quoting naddr1qqâŚsvc6itâs better to read 100 books 10 times than 1,000 books once
I donât know who originated this concept. Iâve heard it said by Naval. the idea is to go deep on a narrower slice of possible books than to be spread so thin. this isnât so much an algorithm as a heuristic, a tactic for filtering the kinds of books you read, and also a way to measure your own growth over time. Iâve had the experience of getting something different from reading the same book at different points in my life. deliberately checking in with different books regularly over time is a good way to get an informative but different perspective on your own mentality.
this is my list. Iâll be short of 100 for a while, the point is to make a tangible artifact out of it, and update it over time. let me know if you have or make a similar list and Iâll add a link to your list here.
update 2â24
since I created the 100 books page and started shaping my reading around it, I have reached 100 books, and now in order to add one to the list I must first evict one already on the list.
I have also encountered a different way to refer to this project, and a sharper take on what Iâm doing. it comes from an author with one book on my list already and more to come, Italo Calvino. the introduction to his book âWhy Read the Classics?â is a quick read, and well worth it.
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.
first, he defines âclassicâ to mean any book that once read, you return to again and again, and continue finding new takes, new value, fresh perspectives on. actually he lists many criteria, but thatâs roughly what it boils down to, books that have meaning to you, which you read repeatedly at different stages in your life, a through-line to return to.
The ranks of the old titles have been decimated, while new ones have proliferated in all modern literatures and cultures. There is nothing for it but for all of us to invent our own ideal libraries of classics. I would say that such a library ought to be composed half of books we have read and that have really counted for us, and half of books we propose to read and presume will come to countâleaving a section of empty shelves for surprises and occasional discoveries.
consider any of these books a welcomed topic of conversation.
the list was last updated on Jan 7th, 2025
title Author Genre âThe Myth of Sisyphusâ Albert Camus philosophy âBrave New Worldâ Aldous Huxley distopian science fiction âThe Doors of Perceptionâ Aldous Huxley non-fiction âThe Civil War Short Stories of Ambrose Bierceâ Ambrose Bierce supernatural horror âThe Little Princeâ Antoine De Saint Exuprey childrenâs âNichomachean Ethicsâ Aristotle philosophy âRendezvous With Ramaâ Arthur C Clarke science fiction âAtlas Shruggedâ Ayn Rand fiction âThe Fountainheadâ Ayn Rand fiction âThe Fractal Geometry of Natureâ Benoit Mandelbrot maths âThe History of Western Philosophyâ Betrand Russell philosophy âFour Archetypes: Mother/Rebirth/Spirit/Tricksterâ Carl Jung philosophy âThe Undiscovered Selfâ Carl Jung philosophy âRoadside Geology of Missouriâ Charles Spencer non-fiction âA Pattern Languageâ Christopher Alexander non-fiction âOn the Good Lifeâ Cicero philosophy âAll the Pretty Horsesâ Cormac McCarthy fiction âBlood Meridianâ Cormac McCarthy fiction âNo Country for Old Menâ Cormac McCarthy fiction âStella Marisâ Cormac McCarthy fiction âthe crossingâ Cormac McCarthy fiction âThe Passengerâ Cormac McCarthy fiction âThe Roadâ Cormac McCarthy fiction âFlowers for Algernonâ Daniel Keyes fiction âThe Beginning of Infinityâ David Deutsch non-fiction âForty Tales From the Afterlivesâ David Eagleman magical realism âNetworks, Crowds, and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected Worldâ David Easley and John Kleinberg non-fiction âWe Are Legion [We Are Bob]â Dennis Taylor science fiction âGodel, Escher, Bachâ Douglas Hofstadter philosophy âThe Discoursesâ Epictetus philosophy âThe Revelationsâ Erik Hoel fiction âKafka the Complete Storiesâ Franz Kafka fiction