This year, I made time to read more. Even though my commute on the tube is only about 15 minutes, that half an hour a day proved to be just enough for me to start and finish work feeling intrigued. I read multiple books and a bunch of academic papers this way. Some of these were absolutely captivating and broadened my worldview. From rekindling my longstanding interest in understanding consciousness, to opening my eyes to the silent neoliberal powers that are shaping our world today. In Bill Gates fashion, here is my top three books read in 2024 that I highly recommend you to read as well:
The Hidden Spring by Mark Solms
The Invisible Doctrine by George Monbiot
Tomorrow's people by Paul Morland
A picture of all three books... yes, I did buy and read them myself!
The Hidden Spring
One of the "hardest problems" in science to this day is the quest for what consciousness is. What does it consist of and where does it arise? What does it mean to be conscious? Philosophers from ancient Greece to modern philosophers, physicists and neuroscientists have been debating this question, without a satisfactory conclusion. In The Hidden Spring, Mark Solms brilliantly describes his answer to the problem for which he makes the case to go back to Freud's original writings on the very topic and unites it with what we know now about the previously mysterious faculties of the mind.
Back in my undergraduate days, I was so fascinated by the topic, I thought studying the brain would get me closer to the answer. Perhaps I could have, if I had been patient enough to stay in that field of research. Which made me the more excited when someone personally recommended this book to me. Mark makes you appreciate early basic experiments in neurology and psychology in a new light. I found it personally rewarding to go back to some of the studies he describes and make inferences from them that I had not thought of before. More importantly, he makes some aspects of his theory of consciousness seem so obvious, one may think "why did we not acknowledge this earlier". Spoiler alert, Mark's research lab is now working on testing his theory by artificially creating conscious machines. Although the book is dense and requires an attentive reader, I do highly recommend. It may augment your own conscious experience of existing.
The Invisible Doctrine
When I started working on climate change mitigation technologies and future crime risks this summer, I was recommended to look into George Monbiot's work - a brilliant journalist, zoologist by background and politically inclined thinker. His oeuvre offers in-depth insights into the forces that actively fuel the climate change crisis and sheds light on solutions to, notably, the degradation of soil and the type of innovation required to feed ourselves. I felt greatly intrigued by the peek he provides into the political landscape that ushered neoliberal politicians into the limelight - and whom are keeping them in power (spoiler alert, oligarchs who route their money through think tanks and lobbyists to influence national politics while they sip on dry martinis from paradise islands).
There seems a historically recurring pattern of how those with financial and/or political power push their own agendas over the backs of mass populations. As a psychologist, I find it both fascinating and concerning to see how we as people have not changed our myopic and rather entitled ways. It is a reality to be aware of and adapt to, I suppose. But please read The Invisible Doctrine, because George lays out the various players in our neoliberal world, its impacts, failures and silver linings in the most bold and beautiful way.
Tomorrow's people
Green, white and grey is the way Paul Morland, professor at Birkbeck University and author of Tomorrow's People describes the future of humanity. Green for our rush to overcome the climate change crisis, white for the declining Caucasian race and grey for the rising number of elderly people in the world. In Tomorrow's People, Paul describes how the world population can be defined by ten key statistics. He provides a myriad of real-world examples from all across the globe and uses them to sketch out the next 100 years of demographic developments. I have been recommending everyone to read this book. Although Paul repeatedly writes it is "up to people's decisions" (e.g. on whether and how many children to have and where to settle), I believe he is an optimist. The book prompts you to think of humanity as a demographer: zooming out to view people as a species that move through broad space and time. It is a neatly written, easy to read book that will leave you flabbergasted, but hopeful.
Bonus thoughts
From when I was a child, I had been more interested in reading non-fiction than fiction. I remember going to the local library to read all about the animal kingdom, what life is like in the jungle, what creatures live in the desert, as well as art and architecture. Unsurprisingly, these top three books of 2024 for me are all non-fiction. But, as a little bonus recommendation, I also read Dostoyevsky's White Nights this year after picking it up for three pounds at Waterstones some day - and boy, what a masterfully told story this is! It is a nice escape from reality.
Reading books on my commute is a habit I absolutely want to keep. There is a pile I already lined up for the upcoming months. Moreover, I started writing my first book (non-fiction) on the psychological aspects of cybersecurity that will be published in the second half of next year! A book to add to my 2025 top book recommendations. :) Until then, I wish you a wonderful, peaceful and inspiring holiday period. May you enrich your mind through brilliant books like the above - and see you again in the future.
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