After years of barely reading books, I started again in earnest in 2019, and have read a lot of them in the years since. Even with all the great blog content, tweets, and journalism, I still get a ton out of reading actual books. The biggest thing I did to read more was to switch to e-books (I use a physical Kindle, and the Kindle app on my phone). I find it much easier to read a lot if I can very quickly get through a few pages throughout my day. Being able to buy the next book instantly also helps me keep up the momentum.
In 2022, I read 49 books. I mostly choose these based off of recommendations (both online lists and from in-person conversations), and keep a running list of books that I may want to read next. Given that I rely so much on word of mouth, I thought it’d be helpful to share my own list and picks for the year.
I mostly read non-fiction. These are books that were new to me in 2022, so plenty of them are years (or even decades) old. I’ve highlighted five books were lesser known to me (e.g no cultural phenomenons or TV/Movie adaptations) that I particularly liked.
My Five Picks
The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates
River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile
American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land
One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey ',The Kid', Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player
Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History
The Rest
Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography
Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol: The Explosive Story of M19, America's First Female Terrorist Group
Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric
Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of the World
Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing
The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy
The Tender Bar: A Memoir
At the Sands: The Casino That Shaped Classic Las Vegas, Brought the Rat Pack Together, and Went Out with a Bang
Junky: The Definitive Text of "Junk"
Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry
The Princess of 42nd Street: Surviving My Childhood as the Daughter of Times Square's King of Porn
Shantaram: A Novel
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find-and Keep-Love: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find--and Keep-- Love
Boardwalk Playground: The Making, Unmaking, & Remaking of Atlantic City: How the people of a New Jersey resort built a seaside paradise, lost it, rebuilt ... town, mostly lost it, and kept on dre
You Thought It Was More: Adventures of the World's Greatest Counterfeiter Louis The Coin - As seen on The History Channel & The BBC
Notes of a Dirty Old Man
The Logic Of Sports Betting
Salem's Lot
Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s
Then One Day ...: 40 Years of Bookmaking in Nevada
Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan
Blood and Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling's Original Sheik
Ball Four
Billion Dollar Fantasy: The High-Stakes Game Between FanDuel and DraftKings That Upended Sports in America
The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks
Party Monster: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland
The Club King: My Rise, Reign, and Fall in New York Nightlife
The Vig: Confessions of an Ivy League Bookie
Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar
Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela
And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina
I'm Glad My Mom Died
The Westies: Inside New York's Irish Mob
Retail Gangster: The Insane, Real-Life Story of Crazy Eddie
Born to Kill: The Rise and Fall of America's Bloodiest Asian Gang
Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas
The Pyramid of Lies: Lex Greensill and the Billion-Dollar Scandal
Gaming the Game: The Story Behind the NBA Betting Scandal and the Gambler Who Made It Happen
DisneyWar
The Devil's Candy: The Anatomy Of A Hollywood Fiasco
Your Movie Sucks
Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution
Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D'
The Lost Bank: The Story of Washington Mutual-The Biggest Bank Failure in American History