âThe Mythical Man-Monthâ Fred Brooks non-fiction âThus Spake Zarathustraâ Friedrich Nietzsche philosophy âCrossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customersâ Geoffrey A. Moore non-fiction âNineteen Eighty-Fourâ George Orwell distopian science fiction âA Swim in a Pond in the Rainâ George Saunders literature âEonâ Greg Bear science fiction âOn Bullshitâ Harry G Frankfurt philosophy âWalden and Other Writingsâ Henry David Thoreau non-fiction âMoby Dickâ Herman Melville fiction âSiddharthaâ Hermann Hesse philosophy âI, Robootâ Isaac Asimov science fiction âThe Foundationâ Isaac Asimov science fiction âThe Naked Sunâ Isaac Asimov science fiction âThe Proper Study of Mankindâ Isaiah Berlin philosophy âInvisible Citiesâ Italo Calvino magical realism âThe Perigrineâ J A Baker non-fiction âChaos: Making a New Scienceâ James Gleick non-fiction âFinite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibilityâ James P. Carse philosophy âFancies and Goodnightsâ John Collier fantasy âThe Dictionary of Obscure Sorrowsâ John Koenig fiction âAnnals of the Former World: â John McPhee non-fiction âThe Curve of Binding Energyâ John McPhee non-fiction âCollected Fictionsâ Jorge Luis Borges fantasy âHero With a Thousand Faces: The Collected Works of Joseph Campbellâ Joseph Campbell philosophy âHeart of Darknessâ Joseph Conrad fiction âThe Death of Ivan Illych and Other Storiesâ Leo Tolstoy literature âThe Mandiblesâ Lionel Schriver fiction âA Wrinkle in Timeâ Madeleine LâEngle young adult âM.C. Escher: His Life and Complete Graphic Workâ many non-fiction âMeditationsâ Marcus Aurelius philosophy âGenome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chaptersâ Matt Ridley science âPreyâ Michael Crichton science fiction âSphereâ Michael Crichton fiction âPersonal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophyâ Michael Polanyi philosophy âFlow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience: Steps Toward Enhancing the Quality of Lifeâ Mihaly Csikszentmihaly non-fiction âThe Epic of Gilgameshâ N. K. Sandars legendary fiction âAn Introduction to Population Geneticsâ Nielson and Slatkin non-fiction âEnderâs Gameâ Orson Scott Card science fiction âAlas Babylonâ Pat Frank science fiction âHackers and Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Ageâ Paul Graham non-fiction âThe Alchemistâ Paulo Coelho magical realism âDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheepâ Philip K Dick science fiction âThe Collected Stories of Philip K Dick Volume 5â Philip K Dick science fiction âThe Trial and Death of Socratesâ Plato philosophy âThe Soundscapeâ R. Murray Schafer non-fiction âDandelion Wineâ Ray Bradbury fiction âFahrenheit 451â Ray Bradbury fiction âSomething Wicked This Way Comesâ Ray Bradbury fiction âThe Martian Chroniclesâ Ray Bradbury science fiction âThe Selfish Geneâ Richard Dawkins non-fiction âSurely Youâre Joking, Mr Feynmanâ Richard Feynman biography âThe Creative Act: A Way of Livingâ Rick Rubin self-help âZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Valuesâ Robert Persig fiction âLetters From a Stoicâ Seneca philosophy âThe Art of Livingâ Sharon Lebell philosophy âThe Dark Towerâ Stephen King fiction âPiranesiâ Susanna Clarke magical realism âStories of Your Life and Othersâ Ted Chiang science fiction âThe Structure of Scientific Revolutionsâ Thomas Kuhn non-fiction âCommon Senseâ Thomas Paine philosophy âThe Kon-Tiki Expedition: A Raft Across the South Seasâ Thor Heyerdahl non-fiction âThe Kingdom of Speechâ Tom Wolf non-fiction âThe Right Stuffâ Tom Wolf historic fiction âTrue Names: and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontierâ Vernor Vinge cyberpunk âManâs Search for Meaningâ Viktor Frankl philosophy âThe Shape of Thingsâ Vilem Flusser non-fiction âThe Twilight Worldâ Werner Herzog historic fiction âNeuromancerâ William Gibson cyberpunk
Marakesh đ
Ś
npub1mtâŚmm7cz
2025-01-07 18:51:31
in reply to naddr1qqâŚ5p79
Author Public Key
npub1mt8x8vqvgtnwq97sphgep2fjswrqqtl4j7uyr667lyw7fuwwsjgs5mm7cz