5 Best Books I Read in 2024
Productivity. Climate Change. Investing. Global Politics.
I read 21 books in 2024.
This rollercoaster reading year had both of some of my all time favorite books and some of my all time worst ones.
In this blog post I will tell you about my 5 favorite, or most impactful, that I read this year.
How am I measuring “favorite”?
Not necessarily by my Goodreads rating. Instead, by impact.
This year, I came across books that were brilliantly written, however, did not resonate with me. While, on the other hand, there were books that weren’t well-written, but had a lasting impact on me.
Not surprisingly, I ended up giving at least 4-stars to all these books. Obviously, if the book had a big impact on me, or changed my way of thinking, it would be a disservice to give it anything less than 4-stars.
That said, there are books that I gave 5-stars to this year that didn’t make the cut.
Let’s get started.
Annual Reading Stats
Before diving into the list, let’s look at my Goodreads reading stats.
- Shortest Book — The Hill We Climb (29 pages)
- Longest Book — The Intelligent Investor (623 pages)
- Average Book Length — 287 pages
- Average Rating I Gave — ⭐⭐⭐ (3-stars)
So, on average, a very average reading year.
Now, let’s look at the highlights.
#1 This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein
My Goodreads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of the best books I read about climate change.
In this book, Naomi looks at climate change through the lens of capitalism. She talks about the wrong incentives in our current economic model and how reluctant the world economy is to transition from non-renewables to renewables.
Even though I loved the book, some of the “doomsday preaching” was over the top. It felt more like fear mongering, than rational or constructive.
Personally, this book changed the way I look at climate news. It’s also starting to transform my day-to-day habits, making me more minimal and intentional with everything I do.
#2 High Output Management by Andrew Grove
My Goodreads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A fantastic classic book on management by the former CEO of Intel.
This book is all about practical tips. No fluff.
It talks about managing people, building efficient processes, team building, motivation, compensation, measuring metrics, and so much more!
If you are looking for ONE management book to read this year, make it this one.
#3 The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
My Goodreads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
After becoming married at the end of 2023, I wanted to tweak my long-term investment strategy in 2024.
And this was the perfect investment book for that.
The book talks about long-term value investing. Unlike modern investment books, it does not fall for hype cycles. Instead, it shows you different investing strategies that have stood the test of time.
Based on this book, I have tweaked both my 401K contributions (retirement savings) and my individual self-directed investments.
The book is so comprehensive that I don’t feel the need to read another investment book for some time.
#4 The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi
My Goodreads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have been personally following the Israel-Palestine conflict for 2 years now. Hearing from mainstream media, social media, podcasts and other blog posts, I have consistently struggled to form my own opinion.
Without a solid foundational knowledge about Middle East history, it was impossible for me to form educated opinions about the situation.
That’s why I picked this book up. And what a great idea that turned out to be!
The book is immensely comprehensive. It’s a history book. It will teach you everything and anything that happened in the past century.
There were certain parts in the book where I felt the Palestinian bias of the author was coming across strongly. However, after checking against other sources, all the facts checked out.
I don’t think there’s another book in this list that taught me more about history. Amazing read if you want to understand everything that has led up to today’s conflict.
#5 Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood by Anthony Mascarenhas
My Goodreads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I don’t think most of y’all will relate to this book. So, I will keep it short.
Even though I grew up in Bangladesh, to my surprise, I knew very little about its history.
After witnessing the mass demonstrations and fall of a dictator, the time seemed right to learn about my own history.
Even though the book was only 192 pages long, it summarized all the key historical events well.
Closing Thoughts
Okay folks, that’s all for today.
If you have read it so far, thank you for your time. I hope you found it valuable.
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