2022 Book List
Books I read in 2022.
Memoirs
Burn Rate by Andy Dunn: I could tell from the book description and Amazon comments that I would finish this book in about a day, and I was right.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner: I loved this book. After I had finished it I started listening to “Rainy Days and Mondays” on repeat.
The World as It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House by Ben Rhodes: I picked up this book on a trip to Chicago and spent several hours each day sitting in the park reading. Surprisingly relatable, yet provides insights on recent world events.
A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold: Book that made me think the most. Sue Klebold comes across as a very reflected woman, and it’s heartbreaking to read about the Columbine shooting and its aftermath.
The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole: Recommended by a coworker during Black History Month. Not easy to read, but thought-provoking on race issues in Canada.
Novels
Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas: Veronica Mars as an adult, solving crimes in Neptune. More enjoyable read than I expected.
Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas: I moved straight to the second book in the series after I’d finished the first. If there had been a third I probably would have read that, too.
The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan: Detective story set in Ireland. The location has always been my main reason for reading Dervla McTiernan books, but the mystery is also good.
The Dark Hours by Michael Connolly: I started reading this a while ago and finally picked up steam over a trip to LA. Quite captivating once I got into it.
Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas: Recommended by a friend. Quite average but quick to read.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: I found this in a book exchange box after devouring the TV show over a weekend, and consumed the book equally fast.
Biotech
The Messenger by Peter Loftus: Origins of Moderna and inside look at the vaccine race. Aimed for a more general audience and skips over some details I would have found interesting, but I always have a soft spot for feel-good biotech stories.
Building Backwards to Biotech by Stephanie A. Wisner: Really straightforward introduction to how biotech companies are launched, and what it takes to start a successful one. The author has a background in consulting and includes many recent examples.
Pharma and Profits by John L. LaMattina: Short book with case studies on drug pricing.
Ageless by Andrew Steele: Good introduction to various angles of research in longevity. I particularly enjoyed the examples of how rare disease and genetics of isolated populations are helping discover drug targets for larger populations.
A Rare Breed by Daniel S. Levine and Daniel P. Maher: Story of BioMarin Pharmaceuticals for the first 20 years of its existence. One of the authors works for BioMarin and their perspective may be a bit biased, but nevertheless interesting to read about the various business decisions.
Management
Trillion Dollar Coach by Alan Eagle, Eric Schmidt, and Jonathan Rosenberg: Seems to be one of the modern management classics, with tales of Bill Campbell.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni: My first exposure to what I now realize is the “business lessons as a fable” mini-genre. I was captivated enough by the book to finish it quickly, but it didn’t leave much of an impression.
Making Work Visible by Dominica DeGrandis: Straightforward advice on how to track work. Introduced to me the concept of a “management fast-track lane” with a capacity limit of one project at a time, which I have since implemented with my manager.
Build by Tony Fadell: Advice on building companies. Unlike many startup books, Tony Fadell specifically discusses his experience as an employee rather than a founder at some companies, which I found very relatable.
Other
The Family Next Door by John Glatt: True crime story about a horrifying case of thirteen siblings being imprisoned by their parents.