Newsletter #21: What am I reading? Empire of AI, The Genius Myth, the Patriot
Books that kept me reading.
How many books from the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century have you read? My count shows one. Here’s the title: The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright. This book recounts the events of September 11. It takes you back to where it all started, what led Osama Bin Laden to attack the US, and how the FBI almost prevented it from happening. As the reviewer said, “911 was never a product of a spontaneous plan.”
This brings me to the topic of this newsletter. What am I reading today? I’m currently reading several books: "Empire of AI" by Karen Hao, "The Genius Myth" by Helen Lewis, and "Patriot" by the late Alexei Navalny.
Empire of AI by Karen Hao
The Empire of AI is a rich and timely commentary on the effects of artificial intelligence on our world, both technologically, politically, and socially. Published in May 2025, journalist Karen Hao, who has been writing about the people behind OpenAI in Silicon Valley for some time, takes us behind the scenes to reveal the politics, cultural divides, and moral landmines behind what some say will change our world.
If you love stories about technology startups and tech titans, this book is for you. As I am a big fan of technology, I wanted to understand how AI and ChatGPT came to life, quietly (and not so quietly, apparently), rewriting the equation of global power. If you want to know who benefits from AI, who is left behind, and what it all means for everyone else, Hao’s book is a convincing, clear-eyed compass. In my opinion, this is an outstanding work of tech journalism. For this book, I got myself an audiobook version.
The Genius Myth by Helen Lewis
Thanks to CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter, who writes his daily newsletter called “Reliable Sources,” I bought this book because I got curious about “The Genius Myth,” which he finished in one sitting, or so I recall.
It starts with questions like, “Is Elon Musk a genius?” Is he just lucky to be at the right place, at the right time? Was Steve Jobs considered a genius for reshaping the way we listen to music, and how we connect and communicate with each other, and how we use our personal computers as lifestyle devices?
Helen Lewis’s The Genius Myth attempts to deconstruct the idea of a genius. Is it based on high IQ (Intelligence Quotient), or is it a manifestation of greatness? Lewis cuts through the seductive notion of solo greatness and tears down the myths we’ve long been fed about genius. Do you have to be a member of Mensa to be called a genius?!
With wit and acuity, Lewis shows how the myth of the lone genius not only distorts our understanding of creativity but also underlies systems that erase many voices. This book is a rich exploration of how collaboration, circumstance, and unsung contributors produce breakthroughs we so often attribute to lone titans. If you’re interested in challenging the stories we tell about talent, achievement, and who deserves to be celebrated, this book is a must-read.
Patriot by Alexei Navalny
To those unfamiliar, Alexei Navalny perished in a brutal Russian Arctic prison in 2024. A critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Navalny, almost died in 2020 after being poisoned by supposed Russian intelligence who denied it. After recovering in Berlin, he decided to return to Russia to “face the music,” but ended up in prison, where he began writing this secret prison memoir.
I am almost halfway through the book. Patriot is more than a memoir. It is his tribute to fearlessness in a world of oppressive authoritarianism, written as he reflected on how he became a staunch detractor of Putin. He also injects some humor in between tense moments, especially just after he landed in a Russian airport and was accosted by airport security, and later jailed and forced to appear before a “mock trial” in front of an invited public and press.
Interwoven with searing candor, Navalny opens up about his world, recounts his political awakening, and recalls his unrelenting struggle against an entrenched regime.
If you want to understand Russia, this book reveals a great deal about the nation and its leaders; every struggle against dignity, accountability, and the right to confront power is showcased in this honest and heartfelt book. If you wish a sense of what real courage is—and why it is so vital—this is a book you have to read.
‘The People Who Don’t Read Books’
I’m quoting this The Atlantic article about reading and books because of what it reveals: dismissing books isn’t just an intellectual blind spot; it reveals something more profound (and darker) about someone’s character.
This article offers a litmus test for our times: if someone is hawking a grand vision for the future but also brags that they never crack open a book, it’s best to steer clear.
Thomas Chatterton Williams zooms in on a strange, unsettling badge of honor among today’s most high-profile men: proudly not reading books. From Kanye’s smug “I am a proud non-reader of books” to Sam Bankman-Fried’s cringe-inducing rant about why books should be reduced to blog posts, the article draws a portrait of a cultural moment that feels both hollow and dangerously self-satisfied.
“It is one thing in practice not to read books, or not to read them as much as one might wish. But it is something else entirely to despise the act in principle. Identifying as someone who categorically rejects books suggests a much larger deficiency of character,” the article said.
The joy of reading
How many books have I read from the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st century? I intend to read more than one. Reading is fun, and to some extent, educational. It brings joy and a sense of fulfillment to finish a 700-page novel or a 17-hour non-fiction audiobook. Mind you, I hated reading when I was in College. However, I read some things that I liked. I spent hours reading music and guitar magazines, as well as sports magazines, National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Wired, and science and tech magazines that I found at a public library, home, or at a friend’s home.
Since the Internet happened, reading time has decreased for many of us. I know this because I teach communications and journalism. Part of my course’s requirement is reading. I can always tell if a student is not fond of reading. Their opinions, insights, comprehension, and writing are compromised. Yes, they are aware of what’s happening around them, seeing them flashed on their feeds. However, quiz them on one subject and ask them to conduct a deep dive. You’ll get empty stairs and a lot of “Uhms,” and a few grunts in between.
“Today, the nature of reading has shifted. Plenty of people still enjoy traditional books and periodicals, and there are even readers for whom the networked age has enabled a kind of hyper-literacy; for them, a smartphone is a library in their pocket. For others, however, the old-fashioned, ideal sort of reading—intense, extended, beginning-to-end encounters with carefully crafted texts—has become almost anachronistic,” a New Yorker wrote in an article, “What’s happening to reading?”
