READING LIST

“I want to learn how to read,” I responded to my teacher on the first day of kindergarten.

Or so the legend goes.  I have no idea what was said that day, but heard the story many times growing up.

At 5, I knew that I wanted to read.

Books were everywhere when I was growing up.  Bookcases at home, completely filled.  The same at my grandparents’ house – one bookcase which is now in my basement.

I read a lot as a kid.  I can recall at least one occasion, though likely more, coming home from school and reading two Goosebumps books in a single night.  I was never into the original Hardy Boys series from the ‘20s and ‘30s, but I devoured the Hardy Boys Casefiles from the ‘80s and ‘90s.  I don’t remember much about the series now, but I read a ton of them.

I graduated to John Grisham, a dusting of Stephen King, and a little Michael Crichton (I read Jurassic Park five times in fifth grade).

And then I just stopped.

After about fifth or sixth grade, I remember very little reading.  I know books were assigned in high school (Sorry, Dr. Schultz, I “read” Pride and Prejudice in about an hour.  And by “read,” I mean “briefly glanced at almost all of the pages.”)  I remember nothing from Pride and Prejudice, except maybe that there was a man named “Darcy” and it was written by Jane Austen (right?).

As I look back, I wish I took the time to read A Tale of Two Cities, or Crime and Punishment, both of which I “read” during Sophomore English.

I didn’t read anything I didn’t have to.  Anything I had to read I skimmed, at best.

In college I learned what I “had” to read in order to pass.  Most days had 100+ pages assigned across various classes.  Most days I read less than 10.

Throughout college, I found myself reading more, though still slowly and infrequently.  I read Tom Clancy.  The Hunt for Red October took about a year, but I finished it.  Red Storm Rising, to this day, is one of my favorite novels.  I read the first half of Fellowship of the Ring in about two weeks, but the remainder of the Lord of the Rings series took about three more years.

Begrudgingly, I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  With joy, I read the rest of the series.

Naval Ravikant says:

In college I found what I love to read.  Anything and everything about poker.

The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky, Doyle Brunson’s Super System, The Psychology of Poker, Harrington on Hold’em (Vols. 1, 2, and 3).  The list could go on and on and on.  I expanded into books on blackjack and horse racing.  I loved the theory, the math, the strategy.  All of it.  I read Theory of Poker so much that there are entire sections which have fallen away from the binding.  I became a nerd for anything gambling related.

I’m not even a huge gambler.  I read these books so I would have an edge in my weekly $5 game among friends and in play money games online.  I read them because I found the content fascinating.

There was narrative non-fiction, like The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King, or One of a Kind (the Stu Ungar story).

I found what I loved to read, and I read as much of it as I could.

Poker books reinvigorated my lost love of reading.  More than that, my lost love of learning.

Now, I read all sorts of things.

I read a lot (for the sake of this discussion, I include listening to audiobooks).  I often want to share the books that I’ve read, but find few organic opportunities to discuss.  So, I figured that I would share some of the books that I have found valuable here.  Many of these books have shaped the worldview I have today.

A lot of what I read comes from curiosity.  I hear about a book on a podcast, or it is mentioned in something else I am reading.  This curiosity has taken me on crazy journeys, from quantum mechanics and the multiverse (The Beginning of Infinity) to a prisoner of Somali pirates (The Desert and the Sea).

So, if you are looking for something to read, here are some of my recommendations.  Check back occasionally.  I will update the list as I read more and have more to recommend.  Click the titles (coming soon) for some of my thoughts, or the Amazon link (coming soon) if you want to try it yourself.  Please note that this site directs people to Amazon and is an Amazon Associate member.  As such, I earn from your qualifying purchases.

Thank you!

stoicism

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

Letters from a Stoic - Seneca

Discourses - Epictetus

psychology/self-development

Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman

Incerto - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

• Fooled by Randomness

• The Black Swan

• The Bed of Procrustes

• Antifragile

• Skin in the Game

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big - Scott Adams

The War of Art - Steven Pressfield

fiction

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

series

Mitch Rapp - Vince Flynn/Kyle Mills

James Reece - Jack Carr

Jack Reacher - Lee Child

Scot Harvath - Brad Thor

The Wakening - Jonathan Renshaw

Harry Potter - JK Rowling

The Gray Man - Mark Greaney