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.

Books

Most of my reading this year has been study and/or research for work and some family medical issues. When I did have the chance to read for “pleasure” I enjoyed “Caesar: Life of a Colossus” by Andrew Roberts, and “Going Infinite” by Michael Lewis.

That said, I agree with many reviewers that Lewis was far less critical of Sam Bankman-Fried than one would expect.

Audiobooks

Billionaire’s Row by 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.

A Very English Scandal by John Preston

Examines the downfall of Jeremy Thorpe, the first British politician to stand trial for murder.

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.

Founders (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.

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.

Rectangle (MacOS)

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

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.