Book Log

At the age of 23, I found myself becoming a bookworm.

I hated reading as a kid. As hard as I would try, I would invariably lose focus while reading. Stories were lost on me. I couldn’t quiet my analytic mind enough to appreciate the full arch of a book.

It wasn’t until post-college that I started to enjoy reading in a big way, and now I feel as though I’m making up for lost time. Below is my book log. Many of the titles you see have been recommended to me by close friends.

I thought it would be a fun experiment to chronicle my reads and collect recommendations.

Now Reading:

For Whom The Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway
The Creative Act: A Way Of Being — Rick Rubin
Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver
The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham

The Pool (2):

Babel – R. F. Kuang
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information – Edward R.Tufte

Put Down (215):

[26.02] Inner Excellence – Jim Murphy
- Notes: A gift from my stepmom. Some really good reminders on framing performance.
[26.01] Midnight in Chernobyl – Adam Higginbotham
- Notes: I’m so fascinated with nuclear disaster—and mankind own-goals. Great read.
[25.05] Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk
- Notes: The book is definitely weird—”bitch tits”, and whatnot—but offers some good commentary on modern society.
[25.04] Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson
- Notes: It turns out Jobs was a real asshole—and also a genius?
[25.03] Crossing the Chasm – Geoffrey Alexander Moore
- Notes: Surprisingly good; sensible and effective.
[25.02] The Hero with a Thousand Faces – Joseph Campbell
- Notes: An incredible framework, but probably the most pedantic thing I’ve ever read.
[25.01] The Righteous Mind – Jonathan Haidt
- Notes: Not was I was expecting, but highly educational nonetheless.
[24.10] Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin
- Notes: Well-written and creative with plenty of fun video game throwbacks.
[24.09] Traction – Gabriel Weinberg
- Notes: A helpful GTM field guide for entrepreneurs.
[24.08] The Score Takes Care of Itself – Bill Walsh
- Notes: Some powerful lessons.
[24.07] Poor Charlie’s Almanack – Peter D. Kaufman
- Notes: Full of practical wisdom, though some transcripts are quite convoluted. I’m a big fan of cross-discipline synthesis.
[24.06] Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality – Christopher Ryan
- Notes: Not entirely convincing and pretty weak.
[24.05] The Road to Wigan Pier – George Orwell
- Notes: A compelling and honest read, with plenty of modern day overlap.
[24.04] The End of Race Politics – Coleman Hughes
- Notes: I’m a raving Coleman fan.
[24.03] Who Will Do What By When – Tom Hanson and Birgit Zacher Hanson
- Notes: I’m not a huge fan of dramatized business books, but this was a good reminder to be careful with your word.
[24.02] The Constitution of Knowledge – Jonathan Rauch (Book 200!)
- Notes: An incredible history of what he constitute as truth and a well reasoned book.
[24.01] Dead Souls – Nikolai Gogol
- Notes: Funny, colorful, and a wonderful accounting of 19th century Russian cuisine.
[23.10] Radical Candor – Kim Scott
- Notes: Surprisingly helpful. Filled to the brim with useful advice, especially for someone like me that shys away from being direct.
[23.09] Elon Musk – Walter Isaacson
- Notes: Elon said in a podcast with Joe Rogan, “You probably wouldn’t want to be me.” I think he’s probably right.
[23.08] Measure What Matters – John Doerr
- Notes: A great framework, but all of the guest submissions didn’t keep my interest.
[23.07] Democracy in America – Alexis de Tocqueville
- Notes: An exercise in attention (for 2023), but a fascinating account of 1830’s America and a valuable exposé on the cultural differences between Western Europe and the US.
[23.06] Liar’s Poker – Michael Lewis
- Notes: I learned a lot about bonds. And it reinforces how distasteful Wall Street is.
[23.05] The Almanack of Naval Ravikant - Eric Jorgenson †
- Notes: Being familiar with Naval’s philosophy, this was a nice summary. A little heavy on the idolization for my taste.
