I read nine books between my 37th and 38th birthday and completed five more that I had partially read over the past three or four years. I read somewhere that the average American reads four books per year (more like the mean than the average) so I figured I’d shoot for that. With a busy schedule of a young family, freemasonry, work, and real estate stuff, I figured I’d shoot for seven. So while not impressive by more learned men’s standards, I’m proud of my nine and some change. I’d like to keep that pace.
The books are really a big mix of different topics. Some are for pleasure, some were specifically for learning.
This really came up as I was writing some random musings and then I wrote a section on books that turned into this. It ended up being a reflection on the books I’ve read in the past year. I figured because I feel like it and this is my blog that no one else really reads, I would go ahead and post it. It’s also putting some content so this attempt to SEO myself and my unique name doesn’t fall down the search engine pages. And maybe, someone who is into similar things as me will find it useful.
So here we go:
“Son of Thunder” by Henry Meyer
This is a biography of Patrick Henry – the “give me liberty or give me death” founding father. The book is good for what it is. As often happens when authors draw from historical documents to create a narrative, it can seem a little dry at times. What they often end up doing is filling in the details with more general information about that time period. This ends up also producing a snapshot of life and politics in Colonial and early American Virginia. This is actually one of the nice things about these kinds of books as it’s a similar narrative told from a different perspective.
Henry learned his fiery oratorical style from firebrand Presbyterian ministers and really was principled in most of his political views. He was another founding father contradiction on the topic of slavery but I’m able to accept that as a flaw in his character rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
It’s pretty interesting though in that he was anti-constitution ratification and many of his arguments against it leading to a centralizing executive authority and bureaucracy have come to pass. Of course part of that is Congress has seemed to gradually cede that power through inaction over the past few decades. Henry’s assertion was that the executive would take power intentionally by force.
I originally procured this book to aid myself in the tour business that I used to have and started this one in like 2018 during a trip back home to Nevada/California. I got maybe a quarter way through before putting it down. In 2022, then needing to fall asleep, I decided to pick up this tome and actually got super into it. Go figure.
Here’s a video from the local Church where this 2nd Virginia Convention and Henry’s speech took place.
“Light Ages’ ‘ by Seb Falk
My buddy Lane actually gave this to me about the time I started getting into astronomy. It’s about medieval scientific advancement and technologies prior to the enlightenment and centered around John Whyck, a monk from England who spent time on the continent. The biggest thing I pulled from it was the wondrousness of the astrolabe which was sort of like a medieval smart phone that could tell you the time, seasons, find constellations, navigate, measure height of objects, and a whole host of other things.
The book gets a little hard to follow in the middle when Falk describes the counting and calculation methods that the monks used. That’s actually when I put it down maybe 50 pages in in 2021. I picked it back up this year and powered through the hard to follow section. Very good decision.
Thanks Lane!
It also inspired me to request an astrolabe for Christmas.
“The Left Hand of Destiny” by JG Hertzler
This is a part of the Star Trek Deep Space 9 novel series focusing on General Martok after the TV show’s finale. I sparsely started it in 2020 and decided to finish it since after the Henry book, I went on a mission to wrap up unfinished book business.
It is a two part series about General Martok heading back to Q’onos as the Klingon High Chancellor and some events thereafter. If you’ve ever read a Star Trek expanded universe novel then it’s pretty on par. If reading “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy is a steak dinner, this is more like devouring a tasty but not really filling bag of potato chips.
Still, I’ve read a ton of post-finale DS9 stuff and they’re all interesting, easy reads if you love the series.
“A Brief History of Everything” by Bill Bryson
A few years ago I got into stargazing and amateur astronomy and quickly realized I don’t know anything about any science.
I read “Until The End of Time” by Brian Greene in 2020 to try to get a layman’s overview of quantum physics and wanted something that gave a layman’s overview of various scientific topics.
My father-in-law recommended this book for that.
This book definitely delivered. It’s about 23 years old but holds up very well. Bryson is a pretty prolific writer (though I’ve only ever read this book of his). Since he’s an author, not a scientist, he goes around interviewing various experts on topics relating to all fields of science to get a general overview of each area which is generally told in the context of more specific sites he visits.
