My Bookshelf

Below is an incomplete catalog of the blogs and books that I love. They are generally sorted in order of passion, but that’s harder to do than it seems.

Blogs

NOTE: I linked my favorite article from each blog.

• mnmlist: by Leo Babauata, great blog about minimalism, this post really hits home for me.
• zen habits: also by Leo B., covers zen and applying it to life, e.g. having no goals is fun!
• Wait But Why: Tim Urban does long-form better than anybody, and visualizes important things in fascinating ways.
• Mr Money Mustache: Pete writes about saving money, but for the purpose of living a better life.
• xkcd The best online comic strip to ever come out.
• The Marginalian: Maria Popova features some amazing stuff, this one made me cry when I first read it.
• Paul Graham: entrepreneur turned essayist, this post about working hard is better than most career advice.
• Derek Sivers: Derek has some pure gold, especially his stuff about “useful not true” and “hell yeah or no.”
• Alexey Guzey: Alexey’s ## Advice section is really good, I wish I could tell my college self some of this.
• Tal Raviv: More constraints can actually be better, I’m shocked. Tal’s blog is currently down.
• LessWrong: love this sequence about applying rationality to life
• Ravi Gupta: Ravi’s got a quick blog, but most of the posts on the left are really good.
• No Mercy No Malice: marketer Scott Galloway, I like the design

Articles

• A Mathematician’s Lament: by Paul Lockhart, the best essay I’ve ever read about math as art.
• Talking in Circles: Ryan Simonelli explains how all philosophy eventually ends up in paradox
• Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction: Bret Victor does an amazing job explaining mathematical abstraction using some super cool online visuals.

