Top reads for 2024
In no particular order, these are some of my favorite books that I read in 2024.
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Upgrade, by Blake Crouch, was a fast-paced, action-packed, twisty-plot sci-fi novel set ~50 years in the future. It’s a fun, exciting, and sometimes thought-provoking story that kept me turning the pages.
Aside: I received this book from a co-worker for Jólabókaflóð (a yule book flood), a charming Icelandic tradition of giving books as gifts, opening them on Christmas Eve, and settling in to read them together, ideally with hot chocolate or other warm wintry drink.
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Morbid curiosity drove me to read Exit Interview, by Kristi Coulter, and her witty, insightful commentary captivated me as I watched the proverbial train wreck unfold. I’ve been working in the Seattle tech community since 1999 and have heard plenty of horror stories about Amazon from friends and associates. This was a front row seat to Kristi’s 12 years of experiences at Amazon and how they impacted all aspects of her life.
Coulter is a wonderful writer. She’s snarky, witty, and irreverent, but it’s her authenticity and sincerity that pull it all together so well. So many excellently hilarious quotes—especially for those of us who live in Seattle or work in technology!
“The beginning of the process of backing the Jetta out of the driveway. The house is on a busy street [in Ravenna] and it’s as if all the other drivers took a blood oath that I can go fuck myself.”
Truth.
One thing that struck me was how much Amazon relies on employees’ insecurities and sense of
imposter syndrome 1 to foster an inequitable and unrealistic culture. The culture
demands overachieving, equating it with success; anything less is considered failure in the eyes
of managers and peers, even if you meet the expectations of your job. If you’re not striving
towards promotion, reaching that next level, going above and beyond mere expectations then the
implication is that you’re not good enough to be there. You’re taking up space that could be
filled by someone who is more competent. Nobody really says it out loud or to your face, but it’s
a result of the system and culture.
To be honest, this overachieving attitude is rampant in
the tech industry. I’ve experienced it throughout my career (the experience depends heavily on your
management and organization), but according to Coulter’s description they turn it up to eleven at
Amazon and it’s a clusterfuck.
“I understand that at Amazon normal human limits are an embarrassing affliction like IBS or erectile dysfunction, not to be discussed in public.”
“Amazon didn’t create our yearning for recognition, but it exploits it for maximum return by holding the rat pellet just out of reach and then frowning on any rat who looks hungry.”
I truly appreciate that Coulter highlights her experience as a woman, something she could have easily foregone in an attempt to be more palatable. She encountered all of the misogynistic and sexist tropes you’d expect, plus a few you wouldn’t. Her descriptions are sobering yet hilarious lessons for any man who happens to be paying attention.
“It took me a couple of months to notice something lumpy about Amazon’s demographics. When I’m in a room with people beneath me in level, like the merchandisers, a solid third of them are women. But when I’m with my peers or senior leaders, men usually outnumber women at least three to one. And if it’s a meeting of developers and other tech employees, it’s a brofest at all levels. Both my ceiling and my floor are made of glass.”
“Just three Gen X women scrambling to make it clear that we would never make waves over a harmless workplace cum-ingestion joke, but these kids today: they’re soft; we must protect them.”
This is a witty and relatable memoir about hating your job while also feeling compelled to pursue superhuman unrealistic expectations.
1Interesting note, “imposter syndrome” was originally described as “imposter phenomenon” by Dr. Pauline Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes in their 1978 research paper, The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women.
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Being only three years younger than Pamela Anderson, I witnessed her take the world by storm: Playboy, Home Improvement, Baywatch (mostly through Joey and Chandler on Friends), Tommy Lee, PETA, and more. She’s an icon from my early adulthood and hearing that she had written a memoir, Love, Pamela peaked my curiosity.
What I love about well written memoirs is not only hearing the person’s story, but learning about their motivations and interests, the impact of their experiences, and thoughtful introspection years later. Those are the things that resonate with me as a reader. Anderson delivers them in a unique writing style that is approachable, candid, succinct, authentic, humble, and poetic.
Insecurity runs rampant through her story, even after she became a household name, and she takes the time to explain how it impacted her choices while also accepting responsibility for her decisions. She doesn’t place the blame on others or use her insecurity as an excuse, rather as a means to help the reader understand her state of mind in many of those moments.
