February Reading List
Hey friends,
It might be two days late, but my reading list is better late than never! Here’s my reading list for February where I managed to read some interesting and timely books.
Kleptopia – Considering the war raging in Ukraine right now, this is a timely book. The journalist Tom Burgis takes us not the world of dark and dirty money as we explore how kleptocrats move their money around the globe. The book is written like a thriller, except this is real life and not fiction. What’s galling about this book is the lengths to which the west has enabled oligarchs and Presidents of various countries to hide their wealth in opaque offshore locations and shell companies, while people back in their respective countries. Hopefully, what’s going on in Ukraine will be a wake-up call to governments across the globe that kleptocracy needs to be rooted out once and for all.
The Psychopath Test – This is a fun book written by the journalist Jon Ronson that looks at the madness industry as he calls it. We follow Ronson as he meets various people accused and sentenced for being psychopaths while meeting the people who determine how to identify psychopaths. It’s a great book and an eye-opening journey into a world many of us don’t think about. A light-hearted read on a serious topic.
The Dignity of Labour – If you’re not British, you can probably skip this book, as it deals with issues in British politics relating to the workplace. If you’re British, interested in British politics, or the future of the workplace, then it’s worth a read. There are lots of interesting points in here and perhaps the most interesting takeaway is that author, Jon Cruddas, a Labour MP, is very sceptical that automation and Universal Basic Income represent the future of work. His arguments certainly made me reconsider my own thoughts on this.
Lives of the Stoics – Ryan Holiday seems to write a book a year, and this is one he wrote in 2020 about the life and times of ancient people who followed the Stoic philosophy of life. Whatever your thoughts on Stoicism, this book is worth reading for the historical aspect. It’s a good primer on a lot of famous figures and will tell you a lot about their lives. I certainly learnt a lot about a wider variety of people I’d heard and hadn’t heard of.
We Belong To Gaia – James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis is fascinating. He believes that the Earth is a living organism instead of just a ball of rock. It’s an interesting theory and one convincingly makes in this short book. Lovelock makes a lot of good points, especially around the climate crisis and how the Earth may turn from being our best friend to our worst enemy. It’s only a short book, so is well worth a read.
I hope you get around to reading a few of these selections. Whether you read them in the next month or year, I’m not bothered. The idea of my reading lists is to encourage you, the reader, to read more.
If more of us read, and read books outside of our comfort zone, the world would be a better place. You don’t know what you don’t know. Reading is one of the best ways to fill in those gaps in your knowledge.
If you have any comments about the books, maybe you’ve read one before. Or if you have some recommendations for me, I’m all ears. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Until next time,
Tom