MY TOP 5 BOOKS IN 2024

Article #19: My Top 5 Reads and More in 2024

I made a big statement up on this thang last year that I was going to plough through thirty books in 2024.

Well, guess what?

I didn’t get anywhere near that number. I managed a shameful seventeen. As well as a couple of books I started but ditched as they didn’t grab me.

Apparently, around ten minutes of reading a day reduces stress levels by two thirds. Longer stints of reading manages to stave off brain-rot by offering addititional smug rewards like critical thinking, empathy and self-reflection. Allegedly.

Plus, if you pull out a book at an airport, a coffee shop or in-line somewhere you get a lot of sideways glances, as everyone doom scrolls through their phone. It will make you feel like an intellectual and really really special.

I’ve never read Ulysses and have no immedidate plans to. But I have a worn out copy that I lifted out of a waiting room once. And there’s nothing I like better than carrying it around and replying to anyone that asks “Oh she’s a tough read alright.”

What I love about books is this: I don’t need a charger, or wifi and I don’t have to replace the cover when I drop them. And they’re not trying to upsell me to some amazeballs premo subscription package that I don’t need and will forget to stop paying for.

See what I mean? Books… you can’t bate them.

So, without further ado, here’s what I actually read in 2024.

And 2025?

I’m going to try and break the 20 book barrier. You heard it here first so ya did.

Enjoy.

**MY TOP 5 READS**

My top five for the year.

Drumroll…

#5. THE ALGEBRA OF WEALTH by Scott Galloway

I always find myself reading self-help money books toward the end of the year. Probably because I’m never in the financial shape I’d like to be.

There are a sea of finance self-help books out there. I really like this one, because (A) it passes the idiot test (I can understand it) and (2) it doesn’t promise that you’ll be a millionaire in five easy peasy steps.

No matter where you are on your financial journey, get it into ya I say.

“Budgeting for budgeting’s sake isn’t motivating. Just make the goal one you can hit now. Before you set your sights on being a baller, figure out what you spend on shoes every year. Baby steps.”

#4. MEDITATIONS by Marcus Aurelius

Stoic philosophy is everywhere these days. Like everywhere. There are more high priests of Stoicism in your feed than you could shake a sandal at. Now, I love a good AI generated video of Marcus Aurelius looking like a toweled, curly haired buff Jeff Bezos as much as the next man (unless the next man is Jeff Bezos), but in 2024 I decided to do my own editing.

And boy was I glad I did. Suffice to say, the horse’s mouth is always the best to look.

“Let it make no difference to thee whether thou art cold or warm, if thou art doing thy duty; and whether thou art drowsy or satisfied with sleep; and whether ill-spoken of or praised; and whether dying or doing something else. For it is one of the acts of life, this act by which we die: it is sufficient then in this act also to do well what we have in hand.”

#3. SO GOOD THEY CAN’T IGNORE YOU by Cal Newport

I’ve banged on before about how following your passion may not be the wisest of career or financial moves for that matter.

Georgetown University Professor Cal Newport makes a much more comprehensive case for that here. Probably better known for his book Deep Work, his writing speaks to me as it’s grounded in timeless values that he has applied himself.

So, whether you’re at a career crossroads or looking for a fresh challenge, if I were you, I’d read this first.

“Compelling careers often have complex origins that reject the simple idea that all you have to do is follow your passion.”

#2. A SHORT HISTORY OF RUSSIA by Mark Galeotti

There’s a lot of talk of Putin and Russia these days and for good reason. The shadow of the world’s most complex nation looms large over all of us, no matter where we call home.

In order to try and understand Eastern Europe better, I thought this would be a good place to start. Mark Galeotti does an incredible job of condensing over one thousand years of history. And only through looking into Russia’s past is it possible to shine a light on its future.

“Russia is a country with a certain future: it is only its past that is unpredicatable.”

Soviet Proverb

#1. SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand

To say I love this book would be akin to saying the Atlantic ocean is a tad damp. I enjoyed this book so much that the closer to the finish line I got, the slower I read. I just wanted to spend some more time with these characters. And this was my second time reading it.

