Worth Reading
359 articles filed under Worth Reading.
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Worth Reading
Factotum — July 19, 2023
Factotum By Charles Bukowski 208 pages Originally published Jan. 1, 1975 Factotum was one of three books the Mules read for our mid-July meeting at the Cigar Club. A semi-autobiographical novel about a wannabe…
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The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity
The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity By Douglas Murray 288 pages Originally published Sept. 17, 2019 I’ve heard Douglas Murray on the BBC. I’ve seen him in a few debates. And I’ve had The Madness…
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In the Heart of the Sea — July 7, 2023
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex By Nathaniel Philbrick 302 pages Originally published May 8, 2000 Storytellers have used real-life events as inspiration going back to the beginning…
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Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow By Yuval Noah Harari 448 pages Originally published in 2015 The first book of Harari’s that I read was Sapiens. I loved it. It’s one of those books that gives pleasure on…
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Your Next (First?) Cormac McCarthy Novel
Reading the mailbag responses from Friday’s issue, I was surprised that some readers had never read anything by McCarthy and asked me for suggestions. It’s difficult to do that because of how varied his books…
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From the Smithsonian – a New Book: My Friend Anne Frank
Hannah Pick-Goslar, who died last year, was a childhood friend of Anne Frank. In 2021, she partnered with Dina Kraft, to write an autobiography of her life as a child in Germany and then in Amsterdam, where…
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How to Improve Your Understanding of Everything
Richard Feynman (1918-1988) They say the best way to learn is to teach. Because teaching something you think you understand will help you understand how much you really don’t know. That’s been true for me –…
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Why should we consider the soul mortal?
From Diaries of Note, an interesting entry by Wanda Gág, an author and artist who, in 1928, published Millions of Cats, a bestselling children’s book. Twenty years earlier, when she was 22, she wrote this…
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Some Monstrous Gullet Suffocating with Fury
I came across this entry in Diaries of Note. It was written by Pierre Loti, a French naval officer, novelist, and diplomat. He wrote it in 1889 while on a diplomatic mission to Fez, Morocco. It’s the kind of…
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The Trial — May 30, 2023
By Franz Kafka Written in 1914 and published posthumously in 1925 176 pages May’s book selection for The Mules was The Trial by Franz Kafka. We don’t often read classics, but I’m always happy when we do. In…
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The 10 Greatest Final Frames in Cinema History
I enjoyed reading this short essay by Calum Russell in Far Out Magazine, in which he lists, “The 10 Greatest Final Frames in Cinema History.” I was surprised at how many I remembered. All but one. That was the…
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Taki's Remarkable Life Will Make You Jealous
Do you remember Taki? The publisher of Taki’s Magazine? I’ve linked to him before. There are plenty of reasons to subscribe to his digital posts, including the diversity of opinions you’ll find there. But for…
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The von Trapps of Harlem
This is a fun read about a family of 12 musicians trying to become “the Kardashians of Classical Music”! Click here.
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Neither Safe nor Effective, The COVID Vaccines
Neither Safe nor Effective, The COVID Vaccines By Dr. Colleen Huber Paperback, 232 pages Independently published May 14, 2022 I didn’t hesitate to get vaccinated when the vaccines became available. My thinking…
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When Men Were Brave…
In 1910, Captain Robert Falcon Scott led a team of explorers on an expedition to be the first to reach the South Pole. On Jan. 17, 1912, after a brutal journey, Scott and his men arrived at their destination…
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An Amazing Story of Endurance and Survival
In 1971, Douglas Robertson and his wife sold their farm in England, bought a schooner, and set out to sail around the world with their four children. After more than a year at sea, as they were rounding the…
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Foster
Foster By Claire Keegan 128 pages Published Nov. 1, 2022 I don’t know how I came to have it. But I know how I came to read it. I wrote a review of Small Things Like These, a book by the same author, Claire…
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Picasso’s War: How Modern Art Came to America
Picasso’s War: How Modern Art Came to America By Hugh Eakin 480 pages 1st edition published July 12, 2022 Picasso’s War was recommended to me by DL, a fellow DM publisher and art collector that I’ve mentioned…
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Is Mass Murder a Thing of the Past?
Bryan Kohberger, the man who murdered four University of Idaho students in the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022, has been charged. The police found lots of circumstantial evidence, including two eyewitness…
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George Saunders on How and Why to “Freakify” Your Work
George Saunders is among my favorite short story writers. I’ve mentioned him and his books several times in past blog posts. Recently, strolling through the Literary Hub website, I found a conversation between…
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Overdeliver
Overdeliver By Brian Kurtz 312 pages Originally published April 2, 2019 Overdeliver is a book about direct response marketing that every entrepreneur and marketing director should read. It was written by Brian…
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Outer Dark
Outer Dark By Cormac McCarthy 256 pages Originally published Sept. 12, 1968 Released in paperback June 29, 1993 This was the January selection for The Mules, my always amusing and superbly insightful reading…
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The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man
The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man A memoir by Paul Newman Published Oct. 18, 2022 320 pages I don’t know why, but this book was published 14 years after Paul Newman’s death in 2008 at the age of 83…
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Seven Books to Help You Build Wealth in 2023
Sean MacIntyre is a smart guy. He’s also a polymath. I mentored Sean early in his career. Now, he’s the publisher of DIY Wealth, a website that provides guidance on entrepreneurship, investing, and other…
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Holidays on Ice
Holidays on Ice By David Sedaris 128 pages Originally published Dec. 1997 I knew I had a few Christmas-themed books on the shelves somewhere. I was hoping to find one that would entertain the grandkids. The…
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The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises By Ernest Hemingway Originally published 1926 272 pages This was Hemingway’s first novel. And I think it’s a very good one. Plot It’s the story of a small group of 20-something British and…
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Building a Story Brand
Building a Story Brand By Donald Miller 240 pages Published Oct. 10, 2017 Donald Miller has a blog called “Story Brand” about advertising. He also has an advertising business. His USP (Unique Selling…
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Are We Living in George Orwell’s Nightmare or Aldous Huxley’s?