Books

• The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway (fiction) The book where I finally got it. Hemingway takes you on this journey, and at no point tells you what to feel, but gives you all the raw material. What happens in this book? What happens in life, everything and nothing. Definitively, for all time, this book is about the journey, not the destination.
• Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer (nonfiction) A fantastic look at reciprocity from the perspective of a plant scientist, native Potawatomi, and mother. This book almost singularly describes me view of living naturally on this Earth, an absolute tour de force.
• Calvin and Hobbes - Bill Watterson (comic_strip) Watterson transcended the panes of the comic strip and entered rarefied air with the likes of Nobel writers, great scientists, and prophets.
• East of Eden - John Steinbeck (fiction) This took me a year to read, w>
• Candide - Voltaire (fiction) Written in the 18th century, yet made me crack up. Relateable, chaotic, and just plain funny. What a ride, what a book.
• The Things They Carried - Tim O’Brien (fiction) This could have been me, bright future, having to go to war, writing about it. Fuck.
• Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (fiction) Didn’t know what to expe>
• Siddhartha - Herman Hesse (fiction) Made me realize what ohm was.
• Animal Farm - George Orwell (fiction) On the Rushmore of political commentary novels. Political satire done right, allegory of a farm is simple and perfect. Snowball and Napoleon are iconic swines.
• The Righetous Mind - Jonathan Haidt (nonfiction) The book I wish I wrote, the science I wish I could do, Haidt introduces the elephant and rider concept, which explains who we really are – not the conscious mind explaining the action, but the unconscious elephant actually driving all of the action.
• The Tao of Pooh - Benjamin Hoff: This book teaches essential concepts of Taoism thru the lens of my first fictional teacher, Pooh Bear.
• Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior - Dan Millman (fiction) Somehow this man manages to summarize most of the core concepts of Taoism and Zen Buddhism, while ignoring some of the cultural and traditional aspects of those disciplines.
• Maus - Art Spiegelman (graphic novel) Amazing visual description of the Holocaust and the complexities surrounding the perpetrators and the victims.
• The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus (fiction) not done yet
• The Cartoon History of the Universe, Vol. 1 - Larry Gonick (nonfiction) The comprehensive history book I would recommend to everyone I know, and it doesn’t hurt that the cartoons are fire.
• Dances With Wolves - Michael Blake (fiction) I watched the movie first, then read the book, but either way, I adore it. Is it real? Is it accurate? Who knows. For young Blake, this book was one of my first introductions to the “hippy” lifestyle – living off the land, dancing with your community, and cooperating rather than competing. Utopia, anyone?
• The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis (fiction series) The first book series I ever read. My parents took me seven times to the local bookstore, and each time I bought the next book in the series with my chore money. I’ll never forget the way these books smelled, and the unreal excitement I had getting each next book, slowly building my beautiful collection of tiny paperback books. I loved the covers, I loved the colors, the little drawings randomly spaced out in the book, and above all, Lewis’ storytelling. Magical.
• The Lorax - Dr. Seuss (fiction) Who is going to speak for the trees? An enduring work that reminds us of one of the essential problems of our time – protecting the wild places.
• Brave New World - Alduous Huxley (fiction) On the Rushmore of political commentary novels. Introduces the idea of Soma, voluntary class control, and shows how people will delude themselves into believing their happy to go along with the crowd, among many lessons to be learned. Just like the modern day USA, baby!
• Mort - Terry Pratchett (fiction) One of the funniest books I’ve ever read, plus a wonderful story. The concept of death as a character will forever be endearing to me. I love thinking about the relationship the living have to death and time, and Pratchett makes me laugh while doing so.
• For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway (fiction) Part of Hemingway’s mystique is his time as a journalist in Europe during the Spanish Civil War. Man, what a time to be alive, and and what a damn good book to represent it. I’ll never forget the chance the world had to setup an anarachist/socialist state, but instead, it went fascist. Damn.
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - Ken Kesey (fiction) I knew what was coming the entire book, yet it still managed to be triumphant. In the face of death, standing tall and living life your way still has tremendous value. McMurphy is one of the most inspiring fictional characters of all time.
• The Right Stuff - Tom Wolfe (nonfiction) About the pilots who go on to become the Mercury astronauts. A fascinating look at what it takes to win, as well as wonderful descriptions of the cowboy lifestyle. Low-rent, drinking and driving, and more.
• Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle (fiction series) Some of my all time favorite fiction, Sherlock is such a great character, Watson too. I feel like a coked up Sherlock when not working.
• The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (fiction) One of the first books that had me cackling out loud during class when I was supposed to be “working”. Adams is timelessly funny, and left me feeling like life was one big silly crazy play, and I just get to go along for the ride.
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain (fiction) This book almost singlehandedly makes me proud to be a Missourian. There are float trips, tomfoolery, and hijinks abound in this book, and it makes some serious social commentary. Twain was far from the war-mongering average american of his day.
• The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien (fiction) I adore the journey of long, epic book series. This one is enduringly popular for good reason. Well written, fascinating, and detailed, this series gets a hold of you and never lets go.
