My Suggested Reading List from 2024 (Revised)
“What I learned on my own I still remember”
― Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms
A new recommendation: The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (Review)
Taleb is not for everyone but don’t let the title scare you off. Hang on to the word “practical”.
Like G. K. Chesterton, I read Taleb just for the sheer pleasure of reading; he is one of my favorite authors.
But also like Chesterton, I find Taleb very helpful as he challenges my thinking and worldview.
He’s a bit of a grumpy old cynic (or seems to be; I don’t know him) and I certainly would not recommend him to be your Sunday School teacher, but he keeps me honest and that’s a good thing.
If you can only take Taleb in small doses, The Bed of Procrustes is for you. It is a book of one-liners (aphorisms) that, like a melody that gets stuck in your mind, will keep you ruminating long after you’ve closed the book.
Just a few of them per day. More is like eating too much ice cream (yes, its possible). Too much ice cream and it just become a chore of trying to get too the bottom of the ice cream container.
Of course finish the book, but not too quickly, that would take all the fun out of it.
Beautiful Resistance: The Joy of Conviction in a Culture of Compromise, Jon Tyson (Review)
Challenging, encouraging, and inspiring. Definitely worth reading.
The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible, Mark Batterson (Review)
Batterson is one of my most fav authors. Top shelf!
The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor, Howard Marks (Review)
Perhaps my most favorite financial author. I also like his podcast: The Memo, Howard Marks
In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G. K. Chesterton, G. K. Chesterton, Dale Ahlquist, editor (Review)
I read Chesterton just for the sheer pleasure of reading him. Good content too.
What Does God Want? Michael S. Heiser (Review)
I really, really enjoyed this book. Practical, theologically sound, and easy to read. It was also short for those who know they need to read good “bible books” but don’t want to read a book as big as Texas.
I also recommend it to pastors as a good bible study resource or for a new converts class.
Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash
