On Becoming a Person, by Carl Rogers (started, not finished)
A Therapeutic Journey: Lessons form the School of Life, by Alain de Botton (started, not finished)
The 80/20 Principle, by Richard Koch. This is a near-annual read for me. Always helpful and interesting. I think the most helpful thing is the leisurely approach he takes, and the encouragement he offers to enjoy a relaxed, thoughtful, and effective life. To me, this book isn’t about wringing the most out of life, or optimizing every variable, but simply letting go of what doesn’t work and using your time and energy for more fruitful activities.
LOTR the Two Towers, by JRR Tolkien. I’ve reread this a few times. Honestly, it was between this and rewatching some tv shows. I’m happy with my choice.
The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love. Very enjoyable. There is so much that is destructible in our lives and in our thinking, but love is the one thing that cannot be destroyed or corrupted. Her thesis is that God is love, because God is also beyond destruction or corruption. The life of Jesus offers a path to oneness with God because it is a life characterized by constant, unconditional love. I think this concept is really at the core of my spirituality. There are some interesting meditations in it too.
Simplicity, by Richard Rohr. These are a transcript of a lecture he gave in Germany in the early ’90s.
Dating Essentials for Men by Robert Glover: Did everything in this book age well? No. But I think there are a couple core insights that I had been missing. One, was how to consider relationships in a way that works for me, rather than depleting and exhausting me. It’s important to have my own life, make time for my own responsibilities and hobbies and rest. I’ve struggled to do that in the past. Tactically, a useful tip he shared was to only use texting and calling to set up in-person get togethers. Which is really useful with dating because now I have time to take care of myself and my own projects. I think it could probably translate well to friendships too. Two, is just the role that relationships have. They can’t be a source of ultimate personal validation. A quote that stands out to me is, “a good relationship is the icing, not the cake. You need to create your own cake.”
Conscious Living by Gay Hendricks: Man, every book by Hendricks is so good and helpful. Always pulling my mind upward towards more positive, more conscious awareness. The problem is often not the problem, my perception of the problem is the problem. My perception of the world and my reality is the problem. I feel like reading and practicing the principles he offers is leading me into an uncertain, unknown world, but one where I get to be the fullest version of myself. Really fortunate to have found his books.
The Ultimate Introduction to NLP by Richard Bandler, Alessio Roberti, Owen Fitzpatrick: Pretty good read. I think it had some useful tips on communication, like matching the language used by the other person around sight, vision, and feeling. “I see what you mean, I hear you, I feel that.”
Endurance, by Alfred Lansing. I don’t think Lansing meant for this book to be so funny, but I just couldn’t help but laugh. Every time their predicament was as bad as I could possibly imagine, just as I was asking myself, “how are they even alive?” it gets worse. He has the highest admiration for their leader, Ernest Shackleton who seems to be the epitome of servant leadership. Lot of interesting historical insights too, seeing an odd combination of technologies around the time of World War One. They were still using a sextant, or some modified form of it for navigation, even while operating a steam-ship. Wooden sailing ships were used as well.
Modern Man in Search of a Soul, by Carl Jung (started, not finished)
On the Road by Kerouac (started, not finished)
I, Claudius, by Graves (started, not finished)
The End of the World is Just the Beginning, by Peter Zeihan. Long story short, there are some structural factors that are going to create some discomfort for many in the century ahead. Similar to what George Friedman said in The Next 100 Years, Zeihan argues that many nations will experience major disruptions and even existential crises as globalization ebbs. The US will be mostly ok, due to its energy independence, food security, (relatively) young and slowly aging population, lack of hostile neighbors, and low dependence on foreign trade. Western Europe, China, Southern Asia, South America, and Africa are not nearly so lucky. Some of these areas have had a long history of poverty and underdevelopment, owing largely to structural factors.
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerrer. I liked the idea that all of life is a gift, and that the proper thing for us to do is to pay it forward. It isn’t about transactional relationships, nor scarcity, but about living and being one with the world. This is very much how I think about generosity personally. There is so much in my life that has come from beyond me, even down to the food I eat, the work I do, the body I occupy. I feel very fortunate at times to be alive, and I sometimes marvel that I even exist at all. It couldn’t possibly be paid back. It can only be paid forward, understanding that whatever I give didn’t come from me, and only flows through me. My role is not “creator” but “conduit.” I didn’t create the electricity, I merely carry it.
