#88: My top things for 2024
Things I experienced, used, or liked in the past year
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Hey Friends,
Welcome to the 88th edition of my newsletter.
Christmas is just around the corner, and instead of my usual newsletter, I wanted to bring you a list of things I liked in 2024, like books, movies, YouTube videos, and so on.
This is a compilation of the best things from my previous newsletters and some new ones, of course.
It will be short, and I hope it will give you some inspiration.
PS: Merry Christmas to those celebrating it next week!
Top 3 movies
Poor things: An account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.
Past Lives: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrested apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny.
Saltburn: A student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family's sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.
Top 3 TV Shows
Baby Reindeer: The story follows Donny's warped relationship with a female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark buried trauma.
The Penguin: Following the events of The Batman (2022), Oz Cobb, a.k.a. the Penguin, makes a play to seize the reins of the crime world in Gotham. (PS: it’s got nothing to do with Batman; it’s a crime drama similar to The Sopranos.)
Beef: Two people let a road rage incident burrow into their minds and slowly consume their every thought and action.
Top 3 Documentaries
Navalny: The documentary follows the man who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in August 2020. During his months-long recovery, he makes shocking discoveries about the attempt on his life and decides to return home.
Senna: A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
Nasty: 1972 was a turning point in Ilie Nastase's career: winning the US Open, reaching Wimbledon, and Davis Cup finals. It portrays his victories, controversies, rebellious persona challenging tennis norms, and his influence as a tennis rebel icon.
Top 3 Books (only non-fiction this year)
Steve Jobs: Walter Isaacson's worldwide bestselling biography of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years, as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues
What You Do Is Who You Are: Ben Horowitz, a leading venture capitalist, modern management expert, and New York Times bestselling author, combines lessons both from history and from modern organizational practice with practical and often surprising advice to help executives build cultures that can weather both good and bad times.
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention: Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings reveals for the first time the unorthodox culture behind one of the world's most innovative, imaginative, and successful companies
Top 3 Podcasts
This podcast episode on “Never Enough” by Andrew Wilkinson with Derek Sivers
A podcast episode about Ancient Rome
Kevin Spacey, Power, Controversy, Betrayal, Truth & Love in Film and Life
Top 3 Apps I’m using
Headspace: Meditation App
Athlytic : HRV-based Training and Recovery
Notion: It’s my taks manager, my project planner, my note-taking app, and more
(Worth mentioning) Canva: I create all my designs in this app (newsletter, LinkedIn, presentations, etc)
Top 3 Gadgets
Kindle Scribe 2024: just received it one week ago and I love the feeling (better than Remarkable, IMO)
Apple Watch Ultra: it only leaves my hand when charging; I track everything with it, from sleep to recovery, mediation, etc. And I like how it looks.
Phillips Hue: If you don’t have smart lighting in your house, you’re missing out
Top 3 Experiences
The articles below are paid, but I am removing the paywall for them until next week.
My first Hyrox in Rimini
Top 3 Articles (Newsletters)
This Substack post from Torsten about running better meetings.
what it means to be an engineering manager in one of the biggest companies in the world
this older article on how you can get wealthy without working too hard (it’s not a recipe for most people, but it can work for some)
My own 3 Favorite Newsletter Editions
These are the ones I enjoyed most writing (they’re all paid articles, but I am removing the paywall for them until next week):
Well, I hope you liked this edition, which is more like a retrospective on the things I enjoyed in 2024. And I’m curious, what are some things that stood out for you in 2024 (maybe a movie, a book, an article, a YouTube video, or anything that comes to mind).
Share it below so I can check it out myself.
Well, I hope you liked this edition.
Thank you for reading, and join me in the comments section for further discussions!
Leo
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