I use feedly to subscribe to around 100 RSS feeds which generates around 400 messages a day. I scan the subject lines, open those that look interesting, and save in Evernote Bear those that I might want to reference at a later time. In the past I also use Flipboard which allowed me to combine RSS feeds with twitter and other social media streams. Flipboard’s UI is great for browsing, but was frustrated that it didn’t track what I had seen already.
Great and Infrequent
I find each of these authors thoughtful and well worth the time to read their relatively long posts.
Wait but Why? Deep dive into all sorts of topics with stick figure illustrations
Paul Graham: Thoughtful essays by one of the founders of Y-Combinator
Study Hacks: Cal Newport, one of the advocate for Deep Thinking
Cool Tools: Kevin Kelly and friends. Sort of a weekly dose of the the Whole Earth Catalog.
All Things Distributed: Warner Vogels’ (CTO of AWS) musing about technology and computer science
DCRainmaker: Covers in amazing detail technology related to triathlon sports: swimming, running, cycling. I don’t think I have ever disagreed with a assessment made by Ray. If I need to replace or purchase gear that Ray writes about I just read his recommendation and purchase. No additional research required.
Many of the podcasts I listen have associated blogs which I follow
Past Loves (But No More)
Lifehacker: Too many ads both, have to switch from my RSS reader to the website to read the full content
Becoming Minimalist and other blogs about Minimalist. Seems to rehash the same material over and over. Great when getting started, but once you have internalized simplicity / minimalist / etc not that helpful.
Irrational Exuberance: Will Larson’s musing about leading engineering organizations. Not doing this anymore
Slashdot: The original hacker news site. Generally get more from Hacker News
Medical / Fitness
There are countless people who blog on topics like fitness, health, longevity, etc. Some are repeating what was “accepted wisdom” in the mainline western medical community. I fear these folks are stuck a disease model, reductionist mindset. There are the kooks who embrace any alternative to western medicine, not mater what the evidence is. Finally, there are people who are thinking outside the box. I don’t agree with the following people on everything, maybe not even a majority, but they are thoughtful, tend to actually experiment / use data, and seem genuinely interested in improving people’s health and fitness. These folks do a mix of podcast and blog posts.
The following are set to automatically get downloaded and put at the beginning of my listening queue:
Up First: 15 minutes of news Monday-Saturday from NPR. Gives me a sense of what’s happening in the world without spending hours doom scrolling.
Tim Ferris: Tim is a great interviewer with a wide range of interesting people. Most shows are around 2 hours, exploring the guest’s life and unique contributions. The earliest shows were about being successful / productive but Ferris has grown and looks at life through a broader lens. I find myself going to the episode notes to explore resources mentioned on each show.
The Drive by Dr Peter Attia about extending health span. Peter talks about training for the “Centenarian Olympics“, e.g. being a healthy and active life at 100. Touches on medicine, nutrition, and exercise. Most shows go fairly deep into the underlying science.
Freakonomics is the podcast/radio show that continues the original book themes. Looks at social/economic issues through a behavioral economics lens. Their tagline is “The Hidden Side of Everything”.
The Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam examines factors which drive human behavior
Work Life by Adam Grant. Grant is a organizational psychologist who studies what makes organizational function well. There tag line is “explore the science of making work not suck”.
How to Build a Happy Life by the Atlantic. Original episodes by Arthur Brooks I thought were the best.
The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish. Focus on analysis, decision making, and model based thinking. Interviews with innovative thinkers and doers from business and government
The Bulletin: Roundtable from Christianity Today looking at current events through the lens of classic evangelicalism.
Past Recommendations
The following are podcast that I used to listen to every episode, but now sample episodes which seems particularly interesting. I have learned that most of us go through “seasons of life” which changes what we give attention to.
TED Radio Hour is a curated sampling of TED talks arranged around a common theme. I particularly enjoyed the earliest shows hosted by Guy Raz.
I have been reading Thinking Fast and Slow which I would highly recommend. If you have read a summary and think you know what’s in the book you are wrong. I think it takes example after example to actually internalize how easily we are influenced by things we don’t notice. I am writing up some personal notes but they aren’t done. This is a placeholder using an experience I had today.
I need to replace my trail runners. I have very hard to fit feet. I had narrowed down the choices to Altra Superior 4.5 and Inov-8 G 270. I have been wearing Altras for several years, but they keep tweaking the shoe which means I never know if the next shoe I purchase from them will work as well as the previous. They also wear out more quickly than I would like.
I was excited by the Inov-8. First, Inov-8 don’t change shoe designs. I wore their Flyroc-310 for several years… the 14th pair was just like the first. Second, they were using space-age materials which was suppose to add durability and performance. I read that they were using an improved foam which has better energy returning properties. They had updated the design of the 260 G including a wider toebox, which seemed like it would fit my foot. The 260 G toebox was a bit too narrow for me. Seemed like a winner.
So… I took these shoes out for several runs. It seemed to me that the Inov-8 was was performing better than the Altras… they felt more energetic and had a better “ride”. Later I put one of each on a foot and walked around. Both feet were happy… nothing stood out, but when I was concentrating on the feel, I prefered the Inov-8.
Then I looked at metrics gathers from RunScribe sensors. The Altras were performing better. More efficient, lower shock and braking Gs, slightly better form. Hmm… later I put one of each on my feet and went for a run while listening to an engaging podcast. I set an alarm so that 3/4 of the way through the run I would pause to consider which foot felt better. When the alarm went off I had forgotten which foot had which shoe. My assessment… the right foot felt a tiny bit more comfortable. When I got home I looked down. The right foot was the Altra.
So it seems my expectation (and hope) that the Inov-8 was going to be superior made me look for confirmation this was true. Objective metrics suggested that the Altra were better. My attempt to do a pseudo blind test resulting in a slight preference over the Altras. Was this a new confirmation bias? I don’t trust myself to know.
What am I doing? The Altras are cheaper and Jackie prefers their color… so that’s what I am going to use for now. If I have trouble finding the Altra Superior 4.5 in the future, I know the Inov-8 270 G will be an acceptable alternative.
For a year I tried using the service blinkist which provides summary’s of popular non fiction books, with a focus on business and self improvement literature. I thought it would be an effective way to screen books to decide what books I would want to read in full. After a year I decided it wasn’t useful for me.
There are a number of books that I read the blinkist summary and the full text. I found the blinkist summaries moderately helpful. I often found they emphasizing points I didn’t think were particularly important and failed to highlight what I thought were the most important points. I was surprised by this until I thought about my experience with a number of books.
There are several books I have read multiple times. Each time I read these books I had a different experience. Things I once thought were a focus of a chapter now seem more like footnotes, and there are passsage I have no memory of from this first time I read the book, I seem to have completely missed the point the first time through which later seeem to be a major focus of the he book.
This is a reminder that our perspective is shaped by our current life situation and has a huge impact on what we perceive, which in turn effects what we learn. It’s not surprising that the summary of a book written by someone with a wildly different life experience will call out very different and highlights.
This was original called “Books that Changed Me” but should have been called “Books that I Highly Recommend”, “Mark’s Canon”, or maybe “Books that I Think Should Change Me”. I now have a separate list which is Books that Really Changed Me. In 2024 I added a few books, but didn’t do a full update. Maybe one of these days.