Neuromancer by William Gibson (started, not finished): Just couldn’t get into it. It was a really chaotic read, hard to follow.
The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami: I’m a bit disappointed because I didn’t find this book as immersive others of his. It’s a series of short stories, of which some are good, some are forced, and some feel like they ought to be developed into something fuller.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer: This is maybe one of my favorite books. I especially enjoyed his section on taking a sabbath each week, and have been putting it into practice for myself. Friday night through Saturday night, I leave the phone off, the tv off, and the computer off. No work. It’s incredibly restorative for me. One night, I sat alone in my chair, put down my book and laughed for a minute straight. Like a crazy person. I just saw all my fretting thoughts from a third person’s perspective, and found it so funny. I’d been so hunched up and serious. Too tense to enjoy life.
The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life by Deepak Chopra:
Wealth, War, and Wisdom by Barton Biggs: Core takeaway, a 75/25 portfolio of stocks/bonds is a good way to preserve wealth through cataclysmic periods like WWII. The book was much more of a history of WWII than I thought it would be, and I was hoping for commentary on other periods, like the French Revolution, English Civil War, American Civil War, etc. Interesting that his study of history argues in favor of the market’s wisdom, and a market-cap-weighted portfolio rather than trying to do anything too clever with specific types of stocks and industries. His other comment was interesting, which was that there were a number of small farms in France which were largely untouched and unnoticed by the war. His recommended “hedge” on social breakdown was to own a farm in a remote place. Which sounds good, but I think it hugely underrepresents the challenges of farming. Good luck getting a farm from “run down and abandoned” to “operational” in a single growing season. That’s a multi-year prospect. As is, you know, learning how to farm well enough to feed yourself. For my money, I’d say get some place with a big back yard and walls around it, and if you like gardening, keep that as a solid hobby for feeding yourself in good times and bad. If you don’t like doing it yourself, consider paying someone to do it. Research and learn some of the basics around water storage and filtration, composting, soil testing, and all the other things that you’d have to learn if you wanted a farm to ride out the storm in. Gardening will do more for you than guns, I think.
100-Baggers by Chris Meyer: Super interesting read that deepened my philosophy on investing. You would think pursuing 100-baggers would be sort of like buying lottery tickets, but that really depends on the timeframe. If you look at his list of 100-baggers from the last 60 years, it more or less reads like the set of companies currently in the S&P 500. So you’ll likely own some 100-baggers just by indexing. But if your quest is “market-beating performance,” the key characteristics of 100-baggers might help. Good profit margins, once you make adjustments for investments in growth. Good revenue growth, sustained for a very long time. Structural tailwinds and a competitive advantage for pursuing them. Ultra-long time horizon, ranging from 15-40 years. Shareholder-friendly management who are interested in creating true value for owners rather than chasing unprofitable growth.
Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra: Super good book. Super simple. Good principles. Illuminating! Filled in all the pieces that were missing from the “law of attraction.”
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. Super fun science fiction read. Amazon has a show based on this series. Haven’t seen the show, but I’ve heard it’s good. I’m reading the books instead to cut down my screen time.
Calliban’s War by James S. A. Corey: Loving this series, would recommend.
I am Legend by Richard Matheson: I read this in less than 2 days (Sabbath reading, yes!). Feels like a good Stephen King book. Basically this guy is the lone survivor when a disease turns all the rest of humanity into vampire-esque ghouls. Seriously good. I should own a copy so I can lend it out to friends.
The Way of the Superior Man : I’m mixed on this one. Still digesting. I think I mostly agree with a couple of things. One, that arguments between couples are rarely about what the argument appears to be about. Two, that the way through such arguments is through love, reassurance, affection, courage, and strength, moreso than reason, or even listening. However, I’m not sure I share his view of what is desirable in a woman.
Andrew Carnegie biography
Andrew Carnegie Gospel of Wealth Lectures
Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
The Baroque Trilogy by Neal Stephenson: This one was rough and I bailed. I usually like his books and how they conclude, but this is too close to historical fan-fiction for me to endure the first book, let alone 2 sequels.
Anathem by Neal Stephenson: On the back burner while I enjoy the Expanse series.