Read

Reading is a free education. When I was young I read a lot, mostly adventure books mixed with a healthy dose of western lore. Good guy, bad guy, gold, a woman, lots of shooting and then good guy kills bad guy, gets girl, finds gold and scores the amazing property with a river running through it. I couldn’t get enough. During school my reading fell into the more predictable categories of course books, homework and research, and reading became a grind of sorts, not the mind-adventure it had once been. A few years ago I made a decision to delete my social media accounts, stop going online unless I absolutely had to and read as much as possible. Last year I read eighty books. Something strange happened. My brain changed. My focus changed, and believe it or not, I actually began to feel more intelligent. The more I read the more I feel like I’m finally beginning to understand things, as each day I move through a written world of love, war, adventure, history and the human diaspora.

Read: The Moor’s Account

This book was a Pulitzer Prize finalist which is what piqued my interest. This is a story about the New World told through the eyes of a Moorish slave. Discovery, exploration, death, violence and the terrible themes of the Spanish … Read More

Read: Atlantic

Once again, I’m late to the game. Pretty much everyone I know has read Simon Winchester, but me. Until now. This is a great book. A book about an ocean that reads like an adventure novel. A few things. Winchester … Read More

Read: War on Peace

I love this s%$#. I really, really love it. One of my regrets in life, of which I have many, is that I never worked for the State Department. Diplomacy. I can’t imagine anything more trying, testing, frustrating but potentially … Read More

Read: Without You, There Is No Us

This is quite a book. Suki Kim is a journalist who went undercover teaching the children of the North Korean elite. Ya, talk about not wanting to screw up. Several things I took away. First, the population is split between … Read More

Read: The Road to Little Dribbling

Everyone needs a Bryson book from time to time. Just seeing his name makes me laugh, and he has the skill to poke fun at us, them and himself while never truly offending anyone, at least anyone that matters. “The … Read More

Read: The Mind-Gut Connection

I gave up taking notes on this baby. There was too much solid information. If you are one of those people who say “Of course there is a connection between the mind and the gut you dumbass,” I would still … Read More

Read: The Origins of Creativity

Edward O. Wilson managed to win not one Pulitzer but two. That is no easy feat. And yet there he is. The Origins of Creativity seemed like a good book to investigate. After all, I’m supposed to be this creative … Read More

Read: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Haruki Murakami is a legend. 1Q84, Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, etc. I had no idea he was a runner. Turns out, he is. And his running and writing are intimately connected. “What I Talk About When I Talk … Read More

Read: Bhagavad Gita

Okay, much more on this in the near future. But for now, just know I’m not a religious person, at all, nor would I consider myself that spiritual. Nature has always been my temple, church, ashram if you will. However, … Read More

Read: The Great Work of Your Life

I found Stephen Cope a few years ago through his wonderful book The Wisdom of Yoga. The book I’m featuring here, The Great Work of Your Life, isn’t as great as The Wisdom of Yoga, but it is still a … Read More

Read: The Tao of Bill Murray

I don’t think this is a great book. But I needed this book. The first half is better than the second half, and there IS something to take away from this book, which is what the author attempts to get … Read More

Read: Snow Crash

Yep, legendary book. And I’m probably the last one to find it. I don’t like science fiction. Never found the genre that interesting. But then again, I like this book. I really like it. And others, now that I think … Read More

Read: Rigged

I love Ben Mezrich books. The Accidental Billionaires, The Ugly Americans, Bringing Down the House and Rigged. (Among others) His nonfiction style is interesting and he tells a good story because the stories he chooses to tell are almost beyond … Read More