Things I've read as an adult. Unless otherwise specified, I've finished them front to back. This list includes books and papers but does not include textbooks or blogs.

Last updated: 2025-04-08

Currently reading: Mein Kampf

2025

Brothers Karamazov | Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Above all, do not lie to yourself. A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others. Not respecting anyone, he ceases to love, and having no love, he gives himself up to passions and coarse pleasures in order to occupy and amuse himself, and in his vices reaches complete beastiality, and it all comes from lying continually to others and himself."

Five Types of Wealth | Sahil Bloom

This is a collection of brilliant frameworks that can help organize and optimize your life. If you read this, you do not need any other self help book.

2024

The Essence of Christianity | Ludwig Feuerbach

I read the first three chapters of this work. It's an interesting take describing how human's relationship with God is a projection of their own ideals.

The underdetermination of theory by data and the "strong programme" in the sociology of knowledge | Samir Okasha

Thoroughly enjoyed this philosophy paper. I think it is a great piece for anyone interested in the idea that incentives corrupt the expertise of scientists.

Breathrough Advertising | Eugene Schwartz

This book is free money! Completely changed my perspective on marketing as a whole and what marketing fundamentals really are.

It was recommended by a good friend of mine. For anyone looking to start their journey in sales or DTC ecom, I would really recommend this book.

2023

Elon Musk | Walter Isaacson

Quick and easy read. Would recommend this to anyone interested in the tech industry today. I think this book did a few things really well:

  • Humanize Elon. Learning about his childhood really contextualized how he became who he is today.
  • Motivate me to work harder. His sense of urgency behind his work made my own life goals feel laughably small. I think he's a great example of how a focused, motivated, and disciplined person can do so many things in a lifetime.
  • Show how dense some of Elon's critics are. Yes, he has his bad moments worthy of criticism, but there's a lot of incorrect information that's become mainstream (especially the story of how his dad was a supposed millionaire who owned an emerald mine).

Why We're Polarized | Ezra Klein

While I'm not a fan of Ezra Klein in general, he presents a faithful overview of polarization in our digitized world. I think the core material is the same as The Social Dilemma movie, highlighting the social media algorithm -> confirmation bias -> echo chamber -> digital identity causal chain.

I think tribalism is innately a part of human nature and not solvable. We'll always be polarized to a degree, and I actually don't think that's outright bad - tribalism had uses that served our ancestors. And logically, you'd want to prioritize people closer to you first before strangers, like family, friends, community, nation. Only once the former are taken care of, would you care about the world.

The Selfish Gene | Richard Dawkins

This book fit my interests really well - evolution, game theory, modelling humans, behaviourism, etc. Dawkins does a great job arguing for the gene-centric perspective of human evolution.

It raises good questions: is chance really how we evolved to the sentient creatures we are today? Are there "objective" morals that are based off winning evolutionary strategies?

Laws of Human Nature | Robert Greene

First Robert Greene book. Probably my last haha. It gives a good overview of human psychology and analyzing biases, and sprinkles cute sporadic self help rules and history lessons.

Given its surrounding hype, I was a bit disappointed. A lot of ideas weren't revolutionary, rather, ones which most people could figure out themselves if they were really reflective on their social interactions. Moreover, the tactics taught on how to manipulate others according to their human nature won't really work on competent people. It's really easy to tell fake enthusiasm in my experience.

2022

Educated | Tara Westover

Loved this. Gripping read. It's a well-timed, refreshing counter perspective of what can go wrong in a family-centric, anti-government, libertarian system.

I've always been really passionate about education accessibility, so seeing someone go through a challenging journey of attaining that was really inspiring.

It makes you really think about how one should filter the benefits of modern science from dirty science work (driven by misaligned incentives).

A Thousand Brains | Jeff Hawkins

This book offers a neuroscience-based POV on AI, intelligence, and existential risk.

It motivated me to learn a lot about neuroscience. I wish it dug deeper into the details though, about certain neurological mechanisms. I think the most insightful takeaway was that intelligence and animalistic behaviour are structured separateed in our brains. It gives me hope we can build AI systems that won't behave have animalistic self-replicative behaviours too :)

Why it's OK to Ignore Politics | Christopher Freiman

Really good (and needed) read for someone like me who spends a lot of time immersing myself in politics. TLDR: wanna do good for the world? There are better things to do with your time.

I largely agree with his arguments, although the reason I debate people and spent time on politics has more to do with awareness and truth-seeking, than trying to maximize my net good on the world.

The Machinery of Freedom | David Friedman

This was my first introduction to a very unique governance system that I've never read before: anarcho-capitalism. Friedman's arguments are convincing. But, I think a capitalist system of any form without guardrails will lead to monopolies over time, and I wonder how an an-cap model would deal with monopolies. In such system, a monopoly over enough valued goods and services would effectively act as a centralized government, just with a different label.

2021

A Brief History of Time | Stephen Hawking

This is a captivating book that really made me think about the universe. I think Hawking does a great job breaking concepts down to a point where a high schooler could understand them.

Space is the neverending frontier for human exploration. A gift from God.

A Promised Land | Barack Obama

This book is tremendously insightful and frankly humbling. People (like myself) always have things to say about how a president could make better choices or do more, but this memoir gives an insight to the presidency that shows decisions are not as easy as they seem.

A big takeaway is that having the right romantic partner can help you do impossible things.

12 Rules for Life | Jordan Peterson

I think Peterson's rules are good - they're broadly shared across many different cultures: fixing your posture, getting yourself in order before criticizing others, being cautious about short term gain, etc. I think the message resonates to the emasculated crowd of modern young men who look for father figures to give them this type of advice.

The War on Normal People | Andrew Yang

Yang gives a confident and accurate diagnosis of how automation will disrupt the labour market. He pitches a strong case for UBI, and I do think it's one of the best solutions out there for a post-work economy. A really nice thing about this book is how every one of his claims is cited with sources.

I wish he dug more and ideated on how to navigate the transitionary period between our existing economy and a post-4th industrial revolution economy. I also think there is a fragile premise underlying all of his arguments: a hopeful optimism that in a post-work world, we will shift focus onto what he calls the human experience, family & community centric activities, rather than fall into the pits of hedonism.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari

An interesting perspective on homo sapiens evolution. Good read for anyone looking to start expanding their worldview on history.

Many of Harari's arguments are rooted in the belief that our belief systems are purely socially constructed, and because of this that no belief system has inherent validity to them. I think it's naive to conclude that and to dismiss biologically driven tendencies for certain behaviours alltogether. Moreover, certain social constructions are not equal to others. There's a lot of contradiction between this book and The Selfish Gene.

1984 | George Orwell

Classic. I re-read this often. It's chilling once you see the links to the real world. Woke thought control is real.

On the Shelf

  • Three Body Problem | Liu Cixin
  • The Diamond Age | Neal Stephenson
  • The Ancient City | Numa Denis Fustel De Coulanges
  • The Machiavellians | James Burnham
  • The Managerial Revolution | James Burnham
  • Homage to Catalonia | George Orwell
  • Guns, Germs and Steel | Jared Diamond
  • Das Kapital | Karl Marx
  • Lenin | Victor Sebestyen
  • False Alarm | Bjørn Lomborg
  • Propaganda | Edward Bernays
  • Mein Kampf | Adolf Hitler
  • Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion | Robert B. Cialdini
  • Beyond Good and Evil | Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Ministry for the Future | Kim Stanley Robinson
  • How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future | Vaclav Smil
  • Education with Meaning | Corina Martin-Iordache
  • Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam | Vivek Ramaswamy
  • Paper Belt on Fire | Michael Gibson