[23.04] Team of Teams - General Stanley A. McChrystal †
- Notes: Fascinating lessons learned from AQI, and a comprehensive history of America’s obsession with top-down reductionist management principles.
[23.03] How to Be a Power Connector - Judy Robinett †
- Notes: Not worth 200+ pages, but some decent guidance.
[23.02] Steal the Show - Michael Port †
- Notes: Some shameless self-promotion. Nearly every chapter ended with a sales pitch.
[23.01] Thinking in Systems - Donella Meadows †
- Notes: At times seems pseudoscientific, but is a terrific primer for systems thinking frameworks.
[22.18] The Goal - Eliyahu M. Goldratt †
- Notes: A real slog. I applaud the ability to turn what could have easily been a 3-page business article into a contrived 337-page novel.
[22.17] The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing – Al Ries and Jack Trout †
- Notes: Quite dated. However, marketing is truly a battle of perception.
[22.16] Against Empathy – Paul Bloom
- Notes: Really left something to be desired. Perhaps more appropriately titled, “A Case for Reason.”
[22.15] All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque
- Notes: A powerful read with an impressive profile on humanity and war.
[22.14] I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi †
- Notes: Some good content, but fluffy to my palate.
[22.13] Noise – Daniel Kahneman, Oliver Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein
- Notes: More academic than I would have liked, but contained some invaluable counterintuitive insight on the behavior of decision making.
[22.12] Financial Intelligence – Karen Berman and Joe Knight †
- Notes: Not as cohesive as it could have been, but full of fun psychology tidbits. A good reminder that we are easily influenced and manipulated.
[22.11] Priceless – William Poundstone
- Notes: Not as cohesive as it could have been, but full of fun psychology tidbits. A good reminder that we are easily influenced and manipulated.
[22.RR1] Zero to One – Peter Thiel †
- Notes: Worth the re-read. I got much more out of it since the last time I read it six years ago.
[22.10] Pale Blue Dot – Carl Sagan
- Notes: Slightly dated, but I found Sagan’s mode of thinking entirely compelling.
[22.09] Dr. Zhivago – Boris Pasternak
- Notes: A great story about a fascinating time in history.
[22.08] Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
- Notes: I was not expecting the hockey stick shaped plot; the final 30 pages of the book almost redeemed how corny the book was overall.
[22.07] One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Márquez §
- Notes: More like One Hundred Years of Incest. Magical realism is not for me.
[22.06] How Finance Works – Mihir Desai
- Notes: While I wasn’t expecting a literal textbook, it was approachable and helped to explain a lot of the finance shibboleths.
[22.05] Designing Your Life – Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
- Notes: A fun design-thinking exercise on finding joy in life.
[22.04] How to Be Perfect – Michael Schur
- Notes: I’m a fan of Schur’s television shows. He did a great job of virtue signaling.
[22.03] Erosion – Terry Tempest Williams §
- Notes: Not typically the sort of thing I read, but offered me good perspective. As much as I try to empathize, it still feels foreign.
[22.02] Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order – Ray Dalio
- Notes: It felt like not a lot was said given how much was written.
[22.01] The Heart of Business – Hubert Joly
- Notes: A good read overall. I wish this approach to business didn’t warrant a book.
[21.15] Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
- Notes: I didn’t want to like it, but I did. A remarkable portal into dust bowl era America. The ending was pretty weird though.
[21.14] A Random Walk Down Wall Street – Burton G. Malkiel
- Notes: Probably the best book on finance and investing I’ve ever read. Full of wisdom and practical, proven investment advice.
[21.13] The Idiot – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Notes: I enjoyed the start more than the finish, and this was probably the book that I resonated with the least, but I still love Dostoyevsky.
[21.12] Meditations With Cows – Shreve Stockton
- Notes: The author has a unique and storied life, but the book reads more like a collection of blog posts and less like a book.
[21.11] There There – Tommy Orange §
- Notes: A gritty and unfiltered view into a culture I knew (know) very little about. Not the most uplifting read, but I appreciated its unapolegetic honesty.
[21.10] Thinking Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
- Notes: Fun things to think about (slowly). Not necessarily a page-turner, but invaluable wisdom to be gained.
[21.09] The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel A. van der Kolk
- Notes: Equal parts important and fascinating.
[21.08] The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
- Notes: Reading Ayn Rand is like eating glass, but there is an odd enjoyment in it.
[21.07] The Topeka School – Ben Lerner §
- Notes: While Ben Lerner is clearly a gifted writer, I just didn’t get it. §
[21.X1] Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
- Notes: Couldn’t do it. Read 50 pages and put it down.
[21.06] Mama’s Last Hug – Frans de Waal §
- Notes: One part interesting, one part exhausting. Animals have emotions. Check.
[21.05] The Second Mountain – David Brooks
- Notes: All sound advice, but for some reason, I couldn’t help but reject as tone-deaf.
[21.04] The Culture Code – Daniel Coyle
- Notes: Surprisingly good content and message. It was a nice review of companies I’ve previously studied, like Pixar and Zappos.
[21.03] Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community – Robert D. Putnam
- Notes: I’d love to see an updated version with data from the last 20 years. I’d like to think things have improved.
[21.02] Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker
- Notes: Not as focused as I was hoping, but an vital topic and one I’ve championed for many years—I’m on team sleep!
[21.01] Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies – Nick Bostrom
- Notes: Profound as it was challenging. With even the tiniest (lack of) understanding of how machine minds work, controlling a superintelligent AI is a truly terrifying notion.
[20.25] How I Invest My Money – Josh Brown and Brian Portnoy
- Notes: Light and interesting. I even picked up some new personal finance tricks.
[20.24] Eating Animals – Jonathan Safran Foer
- Notes: As persuasive as it is well-written. It certainly gave me a lot to think about.
[20.23] Dune – Frank Herbert
- Notes: Great story. Looking forward to the film adaptation in 2021.
[20.22] The Prince – Niccolò Machiavelli
- Notes: Valuable, but not nearly as translatable into business or modern politics as a bunch of cutthroat executives pretend it is.
[20.21] The Testaments – Margaret Atwood
- Notes: As good as I was expecting! Super creative and masterfully spun.
[20.20] The Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera §
- Notes: A lush story and a beautiful read.
[20.19] Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
- Notes: A well spun and creative story, but the poetry was hard to parse at times, e.g. “they sucked their breaths like iron popsicles.”
[20.18] More from Less: The Surprising Story of How We Learned to Prosper Using Fewer Resources—and What Happens Next – Andrew McAfee
- Notes: Good. Not entirely convincing in places, but a message I can get behind.
[20.17] The Stranger – Albert Camus
- Notes: Existential. I’m not sure what impact it made on me, if any, though the opening line is fantastic.
[20.16] Good Omens – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
- Notes: A fun read. Quite English in its humor, which was at times straining.
[20.15] How to Be an Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi
- Notes: There is a lot I could say on this one. Mostly, it felt like I was reading a religious tract, with a lot of “truth” and what “is,” while overflowing with self-contradictions.
[20.14] Demons – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Notes: Tremendous. A slow build to a shocking ending. Lots of parallels in 2020 America.
[20.13] The Trial – Franz Kafka
- Notes: Like a bad dream. “Like a dog!” I really like the way Kafka writes.
[20.12] Notes from the Underground – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Notes: Harder to follow than I was expecting. I still have an affinity for Dostoyevsky and his neurosis.
[20.11] Beyond Good and Evil – Friedrich Nietzsche
- Notes: I tried reading this 7 years prior and tapped out due to its difficulty. I’m only now beginning to grasp it, but it is no doubt a masterpiece laid down by a genius that very smart people can’t quite come to agreement on their interpretations.
[20.10] The Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka
- Notes: Great writing and a stellar critique. I’m disappointed I am only now reading Kafka!
[20.09] Drive – Daniel Pink
- Notes: Good stuff, and I appreciate the humility of the Twitter summary and cocktail party summary, because that is really all you need to understand this book.
[20.08] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey §
- Notes: Syntactically dated–and obviously socially dated–but a gripping story overall with a helluva ending.
