I read obsessively. Always have. My Kindle has 400+ books. My apartment has piles that my wife tolerates. My browser has 47 tabs of papers I’ll “get to later.”
This isn’t a flex; it’s a problem. But also maybe the only way I know how to understand anything.
Here’s what’s shaped my thinking. Not comprehensive. Not ranked. Just the ones I keep coming back to.
🧠 How I Think About Thinking
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
The book that made me realize I can’t trust my own brain. System 1 vs System 2. Cognitive biases. The illusion of understanding. I re-read sections of this constantly.
The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef
Why we’re so bad at updating our beliefs. The difference between wanting to be right and wanting to find out what’s right. Changed how I argue.
Rationality by Steven Pinker
Dense but worth it. How to actually think clearly in a world designed to make you think badly.
Superforecasting by Philip Tetlock
Most experts are terrible at predictions. Some aren’t. What’s the difference? Turns out: humility, updating, and thinking in probabilities.
💻 Software & Systems
A Philosophy of Software Design by John Ousterhout
Thin book. Massive impact. The best articulation of what makes code good vs bad. I’ve bought copies for my entire team.
Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann
The bible. If you build systems, you read this. End of discussion.
The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks
Written in 1975. Still accurate. “Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” We keep not learning this.
Staff Engineer by Will Larson
What do you actually do after senior? This helped me figure it out.
🤖 AI & The Future
The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian
Not doomer porn. Actual thoughtful exploration of what it means to make AI systems that do what we want. The history alone is worth it.
Human Compatible by Stuart Russell
What if we built AI that’s uncertain about human values instead of certain? Surprisingly readable for how technical it gets.
Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark
The big picture. What happens when intelligence isn’t limited to biological brains? I don’t agree with everything but it’s the right set of questions.
📖 Philosophy That Actually Matters
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
A Roman emperor’s private journal. Never meant to be published. Raw, honest, timeless. I read a few pages most mornings. The Stoics got a lot right.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche
Insane. Beautiful. Probably shouldn’t be anyone’s introduction to philosophy but I don’t care. The Übermensch isn’t what you think.
Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
Practical philosophy from 2000 years ago. How to deal with adversity, mortality, other people being idiots. Still works.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Concentration camp survivor’s reflection on finding purpose in suffering. Not easy to read. Impossible to forget.
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Greek myths as they should be told. These stories have been shaping Western thought for millennia. Worth understanding.
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
The Nordic tradition, retold well. Different culture, different answers to the same questions about fate, heroism, and mortality.
🌍 How The World Works
Chip War by Chris Miller
Why semiconductors are the new oil. Why Taiwan matters. Why the US and China are in a cold war over sand and lithography. Way more gripping than it sounds.
The Prince by Machiavelli
Ruthless. Honest. Everyone should read this to understand power, even if you don’t want to use it that way.
Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott
Why big plans fail. How states try to make legible what can’t be made legible. Changed how I think about systems and unintended consequences.
Why Nations Fail by Acemoglu & Robinson
Institutions matter. That’s the thesis. 500 pages of evidence. Convinced me.
🧬 Science & Reality
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
Not actually about genes being selfish. About seeing evolution from the gene’s perspective. Mind-bending when you first read it.
Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter
I’ve started this book four times. Never finished. Still the most interesting thing about consciousness, self-reference, and strange loops.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn
How science actually works (paradigm shifts, not gradual progress). Short. Dense. Foundational.
What Is Life? by Erwin Schrödinger
A physicist’s take on biology from 1944. Predicted DNA before we knew what it was. Still worth reading.
🧩 Psychology & Behavior
The Elephant in the Brain by Simler & Hanson
We don’t know why we do what we do. This book is uncomfortable because it’s probably true.
Influence by Robert Cialdini
How persuasion works. Why you say yes when you should say no. Read this before someone uses it on you.
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The psychology of optimal experience. Why some activities absorb you completely. Helped me understand why I code.
✍️ Writing & Thinking
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
The only writing book you need. Clear, practical, no bullshit.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
About writing but really about life. “Shitty first drafts” changed how I approach everything.
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
94 pages. Read it once a year. Get better every time.
📚 Currently Reading
- The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist (on the divided brain and Western culture)
- Various papers on mechanistic interpretability
- The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky (perpetually in progress)
📖 The Pile (What’s Next)
- Permutation City by Greg Egan
- The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch
- Energy and Civilization by Vaclav Smil
- The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich
This page is a living document. I’ll add book notes as I get to them.
If you have recommendations, especially things you think I’d hate, email me. Those are usually the most interesting.
Related
See also: What I Believe | My Epistemic Approach | My Predictions | Questions I’m Exploring | What I’m Doing Now