First Group of Books I Read in 2025

 Reading Period: January 01 - Present

1. The Holloway Guide to Equity Compensation (P), by Joshua Levy

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48753169-the-holloway-guide-to-equity-compensation

    Simple book, very comprehensive overview of startup equity. I've been increasingly applying my financial expertise to the world of startups, and this was certainly a useful resource.

Last Five Books I Read in 2024

Reading Period: May 24 - December 31

1. Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (P), by Kenneth Rosen

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1800803.Discrete_Mathematics_and_its_Applications

    In preparation for a placement exam, which if I passed I would have tested out of a Discrete Math course at the University of Chicago, I ended up reading a majority of this book. Unfortunately, the exam did not work out and I ended up having to take the course anyway, during which I re-read nine of the thirteen chapters multiple times. This meant that I did hardly any other reading over the summer, and also that I now have a pretty good handle on the topics covered in discrete mathematics. I would categorize this book as tough, but fair. The material is fairly challenging, but it is clearly an excellent introduction to the mathematics that underpin computer science. I would guess that there aren't any "better" books on the subject, but I also think it is clear that there are better ways to learn the subject than through a textbook. 

2. Situational Awareness (P), by Leopold Aschenbrenner

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214290546-situational-awareness

    Probably the most thought-provoking book I have read in quite a few years. Leopold is clearly intelligent, and in general I share his outlook in broad strokes. I think he is too overconfident, as many, many others claim that scaling LLM architecture is not going to result in AGI. Leopold seems to think it isn't even a question. I listed to a podcast recently with Francois Chollet, the creator of Keras, who insists that LLMs struggle to generalize regardless of scaling. Leopold strongly disagrees, without proof, and claims that AGI by 2027 is the most likely scenario. Leopold claims to be in the "inner circle" of AI capability development, and he that he knows everyone of importance in the AI race, or at least is separated by no more than one mutual connection. He sees his previous investing prowess (longing NVIDIA in 2023 and shorting the market before COVID) as proof of his ability to call events, and he leans on his one-year tenure at OpenAI on their superalignment team for insider credibility. Leopold was let go by OpenAI and is now starting his own investment fund, at the ripe age of 22. He is too brash and overconfident in his writing, to a degree that I think harms his greater points. I don't trust someone who worked at an AI lab for a year when draws a straight line on a few data points and tells me that a curve is exponential, and I would guess that readers not ingrained in the same quirky social groups as Leopold won't buy many of his claims either. Personality quirks aside, what Leopold did with this book is extremely impressive.

    First off, I think he legitimately changed my opinion on a few things, especially his points about the importance of avoiding a close AI race between the US and China. Leopold states that "superintelligence is a matter of national security, and the United States must win." Also, he rightfully points out that AI research will be the first main target of automation. Once we get AGI, why waste time with any area of development in the world except AI research, if more AI research will make smarter models that have better judgement? In addition, Leopold find the idea of Silicon Valley CEOs deploying superintelligence as rightfully ridiculous, and has extremely insightful views on the competitive dynamics within geopolitics and how history will likely repeat itself. I find his views as innovative as they are terrifying, but I think he is more or less correct. He is also fearful of AI use by totalitarian regimes, as he states:

"A dictator who wields the power of superintelligence would command concentrated power unlike any we’ve ever seen. In addition to being able to impose their will on other countries, they could enshrine their rule internally. Millions of AI controlled robotic law enforcement agents could police their populace; mass surveillance would be hypercharged; dictator loyal AIs could individually assess every citizen for dissent, with advanced near-perfect lie detection rooting out any disloyalty."

    Leopold is a geopolitical realist, and he has his head firmly grounded in the history of war and competition we have seen play out over humanity's lifespan. I think perhaps the only downside of this book from a utilitarian perspective is that it could "wake up" China to the race dynamics happening, but it is probably more important that the dynamics of the new cold war be realized by those in the US early, even at this risk. What I find strange about this book is that I think Leopold might have crazy foresight. Sure, it could all be brash, youthful arrogance, but some of these ideas make almost too much sense. I am not going declare this book prophecy. But if Leopold is as smart as he thinks he is, he might as well be a prophet. 

3. The Picture of Dorian Gray (P), by Oscar Wilde

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5297.The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray

    "To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable." One of the wittiest books I have ever read, and an altogether pleasant read. Lord Henry is certainly the funniest character, who goes on frequent tirades such as the following: "men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious; both are disappointed", and "anybody can be good in the country. There are no temptations there." Lord Henry's view on women is what you would classify today as boomer-humor, as in "women, as some witty Frenchman once put it, inspire us with the desire to do masterpieces, and always prevent us from carrying them out," and "the only way a woman can ever reform a man is by boring him so completely that he loses all possible interest in life." Lord Henry believes that only the rich and interesting have social value, as "even the cardinal virtues cannot atone for half-cold entrees." 

    Lordy Henry mentors Dorian Gray, a beautiful and empty man who says things like: "I have never searched for happiness. Who wants happiness? I have searched for pleasure." This book, overall, is half witty banter between Lord Henry and others and half Dorian Gray doing bad stuff both because of and in spite of his beauty. This book took me a while to get through despite its short length, but I think it is well worth the read if you like Oscar Wilde.

4. Number the Stars (A), by Lois Lowry

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47281.Number_the_Stars

    A surprisingly good book, especially since it is only 137 pages. The book follows a young girl named Annemarie during the Nazi occupation of Denmark during WWII. Annemarie's family is assisting with the hiding of their Jewish neighbors and their transportation to an unoccupied Sweden, and the entire narrative is thus displayed through a 10-year old girl's perspective. I have a hard time disliking anything WWII related, and this was no exception. I learned a lot, and the subject matter was moving. I'd certainly recommend reading.

5. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (P), by Ursula K LeGuin

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92625.The_Ones_Who_Walk_Away_from_Omelas

    Incredibly good short story. It really hits on a very interesting, profound set of moral questions. Everyone should read this, perhaps multiple times. I'd like to hope that I would be the sort of person to walk away from Omelas.

First 10 Books I Read in 2024

 Reading Period: January 1 - May 24

1. The Well of Ascension (A), by Brandon Sanderson

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68429.The_Well_of_Ascension

    In a tragic start to my year, I read the first Brandon Sanderson book that I really did not like. Granted, I listed to the entire audiboook during an ultramarathon, and frankly I wasn't in the best mood during the 36-hour race in which I did not sleep a second. Still, I am certain that I would have disliked the book regardless. The plot was slow, the characters were not interesting, and Brandon breaks his own rule: characters should be smart and act in logical ways that don't endlessly frustrate the reader.

    Historically, many television romances with poor writing fall victim to the same tropes over and over again. The most common one that frustrates me is some easily-fixable miscommunication that is dragged out endlessly in order to create conflict between characters. Every time, this simple mis-communication could be solved with ten seconds of dialogue (example: "oh that was my cousin that you saw at my apartment! Not my ex-girlfriend! I get how you were confused, but here's a picture of her as proof). Horror genres often offend me for similar reasons. Often a main character will shoot a "bad guy" once in the stomach, and, without any checking or proof, the main character will walk away and assume that the bad guy is dead. Of course, they are never correct. Still, the worst horror-trope is when characters trust obvious villains that anyone with a single brain cell would be suspicious of. I find myself screaming a the screen, yelling "the guy literally looks exactly like a vampire! His fangs are dripping with blood!" Still, from time to time I enjoy this. Especially if the intent of the writers is to provoke such a reaction. The audience is supposed to be "in-on-it" for most horror films, expecting dumb characters who communicate horribly, make terrible decisions, and trust obviously untrustworthy people. But frankly, I expect more from Brandon Sanderson. 

    A microcosm of my dislike of this book is displayed clearly in relationship between Vin and Zane. Zane is the worst character Brandon has ever created, and this character dynamic is easily the most unbelievable and frustrating idea of his as well, for all of the lazy "trope" reasons listed above. I don't honestly have a lot to say positive about the book, except for the fact that the ending was executed well. But a good ending cannot sway my opinion of the 80% of the book that didn't resonate.

2. Never Finished (A), by David Goggins

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63079845-never-finished

    Also tragic. Simply not a well written book, and there was no content in here that wasn't already covered in much more impactful fashion in Can't Hurt Me. Honestly, David comes off very poorly in this book, seeming like more of a braggart and injury-prone masochist than before. Unfortunately, I feel like his character display in this book makes his previous book worse and less psychologically impactful.

3. Warbreaker (A), by Brandon Sanderson

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1268479.Warbreaker

    Thank the God Emperor! An actually great book, and Brandon Sanderson back in true form! Words cannot express how happy I am to read a very solid addition to the Cosmere, especially after my last read. The worldbuilding is well executed, the characters are engaging, and everyone acts logically! Sure, the characters make pretty grave mistakes that are hammed up a bit, but these mistakes are in character and certainly more interesting than frustrating. The romance is great, the mystery is intriguing, and man do I love Lightsong the Bold. Excited for the next read.

4. The Coming Wave (A), by Mustafa Suleyman

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90590134-the-coming-wave

    Awesome book. My central disagreement is regarding Mustafa's insistence that the superintelligence-related risks of AI are overdone and not really worth worrying about. Also, he is fairly dismissive of AI consciousness and general alignment issues, and he is much more focused on near-term risks and the eventual power struggle that will cloud AI development. I strongly agree with the magnitude of AI progress that Mustafa insists will happen. He claims, "over the next ten years, AI will be the greatest force amplifier in history." Still, he sort of sees a path towards decentralization, as many of the current AI products (such as Chat GPT) are in the hands of millions of users. According to Mustafa, everyone has access to the best smart phones in the world, and everyone has access to the best chatbots. He extrapolates from here that this trend will continue, and people will continue to maintain somewhat equal access to the smartest AIs. This, in my opinion, is  clearly wrong. The idea that everyone will have an AGI in their pocket, and thus small actors will be able to attack the state with cyberattacks and drones, is in my opinion the wrong issue to think about. In reality, all roads lead to centralization, as there are winner-take-all dynamics at play with whoever controls the smartest AIs.

    Let's take a look at China. If Alibaba developed ASI, and it was swiftly controlled by the CCP, it is hard to see how individuals will maintain access to AIs that in any way rival the ASI. If the CCP is willing to curb the human rights of millions of people, why would they not do the same for billions? Or trillions? Mustafa seems to think AI progress is going to be fairly linear, in that biomedical advances and other technologies will play a huge role in this "coming wave." As Yudkowsky says, AI is not the "new electricity," its something smarter than you. In my opinion, AI is really the only relevant driving force of the future, all of Mustafa's other points pale in comparison to anything that gets past the point of AGI.

5. The Yellow Wallpaper (A), by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/286957.The_Yellow_Wall_Paper

    Interesting read, although very short. I wanted to kickstart my reading again after taking a lot of time off for studying, and this was a good window back into good fiction.

6. A Guide to Starting Your Hedge Fund (P), by Erik Serrano Berntsen

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25180966-a-guide-to-starting-your-hedge-fund

    Not really that great of a book for many reasons. This book is a technical guide to starting a hedge fund, complete with detailed legal instructions and various marketing/management guidelines. Starting a hedge fund is basically the same as starting a mutual fund company, and there is a huge overlap between the two (performance attributions, marketing material, legal structure). The main difference is simply the strategy implemented, and the way in which risk is measured. As I figured, the greatest obstacle is fundraising, a part of the business most would love to avoid.

7. The War on the West (A), by Douglass Murray

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58838847-the-war-on-the-west

    Eh, really not worth the read. Douglass sets out to defend the West's honor and crush the silly liberal opposition to Western history, culture, and progress. I think he makes a lot of valid points, but his argument style is needlessly confrontational in order to steer off the reader's boredom. He also has some bad arguments. For example, in his discussions of BLM and hate crimes, he lists out an extensive number of anecdotes of hate crimes that were faked. This is to point out that racism is overblown and that white liberals suck, which may or may not be true. But Douglass doesn't have the numbers and/or evidence to back any of this up. His anecdote-based-argument is destroyed by a single example, such as the racist attack in Charlottesville where a white supremist drove a car through a crowd, killing someone. All it takes is a few of these sort of examples and Douglass's credibility evaporates. He just needs better arguments or a more interesting topic.

8. The Hero of Ages (A), by Brandon Sanderson

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767793-the-hero-of-ages

    Honestly, not my favorite Sanderson novel but miles better than the previous book in the series (The Well of Ascension). The end nicely wrapped up the Mistborn series, a series that I found pretty lackluster start of finish. Still, this endpoint to the trilogy was certainly the best in the series, and there are a few moments that stick out as really cool. The action was great, and some of the bad plot points were wrapped up in the previous novel, so we didn't have to sit through any more of the horrors of the Vin and Zane romance. 

9. The Secret History (P), by Donna Tart

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29044.The_Secret_History

    Donna is a very good writer. Still, this book is entirely too long for what it was. I read the first 250 pages about a year ago, and for the life of me could not bare to attempt the next 250 pages. I finally mustered up the courage to power through, and after all was said and done I felt pretty underwhelmed. The book follows a group of college students who study classic literature and language under the wing of a professor named Julian. Julian says things like "I'll tell you what the classics are. Wars and homos." and "Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming." The students are all really weird, and from an outsiders perspective I was hoping the whole time that  they all got hit by a bus. The drama is sort of interesting, I just wished the book was way more fast paced. There are some good throwaway lines I liked a lot, such as "Love doesn't conquer everything. And whoever thinks it does is a fool." But overall I just don't think this was that good of a story, and I wouldn't recommend the book.

