Books I read in 2022.
I am not an avid book reader but, at the start of 2022, I decided to start reading some books as a New year’s resolution. 2022 was also the year when I started to get into the world of personal finance and investing. Hence you’ll see that the majority of the books that I have listed below are around the same topic.
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
This book is by Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and a Billionaire Philanthropist. This book is a call to action addressing the most pressing issue of our time, climate change. This book is written in such a simple manner, that it’s really easy for a layman to grasp the thoughts of the author.
In the book, Gates talks about greenhouse gases and their adverse effects on the environment. He also talks about the technology and innovations that will be needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. He also discusses the role of governments, companies, and individuals in addressing the climate crisis.
This is a good read and gives anyone looking to understand the challenges and opportunities of addressing the climate crisis, and what we can all do about it.
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!
This is a personal finance book by Robert T. Kiyosaki. This book has sold millions of copies worldwide and is considered one of the most influential books on personal finance.
This is a memoir, based on Kiyosaki’s own experiences growing up with two “dads”. The first one, was his biological father, a highly educated but financially struggling employee, and the second was his best friend’s father, who was a self-made millionaire entrepreneur.
He advocates for the importance of financial education, and encourages people to change their mindset and beliefs about money, work, and investing. He emphasizes, putting your money to work, through investments in assets. He also emphasizes the need to take financial risks and to learn from failures, for achieving financial success.
No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work and How They Help Us Succeed
This is a humorous book written by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy and is filled with data, research and real-life examples and anecdotes.
The book provides insights into, how emotions play a crucial role in the workplace and how to manage them effectively. The book also provides practical strategies for dealing with difficult emotions and situations, as well as for promoting a positive and productive work environment. The Authors argue that emotions should be seen as an important source of information and a tool for decision-making, instead of being perceived as something to be suppressed or ignored. They also suggest that embracing emotions rather than trying to suppress them allows for better communication and collaboration within teams.
This is a great book for individuals looking to understand the dynamics of emotions in the workplace.
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
This book is written by Reed Hastings, the co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, and Erin Meyer, a professor at INSEAD.
It’s a story of how Reed Hastings, with the help of his team, built Netflix into one of the world’s most successful and innovative companies. It examines the unique culture and management practices that enabled Netflix to disrupt the entertainment industry and become a leader in streaming technology. The book delves into a management system called “The Netflix Culture Deck” which is a set of principles that define the company’s values and philosophy and how these principles, are designed to create a culture of innovation, risk-taking, and high performance.
This is a great book for individuals looking to understand how Netflix has been able to achieve such remarkable success in a rapidly changing industry.
The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed and Happiness
This book is a collection of essays by Morgan Housel. It explores, how people think about and relate to money. The author draws on a wide range of examples and research to illustrate how emotions, biases, and experiences shape our financial decisions and behaviors. The author covers different topics such as the role of luck, the power of compounding, and the role of perspective in decision-making. He also provides insight on how to avoid common mistakes that people make when it comes to money, such as letting emotions drive decision-making and the impact of social comparison.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to understand how their emotions and behaviors influence their relationship with money, and how to make smarter financial decisions.
Just Keep Buying: Proven ways to save money and build your wealth
This is a book on personal finance by Nick Maggiulli. It delves into saving and investing and advocates the practice of “Just Keep Buying” (Investing) irrespective of the market conditions. The Author presents hard evidence in form of historical data from the US markets. This book is filled with charts and graphs, for the data geeks to nerd out. It also explains, why you need to save less than you think and layouts some strategies, which you can use to act smarter and live richer every day.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to get a general understanding of markets and investing work. Although this book is written in the context of the US market, I believe that the learnings from this book can be extended to Indian markets as both these markets, have similar underpinnings. If I had to choose one book from this list, this would be the one.
Let’s Talk Money: You’ve Worked Hard for It, Now Make It Work for You
This book is also on personal finance by Monika Halan and is written from the Indian household perspective. The Author draws on her personal experiences and those of her friends and gives us anecdotes to add a human touch to the subject. This is not a get-rich-quick guide, but rather provides with a systematic way of managing one’s finances. She discusses Insurance, Equity and Mutual funds and the need for each of them and explains it in a very simple manner.
This is a great book for anyone who is looking to get started in the personal finance journey, especially in the Indian context.
The Unusual Billionaires
This book is a collection of case studies by Saurabh Mukherjea. The case studies are about Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Marico Ltd, Page Industries, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank & Astral Poly Technik. In the book, the Author, starts with origins of each company and then goes on to explain, how did they reach to the point that they are at today. Each case study also explains the secret of success of each company using John Kay’s IBAS framework. The book also touches on the topic of coffee-can investing and these companies being the top candidates for the portfolio.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to know, what makes this basket of companies so successful, and wants to build their own coffee-can portfolio.