice.
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Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis
“A groundbreaking exploration of why we want what we want, and a toolkit for freeing ourselves from chasing unfulfilling desires.”
While I agree that this book has some issues (e.g. Elizabeth Holmes; see reviews), I still think it’s a good intro into the mimetic theory.
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Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
“In Michael Lewis’s game-changing bestseller, a small group of Wall Street iconoclasts realize that the U.S. stock market has been rigged for the benefit of insiders. They band together—some of them walking away from seven-figure salaries—to investigate, expose, and reform the insidious new ways that Wall Street generates profits. If you have any contact with the market, even a retirement account, this story is happening to you.”
Felt sorry when the FBI has arrested Sergey Aleynikov. Not because he was a software developer like me, but rather the accusations, which seem absurd (so when J.P. Morgan is doing HFT it is okay, but when one of the employees quits and creates his own company to do the same - it’s bad).
Books that didn’t make it into top 5, but still worth mentioning:
- Дневник Реалиста by Илья Волочков. I’d recommend it if you’re in your early twenties.
You can find all the other books as well as some statistics on Goodreads.
Previous years: