Notes on Books

Oct 9, 2026

You can tell a lot about a person by what they think about Atlas Shrugged.Like, have they actually read it?

Oct 3, 2026 Thread · 2 posts →

"Here I would often lie, as the sun went down, and watch the silent growth of another sea, which the stormy ocean of the wind could not disturb⁠—the sea of the darkness. First it would begin to gather in the bottom of hollow places. Deep valleys, and all little pits on the hillsides, were wellsprings where it gathered, and whence it seemed to overflow, till it had buried the earth beneath its mass, and, rising high into the heavens, swept over the faces of the stars, washed the blinding day from them, and let them shine, down through the waters of the dark, to the eyes of men below."An all-time favorite quote from George MacDonald's, The Portent.

Oct 8, 2019

A spectacular piece of fiction from one of my favorite blogs—Sort By Controversial

slatestarcodex.com Sort By Controversial [Epistemic status: fiction] Thanks for letting me put my story on your blog. Mainstream media is crap and no one would have believed me anyway. This starts in September 2017. I was working for a sm… (opens in a new tab)

May 17, 2019 Thread · 3 posts →

Just finished the Idea Factory, which follows the rise and fall of Bell Labs. One concept I'm left with—Markets are excellent at optimizing existing technology for consumer desires. However, they are poor at producing impactful, world-changing technology like the semiconductor.

Mar 7, 2019

FWIW, this is one of my favorite coffee table books.

Feb 6, 2019

“While most of us focus on consuming information that we won’t care about next month, let alone next year, Buffett focused on knowledge and companies that change very, very slowly or not at all. ”

Aug 23, 2018

I've rarely read 3 books back-to-back that move near the top of my all-time recommendations. These three are absolutely worth your time:
—Sapiens
—The Rational Optimist
—Seeing Like a State

Aug 23, 2018

Interesting thoughts on war from Sapiens—war has never been so expensive and peace has never been so profitable.

Apr 12, 2018 Thread · 2 posts →

“Technology has undoubtedly created massive benefits for humanity. But it can cause problems — shifting into High Modernism territory — when it ignores, or even tries to replace our complex humanity instead of working with it.”

calnewport.com The Disturbing High Modernism of Silicon Valley A Revealing Memo A couple weeks ago, BuzzFeed leaked a memo written by Facebook VP Andrew “Boz” Bosworth in the summer of 2016. It contained ... Read more (opens in a new tab)

Mar 7, 2018

If you're interested in Stoicism, I would absolutely recommend it. Ego is the Enemy is a short read. It's well thought-out and I believe the underlying themes—even though I'm not crazy about all the examples.

Mar 7, 2018 Thread · 3 posts →

I finished Ryan Holiday's Ego is the Enemy this morning. My friends who had read it were split. It was either life changing or hated for watering down the original texts.

Dec 7, 2017 Thread · 2 posts →

Trying to decide what audiobook is up next. Considering BTC just hit $15,000, I'm thinking The Snowball (Warren Buffett bio) or Debt: The First 5,000 Years. Thoughts?

Nov 28, 2017

Really digging some of the ideas in the Design Systems Handbook. designbetterpodcast.com

Aug 11, 2017

There are so many incredible ideas in this Isaac Asimov interview. The man was truly remarkable.

youtube.com World of Ideas Isaac Asimov (opens in a new tab)

Jul 31, 2017

Recently finished the Fall and Rise of China. It is spectacular. If you're fascinated by history, you'll love it.

audible.com The Fall and Rise of China Check out this great listen on Audible.com. How can we account for China’s momentous - and almost wholly unanticipated - global rise? And what does it mean, for us in the West and for humanity’s future?… (opens in a new tab)

Jul 19, 2017

While my commute is about to get longer, I am looking forward to more audiobook time.

