Reading List
Reading is my source and my salvation. In that spirit, I’d like to share a few books with you.
Of course, the internet does not need another recommended reading list, especially given the convergence many of those lists have reached as a certain corporate-classics-tech literati melds. If you are in need of such a list, let me recommend the ones compiled by Ryan Holiday, James Clear, or the Encyclopædia Britannica.
I treasure many of the books those lists hold in common and all are worth investigating. But instead of retreading already trampled ground, I’d like to offer recommendations pulled from some of the reading rabbit holes I find myself falling into again and again. One of my favorite ice-breakers is “what weird sub-genre of books do you keep going back to?” Here are mine.
Books Written by the Dead and Dying
Over 98% of people will die at some point in their lives—and I believe regularly remembering that our time is limited (memento mori) allows us to focus on the big things while disregarding petty annoyances. No genre helps me more in this pursuit than memoirs written by people staring down death. Their fear, courage, and love despite the hovering Reaper inspire me to live my life as abundantly as I can.
When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
The Unwinding of the Miracle, Julie Yip-Williams
The Bright Hour, Nina Riggs
Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom
The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch
Books on Manners and Savoir Faire
Manners maketh man, or so William of Wykeham would have us believe. Can the culture of manners often be a snobbish method for segregating social classes? Yes. Does practicing good manners give life more color and enable us to better serve those around us, whomever they may be? Absolutely. The French gave us savoir faire, which literally means “know how”, but is typically used to describe acting appropriately in whatever situations life might throw you into. Good manners are the world’s universal currency and will assist you wherever you may go.
How to Be a Man, Glenn O’Brien
Men and Manners, David Coggins
Tiffany’s Table Manners for Teenagers, Walter Hoving
Etiquette, Emily Post
The Book of the Courtier, Baldassare Castiglione
Books Which Should Be Read to a 6-Year-Old on Repeat
The older I get, the more I return to the foundational stories of my youth. Children should be read to early and often, but I’d argue that we can do better for them than Captain Underpants. Great children’s literature is great literature, period. Note that a 66-year-old should also revisit these texts regularly for continuing moral education.
D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire
The Story of Ferdinand, Munro Leaf
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Roald Dahl
Redwall, Brian Jacques
I’d like to recommend The Hardy Boys as well, but I’m fairly certain if I went back through them I would find an obscene amount of material that doesn’t pass the 2025 sniff test. That said, any reader worth their salt knows how to appreciate what’s timeless in a text—or any art for that matter—while disregarding whatever attitudes from the time of its writing are unenlightened relative to what we know today.
While I’m not breaking it out as its own category, honorable mention goes to whatever middle school books made you cry your eyes out for the first time when you realized books could be sad. Frequent offenders on that list are Bridge to Terabithia, Tuck Everlasting, Where the Red Fern Grows, and The Giver.
I hope you enjoy something from this list—and if you have your own reading rabbit hole, I’d love to hear about it. Good reading!