I learned a lot about Pamela, but here are some that stood out: she has a photographic memory; she’s an avid reader of many genres, including philosophy, art, sociology, relationships, and spirituality; she’s a philosopher with an introspective focus, looking inward for how to be a better person; when on location or traveling she always quietly visits local museums alone, without any fanfare; she regrets her breast augmentation; she didn’t pursue fame, rather relationships and opportunities that stirred her passions; she’s been a vegetarian/vegan since she was 6 or 7 years old; she writes poetry almost every day; she originally meant for this memoir to be written entirely in poetry (thankfully her editor convinced her to “add full sentences and paragraphs”).
I went in with only my curiosity, no expectations, and it turned out to be much better than I anticipated. Regardless of the controversies surrounding her over the years, I respect the path she’s travelled and thoroughly enjoyed reading her story.
“As crooked as the path was, I was learning and growing, thorns and all.”
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Powerful messages from a Black woman’s lived experience (in the U.S.). I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, by Austin Channing Brown, allows you to digest and absorb them at your own pace. She’s a wonderful writer, deftly correlating her personal stories to larger systemic issues. She covers a wide variety of her encounters, occurrences, and trials that span school, religion, work, age, and more. While the topics and stories can be challenging for those of us who are white, such as her chapters on white fragility and nice white people, open your mind, focus on empathy, and embrace it as a learning opportunity. We can—and must—do better.
It was particularly interesting to hear how her childhood in a middle class, Christian, Black family in the Midwest surrounded by white communities (at school, church, and socially) shaped her perspectives. She had many of the stereotypical benefits, such as family and financial stability, well-funded schools, and access to university-level education. Yet she was immersed in white culture that emphasized her membership in the out-group (not white) and limited her exposure to many aspects of Black culture. She goes on to discuss how this affected her at later stages in life and the personal growth she experienced.
“Instead of offering empathy and action, whiteness finds new names for me and offers ominous advice. I am too sensitive, and should be careful with what I report. I am too angry, and should watch my tone when I talk about my experiences. I am too inflexible, and should learn to offer more grace to people who are really trying.”
Before you ask your Black friend about their traumatic stories—yes, they most likely have them—settle in and absorb Austin Channing Brown’s experiences.
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All the Sinners Bleed, by S.A. Cosby, is a captivating read! I thoroughly enjoy Cosby’s gritty, noir style of suspenseful thriller. It’s a special boon that the book is set in the American South—where I lived for 11 years—and portrays Black Americans with such empathy, compassion, and authenticity. Cosby is a fantastic story teller and has solidified himself as one of my favorite crime, suspense authors!
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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin, is a book about the close relationships in our lives, under the guise of creating video games. Granted, being a video gamer since the early 80’s (Atari 2600, Commodore 64, NES, SNES) there was a lot in this book that hit me smack in the middle of my nostalgia, as intended. Yet, the relationships and their evolution were the cornerstone of the story that pulled me in.
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Coming Home, by Brittney Griner and Michelle Burford, is a difficult story told well. Brittney, BG as she’s referred to publicly, reveals the evolution of events before, during, and after her 2022 incarceration in Russia, and she does so with honesty, vulnerability, and compassion. I particularly enjoyed how she sprinkled in the stories of her life as they pertained to moments in her journey, sometimes revealing the deep-seated reasons behind her decisions. She displays a remarkable amount of introspection and self-analysis, leading to an improved understanding of her behaviors and how to improve her own health. It’s a horrible situation, through which BG tells a story of heartache, shame, courage, resilience, and grace.
“I’d always thought of myself as someone who could endure almost anything. At a labor camp in Russia in the dead of winter, I found out just how tough I was.”
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Sketch Every Day, by Simone Grünewald, is an inspiring and warmly inviting introduction to drawing, while sharing Grünewald’s artistic journey. She’s been one of my favorite artists for a long while now and I was excited to read about her experiences and learn new sketching techniques. Her guidance is relatable and practical, displayed in fun ways. This is a great book for those of us who need a little bit of encouragement and practical prompting to finally pull the pad and pencil out of the drawer and get something, anything really, on the paper.
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