Best reads from 2024
select books and internet reads YTD
Since 2020, I’ve read ~100-125 books on average / year.
But that did not happen in 2024.
Starting a company has put a big dent in the time I have and focus required to read most long-form books. Hard to get into the zone when you’re brain and/or nervous system is rocked from a day of constant swings between highs / lows.
Still, I find reading to be a useful investment of time. It’s a form of thinking. An activity that makes you wrestle with concepts. A place to mine new ideas. I’ve had a largely non-traditional life experience with education (homeschooled until college + mostly shitty college experience). But the great thing about books + the internet is that you can self-educate yourself on almost anything.
This year I read about ~70 books give or take. (not sure the exact number as I didn’t track it, probably a bit higher if I count books I just skimmed).
For the past few years, I’ve highlighted the books and essays / internet reads that have felt most impactful and/or interesting.
2024’s list below.
Essays / internet reads
Blog posts, articles, essays, and other impactful / interesting things from the internet.
Elad Gil on recruiting
I’ve read pretty much every single thing Elad Gil has written on recruiting this year. Most of the best pieces are on his blog.
The Inner Ring
CS Lewis’ classic essay. Careful what status, prestige, and approval you seek.
Games
My friend Shaad wrote and shared this essay earlier this year. Beautiful piece of writing on playing your own game.
The Metamorphosis of a Salesman
NYT Profile of the original founder and CEO of AMD Jerry Sanders. Fascinating character that isn’t studied enough in Silicon Valley.
The Myth of A-Players
Another recruiting oriented piece. This one makes the case for why being an A-player is context dependent.
What’s going on here with this human?
More on the recruiting theme. This essay is one of the best I’ve ever read on hiring and especially reference checks. I’d read it prior to 2024 but found myself returning to it frequently this year.
Are you serious?
Great essay by Visakan Veerasamy. He puts words into what it means to be serious and take thing seriously better than almost anything else I’ve read on the topic.
Books
The most impactful, memorable, or interesting books I read this year.
The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived
Biography on Thomas Watson Jr., the son of Tom Watson Senior. These 2 men built IBM into the juggernaut that dominated the first waves of computing.
The Big Score: The Billion Dollar Story of Silicon Valley
One of the most interesting books I’ve ever read on Silicon Valley history. Starts with the radio era and ends with personal computers and the early days of software companies in the 1980s. The best thing about this book is it illuminates dozens of people and companies that have been forgotten by your average person working in technology today. The book was written in the mid-1980s, which makes comparing the perspective of the industry then with what happened after especially interesting.
Dotcon: How America Lost Its Mind and Money in the Internet Era
A pessimistic and cynical take on the internet written right after the bubble popped. The history of this era makes the book worth the read, but seeing the sheer skepticism that mainstream culture had for tech in 2022 is fascinating. A reminder of just how wrong the masses can be and how long it can take for technology to distribute.
The Big Four: The Curious Past and Perilous Future of the Global Accounting Monopoly
On the history of the big 4 accounting firms. Pretty hard to find much on the internet about this firms so this book was the best I could do. I’d only read this if you’re a nerd about the accounting industry.
Play Nice But Win
Michael Dell’s autobiography / memoir.
Andrew Carnegie
One of the better, more nuanced biographies in print on Andrew Carnegie. The most surprising discovery for me was that he didn’t make his original fortune in Steel but by angel investing in various “technology startups” of his day. Later, he parlayed that fortune into an even bigger one by essentially incubating the company that became U.S. Steel. The way he built his wealth somewhat reminds me of how Sam Altman has built his fortune.
The Intel Trinity
Biography on the founding of Intel. Also charts much of the early history of Fairchild semi-conductor and the original traitorous eight.
Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC Domination and Helped Invent Modern Computing
The story of Compaq’s founding written by one of its original co-founders.
The Fish That Ate the Whale
One of the best books / biographies I’ve ever read about Sam Zemmurray who built a banana empire.
The Predator’s Ball
This books charts the rise and subsequent fall of Michael Milken, Drexel Burnham, and the early junk bond industry of the 1970s/80s. Though Drexel failed, their alumni have gone on to be some of the most successful people on wall street of the subsequent decades.
Founder Brand
One of the only traditional business books that has cut through the noise in a while for me. Dave Gerhardt is one of the thinkers / practitioners of modern B2B marketing I most respect. He was early to the idea and trend of individual founder brands being the next wave of brands.
Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success
Autobiography / memoir of Phil Jackson, the famed coach of the Michael Jordan Bulls and Kobe Bryant Lakers. A devout student of easter philosophy (especially Zen buddhism), he spent a lot of focus on trying to introduce spiritual practice into his teams. He also coached and led with a much more bottoms up approach to each team and player, focusing more on the best way to coach an individual team or player vs a top down enforcement of his philosophy or beliefs.
The Untethered Soul
Michael Singer’s work has had a lot of impact on me in 2024. This is my favorite of his book’s. Finding stillness, quieting my mind, and attempting to kill my ego (long way to go here) have been important priorities for me over the past 18 months. I think Michael’s work is great because it’s so practical. There’s little bull shit in these pages. It’s a direct confrontation with your soul and all the unspoken things going inside of you, for better or worse.
Hard Landing: The Epic Contest for Power and Profits That Plunged the Airlines into Chaos
Charts the history of the airline industry. Finished this on Christmas day. H/T to Eric Button for the rec.
To becoming wiser in 2025. Happy New Year friends.
Banger list