Ciao, I'm Julia.

Here's a quick rundown of all the books I read in 2017. Books I particularly enjoyed and would recommend are in bold. Total books read: 42.

• The Love Killers by Jackie Collins
  Bought this on a whim as it was on sale. Having never read a book by Jackie Collins, I thought I'd give it a try. I can now safely say, not my kind of genre.

• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
  What a great premise for a book - the new gods vs. the old gods. Unfortunately, couldn't quite get into it, and probably should've read the abridged version with 10,000 less words rather than this 10th anniversary edition.

• Deliciously Ella with Friends by Ella Woodward (Mills)
  Excellent plant-based cookbook and the one I tend to default to daily. Simple but delicious recipes.

• Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss
  A great playbook for life's hacks. Don't bother if you're already a religious listener of Tim's podcast. Great otherwise for distilled snippets of wisdom to ponder in daily life.

• How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
  Unlike any other book I've ever read. I was very quickly hooked on the two characters, their evolving lives and the romance between them.

• The Tao of Seneca: Practical Letters from a Stoic Master, Volume 1 (audiobook) by Tim Ferriss
  Phew, a hefty list of letters to get through, which I tried to brute force. Not a good idea. I need to go back and pick the most relevant letters to me and listen to them on a singular basis to really digest the messages behind them.

• The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage by Ryan Holiday
  Would recommend for anyone looking to learn more about Stoic philosophy in an accessible and practical way.

• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
  Couldn't really get into it. A little too detailed and ponderous in parts, and I found myself just wanting things to move on.

• The Industries of the Future by Alec J. Ross
  Touches on a broad range of topics such as robots, Bitcoin, Russian cyberwarfare, genomics and cities of the future. Useful for getting a bird's eye view of what's happening around the world.

• Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers
  Loved it for its short simplicity. Summarised key learnings from Sivers's entrepreneurship journey.

• The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Marcus Aurelius
  Did not like this translation (free version). Had better luck with the one below.

• Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius and Gregory Hays
  This version was miles better. The introduction was particularly useful, providing a lot of context around Aurelius's life and the period over which he wrote Meditations, a bit around the history of the Roman-Greek empire at that time, the major schools of philosophy, the basic concepts of Stoicism and a bit around the prominent characters that played a big role in Aurelius's life.

• An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
  Chris is a master storyteller and he blends his personal stories really well with facts and interesting nuggets of information. I feel like I've missed my true calling in life to be an astronaut!

• This Was A Man by Jeffrey Archer
  I hate it when I get to the end of a book series, especially one as long as this, but all goods things must come to an end.

• Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty
  Really liked the structure of the story, the characters, and how all the storylines combined towards the end resulting in a satisfying conclusion. The premise of the book was also an important one.

• The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
  Felt a bit ridiculous at times and rather predictable.

• Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
  Re-read for a 2nd time. Recommended for both men and women.

• 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head... by Dan Harris
  For people who hold a cynical view of meditation and who perhaps want to be convinced otherwise. This book is not for people who already buy into the benefits of meditation.

• Norse Mythology (audiobook) by Neil Gaiman
  I'm not particularly into the Norse myths, but found the stories entertaining, particularly with Neil's narration.

• Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart
  Good, short read on a systematic way of hiring for your company.

• Sprint: A Radically New Way to Test Ideas, Solve Problems and Answer Your Most Pressing Questions by Jake Knapp
  I liked that it was really practical but found it a little too draggy. Wrong timing perhaps, as I didn't particularly have a need to run a sprint.

• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
  Loved the characters and location backdrop, but felt that the overall storyline was somewhat lacking. A little hard going during the first half of the book, but really liked the 2nd half and ending.

• Emergency: One man's story of a dangerous world, and how to stay alive in it by Neil Strauss
  Entertaining read. Loved the conspiracy aspect. Didn't love the ditzy portrayal of his girlfriend.

• Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Malone Scott
  Written for managers but is a good read for anyone working within organisations, whether they are a "boss" or have a "boss".

• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
  Found it a little annoying at first, because it all seemed so obvious. The more I got into it though, the more I appreciated the sheer simplicity of what McKeown was saying.

• Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman
  Simple, easy to follow guidelines on how to lose weight and choose foods with maximum nutritional content.

• Trekking in the Dolomites: Alta Via Routes 1 and 2, with Alta Via Routes 3-6 in Outline by Gillian Price
  Good little pocket sized gem if you're planning on trekking the Alta Via 1 or 2.

• Unshakeable (audiobook) by Tony Robbins
  A book for everyone as a reminder that the power to be financially free is in your hands.

• Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
  Really enjoyed reading this book and finding out more about Einstein's personal life and the context around some of his most important discoveries.

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo
  Not so much just a "how to tidy" book, but really more of a whole philosophy.

• Catch 22 (audiobook) by Joseph Heller
  Can't seem to get into it. The non-linear storyline is throwing me off too much

• The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
  A cute coffee table book on how the Danes keep happy and a reminder that it’s the small things in life that matters.

• Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups by Jason Calacanis
  A really easy to read and understand book on how to get started and succeed in angel investing.

• Nomad by James Swallow
  Not the best thriller I've ever read but I'll be continuing with the series for now.

• Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo
  A practical companion with handy illustrations to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (see above).

• Exile by James Swallow
  Characters seem a little clichéd (although I do like Marc Dane and his hacker side) and it's all a bit much at times. Not sure I'll carry on with the series.

• So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
  A thought-provoking and sorely needed book in today's social-feed obsessed society.

• The Power by Naomi Alderman
  Touches on the themes of gender studies, power and psychology. An uncomfortable but great read.

• Elon Musk: Inventing the Future by Ashlee Vance One of the best biographies I've ever read on one of the most interesting person I've ever come across.

• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
  Pretty scary and thought-provoking, but even scarier if you think that it’s not so inconceivable that some elements of this could happen in today’s world.

• Follow You Home by Mark Edwards Rather intriguing initially but got a bit silly towards the end.

• The Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday One to re-read periodically no matter what stage in life / career you’re at.