I really liked the bit on enlightenment efforts to measure the world and the geology/history of comets landing on earth as well as the effect of volcano eruptions. We have all these ideas of nuclear war and climate change ending life on earth but in an instant a giant meteor can come and decimate our civilization or the yellowstone geyser could burst and snuff out life on most of the continent.
Very humbling.
“King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine” by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette
I listened to one of the Art of Manliness podcasts (you’ll hear this referenced a lot because it really is the best podcast I listen to), and he interviewed someone who was talking about Jungian Archetypes and relating them to personal development. The interviewee brought up this book so I thought I’d check it out for some personal development.
The gist is that in all of our personalities are these four archetypes mentioned in the title. Each has an ideal and each has two shadow forms. For example, the ultimate is the “King” but they have shadow archetypes of the “Tyrant” and the “Weakling” and fulfilling the ultimate version of these four archetypes is balancing the positive aspects of shadow forms. The tyrant uses too much power and force to get his way, but it’s important to be willing to go to battle if needed. The weakling will be much more fearful and thus cautious. It’s good to be prepared for battle but not reckless in pursuing it when it can be avoided.
Peep the graphic I stole from an Art of Manliness series. I find it to be one of the frameworks that I try to integrate into my personal development regime. Here is also a series on the topic from AOM.
https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/king-warrior-magician-lover-introduction/)
It really reminds me of a yin and yang type thing where the elements of both need to intermix. I ended up relating it to the Masonic philosophy and moral framework as a supplement. I can’t confess to being an expert on this topic but it does help me recognize the darker traits coming out in myself and balancing them out to achieve the “mature masculine” archetypes. It’s part of my increasing interest in dualism as it regards balancing the various energies and forces within.
To someone just reading the title it may seem like it’s espousing some childish form of masculinity touted by guys like Andrew Tate and the like but it’s more like a manliness akin to Dwight Eisenhower. It’s definitely a good read for any man into personal development.
”Goddesses in Every Woman” by Jean Shinoda-Bolen
After finishing the book above and liking this Jungian framework on masculinity, I realized that with raising daughters and spending my life with my wife, it might give me some insight to help understand them if I read a Jungian framework on femininity. I did some research and found this book to be the best recommendation.
Shinoda-Bolen relates different female archetypes by example of different Greek goddesses. It’s actually the basis for the whole “Goddess Feminism” genre that got out of hand in the 90s that you may have seen panned in the sit-com Friends where they reference “stealing another goddess’ thunder.”
Make no mistake, this was the original.
Shinoda-Bolen’s context here is more rooted in equality feminism without a lot of the more postmodern baggage some of this literature is written with today. She is a Jungian Psychologist, feminist, and a mother so she provides a great perspective.
I came to understand some of the archetypes that the women in my life resemble and it gives some great tips on raising girls who display some of those characteristics of the different archetypes. One does need to be careful not to use these archetypes as a hard framework and try to pigeon hole people into these exact descriptions.
Actually, writing this makes me realize I need to go back and reread some of the chapters as my kids get older.
“John Marshall: Definer of a Nation” by Jean Edward Smith
This was another book where I wanted to learn about a historical figure who had an impact on the nation. I actually have a latent desire to become a John Marshall Chautauqua reenactor so this was going to be my first foray into learning the character. Since that will not be an endeavor I can take on any time soon, I just left it at this book for now.
It was a great overall view of Marshall’s life, his major Supreme Court decisions, his political life in Richmond and Virginia, and a whole lot of background information on Colonial and early US history. This was the book that I found most recommended as a good pop-history overview of Marshall’s life and impact.
The thing that stuck out to me most about Marshall was that this guy was first, very intelligent and very affable. Secondly, that he was just generally a “dude.” He liked to hang out late in taverns and drink with his buddies, and socialize, but not to excess. By doing this, he became very well connected and exchanged a lot of ideas about government and culture with other learned and/or influential men. I learned a ton of biographical information about him that I never knew: his time in the Virginia Militia, his role in getting the constitution ratified in Virginia, and his relation to Virginia politics.
What I really appreciate about the man now is that this is a guy who made his way by virtue of being intelligent, supremely competent, and incredibly affable. He is a great example of the “natural aristocracy” that has to do more with merit than with lineage.
I would recommend this more if you’re just interested in the topic as it’s about 500 pages – though it’s not dry at all.
“An Immense World” by Ed Yong
I actually ended up getting this book delivered to me from Amazon without having ordered it. There was no gift receipt. No one I knew had sent it when I asked on social media or texted those I thought would have. It just ended up in my hands.
Weird.
Anyway, being curious as I am, I read the description and thought “well that sounds interesting.” And it was.
Ed Yong basically explores how different animals and forms of life perceive and interpret the world via their senses which is called “Umwelt.” For example: dogs primarily use their sense of smell and only have cones in their eyes to receive two kinds of colors on the spectrum. Their way of experiencing the world via smell and vision is so different than we can even begin to perceive. Many birds can see in the “ultraviolet” color spectrum and can detect soundwaves and tones which human’s can’t perceive. Bats use sonar and hairs which track the wind and air around them to conduct their movements. Bees can sense electromagnetic fields.
It got me thinking how being hard of hearing in my right ear makes me perceive and move through the world completely different than someone with their full hearing. Or how someone who is blind perceives the world in a way that I can’t even fathom.
This book that came to me by accident was mind expanding. Sometimes the deity just reaches out and says “you need this!” I suppose.
It’s not super sciency and the content is written in a pretty accessible way. He gets a little preachy on climate change in the last chapter. Which is fine and merited but sort of seems shoehorned in rather than a natural extension of the topic of the book.
“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
After I read the aforementioned book, I wanted to pick up a literary “classic.”
Bret McKay of Art of Manliness (there they are again) interviewed an English professor who wrote a book on “Jane Austen for Dudes” (https://www.artofmanliness.com/living/reading/podcast-871-jane-austen-for-dudes/) which piqued my interest. My wife loves Jane Austen so after I finished Immense World, and was looking for a classic to read, I realized that there was a bookshelf full of them in my bedroom and picked up this book.
And you know what? I could not put that book down.
I was audibly laughing at some of the scenes and confusion that ensued between Mr. Darcy and Eliza Bennet and all the other funny characters in the book. Once you get used to the Victorian language, it is a very entertaining and easy book to read. I wouldn’t say I gained any great insights (other than maybe the superfluities of the 19th century English class system), but it was thoroughly entertaining and the dialogue was off the chain dryly humorous. It was also actually a book I could then talk to my wife about.
Then I watched the BBC mini-series with Colin Firth and that gave me a whole different context. Although- I have to say- the book was better…
I’ll probably pick up another Jane Austen book at some point in the future (being that all of them are on my bookshelf thanks to my wife). I’ve heard “Emma” is one of the better ones.
Read the book for free on Guttenberg here.
“Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss
This is a book on negotiation from a former FBI hostage negotiator. It’s less about the technical back and forth and exchange that some negotiation experts use but is more a book on psychology. I liken it to negotiation as less of a hard science and more of a social science.
I had actually already read it a couple of years ago because I had been thinking I needed to learn some negotiation skills and then heard the author interviewed on Get Rich Education and picked it up. I decided to give another thorough read through because I always forget to use the tools I read about in the book.
The one time I did use them a lot, I ended up negotiating a great deal but it was a circumstance where I was in a position of power from the outset so I don’t know how much of it was the principles in the book or the circumstances.
Either way, I figure after a second thorough read through, I can probably just reference it occasionally. It really made me realize that I need to take better notes about books that I read.
“How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” by Dale Carnegie
Another Art of Manliness referral. Brett interviewed Joe Hart on Carnegie’s advice in the 21st century and they mentioned this book by Carnegie that is less talked about than the other one I read 20 or so years ago, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” (another timeless classic).
This book is more like a toolkit for dealing with worry and stress.Each chapter presents a different tool for dealing with stress and worry and they’re bundled together by the types or causes of worry.
Some of the references to “dispepsia” and things like that are dated but the principles he talked about to get rid of “melancholy,” prevent ulcers, and prevent heart attacks still apply today. This is another one I keep on the back of the toilet and reference occasionally. Particularly if I’m having trouble sleeping due to worry.
The biggest principle I’ve applied is gratitude (which I’ve also pulled from other texts).
