The Best Books I Read in 2021
I ended up reading less books this year than last year, but that's okay. I really thought the quality of books I read was overall better. The length of the books I read certainly was longer too. Highlighting this year's top three reads was actually pretty easy. The top book was clearly my favorite and the same can be said about the second and the third. From reading biographies, to histories, books about social justice, and books about learning, I certainly went beyond my favorite genres for reading in 2021. Here are my top three books of the year:
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
by David Epstein
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
Winners: And How They Succeed
by Alastair Campbell
A friend of mine recommended I read this book and like I do with all book recommendations, I'll put them towards the end of my "to-read" list. However, I then saw that Bill Gates had Range on his Top 5 Books for the holiday season in 2020 and knew that I better move this one up the list. Boy, am I glad I did. I've been waiting to read a book like this my entire life. What Epstein says about the the traditional American education system really hit home. I think most everyone reading this knows that the best learning always comes from the most unconventional teachers. As someone currently getting my Ph. D., the title of the book is sort of a contradiction to what I am doing. Despite the specialization I am undergoing within my program, I am completely agree with my friend Vineeth who said this book is a "must-read" for Ph. D. students. If there is one thing doctoral students should focus on it's this: don't lose sight of the world outside of your area of specialization. Epstein argues (and I would back up his argument at any moment) that generalized skills will always transfer to areas that require specialized skills. He backs up this claim by inluding stories from scientists and athletes who have lived through this claim. More than just talking about why generalists will succeed in the long run over specialists and why the conventional education system is not great, Epstein goes into detail about tactics everyone can employ to the learning. I was particularly drawn into learning more about Fermi problems and analogical thinking, both of which Epstien introuces in Range. Out of every book I have ever read, Range definitely gets a glowing top-5 recommendation from me. It truly is a must-read.
READ. THIS. BOOK. With the ever-present social equity issues plauging the United States and other countries, The Hate U Give does an amazing job of understanding the perspective(s) of minority communities. As a member of the majority, this book really helped me recognize the daily burdens that others carry with them just because of the color of their skin. The book focuses on a fictional character Starr who is a high school girl just trying to do her best every day. Through a series of events that occur in the book, the reader feels as if they are growing with Starr. The first-person point-of-view Thomas gives us through Starr's eyes is truly impressive. While reading, I found myself emerged in the town of Garden Heights, going to school with Starr, and feeling her pain. I will absolutely read more of Angie Thomas's books because The Hate U Give was truly outstanding.
This was one of the first books I read in 2021 and for the better part of the year, it sat at number one on my list. The word strategy is thrown around a lot in both work and life, but executing strategy makes all the difference. In Winners, Campbell talks about how our traditional idea of strategic execution is wrong and that strategy is only one part of a bigger plan of executing well. To execute well, you first need an objective, i.e. the thing you want to achieve. From the objective, you develop a strategy. To carry out your strategy, you use tactics. Perhaps the biggest confusion in understanding strategy, Campbell argues, is that many people get strategy and tactics confused. Instead of having a concrete strategy, they will make a tactic their strategy. But having a tactic as a strategy will rarely succeed because you are supposed to carry out different tactics for a strategy. By making your strategy a tactic, you are really limiting what you can do to carry out your plan of attack. To illustrate the points in this book, Campbell draws on his prior experience working for the New Labour Party in the UK government and multiple sports stories. If you want to learn how to win in many aspects of your life, read Winners.