All of these books enriched my life… but most didn’t result in a concrete change in my life. Most of the books on this list did refine my perspective or values in some way. Just because a book is on this list doesn’t mean I agree 100% with it’s content, often it’s books that I don’t agree with that force me to look deeper into issues and learn.
Before I list individual books, I should note that Encyclopaedia Britannica Great Books of the Western World exposed me to a wide range of literature. I grew up taking this series for granted since my home, and the homes of several of my friends had this series on the bookshelf. I just assumed everyone has at least skimmed this great body of literature. I have since learned that isn’t the case. These days, most of these text are online in places like access foundation great books. I would suggest taking a look at this great series. Have you read a book that changed your life? Drop me a line, I will add it to my future reading list.
LIFE
General Topics: For a nice list of life lessons, check out Life’s Greatest Lessons by Hal Urban. The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky scientifically examines what factors result in happiness and discovers Americans are pretty clueless. Do you want to be effective in your life? Try applying 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and Essentialism by Greg McKeown. Some people would say principles are obvious… but it’s surprising how many of us forget to follow them. Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern helped me tame piles of paperwork and organize our house. Please Understand Me II by Keirsey & Choiniere will help you understand people who are different from you and maybe give you insight into yourself.
Education & Thinking: How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler is a classic text which will help you become a better reader. How to Solve Itby George Polya is one of the classic books about heuristic. Examples come mostly from geometry, but applicable to almost everything. De Bono’s Thinking Course by Edward de Bono will challenge you to actually think rather than just react. The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer discusses the interplay between fears, a person’s sense of identity, epistemology, and community.
Heath:The Spectrumby Dean Ornish, MD. An insightful discussion of nutrition and health. Outlive by Peter Attia which has greatly influenced my approach to health, fitness, and nutrition. [Some notes about Attia].
Marriage: I think the bery best single book on marriage is The Meaning of Marriage by the Kellers. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman and Nan Silver examines what factors have an emperical connection to good marriages. Fit to Be Tied: Making Marriage Last a Lifetime by the Hybels is filled with good advice and stories to get you started on the right foot. Build your relationship on the right foundation. Marriage Builder by Larry Crabb reveals that we often look to our spouse for needs they can’t possibly meet. Ed Wheat in Love Life describing the different forms of love that should be found in a health marriage. His Need, Her Need by the Harleys explores how men and women often expect different things from a marriage, and suggests that both people learn to meet the needs of their partner. Deborah Tannen explores how men and women use different communication strategies in You Just Don’t Understand.Non Violent Communication by Marshall Roseberg will team you how to get through the thorniest conflicts by listening well and clearly identifying each person’s needs.
Family and Children:The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness by Edward Hallowell discusses five key steps which lead to contented life. How to Really Love Your Children by Ross Campbell will help you connect with your children and touch your their hearts. Never Mind the Joneses by Tim Stafford is a gracious and encouraging book which suggests 14 core values than any family would be well served to embrace. No Condemnation by Bruce Narrmore exposes how we all tend to use guilt to motivate, how guilt is hugely damaging, and what are the alternatives. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elzine Mazlish is a good book on parent child communications, even if it is difficult to read. Want to build you child’s self esteem? Help them develop responsibility, trust, and honor. Discipline Them, Love Them by Betty Chase is fill with practice suggestions. Want to understand how children development? I haven’t read it, but The Scientist in the Cribb sounds like an excellent book. Touchpoints by T. Berry Brazelton does a good job covering the first few years. Your “X” Year Old Series by Louise Bates Ames & Frances Ilg of the Gesell Institute of Human Development are even better, but they start at the first year. For more books on parenting, see my parenting shelf on goodreads.
Finances and Investing: Want a reminder of all the best principles when it comes to managing your money? Personal Finance for Dummiesby Eric Tyson is excellent. I normally hate “dummies” book, but this book is an exception. Even “smart” people will benefit from this book. This has all the solid advice you would hope a parent would pass onto their children. Unfortunately, a lot of parents don’t know many of the things found in this book. Buffettology by Mary Buffet will encourage disciplined investment based on the real value of a stock… but A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel will argue that you are likely get better long term returns (not to mention spend a lot less time) by investing in a few broad index funds. Real Prosperity by Gene Getz and Money Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn looks at finances from a Biblical perspective and asked the question what super-cultural principles govern our relationship to money and possessions.
Essays & Biographies: Holy the Firm by Annie Dillardwill remind to embrace wonder in your daily life. Abandoned to God by David McCasland is an inspiring biography about Oswald Chambers, author of My Utmost for His Highest. Crosswicks Journals by Madeleine L’Engle shows the beauty of life. Light Force by Brother Andrew is a heart breaking and encouraging story of the church in the Middle East and the need to love the people their.
COMPUTER SCIENCE (AND RELATED STUFF)
Programming: Every programmer should read Donald Knuth’s landmark series The Art of Computer Programming. These books lay the foundations of computer science. Pick up a copy of Code Complete by Steve McConnell. This massive tome is filled with lessons all programmers should learn. If this is too huge, and your mostly work in C read Writing Solid Code by Steve Maguire. Be defensive (it not paranoid). Don’t worry about the specific examples, learn the attitude. If you are so anti-Microsoft that you can’t bring yourself to read Writing Solid Code, then try The Practice of Programming by Brian Kerninghan & Rob Pike. I would recommend any of the books by Jon Bentley, especially Writing Efficient Programs and Programming Pearls, Section Edition which will remind you to work on what will make a difference.
Software Engineering: Rob Reed’s ebook How to be a Programmer ebook is a very practical intro into the challenges of working with others on a software project. If you are working with more than a couple of people, Debugging the Development Process by Steve Maguire could save you some headaches. This book is filled with hard won (but often common sense) wisdom about how to organize and supervise effective software development teams. Is your project going to run for more than a couple of weeks? The Mythical Man Month by Frederick P. Brooks is filled with twenty year old lessons which are still applicable today… will we ever learn? Do you manage a team of software developers? Peopleware by Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister will help you appreciate how much the environment you create will effect productivity (and therefore success or failure of your project). Extreme Programming by Ken Beck pushes a number of development principles to their logical conclusion advocating a light weight, incremental development methodology for small and medium size teams.
UNIX, and Networking: Want to learn how the UNIX environment was designed to be used? Pick up a copy of The UNIX Programming Environment Rob Pike & Brian Kernighan. This book won’t tell you about the hundreds of binaries found on Linux or Solaris, but it will teach you how to use a few tools to do a huge amount. Are you a UNIX system programmer? Pick up a copy of Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment by W. Richard Stevens. The best book to understand the core of TCP/IP is TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume I by W. Richard Stevens.
Systems: If you are thinking about writing a server or build a complex system you must read Hints to System Designer by Butler Lampson. If you are serious about architecting complex systems and pick up a copy of Systems Architecting by Eberhardt Rechtin. Systems Engineering and Analysis by Blanchard & Fabrycky is a wellspring of useful information for system builders. Want to write an operating system and don’t know how to get started? Operating System Design: The Xinu Approach by Doug Comer is just want you want. This textbook was designed for classes which took a holistic approach to teaching operating systems. If you have to implement any crypto, Applied Cryptography by Bruce Schneier is excellent: explanations are clear, source code is provided along side the mathematical formulas.