Mar 27, 2017

On Writing Well is missing from this list. It's a must-read for anyone writing non-fiction. buff.ly

Nov 26, 2016 Thread · 2 posts →

Ha, this DO NOT read list for founders, is better than the DO read list. Delivering Happiness was pretty weak. buff.ly

Nov 23, 2016

Remind me, who is Oceania at war with?

Nov 19, 2016

This weekend's project—make it easier to subscribe to my newsletter, build a library of favorite books on my site.

Nov 19, 2016

After rereading 1984, the government's battle against encryption worries me. Do people have a right to privacy? buff.ly

Nov 17, 2016 Thread · 2 posts →

Question—is Kindle Unlimited a good alternative to Audible if I just want Audiobooks?

Nov 15, 2016 Thread · 2 posts →

Man, I'm already through this month's Audible credits with 1984 and Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Guess it's back to podcasts.

Nov 8, 2016 Thread · 2 posts →

In 1984 it's interesting that the warring super-states have no intention of winning. War is just a convenient device to keep people in fear.

Oct 29, 2016 Thread · 2 posts →

Amusing that the Philosophers in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy revolt when the super computers turns on—afraid it will take their jobs.

Aug 11, 2016 Thread · 2 posts →

I just realized what the"Many people are saying... many reliable sources" Anti-Trump bots remind me of—Dagne's brother in Atlas shrugged.

Jul 7, 2016

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Jun 10, 2016

Oh wow, Harry Potter is 20 years old—that's hard to believe.

May 13, 2016

Tumblr blog to coffee table book. Great concept.

cabinporn.com Cabin Porn ® – Substack Inspiration for your quiet place somewhere: cabins, cottages, tiny homes, houseboats, shelters, saunas and vans. Click to read Cabin Porn ®, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers. (opens in a new tab)

Apr 18, 2016

Where does out modern conception of staple fantasy races such as Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs come from? reddit.com

Mar 2, 2016

The collective insanity of the publishing industry

genedoucette.me The collective insanity of the publishing industry Unless you're a writer, I imagine you haven't been paying quite as close attention to the publishing industry and all its weirdness as I have, and that's a shame, because it's been really entertaining. Actually,… (opens in a new tab)

Feb 3, 2016

Has anyone done ebook layouts in Sketch? For a small book, I really don't want to open InDesign.

Nov 19, 2015

Awesome project by @mikaelcho and the @unsplash team—The Unsplash Book buff.ly

Oct 27, 2015

What's the best way to ruin a book? Make it required reading in school.

Oct 24, 2015

Tolkien's annotated map of Middle-earth discovered inside copy of Lord of the Rings

theguardian.com Tolkien Map goes on sale in Oxford for £60,000 after being found inside novel belonging to illustrator Pauline Baynes (opens in a new tab)

Aug 11, 2015

Ugh, trying to slug through this MBA book and not a damn thing is applicable to high-growth tech companies.

Jul 30, 2015

Zero to One is an exceptional book. I'm kind of bummed that I'm done with it.

Jul 28, 2015

A bunch of designers say what they're currently reading. buff.ly

Jun 19, 2015

What's next after Atlas Shrugged—the Fountainhead, East of Eden or A History of Western Philosophy?

Jun 18, 2015

Finally finished Atlas Shrugged. Wow.

May 12, 2015

I've just made an incredible discovery! LibriVox has public domain audiobooks.

Apr 10, 2015

"Like all persons of the Library... I have wandered in search of a book, perhaps the catalogue of catalogues..."

Mar 21, 2015

The non questions presented by characters in Atlas Shrugged are both brilliant and maddening.

Feb 21, 2015

An interesting question. What Books Could Be Used to Rebuild Civilization?

openculture.com What Books Could Be Used to Rebuild Civilization?: Lists by Brian Eno, Stewart Brand, Kevin Kelly & Other Forward-Thinking Minds One particularly distressing hallmark of late modernity can be characterized as a cultural loss of the future. (opens in a new tab)

Feb 14, 2015

I've got a bunch of Audible credits. Any book suggestions?