• 1984 - George Orwell (fiction) On the Rushmore of political commentary novels. Introduces the idea of double-speak, and details some of the methods fascist/authoritarian regimes use to keep the population in control. Very similar to the Third Reich (Nazis), the USSR (Soviets), and modern-day China (Communists). Chilling.
• Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom (memoir) A sweet recollection of a students final meetings with his old teacher. Some questions of what could have been linger throughout this book, since the writer hasn’t followed the teachers advice closely. A reminder that all we really need is community, relationship, and work to serve those we love.
• A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara (fiction) It’s difficult to write about trauma and not profit from it. Look at the success of murder podcasts and news shoes. Nevertheless, this book is a trip. 700+ pages of gripping writing, Yanagihara pens a masterpiece that had me crying, laughing, disgusted, and broken by the end. I had never read a book like this before, and am worried that I’ll never find one like this again.
• The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway (fiction) The first book I read by Ernest, it opened my eyes to a whole new way of writing and telling stories. About a hundred pages, Hemingway weaves an epic tale of a great battle. I loved it, the simplicity, and the profound wisdom held within the pages.
• On the Road - Jack Keruoac (fiction) Inspired me to take road trips, and it worked.
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S Thompson (fiction) “We were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave…” The forces of old and evil eventually win, and Thompson shows us why. Doing all of those drugs doesn’t count as work, I guess.
• The Happiness Hypothesis - Jonathan Haidt (nonfiction) Happiness equals our biologic Setpoint (S) plus the current Conditions (C) of our life, plus our Voluntary (V) actions. H = S + C + V. We can only change S using medication, cognitive-behavior therapy, or meditation. Helpful to know. We can only change C using a lot of time/money/effort, like moving houses, fixing broken cars. V is stuff we can do right here, right now, and the two best things humans can do is focus on loving relationships and flow. Great summary of how to build happiness.
• Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare (play) Shakespeare is amazing, and I love this comedy about two young idiots in love. I especially love the “Romeo + Juliet” movie retelling set in early 2000s Florida, nothing feels more appropriate.
• Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win - Jocko Willink (memoir) Jocko knows how to win. If you’ve ever been a winner at anything, you will recognize the timeless advice Willink compiles (with Babin) in this book. Some of the best leadership advice I’ve ever heard, and a great description of what it means to take responsibility for one’s own life. Marcus Aurelius updated for the 21st century.
• The Fall - Albert Camus (fiction) My favorite Camus book so far, a fascinating look at a man as he descends into entropy while recounting stories at a dusky bar.
• Resistance - Steven Pressfield (nonfiction) Pressfield puts words to the feelings every creative knows about. The soul crushing procrastination that is the result of resistance. The war of art is finding the ability to turn pro and actually do the work, like someone who does it for money, day in and day out.
• Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes (fiction) A heart-wrenching story, I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say this one made me feel all sorts of ways. Tragic, depressing, uplifting, I dunno man, it’s a lot.
• Walden - Henry David Thoreau (nonfiction) In the 1840s some white dude>
• The Stranger - Albert Camus (fiction) Mersault is depressed, or messed up in some other way. I get it, I feel it, this is nihilism taken to the extreme, and Camus shoves it down your throat. I love Camus as a philosopher, and this book did something, but it wasn’t everything.
• The Way Home: Tales from a life without technology - Mark Boyle (memoir) Boyle writes a fascinating account of his life giving up money, giving up modern society, and ultimately, giving up some of what makes him happy. A tragic book told like a heroic journey, this book showed me the folly of chasing what I think is right with no compromise. While I agree with his lifestyle, I can’t give up my tribe. What to do?
• Stuck - Oliver Jeffers (fiction) A children’s book that cracked me up so hard I cried. Everyone should read this, this should be on everyone’s bookshelf it’s that good.
• The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho (fiction) One of the best allegories for life being one big journey. Such a beautiful journey and reminder about what life is all about, and it’s not the destination.
• Walden on Wheels - Ken Ilgunas (nonfiction) More relevant than the original, Ilgunas takes us through his story of living cheaply to pay off debt and get educated in the modern world, illustrating what its like to live against the grain in the modern day.
• One World Ready or Not: The Manic Logic of Global Capitalism - William Greider (nonfiction) A book to set the stage for the modern world, explaining the craziness of this little experiment called globalization. The capitalist machine will eat us all!
• Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe (fiction) I think about this book, the title, and the overall vibe often. Not sure why, it just seems serenely sad.
• So Good They Can’t Ignore You - Cal Newport (nonfiction) Among other books like Deep Work, Newport gives some of the best modern advice about getting a career, namely, that it requires a lot of work no matter which way you slice it.
• Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (fiction) On the Rushmore of political commentary novels. Discusses book burnings, and general apathy towards knowledge and oppressive governments.
• Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell (nonfiction) The book that revolutionized the idea of long-form journalism to me. Gladwell isn’t a scientist (it shows), but he’s more than a journalist. Take what he says with a grain of salt, but don’t be afraid to go along for the ride – it’s well worth it.
• Your Cabin in the Woods - Conrad Meinecke (nonfiction) A book about building a cabin in the woods from logs. I don’t know what else you need, but the drawings are superb.
• On the Road - Jack Keruoac (fiction) Introduced me to unconventional w>