Books

This list is in reverse-chronological order. It’s pretty accurate more recently, but just has the stand-outs I remember from before 2024.

• Intermezzo, Sally Rooney — Currently reading.
• Orbital, Samantha Harvey — BU’s inaugural Common Read. A fairly short, moving and mostly enjoyable love letter to the planet. Good choice.
• Cloud Atlas, David Mitchel — Loved it. Completely unique and absolutely top-notch writing.
• 1984, George Orwell — Good book, strong writing.
• 1Q84, Haruki Murakami — Absolutely loved it. Aomame, Tengo, Fuka-Eri, Air Chrysalis and the little people.
• Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata — While I enjoyed this book, I felt the autism angle muddied what could have been a more broadly applied critique on human society. While her autism is never named in the book, it’s made clear through her backstory and general thought process. Is it a book about being “normal” and living up to society’s expectations when doing so goes against your nature, or is it a statement on autism? To the book’s credit, it helps the reader relate to the protagonist — I can absolutely identify with the fulfillment she finds in her work and her reasons for wanting to stay there. But, to me, her autism felt like a crutch the book leans on to explain why she’s not “normal”. Does this woman’s place on the autism spectrum really change the message of the book?
• Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden — Really enjoyed this. Felt a bit betrayed by its choice of perspective. It’s fictionalized non-fiction? Written with liberties by an American guy who interviewed a geisha, which is also part of the book, and later sued him for defamation.
• The Midnight Library, Matt Haig — January 2025 — Nice story. Made me appreciate life a bit more. Didn’t love the writing style.
• Normal People, Sally Roony — Recommended by my daughter. Loved it. Great movie, too.
• Dune 3, Children of Dune — Also kind of boring.
• Dune 2, Messiah — Kind of boring.
• Indian New England Before the Mayflower, Howard S. Russell — A detailed account of how Native Americans lived in New England, their societal structure and the fingerprints they left behind that can be seen all over New England today. Highly recommended for New Englanders.
• Meditations, Marcus Aurelius — Meh, felt disorganized, repetitive, not particularly timely; way better sources for this info. If you’re studying Marcus Aurelius, this is a primary source. If you just want to learn about Stoicism, keep looking.
• Memoirs of a space traveler, Stanislaw Lem — 1950s sci-fi humor shorts, didn’t love it.
• The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu — Probably the most original sci-fi book I’ve read. Crazy mix of history and sci-fi and written beautifully.
• Xenocide, Orson Scott Card — Third book in the Ender’s series. Not as good as the second. Pales in comparison to the first. Still worth it.
• Hippie Woman Wild, Carol Schlanger — Fun memoir about a girl from Yale living in a hippie commune off the grid in the forests of Oregon in the 60s.
• Speaker For The Dead, Orson Scott Card — Second book in Ender’s Game trilogy. Not as good as the first, but still a good read.
• Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card — Sci-fi classic. Loved it.
• Breath, James Nestor — Changed how I breathe.
• Ready Player Two, Ernest Cline — Strong sequel to the first.
• Anthem, Ayn Rand — Quick read, nice intro to Rand.
• Pachinko, Min Jin Lee — Epic novel about Koreans in Japan, written beautifully.
• Being Mortal, Atul Gawande — Non-fiction about how people get old and die in America.
• Your Head Is a Houseboat, Campbell Walker — Light and entertaining self help read.
• Crying In H Mart: A Memoir, Michelle Zauner — Japanese Breakfast singer is also a fantastic writer with an incredibly relatable story.
• Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson — Hacker sci-fi fun.
• Bush Craft 101, Dave Canterbury — Informative and fun.
• Jimi Hendrix: The True Story of Jimi Hendrix, Sharon Lawrence — Surprising and quite sad.
• Emmanuelle, Emmanuelle Arsan — A masterclass in erotica.
• Tis: A Memoir, Frank McCourt — Almost as good as Angela’s Ashes. More fun and less depressing.
• Neuromancer, William Gibson — Sci-fi fun with AI.
• The Cannabis Manifesto, Steve DeAngelo — Eye-opening.
• Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain — Vivid and entertaining.
• 80/20 Running, Matt Fitzgerald — How to train when running.
• ChiRunning, Danny Dreyer — How to run.
• Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami — Beautifully written and mysterious.
• A Long Stride: The Story of Johnnie Walker, Nicholas Morgan — A wonderful read about one of my favorite Scotch brands (try the Green).
• After the Banquet, Yukio Mishima — Engrossing Japanese fiction. Absolutely loved this. Such beautiful writing.
• Whiskypedia, Charles MacLean — All the Scotch distilleries.
• Whiskey Master Class, Lew Bryson — Informative.
• Friday, Robert A. Heinlein — Fun sci-fi romp.
• Dune, Frank Herbert — Better than the movie(s), though the new ones are fantastic.
• High School, Tegan & Sara — Captivating memoir from the Canadian pop duo full of 90s kid nostalgia. The TV show they made was canceled after one season, which seemed odd given how good it was.
• Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid — A fun fictional trip through the 70’s rock touring scene.
• Designing Connected Content, Carrie Hane — My fellow tech doc nerds will like this.
• Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir, Frank McCourt — Devastatingly sad and exquisitely written.
• Ready Player One, Ernest Cline — A fun ride through 80s nostalgia and retro-future tech.
• The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood — Kind of tepid on this one.
• Rat Girl: A Memoir, Kristin Hersh — Throwing Muses singer is a little nuts and a fantastic writer.
• Mini Farming: Self Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre, Brett L Markham — This book got me into gardening.
• A Still Forest Pool, Achaan Chah — If you read one book about meditation, read this one.
• America’s First Daughter, Daniel R. Covey — Interesting historical novel about Thomas Jefferson’s daughter.
• Lost in Shangri-La, Mitchell Zuckoff — I remember enjoying this, but that’s about all I remember of it.
• John Muir: Nature Writings, John Muir — Best nature writer of all time. Have read several of his books.
• Wildwood, Colin Meloy — Death Cab singer can write, too.
• The Book of God, Walter Wangerin — The Bible in novel form. Really enjoyed it.
• Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein — Sci-fi classic must-read.
• Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern — Funny.
• Old Path White Clouds, Thich Nhat Hanh — Beautifully written. Perhaps the closest thing Buddhism has to a narrative Bible. I’ve read more than a dozen of Thich Nhat Hanh’s other books, too — they never disappoint.
• The Dhammapada, Eknath Easwaran — A luminous translation of the Buddhist classic that wonderfully summarizes Buddhist thought.
• Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand — Loved it almost as much as Fountainhead.
• The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand — Top notch fiction. Must read for anyone.
• The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien — Read in college. Crazy powerful and well written book.
• Jack London, a big compilation of his works. Loved it.
• The Long Walk, Steven King — I’ve read many of King’s books, but this is the one I remember the most. Really grabbed me. The other one that really sticks out is Hearts in Atlantis.
• Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse — I love this book and have read it multiple times since high school.
• Tao Te Ching: Backwards Down the Path, Jerry Dalton — Turned me on to Eastern religion, via my brother. Really poetic and beautiful.
• Walden, Henry David Thoreau — Perhaps my favorite book of all time.
• Danny the Champion of the World, Roald Dahl — First “real” book I remember reading, some time around 3rd or 4th grade. Did not become a reader for pleasure until college.