10. When Breath Becomes Air (P), by Paul Kalanithi

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25899336-when-breath-becomes-air

    Similar to The Last Lecture, this book follows a man who has a terminal illness and decides to chronicle his life and his thoughts on life and death before he passes away. Paul is a decent writer and his story is moving, but I wish he had a more completed book that had more philosophical musings. The prologue, for example, is excellent. The next part of the book chronicles his life and career as a doctor, and the end section is meant to chronicle Paul's diagnosis and his outlook moments from death. Unfortunately, I don't think he really had time to write anything super insightful at the end, and the book is thus mostly full of tales of Paul's life as a doctor (which are interesting and made me confident that I would never enjoy anything in the medical field). Maybe I demand too much from the terminally ill, but I think there are many ways these sorts of books could be made more powerful and thought-provoking.

Eleventh 10 Books I Read in 2023

Reading Period: December 1 - December 31

1. Number Go Up (A), by Zeke Faux

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123276708-number-go-up

    Interesting read, I liked it better than Going Infinite for sure. I think it humanized SBF in a way that made me really feel for him, despite Zeke's massively pessimistic view on crypto. Maybe I just relate more to cynics, but I really enjoyed the way that Zeke blatantly dunked on blockchain technology at every opportunity. Zeke portrays the cryptocurrency space as way more toxic, fraudulent, and hilarious than I remember, and his quick jabs at the weird and eccentric hustlers at places like Tether made this an entertaining read. Still, I think his bias went too far, to the point of being uninformed. He repeats over and over again that this technology is untraceable, which is laughably far from the truth especially in 2023. He makes a good point when he digs into how completely the promise of crypto has failed the unbanked, poverty-stricken people of the world, but I think he reads too much into how crypto has paved a path for evil. Even in a crypto-less world, there are still going to be compounds where individuals are tricked into slave labor and forced to scam others. Maybe crypto makes scamming marginally easier, but the dark world of blackmail and forced labor would thrive regardless.

    Zeke is a good journalist. He presents himself as the reasonable man in a world full of weirdos, which at some level he is (especially in the midst of a Bitcoin conference). But I think he plays this hand too much, to the point where it harms the reading experience. Still worth the read, as long as you don't take Zeke as seriously as he takes himself.

2. The Master and Margarita (A), by Mikhail Bulgakov

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117833.The_Master_and_Margarita

    Thoroughly entertaining book. I really enjoyed exploring Mikhail's hilarious and thought-provoking Russian world of devils and chaos. There was a lot going on and many characters, from Pontius Pilate, to Margarita the witch, to Satan, and it was a bit hard for me to keep track of it all. I probably missed some satirical references and Russian-specific humor, but overall enjoyed the book a lot.

3. The Sunlit Man (P), by Brandon Sanderson

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60531420-the-sunlit-man

    As I say every time, the man does not miss. Great characters, great worldbuilding, fantastic story. Just another great addition to the cosmere.

4. Sapiens (A), by Yuval Noah Harari

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23692271-sapiens

    I tried reading this book a few times and finally just crushed the audiobook during one of my long weekend runs. This was a pretty solid book, and I was pleasantly surprised by Yuval's very objective, scientific, and nihilistic outlook on humanity. The lens he uses to look at the world is extremely interesting, and I'm really glad to have read the book. Some of his arguments are purposefully biased, but I don't think that detracts too much from the book. Yuval is trying to be thought-provoking, and in that he succeeds.

5. Existentialism is a Humanism (P), by Jean-Paul Satre

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51985.Existentialism_is_a_Humanism

    This was certainly interesting. Jean-Paul is an existentialist. He believes that there is no God, and thus "everything is permissible." He believes this makes humans free, as we are no bound by some great "causality" that determines our lives, and our circumstances cannot be blamed for our lives as a result. So, stop hiding behind your excuses, and write that book. Because history and the world will remember that regardless of your background, you not doing something just results in not doing something. A life where you don't take advantage of this existential freedom is one of wasted potential.

 

   "For existentialists there is no love other than the deeds of love; no potential for love other than that which is manifested in loving. There is no genius other than hat which is expressed in works of art; the genius of Proust resides in the totality of his works; the genius of Racine is found in the series of his tragedies, outside of which there is nothing. Why should we attribute to Racine the ability to write yet another tragedy when that's precisely what he did not do? In life, a man commits himself and draws his own portrait, outside of which there is nothing."

    I don't really agree with Jean-Paul in a lot of ways. I feel like the beauty of a nihilistic outlook is really only displayed in the works of Emil Cioran, and everyone else (Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Satre) kind of takes a wimpy way out. There is something badass about saying that nothing matters and everything is permissible, and then refusing to try to draw some form of "meaningful" conclusion about it. Regardless, when reading this I didn't really understand Jean-Paul's take on life and freedom. This example is not his argument, but I don't like when philosophers say things like "only once we recognize that there are no rules can we truly be free." Either everything is predetermined and humans have no agency, or not. I don't really see an in-between, and I don't think being "clued-in" to some philosophical ideas changes your objective ability to navigate life in a now "meaningful" way. I wish these writings went a bit deeper, but I at least have an idea of how Jean-Paul thinks. And I just love existential philosophy, so I'll take all that I can get.

6. The Devil Finds Work (A), by James Baldwin

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/743831.The_Devil_Finds_Work

    James is an incredible writer, and there are certainly flashes of brilliance in this book. However, the essays are for the most part commenting on books and movies that I have not seen, and thus I am quite sure I missed the context of a lot of them. Probably one of James's least accessible works.

7. Parkinson's Law (P), by Cyril Parkinson

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1448236.Parkinson_s_Law

    Parkinson's law is the observation that the allotted time given to a task is precisely the time it takes to complete the task. This mostly relates to government bureaucracy, as officials want subordinates who are incompetent (and thus not a threat), and officials enjoy making work for other officials. This book is a satire, a comedic journey through a variety of topics such as government committees, retirement, and cocktail parties. Cyril uses overly complex mathematical equations to state how to navigate the bizarre world we live in, and his dry humor and wit makes for an entertaining read. The book is pretty slow at points, but if you are at a dead-end job or liked Bullshit Jobs, this is a decent read.

“The defect in the intelligence test is that high marks are gained by those who subsequently prove to be practically illiterate.”

8. Less Than Zero (P), by Bret Easton Ellis

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9915.Less_Than_Zero

    The Los Angeles counterpart to the New York of Bright Lights, Big City. Full of empty, vapid, morally deficient characters who don't do a whole lot. The book is a slow-moving chronicle of rich eighteen year-olds who turn to drugs, sex, and kidnapping and torture, not to feel something, but rather because their existence is meaningless and so is life. Warning: this book has some very, very messed up scenes. The worst I have read. But I think they added to the theme. This book isn't perfect, but it is very hard to put down and very thought provoking.

    The book opens with the line "people are afraid to merge on the freeways in Los Angeles." Towards the end of the book, the narrator says: 

"Before I left, a woman had her throat slit and was thrown from a moving car in Venice; a series of fires raged out of control in Chatsworth, the work of an arsonist; a man in Encino killed his wife and two children. Four teenagers, none of whom I knew, died in a car accident on Pacific Coast Highway. Muriel was readmitted to Cedars-Sinai. A guy, nicknamed Conan, killed himself at a fraternity party in U.C.L.A."

    This theme of the book is shown in the contrast between these statements. The world is full of horrible things: violence, rape, and death. Life is scary, and terrifying events surround us at all times. Despite all the tragedy and terror that permeate the lives of others, we choose to ignore most of it in order to function. Thus, what really scares most people is something small and stupid like merging onto a highway. The narrator says that "it's less painful if I don't care." He lives a meaningless life of total apathy and cowardice, just like all the other characters. 

    I saw this book as a pretty interesting criticism of LA culture. One character is told "you're a beautiful boy and that's all that matters," and then later, the narrator is told "you're a beautiful boy, Clay, but that's about it." The characters are all materialistic and empty, and they just disappear into whatever hedonistic desires they fancy at any moment. I'm sort of really into these 1980's novels tied to a particular city. They resonate with me for some reason, so I'm going to look for more.

9. Post Office (P), by Charles Bukowski

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40409718-post-office

    Sort of an interesting read, I can't tell if  I liked it or not. The main character is the author's alter ego, Hank. The story is a bit motivating, as I was disgusted by Hank and his life. Hank's meaningless job is displayed as especially frustrating. The narrator says: "well, as the boys said, you had to work somewhere. So they accepted what there was. This was the wisdom of the slave." Part of the triumph of the book is that Hank breaks out of the cycle, finally quitting his monotone job where he wasted his life. Overall, I have pretty mixed emotions. I may read a few more of Charles's books to fully form an opinion.

10. Ethan Frome (P), by Edith Wharton

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5246.Ethan_Frome

    Sort of a hilarious way to end my reading year. This book is considered a classic, but it is also widely hated. The main character is an idiot, a sort of weak, cowardly individual who is in love with his wife's cousin. The book's ending is pretty nonsensical and certainly not my favorite, but I overall had a soft spot for the story. It's good, not great, and definitely a conversation starter. 

Tenth 10 Books I Read in 2023

Reading Period: October 23 - November 30

1. Training Essentials for Ultrarunning (A), by Jason Koop

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27040062-training-essentials-for-ultrarunning

    Solid overview of ultramarathon training tips. Jason is clearly an expert in the field, and I think he is probably right in that runners should see ultrarunning in the same light as they view any other sport. Sure, the numbers are big and scary, but athletes still need to be rigorous planners and focus heavily on recovery. I plan to use some of Jason's advice in my upcoming endeavors, as I am sure it will be useful.

2. The Haunting of Hill House (A), by Shirley Jackson

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89717.The_Haunting_of_Hill_House

    After watching the television series, I decided to give the book a try. Overall, I think it was pretty much what I expected. Not the scariest story that I've ever read, but there were some creepy moments that probably made it worth the read. The horror genre as a whole has probably progressed in a much more existential and violent fashion since this book was published, so it's possible that this book was worth all the hype at the time.

3. Glock (A), by Paul Barrett

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12254079-glock

    Well, if you are interested in this history of the Glock, this book is for you. I'm sort of navigating my way through this strange genre of firearm history, and this was a pretty solid addition. The book is very detailed and well researched, but I would skip unless you like this particular niche.

4. The Gun (A), by C.J. Chivers

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7775851-the-gun

    Very intriguing book that chronicles the making of the first automatic firearms and follows through to the impact of small arms in modern day conflicts. The AK-47 is the real standout of the book, with probably half of the book chronicling the history and impact of the AK. This book is just as niche as Glock, but I found the knowledge way more applicable and interesting. Probably my last book about guns, although I did enjoy this short detour.

5. Between Two Fires (A), by Christopher Buehlman

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13543121-between-two-fires

    Metal. That is the best word I can think of describes this book. Angels and demons fight over the fate of humanity, while a knight and a little girl cross the plague-ridden countryside on a quest to turn the tide of the war. It's a little strange to see Christian mythology transformed in such a way, and there are certainly horrifying, dark scenes that I will probably remember for a long time. Do not read if you are very Christian or easily offended. If you are ready for some twisted, medieval ass-kicking, I suggest you take the day off, turn up the death metal on your stereo, and strap in.

6. Going Infinite (A), by Michael Lewis

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/149105520-going-infinite

    I sort of agree with the critics that Michael missed the point here. First off, it is not clear to me at any point in the book that Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, is intelligent. Sure, he was apparently a somewhat successful trader at Jane Street (despite posting a $300 million loss), but what separates him from another weird, autistic oddball who goes to MIT and gets an entry level job quant trading? SBF being a sour, pessimistic weirdo who sleeps on a bean bag chair does not make him a genius, regardless of the temporary dollars to his name (which appear to have been gained through a delicate mix of luck and fraud). In terms of being a tycoon, what exactly was so great about his crypto strategy or his business execution? After picking up pennies through arbitrage, it seems that the inefficiencies of the crypto market largely disappeared and Alameda research struggled immensely. FTX was clearly a failed company, a point that Michael totally missed. The lack of accounting, compliance, and safety infrastructure at such a company is more than incompetence, it is a straight up unethical breach of fiduciary duty. Sure, people gave him money. They did this despite him playing video games all day (instead of doing anything actually useful to protect his investors), but getting away with this does not make him smart, it just means that VC's are dumb.

    I am an effective altruist. I go to conferences, I've met a lot of people in the space, and thinking about EA topics takes up an astounding amount of my time. I've had lengthy conversations with Jane Street employees who have met Sam, and I've met amazing individuals who actually have made an awesome impact on the world. Frankly, it's a community that constantly inspires me and motivates me to be a better person.

    Sam, all things considered, was probably the least effective altruist that has ever existed. In addition to severely harming the movement, he was very clearly not "effective" at prioritizing or doing a simple "expected value" calculation, despite Michael's constant insistence that SBF only thought in these terms. The sheer amount of money spent on ridiculous, unplanned real estate alone, money that could have saved many lives, points to this fact. The idea that FTX should not have a robust and complete accounting system is far from "effective" or "intelligent." The thought that Sam somehow did not play an instrumental part in stealing customer funds to try to double down on getting back in the green on trading profits, shows very clearly that he was more than just naïve. Personally, I am of the opinion that Sam was a known liar and scam artist who contributed great harm to society. Maybe his justification was actually to one day (but when? Like seriously when was he going to do all of the good?) donate his empire, but as Michael points out, there were clearly ways he could have done so (Alameda borrowing, risk controls, etc.) without leaving himself exposed to such incredible downside risk. 

    Risk management is probably the most important part of being a good trader. Clearly, SBF will go down in history as one of the worst, despite a totally stacked deck. I am seriously astounded that Alameda lost so much money despite a scorching hot bull market in where SBF could sell vaporware and borrow infinite money from customers. 

    Overall, I don't think that this book was particularly good. It was clearly rushed, with the first half written before the scandal and the second half written in a half-baked attempt to bring the story to the present day. I would have enjoyed a much deeper conversation on the fiduciary duty that a business owner has to his or her clients, a discussion of how exactly SBF fit into the EA narrative, and a more complex look into where the client money actually went (instead of Michael's halfhearted accounting). Oh well, maybe another book will do the story justice.

7. Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (P), by Brandon Sanderson

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25072517-shadows-for-silence-in-the-forests-of-hell

    Not my favorite Brandon Sanderson book, but certainly not bad. A lot more disturbing than his other books, and the horror element really threw me for a loop. I think the story and characters were still pretty good, but I don't think it's really comparable to his other books or novellas. The Emperor's Soul is still his best novella by a pretty wide margin.

8. Utilitarianism (P), by John Stuart Mill

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/584637.Utilitarianism

    Pretty interesting read, especially given my Effective Altruist bent. John states the utilitarian line: good things promote happiness and bad things promote the opposite of happiness. Then, he digs in much deeper and makes some important contributions to the philosophy. For the most part, this book is John explaining how consequentialism is the backbone of most moral philosophies. He states that being virtuous has a strong utilitarian backing and explanation, but the utilitarian position simply takes it one step further and states that there are important things besides virtue. I've always felt that utilitarianism and individual liberty were dissimilar, and I felt that my personal "gluing" of them together required some stroke of brilliance in order to avoid cognitive dissonance. Well, turns out John is sort of a legend in both camps and a staunch defender of both.

    John states "to have a right, then, is I conceive, to have something which society ought to defend me in the possession of. If the objector goes on to ask why it ought, I can give him no other reason than general utility." His point is that without individual rights, the human experience cannot possibly be one of happiness and flourishing. If we can be deprived of our happiness and freedom at any moment, what is it worth? John states that individual rights are a "security no human being can possibly do without; on it we depend for all our immunity from evil". Basically, a world where everyone uses their own personal utilitarian calculus and tramples over each other to reach the "greater good" is a horrifying place, and the optimal society is likely one that champions individual rights and freedoms, but does so in the name of the greater good. What irony! 

    Probably my favorite contribution of John to utilitarianism is his distinction between beings with different mental faculties. He says that "a being of higher faculties requires more to make him happy, is capable probably of more acute suffering, and is certainly accessible to it at more points, than one of an inferior type, but in spite of these liabilities, he can never really wish to sink into what he fells to be a lower grade of existence." The better wording of this is as follows: "it is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is because they only know their  own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides."

    I think most Effective Altruists choose to ignore this to too large of a degree. It is clear to me that there is some sort of intrinsic "utility" to higher level forms of thinking. Call this what you want, elegance, beauty, artistic brilliance, deep romance, etc., but some form of "intelligence" tips the calculation between happy pig and sad human. "Happiness" as a measure and even "well-being" are sort of over-rated, in my opinion, and I wish I had a greater read on how to calculate that missing part of the equation. We, as humans, know this intrinsically. Sure, we can shut off all of our curiosity and inject Soma into our veins 24/7, but some part of that is convinced that this world would be suboptimal. For others, but for us as well. Figuring out why is the essential struggle of the utilitarian movement. 

    

    John states that "next to selfishness, the principal cause which makes life unsatisfactory, is want of mental cultivation." He claims that our inability to satisfy our curiosity and fill in our gaps of knowledge leads to a sort of mental unhappiness. I found this really relevant to my life, as I definitely have chosen to take the trade of thinking and stressing about events outside my control (AI alignment, nuclear war, other EA stuff) quite constantly, instead of just chilling out and enjoying my time with video games and fiction books. Still, I don't regret this trade, and I don't think I'll ever fall onto the side of relaxation and bliss. Happiness, in my opinion, is a silly target to have. I feel like I would live another wasteful life if I didn't try to do a lot of good with the one life I have, regardless if I could have been "happier" otherwise. Thinking about the hardest and most distressing topics is something I probably do too much of, but I don't see another path forward. We recognize we could maybe be happier if we were ignorant, but choose not to, for the benefit of others. That is the true struggle, and the true beauty, of being a utilitarian.

9. The Most Dangerous Game (P), by Richard Connell

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157076.The_Most_Dangerous_Game

    Pretty short book, detailing a stranded sailor who is hunted by a murderous Russian on a deserted island. Better than I expected, and worth the hour or less read for sure.

10. Nothing Personal (A), by James Baldwin

    I really like James's writing. This is his shortest book, and my main problem was actually more related to the reader of the audiobook than anything else. The narrator talked at length about how James's writing relates to modern events like the election of Trump and white supremacy. Which is fine, it's just not really what I signed up to listen to. I'd rather have stuck to the nuanced and elegant takes that James delivers.

Ninth 10 Books I Read in 2023

 Reading Period: October 2 - October 22

1. Notes from Underground (A), by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49455.Notes_from_Underground

    Right up my alley, that's for sure. Still, it is hard to judge this novel without having a better understanding of the entirety of Fyodor's work. While this book was great, and I loved the philosophical and self-reflective content, it is certainly not enough to cull my appetite. After getting a taste of what Fyodor is able to do, I'll certainly seek out more. Maybe then my thoughts, outside of "wow I love this," will become clearer.

2. As I Lay Dying (A), by William Faulkner

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77013.As_I_Lay_Dying

    Not for me. I'm sure there are some people who love this sort of stream of consciousness writing style and rugged "realist" plot. For me, it all felt overdone, boring, and tacky. I'd rank this as one of my least enjoyable reads, probably in the bottom two or three books I've read in my life.

3. The Pearl (A), by John Steinbeck

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5308.The_Pearl

    Honestly, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot was pretty simple and there's not really a complex lesson to take away, but the writing quality was solid. John is pretty talented, and I figure I should tackle his better known works before the end of the year is up.

4. The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (A), by Martin Bunton

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17070375-the-palestinian-israeli-conflict

    Given my immense level of ignorance about one of the world's most complicated and distressing issue, I figured I'd start small with this audiobook by Martin. Now, I feel much more informed about the historical context of the Israel/Palestine conflict, but I am no more resolved on the solution. Recent tragic events in Israel have brought this conflict to the forefront of world news, so I will likely be diving deeper into my thoughts over the coming months.

5. On Liberty (P), by John Stuart Mill

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/385228.On_Liberty

    Thoroughly interesting read. John discusses the struggle between liberty and authority. He states that the "will of the people" is a synonym for "will of the most numerous or the most active part of the people," and that oppression of minority opinion by this group must be avoided. Society itself can be oppressive, imposing rules and practices that can infringe on individual rights. Thus, "there needs protection against the tyranny of prevailing opinion and feeling." This is a really good argument against aggressive law making, and in favor of laws that blanket protect individual rights. The will of the majority of the current generation should not dictate the freedom of future generations!

    John is very motivating. He claims that the great renaissances in art and science have one thing in common: they defy authority. They push boundaries, not only cultural and societal, but also religious and moral. It's a waste to refuse to follow your independent, innovative thoughts just because other people might disapprove. Conformity, according to John, can shove it. In our world, the main question people ask is: what have other people in my position done? And they use that answer to guide their lives. What a waste!