[20.07] The Gulag Archipelago Abridged – Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Notes: An endlessly important read. His criticism of the West during the early part of the 20th century was particularly thought provoking.
[20.06] Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most Dangerous Hackers – Andy Greenberg
- Notes: Not as engaging as I would have hoped for given the topic, but journalistically impressive nonetheless.
[20.05] Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain
- Notes: As a lifelong introvert, I found all of this to be fairly obvious. This book probably did a lot for introverts in the 21st century.
[20.04] Permanent Record – Edward Snowden
- Notes: Provocative, terrifing, and sweet. I was entranced by the technical explanations of exploits and protocols.
[20.03] Self-Portrait in Black and White – Thomas Chatterton Williams
- Notes: I was hoping for something more persuasive, but given that this was a memoir, I had the wrong expectation. In the end, I agree with TCW.
[20.02] Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese
- Notes: It took me 250 pages to get into it, but I’m glad I did; what a powerful story!
[20.01] Homo Deus – Yuval Noah Harari
- Notes: Not what I was expecting, and extremely frustrating at times, but a interesting ‘what if?’ nonetheless.
[19.26] The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans & Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity – Amy Webb
- Notes: Although I’m typically skeptical of anyone touting the title of “futurist,” it is refreshing to see someone present thoughtful and detailed suggestions for managing AI.
[19.25] Good to Great – Jim Collins
- Notes: Insightful concepts and observations, however still a boring business book.
[19.24] A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking
- Notes: Mind-blowing, and that was only the parts I barely understood. A little dated at this time, however.
[19.23] Dark Agenda – David Horowitz
- Notes: I agree with the most of the criticisms of the left, but the book is littered with bad arguments and amnesia (which is a charitable take).
[19.22] Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Notes: Really awesome. Although some of the subplots were a little boring, the story is overall gripping and the book ends beautifully. Dostoyevsky might be my favorite novelist.
[19.21] The 100-Year Life – Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott
- Notes: Rather toothless, but valuable for people who haven’t really thought about living for greater than 80 years.
[19.20] The New Right – Michael Malice
- Notes: While I appreciate the truth-to-power attitude of the book, the writing desperately needed cohesion and flow.
[19.19] A Gentleman in Moscow – Amor Towles
- Notes: A book that is a little too self-aware of its cleverness and little too unsure what kind of book it wants to be.
[19.18] American Gods – Neil Gaiman
- Notes: A really great read. Clearly written, and a impressively crafted story.
[19.17] The Communist Manifesto – Frederich Engels and Karl Marx
- Notes: An important read, certainly. More of a criticism on capitalism than a viable blueprint for operationalizing a system where the working class becomes the ruling class.
[19.16] Range – David Epstein
- Notes: Not strung together in the most cohesive way, nor is it the strongest argument, but interesting nonetheless.
[19.15] Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
- Notes: Took me almost three months, but worth it. A book that makes you think, or at least, made me think.
[19.14] Attached. – Amir Levine and Rachel S. F. Heller
- Notes: A good working theory for how people display intimacy and de/activate in relationships.
[19.13] Bad Blood – John Carreyrou
- Notes: An almost unbelievable story about how people can buy into their own bullshit.
[19.12] The Feather Thief – Kirk W. Johnson §
- Notes: A fun, quirky read that has a respectable self-awareness of how truly bizarre it is.
[19.11] The One Thing – Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
- Notes: Contrived and riddled with contradictions. Boils down to: Focus on one thing at a time.
[19.10] Sapiens – Yuval Noah Harari
- Notes: The early history was enjoyable and the threads drawn were skillfully done. Overall, interesting, albeit a little preachy.
[19.09] Astrophysics for People in a Hurry – Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Notes: A fun little book that carves out a nice overview of astrophysics while also leaving a satisfactory answer to ‘why’?
[19.08] Rules of Civility – Amor Towles §
- Notes: Well written, but a sophomoric story overall.
[19.07] The Art of War – Sun Tzu
- Notes: More wisdom in a short collection of aphorisms than anyone could hope for.
