I’ve been reading incorrectly. Join me as I learn to read correctly and intentionally again - not just for completion. I’m currently reading a book a week - sometimes more, sometimes less. This is my reading log. For reviews and recs check out my Good Reads (link TBA).

Pieces of the Action, Vannevar Bush (October 2025)

• An inside account of one of the most innovative R&D ecosystems of the 20th century, from the man who was at the center of it all.

An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management, Will Larson (September 2025)

• A human-centric guide to solving complex problems in engineering management, from sizing teams to handling technical debt.

Abundance, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (September 2025)

• A bold manifesto urging America to overcome self-imposed scarcity by rebuilding its capacity to act, innovate, and govern toward a politics of plenty and progress.

Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson (September 2025)

• Argues political institutions determine long-term prosperity.

Technofeudalism, Yanis Varoufakis (September 2025)

• Technofeudalism says Yanis Varoufakis, is the new power that is reshaping our lives and the world, and is the greatest current threat to the liberal individual, to our efforts to avert climate catastrophe and to democracy itself

The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga (August 2025)

• A darkly comic novel on class, corruption, and ambition in modern India.

Superforecasting, Philip E. Tetlock & Dan Gardner (August 2025)

• Shows how data-driven reasoning and probabilistic thinking improve predictions.

Fundraising, Ryan Breslow (August 2025)

• A candid, practical guide to the art and psychology of raising money—blending storytelling, strategy, and persuasion to turn vision into capital.

Why Empires Fall, John Rapley and Peter Heather (August 2025)

• A sweeping historical parallel between the fall of Rome and the decline of the modern West, arguing that empires inevitably sow the seeds of their own downfall—and that ours may already be reaping them.
• Bonus points for great cover design.

Strangers Drowning, Larissa MacFarquha (July 2025)

• Profiles extreme altruists who devote their lives to helping others.

The Bottom Billion, Paul Collier (July 2025)

• Investigates why the world’s poorest nations fail to prosper despite globalization.

Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche (July 2025)

• Challenges moral dogma and explores the will to power.

High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People, Elad Gill (June 2025)

• A tactical guide to navigating hypergrowth, covering leadership, hiring, culture, and strategy from Silicon Valley’s most seasoned operators.

Technological Slavery, Ted Kaczynski (June 2025)

• Have been reading from controversial figures recently, and it’s quite interesting.
• Radical critique of industrial modernity and the psychological toll of technological dependence.

The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz (June 2025, 9/10)

• Raw insights on the brutal realities of running startups.

Countdown, Shanna H. Swan (May 2025, 8/10)

• Sobering scientific warning about declining sperm counts and the global fertility crisis.

Slouching Toward Bethlehem, Joan Didion (May 2025, 8.5/10)

• Sharp, melancholic essays capturing 1960s California’s moral and cultural unraveling.

Reductionism in Art and Brain Science, Eric Kandel (April 2025)

• Explores how neuroscience and modern art converge in understanding perception and creativity.

On Suicide, David Hume (April 2025, XX)

• Provocative philosophical exploration of the morality, rationality, and theological implications of taking one's own life. Argues that all are free to choose between life and death, though regardless of religion, it is morally permissible.
• Picked up at the most fabulous bookstore in the world, Daunt Books in London.

Industrial Society and Its Future, Ted Kaczynski (April 2025)

• Manifesto arguing that industrial technology erodes freedom and human dignity.

The Republic, Plato (March 2025, 10/10)

• Foundational dialogue on justice, virtue, and the ideal state through the lens of philosophical reason.

Notes on Complexity, Neil Theise (March 2025, 6/10)

• Elegant exploration of complexity theory and how self-organizing systems shape life and consciousness.
• Very good as an introduction to complexity theory, but in my opinion, is slightly surface level.

Read Write Own, Chris Dixon (March 2025, 7/10)

• Insights on user-owned internet powered by blockchain and open protocols.
• Cool ideas that got be more motivated to explore this field more, particularly in zero-knowledge proofs.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn (Feb 2025, 8/10)

• 1960’s novel on the history of science, noting that the evolution of scientific theory does not emerge from the straightforward accumulation of facts, but rather from a set of changing intellectual circumstances and possibilities.

