My Reading Story 2023

Fifty-five books and 23,371 pages done!

Dear Friend, the year is closing up in 48 hours. I thought sharing a summary of my books this year would be good. Reading other's reviews is one of the chief ways I find books I read. Hopefully, this does the same for you.

I read fifty books with 23,371 pages in all.

Biographies

I began the year by reading Roger Lowenstein's biography of Warren Buffet, Buffet: The Making of An American Capitalist. It is a bit dated, but it was a profoundly insightful and informative book on Buffet. Quotes and videos of Buffet are all over the internet, but few know his story deeply. This book will cure this gap of knowledge. It permanently sealed Buffet in my heart as one of the wisest men. Everyone should study Buffet; you will learn about money, discipline, friendship, and how not to build a family. Ayisha Osiris's Love Does Not Win Election is supposed to be a memoir, but it is an eye-opener to Nigeria's politics. Very good.

I completed Ron Chernow's biography of John D Rockefeller, Titan. I started this two years back; it is an 832-page one-stop biography of Rockefeller. It makes you understand Rockeffer. This is a great work. I also completed Pele's autobiography, Pele: The Autobiography. Pele's honesty was easy to see in this work. A truly great sportsman! Sinatra: The Life by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swyn was a very good read, highly informative about the life of Sinatra, the man who gave us the all-time classic "My Way." I saw Sinatra, the good, the bad, and the ugly. My only gross is that the book spent too much time showing how Sinatra was connected to the Mafia. Booker T Washington has always been my kind of guy, but after reading this autobiography, my respect for him shot off the roof. Up From Slavery is what makes you want to get out of the trenches and do so with a noble mission in mind. I am glad to say I even wrote a foreword for a new copy of Booker's book; I will tell you more about our new adventure in a different post. Suppose you want a comprehensive biography of Deng Xiaoping and the efforts towards transforming China from a socialist economy to a capitalist economy. In that case, Ezra Vogel's "Deng Xiaoping and The Transformation of China is the book for you. It was too good and too expensive. I don't regret buying it. A State At Any Cost by Tom Segev is an enjoyable biography of a complex man, David Ben Gurion, the founding father of Israel. You may dislike Ben Gurion, but you can't help but admire his love for the Jews. Super Infinite by Katherine Rundell is one of those books that reads like a poem; it's so sweet. The man who said, "No man is an island," had an interesting life. Being Nixon by Evan Thomas reads like a warning. A warning against abuse of power, excessive ambition, and deceit. I understood Nixon more, disliked him a bit, and I also pitied him. He could have been one of the greatest statesmen the world had ever known; today, most people remember him as a disgrace in public service.

Christopher Nolan's movie Oppenheimer was released this year. It has grossed nearly a billion dollars at the box office. The movie was largely a product of the book American Prometheus by Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin. The book took nearly 30 years. I doubt if there will ever be a better biography of Opje! When I dropped the book, I felt like I understood Opje very well. The Creation of Wealth by RM Lala introduced me to the Tata family, a prominent Indian industrial family. It added to my understanding of why the Tatas are loved by many Indians, as compared to industrialists in Nigeria. Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael White is an attempt to redeem Leonardo's reputation as a scientist; in that respect, it achieved its objective. I am biased for any book written about Leonardo; I like the man a lot.

Post-Independence African leaders have a reputation for being corrupt, wasteful, and without vision. Thomas Sankara was different. Unfortunately for lovers of history, finding any solid information on Thomas Sankara was hard. Brian Peterson has delivered us from this and much more; he has delivered Thomas Sankara from myth. Thomas Sankara: A Revolutionary In Cold War Africa is the definitive biography of this great man. This book shows us Sankara in all his greatness and limitations. This man who died at the age of 37 has so much to say to Africa today, except in terms of Economics. I don't subscribe to the socialist, Marxist, or planned economy that most of their generation bought into.

Some figures are covered in myth, a myth promoted by their enemies. Such is the life of Genghis Khan. Jack Weatherford has delivered Khan from this negative press. It turns out that man and the Empire they built was far better than most of their contemporaries. Genghis Khan And The Making Of The Modern World is a successful redemption attempt. This book reminded me of the importance of writing and sharing history cause when you lose power, those who take over will always reinterpret the past to glorify them and vilify all others. The victors write history, but the losers can do their best by writing something down. An outlier like Jack will find it useful one day.

Greenlights is the sort of inspiring and reflective memoirs that celebrities should be writing, not the gibberish they mostly do. I enjoyed this thoroughly. You will laugh, cry, and get scared, but most importantly, you will be inspired. Matthew McConaughey has a beautiful story.

Socrates: A Man For Our Times by Paul Johnson. This short book is a quick intro to Socrates; if you read Western philosophical books, you will find Socrates everywhere. It is for a good reason. This book shows you why. Socrates was a man of every age. Ironically, Socrates was against writing. He believed writing would make people lazy. Sorry Sir, I am glad you lost on this one.

My Time As Chaplain is a book by Nathaniel Bivan. It is a biography of the man who preached to Nigeria's president for almost a decade, Venerable Obioma Onwuzurumba. I have often complained about the lack of accounts from Nigerian public officeholders; it was good to see this book! Nathaniel wrote respectfully, which means he could have told us more.

The Stoics

Stoics saved my life this year. More than any other year, I was tested on my core values this year. I was provoked often, I was spat at often, I was abused often, and I had so many reasons to be bitter and unforgiving. It was the stoics that helped me stay in line. I kept thinking of what Seneca had said and what Marcus Aurelius had written. These stoic books were very useful.

