There’s something profoundly positive about reading that can’t be said about other forms of media. In my opinion, books have a way of delving deep into subjects while being more memorable than just podcasts, audiobooks or video. Reflecting back on this I’ve mostly read historical, technical, and scientific books, including biographies and those discussing some of the harsher times in our history.
In light of this, I wanted to go over the six best books I read this year, in no particular order.
The Gulag Archipelago
This was one of the last books I read in 2019 and yet it was by far one of the best. I had specifically picked up the 2018 abridged version, though the book is still about 500 pages long.
The book takes you through stories from the gulags and a history of what had happened in the USSR, in what Solzhenitsyn describes as what happens when “unlimited power is in the hands of limited people”. It takes you through the torture techniques of the USSR, work camps, treatment of different nationalities and soldiers, as well as some of the more horrific incidents that occur during the course of the regime. At one point it even discusses a prison revolt that Solzhenitsyn took part in. In particular it describes 58’s, a term used to describe “political prisoners”, who often get the worst treatment and long terms despite frequently committing trivial crimes.
Not only does the book help you learn about the history of the USSR but it does so in a profoundly interesting (and at times funny) way. A really well written book with historical significance, which is likely why it’s still required reading in Russia to this day.
Judging Thomas
Whatever your opinion is of Clarence Thomas, it can’t be denied he faced incredible hardship throughout his life, and is profoundly intelligent. Clarence grew up with his uncle Anderson, where he developed an intense work ethic which eventually carried him through life, college, and to the supreme court. Clarence could also probably be described as the only court justice who never wanted to be a court justice, as he eventually put his dreams of being a corporate lawyer aside in order to pursue governmental jobs under Reagan and Bush.
What I really thought was great about this book was its ability to discuss controversy in what felt like a neutral way, as well as to play his life out on the world stage in relation to what was really impacting him at the time. Definitely worth the read if you can find the book.
Road to Wigan Pier
Orwell breaks this book into two parts; one, where he visits poor coal towns and working towns to analyze the conditions they’re forced to work and live in. In the second part, he looks at why these people refuse to adopt socialism (and look upon it in a negative manner).
What I thought was most interesting about this book is that it gives you insight into how people thought shortly before WWII. It describes the absolute squalor poor workers lived in yet how happy they were that their lives had improved so much from when they were kids. It ties this back into socialism (Orwells preferred economic model at the time) and how the socialist population of Britain isn’t actually pitching their ideologies to the poor, who it should help, but rather to each other in a fashion to spite those who are richer than them. Not only is this a great read but it’s one of the shorter books on this list, and can be found in pdf format around the internet (often for free).
Computer Organization and Design (4th edition, revised)
There’s a reason people refer to this textbook as the “Bible”.
You should be warned that this is a textbook and isn’t for the faint of heart, but I was surprised how well written it was. It goes into detail while explaining every part of a computer, serving as not only a great refresher to coursework but as a potential reference book for the future. It even has separate paths, for if you want to focus on hardware or software literature.
I wouldn’t recommend you read this unless you have a degree in CS or CE, however if you haven’t already read it in college I would absolutely recommend you pick one up. The only consideration you should make is that the 5th edition will be much more expensive right now, although I assume it delves into more modern topics (such as 64 bit processors, which this one generally ignores). Having not read both it is hard to contrast the different versions, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
12 Rules for Life: an Antidote for Chaos
I’ve read a few “psychology and life” books, but this was perhaps the most fun to read. It focuses on Peterson’s work as a professor and psychologist, and serves as a guide to things you should consider while operating in our society and building yourself into a better person. It does so while adding new material to his lectures, featuring things you won’t be able to find from videos on youtube and elsewhere.
The premise of his work is that society is based on competency hierarchies, and if you want to improve yourself (or improve society in an unselfish fashion), the best way to do that is to develop yourself. By creating a purpose and moving up some competency hierarchy, you’ll not only be helping the world but you’ll be giving yourself meaning. The book tackles these ideas and many others, intersected with his personal experiences with patients, research, science, history, and personal anecdotes. Although it is slightly meandering it is an exceptional book, which is likely why it sold over 3 million copies and has motivated a sequel.
The Death and Life of the Great American City
I’ve mentioned this in past blog posts before, but The Death and Life of the Great American City is an exceptional book which is well worth the read; if nothing else it’s history is quite interesting. I actually got the book recommendation from this video on zoning which is quite fascinating on its own, but I digress. Jane Jacobs was by many accounts an outsider to traditional city planning, and she came pushing for a more organic approach, allowing cities to grow more naturally instead of designing new city centers. This was directly juxtaposed to the traditional methods, which involved heavy top-down influence that often didn’t take sufficiently into account how people actually wanted to use the city.
Throughout the book she looks at past city centers, under what conditions they were constructed, and where they are now, and contrasts that with some of the best neighborhoods there are to live in. Towards the end she starts suggesting her own policies to design better cities around how people actually use them, and pushes for things including smaller blocks and more mixed use zoning. It’s really an interesting read and is the book you want to read if you ever do read anything about city zoning.