    There are a few other points I'd like to mention. First, John states that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant." If people have sound minds, which can be persuaded and changed, you have no right to force them into anything. Second, a lot of our current views (this was written in 1859) are silly. In some court systems, jurymen who refuse to profess a belief in God are barred from testifying, because some are convinced that atheists are liars. John rightfully points out that this is self-defeating, as you are left with the atheists who are actually willing to lie, and exclude the honest ones. Somewhat randomly, John has some interesting quotes on Christianity. I'll end with these, but not first without reiterating that this was an extremely insightful book.

"Christian morality (so called) has all the characters of a reaction; it is, in great part, a protest against Paganism. Its ideal is negative rather than positive; passive rather than active; Innocence rather than Nobleness; Abstinence from Evil, rather than energetic Pursuit of Good: in its precepts (as has been well said) "thou shalt not" predominates unduly over "thou shalt.""

"All Christians believe that the blessed are the poor and humble, and those who are ill-used by the world; that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven; that they should judge not, lest they be judged; that they should swear not at all; that they should love their neighbor as themselves; that if one take their cloak, they should give him their coat also; that they should take no thought for the morrow; that if they would be perfect, they should sell all that they have and give it to the poor. They are not insincere when they say that they believe these things. They do believe them, as people believe what they have always heard lauded and never discussed. But in the sense of that living belief which regulates conduct, they believe these doctrines just up to the point to which it is usual to act upon them. The doctrines in their integrity are serviceable to pelt adversaries with; and it is understood that they are to be put forward (when possible) as the reasons for whatever people do that they think laudable. But any one who reminded them that the maxims require an infinity of things which they never even think of doing would gain nothing but to be classed among those very unpopular characters who affect to be better than other people. The doctrines have no hold on ordinary believers—are not a power in their minds. They have an habitual respect for the sound of them, but no feeling which spreads from the words to the things signified, and forces the mind to take them in, and make them conform to the formula. Whenever conduct is concerned, they look round for Mr. A and B to direct them how far to go in obeying Christ."

6. The Old Man and the Sea (A), by Ernest Hemingway

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2165.The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea

    Name a more iconic duo than a man and his fish. You can't. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I saw the deeper meaning as the struggle between life and death, and the futility of it all. Being able to draw my own conclusions, and not have to take a literature exam after, probably led to me liking this book far more than the general public.

7. American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms (A), by Chris Kyle

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16248264-american-gun

    Some people I work with love history, especially the history of American firearms. I figured I'd venture out from a point of complete ignorance, to at least knowing why the M1 Garand was such a significant rifle and what exactly a 1911 is. This book allowed me to accomplish this, but I don't think it was particularly good in any other sense.

8. Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn (A), by Daniel Gordis

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28693693-israel

    This book was a supremely good overview of the history of Israel. I felt that Daniel did a very good job focusing on the political conditions relevant to the creation of Israel and the subsequent military and economic conditions that led to Israel's survival in the region. I think that Daniel overstepped a bit, specifically in his desire to include random tidbits of Israeli movies, music, and art into his story. These injections felt forced and irrelevant, and I don't think added any truly useful information. Also, Daniel is a passionate defender of Israeli, and his bias shows clearly. His takes may very well be justified, but it is hard to not acknowledge that you a reading a very slanted view of Israeli history.

9. Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS (A), by Joby Warrick

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25241317-black-flags

    Incredibly interesting read. The most terrifying terrorist organization of the past century was not created in a vacuum. The specific events leading to the formation of ISIS, specifically the influence of US intervention in Iraq and the fallout from the Syrian war, were very fascinating. I found it interesting that the sheer brutality of ISIS and its terror attacks were a strong contributor to its rapid rise (radical Islamists bent on volunteering), but also led directly to its downfall. Carrying out terror attacks on Muslims and embracing true brutality gave the West and its allies moral license to destroy ISIS at any cost, which thanks be to god they did. Not a controversial take, but I really, really do not like terrorism.

10. The Sense of an Ending (A), by Julian Barnes

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10746542-the-sense-of-an-ending

    Wasted potential. The beginning of the book was so interesting and engaging, but in the end the book fell flat. The confusing and non-reliable narrating frustrated me, but what was more frustrating was the lack of closure. I looked up different interpretations of the ending, and each one of them felt cheap and half-baked.

Eighth 10 Books I Read in 2023

Reading Period: August 18 - October 2

1. Dark Sun (A), by Richard Rhodes

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15803832-dark-sun

    I made it a point to wrap up my nuclear phase last year, but after seeing Oppenheimer I succumbed to temptation. It is interesting to see that in the wake of this movie a lot of the public is being confronted with thoughts that I've previously gotten pretty deep into. Dark Sun was really good, it follows on from where The Making of the Atomic Bomb left off, fulfilling the atomic story by detailing the creation of the hydrogen bomb. Thermonuclear war is quite scary to say the least, and the stakes in this book are much tangible and horrifying. Unfortunately, this audiobook was the abridged version, a fact that wasn't displayed anywhere on Audible. Thus I feel a bit cheated and might come back at another point to read the other chapters. Regardless, this shortened version packed quite a punch, as Richard is perhaps the best writer of nonfiction I've come across.

 

    It is possible that building bigger nuclear bombs is a complete waste of time since the world powers are already deterred based on the kind that we have. Also, it was possible that building more than ten atomic bombs in general was a complete waste of time, a decision that set the world on track for a nuclear holocaust that very nearly happened. If US politicians would refuse to take any action that would lead to the destruction of one US city, and Soviet politicians set their number at five, you really only need ten bombs. Maybe thirty. Not thousands upon thousands. What a waste. Nuclear disarmament makes even more sense to me now, and it will be a topic I will start pushing personally.

    I am extremely glad that the US is structured as a democracy. Based on the discussions of the military hawks and the president during the Cold War, it is possible that without the accountability of public opinion and the free press, the world as we know it would be a nuclear wasteland. A preemptive strike makes a lot more sense when you don't have to worry about the next election. Also, I am glad Curtis LeMay is immortalized in this book as a villain and Teller is exposed as a whiny baby. Legacy is an important thing for the "great" men of history, happy to see the truth shakes out in the end.

2. The Road to Serfdom (P), by Friedrich Hayek

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/299215.The_Road_to_Serfdom

    A monstrous book despite being short, simply because it is so crammed with insightful ideas that take a while to unpack. Friedrich argues for individualism, as he states that freedom for the individual (both economic and personal) is the only truly progressive policy. Friedrich says that private property is the only guarantee of freedom, even if you do not own private property. If property is controlled by own authority, that entity is a dictator that has control over our lives. When control is decentralized, no one has complete power over us. In a similar vein Friedrich argues for federalism as opposed to centralization, as smaller groups can do a better job of taking community needs into account. I'm in a weird place with these libertarian ideas, given my utilitarian bent. I obviously don't fully agree with individualist ethics, especially when Friedrich states that there is no good or bad outside of individual responsibility. If this is true, why is there good or bad inside individual responsibility? Who says? Still, I think that individualism is actually better for the collective, in at least the overwhelming majority of cases. 