Nexus, Yuval Noah Harrari (Feb 2025, 7/10)

• Interconnected essays on how data, AI, and biology reshape human destiny.
• Great ideas and Harrari is an incredible storyteller, but thought some of it was not necessary to go into as deeply.

Notes from Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky (Feb 2025, 9/10)

• Psychological monologue exposing alienation, free will, and the contradictions of modern selfhood.
• Great novel on garnering perspective around perceived realities.

Being and Time, Martin Heidegger (Jan 2025, 10/10)

• Deep dive into human existence, time, and meaning (challenging but seminal).

Blitzscaling, Reid Hoffman & Chris Yeh (Jan 2025, 8/10)

•  Framework on scaling fast in networked markets.

Outlive, Peter Attia (Jan 2025, 7/10)

• Science-based framework for extending healthspan through medicine, exercise, and proactive longevity.
• Picked up in SFO after a 9 hour delay - worthwhile read.

Seeking Wisdom, Peter Bevelin (Dec 2024, 6/10)

• Compilation of mental models drawn from science, philosophy, and investing for better decision-making.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harrari (Nov 2024, 8/10)

• Concise reflections on technology, truth, and morality in a rapidly changing world.
• Helped me build a better framework for ideas that should be prioritized in scaling out.

When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi (Oct 2024, 7/10)

• Heart-rending memoir of a neurosurgeon facing mortality and the meaning of a life’s work. Published posthumously.
• Well-written memoir, especially when considering that the author himself was facing such an aggressive cancer. In terms of end of life memoirs, Bronnie Ware’s top five regrets of the dying was more captivating for me.

Outwitting the Devil, Napoleon Hill (Sept 2024, 8/10)

• Allegorical dialogue on overcoming fear and self-limitation to reclaim personal agency.
• Recommended to me when I was 16. Rereading it a few years later I definitely obtained more value.

Dopesick, Beth Macy (June 2024, 8/10)

• Investigative account of America’s opioid epidemic and the human cost of pharmaceutical greed.
• Great account on understanding how pharmaceutical crisises emerge, and the incentives given by corporate pharma.

101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think, Brianna Wiest (July 2024, 3/10)

• Self-reflective essays encouraging emotional intelligence and personal clarity.
• Repetitive and did not help me too much.

Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harrari (May 2024, 9/10)

• Speculative look at humanity’s post-biological future and the quest for godlike control.
• One of the most relevant books I’ve read (and continue to reread).

Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson (April 2024, 6/10)

• Memoir of building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a path to peace through education.

Top Five Regrets of The Dying, Bronnie Ware (March 2024, 8/10)

• Life lessons distilled from the reflections of those near death on meaning and authenticity.

The Precipice, Toby Ord (Feb 2024, 7/10)

• Philosophical call to safeguard humanity from existential risks that threaten our long-term survival.

Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harrari (Feb 2024, 7/10)

• Sweeping history of humankind’s cognitive evolution and its civilizational consequences.

The Alignment Problem, Brian Christian (Jan 2024, 10/10)

• Masterful analysis of AI ethics and the struggle to align machine behavior with human values.
• Probably the best introduction to alignment theory I’ve read.

Zero to One, Peter Thiel (N.D., 9/10)

• Contrarian guide to building truly innovative companies that create new markets from nothing.

Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell (N.D., 6/10)

• Exploration of how hidden advantages and cultural factors shape extraordinary success.

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (N.D., 9/10)

• Poignant novel of friendship, guilt, and redemption set against Afghanistan’s turbulent history.

Lifespan, David Sinclair (N.D.)

• Argues that aging is a treatable disease and details scientific advances in extending human life.

12 Rules for Life, Jordan Peterson (N.D.)

• Psychological and moral guide to bringing order and responsibility to chaotic existence.

Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell (N.D.)

• Investigates why we misunderstand others and how trust and deception shape society.

Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman (N.D.)

• Groundbreaking study of the two cognitive systems driving human judgment and bias.

Atomic Habits, James Clear (N.D.)

• Practical framework for compounding small behavioral changes into lasting success.

Kafka by the Shore, Haruki Murakami (N.D.)

• Dreamlike novel intertwining fate, memory, and metaphysical mystery in modern Japan.
• Written by my favourite Japanese author.