What I read in 2024 that you should read, too
Some of my book highlights of the year!
As the year comes to an end, I am looking forward to a few quieter days in front of the fireplace with a book in my hands. If you’re the same and you need some inspiration about what to read, here are a couple of books that I heartily recommend.
“Atomic Habits” by James Clear
I am admittedly late to the party, having read “Atomic Habits” (originally published in 2018) only this year. It is one of these books that makes you think “right, I get the idea” when reading the back cover; however, there is a lot more to discover.
According to James Clear, personal and professional success is built on the tiny habits that we develop over time; it is not ambition that makes us successful (naturally, every team has the ambition to win a basketball game for example), but how we go about getting there. Or in Clear’s words: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” – James Clear
To me, starting to imagine who I want to be and then thinking about which habits this person would deploy was a significant change in how I think about personal development.
“Co-Intelligence” by Ethan Mollick
“Co-Intelligence” is hands-down the most important book on AI that was published in 2024. Fueled with practical insights from Ethan Mollick’s own experience with AI, the book proposes four pragmatic rules for adjusting to a world that will inevitably be infused with AI in the coming years. Far from the exhausting antagonism of “boomers” and “doomers”, these rules include experimenting with AI whenever we can, always being mindful of the shortcomings of current AI systems and assuming that the AI we interact with today will be the worst AI that we’ll ever see.
In the second part of the book, Ethan gives practical examples of how AI can be used in our lives, for example for creation, task automation, or as a coach and tutor (a vastly underestimated and yet already quite developed area for AI application). Its practical relevance and accessibility makes “Co-Intelligence” a compelling and interesting read for beginners and even advanced users of AI and sets it apart from many of the other books on AI on the market. A must read.
Ethan also publishes a Substack called “One Useful Thing” that I also recommend to read!
“EU Superlobby” by Milos Labovic
“EU Superlobby - Winning in Brussels” is a concise and practical guide for everyone who has an interest in understanding and influencing policy making in the European Union. Having worked in Brussels for years, Labovic not only knows how things should work but also how they actually work. He also discusses how important stakeholders can be reached most effectively, whether through direct engagement, media or events. Essential reading for everyone in the “Brussels bubble” and for everyone who has to deal with it at least sometimes.
Milos also writes the “Superlobby Community” newsletter which is a great resource for all politicos – you can subscribe here for free!
“Power and Progress” by Daron Acemoğlu and Simon Johnson
Already published in 2023, I still want to recommend “Power and Progress” as this year, Daron Acemoğlu and Simon Johnson have been awarded with the Nobel Price for Economics. In this groundbreaking study, Acemoğlu and Johnson argue that technological progress is closely linked to social power and that this power balance decides how technology is used and how its benefits are distributed. To solve this dilemma, the authors explore ways how technology can be used to increase worker productivity rather than to replace humans and to strengthen the voice of those that are impacted by technology in democratic debate. A topic that could not be more timely.
“The Strongmen” by Hans Kribbe
“The Strongmen” is an intriguing and extremely relevant analysis for everyone interested in foreign affairs. As authoritarian leaders such as Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jingping and others come to power across the globe, the European Union faces a fundamental challenge: The EU is built on norms of international cooperation, consensus and multilateralism – values that the strongmen explicitly do not follow. This puts the EU at a significant disadvantage when dealing with these leaders.
In the first part of the book, Hans defines what he means by “strongman” and what makes them so different to the European heads of state. In the second part, he proposes strategies how the EU can effectively deal with strongmen leaders, based on experiences during past encounters with them. With the second Trump administration coming in in 2025, this book provides European leaders with a useful, but equally sobering, playbook for the next years.
To understand what the new Trump administration means for EU tech policy, I interviewed Hans earlier in November. You can read the interview here.
Some more books!
Two other books I read, Amitav Ghosh’s “The Nutmeg’s Curse” and Jenna Odell’s “Saving Time” both explore in different ways how humankind has exploited the planet in the pursue of profits and growth at least for four hundred centuries now. Both authors pledge that we need to re-connect to nature and learn from indigenous people that have never lost touch with earth as we have. Two books that really made me think.
And while I don't read a lot of fiction, “All Fours” by Miranda July was an entertaining, intriguing and funny read, a “coming of age” story of a middle-aged women who suddenly founds herself questioning her entire previous life and embarks on a journey to find herself again.
What have you read this year? Please do share your recommendations in the comments!