I was on the London tube recently when the woman sitting next to me appeared engrossed in a book — I interrupted her and asked what she was reading. ‘All the beauty in the world’ by Peter Bringley, is the story of a New Yorker, who upon the death of his brother takes up the job as a museum guard at the Met in New York. It is a superbly written, personal account of the art and atmosphere in the Met and one I would start my Christmas recommended list with.

Technology is very much the subject of the day. In a recent research note I flagged the excellent ‘The Tech Coup’ by Marietje Schaake that, whilst written in the US, has a decidedly European tone (the author was an MEP). She argues for a more precautionary approach to the mass roll out of new technologies, with specific limits on technologies like spyware, facial recognition systems and cryptocurrencies, and much greater transparency on the uses and finance of AI. 

A companion book to read with this is ‘High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy’ by Angela Huyue Zhang, which sets out a very systemic overview of the interaction between Chinese tech titans and their government. It is an important book given how little many Westerners know about the intersection of capitalism and domestic politics in China. Note also that the FT book of the year ‘Supremacy’ by Parmy Olson, which I have not read, fits nicely in this category.

A few colleagues have also chipped in on business and ‘future’ oriented books, such as ‘When We Cease to Understand the World' by Benjamin Labatut, a work of historical fiction that is focused on the intersection of scientific discovery, human ambition and existential dread.

Those readers with an eye on private investments in ‘deep’ or ‘strategic’ tech should read ‘Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War'. Raj Shah and Christopher Kirchhoff’s account of the entrepreneurs shaping up the new US defence industry is worth reading to grasp how technology is revolutionizing both weaponry and the tactics of warfare.

I have travelled a lot this year, from the Middle East last week to Asia a few weeks ago. In both cases, economic miracles abound, from Abu Dhabi to Singapore. A book worth considering here is ‘From third world to first’ - Lee Kwan Yew's first person story of transforming Singapore from a pestilential swamp into a metropolis. Staying in Asia, Ian Johnson’s ‘Sparks’ is a bold account of the struggle to control and shape the narrative on China’s history. Indeed, the curbing of the release of economic data and the tight lipped-ness of local economists has made the Chinese economy much harder to read.

In fiction, I always enjoy William Boyd and his new book ‘Gabriel’s Moon’ is very good. On a similar tack I have rediscovered Ian McEwan this year, and ‘Sweet Tooth’ and ‘On Chesil Beach’ are enjoyable.

To end the list, there are a few authors traditionally associated with Christmas — notably many Agatha Christie books make it on to tv, and the books of hers that are relevant are ‘The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding’, ‘Hercule Poirot’s Christmas’, ‘Curtain’ and the ‘Sittaford Mystery’. Then, Conan Doyle’s ‘The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle’ is set at Christmas. On the more humorous side, PG Wodehouse’s ‘Very Good, Jeeves’, and ‘Right Ho, Jeeves’.

At this stage readers might be surprised that I haven’t mentioned Dickens, but I wanted to leave the best till last, and it's not by Charles Dickens but his grandson Cedric, and is a book ‘Drinking with Dickens’ (made up of recipes of drinks mentioned in the Dickens novels) that you drink rather than read. 

Important notice: This content is for informational purposes only. Moonfare does not provide investment advice. You should not construe any information or other material provided as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. If you are unsure about anything, you should seek financial advice from an authorised advisor. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. Private equity is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Subject to eligibility. Please see https://www.moonfare.com/disclaimers.