Of the 14 books I’ve read in 2024 these are my 5 favourites, titles I would highly recommend:

• The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby. A thorough and juicy account of the evolution of the venture capital industry, it’s overlords, kingmakers on the rise, and kingdoms in decline. I devoured the passages on WeWork, Uber, Theranos, and Facebook, with their idiosyncratic founders and often hilarious interactions with their financial backers. So good. Business soap opera. Thank you David for gifting me this book.
  
• The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. Housel’s writing on personal finance is incredibly engaging and accessible, packed with pragmatic wisdom. I love it when books give you ideas that you can implement right away, or enable you to sanity-check your own approach towards saving, investing, financing, and managing cash. The Psychology of Money is a great read both for finance geeks and noobs. A worthy investment of your time.
  
• The Choice – Embrace the Possible by Edith Eger. A powerful account by a Holocaust survivor, on dealing with unthinkable horrors and long periods of intense adversity. Eger’s story is so wild that her mind’s ability to remain strong almost seems otherworldly. Her book is full of practical wisdom and real-life strategies for overcoming trauma, breaking free from self-imposed limitations, and embracing a life of freedom and choice.
  
• On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. A must-read for people interested in sharpening their writing skills.
  
• De wereld van gisteren by Stefan Zweig. De Wereld van Gisteren (The World of Yesterday in English) is the memoir of Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, who lived from 1881 to 1942, in a time when the Habsburg Empire crumbled and National Socialism was on the rise. Zweig takes you on a tour through his 20th century Vienna with a level of detail that puts you in the bustling coffee houses where people from all walks of life met to discuss the arts, politics, and city gossip. On the run for Nazi persecution, you follow him across Europe where he meets and befriends some of the 20th century most notable figures, including anthroposophy’s founder Rudolf Steiner, sculptor Auguste Rodin, founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud, and composer Richard Strauss. Written with elegance and humor, De Wereld van Gisteren is one of my favourite books on 20th century Europe.