The thing that gets me everytime is that the yarns contained within the pages of this book are all true. The story of Seabiscuit, his wily jockey, his trainer and his owner, not to forget the iceman himself George Woolf, is almost too remarkable to be true. The lives these people lived in post depression, pre-war America was nothing short of extraordinary.

Forget the movie, go read the book. It’ll be the ride of your young life.

“All along the way, the little horse and the men who rehabilitated him captured the American imagination. It wasn’t just greatness that drew the people to them. It was their story. It began with a young man on a train, pushing west…”

**BOOKS I READ AGAIN**

And here are the ones I went back to.

In no particular order mind you.

#1. FAITH, HOPE AND CARNAGE by Nick Cave & Seán O’Hagan

In the months following my own Mother’s death I found myself leafing through pages of this book once more.

I’ve said it before, I’ve encountered few people who can frame a sentence around death and loss the way Nick Cave can. I dare say it’s because he’s had more than his fair share of experience with it.

I found it every bit as compelling second time round.

“We are all, at some point in our lives, obliterated by loss. If you haven’t been by now, you will be in time - that’s for sure.”

#2. DEEP WORK by Cal Newport

Newport again. In a world that is always leading us down the path of chronic distration, Cal Newport is making a noise worth tuning into.

If you want to get the best work out of yourself, but not sure how, then give this a spin. And go deep my friend. Go deep.

“There’s also an uneasiness that surrounds any effort to produce the best things you’re capable of producing, as this forces you to confront the possibility that your best is not (yet) that good. It’s safer to comment on our culture than step into the Rooseveltian ring and attempt to wrestle it into something better.”

#3. ADVENTURES IN THE SCREEN TRADE by William Goldman

For anyone in the business of show, this is a must. I’m not sure why I returned to it. One reason is that Goldman writes in such a gorgeous way, I often feel like it’s just me and him having a chat.

That might go in some way to explaining how he won that Oscar for Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. The man could write. I have a feeling it won’t be the last time I pick this up.

“Truth is terrific, reality is even better, but believability is best of all.”

#4. GOOD TO GREAT by Jim Collins

What does it take to build a good company from the ground up? And can that company become a great company? And what seperates the good from the great?

Great question comrade.

Jim Collins and his merry team of researchers spent five years of their lives trying to answer it so you and me don’t have to. Now, whether you’re a one woman band or fancy yourself as the next jazzy Jeff Bezos give this a whirl.

I am warning you, it is a management book. But there are concepts in there that apply to any pursuit of excellence, thanks to evidence based insights across 1,435 Fortune 500 companies.

A key learning for me is this: CEO’s that build great companies are humble and ferocious. They put the bigger picture before themselves. No ego. No bullshit.

Wild, right?

“Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incedibly ambitious - but their ambition is first and foremosst for the institution, not themselves.”

#5. INTO THE WOODS by John Yorke

When I grow up, I would like to be a master storyteller. This book not only breaks down how that works but goes deep into why stories are how you and I make sense of the world around us.

And in the year just gone, I’m glad to say I’ve also become a student of John.

“Storytelling, then, is born from our need to order everything outside ourselves… every tale is an attempt to lasso a terrifying reality, tame it and bring it to heel.”

#6. TRUE AND FALSE by David Mamet

This is an acting/creative book I returned to for the third or fourth time at least.

Mamet’s no nonsene approach serves as a kind of a north star for me. So, yes, this is more of a performance book for an actor, but for anyone in a creative field, or thinking about stripping away all ego in performance, this is essential reading in my view.

“We are not moved by the self-proclaimed emotions of the manipulative, or of the famous. We discount to the greatest extent these reports, as we fear, correctly, that they are only advertising themselves.”

**NEW BOOKS I ENJOYED**

New books I enjoyed.

Once again, in no particular order.

#1. BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY by W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

If I could sum up 2024 in two words, it would be ‘blue ocean’. Those two words seemed to arise again and again. Or maybe that’s just if I think of a yellow taxi, I end up seeing yellow taxis everywhere.

Either way, the main crux of this business strategy book is the following: Whatever game you’re in, seek out blue oceans, as oppossed to red ones. And Cirque du Soleil are more than just fire eaters.

The only reason it didn’t make my Top 5 is I didn’t finish it in full, I jumped around a little with the chapters and have a couple still to go.

