Updates here have been too few and far between. I’ve recently completed the first phase of a major personal software development project (more details to come) and with that major effort behind me, I see the possibility of more frequent updates coming in 2025. In the meantime, I thank everyone who has stuck around despite the quiet desolation here.

With the end of the year approaching, I figured there were two things I could write about: (1) my best reads of the year, and (2) some upcoming reading in 2025. I’m going to hold off on #1 for now because my best read could come on the last day of the year–one never knows. It annoys me to no end when big outlets start listing their best books of the year in November. All those authors who have the misfortune of having their books late in the year only to be overlooked.

For example, I just this morning finished Doris Kearns Goodwin’s An Unfinished Love Story and though it was the 85th book I’d read this year, I immediately added it to the list of “best reads.” There are 8 books on that list now, and room for two more. I arbitrarily limit the list to 10 because I aim to read 100 books each year and I consider the best to be in the top 10 percent. I won’t read 100 books this year, the first time since 2021, but I read many long books so it turns out to be at least the equilvalent of 100 books.

Indeed, upon finishing Goodwin’s book this morning, I debated between two alternatives: Max Boot’s Reagan: His Life and Legend or Brandon Sanderson’s Wind and Truth. I opted for the latter because of the other book I am currently reading: Michel de Montaigne’s Complete Essays. Boot’s Reagan and Montaigne’s Essays seemed like a lot of heavy ready for what is after all a holiday season. Even though Wind and Truth, at 1330 pages is really just a few pages longer than Montaigne’s Essays (1283p), it is lighter fare. My reading almanac predicts I’ll finish Wind and Truth on December 29, leaving the possibility of squeezing in one more book before the year is out. Here are some of the books I have queued up on my nightstand and in my Audible downloads:

• Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot. I already mentioned this one.
• The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America, 1932-1972 by William Manchester. I loved Manchester’s biography of Winston Churchill. He was a supporting character in Goodwin’s recent book and when I read about someone interesting, it often sends me on a search for what else they’ve written. This one looked fascinating, a kind of compliment to David Halberstam’s The Fifties.
• Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Reosenberg, Ph.D. This one was mentioned in a WIRED interview/profile of Satya Nadella, C.E.O. of Microsoft.
• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, because I’m curious.
• How to Know a Person by David Brooks. I’ve read Brooks’ columns for a long time, and I was especially fascinated by his recent essay in the December 2024 issue of the Atlantic, “How the Ivy League Broke America.”
• What It Is Like to Be a Bat by Thomas Nagel, a famous short book that is a kind of pre-cursor to AI.

In addition, there are two books for upcoming book club meetings (January and February) that I have on the list:

• Autobipgraphy of a Face by Lucy Grealy.
• Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway. This one is going to require me to refresh my memory by rereading The Spy Who Came In From the Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Other possibilities include:

• Abe: Abraham Lincoln and His Time by David S. Reynolds.
• Lincoln by David Herbert Donald — because one can never read enough about Lincoln.
• Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus by Elaine Pagels
• Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
• Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World by Irene Vallejo

Of course, any one of these books can send me off in other directions–the butterfly effect of reading. But this is what things look like right now. If anyone has recommendations or suggestions, I love to hear them. Leave a comment!

Stay-tuned on our about January 1 for my best reads of 2024. And more to come in 2025.