Science and Technology: If you collect data, look at data, or analyze data, pick up at least one of the books by Edward R.Tufte. Tufte has described the three books as being about, respectively, “pictures of numbers, pictures of nouns, and pictures of verbs.” I most often use what I learned in his third book Visual Explanations : Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative. The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman will remind you that things should be designed for use. The Ecology of Computation edited by B.A. Huberman gives hints as to where computing systems might go in the future (much of which has arrive 30 years later).
CAREER & BUSINESS
Not happy with your job? Try working through the exercises in What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles. This book will encourage you to figure out what you love to do (your vocation) and do that. The money (or at least enough for you survive) will follow. Your career might not change, but you will have a deeper sense of purpose in your day to day work experience. Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham to help you think about what drives you.Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller is the best book I have read on vocation. Drive by Daniel Pink examines what motivates people which is critical to understand, whether you are an “individual contributor”, or a manager. Getting to Yes by William Ury everything you need to know about negotiating. The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen will help you appreciate how radical change can come from technology that is “worse” than the current state of the art, and why companies need to be prepared to cannibalize their own markets. Good to Great by Jim Collins examines how humble leadership and simple methods can turn good companies into great ones. Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is an interesting analysis of how changes occur among people and provides insight into how small things can make a big difference. Leading Change by John Kotter is a must read (or his article which has the same content but more concise) for anyone who is trying to make big changes within an organization. Process Redesign by Arthur Tenner & Irving DeToro is a very practical guide for someone who needs to update and/or formalize organizational processes. Principle Based Organizational Structure by N. Dean Meyer provides a good model for thinking about organizational structure. Leadership is an Art by Max Depree is one of the best books about making a humane and empowering workplace. All I Really Need to Know in Business I Learned at Microsoftby Julie Bick does a great job of capturing the spirit of Microsoft, which I think is one of the best run companies in the world. This book examines how organizational structure can dramatically effect how well a team can perform. The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki provides a good survey of the issues related to doing a start-up.
DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL ACTION, THE POLITICAL WORLD
My philosophy of government has been largely influenced by Second Treatise of Government by John Locke. The State, Justice, and the Common Good by B.J. Diggs is a college reader which helped me think through the core issue of political justice. I tend to agree with Hobbes… that in the natural world, life is poor, nasty, brutish, and short. The question is, how does the transition take place. The Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod explores how cooperation can emerge in a world ruled by selfishness with no central authority or rule. Most Americans don’t know a lot about US foreign policy. Rise to Globalism by Stephen Ambrose is a good summary and analysis the US foreign policy in the 20th century. If you haven’t studied US foreign policy, you will learn why a lot of people in the “3rd world” dislike the US. When the world turns ugly can we do anything? Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed by Philip P. Hallie suggests there can be hope. During WWII, the entire community of Le Chambon refused to cooperate with the Nazis and helped more than 5,000 Jews escape Nazi camps. This is particularly impressive when you realize that the Le Chambon population before they started their activities was 5,000.
I need to update this topic because it fells very in-complete. Here are a few books that come to mind… I will need to think about it more.
Forces for Good – Leslie Crutchfield & Heather Grant
Knowledge for Action: A Guide for Overcoming Barriers to Organizational Change – Chris Argyris
Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations – Raymond Fisman, Edward Miguel
The Birth of Plenty – William Bernstein
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid – C. K. Prahalad
Tribes – Seth Godin
CHRISTIANITY
The Bible: Anything calling itself Christian needs to stand on the Bible. Written over a period of more than 2000 years. God used many humans, in numerous professions, life situations, times, and languages to convey a common theme. Purist will read the Bible in the original languages Hebrew and Greek. Textual analysis has produced texts which are very close to the original text. There are a number of good English translations. The New International Version (NIV) and English Standard Version (ESV) seems to be the most popular for everyday reading. New American Standard (NASB) seems to be one of the more popular for serious study. King James was a great translation in the 1600-1700’s, but it’s language is dated, and it is no more (maybe less) accurate than the more modern translations. If you are investigating Christianity, Don’t start from the beginning. Try reading the book of John, then the book of Romans, and then Genesis.
Seeking Spiritual Truth & Christianity: The books A Search for the Spiritual by James White and Discovery God by Dennis McCallam are brief but excellent guides to the process of exploring spiritual issues. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller clearly addresses the most common questions related to the Christian God I hear. The identity of Jesus of Nazareth is the single most important issue when considering Christianity. Is there credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God? The Case for Christby Lee Strobel attempts to answer this question with interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and scholars on a variety of topics. Together, these interviews explore Jesus’ divinity, and urge readers to reach a verdict of their own. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis contains an engaging enquiry into the reasonableness of Christianity. Basic Christianity by John Stott has one of the clearest explanations of the core of the Christian faith.
Christian Living: In recent years, the book that has most effected my is A Praying Life by Paul Miller. We live by grace depending on God’s power. Their are countless books about basics of Christian life. I would recommend the three volume “Good and Beautiful” series by James Bryan Smith. The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg is a single book that covers similar material. Walking in Victory by Dennis McCallum will teach you fundamental truths which are the basis of spiritual growth. This book is the bedrock on top of which my early spiritual life was formed. Green Letters by Miles Stanford covers in more depth but less systematically the topics found in Walking in Victory. Experiencing God by Blackaby & King will help you discover what it means to live for God on a minute by minute basis. Celebration of Disciplineby Richard Foster will encourage you to develop a number of basic disciplines. Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee is a great reminded that growth often involves pain and difficulty, but the fruit is always wonderful. Finding God by Larry Crabb reminds us that nothing is more important that knowing God. The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge will remind you that a dangerous walk with God is better than what looks to be a “safe” path. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence taught me that prayer can be like breathing. The only daily devotional which I have found consistently helpful is the Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants by Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck. The Believer’s School of Prayer by Andrew Murray will encourage you to be devoted to communication with God. Hearing God by Dallas Willard is one of the more practical books on understand and living within “God’s will”. God’s Strategies in Human History by Roger Forester and V Paul Marston examines God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. This is one of the most exegetical books I have ever read. There are a number of excellent books by Kenneth Bailey which will give insight into Jesus’ teachings, life, and costly sacrifice.
A Life of Service: Many Christians have an extremely vital and dynamic spiritual life during their colleges years. This experience is often lose as people transition to the real world of a job, house, family, etc. Following Jesus in the ‘Real World’ by Richard Lamb will encourage you to wrap your life around servicing people. Don’t let career, material success, or your living situation erode your spiritual life. All Christians are called to a life of discipleship. The Dynamics of Personal Follow-up by Gary Kuhne is the best book I have found describing how to help establish a new Christian. Discipleship edited by Billie Hanks and William Shell is a collection of writing on discipleship from leading lights of the twentieth century. An important ministry is helping people become disciples of Jesus. Effective Biblical Counseling by Lawrence Crabb will help you understand why people do things which seem self-defeating, and how to change thinking (and the heart). If you aspire to leadership, you will find Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders and The Character of God’s Workman by Watchman Nee extremely challenging. The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen will help you understand how to serve out of your weakness. Christian Leadership by Bruce Powers examines how to help people see the need for change and them to step up the the challenge before them.
Evangelism: A classic book is Out of The Salt Shaker and into the World by Becky Pippert. Understanding the basic shape of someone’s beliefs, their world view, is the bedrock of effective communication. We should strive to understand before we say anything. The Universe Next Door by James Sire examines the major world views that deal with the nature of the world we live in. Inside the Mind of the Unchurched Harry and Mary by Lee Strobel is a great help in crossing the cultural gap which exists between many Christians and the contemporary culture. The book is refreshing and direct, with a good grasp of middle America culture.Francis Schaeffer more than any simple individual shaped in intellectual development of popular Christian thinking and apologetics in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. His books were extremely influential on college campuses. Pickup The Complete Works of Schaeffer.
