40 Things I Learned from 40 Books I Read This Year (2020)

At the beginning of the year I planned to read 12 books—a book a month—but I ended up reading 61. I rediscovered the love for reading that I had when I was a kid. A handful of books were amazing, most were pretty good, and some were dog shit. Here is a list of 40 things I learned from 40 of those books.

“Read what you love until you love to read.” -Naval Ravikant

1. Antifragile by Nassim Taleb

There is generally a favorable biological response to repeated small stressors (known as hormesis). Jumping off a 100 foot building will kill you. Jumping off a 1 foot bench 100 times will strengthen your muscles and bones.

2. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

To look at life as a gift, with the willingness to give it back to Nature at any time, for it is not up to you.

3. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang

The atrocities committed by Japan on China in 1937. The capability man has to make Hell on Earth.

4. The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

The importance of really listening and paying attention, not just to words but also to body language, tone, and environment.

5. The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The extent of the Soviet labor camps, tortures, and overall corruption.

6. Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

How far the human body can be pushed with a strong mind.

7. The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Burdens are usually blessings and our perceptions can change our reality. The Athenian general Pericles was on a naval mission when there was an eclipse and darkness cast over his fleet of ships. Panic spread amongst his crew and so he walked up to the lead steersman, and covered his face with his cloak. He asked the steersman if he was afraid of what he saw. The man said of course not. Pericles replied “so what does it matter when the cause of the darkness differs?”

8. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

Men are not equal and we shouldn’t want them to be. Great men are a blessing to humanity.

9. The Trial and Death of Socrates by Plato

How to die a noble death.

10. The Story of My Life by Casanova

Life is an adventure, and whether happy or unhappy, it is the only true treasure man possesses.

11. On the Shortness of Life by Seneca

Life is not short, however we waste a lot of it. Be frugal in guarding your time.

12. Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb

When picking between a good looking surgeon and an ugly one that looks like a butcher, choose the ugly one. He made it to his position in spite of not looking the part.

13. The Essential Jung by Anthony Storr

“He who cannot lose his life, neither shall he save it…to develop a personality is a gamble”.

14. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Showing up every day is more important than creativity.

15. Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris

The importance of reading, journaling, and rituals.

16. Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Live in such a way that will not leave you bitter or resentful, for a bitter life is a wasted life.

17. On Writing Well by William Zinsser

How to improve my writing.

18. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

The 1850’s American frontier was a dark and violent place.

19. The River of Doubt by Candice Millard

Theodore Roosevelt was a badass.

20. Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning

Atrocities are not committed by devils and demons, instead they are usually committed by ordinary men.

21. Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman

A human being should be able to help create the atom bomb, pick locks, pick up girls at a bar, paint, and play music in Brazil.

22. Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life is dynamic and so it is okay to contradict oneself in good faith.

23. The Enchiridion by Epictetus

There are things which you control and things you do not control. Be content with the things you do not control. What you can control are your opinions and reactions towards external events.

24. The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt

Peanut allergies have increased due to reducing the exposure kids have to peanuts (because of peanut allergies).

25. The Dark Side of Man by Michael Ghiglieri

90 Percent of American rape victims are between 12-35. Statistically murderers normally kill male acquaintances.

26. On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche

Being too weak to do harm is not akin to morality.

27. Ecce Homo by Friedrich Nietzsche

Amor Fati.

28. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

The image people have of Malcolm X (including mine before reading this book) are inaccurate. The less radical Malcolm at the endo of his life is rarely talked about.

29. The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

Humans are extremely sensitive to change in circumstance, but not to absolute levels.

30. A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvin

How to practice Stoicism.

31. The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

Fortune is fickle.

32. Lying by Sam Harris

The truth is the best strategy across time, in addition to its morality.

33. How To Spend $75 Billion to Make the World a Better Place by Bjorn Lomborg

Hunger, malnutrition, and infectious disease are at the top of the list of problems in underdeveloped countries. A convention is held in which economic experts look at solutions that yield the highest payoff.

34. Icarus Fallen by Chantal Delsol

Todays lack of meaning is due to the realization in the 20th century that utopias did not work, giving us nothing to strive for.

35. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Hamilton was killed in a duel by the sitting vice president of the United States.

36. 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene

Give your enemies no target to attack.

37. The Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Genuine happiness is found in accepting life for what it is. The joy and the suffering.

38. The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin

How to set up a priming ritual.

39. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell

The unbelievably hard life of a coal miner.

40. SAS Survival Handbook by John Wiseman

What to pack, how to make a solar still, and how to collect and cook ants.