Books
I like to read. I think books are fantastic. More people should read more books. I should read more books. Here are the books I've read this year, along with some commentary and scores, ranked by how highly I recommend them.
2025
- Man's Search for Meaning (10/10) It took me a long time and a lot of courage to read this book. One of the best books I've ever read.
- Greenlights (10/10)- Matthew McConaughey's book, which is fantastic and should be listened to as an audiobook. Great for a road trip.
- Cabin (10/10) Guy in advertising buys a small cabin, renovates it himself, and changes his life along the way.
- Tunnel 29 (10/10) Guy escapes from East to West Germany and then spends the next few decades digging tunnels to help others. Unbelievable read.
- Eigentlich bin Ich ein super Typ (10/10) Mario Basler was one of the most interesting German soccer players ever (he partied hard, not super professional, but still a great player), and these are some of his stories.
- From Strength to Strength (9/10) Arthur Brooks explores how our careers and lives could evolve as we age.
- Ich bin dann mal weg (9/10) Hape Kerkeling is a German entertainer. This is his story of walking the Camino de Santiago, which is a bucket list item for me as well.
- Revenge of the Tipping Point (8/10) Loved the OG Tipping Point, but this one is pretty good too. Feels less relevant for marketers, though.
- Never Enough (8/10) I've heard this guy interviewed on a bunch of podcasts and enjoyed learning more about his life and entrepreneurial journey.
- Character Limit (8/10) I sold all my Twitter shares to Elon. After reading this book, I am glad I did.
- Meditations for Mortals (8/10) I like to meditate standing in rivers or riding bikes. However, this book is quite impressive, offering a one-month sprint to become a bit more mindful. Great bedside read.
- Abundance (8/10) Ezra Klein and Derek Thomson write about how and why we need to get back to becoming a society that is focused on building our way to a better life again.
- Who Knew (8/10) This is Barry Diller's biography, truly one of the greatest media entrepreneurs of our time. One of my buddies worked for him, so I wanted to learn more.
- Careless People (7/10) A great inside account of just how dysfunctional and unlikable places like Facebook can be.
- Kochland (7/10) The Koch brothers have built one of the largest private companies in America. It's fun to learn more about how they built it over the decades.
- Covered Calls for Beginners (6/10) I wanted to learn about covered calls. Basic read, but it did the trick.