2025 Reading List
A Year of Reading
For the last several years during the forty days of Lent I have conducted a painfully challenging experiment where I have abstained from all social media and news as a type of social experiment. I’ll admit, it’s extremely hard at first. It’s nearly impossible to unplug from the matrix; it feels like there is always some important thing happening in the world that requires attention. It’s uncanny to realize the mindless habits one has to be constantly gorging on the news or scrolling social media. When you take a sabbatical from these things after a few days an unparalleled sense of peace and calm sets in.
One quickly becomes aware of all the free time available when these time and attention vampires disappear. This year I decided to attempt to consciously fill this time and attention vacuum with reading. Sitting down and reading a book without interruption for thirty, or even sixty minutes may be a challenge at first, but as time passed, I found I started to look forward to these nightly reading sessions.
After Lent ended I enjoyed this experiment so thoroughly that I set out on a lofty goal to continue the aggressive reading habit and read 52 books in one year! (That didn’t happen!) Not all books are equal, and some books demand and require more time spent reading and in contemplation than others. About midyear I became extremely conscious that the goal of reading 52 books was flawed and that the focus should rather be on daily time spent reading rather than the actual quantity of books themselves.
2025 Reading List
- A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home
- Shrimp Farming
- Jesus Before the Gospels
- The Pirates’ Code
- Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
- Beat the Devils
- Building a Second Brain
- More or Less: Essays from a Year of No Buying
- The Protoevangelium of James: The Non-canonical Infancy Gospel
- How to Tell a Story
- The 39 Steps
- The Courage to be Disliked
- Greenmantle
- How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
- The Sovereign Individual
- Time Loops
- Prometheus Rising
- Worth Doing Wrong
- Deep Work
- FISH!
- The 36 Strategies of Ancient China
- Enchiridion
- The Bullet Journal Method
- Areté
- Time to start thinking
- Imminent
2025 Reading List Book Reviews
A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home
A fun easy read. I currently have a golden retriever, a Bernese mountain dog, and two teenagers and need all the help and advice I can get when it comes maintaining a clean home. I learned a few new tips and tricks and have placed this text on the bookshelf for future reference. B+
Shrimp Farming
How hard can indoor shrimp farming actually be? If the water temperature changes more than 2 degrees over a couple of hours all the shrimp die. Shrimp farming is exceptionally harder than I had imagined. B-
Jesus Before the Gospels
A fascinating read. A bit slow and pedantic in parts but completely engrossing in others. I particularly liked the overarching commentary in the last chapter ending.
The Pirates’ Code
The pirates were more democratic and entrepreneurial than most realize. There’s a number of subtle leadership and entrepreneurship lessons in this one if you read between the lines carefully. B+
Ten Arguments for Deleting your Social Media Accounts Right Now
Half manifesto, half how-to guide to liberate oneself from the matrix. Delete your accounts. Unplug from the Matrix. Read this book! A+
Beat the Devils
I bought this fiction book (and the sequel Sunset Empire) on a whim directly from the author at a pop-up book shop event I happened to be passingly by in Philadelphia about a year ago. The author was kind enough to sign both books for me on the spot. The book’s premise is a 1950s era cop/detective genre set in the backdrop of alternative reality where McCarthy has become president and there is an ongoing communist paranoia gripping the country. The author does a good job bringing the reader into the 1950’s era viscerally captivating world he creates around his main characters. I like detective novels and grew up devouring the Hardy Boys novels but the recent craze for alternative reality and alternative dimension fiction is not exactly my jam. In the end I enjoyed the book and am grateful to have a signed copy sitting on my bookshelf. B+
Building a second Brain
who can’t benefit from having a second Brian? I came across a bunch of productivity gurus online like Easlo who cite this text as the basis and inspiration for a number of minimalist tracking and planning tools that use the Notion app for PKM, Personal Knowledge Management. Favorite quote: Move quickly, touch lightly. Essential reading for the modern era. This is an easy read. B+
More or Less: Essays from a year of no buying
This was sitting unread in my personal library I can’t recall where or when I acquired it. The text details the author’s experiment with going a year without purchasing any discretionary consumer goods. The author makes a compelling case that in order to simplify our lives we need to declutter our homes and in order to do that we need to buy less stuff. A-
The Protoevangelium of James: The Non-canonical Infancy Gospel
I had never heard of this non canon Gospel until I read Jesus before the Gospels. It gives a fascinating backstory of Joseph and Mary that gives some potential interesting and illuminating context to the Gospel’s birth story. Again I want to emphasize this is a non canon text and should be regarded as such.
