Reading List 2021
2021 was a crazy year. From acclimatizing with the covid-19 pandemic and finally coming to terms its here to stay to my business ventures taking a
nose dive dip into unfamiliar territories, there were more setbacks that slackened my pace. But now that I am looking back, I realize it was more of a
blessing in disguise. I got to challenge myself into reading books which I had never thought of adding to my library and I will highlight a few here
which impacted me positively in no particular order. Welcome to my Reading List 2022
21 lessons for the 21st Century – Yuval Noah
This is by far the best book I read in 2021. Prior to this, I had never read any of Yuval Noah’s works and this came through a a recommendation review from Bill Gates
from one of his book reviews. I consider myself a pretty fast reader but with this book I took 4 months. The insights outlined were too good to just sift
through it.
Prosperity Paradox – Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ejomo
How do we improve the well being of everyone in specific environment settings? The mantra of this book is “the right kind of innovation not
only builds companies – but it also builds countries.”
Efosa and Clayton tackle the shortcoming of policies in countries and how they only offer short term solutions to long term problems and what is the
right way to work around that through Market Creation Innovations.
Hustle Hard Hustle Smart – 50 Cent
There is only two lessons I took after reading this book; One, mindset and grit can get you out of any hole and into any room with any person. The
second is never allow yourself to settle, for every win you have its an opportunity to explore other 5 more possibilities.
I have always kept tabs(mildly) on 50 Cent on what he does as an entrepreneur and getting an opportunity to have an introspective view into his mind
was eye opening.
Dust – Yvonne Adhiambo Awuor
Yvonne Adhiambo is one of the best writers on the continent and to be quite honest it took me a few chapters in to have a feel of her writing style and
identify with the prose.
Dust evokes questions about what it is to be the citizen of a country only half a century in its making. How does citizenship gel in a person? How do
the memories of the past, now imbued with the experience of colonialism and Christianity impact the present? How did we get here, as in, how did the
people who make up Kenya come to be here, on this land? How is this place home? The novel attempts to deal some of these questions through the
narratives associated with the names and place names.
Drunk – Bikozulu
Fun fact: I first came across Bikozulu’s writing around 2015. Obare, my friend and college roommate shared this hilarious piece titled Knickers on his
blog which since then I have read it like 5 times. I have followed his weekly updates religiously without missing a single piece so when I heard he has a
book out you can definitely guess who added it to his reading list.
I related to Drunk in ways I hadn’t anticipated; some dark periods in my life mirrored what the main protagonist Larry was going through and there
was always this anticipatory suspense for him to figure things out. Definitely a recommended read if you are looking for authentic Kenyan writing.
Thursdays – Bikozulu
The band is struggling. This book dives into a fictitious band doing gigs that barely feed them with a crystal clear vision of how big they want to go; a
clear depiction of most if not all music bands in Nairobi. It also delves into the individual personal lives of each band member and what they are each
going through.
Empire State of Mind – Zack O’Malley
I am not a businessman, I am a business, man.
When you listen to “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” by Jay-Z and Kanye West, the above line may pass across as a bragging lyric. When you read Jay-
Z’s “Empire State of Mind”, you can see its manifestation and why Jay-Z has had the kind of success he has been able to achieve across the different
industries. One of the best lyricists and wordplay master we have on the planet, Empire State of Mind shows you the journey from humble beginnings
in the Projects to signing multimillion deals in boardrooms.
Ego is the Enemy – Ryan Holiday
This book was timely for me. When you are absorbed in a process its quite easy to miss out on emerging patterns that might lead you to straying off
course. Its also quite easy to think ourselves as perfect in who we are and what we do and there is only one major culprit for all of this; ego.
Through well drawn figures in history who were able to overcome their egos and achieve mind blowing success, we get to see strategies and tactics
that will help us tackle impediments on our way there.
