Books I Read in 2022

At Your Best, Carey Nieuwhof

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - “Nobody will ever ask you to accomplish your top priorities. They will only ask you to accomplish theirs” This book really set up my year to make sure I was available to do my best work, with the right people, at the right times.

The God of the Garden, Andrew Peterson

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - I remember being inspired by how beautifully written this memoir was. But even looking at my notes, I still don’t really remember what it was about. Cultivate a home for your family and build strong roots.

Team Topologies, Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - This was a helpful way to think about growing, maintaining and helping wide technology teams work together. Probably could have learned as much from a blog post, but still helpful.

Where the Light Fell, Philip Yancey

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - This was disturbing, depressing, and beautiful at the same time (like a good memoir should be!) Yancey was born in the late 40’s to a childhood full of polio, failed faith healings, fundamentalism, anti-integration, racism, KKK, poverty, loss, fear, political upheaval, emotional and spiritual abuse, and much more.

Out of Office, Anne Helen Petersen and Charlie Warzel

⭐︎⭐︎ - I was really hoping for a book that would help me understand how to run a remote team better in a post-COVID world. This felt very journalistic and I don’t remember much of it other than just trying to finish it.

You’re Not Listening, Kate Murphy

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - This was our first Book Club read at work. It was an excellent reminder to listen, be curious and ask more questions. As much as I feel it’s my purpose to lead and drive conversation, I should spend just as much time listening to where the conversation is going.

How (Not) to Read the Bible, Dan Kimball

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - Slighty academic, but maybe at a high-school level. Enjoyed digging into some of the controversies of the Bible. The subtitle says it all: “Making Sense of the Anti-women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture.”

You Are Not Your Own, Alan Noble

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - This was my favorite book I read in 2022. Modern society has created a kind of zoochosis for us as humans: You have to be your own person and be completely yourself, work every day to discover and express yourself and use techniques and methods perfected by society to improve your life and conquer your obstacles. Or, maybe we don’t belong to ourselves…?

The Power of Regret, Daniel Pink

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - This was an audiobook that I listened to while training for a long hike. I wish I would have had the physical book. Felt a bit self-helpy, but my biggest takeaway was “Feeling is for thinking. Thinking is for doing.” Regret should be used to form behavior instead of letting it become your character” And then a bonus thought, “If you are overthinking, write; if you are underthinking, read.”

Build, Tony Fadell

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - Huge anticipation for this, I really liked getting in Fadell’s mind. Bunch of great quotes and thoughts for work as we build. The first three releases for your product: “You make the product. You fix the product. You build the business” and “To be a great designer, you have to notice problems.”

Deep Work, Cal Newport

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - Always good to read books that others reference in their books. Deep Work was a reminder that our modern workplace isn’t always condusive to work. Made me take another look at what I’m doing and when.

The Laws of Simplicity, John Madea

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - I’ve reread this book many times, it’s a classic design book for me. This is my go-to whenever a designer or developer asks for a book recommendation. Meant a LOT to me early in my career. The last page is 👌

The Life We’re Looking For, Andy Crouch

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - We’re all chasing “magic” in our lives with technology. Maybe that’s not great for personhood and genuine community. I’m still pretty excited about ChatGPT and Dall-e though.

The Deeply Formed Life, Rich Villas

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - “Whether we know it or not, see it or not, or understand it or not, we are always at risk of being shallowly formed. We are formed by our false selves, our families of origin, the highly manipulated presentations of social media, and the value system of a world that determines worth based on accomplishments, possessions, efficiency, intellectual acumen, and gifts.”

Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - This, of course, made me value sleep MUCH more. I took a lack of sleep as a badge of honor in my twenties. Now I’m never apologizing for a nap again (clear head and recharged energy) and planning to live a long, healthy, life with 7 to 8 hours a night!

The Power of Moments, Chip Heath & Dan Heath

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - This was a good beach read. Nothing too Earth-shattering. There are a bunch of tactics you should occasionally use to make moments stick out to people in your life. The “multiply milestones” levels were interesting enough to write them out in a note.

Family Discipleship, Matt Chandler & Adam Griffin

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - A good mix of practical and thoughtful opportunities. Super high and low pressure, all at the same time. Feels like something I’ll reference as our family grows up. Some great quotes from other people I found here: “The moment when I am most repelled by a child’s behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child” by Ann Voskamp and “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” by Frederick Douglass

The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - I’ve never read a financial book outside of Dave Ramsey, this had lots of simple lessons, but nothing too complicated. You will win some; you will lose some. Losing is the cost of winning. “The purpose of margin of safety is to render the forecast unnecessary” Outlier events play an enormous role in historical data.

I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet, Shauna Niequist

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - My wife read this and then assigned it to me. It was a nice change of pace to read a memoir against admidst a bunch of thinking books, it made me want to move to New York City. I appreciated Shauna’s perspective, wit and honesty!

No Compromise, Melody Green

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - Super inspiring bio on an early CCM artist. Definitely a man of the 70’s who was always moving fast, tripping over himself, and, tripping on some LSD. Loved getting a look into his earnest, journaled thoughts. It helped me be a little more truthful with my journaling.

A Non-Anxious Presence, Mark Sayers

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - This was a super helpful book on how our personal lives, communities, workplaces, country, and world are changing. Complicated environments require efficiency. The incoming complex environment will require adaptability. “Fake realities will create fake humans, which will lead to a disastrous cascade of crises in which fake humans will generate fake reality and then sell them to other humans, turning them, eventually, into forgeries of themselves.”

Micro, Michael Crichton

⭐︎⭐︎ - My wife grabbed me two fiction books before we went away for the weekend to a family cabin. This was one of them. I’ve loved almost every Michael Crichton book I read. Really couldn’t get into the “Honey, We Shrunk this Kids” techno-thriller.

The 5th Wave, Rick Yancey

⭐︎⭐︎ - This was the second fiction book for my weekend away. I enjoyed the alien invasion concept, but that’s about it. Young Adult fiction is fine; I’ll reread the Hunger Games next time.

Spiritual Leadership, Oswald Sanders

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - The book title felt a little presumptuous, but I was glad to read something by an old dead guy! Written in the ’60s but revised a couple of times. I appreciated the cover design, especially over the 60’s version. The chapter on “Can you become a Leader” was intense! Will definitely reread.

Onward, Howard Schultz

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - I picked this up at our local thrift store on a whim and enjoyed it. I like Starbucks coffee, AND I like local coffee brands too (Square One, Passenger & Prince Street). Loved getting an inside look at the difficult decisions Schultz had to make when we came back as CEO to turn around the company during the Great Recession

Free-Range Kids, Lenore Skenazy

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - TBH, this felt like it was written to uptight moms not “fun dads”. I gave me persmission to let my kids explore and do a bit more self-guided learning. Defintely came away with a “go ahead, try it” attitude. I’ve alternatively been calling this “Cage Free Kids”, a MUCH better title.

Spiritual Discipleship, Oswald Sanders

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - Not as good as Spiritual Discipleship, but I worked through it pretty quickly. Planning to reread the whole trilogy once I finish Spiritual Maturity in 2023.

Designing Your Life, Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

⭐︎⭐︎ - I took my time working through this, but in the end, I didn’t love it. It was about exploring career and life path changes with design principles. I prototyped some different ideas for my life, but in the end, I’m pretty happy with the one I’m on!

Leviathan Wakes, James S. A. Corey

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ - It was great to restart the series. I intended to reread the whole series this year and then read the ninth and final book. But that never happened. I was gifted a Kindle at Christmas, so I impulsively decided to break it in with a fiction read! Here’s to finishing the series in 2023