[19.06] The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
- Notes: Oscar Wilde did not think much of women, did he?
[19.05] The Hell of Good Intentions – Stephen Walt
- Notes: Repetitive, but hard to argue with. American foreign policy on balance has been a bit of a train wreck.
[19.04] Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift
- Notes: Challenging to read, with it being written in 1726 and all. Impressively conceived. I can see how people of the time thought it was real.
[19.03] The Coddling of the American Mind – Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
- Notes: An important book. Hopefully the “green roots” referred to at the end of the book are telling of a larger trend.
[19.02] Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly – Anthony Bourdain
- Notes: A fun and informative read. We all miss Tony.
[19.01] Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie §
- Notes: I would have rather read something just on the topic of race relations, or read something just on the topic of love and struggle.
[18.31] Capital – Thomas Piketty (Book #100 on the Book Log!)
- Notes: A solid read replete with extensive research. It seems that the arguments for/against come from firmly idealogical and political places, instead of places of reason. A global, progressive annual tax on capital might be just the ticket.
[18.30] The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F—k – Mark Manson
- Notes: A good start for many, I would assume. Some good heuristics, albeit somehow still egocentric. Pales to the teachings of consciousness in Vipassana, in my opinion.
[18.29] Prius or Pickup? – Marc Hetherington and Jonathan Weiler
- Notes: The biopolitics portion is interesting, but the rest of the book seems pretty obvious; seems better suited to a featured article and not a book.
[18.28] The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
- Notes: “Holden Caulfield is a real piece of shit. Honestly. Anyway, if I had to read one more page, I’d be feeling so depressed.” I’m not sure how this became a classic. The style alone made me want to gauge my eyes out with a rusty spoon.
[18.27] The Upside of Irrationality – Dan Ariely
- Notes: Somewhat disappointing. Seemed a like a cash grab on the heels of Predictably Irrational.
[18.26] Freedom – Jonathan Franzen
- Notes: Cute. Well-written. Eh. Not my bag.
[18.25] The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt – Edmund Morris
- Notes: Impressive. Personally, one of the more painful things I’ve read. 800 pages of minutia.
[18.24] Ship of Fools – Tucker Carlson
- Notes: I wanted to hate it, but it was hard to argue with. However, I don’t think the examples logically yield the overall conclusion or thesis.
[18.23] Lost and Founder – Rand Fishkin
- Notes: An honest accounting of a successful startup founder’s trials and tribulations.
[18.22] Another Country – James Baldwin §
- Notes: Definitely made me feel something at times. Definitely not my cup of tea.
[18.21] The Better Angels of Our Nature – Steven Pinker
- Notes: Big. Comprehensive. Fun to read, in a weird academic way. Pinker’s little asides and references make him quite lovable.
[18.20] Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss
- Notes: One of the best things I think I’ve ever read. The layout of real world examples with concise definitions for negotiation tactics was perfect.
[18.19] Animal Farm – George Orwell
- Notes: A classic.
[18.18] The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen §
- Notes: A writer’s writer. Took me a while to get into, but the last 60 pages are pretty intense.
[18.17] Creative Quest – Questlove
- Notes: Insightful, and entertaining for Roots fans, but ultimately an ineffective book.
[18.16] Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
- Notes: Steinbeck resonates hollow for me.
[18.15] Bach, Beethoven and the Boys: Music History as It Ought to Be Taught – David W. Barber
- Notes: Fun and harmless.
[18.14] Children of Time – Adrian Tchaikovsky §
- Notes: Fun thought experiment, but long, slow, and just not good.
[18.13] Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
- Notes: Despite some prophetic imagination, the plot was a mess and the book ended in a very unsatisfying way. Probably my last cyberpunk read.
[18.12] The Black Swan – Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Notes: A classic. Something I feel white-collar workers should read over almost all business books. I enjoyed his take on epistemology and Gaussian distribution.
[18.11] Being Mortal – Atul Gawande §
- Notes: A great read with plenty of fodder for meaningful dialogue.
