A few of my favourite things: 2023

It’s time for another roundup of the books, audiobooks, podcasts and apps that I’ve enjoyed over the past year (previous roundups: 2017, 2019).

Books

The bulk of my reading this year was focused around study and research for work and some family medical issues.

Caesar: Life of a Colossus (Andrew Roberts)

When I did have the chance to read for pleasure, I enjoyed Andrew Robert’s detailed biography of Julius Caesar.

Caesar: Life of a Colossus

Going Infinite (Michael Lewis)

Going Infinite follows the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried and his company FTX. It’s an interesting book, but I agree with many reviews that Lewis was less critical of Sam Bankman-Fried’s behaviour than I would have expected.

Going Infinite

Audiobooks

Billionaire’s Row (Katherine Clarke)

Katherine Clarke investigates the men behind the ultra-luxury skyscrapers that have sprung up around New York’s Central Park in the past decade.

Billionaire’s Row (Katherine Clarke)

A Very English Scandal (John Preston)

The story of the downfall of Jeremy Thorpe, the first British politician to stand trial for murder. I didn’t know anything about this case before listening to this audiobook, but found the story fascinating.

A Very English Scandal by John Preston

Podcasts

Dwarkesh Podcast

Dwarkesh Patel interviews experts on a wide range of topics including AI, economics, mathematics and politics.

Some interesting recent guests include the always controversial Dominic Cummings ; Sarah C. M. Paine, the Professor of History and Strategy at the US Naval War College; and Shane Legg, Founder of DeepMind.

Dwarkesh Podcast

Founders podcast with (David Senra

Each week, David Senra shares notes and takeaways from reading biographies of “history’s greatest entrepreneurs”. It’s a simple premise, but Senra’s knowledge and enthusiasm combine to make it a compelling listen. I particularly enjoyed his episodes on Michael Jordan, Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates.

Founders (David Senra)

Apps

Raycast (MacOS)

Raycast is a free replacement for MacOS spotlight, adding far more capabilities to your CMD-space hotkey. I use it to search for files, play and pause music, convert text, set countdown “pomodoro” style timers, add events to my calendar, and much more.

Raycast (MacOS)

Rectangle (MacOS)

A simple app that allows me to quickly move and resize my MacOS windows using keyboard shortcuts.

Rectangle

Eagle (MacOS)

Eagle is an image organisation app that allows you to “collect, search and organize your design files in a logical way”. It comes with a powerful browser extension that let me take instant screenshots of entire browser pages, or individual page components. I primarily use the app to collect and organise marketing and web design inspiration images.

Eagle (MacOS)