How to tell a Story
the act of personal storytelling builds empathy and out of many stories we can create community. It took me a while to get through this one as I kept lingering over the powerful story examples in the book. Perhaps a bit too slow in other parts. This is most definitely a must read if you want to take your story telling game to the next level. B+
The 39 Steps
I actually bought John Buchans first book titled “Greenmantle” after seeing a legendary photo of a RAF pilot reading it while receiving a haircut. Later I learned the 39 steps are a prequel of sorts to Greenmantle and decided to read them in order. This novel is set in the early 1900s in a period immediately preceding WW1. The writing is crisp, witty, and visceral. I most thoroughly enjoyed his descriptions of attire, meals, and the English countryside. A-
The Courage to be Disliked
The book is presented in the format of a youth and a philosopher discussion the concepts of Alderman philosophy. Deep, complex, thought provoking, and mind opening. I found the book to be slow in the beginning but I had trouble putting it down towards the end. Absolutely profound reading. A+
WW2 RAF pilot reads Greenmantle by John Buchan
Greenmantle
As stated previously I saw this photo online of a WW2 RAF pilot reading this specific book in front of his plane while getting his hair cut and thought this looked absolutely legendary. The book follows British spy Richard Hannah’s adventures with two others forming a trio of compatriots to uncover the mystery of a middle eastern prophet known as Greenmantle. This is absolutely delicious writing and it is clear this was written when individuals had a stronger command of the English language. The book has some controversial elements associated with negative attitudes and character portrayals which unfortunately reflect the time period it was written (1916). B-
How to get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
I knew nothing about this book other than the fact the title sounded fun and had a certain cavalier boldness sound to the title that I liked at face value. This book is explicitly candid and blunt right from the outset, with an abundance of lascivious passages that would be sure to make the common man blush. I had a few belly laughs reading this book. As the book states; If you want to get filthy rich in rising Asia, … don’t fall in love! A+
The Sovereign Individual
Governments will have to adapt to the growing autonomy of the individual. In the Information age a job is a task to do, not a position you hold. I didn’t realize how dated this book was until I got to the paragraphs lamenting the potential hazards of the Y2K event. This book is (was) prescient with its predictions but is somewhat dated. B+
Time Loops
This book is wild and mind bending! I picked this up after hearing the author speak on an influential podcast. The book toys with the concept that information from the future can travel backwards to influence the present. Yes, mind bending I know. The beginning was the most riveting to me. The back half of the book moved a bit slow. B-
Prometheus Rising
What the thinker thinks the prover proves. This book is difficult to describe. The end of chapter homework “exercises” in this book are a riot! This book is profound. A+
Worth Doing Wrong
A distant relative I never met wrote this book. I figured that was enough of a good reason to read it. Maybe one day we will share a beer and I can get my copy signed by the author. If it is worth doing, it’s worth doing wrong. This book is a must read for leaders looking for some fun and creative ways to develop the culture of their organization. When you see a good culture idea – R&D can also mean ripoff and duplicate! A+
Deep Work
This book is outstanding. The I can’t get enough of it. I love the clarion call for us to do deep work In a world of unrelenting shallow work (email, routine meetings). To create things that really matter we need sacred chunks of uninterrupted time to do deep work. Deep work is exhausting because it pushes you to the limit of your capabilities. This book has a number of similar parallels to the earlier book I read called “Ten arguments for deleting your social media accounts now”. The author states “the ability to concentrate intensely is a skill that must be trained.” Attack tasks with an unwavering barrage of concentration! We must take deep care in deciding which tools we allow to claim our limited time and attention. These themes for my own personal social media and news sabbatical keep bubbling up as parallel affirmations pronounced in this book, ritualistically set aside time for deep work, embrace boredom and quit social media in order to achieve meaningful deep work. Amen! A+
The Bullet Journal Method
This also turned out to be an excellent read. I enjoyed the time and tempo of the writing by the author. in an age of digital everything the author makes a very good case for having a dedicated hand written journal to unplug and do the deep thinking. B+
FISH!
My cousin’s book Worth Doing Wrong was so good, fun, and inspiring that when he mentioned FISH as an inspirational compass in his book I figured FISH would be a good dovetail read. At first glance I assumed FISH was a a cheeky acronym, I didn’t realize it was named after the inspiring and famous Pike Place Fish Market. No matter our circumstances, we can always chose our attitude and find elements of fun and play in all that we do. This is a quick easy read. I would recommend it as a good book for an new leader or manager. B
Areté
The book is focused on activating your own “heroic” potential. At first glance it looks intimidating with 900 pages and 451 mini chapter lessons, but it’s actually a fast and easy read written in a very fluid conversational tone. I would describe this book akin to receiving a heart to heart pep-talk from a close friend. This would be the first book I would give a new college graduate. Live life with Areté, activate your heroic potential today! A+
The 36 Strategies of Ancient China
The 36 strategies has no author and no known date written ascertained but has been first mentioned during the southern Qi Dynasty (489-537 A.D.), where it is mentioned in the history of the southern Qi Dynasty. Lessons titled “sacrifice the plum tree in place of the peach” teach timeless lessons about knowing contentment, knowing when to stop and how to identify circumstances where one should sacrifice short term objectives in order to gain a long term goal. B
Enchiridion
The teachings of the stoic philosopher Epictetus. The Enchiridion focuses on ethics and through which individuals can lead better lives. For Epictetus the way to lead a happy and flourishing life is by living a virtuous life. Example quote: neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope. I enjoyed this one and found it to be a pleasant read. It can be read in about two sittings. There is a timeless wisdom we can learn from the stoic philosophers. B+.
Time to start thinking
Written in 2012 the author walks the reader through a sobering look at the future of the American economy as the middle class continues to be hollowed out by the steady decline of our industry base. “To innovate, one must make” the book states. The book poses a poignant question; Can America maintain her lead on innovation if we continue to outsource our industrial base? We need more machinists and electricians. Amen. A-
Imminent
Lue Elizondo documents his journey down the UAP rabbit hole. Absolutely riveting material. I could not put this down! A+
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