Dec 13, 2014

Kuwayama's Trade Marks and Symbols book was $99 before the Aaron Draplin video went viral, now it's $2,400...

Dec 9, 2014

Wild Card! After fighting all year with Amazon, Hachette partners with Gumroad to sell books directly to readers

Nov 22, 2014

This is cool— Art from the Best Children’s Books of 2014

themarginalian.org The Best Children’s Books of 2014 Intelligent and imaginative tales of love, loneliness, loyalty, loss, friendship, and everything in between. (opens in a new tab)

Oct 23, 2014

Aldous Huxley writes George Orwell following the release of 1984.

news.lettersofnote.com Letters of Note – Shaun Usher – Substack Nothing but history's most interesting letters. Click to read Letters of Note, by Shaun Usher, a Substack publication. (opens in a new tab)

Aug 22, 2014

I love the smell of old ebooks.

Jun 25, 2014

Also, if someone purchases your book via an affiliate link, do you get less money? (because Amazon has to pay the affiliate)

Jun 25, 2014

Author friends—if you've published a book on Amazon and link to it via a referral id, do you get money from the sale plus affiliate money?

Jun 16, 2014

Awesome work on your book @SamuelHulick!

nathanbarry.com How Samuel Hulick made over $37,000 with his self-published book Thanks Agota Bialobzeskyte for writing this case study. Samuel Hulick is a UX consultant specifically focused on user onboarding. He runs the website User Onboard, which analyzes popular web apps’ first-run… (opens in a new tab)

May 2, 2014

An online version of The Elements of Style

Apr 28, 2014

One author's look at the economics of writing a book

priceonomics.com The Economics of Writing a Book Self-publishing is on the rise. Ebooks sales are exploding. Authors have more options than ever. Is making money still one of them? (opens in a new tab)

Feb 5, 2014

I can't wait to read this book—What would a modern-day evil genius have to do in order to take over the world? buff.ly

Feb 5, 2014

Looking for a Groupon/Appsumo specifically for self-published books. Anybody have recommendations?

Jan 28, 2014

Winning Isn't Normal by Jason Shen is $0.99 for the next hour on Amazon. The book is worth every penny.

Nov 6, 2013

I always finish a book before moving on-Going to make an exception & start Execute by @drewwilson & @joshlong tonight

Sep 19, 2013

OK Ron Paul, let's see what you think about education.

Sep 5, 2013

If you found that article on schooling interesting I would encourage you to read a copy of John Taylor Gatto's Weapons of Mass Instruction.

Nov 19, 2012

Whenever I'm stuck writing something I always read a few pages out of On Writing Well. Always does the trick.

Jun 14, 2012

Rifkin's chapter on distributed capitalism in #TIR is phenomenal - although I do disagree with some of his political opinions.

May 1, 2012

looking forward to the next few books on the reading list. yfrog.com

Apr 20, 2012

If these 8 books don't Change your life I owe you a beer.

samuelrsolomon.com 8 Books That Will Change Your Life Here is a collection of books that will change your life. (opens in a new tab)

Oct 26, 2011

20 Popular High School Books Available as Free eBooks & Audio Books - world-shaker: tumblr.com

Oct 17, 2011

@KauffmanFDN There is a lot of "Magic Sauce" in @sgblank s 4 Steps to the Epiphany shar.es Love the @KauffmanFDN Sketchbook btw

Sep 26, 2011

@DaleJStephens Thanks for taking my question. Great discussion about education. @MichaelEllsberg ill definitely look for your book.

May 4, 2011

@clarkaldrich I should be studying for an organizational behavior final, but I find Unschooling Rules far more compelling.

Apr 30, 2011

Whether it is a Morgan Freeman impersonator or Carl Kasell, audio book version of Snooki's biography are hilarious.

Dec 7, 2010

RE: @mashable Anyone read the book The Spider and the Starfish? Cut off a starfish organizations head and it only grow… disq.us