from my reading list in 2022

Continuing with the year in review theme, I’ve done music; I’ve done chess; now here are my top books from 2022.

Lurking: How a Person Became a User – Joanne McNeil

In her book Lurking, Joanne McNeil digs deep to find out what people’s main (and sometimes contradictory) worries are online. These include searching, safety, privacy, identity, community, anonymity, and being seen. She looks at what brought people online and what keeps us here, even though the social equations of digital life—what we have to give up, whether we know it or not, for the benefits of the internet—have changed a lot.

Maps of Ecstasy: A Healing Journey for the Untamed Spirit – Gabrielle Roth

In this updated version of Maps to Ecstasy, Gabrielle Roth goes into more detail about the ideas that have been important to her, like how to turn ordinary life into sacred art. People have said that her work teaching people how to move is a mix of art and healing.

The Self Unstable – Elisa Gabbert

The Self Unstable by Elisa Gabbert is a mix of memoir, philosophy, and aphorism. She looks at our ideas of the self, memory, happiness, beauty, love, and sex, and messes with them. She uses the lyric essay like a koan to provoke the reader’s reflection—unsettling the role of truth and interrogating the “I” in both literary and daily life.

Transpersonal Dynamics: The Relational Field, Depth Work and the Unconscious – Stacey Millichamp

Transpersonal Dynamics is on the cutting edge of quantum physics field theory and integrative psychology. It offers new ways to look at the therapeutic encounter. This book will teach you how to find “the heart of the matter” in complicated situations. Millichamp uses practical, down-to-earth language to talk about some of the tougher parts of the therapeutic relationship. Her goal is to encourage and help practitioners take more risks, and to make their work more collaborative and relational.

Just Ride: A Radical Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike – Grant Petersen

Just Ride is a wonderful surprise. Petersen encourages you to forget about the ultralight bikes that are uncomfortable, the flashy jerseys, the big shoes that clip onto small pedals, and the grinding out of miles and miles. Instead, he says, ride your bike like you did when you were a kid: just hop on it and enjoy it for what it is.

Petersen is a former racer who has commuted to work by bike every day since 1980. His writings and opinions have been published in major bicycling and outdoor magazines, and his company, Rivendell Bicycle Works, makes bikes for riders who want to leave a culture dominated by racing. In this book, he shares a lifetime of surprising facts, controversial opinions, expert techniques, and his own maverick philosophy.

Transcendent Waves: How Listening Shapes Our Creative Lives – Lavender Suarez

A nice introduction to processing the sounds that surround you and understanding how they influence our daily lives. It’s easy to read, which makes it a great resource to go back to every so often to remind yourself of what’s going on around you.

Personal Intelligence: The Power of Personality and How It Shapes Our Lives – John D. Mayer

Mayer says in Personal Intelligence that we are naturally interested in the thoughts and feelings of the people we see every day. Some people are good at figuring out what makes their friends, family, and coworkers tick. We’re not all the same. Mayer explains why and shows how the best readers among us have developed “high personal intelligence.”

Mayer’s theory of personal intelligence ties together a number of different findings that were once thought to be unrelated. These findings show how many different ways we can read other people’s faces, weigh the choices we’re given in relationships, work, and family life, and decide if our personal goals conflict or go well together. He makes a strong case that being able to solve problems in all these different areas is the same skill.

Think of Me – Nicholas Trandahl

Think of Me is an insightful and authentic piece of work. In his simple, honest verse, he tells stories and makes observations that are full of sadness, adventure, and realism. With his honest style of poetry, Trandahl tells us all, no matter where we come from, that the everyday is actually very special.

Think Like a Futurist: Know What Changes, What Doesn’t, and What’s Next – Cecily Sommers

This book shows how to use long-term strategies to make industry forecasts, innovation policies, leadership guidelines, and brands that are ready for the future. It helps entrepreneurs and business owners look at the future of their companies as a whole and come up with good plans so that they are future-proof.

The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionise Everything – Matthew Ball

The word “Metaverse” is suddenly everywhere, from the front pages of national newspapers to the latest fashion trends to the plans of the most powerful companies in history. It is already affecting how the US government, the EU, and the Chinese Communist Party run their countries.

Ball takes us on a big tour of the “next internet” and shows that many proto-Metaverses, like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox, are already here. Still, these are just a taste of what is to come. Ball defines the Metaverse in detail before talking about the technologies that will power it and the breakthroughs that will be needed to make it a reality.

Most importantly, he looks at many of the almost limitless ways the Metaverse can be used.


This isn’t my total list of books read this year, but this will give a flavour of where my mind has been over the course of 2022.

What books did you explore in 2022? Any recommendations for my 2023 reading list?

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