“Red oceans will always matter and will always be a fact of life. Companies need to go beyond competing. To seize new profit and growth opportunities, they also need to create blue oceans.”

#2. NOT THE END OF THE WORLD by Hannah Ritchie

There’s a lot of climate talk out there. Depending on who you listen to, we’re all f*cked or it’s all just a high winded storm in a vegan tea cup.

I was around for the ozone layer panic and hail from a part of the world which seems immune to, not just global warming, but any sort of warming (the West of Ireland). So, I thought I should try and educate myself.

Hannah Ritchie does a good job of tackling the big questions, putting some evidence based thought on it. For me, she cleared up some of the myths floating around my head.

If you’re the type of person who lies awake at night worrying about the fate of polar bears or pandas, I’d be lying by saying you’ll sleep like a lion after it. But you might not feel that guilty buying a can of Lynx Alaska.

“The problem is people mistake optimism for ‘blind optimism’, the unfounded faith that things will just get better… optimisim is seeing challenges as opportunities to make progress; it’s having the confidence that there are things we can do to make a difference.”

#3. CITIZEN QUINN by Gavin Daly and Ian Kehoe

Once upon a time, a young man by the name of Sean Quinn, born deep in a part of Ireland famous for the Troubles, went from being ‘a simple farmers son’ to one of the richest self made men in the world. His personal fortune was estimated at some $6 billion big ones.

How did he rise? Through graft, guile, an unyielding self belief and grass roots philosophy.

How did he fall? Well, that’s another story. And this book goes some way to explaining it. And guess what? If the story wasn’t so true, you’d never believe it.

“We came from a very simple background and we tried to make business always simple. We’d don’t believe in too much fuss, we never got a feasability study done in our lives in thirty-three, thirty-four years. I don’t use a mobile phone. I play cards in a house at night where you have to go out into the front street to go to the toilet.”

#4. 21 LESSONS by Yuval Noah Harari

Yuval Noah Harari gives his take on the big issues of the day. Technology, immigration, nationalism, war, terrorism, truth and resilience. Even God.

His insights are far reaching and opened my mind to ideas within those topics I’d never thought about - on both sides of the fence.

Hands up, I haven’t finished it in full, but I will. It’s one you can return to easy enough. It’s not Seabiscuit after all.

“I encourage all of us, whatever our beliefs, to question the basic narratives of our world, to connect past developments with present concerns, and not be afraid of controversial issues.”

#5. SYNCHRONICITY by Carl Yung

Jung challenges us, and himself, to look beyond the rational explanation to one that requires us to reach beyond what can be explained away. The promise of something unknowable, becoming knowable.

It’s not a light read and the further I went into it, the more clunkier it got for me. So there were times even after reading a sentence for the third time, I was a tad lost. That said, its overall message is a fascinating one.

And guess what? I wrote an article on it so you don’t have to wade through it. You’re welcome.

“Synchronicity is a meaningful coincidence in time, a physcic factor which is independent of time and space. This revolutionary concept of synchronicity both challenges and complements the physicist’s view of causality. It also forces us to a basic reconsideration of the meaning of change, probability, coincidence and the singular events in our lives.”

#5. THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES by Joseph Campbell

Since it first appeared on book shelves seventy-six years ago, this book has influenced countless people by merging the insights of pyschology with Campbell’s peerless understanding of mythology.

As someone fasincatined by story, it’s a must. Again, not easy going but if you’re so inclined, a masterful insight into our deep desire to tell story.

“Dream is the personalised myth, myth the depersonalised dream; both myth and dream are symbolic in the same general way of the dynamics of the psyche. But in the dream the forms are quirked by the particular troubles of the dream, whereas in myth the problem and solutions shown are directly valid for all mankind.”

#5. PATTERNS by Mo Zidan

They say there is a book in all of us. Now, I don’t know who ‘they’ are per se. But I do know many do the talk, yet few do the walk.

I’m glad to say there’s a first with this list. There is an author on here I have the pleasure of knowing! And he didn’t wait for permission, he self published.

I found some wonderful nuggets in this book. And in the words of the man himself:

“This book is unique in many ways, you can start reading it from any page, beginning, middle, or end. It always makes sense, just like its name, ‘Patterns,’ it has no beginning and no end, it is a cycle.”