Church and Missions: Too often, the “Church” becomes an hide bound institution that cares more about maintaining the status quo, that to demonstrate God’s love and greatness. The church is the people of God, not a building, a program, or the pastor. There are many books which have been written on this topic. Unleashing the Church by Frank Tilapaugh is the best to explain how one lets the Lord reveal his will for the church by seeing how he is moving the individuals of the church. Without the Lord, the approach found in this book would be considered “bottom up”, but since we have an active and sovereign Lord, this is a book about seeking what the head of the church is doing. Members of One Another by Dennis McCallum provides excellent guidance about how to build a biblical ethos which could transform your community. Organic Discipleship, also by Dennis McCallum will encourage and guide you toward a life of disciple making. Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace examines the factors which drive renewal. Other excellent books on the church include Missionary Methods: St Paul’s Or Ours? (free the people and let God work), The Body (principles explained through stories), andThe Problem of Wineskins (the interaction between man made structure and God’s kingdom). Glorifying God, praising God’s name (that’s recounting who He is and what He has done… not running around saying “Praise God”) should be the center of a Christian life. A direct outflow of this great purpose is concern for people who have not heard about our Lord. Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper is a call for Christian missions which is centered around glorifying God’s name. Eternity in Their Hearts by Ron Richardson is a mind-blowing book about how God has revealed Himself to many peoples in the world. This book suggests that a careful cultural study should be done because you will be able to discover culturally relevant ways in which God has prepared to communicate the gospel clearly to people.
FICTION & DRAMA
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury explores what happens when books are outlawed, and TV rules. Shockwave Rider by Jon Brunner took the increasing rate of change being experienced in the 1970s and extrapolated into the future. He envisioned a world wide data network which was used by everyone. This was one of the first books which examined the interaction between the “web” and society. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin examines the question What is Utopia? Can there really be a stable anarchy among humans? Billiards at Half Past Nine by Heinrich Boll. The Plague by Albert Camus. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Lilith by George MacDonald. 1984 by George Orwell. King Lear, Hamlet, and MacBeth by William Shakespeare. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
For numerous years the Darwin Awards have documented the amazing stupidity of some people. I know many people who like to read these stories and laugh and cry at the sheer stupidity reported. Why do so many of us seem to like the Darwin Awards? I wonder if it lets us feel a bit smug, a bit arrogant, a “I know I am better than those idiots. Yes, that’s a pretty low bar, but I know I would never be that stupid.”
I have been wondering if we should offer some sort of new award. One that we all qualify for. I am not sure what to call it. Maybe “I’m with stupid, because I can’t get away from myself.” What got me thinking about this was seeing a post by an old acquaintance warning that cops in a local county were ticketing people for not wearing seat belts. My reaction was “Who is so stupid that they don’t wear a seat belt? Don’t they know that seat belts save countless lives?” Alright, not countless, the upper bound is around 12,000 people/year in the US plus much larger number that would have been spared injuries. I posted a snarky response.
I was tempted to pile on even more, noting that failing to wear a seat belt is almost as stupid as smoking cigarettes which would be a double slam since several people on the thread smoke. I could justify commenting on smoking because the data about negative consequences from smoking is clear and staggering. Before I added this comment, heap even more judgement on, God prodded me, pointing out that not only was I being arrogant and judgmental, but that I am no smarter.
I regularly do things I know are stupid. I wish it wasn’t true, but I can be just as stupid and irrational as the next guy. I have just been lucky that my stupidity hasn’t ended my life, gotten me a ticket, or resulted in some chronic condition… yet, I think. So what stopped me dead in my tracks? What did God whisper in my ear? “Yeah, you would never do something stupid like that. You wouldn’t let your weight get to an unhealthy level or let your life get so sedentary that basic exercise wipes you out. Need I continue?” No need. I am perfectly capable of making a fairly long list now that I have gotten started. The next that came to my mind “I won’t be so stupid to put off going to the dentist when I have a simple cavity which would be a minor pain. I would rather wait a year or so until I have a killer tooth ache, I have to go in and have an emergency root canal which is an order of magnitude more money and pain.” I could go on, but you get the point. Hmm… I can be pretty stupid.
Recently I have enjoyed sharing a fascinating study that has been repeatedly performed with identical results. That giving money away often makes people happier than spending it on themselves. The punchline that I love is that after at least one of these studies, the participants were gathered together at the end of the day. The results were shared. People told stories from their day which confirmed the results. Just before leaving, the participants where asked the question “If you could choose which group you would be placed in, which would it be?” 78% said, “The group that can spend them money on themselves.” My immediate reaction to this is “How could they be so stupid? They just participated in a study that demonstrated that they would be happier if they gave the money way!!” And yet, how often do I do something equality stupid… where I have data, facts, truths, that I know are correct, but I take actions that are contrary to them. My daughter sometimes says “I am not so smart”, typically just after she found herself doing something that she knew wasn’t going to work. I often say “What am I going to do with you?” and then I try to comfort her and remind her that I will always love her, no matter what stupid thing she does. But I could just as easily be saying “I don’t know what to do with me” because I regularly do things I know are stupid, just like my daughter. I am just better at hiding them than she is. There are a number of books that explore the dynamic of how people find themselves doing things that they know are stupid or wrong such as Mistakes Were Made and Vital Lies, Simple Truths.
So what do we do? How do we see our own self deception and stop it. Well, knowing it is there, and having the humility to admit it may be good, but that doesn’t fix the problem. Do we spend a bunch of time introspecting? I don’t think that works too well. Jeremiah 17:9 states that “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?“. This suggests that self examination is likely to have limited success.
Jeremiah suggests there is an answer in the following verse: “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” My first observation is that God does understand what’s going on. It is possible for Him to reveal the truth to us. In Philippians 3 Paul encourages his readers to press forward in view of God’s love. And then there is this short phrase, “and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you“. Paul has confidence, that if there is a problem, God will bring up it. Thankfully, it seems he brings our attention to the most important things, not everything. A good friend is fond of saying that she is never surprised when sin in her life is pointed out. What surprises her is how little is pointed out… that God is gracious with us and only bring up things that need attention now, rather than crushing us with a complete and full understanding of our sin.
So, how does God reveal a different attitude? Sometimes it’s something dramatic like a vision or a dream. Sometimes, it’s like a breeze, whispering in our ear. Maybe a particular verse in the Bible comes to mind and we realize it’s talking about us rather than someone else. Maybe it’s when we stop and look at what we actually have done and the results from those actions. I am amazing how easy it is to repeat actions that consistently don’t produce the result we hope for, yet we continue doing the same thing, with an irrational hope that somehow it will go better the next time.
Most often though, I think we hear God’s voice through our community and friends. From people who seek and speak truth. The more we embrace community and transparency, the more likely it is that we will get the help we need. We need people who will speak into our lives. It’s too easy for us to blind ourselves to the truth. And the scary thing is that once we start to deceive ourselves, ignoring what we know to be true, all too often we do this more and more. A little step, at little step, and eventually we find ourselves completely lost. The first chapter of the book of Romans talks about a slide into insanity which starts simply be refusing to be grateful.
