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2024 Reading List

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2025 Reading List

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• Hillbilly Elegy (2016) by J.D. Vance
  Autobiography, suggested it would provide some actionable steps to help with poverty but failed to deliver.


• An American Principal Residence is the Most Advantaged Investment on Earth: Maximize Yours by John T Reed
  Titular, a real estate investor argues that he would have been better off upgrading his primary residence vs the ownership problems with multifamily buildings and even single-family rentals.


• Mastery (2013) by Robert Greene
  Finding your calling, it would be hard to exceed those who are competent and passionate in your field.


• Unbelievable? (2017) by Justin Brierley
  Author is a radio host that brings together believers and non-believers to talk about science and religion. A little disappointing for me, struck me as just the story he was most comfortable with, although it addresses a breadth of topics.


• Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things (2023) by Adam Grant
  I liked the example about polyglots, both did poorly in language classes and only learned much later that they had to embrace making mistakes by just trying to speak and the learning flowed. Also, GPA trajectory was a good predictor of future achievement vs cumulative.


• The Happiness Hypothesis (2006) by Jonathan Haidt
  Wisdom of the ancients. Touches on research around status and need purchases, for example most would be happier with a shorter commute than a bigger house far away.


• Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity (2023) by Peter Attia, MD
  Sleep, avoid alcohol, and exercise. Recommends very early preventative diagnostic testing to detect heart and neurodegenerative disease.


• Discipline is Destiny (2022) by Ryan Holiday
  Discipline. Similar to the others in the series, stories to illustrate. One example, Queen Elizabeth and her persona/composure for decades.


• The Millionaire Next Door (1996) by Thomas Stanley
  Case studies and survey reasearch on millionaire habits. Savings, frugality, and entrepenurship. The lavish spenders tended to be those who inherited but these were a minority in the group.


• Speaker for the Dead (1986) by Orson Scott Card
  Reread. Story explores the concept of moral personhood among others. Onto the next.


• The Psychology of Money (2020) by Morgan Housel
  Read this twice. Concise insights about money, for example, referenced a study that suggested young investors should begin with a 200% stock allocation and taper. Good way to illustrate that reasonable > rational.


• Right Thing, Right Now (2024) by Ryan Holiday
  Justice. The series generally is good, Holiday presents historical figures to illustrate the titular stoic virtues.


• Courage is Calling (2021) by Ryan Holiday
  Be not afraid. The author pulls too frequently from COVID, although it was peaking around release.


• The Anxious Generation (2024) by Jonathan Haidt
  Argues that social media (for girls) and smartphones have led to a marked increase in anxiety and depression in Gen Z. Recommendations include no smartphones until high school, no social media until 16, and more free play opportunities for minors.


• The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization (2022) by Peter Zeihan
  A detailed overview predicting the results of the end of US-lead globalization. Argues the impacts of geography and local resource availability make the end of international free trade a very bleak picture. Bullish for US, bearish for China particularly and Eurasia generally.


• Random Acts of Medicine (2023) by Anupam B. Jena & Christopher Worsham
  Presents natural (happenstance) experiments to measure medical outcomes, e.g. do you receive worse care on the surgeon's birthday? The structure of the research is interesting because these are outcomes you couldn't ethically study otherwise but there is plenty of available data.


• The Total Money Makeover (2013) by Dave Ramsey
  Reread. The classic how-to manual for getting and staying out of debt. Invaluable for target audience, lacks nunace but that is a big part of the value. Sell the car!


• Eat That Frog! (2017) by Brian Tracy
  Practical and guided advice on how to accomplish the most important tasks for you. From ranking your tasks, defining the work that is most valuable, and the titular prioritization for vast improvements in productivity.


• The Complete Tightwad Gazette (1999) by Amy Dacyczyn
  Vast collection of practical information for (aspiring) frugal households. Dated in some cases, but the mindset it inspires is the true value.


• Out of Office (2023) by Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Petersen
  Explores reexamination of workplace culture, suggests adaptation to remote-first work will take effort but will reward orgs. Afraid of predictions but offers evidenced food for thought.


• Everyday Millionaires (2019) by Chris Hogan
  In large (10,000+) sample of millionaires most did not receive inheritance, worked regular non-C-Suite jobs, relied on employer sponsored retirement plans, and also tended to be retirement age. Survey data here.


• Mini-Forest Revolution (2022) by Hannah Lewis
  Interesting method for forests as small as 1,000 sqft. Focus on native trees to recreate an area in ~40 years that would natively take hundreds.


• Debt: The First 5000 Years (2011) by David Graeber
  Biggest takeaway might be the myth of barter and lack of anthropological evidence. Skipped about a fifth of this, not recommended.


• The 4-Hour Workweek (2009) by Timothy Ferriss
  Another one for hard copy. Offers conceptual and concrete ways to simplify productive activity so you can live dreams now.


• Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes (2023) by Morgan Housel
  Worth its own review once I have a hard copy.


• You Are a Badass at Making Money (2017) by Jen Sincero
  Think and Grow Rich in crude vernacular.


• The Art of Seduction (2001) by Robert Greene
  People like the dramatic, you can create it.


• Koresh (2024) by Stephan Talty
  Briefly touches how Waco transformed into an anti-government focal point, perhaps I should have read Waco instead of Koresh.


• Ender's Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card
  Reread. Still enjoyed, still wont see the movie.


• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
  A quick glimpse into the Soviet prison camps, see The Gulag Archipelago. "Can a man who's warm understand one who's freezing?"

Updated 04/17/25