Summary:

A total of 32 books this year. 26 non-fiction and 6 fiction. I didn’t achieve my goal of reading more classics, the Hemingway that I started and Snow Crash remains unfinished. Highlights included Traders, Guns and Money; Moneyball; and 7 Years in Tibet.

Good Data, Sam Gilbert

Jan 2022
An optimist’s guide to our digital future. A reasonable take on the legitimacy of big tech and the value of data. The most interesting sections were around the development of ‘Bought by Many’ and how they looked into this.

The Fell, Sarah Moss

Jan 2022
A tale that captures well the zeitgeist of the COVID era. Enjoyed it and got the year off to a flying start.

Mabel, Olive, and Me, Andrew Cotter

Jan 2022
Bought this for Emma for Christmas, and enjoyed it myself. Easy reading. Almost makes me want a labrador.

Born to Run, Christopher McDougall

Feb 2022
The mix of adventure story and running made this a fun read. The Tarahumara clearly love their running. I agree with the points on foot strength being important, but I think it’s hard with the Next% shoes nowadays to say that minimalism remains faster.

The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman

Feb 2022
Marginally more academic than I expected but still readable. The later chapters around design fitting into a commercial environment were interesting. Amusingly I struggled with extracting a key from a hire car while reading this book; there was a subtle trick required. I blame the design.

Under the Wig, William Clegg

Mar 2022
In the same vein as the Secret Barrister. Quite interesting stories, especially in representing clients defending charges of war crimes.

Empire of Pain, Patrick Keefe

Mar 2022
An impressively complete story of the Sackler family and its role in the opioid crisis. Especially interesting in light of a recent visit to SF, a city clearly struggling with this.

The Lonely Skier, Hammond Innes

Apr 2022
Took a long time for me to clock that this was fiction. Good read.

Gironimo, Tim Moore

Apr 2022
Our protagonist Tim Moore equips himself with a 1914-era bike, complete with a reversible rear wheel to change gear, and proceeds to follow the brutal 1914 Giro route. The journey is arduous but not nearly as hard as the genuine 1914 edition. Those men were undeniably Hard.

Swim, Bike, Run: Our Triathlon Story, A & J Brownlee

Apr 2022
An astonishingly honest account of the Brownlees up till 2012. They did train exceedingly hard and they understood what was needed to ‘win’ triathlons.

Regions of the Heart, David Rose & Ed Douglas

May 2022
Biography of climber Alison Hargreaves who died on K2 in 1995. Tragically her son died in the Himalayas recently.

Traders, Guns & Money, Satyajit Das

May 2022
Never really knew what derivatives were. Marginally better appreciation now. Think this might have been a fairly cynical take on the world. Amusing nonetheless.

The boy who shot down an airship, Michael Green

June 2022
The freedom of growing up pre-‘technology’ and under the shadow of war.

Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand

June 2022
Depression-era racehorse. Though light on details, the training regime of these horses is interesting.

Double Agent, Tom Brady

July 2022
Turns out this was a sequel… still, a good read and will forever be the book I read at the track before running sub-4.

Paper Tiger: Inside the real China, Xu Zhiyuan

July 2022
A series of short essays about China. The most interesting, for me, was around the Beijing 2008 Olympics and the perception of the games.

The Four Minute Mile, Roger Bannister

July 2022
Hot topic. I like his approach to athletics. He must have been incredibly talented to run so fast off such light training. The amount of rest before some major races (5 days!) is impressive.

Moneyball, Michael Lewis

August 2022
How stats transformed baseball player selection and the woes of trusting human judgment on performance. Intriguing application of economics to sport. Especially pleasing to go to the SF Giants ball game while this was going on.

Penguins Stopped Play, Harry Thompson

August 2022
Clearly a man who really loved cricket and dedicated his holidays and finances towards enabling his motley crew to play all around the world. A few laughs scattered within.

Vaxxers, Sarah Gilbert & Catherine Green

September 2022
Development of the AZ vaccine. Good background on how such rapid development was achieved. Explained the ‘half dose’ complexity I had wondered about.

Packing for Mars, Mary Roach

September 2022
A scattergun approach to covering questions around space exploration. Of particular interest were the comments on motion sickness and ‘waste disposal’.

How to play your best golf, all of the time, Tommy Armour

September 2022
A retro golf book from pre-internet days. From what I understand the basics remain the same.

Pandemic 1918, Catherine Arnold

October 2022
Wanted to read this since the COVID pandemic. Intriguing to see similar reactions from society in 2020. The devastating loss of (young and healthy) lives. Felt a little scattered and unclear about the origins or the ending of the pandemic.

The Rise and Fall of Emile Zatopek, Richard Asquith

October 2022
I knew of Zatopek’s training style and his infamous triple Olympic gold, but I’d not realised his involvement in cold war politics and his general good-mannered nature. A good read from the author of ‘Feet in the Clouds’.

Ghosts of K2, Mick Conefrey

October 2022
There is something about the brutality of K2 which hooks you. The history of Everest is perhaps better known, but the history of K2 has equally interesting tales such as Gilkey and Dudley Woolfe.

Airframe, Michael Crichton

November 2022
Accidental fiction read. It was enjoyable with suitable twists, turns, and suspense.

The Every, Dave Eggers

November 2022
Dystopian future where big tech continually makes a success of absurd suggestions. Orwellian at times. It was a good read, if a little long.

The Colditz Story, P. R. Reid

November 2022
Colditz housed the troublesome prisoners, thought to be impossible to escape from. This book covers the first years of the war and escape attempts (successes and failures) culminating in the escape of the author himself.

The Ascent of Rum Doodle, W. E. Bowman

December 2022
Parody on the 50s era mountaineering expeditions to the Himalayas. To climb Mt Blanc is one thing, to climb Rum Doodle is quite another.

Black Gold, Jeremy Paxman

December 2022
The history of how coal made Britain. Coal was destined to be replaced by oil and gas for their higher energy density and easier transport. Nonetheless, coal played a pivotal part in Britain’s history.

The London Problem, Jack Brown

December 2022
A relatively short book on London. Points about Londoners being very diverse, contributing more than they take from the system, competing on a global stage, and having its place in the UK’s success.

Seven Years in Tibet, Heinrich Harrer

December 2022
What an adventure Harrer had. First, he climbs the Nordwand of the Eiger, then spends several years on a whole collection of tasks essentially for the Tibetan government including becoming friends with the Dalai Lama.