The scripture is filled with passages that talk about how if we don’t use what is given, that not only do we not get more, but we often lose what we already have. I have seen this happen in many people’s lives. Several months ago I was talking with a friend who was just waking up after a couple of years of profound self deception. During this time he had engaged in conduct that he, and everyone who knows him was shocked by. He imperiled everything that he thought was valuable. What shocked me more than the depths he had fallen into was how he had completely lost track of some very basic truths. Things I had seen him live out, things I had seen him teach others. Yet, as I was talking to him one evening, stating things I had heard him say in the past, he was surprised. He said “I have never thought about it that way before.” WRONG! He had. But he had forgotten. What was going on? He didn’t use it, so he lost it. What he had was taken away. Thankfully, that’s not the end of the story. Over the next several weeks he continued to seek others input, to seek God’s face. Several weeks later I saw the beginnings of a changed man. Someone who had a long road ahead of him, but a road that would not just restore him to the place he was before his fall, but ultimately would take him to a place of deeper understanding and maturity. There are profound, very painful consequences from what this man did. I have no idea what the full ramifications will be in this life, but I am confident that in the end of time, God will bring healing and comfort to all effected. That every tear will be dried.
One of the things I noticed in this man’s life, and in mine as well… that when were we are actively involved in a community with others who are committed to transparency and speaking truth, that we did better. That those first, small steps away from truth were often adverted when the correction was relatively easy, and the consequences were slight. A very good reason to cherish and cultivate relationships with people who are committed to truth, to honestly, and have the courage to speak lovingly into our lives. This has also been a good reminder that it’s important to be willing to initiate those uncomfortable conversations if we see those who are dear to us are starting down a path that won’t end well.
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
In 2001 I created a list I called “Books that Changed Me.” That list was renamed “Books I Recommend“. While I believe the books in that list were worth reading, I can’t honestly say most of them have changed me. This list was inspired by a post by Peter Turnkey about books that aren’t just great, but actually changed his life. I wasn’t the only one Peter inspired, Kevin Kelly also posted Books that Changed My Life. I am glad that Glen Van Peski has joined in posting his changed me booklist.
The following is a list of books which I can directly tie to specific and significant changes I made in my life. I have put all these books on my goodreads “changed-me” shelf. I also have a list of books I plan to re-read… some of which will likely end up on this list. I updated this post in October 2023.
Outlive by Peter Attia distills much of what I have learned in the last several years as I have tried to understand what practices would lead to a good health span. Attia has moved me to be more proactive with my health, especially when it comes to early detection / testing. His idea of training for the “centenarian decathlon” informs my fitness goals, and am doing more training in zone 2. Some notes about Attia.
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman is quite different from the typical book about time management or productivity. Burkeman argues that people focus on productivity are often avoiding the fact that they are finite. There will not be enough time to do everything they want to do, and being more productive will not make a substantial difference in their experience. Rather, people would be best served to become comfortable with their limitations and choose what they will do, and let go of the things they can’t accomplish. I think the author wrong about how an eternal life would chance the equation, but I don’t have an alternative to offer at this time. This book helped me relax, to leave more slack in my life, and to make sure I choose to spend my time on things that matter to me, even if they weren’t “productive” or likely to have a “significant impact”. Good companions for this book are Essentialism by Mckeown, and How to Inhabit Time by James Smith.
Gentle and Lowly by Dane Orthlund is a beautiful treatise about God’s love and mercy. Ortlund takes aim at how it’s common to look at God’s forgiveness as a legal transaction which happened in the past. This books makes the case that it is much more dynamic, personal, which is experienced in the present. I was very touched by his observation that most people are a spring ready to be release anger and wrath by the smallest issue and we have to work to accumulate grace, but God is just the opposite, His love spills out at the slights prick while it takes a great deal to bring out His anger. The book has lead me to pray more, strive to shift from anger to love as my default response, and to seek to find and build community centered on grace. Too many churches fail to see and live in response to God’s loving presence. Good companions to this book are Keller’s The Prodigal God, and Manning’s The Ragamuffin Gospel.
Love Your Enemies by Arthur Brooks calls on the reader to abandon contempt in politics, or really any dialog and focus on core issues. He notes that often groups’ values aren’t so different, but the way they are looking at the problem is framed differently. Brooks recommends connecting using stories, not just data. Show respect and call out members of your “tribe” when they are disrespectful. This book got me to reexamine people and organizations that I used to write-off. What I found surprised me… often we wanted the same thing. We both wanted justice and to see humans thriving. I was able to see that these “others” were not sinister characters bent on domination, but fellow humans who cared about others doing their best to address real problems in the world. I didn’t necessarily agree with their “root cause analysis” or their solutions, but I could see that it was a good will effort, and often could see how their solutions could be complementary to what I thought was right. This book put into writing what Doug Goins taught me with his life. If you want additional material, check out books by the Gottman’s, Marshall Rosenberg’s book Non Violent Communication, and Miroslav Volk who explores the relationship between “us” and “them”.
Radical Candor by Kim Scott touched on many of the things I have tried to engender at work with more incisive analysis and practical suggestions. Kim’s focus on feedback, coupled with a class I just completed increased the frequency of me being kind rather than nice, that is sharing hard feedback that someone needed to hear and being better, listening to the feedback people gave me, and going out of my way to solicit feedback. I have changed some of meetings management practices with more to come. Make sure you get the revised edition. It has some excellent clarifications and notes about how to roll out a program built around Radical Candor.
The Simple Six by Clinton Dobbins is a good book for someone who is trying to establish a regular strength based exercise routine which is sustainable over the long term using primarily body weight exercises. A key to establishing a new habit is to keep it simple and achievable. This books provides just that. Six simple movements (with 3-4 alternatives for each of the big-6). While each of the movement families can be done without equipment, a pull-up bar and a kettlebell are helpful. A five day / week schedule is provided which is easy to follow, requiring around 30 minutes / day, rotating what muscles get the most focus so you don’t need to worry about rest days. As the author indicates, the key is consistency and patience. For someone who already has an effective fitness routine this book is likely not very useful. There are numerous books which provide a more detailed description of the motions, a larger list of exercise options, more details about how to scale the sets as you gain proficiency. I purchased this book because I found many plans were too complicated, or depended on free weights which I no longer have access to. So why read this book? It provides a simple formula enables a solid started. It will take several month to establish an effective habit and start to see results. Only after you have the basics mastered and are consistent will you need to worry about scaling the exercises and need some variety.
DevOps Handbook by Kim, Debois, Humble & Willis is the best examination of the underlying principles and insights which is at the heart of effective DevOps. Many of their observation might seem counter-intuitive, but they back up their conclusions through both theory and case studies. In my 30+ years of being at the intersection of development and operations I have seen first hand much of what is described in this book. What this book did for me was to give me a more effective way to communicate what has been primarily tacit knowledge and helped me re-prioritized work to enable sustainable teams. The book The Phoenix Project is a novel which tells the story of a company that discovers effective DevOps. The book Team Topologies is an excellent companion which will help you understand the interplay between organizational structures and the systems the teams are building.
Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller. The best book I have read on vocation. Keller captures the tension that we all feel between being made to work and that we live in a broken world where nothing works as it should. Work can be deeply satisfying, it can also be great source of frustration which grind us down. Keller makes the case for working hard, but to remember that our ultimate hope is in the new world that God will be making. A new world that is connected to the world we live in now, that will be material, not some ethereal cloud filled world. Keller explains that all work, be it the humble work of a house cleaner or a trauma surgeon are not just necessary but valued by God, and should be valued by all of us. This book played a significant role in moving me from being ready to quit the world of high tech start-ups to looking for a new job in the industry I had been happy to leave a few years before. Recently I enjoyed John Mark Comer’s book Garden City which touches on several of the same themes.
A Praying Life by Paul Miller. We shouldn’t focus on prayer (the method) but rather God (the object). Miller has a very high view of prayer. He expect prayer to accomplish things. Not because we are somehow manipulating God, but because God cares and prayer is a key way that we communicate with Him. Prayers answered tomorrow? Maybe, or maybe in 20 years, or maybe 2000 years. The answers won’t be in a way that you predicted and might not like, but God will do what’s best. Miller highlights how critical our heart is in prayer, and that prayer will change our hearts for the better. I found this book disturbing in the best sort of way. This book changed the way I prayer and moved me to make prayer cards.
The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. I am not fond of this book. I think Ferriss’ claims over reach and some assertions are just wrong. That said, this book started me on a path to rethink what I thought I knew about health, fitness, and nutrition. I think the conception of minimum effective dose is important for people with busy lives, and learned to appreciate that the metabolic system is very complex. This book started me on a path of make high intensity interval training as standard part of my exercise program. I think Attia’s book is much better, and that Body by Science covers HIIT much better than the 4 Hour Body.
Dying Well by Ira Byock. This book starts with the story of how Ira experienced his father’s death. This is followed by numerous stories about his hospice patients and their families. This book grew a desire in my heart to care for Libby in our home in her last weeks of life and prepared me for much of what I experienced. I am so glad I took a very active part in carrying for Libby in her last days, and that she passed in our home rather than in some institutional hospital.
The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer. So many themes which are integrated into my life. Teach out of identity and core not technique. Fear and alienation are the enemies of effective teaching. Greater truths are often paradoxes. Trying to resolve paradoxes too quickly short-circuits learning. The tension from paradoxes can leave us open to learning and grow, this is painful but can be endured in the company of love. Finding truth as a community centered around a subject rather than “objective facts” and experts. Teaching from a microcosm. This books gave me a new vocabulary, helped me be more open to other people’s perspective, and to be patient when facing paradoxes and other hard to understand situations.
Leadership is an Art by Max Depree is one of the best books about making a humane and empowering workplace. I read this book during a time that I was feeling weary. Managing people was taking a lot of time and I wasn’t sure I was adding any value. I wondered if I could be more productive by returning to an individual contributor role. I read this book and was re-invigorated. This book renewed a hope that I could have a positive impact on the people I was managing.
Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern helped me tame piles of paperwork and organize our house. In our modern life it seems like we have way to much stuff to manage. This book suggests simple but practices tools and techniques to organize things. I am particularly fond of (and regularly use) her “Kindergarten” principle… everything should have a place to be put away right by where where they will be used. Since reading this book I have also come to appreciate simplifying my stuff is even more effective than organizing my stuff.
The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen has had a deep impact on the way I think about technology, products and the decisions I have made at work. I tend to be an idealist. I tend to want the “best” solution. The Innovator’s dilemma helped me finally understand why “worse is better” in many cases. I think anyone working in the technology field needs to expect radical change that will come from technology that is “worse” than the current state of the art and to be prepared to cannibalize existing products and markets by embracing these distributive technologies.
The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge. Control is an illusion. Rather than working to control life it is better to fully embrace God and trust that He will be true to his nature and take us on the journey we need. What’s best for us is never the most pleasant. This book helped me consider what was really important to me, what was I putting my energy and hopes into. This book helped me realize that some of the things I was driving for would never provide the results I hoped for and should be abandoned.
Hints to System Designer by Butler Lampson isn’t a book, it’s a paper from SOSP. There is still a lot of art when it comes to building effective systems. Butler does a great good capturing many of the factors which should be considered by a system designer. Anyone who does system design should be familiar with this paper or expect to make mistakes which have been known about since the 1960s. I have spent most of my career building systems. More than any single book or paper, Butler’s hints have provided inspiration and guidance for my professional career. A great follow on to Butler’s paper is Systems Architecting by Eberhardt Rechtin which has a wonderful section of heuristics commonly used in systems architecture. Systems Engineering and Analysis by Blanchard & Fabrycky is a wellspring of useful information for system builders, and Design Patterns provides a useful set of patterns to consider if you are stuck decomposing a problem.
The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Kenneth H. Blanchard. Like all of Blanhard’s books, the core ideas could easily fit into a page or two of text but instead is communicated in a lengthy parable. The heart of this book is you empower people by encouraging them to do their own work rather than taking their work on yourself, e.g. delegate. During meetings there are “monkeys” (e.g. tasks) which will end up on someones back. A fatal mistake made by managers is that they hold onto the “monkeys” when they tell people to wait while the manager reviews the plan, provide feedback on a proposal, “clean up” the document, etc. This is fundamentally dis-empowering. I read this book during a time when I felt overwhelmed by work. I was trying to mentor and coach people, but I was regularly blocking people’s forward progress by offering to review work (that didn’t really need an extra review cycle).
20 Things I Want My Kids to Know by Hal Urban. I first read this book in 1992 at a time that I had just realized that I wanted to have children. I enjoyed Hal’s list of lessons he wanted to pass on to his kids. Reading this book prompted me to think more deeply about what was important to me and made me realize that I wanted to bless any children I had with the wisdom I had gained in life, in the hopes that they could benefit from my life experience. This book lead me to live a more examined life and to take the time to write down lessons I have learned. This blog would likely not have existed if I didn’t read this book.
Personal Finance for Dummiesby Eric Tyson is a basic, but excellent book on personal finance. I normally hate “dummies” book, but this book is an exception. I read this book when I was feeling weighed down by our finances, though I now realize was a very minor debt. This book helped me think systematically about what we were doing with our finances, helped refine a plan to retire all our debt, and convinced me the need to save and invest for the future. Since I read this book, I have read a number of other books about personal finance and investing. While several of these books gave me a deeper understanding of the topics, none have contradicted what I learned in this book. Personal Finance for Dummies has all the advice I would hope a parent would pass onto their children about money. Unfortunately, a lot of parents don’t know many of the things found in this book or don’t think to teach their children how to effectively manage their money.
Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment and TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume I by W. Richard Stevens. Stevens had an amazing ability to simply and clearly explain technical topics that can be quite complex. While I knew quite a bit about the TCP/IP protocol stack, and UNIX system programming, these two books helped pull these topics together in a more complete way that I could have on my own, or by reading several other books. I still find myself regularly reaching for one of these two books.
Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed by Philip P. Hallie has the message there can be hope, even in dark times. During WWII, the entire community of Le Chambon refused to cooperate with the Nazis and helped more than 5,000 Jews escape Nazi camps. There was no one hero… rather the whole community engaged in a conspiracy of goodness. Whenever I start to think that it’s impossible for a community to tackle a difficult issue, I find myself reflect what this community was able to achieve and find hope. There is a good documentary about this community called Weapons of the Spirit.