[18.10] The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Notes: A beast. Centered on an important philosophical debate about the need for a ‘God’, and well worth the read. Looking forward to reading more Dostoyevsky (hopefully * not quite as long).
[18.09] Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
- Notes: Clever (Foer is definitely talented), but it seemed a little contrived.
[18.08] Ready Player One – Ernest Cline
- Notes: Juvenile and entertaining. Not as much wisdom as you’d hope for in a sci-fi novel, and the ending was unsatisfyingly perfect. Also: The 80’s really weren’t that cool.
[18.07] The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam – Douglas Murray
- Notes: Compelling. What can be a hard pill to swallow.
[18.06] The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
- Notes: Fantastic. The way the book is written makes you want to read it faster to figure out what the hell is going on. Similar to 1984, I think people point at it * erroneously, mis-summarizing the message of the book (i.e. #resist).
[18.05] Always Looking Up – Michael J. Fox §
- Notes: I wouldn’t recommend it. Doesn’t really make a strong point—no broader message.
[18.04] Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don’t Matter – Scott Adams
- Notes: I don’t even know where to begin. Scott Adams clearly thinks pretty highly of himself. This book is completely upside-down. Silly. Repetitive. I have a lesser view of Adams after reading it.
[18.03] The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer – Neal Stephenson
- Notes: Definitely not a fan of the cyberpunk thing, but I liked the philosophical explorations of the book. The plot got kind of scattered towards the end.
[18.02] Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business – Rana Foroohar
- Notes: Honestly, I skimmed a large chunk of the book. Not what I was hoping: political, sensational, and hyper-detailed.
[18.01] The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls
- Notes: Beautiful. Beautiful writing and a beautiful story. Infuriating, but just beautiful.
[17.30] The Wisdom of Finance – Mihir A. Desai
- Notes: A messy collection of metaphors that doesn’t really change anyone’s opinion of finance.
[17.29] Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott
- Notes: Some great advice on writing and some wonderful turns of phrase.
[17.28] Hillbilly Elegy – J.D. Vance
- Notes: Refreshing. It’s the kind of story that gets muted in the mainstream. Offers no solutions, but tells a satisfyingly honest story.
[17.27] The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
- Notes: ‘Had hard time with syntax’. Overall, the retelling of the American revolution through a sci-fi lens with libertarian twist didn’t do it for me.
[17.26] Mountains Beyond Mountains – Tracy Kidder
- Notes: Amazing story about an amazing guy. Well-written, but I had a hard time with structure and flow of the book.
[17.25] The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
- Notes: Eh. I didn’t find it particularly engaging. I enjoyed Born on a Blue Day more.
[17.24] Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! – Richard Feynman
- Notes: A crazy character, but the book left something to be desired.
[17.23] The Art of Loving – Erich Fromm
- Notes: I really liked the idea of love being an art that needs mindful practice. Other claims were pretty dated.
[17.22] The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
- Notes: Really long, but an amazing piece of fiction. The storyline towards the end of the book was a bit of a stretch for me.
[17.21] Born on a Blue Day – Daniel Tammet
- Notes: Fascinating and kind of beautiful. Being able to recite 22,500 digits of pi would be a helluva party trick.
[17.20] Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep – Philip K. Dick
- Notes: Good predictions of what’s to come. Didn’t care for Dick’s writing style.
[17.19] What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars – Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan
- Notes: Really all you need is the flowchart on page 134. The first part of the book is totally worthless.
[17.18] Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
- Notes: Beautiful. Exceedingly nothing like what you think of when you think of Frankenstein.
[17.17] Evicted – Matthew Desmond
- Notes: Sad. Well argued. I don’t know if we can (or ever will) state housing as a basic right of being an American.
[17.16] Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World – Haruki Murakami
- Notes: Amazing. I see why people are so obsessed with Murakami.
[17.15] The Road Home – Ethan Nichtern
- Notes: I might become a Buddhist.
[17.14] Lamb – Christoper Moore
- Notes: Hilarious as it is thought-provoking.