How many times in recent years have you thought, “This is just like 1984.”? Or “This reminds me of Brave New World”? Click here to read a short, but insightful essay on that subject.
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Small Things Like These
Small Things Like These By Claire Keegan 128 pages Published Nov. 30, 2021 Every once in a while, I read a book that makes me want to read everything the author has written. That is how I feel after reading…
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From Russia with Love — November 15, 2022
From Russia with Love By Ian Fleming First edition April 8, 1957 253 pages And…
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Kurt Vonnegut's Letter From A Prisoner Of War
Until I came across this in Letters of Note, I had no idea that Kurt Vonnegut was a prisoner of war. This letter to his family explains a lot about his view of war and the world, as expressed in his novels. To…
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It’s Your Ship
It’s Your Ship By D. Michael Abrashoff Originally published May 22, 2002 240 pages This book was published 20 years ago. I happened upon it in a used bookstore last week. It’s a quick read because Michael…
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Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End By Atul Gawande 282 pages First published Oct. 7, 2014 Someone must have recommended it. And I must have asked Gio to order it for me. It appeared on my desk…
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The Haunting of Hill House
If the book we choose to read is thin – say, less than 350 pages – the Mules will often read a second book. I don’t get it. It seems to me that one book is more than sufficient to fuel a good discussion. But I…
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One of the Boys
One of the Boys By Daniel Magariel 176 pages Released March 14, 2017 by Scribner It was in one of several to-read stacks in my office. I selected it to take with me on the trip to Myrtle Beach because (1) it…
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The Everyday Patriot: How to Be a Great American Now
The Everyday Patriot: How to Be a Great American Now By Tom Morris 138 pages Published June 29, 2022 This was one of two books the Mules read in September. It’s short. A quick read. And it’s well intentioned…
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Men Without Women
Men Without Women By Ernest Hemingway 128 pages First published in 1927 Men Without Women is Hemingway’s second short story collection. There are 14 stories in all. Most are short and sparse, more journal…
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Raylan
Raylan By Elmore Leonard 288 pages Originally published Dec. 26, 2012 by William Morrow Raylan, the second of two books I read this month for the Mules, is, in some ways, better than Hombre, which I reviewed…
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So Good They Can’t Ignore You
So Good They Can’t Ignore You By Cal Newport 288 pages Published Sept. 18, 2012 by Business Plus I came across this book while reading a young blog writer that a friend recommended. In talking about something…
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Hombre
Hombre By Elmore Leonard 201 pages Published Jan. 1, 1961 by Ballantyne Books This is one of two books by Elmore Leonard that The Mules are reading this month. Hombre is genre fiction. It’s a Western, the…
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Sophocles: The Theban Plays
Sophocles: The Theban Plays Translated by Robert Fagles 430 pages Published Jan. 3, 2000 by Penguin Classics GG, one of our younger Mules members, suggested reading Sophocles, the great Greek playwright, for…
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To Have and Have Not
To Have and Have Not By Ernest Hemingway 176 pages First published Jan. 1, 1937 by Charles Scribner’s Sons To Have and Have Not follows Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain during the Great Depression who is…
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The Immortal King Rao
The Immortal King Rao By Vauhini Vara 384 pages Published May 3, 2022 by W.W. Norton & Co. The Immortal King Rao was The Mules’ book for June. The overriding conclusion was that nobody liked it. And absolutely…
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Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar By Simon Sebag Montefiore 848 pages Paperback published Sept. 13, 2005 by Vintage I’m just getting into this book, but I can feel that it is going to somehow change my life…
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The Revolution of Hope
The Revolution of Hope By Erich Fromm 162 pages First edition published Jan. 1, 1968 by Harper Row I first heard about Erich Fromm when I was in college, in the late 1960s. Fromm’s most popular book, The Art…
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Dave Eggers' Memoir Balances Brilliance With Self-Indulgence
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius By Dave Eggers 416 pages First published Feb. 1, 2000 by Simon & Schuster I read it because AS recommended it, saying, “Read it and tell me what you think of it.” (He…
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Exhalation: Stories
Exhalation: Stories By Ted Chiang 368 pages Published May 7, 2019 by Alfred A. Knopf I’m halfway through the book, and I’m liking it. I’m impressed by it, yet I can’t say exactly why. Ted Chiang is a writer…
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The Puzzler
The Puzzler By A.J. Jacobs 368 pages Published Apr. 26, 2022 by Crown Publishing Group If you like puzzles. Or English. Or humor. Or music. You may like this book. I liked it because it was chock full of…
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Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead By Olga Tokarczuk 318 pages Originally published Nov. 25, 2009 Published in English Sept. 12, 2018 This was April’s selection for The Mules, my men-only book club. I…
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Black Conservative Intellectuals in Modern America
Black Conservative Intellectuals in Modern America By Michael L. Ondaatje 232 pages Published Dec. 3, 2009 by Univ. of Pennsylvania Press A few years ago, I saw a videoclip of Candace Owens in a debate. I was…
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