Always Start a New Year with a Reading List
Oh hello, 2022, nice to have you in the room with us.
Did you celebrate last night? I went to bed at 9pm and missed it all because I’ve been sick for the last 10 days (the tests tell me I’m Covid-free, at least).
As such, my writing game has been rather off but I would hate to miss a week writing to y’all.
So instead of my usual ramblings, I’m going to share some recommendations with you for a spot of reading this New Year’s Day. Just because I can’t write much this week, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have something to read.
5 of my proudest 2021 Medium articles
I’ve given you the friends and family links here, so you don’t have to be a subscriber to read the stories.
Not all of these made big bucks because sometimes your proudest creations are not your most popular:
My Mum Tried Minimalism in Her 70s for All the Wrong Reasons
When You Move Away from Your Home Country, It’s Never Just About the Money
I Fulfilled the Ultimate Fantasy. I Gave up an Old Life and Started Over
For Years, I Neglected Everyone I Knew. Freelancing Gives Me the Time to Make Amends
Last Night, an Ex-Yugoslav Soldier Tattooed Me Whilst Wielding a Switchblade
3 non-fiction books that did it for me in 2021
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous - Joseph Henrich
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men - Caroline Criado Pérez
The Moth Presents Occasional Magic: True Stories about Defying the Impossible - edited by Catherine Burns
5 writers to follow in 2022
Rocco Pendola
Rocco is the kind of guy I would like to meet in real life because I think we would never run out of things to say to each other.
He’s a personal finance writer who writes about the psychology of money and how it affects our everyday lives.
Check out his work on Medium or you can subscribe to his Substack.
Shani Silver
I discovered Shani’s work on Medium and it had me almost falling off my chair with laughter. Man, she knows how to turn a phrase.
She writes a lot about single life and even though I am not single, her words still resonate because what she’s really talking about is feeling like an outcast in a coupled-up world. And I definitely know how it feels to be an outcast, as many of us do.
Take a look at Shani’s work on her website or on Medium
Ben Le Fort
Ben is another finance writer who also happens to have his head screwed on right. He’s one of the most knowledgeable finance dudes I have the pleasure of knowing (his 45,000 Medium followers seem to agree with me).
He’s a no-bullshit-says-what-he-thinks kind of guy and you can find him on Medium and Substack.
Michael Thompson
Michael makes my soul soar. He’s one of these writers who can take a seemingly tiny life interaction and turn it into a lesson that resonates with us all. He is one of the few writers that gets me excited when I see his name in my inbox because I know I’m going to feel all nice and warm inside once I’ve read his mailout.
Lisa Martens
Lisa came to my attention a few months ago and since then, I’ve read nearly everything she’s put out there because it’s so damn good. Like me, she’s a traveler and she cleverly writes about everything from feminism to race to politics to privilege to mental health and I feel myself nodding along with all of it.
Find Lisa on Medium
Writing this Substack has been one of my highlights of 2021 and I’m so pleased you’re all on this train with me. Thank you!
Until next week,
Charlie
I just discovered this on LinkedIn. Thank you so much! And I hope you're feeling better.