The other one I’ve pulled out is the self “pep talk.” Sometimes you just need to look in the mirror and pump yourself up to get in the right mind frame for life. On the AOM broadcast, Brett mentioned the “Stewart Smally” skit from early 90s Saturday Night Live (see below) but it’s really funny that it actually works. The problem is that I forget to do it daily. Maybe I need to leave some sort of reminder for it.
This book is, like all of Carnegie’s books, an easy, entertaining, and effective read that will likely be one of those books I gift to people.
“Human Compatible” by Stuart Russel
A few months ago I got really caught up in the hoopla and fear mongering over Artificial Intelligence after listening to Lex Friedman interview Max Tegmark, Sam Altman, and Eliezer Yudkowsky who are all on different areas of the spectrum on the topic. I started to get a little panicked. One of the notes in Carnegie’s book on worry is along the lines of get more information about it and it won’t be as scary. I realized I needed some overview of this topic that didn’t involve learning crazy levels of math and programming to be able to think critically, at least on a rudimentary level, about it. A bit of research led me to Russel’s book for a good general overview of artificial intelligence.
Russel reviews how artificial intelligence works differently than human intelligence, the history of AI, the potential issues with self learning, human use of AI, benefits of human use of AI, and prescribed a potential path forward. It’s one I really need to re-read and take some notes on because it’s a little dense (though not necessarily inaccessibly technical) and I can’t really recall a ton of specifics.
Learning about it did alleviate some of my more panic-inducing fear on the topic.
“Growing Up First Born” by Dr. Kevin Leman
This book was given to me by a friend and when people gift me books, I usually read them out of respect for their thoughtfulness in giving it. I almost always enjoy them. Which, I suppose, is why they thought of me.
The premise is that this psychologist holds that your birth order can determine a lot about your personality. A first born is someone who is the first born child, the first born of their gender, or born 5 or more years after their last sibling. Leman posits that they all tend to share similar traits.
I actually took really good summary notes on this one after reading each section, as I found the information useful. It pointed out to me things that I didn’t think were traits of mine but really are. For example: perfectionism. I never considered myself a perfectionist because I am the type to sort of say “eh, good enough” and don’t wait until the final version to put it out there (just look at this blog post for myriad examples). I also tend to get a lot done but without taking the time to review it or think it completely through. Where it expresses itself with me is beating myself up for small mistakes. I really am the king at this. Even if the mistake happened 25 years ago. The author gives a lot of tips on dealing with that.
The other trait I see in myself is “over-responsibility.” Taking on too much “because someone needs to do it and if I don’t, it won’t get done” or taking on other people’s problems. This is a big one for me.
He also gives tips on raising first born children which I’ve adopted some of. It has really saved my sanity with my oldest.
It’s a pretty easy and accessible pop-psychology read but it cut to my core and really gave me some tools to deal with these specific traits. Are they really due to my birth order? (5 years younger than my older sibling) I’m not sure, but the advice still holds true.
It’s worth noting that this book was written in 1989 so some of the references are dated. The advice, however, is timeless.
Some Final Thoughts
After writing this introduction and completing this list and descriptions, I actually found it very pleasant to reflect on these books and what I learned from them, what I liked, what I didn’t like, and how they made me feel.
I don’t know if I can keep up this pace of reading. I don’t speed read any of these but I can’t confess to absorbing every bit of the non-fiction ones in detail or exploring the deeper meanings of some of the literary classics.
I just picked up Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy since I loved War and Peace so much. This was actually another one that my wife had on the bookshelf that I decided to pick up because why not? I like Tolstoy’s writing style (or at least the translations of it) and there’s a reason it’s a classic right?
One of the ways I found to keep up is that I always have a book that I can have electronically on my phone that I can read in waiting rooms, while on the toilet at work, waiting in line at the DMV, etc. Between the phone version, my night stand reading, and then my back of the toilet book, I’ve usually got 2 or 3 books going at once.
I also started and didn’t finish a couple of books this year- Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbel (another Jungian one with the “hero’s journey”) and “Masonry and Astronomy.” Maybe I’ll revisit those this year. I was reading the Campbell book on my phone but it’s pretty hard to follow so I really need a physical copy and to put some steady brain power into it.
Anyway, I hope if anyone actually reads this, they find it useful. Maybe I’ll do the same thing next year.
Matthew Maggy 