These are just the books that I read this year, not necessarily books that came out during 2021:
The Geography of Bliss: Even though I loved The Geography of Genius I wasn’t sure I was also going to love Eric Weiner’s travelogue about the world’s happiest places but it did not disappoint. I guess you could even say it was a blissful reading experience as well.
Sapiens: I finally got around to reading the world famous Sapiens from Yuval Noah Harari and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. At least the parts that I didn’t skip over entirely.
Bold: The second book in a series from author Steven Kotler and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, Bold was just as interesting as the first offering as it explained what bold action is required to meet the unique exponential challenges of our times. I can’t wait to read, The Future Is Faster Than You Think, the third book in the series that started with Abundance.
Mind Hacking: A fun read from John Hargrave that will blow your mind with all the things you can do to blow your mind.
Reality Is Broken: Game designer Jane McGonigal describes how we can use gamification to improve our lives in my favorite book of the year.
SuperBetter: I loved McGonigal’s first offering so much that I went back for more. This time to read about how her SuperBetter method for feeling better works.
Wonderland: Sticking with the game theme I also checked out Wonderland from my favorite author Steven Johnson. It was an insightful look into the history of play as Johnson took us on a whirlwind tour of the evolution of entertainment.
Blood, Sweat and Pixels: I’m not big into video games but it was still interesting nonetheless to read this book and learn about the behind the scenes trials and tribulations of video game making.
The Extreme Future: A leading futurist, Dr. James Canton, covers a lot of ground by looking at new trends in a variety of different areas impacting the future. Extreme indeed.
The Future: I knew that former presential hopeful Al Gore had written An Inconvenient Truth but I didn’t know that he had authored other books as well. Such as this one that looked at six drivers of global change. Or that he was such an eloquent writer.
Utopia For Realists: How can we build a Utopia in modern times? This book explores our best options ranging from Universal Basic Income to a 15-Hour workweek.
Eureka: A collection of 50 stories by Marlene Wagman-Geller about the surprising Eureka moments that led to some famous innovations and inventions.
Thinking Machines: I enjoyed The Formula by Luke Dormehl so I decided to check out another one of his offerings and I was really glad that I did as Thinking Machines was an insightful look at the history of AI and thought in general.
Rapt: What we pay attention to determines how we experience life. Unfortunately, I had trouble paying attention to this book at times.
Wikinomics: This look at how mass collaboration is changing everything was not surprisingly a collaboration in its own right, co-authored by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams.

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