Courage Is Calling by Ryan Holiday

Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday

Lives Of The Stoics by Ryan Holiday

How To Be A Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci

The Quest For Character by Massimo Pigliucci

On The Shortness of Life by Seneca

I recommend you begin with Ryan Holiday. He is the most readable of them all.

Society

Thomas Sowell released another book at the age of 93. I had to read it. Social Justice Fallacies was high on research and data. I've read some of these arguments from Sowell previously, so this didn't come across as something new to me. It was a bit of a letdown for an old Sowell fan. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder is the sort of book that everyone should read. It is a warning against dictatorship and authoritarianism. If you love freedom, pick this one.

Notes On A Native Son could rank as a memoir, but I throw it here because it is a book that diagnoses the social issues of America from the eyes of a brilliant writer. James Baldwin remains a favorite for many people, including me. This book stays with you long after you've finished reading it. The Anatomy of The State by Murray Rothbard is the kind of book that many Nigerians need to read. It will make you skeptical of the government, which is a good thing. Despite so much evidence of the failure of governments in Nigeria, Nigerians have often shown a blind indifference to their government. This is not good. Murray may deliver a few more people. Of course, one doesn't need to go as extreme as Murray does. Peter Enahoro will make you laugh your sorrows out. How To Be A Nigerian is a satirical work that has become a cultural reference point. Rabindranath Tagore's Nationalism is a good reminder of what nations should be like, sadly they are not.

Self Help

Hyperfocus by Chris Bailly is a good material that helps you focus. This book used too many words to say a simple thing that could be said in fewer words. If you are patient to read everything, you will find useful hints to help you focus more. Mehdi Hassan is a legend in public debates. I've watched him take on big people on Head To Head, and I've watched him debate people in Intelligent Squared; I admired his brilliance, and I admired his quick wit. It turns out it wasn't something I couldn't learn. He shares all his experience and expertise in this work, Win Every Argument. No one deserved to write such a book more than Mehdi. I enjoyed it. Beware when you next argue with me. Steven Pressfield's The War of Art is the book that every creative should read. I am writing this end-of-year review because I read that book. Creative work is a war, and we must set out to win it.

History

Colonialism by Proxy is a book by Moses Ochonu. This book narrates how the British unintentionally and intentionally aided the suppression of minority tribes in the middle belt of Nigeria. It also tells of how they fought back. The British Empire left so much damage around the world when the Empire closed office; this is another of such stories. Religion, Power, and Politics in Northern Nigeria by Matthew Hassan Kukah is a rich book that tells of the abuse of religion within this axis. Kukah did a lot of research on this work. It is 30 years behind but still relevant. Howard French's Born In Blackness is a well-written book that turns history on its head, showing the influence of Africa on the world. Factual and original in conceptualization. Walter Rodney's book is a book that everyone recommends whenever you want to talk about Africa. It is loved because it was perhaps the first readable book that comprehensively responded to the stupid falsehoods shared about Africa. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa failed in only one regard: its economics. Walter wrote glowingly about the Soviet Union and Marxism. While Walter did not leave long enough to see what happened to it, we do. We know what happened to the Soviet Union and how Marxism has failed all around the world. I highly recommend A History of Nigeria by Toyin Falola as a Nigerian. It beats my expectations.

Science

The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a book that bridges the highly scientific and the popular reader. The prose is very good. I would never believe anyone would make me excited to read a book on Genes. I also read The Emperor of All Maladies by the same author. Quite good. Mankind has been faced with several diseases; polio was one of the most devastating. In the 20th Century, humanity won that fight. The victory match began in America. David Oshinsky tells the story very well in the book Polio: An American Story.

Faith

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller was a short read, but it helps you see the story of The Prodigal Son in a new light. It is the kind of book that makes you say, "I never thought about it this way". This book reached my heart. God is so good! Finding The Right Hills To Die On is another book that reaches the heart and mind.

My dear master, CS Lewis! I reread The Great Divorce and The Reading Life. The Reading Life is a collection of CS Lewis's writings and quotes on reading; I enjoyed this! The Great Divorce will never go out of style; it always has something to say to me.

Economics

The Time Traveling Economist by Charlie Robinson is a well-thought-out book with so much good information and important recommendations that can make a difference. In 21st Century Monetary Policy, Ben Bernanke explains to us the thinking of policy makers in the Federal Reserve and why they made the decisions they made in the 21st Century. If you are a student of development, you must have heard of The Chicago Boys. The Chile Project by Sebastian Edwards is an excellent explainer of these folks and how they shaped Chile. Same As Ever is Morgan Housel's second book. Morgan's storytelling shines through. I reread Morgan's first book, The Psychology of Money, earlier in the year, too. Never enough.

Fiction

Elnathan John traumatized me with this book, Born On A Tuesday. It is a gripping story. I wish it were just fiction, but it is not, it is also the true story of many boys in Nigeria. Nearly all of us want to be wealthy, but few of us know when to stop chasing wealth. The big question is, where is “Enough”? How Much Land Does A Man Need by Leo Tolstoy is a book that will make you think about this.

Robert Caro

I spent an unequal amount of time reading Robert Caro's four books on Lyndon Johnson. I wish I could recommend these enough. Read these books!

The Path To Power by Robert Caro

Means Of Ascent by Robert Caro

Master of The Senate by Robert Caro

The Passage of Power by Robert Caro

Buddy, you must read Robert Caro. He is that important.

I hope you found something to add to your 2024 list. Thank you for reading.