Reading List

January 2023 Reading List

Reading List email for January 2023.

Personal Digressions

Feeling Behind

For the people feeling behind in life.

Personal Digressions

Struggles of a Struggling Struggler

Thoughts on avoiding writing from a coffee shop.

Subtle Digressions

On Running, Writing, and Life: Some Advice from Haruki Murakami

Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life — and for me, for writing as well.

Subtle Digressions

The Book Thief And The Power Of Words

"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

Basement Storage

Do you think your writing is worth doing – as an end in itself?

"It is," I said. "It is the one altogether pleasant thing about it."

Basement Storage

Consistency: The Antidote to Perfectionism

Creativity is hard. It's even harder when you are trying to find your creative voice. Perfectionism paralyzes us. So what's the alternative?

Basement Storage

Books I read in 2021

As 2021 began, I decided to actively read more books. I was focused mostly on books that could teach me how to be a better writer, what it takes to be a great writer, and how to pursue creative endeavors.

Basement Storage

What if 5-year olds were racist? (Or how 5-year olds can teach us to be more tolerant)

The world is full of sexism, racism, homophobia, islamophobia, and all other kinds of phobias and -isms. But I have never seen a 5-year old that is racist.

Basement Storage Featured

Unbroken, Unbent.

A poem in support and honor of the people of Ukraine that are fighting for their homeland from the Russian invasion.

Basement Storage Featured

Who am I?

A poem for those lost in life.

Basement Storage Featured

The Window — An Unappreciated Marvel

The window is truly a canvas upon which real beauty is realized, perpetually changing…

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Deeds, Not Words — My Stoic Musings 034

“Those who receive the bare theories immediately want to spew them, as an upset stomach does its food. First digest your theories and you…

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Pick Your Sport Before You Start Training — My Stoic Musings 033

“First tell yourself what kind of person you want to be, then do what you have to do. For in nearly every pursuit we see this to be the…

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Character is Greater than the Costume— My Stoic Musings 032

From dawn till dusk, we are all fighting battles we must win…

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What Is The Point Of Philosophy? — My Stoic Musings 031

“Don’t return to philosophy as a task-master, but as patients seek out relief in a treatment of sore eyes, or a dressing for a burn, or…

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It is Better to be Watson instead of Sherlock — My Stoic Musings 030

“I don’t know” will save your life.

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Just Do It — My Stoic Musings 029

“At every moment keep a sturdy mind on the task at hand, as a Roman and human being, doing it with strict and simple dignity, affection…

Basement Storage Featured

Michael Jordan’s Ruling Principle — My Stoic Musings 028

“Take a good hard look at people’s ruling principle, especially of the wise, what they run away from and what they seek out.” — Marcus…

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Epictetus’s 3 Areas Of Training — My Stoic Musings 027

“There are three areas in which the person who would be wise and good must be trained. The first has to do with desires and aversions —…

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Too Many Distractions — My Stoic Musings 026

“Erase the false impressions from your mind by constantly saying to yourself, I have it in my soul to keep out any evil, desire or any…

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Life is about dancing…while the music is playing — My Stoic Musings 025

“What’s left to be prized? This, I think — to limit our action or inaction to only what’s in keeping with the needs of our own…

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Why We Must Scribble In Our Books — My Stoic Musings 024

“From Rusticus… I learned to read carefully and not be satisfied with a rough understanding of the whole, and not to agree too quickly…

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What’s So Different About The Rich— My Stoic Musings 023

“Let’s pass over to the really rich — how often the occasions they look just like the poor!”

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Don’t Let History Repeat Itself— My Stoic Musings 022

“I will keep constant watch over myself and — most usefully — will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil — that none…