January 2018 Must-Haves

Every month, on or near the 15th, I publish a list of blogs, podcasts, books, products or anything else I consider to be a must-have or must-do. It’s not the 15th and I’ve missed a few months, but the list is back with some modifications. Hope you enjoy.

Reading

  • WTF – What’s the Future and Why It’s Up to Us by Tim O’Reilly – I stopped following Tim O’Reilly a year or so ago on Twitter because he has an insatiable thirst for talking about himself. This book is no different. There’s a ton of him talking about how awesome he is and how right he’s been. However, there’s some very good content in here on the near and mid-term future. Worth a read, but just know you have to wade through some self-love from Tim.
  • The Power of Now by Eckhert Tolle – Whoa. This book is a mind-bender. Read it slowly and spend time thinking about each chapter. I’m two chapters in and have been having conversations with a few others to process what I’m reading.
  • The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman – I read this every morning as a part of my morning routine. It’s the last thing I read before I start into the work day. If you’re into Stoic things generally, this is a must for your daily routine. If you’re not, you likely won’t enjoy it. I’ve read most of Holiday’s other books and he’s like a warm blanket on a cool evening for me.
  • The Origin Mystery Trilogy by A.G. Riddle – This is the link to the first book in the series. A.G Riddle lives here in Raleigh and I ran into his books in an office. I’m not a huge sci-fi fan, and honestly I got lost in a significant portion of this series. I may not be smart enough to get it all. However, I do enjoy for some reason reading about potential end-of-human-life kinds of stories. I just finished the last book last night. I also recently read Pandemic by the same author, which I thought was way better and pretty freaking scary.
  • Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger – Just starting this one. So far so good.

Next up from my list:

  • Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari
  • The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Watching

  • AlphaGo Documentary – Incredible backstage pass to the Deep Mind AlphaGo Challenge. I’m just going to tell you that you’re going to want to tear up when the machine beats the human.
  • Girls – I have no idea why I’ve started watching this series, but I have. I’m in season 2 because it’s free on Amazon Prime Video. I would say it’s good and at times really good, and at times I wonder where the last 26 minutes went. It’s a less compelling version of Sex and the City, at least to me, but I’m likely not in the target demographic
  • The Crown – Nuff said. I am an unapologetic fan of Downton Abbey and this show is on that level. So good. Just finished the second season.
  • Halt and Catch Fire – The first three seasons of this show were unbelievably good. I’m now a few shows into the last season. Not sure I’m buying some of what it’s selling, but as the internet launches and search engines come online it’s an amazing trip down memory lane.

Listening

  • The 1975 Live from the O2 – You can also watch the whole show on YouTube. Easily top of my playlist right now. Amazing show, amazing band.
  • Kevin Kelly on On Being Podcast – Anytime Kevin Kelly talks, I listen. This is a really great interview on a really wide array of topics, existential and practical. I’m on my second pass through
  • Ryan Adams Live at Carnegie Hall – This one was recommended in a newsletter I read regularly. I wouldn’t say I’m a huge Ryan Adams fan generally, but this is really good. And it’s like 40 songs or something. Crazy.
  • John Mayer The Search for Everything – Mayer’s live album is one of the best ever, and this one is not far behind. Anytime I want to just chill out, this is a go-to.

I hope something from this list brings a smile to your face this next month.