[17.13] Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut
- Notes: I still think Vonnegut is a strange dude, but I latched on to this story more than Breakfast of Champions. So it goes. Great book.
[17.12] 1984 – George Orwell
- Notes: Easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. Having only read it for the first time now, it is amazing how many people misinterpret the book and totally overlook the finer details.
[17.11] Deep Thinking – Garry Kasparov
- Notes: Not as good as I was hoping. An increasingly popular take on the future of humans and machines (mostly chess).
[17.10] The Devil in the White City – Erik Larson
- Notes: Amazing storytelling and detail. I was really transported.
[17.09] Neuromancer – William Gibson
- Notes: Crazy. Not really my cup of tea. I’ll probably come back to it at some point.
[17.08] The Winter of Our Discontent – John Steinbeck
- Notes: Obviously a classic, yet I didn’t find it particularly enjoyable to read. Maybe I’d find it more, something, if I were reading it in 1961.
[17.07] No One Left to Lie To – Christopher Hitchens
- Notes: Political commentary I wish I could read everyday. Smart, objective, and unapologetic.
[17.06] Thank You for Being Late – Thomas L. Friedman
- Notes: 350 pages too long. Weak. I would argue foolishly optimistic on some fronts. People are giving this book an A- because it’s Friedman.
[17.05] The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
- Notes: Endlessly entertaining and a refreshing jolt to the way we conventionally view the world.
[17.04] Thank You for Arguing – Jay Heinrichs
- Notes: Obnoxious (Persuasion alert!). Really obnoxious. But some good reference material on rhetoric.
[17.03] The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami
- Notes: What a weird book. Ingeniously imagined, but I could probably go a while before reading Murakami again.
[17.02] Rework – Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
- Notes: Important work and life lessons to take to heart.
[17.01] The Fourth Industrial Revolution – Klaus Schwab
- Notes: Slightly disappointing. A decent outline of everything that is happening in science and technology right now, but it wasn’t bold enough to make any claims about what should be done.
[16.26] Confessions of an Advertising Man – David Ogilvy
- Notes: Sound insight into running a creative agency. Great tips for writing effective copy, leading creatives, and managing clients.
[16.25] The Wordy Shipmates – Sarah Vowell
- Notes: The parts that demonstrated the effect of America’s Puritan roots were interesting, but the general pattern of historical fact–modern pop culture reference–witty commentary became tired.
[16.24] Waking Up – Sam Harris
- Notes: Philosophically engaging, but the patchwork is harder to get through than it should be. Still, great life advice (e.g. I is an illusion).
[16.23] Predictably Irrational – Dan Ariely
- Notes: You could watch the Netflix documentary (Dis)honesty and get a solid 75% of the content, but why not read the book? I’ll definitely plan on reading more from Ariely as it comes out, especially on arbitrary coherence.
[16.22] The Sisters Brothers – Patrick DeWitt
- Notes: Great story; fun read. Not planning on picking up a western anytime again soon, but was enjoyable nonetheless.
[16.21] Killing the Rising Sun – Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
- Notes: I could have done without Bill’s victory lap of a last chapter.
[16.20] In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto – Michael Pollan
- Notes: Great. Probably an important read for many, but it is going to take a long time for the (USA) ship to turn around (if ever).
[16.19] Travels with Charley – John Steinbeck
- Notes: Enjoyable, yet not particularly inspiring.
[16.18] Zero to One – Peter Thiel
- Notes: Having read this post-2016 election, I can see why Thiel was such a champion for Trump (see chapter on definite optimism). While I don’t agree with everything Thiel claims, I appreciate how he is one of the few actually thinking differently in the Valley.
[16.17] Frogs to Princes – Richard Bandler
- Notes: I couldn’t stand the seminar transcript style. That aside, fascinating theories on psychological anchoring, etc.
[16.16] A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
- Notes: It didn’t grab me, but the interactions between Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald were of interest.
[16.15] Breakfast of Champions – Kurt Vonnegut
- Notes: I didn’t get it. It really wasn’t necessary to draw an anus twice. But I guess that was the point.