    

    Friedrich doesn't like that collectivism requires you to use any means to get to an end, including breaking previously considered moral rules. A centralized planner will have to use force to bring in line a diverse set of individuals with widely varying beliefs, and the planner will do some actions that some groups will consider highly immoral. "The conflict between planning and freedom cannot but become more serious as the similarity of standards and values among those submitted to a unitary plan diminishes." The planner will have to decide exactly which impoverished countries get brought in line to Western standards first, which for a lot of reasons is totally arbitrary. 

    

    Central planning, according to Friedrich, is crazy. "The effect of the people's agreeing that there must be central planning, without agreeing on the ends, will be rather as if a group of people were to commit themselves to take a journey together without agreeing where they want to go: with the result that they may all have to make a journey which most of them do not want at all." People want an omniscient dictator, but they refuse to realize that humans are far from omniscient. They will argue for centralization in order to make markets less "seemingly irrational," without realizing that now that have to submit to the "equally uncontrollable and therefore arbitrary power of other men." There is a lot of hand waving in economics, arguing that regular people should let the experts handle the economy. Friedrich says that "any international economic authority, not subject to a superior political power, even if strictly confined to a particular field, could easily exercise the most tyrannical and irresponsible power imaginable." 

    Friedrich says that capitalism is required for democracy. "When it becomes dominated by a collectivist creed, democracy will inevitably destroy itself." I mostly agree, as the more you delegate to outside authorities the less power you have to take that decision making back. "The clash between planning and democracy arises simply from the fact that the latter is an obstacle to the suppression of freedom which the direction of economic activity requires." I am not quite sure if I agree that "most 'planners' are militant nationalists," but I do agree with Friedrich's concerns about centralization curbing freedom. I made note of two other interesting ideas that Friedrich brought up. First, Friedrich states that we believe we are ethical since we have delegated our vices to larger and larger groups. This was an interesting take, as I do feel that the whims of the military aren't my responsibility even if I agree with their actions. Secondly, Friedrich says that we may talk "too much of democracy and too little of the values which it serves." I generally say that I love democracy, but I guess that really means I love the individual rights and protections that it offers, which are much more important than the system they are packaged in.

    Now, onto the most interesting point that Friedrich makes in the book. He states that "socialism so long as it remains theoretical is internationalist, while as soon as it is put into practice, whether in Russia or Germany, it becomes violently nationalist." Socialists in practice claim that capital belongs to not all of humanity, but only their particular nation. They never advocate that their "rich" region should be stripped of its capital equipment to help poorer nations. Why is this "collectivist" perspective never shared with foreigners? Because those advocating for socialism would actually lose out. "Collectivism has no room for the wide humanitarianism of liberalism but only for the narrow particularism of the totalitarian." Imagine being pitched following:

    

    ~ Listen everyone, we are going to centralize the means of production globally, and you and everyone you know will have to take a pay cut so that people in Africa can share our wages in aggregate. Globally we will have a fixed wage set to the working class levels, you will still contribute according to your ability but receive significantly less income than before. 

    Not very enticing, is it? "Socialism for the rich" has a new meaning. When we see billionaires we want a piece of their pie, forgetting that to many we appear as equivalent to billionaires. If an omniscient dictator shows up, I don't see as much of an argument against a "true" socialist movement globally, where we all take a massive pay cut. But until then I am on Friedrich's team. Overall, this was a pretty solid book that has given me a lot to think about. One of the massive benefits of reading is I get to steal the ideas of intelligent people that have spend thousands of hours thinking through issues so that I don't have to.

3. State and Revolution (P), by Vladimir Lenin

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/179612.The_State_and_Revolution

    The point of communism is "to organize the whole economy on the lines of the postal service so that the technicians, foremen and accountants, as well as all officials, shall receive salaries no higher than “a workman’s wage”, all under the control and leadership of the armed proletariat—that is our immediate aim." That is correct, we are going to organize the economy similar to the way that governments organize their postal services. Have you been paying attention? Have you realized the government run postal services are a laughing stock compared to private alternatives, and and often cited example (along with the DMV) of libertarians as examples of how terrible government-run organizations are? Well, maybe we should structure the entire economy that way, should work very well. Just give us postal workers guns to enforce our measly "worksman's wage" and I am sure we will be very content with the ultimate stagnation of the economic system.

    Jokes aside, Vladimir is not a very insightful thinker and not a very good writer. He sees democracy and capitalism as fundamentally intertwined, something also stated by champions of individual liberty. He believes we need to violently break this system, introduce a "dictatorship of the proletariat," and then over time convince everyone to contribute to the state's production according to their ability and receive only according to their needs, at which time the system will become self sustaining and the state will "wither away." Everything he says is utopian, fantasy-land stuff. He doesn't even really believe the things he says. He argues against non-violent "opportunists" and others who say that we need the state, as he believes that the state will disappear when people realize that a socialist economy works well. But then later he states that people will probably not fully submit to a socialist economy without some suppressive force, but don't worry we will figure out later how to make sure people freely submit "according to their ability" later. Instead of reading the book, just read the below quote:

  "Lastly, only communism makes the state absolutely unnecessary, for there is nobody to be suppressed—'nobody' in the sense of a class, of a systematic struggle against a definite section of the population. We are not utopians, and do not in the least deny the possibility and inevitability of excesses on the part of individual persons, or the need to stop such excesses. In the first place, however, no special machine, no special apparatus of suppression, is needed for this: this will be done by the armed people themselves, as simply and as readily as any crowd of civilized people, even in modern society, interferes to put a stop to a scuffle or to prevent a woman from being assaulted."

    Um, what? You cannot claim over and over that you are not a utopian, and then state that a society of armed workers will hold each other in check and make sure no individual starts to make more money than others, in a similar vein to how people would prevent a woman from being assaulted. What does that even mean? Will incredible violence be involved? What if a group of particularly-heavily armed people decide to group together and make more money? How will anyone prevent a strong group from taking control of the power vacuum left by no state power and oppressing everyone? Vladimir is simply a violently enraged utopian with no plan and no answers. Which is fine, it just sucks that he was far more than a writer.

    Vladimir is hell bent on breaking the system. "The supersession of the bourgeois state by the proletarian state is impossible without violent revolution." Vladimir believes "the proletariat needs state power, a centralized organization of violence, both to crush the resistance of the exploiters and to lead the enormous mass of the population in the work of organizing a socialist economy." After the revolution, armed workers will just take over the current system. Vladimir says that capitalism has built systems - factories, railways, the postal service,  etc. - that are so large and efficient that the actual jobs have become "so simplified and can be reduced to such exceedingly simple operations of registration, filing, and checking that they can be performed by every literate person." Even stateman functions are "already fully within the ability of the average town dweller and can be performed by 'workmen's wages.'" Ludwig von Mises totally exposed Lenin's lack of practical experience and overall ignorance in The Anti-Capitalist Mentality, and this lack of understanding is further exposed upon reading these words from the horse's mouth.

    

    Lenin actually believes that real-world jobs consist of filing papers and doing basic checking and arithmetic. He thinks that every job is the post-office, where there is no specialized knowledge and a somewhat literate "town dweller" will be able to perform their functions well at "workman's wages." Lenin, frankly, doesn't know anything. He should read Bullshit Jobs, and realize that his vision will lead to a collapsed economy. How will entrepreneurship work? How will innovation be planned? What about jobs that aren't set in factories? Who will decide who works in the factory, who works in the mines, and who becomes a doctor? Is he sure that there wasn't some particular reason that capitalism has led to such large and efficient industries? Who is to say that this technological progress will continue under a widely different system? Why would anyone be incentivized to work? Who will enforce discipline on people who refuse to work hard? How will corruption be stopped? Will violence and killing of the upper class possibly disrupt the functioning of some of their companies, or will everything go smoothly on day #2? Will there be a centralized banking system? Can you become a monk? If you try to become a monk should you be killed by the armed workers or forced at gunpoint to work? How will laws be enforced? Lenin doesn't know the answer to any of these questions. He doesn't care. All he knows is that democracy needs to be smashed as it leads to capitalistic exploitation. That's it, that's the extent of his knowledge. A hack. An emperor with no clothes.

4. Common Sense (A), by Thomas Paine

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/161744.Common_Sense

    The more I read about the revolutionary era, the less I like the monarchy. This book isn't full of particularly incredible arguments, but given the context it's fascinating.

5. Flatland (A), by Edwin A. Abbott

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/433567.Flatland

    I know that this is a book assigned to a lot of people in math class, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It takes some form of imagination to come up with the different dimensional worlds that Edwin does, and it's quite humorous to display the interactions between the characters when they differ in the number of dimensions they live in. Decent read.

6. The Temptation to Exist (A), by Emil Cioran

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117565.The_Temptation_to_Exist

    There is usually nothing I dislike about Emil's writing. In this book, however, the essays were more hit or miss. He really leans into discussing popular European thinkers and societies, and frankly given my hundred-year lag I didn't catch a lot of the references. This will sort of be like reading a book on 2020's popular culture in a hundred years: there won't be enough overlap in experience for many of the points, regardless of their accuracy, to be interesting. 

    I am not quite sure if the "man is but a Jew un-fully realized" essay makes any coherent sense, but the final essays are classic. Where some may see Emil as dramatic as whiny, I see him as subversive and comical. When he says "if you have not resolved to kill yourself, there is no difference between you and the others" and "do you dain to breath? You deserve sainthood, canonization," he is half-kidding. His single-minded focus on the bleakness of life is an actually interesting take. I am not saying that he is correct, and I am not saying that he has thought through all of his points, but he is original. Where most of philosophy is re-used and re-hashed, Emil is actually original. I don't think I'll find much value in his remaining works. Reading too much of his pessimism is sort of transforming it into a gimmick, and I owe it to Emil to be respectful enough to delegate to this strange art form of nihilism a respectful amount of apathy.

7. The Whole-Brain Child (A), by Daniel J Siegel

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10353369-the-whole-brain-child

    Despite kids not being on any sort of short-term horizon, I figured it would be interesting to read a book about child rearing. Most of this book makes intuitive sense, but it is unfortunately packaged as "revolutionary." I think there is a bit more ego and pseudo-science in this book than I was comfortable tolerating without discussion. I really don't like when authors decide to invent terms like "mindsight" and spend chapter after chapter explaining how revolutionary their theory is. This "mindsight" is literally just a synonym for empathy, teaching your kids to focus on how other people feel when they are faced with a conflict. It's hard for me to rate the first book I read of any genre, as often the subsequent books end up blending together and repeating each other. So I am not quite sure how original The Whole-Brain Child is, but I think it was still a valuable book for me to read. My guess is I'll eventually read dozens of books about this topic, so it's good that I'm starting now.

8. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (A), by David Foster Wallace

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6753.Brief_Interviews_with_Hideous_Men

     David's work is a bit tedious, and some of the essays in this collection were pretty aggressively subpar. I have never been a fan of essay books, as there are too many times when the worst essays taint the entire work, and this is no exception. Some stories, especially the last one, are boring, pretentious, predictable, gross, and altogether unenjoyable. The type of stuff that you want to put down, or never have read. Where you know where the story is going and the lessons to be learned within five minutes of reading, and you realize you have an hour left. I think David is probably a bit clouded by his ego, and unless you are dazzled by his literary brilliance in every sentence, he isn't a worthwhile read.

    I mentioned brilliance, because David is immensely gifted. I noticed his writing talent immediately, and certain stories drew me in and kept me captivated in a way that few stories do. He is probably a generational talent, after all. I am heavily biased against him, still, after trying and failing multiple times and over multiple years to read Infinite Jest. I concluded at the time that David was simply a bad writer. An wildly impressive page, and then a boring and unimpressive fifty pages. The ratio wasn't worth it for me, and so I concluded my efforts. Now, I am starting to rethink that conclusion. Stay tuned.

9. Consider the Lobster and Other Essays (A), by David Foster Wallace

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6751.Consider_the_Lobster_and_Other_Essays

    It is hard to determine exactly how I feel about most of these essays. I think, overall, they are very good. How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart, an essay where David gives a scathing review of notorious tennis star Tracy Austin's autobiography, is excellent. Consider the Lobster, an essay about a lobster festival and animal rights, is excellent. What I think separates these from the rest of the pack is that David goes a level deeper, digging into the significance of each of his thoughts and providing his actual interpretation of the meaning of things. Some of his other essays feel more shallow, relying on the reader to draw a conclusion that David can't quite put his finger on. I don't think this is "lead a horse to water" sort of brilliance, I think, despite all of his talent, David can miss a certain level of insight. He takes himself, his writing talent, and his superiority, much too seriously. Were he to relax his standards of himself and of his readers, he might see the irony of some of his statements, and he might stop forcing an idea into empty space. Maybe it is too much to ask for a David Foster Wallace with a touch of humility, as maybe this level of prowess fundamentally requires an ego.

10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (A), by Stephen Chbosky

Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22628.The_Perks_of_Being_a_Wallflower

    I've always loved books that evoke strong emotions. To do so requires a level of believability and build-up that only a few writers can pull off well. The problem is, there is a fine line when it comes to sad books, a line between cheap emotional tricks and true emotional brilliance. Some authors evoke emotion through the former (needless, surprising conflicts that serve no other purpose), but I think Stephen is definitely talented enough to pull off the latter. For the most part, this book is awesome. I did, however, often have a significant problem with believability. 

    Charlie is not a 15 year old boy. As a previous 15 year old boy, there is no way, full stop, that a 15 year old boy acts or thinks the way that Charlie does. Charlie is blatantly underdeveloped, autistic, or socially challenged. And/or, everyone at the school treats Charlie a certain way out of pity (since his close friend recently committed suicide). This second option is really the only explanation for the actions of his friends and his teacher, and I don't think explicitly stating this is in the book would have taken anything away from its conclusion. Still, I loved the story. This book is an emotional rollercoaster, a genius calculation of relatability and tragedy. Barely a step away from perfection.