The Fall Reading List
As I did at the end of summer, I compiled a list of the best books I've read this season. All are worth a purchase from your local bookstore, or a checkout from the library.
BORN A CRIME, Trevor Noah
For a public school in bucolic suburban Connecticut, my high school did a surprisingly excellent job educating us about apartheid. But the courses were from a more superficial level, educating us about the laws and policies, names like Mandela and Biko, and why apartheid as an institution was inhumane and unjust. But Trevor Noah's book, aside from being laugh-out-loud hysterical, does a fantastic job of showing what apartheid was like from a street level. He eloquently shows what the everyday lives of those living under apartheid were like, and creates a wonderfully detailed picture of how South Africans coped with a world gone askew.
THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY, Matt Haig
A lovely tale of what if. The choices we make each day create exponential effects that trail into infinity. But what if you could go back and change some of those decisions? How would your life look now? Haig takes a fun and curious approach to the weighty topic, and churns out a tale that celebrates life, happiness, and enjoying who you are - mistakes and all.
BAD BLOOD, John Carreyrou
The second book in my "Capitalism Gone Amuck" trilogy, Bad Blood shows how avarice can infect those to the point of becoming almost psychopathic. Theranos, driven by ego, misplaced ambition, and utter malfeasance, seemed like an utter hellhole to work in. But the failures of its products, and the corruption to hide those failures, bring to light just how far people are willing to go - including hurting their workers and the general public - to succeed.
CONSPIRACY, Ryan Holiday
The last of the "Capitalism" trilogy is a story filled with good bad guys, and bad good guys. No one really wins in this story, and the losses send waves of change throughout multiple industries. Gawker Media was built on hubris. Peter Thiel was built on unstoppable drive. When those two forces collided, it created a firestorm that forever changed the lives (and opinions of) those involved. Holiday does a fantastic job of showing both sides, and how and why they did what they did.
CLOUD CUCKOO LAND, Anthony Doerr
I eagerly awaited Anthony Doerr's follow-up from one of my favorite novels of all time, All the Light We Cannot See. Filled with the same beautiful descriptions and heartbreaking characters, Cloud Cuckoo Land mostly succeeds. It takes a while to get going, and it takes some mental gymnastics to follow all of the different story threads. But by the end of the novel, everything feels neat and tidy, and the novel's message becomes poignant and clear.
THE STORYTELLER, Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl is, arguably, the last great rock and roll superstar. The incredibly likable frontman shares stories from his childhood, his start in the business, and what happens when being part of the biggest rock band in the world suddenly ends. And while his time with Nirvana has more than enough stories to fill a book, it really only takes up a small part of his tales. What really makes this book shine is Dave's natural way of writing, his incredible stories, and his constant question of "what the hell am I doing here?"