The Ecology of Computation edited by B.A. Huberman is an out of print collection of papers which I believe gives hints as to where computing systems who go in the future. Agoric computing, software agents, and other approaches which are now entering the mainstream were discussion in this book. More than any other computer science text, this book fired my imagination, and made me consider that there were revolutionary approaches which might be able to address righteous problems that couldn’t be solved by brute force. Reading this book was one of the factors that lead me to take a job at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).
What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles came out in 1970 at a time that many businesses were downsizing and people in the middle of their careers found themselves out of work. This was in an era that people expected life time employment from large companies. Bolles’ book was an encouragement to consider what a job seeker wanted to do for their next season of life. As a direct result of doing the exercises in this book my wife selected her career, I changed workplaces, and we moved across the country. While this book can be useful to people at any stage of life, it is most helpful to someone who has had sufficient life experience to reflect on what they have done. This book encourages the reader to figure out what they are called to do (a vocation) and do that. The money (or at least enough for you survive) will follow. You might not be rich materially, but you will be rich in experience and quality of life. Sometimes people say do a job you love, but I prefer to say do a job that is meaningful, that has impact, and you you will love the job. When I first worked through the exercises in the early 1990s, I didn’t change my career, but I had a deeper sense of purpose in my day to day work experience. Doing some of the exercises lead Libby to become an audiologist and us to move to the Bay Area.
Writing Efficient Programs by Jon Bentley. I originally read this book as a pre-print for a class taught by Jon on software engineering. I was deeply influenced by the four fundamentals rules: code simplification, problem simplification, relentless suspicion, and early binding which first appeared Elements Programming Style (which I have never read… much to my shame). I can see the influence of this book on every major piece of code I have written as well as how I approach systems which need to be sped up. My single biggest take away was to focus my attention on what will make the biggest difference. For example, if a program is spending all it’s time in I/O, don’t improve the sorting algorithm, go after the I/O subsystem.
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement edited by Ralph Winter and Steven Hawthorne. This is a massive 700+ page tome which is a collection of 136 articles which examine Christianity and missions through the lens of Biblical theology, history, culture, and strategic analysis. The combination of this book and the class that used it as a textbook changed not only my views on Christian missions, but changed the way I engage life. The Biblical section helped me understand how I was part of an ancient movement that has been shaping the flow of history which culminates in the world properly worshipping the Lord, and that mission is temporal in nature. The section on culture helped me see how I valued my culture above others and that is bigotry. I was challenged to learn more about other cultures and find value in how those cultures differed from my own. I learned that communication is rooted in one’s world view, and to bridge that gap one needed to understand the context of the people you are communicating with. I learned to appreciate how organizational structures are more (or less) appropriate for different tasks and that one size doesn’t fit all. Finally, I learned that God was concerned for the whole world, the whole man, and that the history of missions doesn’t have a good track record doing either of these things. I learned how throughout history there have been awful things, and great things, done in the name of missions which gave me an appreciation for the need to critically examine projects I might be involved with… and of course, that just sitting back wasn’t an option.
No Condemnation by Bruce Narrmore. I first read this book in 1984. Until I read this book I thought motivating people via guilt was one of the most effective ways to bring about change. I came to see how destructive guilt motivate was, and how it was unlike to sustain deep change in the long run. I try to reread this book every few years. Each time I am reminded how easy it is to use guilt to motivate, how guilt is hugely damaging, and what are effective and life giving alternatives to guilt.
Marriage Builder by Larry Crabb is a significant reason I enjoy my marriage today. Crabb’s core thesis is that the reason most marriages struggle is that the partners are looking for the other person to meet our needs, to fill up a void in our lives that only God can fill. This book calls us to trust God to meet our core needs, and out of that dependence to choose to love, serve, and sacrifice for our spouse. I know that when I keep this in mind, that I am a better husband to my wife. Crabb challenged my assumption that my wife was going to somehow “complete me”, but rather encouraged me to consider her a companion on a journey. Many of the principles which Crabb applies to marriage are equally true in other relationships. While The Marriage Builder had a profound impact on me, I would now recommend Tim Keller’s The Meaning of Marriage instead because I think it is more comprehensive and balanced. For younger folks still in the dating stage, I recommend the book Loveology.
The Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod explores how cooperation can emerge in a world ruled by selfishness with no central authority or rule. Axelrod demonstrates that enlightened self interest can lead to effective cooperation in any situation where the participants believe that they will need to interact with each other in the future. These lessons can, and should be applied to personal, corporate, national, and international interactions. After reading this book I noticed that I was much less likely to take an all or nothing approach when dealing with others, and was more more likely to look for win-win options. Most important, this book gave me hope. The Marshall Rosenberg’s book Non Violent Communication does a good job demonstrated how this often works in inter-personal relationships.
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider. Extremely challenging to an upper midclass kid who was suround by affluences and a consumer oriented culture. His suggestion of a progressive tithe and not growing lifestyle at pace with income has influenced my relationship with money. I am more of a consumer that I would like to be, but this book has helped keep my life in perspective, and to avoid buying into our consumer culture. I think Randy Alcorn’s book Money, Possessions and Eternity is a great companion.
The Spontaneous Expansion of the Churchby Roland Allen looks at the growth of the early church. Roland argues that the church doesn’t need complex structures and systems to be effective. Rather the church needs to free its members to follow after God. Too often, church leadership trying to control what is happening and how it’s happening. This is a mistake. The church is a group of people who are together, trying to follow after God and responding to what they are learning. This books resulted in me being much more laid back when in leadership roles within the church, and has lead me to select a church that favors less control and more empowerment. I think the out of print book The Church Unleashed by Frank Tillapaugh did a great job explaining what this might look like in a “modern” church in America.
The Dynamics of Personal Follow-up by Gary Kuhne is the best book I have found describing how to help establish a new Christian. This book helped me appreciate what core truths and life practices were important in the life of a new Christian, why it was important to purposefully pass these core practices on, and gave me a framework to help someone new in the faith become more established. I also learned to appreciate how people grow in different ways and that what someone might need in one stage of life, will likely be different in the next stage of life. Finally, Dynamics of Personal Follow-up provided me a basic framework to think about how people grow. I have taught classes based on material from this book and used much of Kuhne’s material when mentoring people.
Please Understand Meby Keirsey and Bates. I discovered this book in 1981 at local book store. At the time I realized that I didn’t have very good insight into myself or the people around me. This book introduced me to the Myers-Briggs personality classification system. After reading this book, I had a better understanding of myself, both my strengths and my weaknesses. My appreciation of people who were different from me grew significantly and I was able to start thinking of them as different rather than “plodding” or “insensitive”. I came to realize that there was great value in people who were more systematic than me, or who cared more about truth than people. There is an updated version of this book called Please Understand Me II which I recently reread. The most recent time though I got even more out of this book. In the past I would read the description of my type (ENFJ) be be pleased. I liked the description. This time through I asked for each characteristic three questions. First, is this describing my experience? Second, is this a picture of wholeness, a reflection of something that is true, of the Lord, or is this brokeness. Third, how is this something that that can stand between me and the Lord: be it something good that becomes an idol, or something that is directly contrary to the Lord. Asking these questions has been quite a blessing. There isn’t a lot of scientific evidence of the accuracy of Myers-Briggs. There are better personality sorts now, but I haven’t felt compelled to use them.
