The Best Books I Read This Year
Biographies, Connection, Learning Life, Sci-Fi and more
Here’s the best books I read in 2024. It was a pretty varied year of reading for me, with the main source of books being recommendations, books i’ve had on the bookshelf for years that hadn’t yet found their moment, and subjects i’d sought out to help work through particular challenges an opportunities. I hope you’ll find some inspiraton and i’d love to hear what you read and loved this year.
Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
A comforting warm embrace of a read that helps you understand your limitations and the limitations of everyone in the world, spread out over the course of 30 days to make it stick.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
My brother bought me this for Christmas and said it was the best book that he read in 2024. It's a thought-provoking tale of someone who starts life without a huge amount of intelligence but sees their situation shift multiple times. It has an ability to bring up a kind of empathy for everyone at every point of this scale and others.
Replay by Ken Grimwood
A second foray into sci-fi this year, a fantastical exploration of what it means to live a good life and all of the diversions you can go down that don't contribute to that goal.
Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz
I read a lot of founder or CEO biographies this year, looking for inspiration—and this was the one that stood out. It's an amazing story about how a big, bold vision, relentless execution, and creative problem-solving made Starbucks an enduring brand.
Ultra-Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken
I used to eat at least one massively highly processed protein bar a day. Since finishing this book, I’ve eaten none. A sobering look into what makes up the majority of easily available food options and the negative impacts on ourselves and our society that they bring.
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
Recommended by a friend who's involved in running the world's best bar. This is an inspiring look at what happens when you go well above and beyond expectations to create amazing moments for your customers. Inspiration, stories, and rules that can be applicable to all sorts of companies.
Watford Forever: How Graham Taylor and Elton John Saved a Football Club, a Town and Each Other by John Preston
As a long-suffering Watford fan, I might be a little biased, but this is an entertaining and inspiring read for anyone. It tells the story of how one of the biggest rock stars in the world at the time—Elton John—bought Watford Football Club, hired Graham Taylor—our best ever manager—and they created magic together both on and off the pitch.
How to Know a Person by David Brooks
I don't know about you, but I'd never had an education in how to connect with people and how to build strong, deep relationships. I wanted one, and this book at least partially delivered. It's a great primer on what it means to really connect with people.
The School of Life: An Emotional Education by The School of Life
I'm a big fan of Alain de Botton and most things released by The School of Life. This had been on my bookshelf since attending a launch lecture with a friend, and I enjoyed getting around to it this year. It brings a lot of de Botton’s key themes and thoughts together into one easily digestible take on what it means to live a good life.