Reading List

What I'm reading now

• TBD

2026

• Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (How much I recommend it: 8/10 – Humans are terrible at predicting the future and worse yet we remain unaware of it despite our track record. Most of reality follows randomness based on power law distribution i.e. long tails versus Gaussian short tails. History is entertaining but finding a cause is like trying to determine the shape of an ice cube from the puddle it left after melting. Ludic fallacy is the assumption that outcomes will fall within a predictable range because we assume we know all the rules like a coin flip, ignoring the "unknown unknowns." Inductive reasoning is problematic due to sample sizes. Mandelbrot set represents infinite complexity despite simple rules, power laws, fractal randomness and self-similarity, are closer to reality than Gaussian which is based on a fixed scale where outcomes converge towards certainty due to the Law of Large Numbers. We can only be certain about discomfirmation where we only need a single outcome which invalidates assumptions. Overall I thought this is was an excellent book and the subject is endlessly fascinating. It's a master lesson in self-awareness for the human species which is endowed by evolution with Platonic based thinking, i.e. reducing nature into categories and patterns which we used to model reality, but this is like confusing a map of the world with the terrain itself and exposes us to the risk of Black Swans. People criticize NNT for being too arrogant but I find it humorous, and I doubt he takes himself very seriously, and also considering at the time of publish his ideas would have been considered contrarian to the establishment and it seems he was mostly right about everything, so having a chip on his shoulder about it seems justified.)

• The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (How much I recommend it: 9/10 – Read only some key chapters out of desire to read original sources as recommended by Ravikant. Fascinating to read Darwin's own words explaining how Natural Selection works before DNA was even discovered.)

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (How much I recommend it: 9/10 – I rarely read fiction but I could hardly put this one down. Probably one of the best modern novels.)

2025

• Sum by David Eagleman (How much I recommend it: 7/10)

• The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh (How much I recommend it: 6/10 - good bedtime read. We should always be in a state of mindfulness which means awareness about what is happening in the present moment. Meditation is a way of practicing mindfulness. The breath is how we can bring ourselves back into awareness. Washing the dishes for the sake of washing the dishes, not rushing to finish. Remaining in a state of awareness even during conversation.)

• Breath by James Nestor (How much I recommend it: 5/10 things everyone should know about breathing which, like the gut, is an easily overlooked cornerstone of health. Basic takeaways: always breathe through your nose, most people breathe too much. 5.5 breaths per minute at 5.5s inhale and exhale. Chewing important for opening the airways. Increasing CO2 tolerance is key for athletic performance. Some parts feel like borderline pseudoscience however, and the book has too much story and narrative that not relevant to the content)

• The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt (How much I recommend it: 6/10 – some alternative titles could be "Why Gen Z is so fucked up (social media)" or "How the political left went off the deep end". I skimmed most of it since the ideas it proposed have been widely accepted and disseminated by other podcasters/authors like Mark Manson. The best part is the 3 great untruths which explain a lot of the social media fueled craziness that started happening in Western democracies in the mid 2010s which I definitely felt while living in SF and ultimate pushed me to be more centrist and anti-political. Also one if the reasons it was a relief to move to Southeast Asia where the mind virus hadn't taken hold.)

• The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel (How much I recommend it: 4/10 - an amalgamation of modern personal finance advice and human psychology. If you've read Daniel Kahneman and Ramit Sethi, you've already got the gist of how these two topics intersect. Enjoyable read but didn't learn anything new.)

• Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman (How much I recommend it: 9/10 — Humanity's futile relationship with time and misunderstanding of it as being a resource we have. We "are" time. Failure to use our time well is rooted in fear of confronting our limitations/our death. Distractions give us a way out. They are not the cause, just where we go. Nowadays distractions are readily available via technology, but urge to avoid reality is universal human nature. Commitment as a strategy to spend time on what matters. Industrial revolution changed our relationship with time. Everything serves work from which we derive all life meaning. Leisure redefined to serve the purpose of improving work productivity. Everything redefined as serving some future goal instead of living in the moment. Hobbies with no end goal are purest form of leisure because it's done for its own sake. Solving problems is life's meaning. Take the time, don't rush to a solution. Originality lies on the far side of unoriginality, stay on the bus. Having time and freedom is meaningless if not synchronized with other people. Loneliness of the digital nomad. Cosmic Insignificance Therapy. Overvaluing your existence sets the bar too high. Nothing we do matters on a cosmic scale. Nobody cares what you do with your life other than you.)

• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (How much I recommend it: 6/10 – The source of a lot of modern day wisdom and philosophy. Nice to read before bed.)

• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (How much I recommend it: 6/10 – Fun at times, but unfulfilling at the end.)

• The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson (How much I recommend it: 9/10 – Ravikant is a great thinker across disciplines. I love that he recommends reading original science texts like Adam Smith, Charles Darwin.)

• The Wealth Ladder by Nick Magguilli (How much I recommend it: 9/10 – defines the 6 levels of wealth and how to get from one to next, why the strategy that works to climb from e.g. L3 to L4 doesn't work for getting from L4 to L5. High income jobs never get you past L4. L5, L6 requires equity in a busines. Pairs well with How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis)

• Fossil Future by Alex Epstein (How much I recommend it: 10/10 — completely changed my mind about fossil fuels and man-made climate change by helping me realize the absurdity of the anti-impact moral framework, when we should instead be operating on the human flourishing framework. Everyone should read this book.)

• The Dip by Seth Godin (How much I recommend it: 9/10 — excellent call to action re: quitting, when to do and when not to. Ignores question of what success means however, also I think lacks a benefit-risk analysis in terms of personal wealth i.e. rich people can afford to take more shots)

• The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck (How much I recommend it: 9/10 — the first sections about self-discipline and love are brilliant, subsequent sections on religion etc. less developed and outdated)

• Modern Poker Theory by Michael Acevedo (Didn't finish, interesting but too technical)

• The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker (Didn't finish, not bad just no longer groundbreaking ideas as the world has already adopted this viewpoint about human nature, and Pinker's arguments are long and exhausting)

• Happy Money by Ken Honda (Didn't finish, not interesting)

• Awareness by Anthony De Mello (How much I recommend it: 10/10)

• Things Become Other Things by Craig Mod (How much I recommend it: 8/10)

• Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (How much I recommend it: 6/10)

• Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (Didn't finish, not my style)

• Atomic Habits by James Clear (How much I recommend it: 9/10)

• You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen (How much I recommend it: 4/10 — too many anecdotes, kind of outdated)

• The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt (How much I recommend it: 7/10)

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (How much I recommend it: 9/10)

2024

• Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat by Samin Nosrat (How much I recommend it: 9/10)
• How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis (How much I recommend it: 10/10)
• Wool by Hugh Howey (Didn't finish)
• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert (How much I recommend it: 9/10)
• A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas, Sai Gaddam (How much I recommend it: 9/10)
• Your Brain on Porn by Gary Wilson (How much I recommend it: 4/10)
• The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway (How much I recommend it: 9/10)
• Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss (How much I recommend it: 6/10)
• Models by Mark Manson (re-read)
• Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (How much I recommend it: 9/10)
• Die With Zero by Bill Perkins (How much I recommend it: 9/10)
• Starry Messenger by Niel deGrasse Tyson (How much I recommend it: 9/10)

2023

• Dilla Time by Dan Charnas (How much I recommend it: 6/10)
• The 2-Hour Cocktail Party by Nick Gray (How much I recommend it: 6/10)
• The Carbon Alamanac (How much I recommend it: 6/10)
• The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (How much I recommend it: 7/10)

2022

• The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss (How much I recommend it: 6/10)
• On Writing by Stephen King (How much I recommend it: 10/10)
• The Ethical Slut by Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy (How much I recommend it: 7/10)
• Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio (How much I recommend it: 4/10)
• Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey by Steve Lowenthal (How much I recommend it: 7/10)
• The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker (How much I recommend it: 9/10)
• Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (How much I recommend it: 7/10)

2021

• The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell
• Carrie by Stephen King
• The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
• Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
• Nudge by Richard H. Thaler

2020

• Thinking Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman (How much I recommend it: 10/10)
• Fiber Fueled by Will Bulsiewicz (How much I recommend it: 7/10 sums up why microbiome is cornerstone of health, and therefore eat more fiber with maximum diversity. Unfortunately also argues for complete veganism based on more flimsy evidence)

2019

• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
• Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson

2018

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
• Vacationland by John Hodgman
• Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

2017

• Models by Mark Manson
• Post Office by Charles Bukowski

Long, long ago…

• Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink
• Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, et al
• A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
• The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis
• Powers of Two by Joshua Wolf Shenk
• The Quiet American by Graham Greene
• The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
• Wilderness Essays by Jon Muir
• The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre by H. P Lovecraft
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
• Breakfast of Champion by Kurt Vonnegut
• Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut
• Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut
• Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut
• You Suck by Christopher Moore
• Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore
• Lamb by Christopher Moore
• The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
• Fluke by Christopher Moore
• A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore