Here is a list of books I first compiled on August 4th, 2024. These books cover a diverse portfolio of topics and range from easy to incredibly difficult. I am organizing these by month for both my and the reader’s convenience.

I am surmounting the most challenging, edifying, and entertaining literature throughout history and across the intellectual continuum. If you, the reader, have any suggestions for reading material, please let me know in the comments. This blog will be updated periodically throughout each month. I hope you will join me!

Last Update: October 31st, 2024

September 2024

1. An Unquiet Mind, Kay Redfield Jamison
   • A poignant memoir discussing the author’s challenges and bipolar disorder as they pertain to her life and the journeys of others in similar shoes mental health-wise. This book screams out as accurate and written by someone afflicted by bipolar disorder within the first few pages. However, I was disappointed with how the acceptance of needing medication felt glossed over and contrived.

October 2024

1. Berserk, Deluxe Edition, Volume 1, Kentaro Miura
   • Standard volumes 1-3. The opening panels say everything about where Guts is. There is much more to him than meets the eye.
2. Berserk, Deluxe Edition, Volume 2, Kentaro Miura
   • Standard volumes 4-6. Guts strikes me as me if I were to exist in the world of Berserk. His demeanor, physicality, ruthlessness, determination, compassion, intimacy with few people, lone wolf mentality, and desire to pursue his own dream even if he knows not its identity are characteristic of my upbringing and bildungsroman-esque ascension. Of all the stories I’ve read in over two decades, Guts feels more like me than anyone I’ve ever seen, and it’s not particularly close.
3. Berserk, Deluxe Edition, Volume 3, Kentaro Miura
   • Standard volumes 7-9. Griff plays an instrumental role.
4. Berserk, Deluxe Edition, Volume 4, Kentaro Miura
   • Standard volumes 10-12. Wyald got wilded not once, but twice.
5. Berserk, Deluxe Edition, Volume 5, Kentaro Miura
   • Standard volumes 13-15. Eclipsed the horror and depravity of other manga. Rage and desperation personified. Fighting to the point of absolute fatigue. A narrow avoidance of a dark descent. Bugs to humans to ashes – to satiate or propitiate?
6. Berserk, Deluxe Edition, Volume 6, Kentaro Miura
   • Standard volumes 16-18. Humans at their worst easily eclipse literal monsters in pure evil, and they don’t even need to invoke the name of God to feel justified. Invoking divine authority is just a tool to delude the masses into acquiescing to their totalitarianism, abuse, and depravity. Demons, often just the idea of them, are more or less an excuse to embrace madness, delusion, and insanity. The demons themselves take great pleasure in human suffering and carnage, but seldom must lift a finger to realize those aims.
7. Berserk, Deluxe Edition, Volume 7, Kentaro Miura
   • Standard volumes 19-21. Bayonetta and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time vibes at the Tower of Conviction. The angels fly in a black whirlwind at their own peril. Many among the masses embrace paganism to mold the fear instilled in them by those who claim to desire it annihilated. An eclipse to eclipse the eclipse. Revelation. Fighting the monsters not to annihilate, but to save. Struggling not to survive, but to live. Picking battles against monsters where possible, but not running from something, running to something on an everlasting journey.

Backlog

1. Fires in the Dark, Kay Redfield Jamison
   • Discusses some history of bipolar disorder, as well as the author’s experience with it. Her first book describes her experience in more detail.
2. How to ADHD, Jessica McCabe
   • Easily digestible ADHD-friendly guide on how to help yourself as someone with ADHD, from a popular YouTuber and now mom with ADHD. Jessica is excellent at synthesizing complex research papers into palatable verbiage. She also discusses other challenges that may be linked to ADHD. I am hoping to be surprised and also reinforce the conclusions I came to independently.
3. ADHD 2.0, Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and John J. Ratey, M.D.
   • An eminent expert on ADHD is Dr. “Ned” Hallowell. This is a book my older brother read, and which I intend to complete as well. It should be invaluable toward optimizing my ADHD lifestyle and micro-routines.
4. Driven to Distraction, Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and John J. Ratey, M.D.
   • An older book and precursor to ADHD 2.0. May not be necessary to read, but I want to anyway for the most comprehensive outlook on ADHD from expert “Ned” Hallowell. I also would recommend Dr. Charles Barkley.
5. Bogle on Mutual Funds, John C. Bogle
   • For financial management advice wrt my mutual fund and investing my income. It is prudent to utilize multiple sources of income, and my dad gave me this book, so I would highly recommend it for those who want to be financially savvy.
6. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
   • The quintessential work of Aldous Huxley, it comments on the novelty of life and how technology can either aid or encroach upon it.
7. God’s Revelation to the Human Heart, Fr. Seraphim Rose
   • A book I am reading as an Orthodox Christian alongside the Bible. This is commentary from a spiritual acolyte whose wisdom and knowledge regarding God transcend my own.
8. Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
   • A classic crime thriller that introspects into the human heart and the psychological implications of sin.
9. Atomic Habits, James Clear
   • Provides strategies on how to implement micro-routines into your life without being overly controlling. That is critical for someone like me, who has ADHD and finds long, drawn out routines to be constrictive and oppressive.
10. 12 Rules for Life, Jordan B. Peterson
    • Jordan Peterson’s book originally based on a Quora post. I am reading it to discover how he transforms his psychological and philosophical advice into the written word.
11. Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
    • A personal growth title that advocates for the exact behavior encapsulated in its title.
12. Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Dr. Travis Bradberry and Dr. Jean Greaves
    • Relating to people is important to career, familial, romantic, and all other types of interpersonal success.
13. My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla, Nikola Tesla
    • I personally relate to being an intelligent, creative, hypersensitive individual like Tesla. I believe reading his autobiography should be elucidating not only to see how a well-reputed man who was underappreciated in his lifetime thought, but to draw parallels and distinctions that elevate my own life from this experience.
14. Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson
    • Biography of Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, Paypal, Neuralink, and several other prominent companies in multitudinous industries. Read for a comprehensive background into his atypical childhood given our shared intellectual, neurological, and imaginative characteristics.
15. The Creating Brain, Nancy C. Andreasen M.D., Ph.D.
    • The neuroscience behind creativity. Fascinated by this as a creative type.
16. Salem’s Lot, Stephen King
    • A gift from a woman I met at an inpatient facility. To discuss the premise would be to potentially spoil the novel, so I’ll just say it’s a classic Stephen King novel.
17. Dune, Frank Herbert
    • I started reading this in 5th grade, but never finished it. The day has come to finally accomplish this seemingly Herculean task.
18. Lethal White, Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
    • Book 4 of the Cormoran Strike series. A very captivating, erudite, and edifying series I want to read all of. I can especially relate to Strike’s experience with Charlotte throughout these novels.
19. Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
    • I have read some of this collection of C.S. Lewis’ radio talks advocating for Christianity as the most viable religion, but aspire to finally finish this year.
20. The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis
    • The problem of pain is a universal of every species’ existence, but this refers to the spiritual suffering we experience as creatures modeled after God.
21. How to Handle Neurotypicals, Abel Abelson
    • Satire and advice for being neurodivergent (e.g., ADHD, autism, OCD).
22. Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life, Jordan B. Peterson
    • Round two of 12 rules for life is a must-read for me because of how much I listen to Jordan Peterson (despite our disagreements on subjects like ADHD).
23. Lifted by Angels, Joel J. Miller
    • About what it means to have a guardian angel in Orthodox Christianity.
24. Mastery, Robert Greene
    • Mastering things effectively. Includes historical anecdotes to reinforce its arguments. Read half of it a while back but still want to finish the text.
25. Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
    • I read Tom Sawyer, and now I want to see what happened to his buddy Huckleberry Finn.
26. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
    • A must-read I’ve never read about forbidden love in the South in the early 20th century (if I recall correctly).

November 2024

1. By Design or by Chance?, Denyse O’Leary
   • Was the origin of the universe catalyzed by God or was it just merely by chance? This book evaluates both sides of the argument scientifically.
2. Maps of Meaning, Jordan B. Peterson
   • A psychological and religious framework for meaning that results from the synthesis of maps across numerous cultural hegemonies and melting pots.
3. The Trial and Death of Socrates, Plato
   • Socrates was Plato’s mentor, and so seeing Socrates die for his beliefs (my speculation) must have had a resounding impact on Plato’s psyche.
4. Five Dialogues, Plato
   • Sounds like a play, but I don’t know for sure. I want to find out because Plato wrote this and philosophy is one of my niches.
5. Orthodox Christian Beliefs: Real Answers to Questions from Real People, Stanley Samuel Harakas
   • Addresses the everyday qualms, toils, tribulations, and dilemmas of ordinary Christians.
6. Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
   • Overrated book that has some secret that you only know if certain unnamed or vague requirements are met. I want to see what Hill’s nonsense is all about.
7. Toolkit for Spiritual Growth, Fr. Evan Armatas
   • To draw closer to God more effectively through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
8. Godel Escher Bach, Douglas R. Hofstadter
   • Concepts related to math, symmetry, and music from the perspective of several greats. Recommended by a friend.
9. Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
   • I need to witness what goes down with that whale and see for myself what the fuss for this book is about as a piece of classic literature. Also thinking of the The Mentalist episode where a murderous genius references Moby-Dick upon dropping his act of being intellectually impaired.
10. Dracula, Bram Stoker
    • I want to know how the lord of the night was originally conceived as a Castlevania fan.
11. The Silmarillion, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
    • Offers more lore on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, with much said about the eons before the events of those books, and some said about post-Sauron days.

December 2024

1. Biographia Literaria, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
   • I want to see how this renowned poet and intellectual thinks after having read about him on Encyclopedia Britannica.
2. Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky
   • Said to be the best Dostoevsky novel and one of the best novels ever written in history by many eminent professionals.
3. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
   • Recommended by a psychologist. The title also caught my eye.
4. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
   • Classic literature said to be one of the greatest novels ever written. The Russians seem to have literary talents in spades…
5. Lord of the Flies, William Golding
   • K-12 often has people read this book, but I’ve never read it, so I want to make up for lost time.
6. Pierre, Herman Melville
   • A Quoran said they found this incomprehensible, and I want to see why.
7. Lyrical Ballads, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth
   • Attributed by many to have catalyzed the English Romantic movement in literature. May include the infamous Kubla Khan, which Coleridge wrote while under the influence of laudunum, a form of opium.
8. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
   • Explores addiction, entertainment, and the human condition, which are all especially pertinent in our modern value system.
9. Madame Bouvery, Gustave Flaubert
   • Said to be one of the great French works of literature.
10. Animal Farm, George Orwell
    • I saw the movie in childhood, but now want to read the book in full.

January 2025

1. An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry, Bertrand Russell
   • Philosophical implications of math.
2. Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes
3. Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant
   • Limits and scope of metaphysics explored and perhaps transcended.
4. Paradise Lost, John Milton
   • A poetic take on Lucifer’s fall from heaven and the subsequent consequences inherent in his eternal war against God.
5. The Birth of Tragedy: Out of the Spirit of Music, Friedrich Nietzsche
6. The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner
   • A very intelligent buddy of mine said this was incomprehensible gibberish with run-on sentences, so I want to read the novel in its entirety and see if there’s a point to it being that way.
7. Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
   • Where all those Marcus Aurelius quotes on social media come from. Aurelius is one of the philosophers associated with stoicism.
8. The Gay Science, Friedrich Nietzsche
9. Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes
10. Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche
11. Walden, Henry David Thoreau
    • Interested in the motivations behind Thoreau’s literature because he spent much time by himself in the woods isolated from society.

Ancillary

1. Monster, Naoki Urasawa, Volumes 1-9
   • A psychological, mystery, and crime thriller involving a doctor whose dutifulness brings a catastrophe in Europe which he must fight against. An underrated, fantastic manga series that is well worth anyone’s time and will certainly captivate you if you like Serial Experiments: Lain or other psychological trips like that.
2. Berserk, Kentaro Miura, Compendiums 1-14
   • The quintessential dark fantasy manga. If you want to be terrified, revolted, enraged, tearful, and psychologically tortured to discover the meaning of your own life, this is the collection for you. Berserk is so horrible yet edifying, poignant, and relatable. I would not take back any of the time I spent with Guts despite feeling all of the aforementioned emotional horrors. RIP Miura, whose passing means Berserk will never be finished the way it was intended to be completed, but whose end nevertheless marks an everlasting journery analogous to life.
3. Basic Electronics, McWhorter and Evans
   • One of my maternal grandfather’s old electronics books. I will give this a read for a review of some device physics, electronics like BJTs, analog vs digital, etc. I also hope it will revive my interest in the subject.