The January Reading List - 2023 Re-Launch!

Hello Reader, 

Welcome to what will be the first of the new edition of reading lists. Many of you who find yourself here will remember a prior series I did like this, but I am completely relaunching the focus of the reading lists. The original series was designed to cover the widest range of topics each month possible, which actually seriously limited my ability to take recommendations. 

This time, reading lists will be driven much more by your recommendations! Please do send them in by the ream... no pun intended. In the last few months, I've collected, by my account, some 20 recommendations... that ought to keep me going. Otherwise, the format will largely be the same, with the slight exception that because I now have a full-time job, we will be cutting the monthly target down to four books, and giving myself more flexibility over not meeting that target. One of the problems of the original series was it constricted my willingness to start longer books, as it involved more work (that said, I did occasionally bash out a 3000 page month). 

What's also new is a new ranking system - whereby I will recommend the book according to some kind of spur of the moment title. Favourites will be labelled so, recommendations for specific audiences will be included, and books I didn't like (although this will be exceptionally rare as there is little I tend not to like, only to disagree with...) I will point to that too. 

Anyway, that's enough of a preamble, I present... The 1st 2023 Reading List!

Red Notice: Bill Browder - 2022 FAVOURITE!

This was just perhaps one of my top reads of 2022. Red Notice is the story of Bill Browder and his hedge fund Hermitage Capital, but it is really more a tale of Russian history in the 21st Century. Browder recites his tale of setting up a fund which invested (alongside oligarchs) in super cheap Russian assets. After making a name for himself though, Oligarch dirty tricks started to cause him issues, and eventually caught the notice of the Kremlin. Without spoiling the storyline, a quick google of the Magnitsky Act will reveal just how significant this event proved to be in terms of sanctioning Russian businessmen. 

My Life in Full: Indra Nooyi - Ideal for the MBA Student... 

Next up is another business book (if you can call Browder's book a business book - a rollercoaster thriller might be more appropriate), which covers the former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi's life. This was quite an interesting read to show how a girl went from a traditional Indian household family to the CEO of one of the world's largest companies to become not just one of the only female top CEOs but also one of the only minority CEOs.

What I particularly liked about this was the possibility it pointed too to most other people too. At every stage, Nooyi surrounded herself by bright people and good mentors and this was the combination which allowed her to reach the top. The other notable thing in this is at no point did she ever abandon her family or her friends in order to boost her career, rather when she was needed back in India she went, when she was injured, she didn't rush back to work and was supported by management - it's a lesson to many who think they need to abandon the personal that there can still be success when combined with family and broader life. 

The Power of Geography: Tim Marshall - Geopolitical Must Read

A bit more geopolitical with the next one where Tim Marshall looks at how geography has shaped the powers of the modern world. Readers of the original work, Prisoners of Geography, are in for much the same book but looking at different countries. 

In this particular edition, I loved the chapter on Iran - which explained how because of terrain Iran had managed to make itself so isolated (and yet so undefeatable) against the Western Powers. Likewise, I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Spain, which focused on how large regional disparities (in climate, terrain and language) actually creates a nation which is really quite disjointed rather than unitary and thus explains partly various independence movements (e.g. Catalonia) which have been ongoing through recent years. 

If you asked me for a criticism of this, I would say it is perhaps a little too brief in each of the chapters, although to Marshall's credit I do feel he has chosen to keep it brief for the sanity of the average reader... hence why with the relatively snappy chapters I decided to gift this one to my Dad for Christmas... 

Why Aren't They Shouting?: Kevin Rodgers - Finance Must Read

The full title of this book contains the subtitle "A banker's tale of change, computers and perpetual crisis", so if you're in a bit of a doom and gloom mood post Christmas/ NY, this could be one to start you off. 

This is a great read for those looking to get into finance and it focuses specifically on the FX market and the transformation of trading floors from loud, shouty places... to quiet places where the clicking of keyboards is significant. What I particularly liked about this was the perspective Rodgers was able to give given that he had been a prime creator / orchestrator of many of the technological advances. Given it was written post crisis and after his retirement, this is quite an honest reflection. 

What I found interesting was descriptions around destruction events - such as the unpegging of the Swiss Franc whereby the lack of the old broker market (and the decline in its use) meant it took a very significant amount of time for prices to be found in the market - whereas previously dialogue between brokers and various banks might have accelerated the process. 

Note - if you are looking for something more complex, or a full history of the financial crisis, I would advise you to look elsewhere, but this is a very good introduction to FX markets (and broader finance) and I would highly recommend it to those who wonder what happened to the trading floor shouting matches so often portrayed in film/TV.

That's all for this month. Not 100% sure what will feature next month... so stay tuned!

As always, please do reach out with your recommendations, readings and general commentary. Looking forward to getting back into a regular reading list production, so please do keep me busy with those recommendations!