2020 Book List

I had the privilege of staying (and working) from home during the spring lockdowns, a privilege I do not take lightly. Relative comfort and safety gave me precious headspace to read, think and write; a far cry from the maddening world outside my four walls. In no particular order of importance or impact, this is my list of what I started reading, re-read and finished reading in 2020.

1. Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries by Safi Bahcall — the most engaging book so far. Huge thanks to Ivan Zimine for the recommendation.
2. Corporate Rebels: Make Work More Fun by Joost Minnaar and Pim de Morree — physical copy gifted by Ivan (again), thank you!
3. A Recipe for Daphne by Nektaria Anastasiadou — recommended by my brother from another mother; writer, contemporary art critic and scholar extraordinaire Arie. I’m grateful I get to read this in English.
4. The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Kurt Kohlstedt and Roman Mars — I followed the Instagram account because everyone else did. The hardback is a coffee table book actually worthy of the name. Gorgeous cover design.
5. Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and why it Matters by Gordon M. Shepherd — it should come as no surprise that I’m a massive “foodie”, a label I wear with pride. Learning how the brain not only computes but creates flavour was a huge a-ha moment this year.
6. 紅樓夢 Dream of the Red Chamber by Choi Jyun — arguably the greatest novel of my patrimony, virtually unknown in the west. Read a decent translation to understand how politics starts in the home. Re-reading this classic in Chinese has been a worthwhile endeavour.
7. Figuring by Maria Popova — I’ve followed Maria’s writings since, well, forever. This compilation is one I’ll return to for inspiration, nourishment, encouragement and solace over and over again.
8. Optionality: How to Survive and Thrive in a Volatile World by Richard Meadows — what a year, this 2020, and only the deeply delusional can convince themselves that there is any “normal” to return to. Surviving is one thing, easy enough if you stay as safe as possible and keep breathing, but thriving? Is that even possible? Richard Meadows seems to think so.
9. Subscribed: Why the Subscription Model Will Be Your Company’s Future — And What to Do about It by Tien Tzuo — more than just a business model, and certainly a rethinking of financial ones. Tien Tzuo makes a convincing argument.
10. Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price by Madhavan Ramanujam and Georg Tacke — the intersection of the subscription model and monetising innovation is one I’m exploring in my head.
11. 三体 The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin — Ken Liu did a masterful translation job, but the original is worth the effort. Slow going, alas.
12. Sofia and the Utopia Machine by Judith Huang — I’m privileged to know Judith, and finally got round to reading the paperback. This is the novel closest to my milieu, and I revelled in it. Brava, Judith, on your debut.
13. A New Conception of War: John Boyd, the U.S. Marines, and Maneuver Warfare by Ian T. Brown — I reached out to the Marine Corps University Press, who posted a paperback gratis. Thank you!
14. The Death Algorithm and Other Digital Dilemmas, Volume 14 by Roberto Simanowski and Jefferson Chase — I bought a physical copy from Blackwells in Oxford for one of my sisters, and read it on the flight home to Singapore. A good re-read.
15. The Odyssey: A Translation by Emily Wilson — exemplary. Please, buy the hardback.
16. The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation by Robert Pinsky — one of my favourite translations, always a pleasure re-reading.
17. In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century by Sebastian Strangio — I am a part of both South-east Asia and China, and this duality will play out in interesting ways throughout my life. Strangio’s style is highly engaging.
18. Home is Not Here by Wang Gungwu — a memoir by one of South-east Asia’s most prominent and important public intellectuals; his diaspora experiences resonate.
19. The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic by Joel Christensen — another Arie recommendation, just getting started.
20. The Shadow Of The Wind by by Carlos Ruiz Zafón — I’ve found it a little difficult to get into the rhythm of this book, but I think it will be worth the effort.

Originally published at https://noeticnotions.substack.com.