For all the progress updates in one place:
Progress Update: November 2024
Here are the books I read/listened to for my research during November 2024
How to Think Like Socrates
Introducing: Derrida
Never Play it Safe
Supercommunicators
Ethics (Spinoza)
Introducing: Postmodernism
Transcend
Happier
What Would Nietzsche Do?
*The Art of Thinking Clearly
The Art of the Good Life
The Evolving Self (M. Csikszentmihalyi)
The Further Reaches of Human Nature (A. Maslow)
Toward a Psychology of Being (A. Maslow)
Ni Alta, Ni Baja, Construye Auténtica Autoestima
Living an Examined Life (James Hollis)
Through the Dark Wood (James Hollis)
What Matters Most (James Hollis)
The Middle Passage (James Hollis)
Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life (James Hollis)
Lincoln’s Melancholy
The Confident Mind
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder
Notes:
• November was a better month, but still a slow reading pace compared to earlier in the year, since I was traveling for most of the month.
• My favorite book of the month was “Living an Examined Life” by James Hollis. If you are facing a major change in your life or going through an existential or identity crisis, “Living an Examined Life” is a great book for you. James Hollis is now one of my favorite authors. I’ve read about five of his books in the last year.
• My favorites from this batch: “What Would Nietzsche Do.” It’s about complex philosophical questions, such as “Is there a qualitative difference between high culture and popular entertainment?” This is explained through light examples, such as “Is Shakespeare better than The Simpsons?” This is a good entry point for those interested in philosophy but who are put off by the academic language and dry discussions of most philosophy books.
• Another good book from the list was “The Art of Thinking Clearly.” This is an enjoyable read on thinking biases. Short chapters, easy read, well-written. Highly Recommended.
It was another week focused on reading psychology. I’m working my way through Maslow’s thinking and contribution. I’ll finish with “Transcend” this week and then take on more philosophy again, which I haven’t read in some time.
I took so much out of James Hollis’ book from last week that this week I decided to binge on his writing. All four books from this week are by him.
The same themes and ideas come up throughout the books, but are sometimes presented in different ways, which helps to internalize the message.
Hollis is one of the rare authors whose both content and style are amazing.
Of the six books I’ve read by him over the past year, “Living an Examined Life” and “A Life of Meaning” are the best. Highly recommended.
• The best of last week was “Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life” by James Hollis.
The book is a wealth of information on psychotherapy and the search for meaning in our lives. Hollis is one of those few people who combine beautiful writing with amazing insight and wisdom. I’ll be reading more of his books in the coming days.
• October was a slow month. I took about two weeks off, and traveling is cutting into a lot of my reading time.
November will be the 12th month of this research phase, and depending on the progress, I’ll balance reading with organizing the information I’ve gathered.