Walking in Victory by Dennis McCallum, one of the founders of the church I attended as a new Christian. This book distills most of the teaching I heard early in my Christian faith about the nature of spiritual growth. These teachings had a significant role in shaping how I view the world and understand what it means to live as a Christian. I learned this material for handouts, articles, and in-person lectures. This book was written later based on those materials. I believe that there are better books for many of the topics that are covered in this book. For example, I think Green Letters by Miles Stanford has more depth on many of the topics. The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee explains Romans 5-8 is much great detail. Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee gives a much more complete explanation about how trials and suffering refine our character. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence and A Praying Life by Paul Miller are much better explaining a life of prayer. The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge is much more effective at capturing the personal nature of a walk with God. Never the less, the materials in this book are extremely valuable in understanding the foundations of basic, Christian spirituality.
The Bible God and numerous human authors collection over 2000 years. The writers are a varied lot from a diverse set of professions, life situations, times, languages, and styles. Throughout my early life I had an intense dislike for what I thought was Christianity. When I finally took the time to read the Bible I found something completely different from what I expected. The book of John introduced me to a very different sort of Jesus, someone that I could respect and wanted to know. The book of James told me that if Christianity was true, that people’s lives should change, and that hypocrisy wasn’t something that should be associated with Christianity. These two sections of the Bible started me on my journey as a Christian which has affected my entire adult life. Over the years I have read the Bible through several times. Some sections are incredibly boring, others are hard to understand, still others are shocking, yet I find myself regularly challenged and encouraged. The Bible has shaped my life in countless ways. The first change was to give me hope. When I entered college I had pretty much given up on people and any hope for this world. I tried to avoid relationships and was looking for ways to get away from humanity so when everything fell apart I could take care of myself. Studying the Bible encouraged me to re-engage the world and do what I could for my fellow man. God’s concern for the powerless has made me more compassionate and motivated me to work with internationals and refugees. Thru my adolescence I tended to view people in a very black or white way. Either people where worthy of respect and 100% trustworthy, or they where idiots who had nothing value to say or contribute. The frank portrayals of great men of faith, who were deeply flawed helped me realize that I can’t expect perfection from anyone, but rather I should cherish and learn from any good I see in others. Most important, I learned the importance of forgiveness… both receiving it and being willing to extend it. Over time I learned that I should understand that I needed to view the Bible as progressive revelation were the community of faith was taught something, and then once that was established the next step was taken much the way that high school chemistry and different from graduate courses. Finally I came to realize that the Bible shouldn’t be treated as a textbook, but an evolving story. For example, Genesis is not about how God built the world (how to build a house) but what was happening in the world he create (the story of home).
How to Solve It by G. Polya taught me to be more explicit in how I worked through righteous problems and helped me see that there were numerous tools, heuristics, that could be used. I got me to think about which tool/heuristic was most likely to to bring me to a solution, and provided a list of alternative approaches in the one I choose is failing to deliver results.
Walden by Henry David Thoreau crystalized for me how a simple and reflective life was desirable. For a time I thought about moving somewhere remote to build my own cabin and live a simple, off grid life. I never did this, but Thoreau emphasis on a life filled with meaning, looking for truth, and appreciating community over getting caught up in “modern” society’s expectations had a deep influence on my life. Unlike many books on this list, I can’t identify a specific event or change that this book brought about in my life, but I can see it’s influence over the years in many ways.
Whole Earth Catalog by Stuart Brand was a wonderful collection of articles, reviews, and product descriptions. I came across this book in my high school years. It transported me (living in the midwest) to the alternative culture (hippie, progressive, …) of the west coast. I learned a lot about about sustainable technologies and social activism. I heard someone else say this was a bit like google in a paperback book long before google existed. I would agree with this description. All versions are now available online.
Shockwave Rider by Jon Brunner took the increasing rate of change discussed in Future Shock and extrapolated that into the future. He envisioned a world wide data network which was used by everyone. Since everything was in the network (web), privacy was also extremely limited. Being able to manipulate (hack) data in the web gave people incredible power. The rate of change was so quick that most people had significant problems coping. Everyone need to take anti-anxiety meds to cope. Many lived “plug in lifestyles” which is characterized by surface relationships, moving for career development, and living in communities which looked identical in whatever city they were living in. This book also touched on the topic of the misguided tendency to pursue knowledge without wisdom. This book deepened my interest in computing, made me think about pursuing wisdom not just knowledge, and gave me an appreciation that technology is a two edged sword. Before reading this book I deeply believed that technology was the answer to all problems. This book tempered my enthusiasm for technology and made me look for unintended consequences.
Books have played a significant role in who I am. There are a number of books that really changed me. There is an even larger number of books I recommend because they have enriched my life.
I grew up in a home that had bookcases in nearly every room. I thought most homes had the compact OED, Encyclopedia Britannica’s Great Books of the Western World and the Feynman Lectures (online) in the bookshelves, and everyone had read and loved Fahrenheit 451 and How to Read a Book. One of these days I will make a list of books that are in my canon, which is a combination of books I think are excellent, what I think everyone should have read to have a well rounded reading experience.
I took it for granted that reading was part of everyday life. Most of my friends read multiple books a month and were in the middle of several books at any given time. I have since learned that a significant portion of the world aren’t readers. This makes me sad because I think books are incredibly powerful.
I love reading and I love books. A house without bookshelves filled with books seems empty. I will admit I have purchased too many books over the years. Even when I have 100+ books waiting to be read, I still purchase new books. Why? One, my immediate interests or needs might bump the new book to the top of the list. Second, is a fear that the book will go out of print and I won’t be able to pick it up at a later date. Third, it might be that buying the book gives the illusion that I will have time to read the book… so it feels a bit like I am buying more time. I know that’s not true, but it sort of feels that way. I discovered that there was a forth reason I purchased books. That being a reader was part of my identity, and that a large book collection was like a badge of honor.
A number of years ago I started to simplify my stuff which included downsizing my physical book collection. I have mostly switched to using ebooks because they are more transportable, searchable, and I every book can have giant print for my aging eyes. Ten years after I started to reduce the size of my physical book collection I feel a bit divided. Studies have shown people often retain 30% more information when reading a paper book compared to using an e-reader. In a recent study at Columbia found student learned better when reading traditional books rather than ebooks. When all my books were physical I found it easy to find a book which addressed a particular topic. I have found even with all my ebooks in a database and the ability to do full text searches, that I often have trouble finding a particular book unless I remember its title. I have also found that ebooks aren’t as inspiring. When rooms were filled with bookcases, sometimes just glancing over at the books would inspire me to investigate a topic.
There is another reason I like physical books… the book is “yours”. When you buy a digital book (unless explicitly marked DRM Free) you aren’t “buying” the book, you are licensing it and have agreed to the terms. Those terms give Amazon (and other digital publishers) the right to terminate your access. It used to be that you could download all your content which could be stored offline, making impossible for Amazon to remove the book. This also enabled people to run DRM removal tools so the book to be read on other devices. Amazon ended that Feb 26, 2025.
Nassim Taleb has inspired several articles about the value of the anti-library (unread books), specially having more books than you will ever have time to read because it keeps us aware of all that we don’t know. The Japanese call this tsundoku.
I am trying to record all the books I have read on goodreads, but there are still a lot which are missing. Amazon has released a Your Books page which integrates all the physical, kindle, and audio books you have purchased through them.
Local Libraries
Libraries are more than just places that stores or loans books. They tend to be places that prompt learning, fight against repression, and build community. Many offer resources such as tools, access to art, and many other worthy endeavors.