[16.14] All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
- Notes: An incredibly imagined and masterfully crafted story. Parts brought tears to my eyes. By far one of my favorite works of fiction.
[16.13] Mediations – Marcus Aurelius
- Notes: Timeless (duh) insight and wisdom. I’ll be coming back to this one for the rest of my life. I would recommend the Staniforth translation, though it is definitely more challenging to get through (than Hays).
[16.12] One More Thing – BJ Novak
- Notes: Super funny. I couldn’t put it down.
[16.11] Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture – Ellen Ruppel Shell
- Notes: Good history and psychological background on why Americans love cheap shit.
[16.10] Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown
- Notes: An incredible account of overcoming adversity and achieving the impossible.
[16.09] The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz
- Notes: If you are into Silicon Valley folklore, or scaling tech companies, pick this one up. Horowitz tells it like it is.
[16.08] A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
- Notes: I thought Kite Runner was better, but still a good read.
[16.07] The Tao of Pooh – Benjamin Hoff
- Notes: A must read. Full disclosure: I deactivated my Facebook account just after finishing this book.
[16.06] The Stranger’s Long Neck – Gerry McGovern
- Notes: Read if you want to know how to approach online content strategy.
[16.05] Antifragile – Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Notes: Nassim is so sassy. Not the easiest book to get through, but well worth the effort. It certainly justified my propensity for extreme behavior.
[16.04] Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Notes: Raw. Honest. An important narrative on being a black man in America.
[16.03] The Teleportation Accident – Ned Beauman
- Notes: Super imaginative and engaging. A superior work of modern fiction.
[16.02] The Monk and the Riddle – Randy Komisar
- Notes: A great and inspiring read; building a business can be an artistic endeavor.
[16.01] Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
- Notes: If you are thinking about picking it up, you can probably skip it. You’ve likely heard all of the examples at cocktail parties over the years.
[15.11] The Master Algorithm – Pedro Domingos
- Notes: Not really for the layperson, as the book would claim. But an interesting exposure to machine learning and AI.
[15.10] The Innovator’s Dilemma – Clayton Christensen
- Notes: Dry would be an understatement. But, extremely important in order to get a solid working definition of the word ‘innovation’.
[15.09] The Happiness of Pursuit – Chris Guillebeau
- Notes: A wonderful read about setting goals and growing into the better version of yourself.
[15.08] Average is Over – Tyler Cowen
- Notes: Scary predictions, although the book itself is leaves much to be desired.
[15.07] The Circle – Dave Eggers
- Notes: A little close to home. I would tell anyone with their attention to social media and human evolution to read this book.
[15.06] Extreme Ownership – Jocko Wilinik and Leif Babin
- Notes: We get it. Take responsibility for your mistakes. But what about taking it too far by being a martyr? This book totally ignores that. Meant for baby boomer corporate suits.
[15.05] Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh
- Notes: This really made me love Zappos as a business.
[15.04] David and Goliath – Malcolm Gladwell
- Notes: Typical Gladwell, but some thoughtful case studies of the triumphant underdog.
[15.03] Blue Ocean Strategy – W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
- Notes: Like most business nonfiction, it isn’t necessary to read the whole thing.
[15.02] The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
- Notes: An important read to anyone searching for life’s meaning.
[15.01] Modern Romance – Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg
- Notes: You could just watch Master of None on Netflix, but then you wouldn’t get all the fun statistics!
[14.05] Made to Stick — Chip Heath
- Notes: A practical mnemonic for communications professionals
[14.04] Creativity, Inc. – Ed Catmull
- Notes: A great story on Pixar, and a refreshingly different perspective on Steve Jobs.
[14.03] The Lean Startup – Eric Ries
- Notes: One of the most influential books on modern business; a good one to revisit.
[14.02] The Psychopath Test — Jon Ronson
- Notes: An enthralling trip into insanity.
[14.01] The Turning Point – Fritjof Capra
- Notes: Dense. And a fair critique of the reductive nature of collective Western mind.

§ Bookclub Reading

† Work Bookclub Reading