My top 7 books of 2022
I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t read. It’s a level of arrogance to ignore the experience, wisdom, and knowledge of others.
You actually don’t have enough time in your short life to acquire knowledge and wisdom based solely on your “lived experience”. You need the knowledge and wisdom of others. And you get that through books.
Being human means living a finite life. Each day brings us closer to our end. But there are two things in life which brings us closer to the infinite: love and knowledge. I’ve made a post about love as the key to immortality here.
Knowledge is what we’ve always sought and will always seek as humans. It’s what helped us win the dominance race against other species.
Some of our earliest myths and stories are about knowledge. The classic story of Adam and Eve is the first story of seeking knowledge.
Mind you, reading without action is useless. All knowledge acquisition must be followed by action. This is true in martial arts; it’s true in business; and it’s true in character development.
The following books I’ve found to be valuable in helping shape or reframe my thinking.
Here’s my top 7 books of 2022:
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Taleb
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Christine Gross-Loh and Michael J. Puett
American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology by Diana Walsh Pasulka
The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power by Max Chafkin
Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption by Ben Mezrich
Safe Haven: Investing for Financial Storms by Mark Spitznagel
Happy New Year! And thank you for being an awesome reader :)
PS: Every year I take recommendations from friends. So, if you have a book recommendation click “comment” below and let me know.
About me
I’m IJ. I’m a martial artist, product designer, and philosopher.
Why am I doing this? To share my learnings on living an action-oriented life. Want to read more? Follow me on Twitter and subscribe to my newsletter here.
Have a question about this post or interested in working together? Email me at jeitthew @ gmail.com