It’s the time of year for lists, it seems. And I’ve decided to hop on the bandwagon.

One of my goals this past year was to read more and was able to crush through more books than I’ve ever read while not enjoying the free time of travel.

I often see people on Facebook asking for book suggestions so I decided to put my own list of favourites together. At some point I’d like to make one monster list of all-time favourites, but for now let’s stick with the last year.

There are no affiliate links or anything in this post and no links to purchase whatsoever. It’s just some (possibly) helpful info for your curious mind.

The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

The only work of fiction I read this year was, in an unfortunate sense, actually semi-autobiographical. It tells the story of a talented writer’s fall into mental illness. While the subject was interesting enough in itself, what I loved about this book was how stunningly it was written. Not since ‘Shantaram’ have I been so enthralled by such descriptive writing.

Homo Deus – Yuval Noah Harari

The sequel to Harari’s anthropological epic Sapiens is probably the most thought-provoking book I read this year. Part anticipatory, part cautionary. While Sapiens is a detailed breakdown of where humans came from, Homo Deus is an analysis of where we’re heading. 

Tribe – Sebastian Junger

War journalist and author Sebastian Junger digs into one of the most important aspects of human existence, that thing that binds us together. And questions why it seems to have disappeared from our current society.

Tribe is a quick and easy read that is incredibly well-written. He packs a lot into a small package by cutting the fat and getting straight to the point.

The 80/20 Principal – Richard Koch

I’d heard a lot about this book and the concept before diving in, and it absolutely delivered.

The basic concept: 80 per cent of your success comes from 20 per cent of your effort. And 80 per cent of what holds you back is the result of 20 per cent of your actions. Figure out what these are and you’re laughing.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World – Jack Weatherford

This book blew me away. Ever since listening to Dan Carlin’s epic podcast series “Wrath of the Khans,” I’ve been intrigued by the lore surrounding these people.

How one man and a scattering of tribes from the steppe created one of the greatest empires in history is only part of the story. The subtle — and not so subtle — impacts on history today are incredible. 

Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl

This is a powerful memoir of sorts from Viktor Frankl, a former prisoner at Auschwitz. Frankl describes in often sickening detail the truly unimaginable experience.

What makes this so significant, however, is that during his time, he learned a very powerful lesson on life, the self and existence.

There is one thing that nobody can take from us as humans, how we choose to feel.

Linchpin – Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a master marketer and entrepreneur. But above all else, he encourages others — everyone — to improve. As the subtitle suggests, this book is about making yourself indispensable. Without sounding like some cliched self-improvement book Seth not-so-subtly nudges you to stand out as an employee, entrepreneur, or creative.

The Practice – Seth Godin

Another Godin book that, at least for my work, dovetails nicely with Linchpin. The Practice is about exactly that, practicing. The only true way to become excellent at a creative process is to do it constantly.

Borrowing from Steven Pressfield’s masterpiece “The War of Art”, Seth sends a clear and simple message: fight the resistance, do the work, and ship it. 

Enlightenment Now – Steven Pinker

Though the title suggests, this is not a book about spirituality. Enlightenment Now runs a parallel to Homo Deus but with an outlook a little more focused on pure optimism. Pinker suggests that we are entering a new period of enlightenment, such as the time during the Age of Reason in Europe.

Regardless of what the news tells us, with advancements in health, technology and the like, we are actually living in the greatest time in human history. And things are only going to get better from here.

American Heiress – Jeffrey Tobin

Though it feels like fiction from start to finish, this wild and bizarre tale actually happened.

This is the story of Patty Hearst, granddaughter of William Randolph Hurst, the media mogul of the early 20th century. During the chaos of California in the 70s, Patty is kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army and held captive for several weeks. When she finally reappears in the public eye, she’s holding a machine gun while robbing a bank alongside her SLA comrades.

Things get crazy.  

The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell

I’ve been sitting on this Malcolm Gladwell classic for years and finally got around to it this year. Using a selection of examples from recent history, he demonstrates how powerful and incredible change can happen. While pressure can build over time, it takes that last, often insignificant seeming, touch to push things past the point of no return.

Meditations – Marcus Aurelius

I’ve read this through a couple of times over the years and pick a page at random from time to time. 

Meditations is a collection of the personal journal entries of Marcus Aurelius — Roman Emperor and legendary stoic. It’s a powerful glimpse into the mind of one of history’s greats. And his thoughts and insight are entirely relatable in today’s modern world.