Hey Reader, Memorial Day weekend always sneaks up on me. Suddenly everyone’s posting their “summer reading lists,” full of trending titles and perfect poolside pics. I’ve read a lot of books in the past 18 months. Some were quick escapes. Others left a weird aftertaste. The ones I still think about? They weren’t optimized for speed or aesthetics. They were the ones that kept circling back—through conversations, memories, and moments of unexpected emotion. So if you’re building a summer...
10 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, My mom and I have spent a glorious week at Orange Beach, Alabama. Before we came down, I was deep into a WWII spy novel. It was smart, tense, and featured female secretary-spies. Immersive. BFF-recommended. I could have finished by now if I hadn’t hit pause. Once we got to the land of sugar sand for a week, I wanted anything but depth, despair, or deep thoughts. My stretch goals for the week: A shrimp po’boy the size of three copies of Robert Caro’s The Power Broker placed...
17 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, While I don't often think to check in on Reddit, every now and then I come across a post that feels like a fun version of a pillow fight. I couldn't wait to check out how people responded to this one. I wouldn’t have posted that.But I’ve thought it. Especially in the days when my book stack was overflowing with nonfiction titles I felt like I should read—books on mindset, habits, business, personal growth. I’d scroll right past a novel I wanted to read, because… what would that do...
24 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, Thanks so much for the responses to last week's newsletter How I Finished The Count of Monte Cristo (Without Losing My Mind)! Some of you asked how to go about picking a book that lends itself to using AI as a companion. First of all, picking a book to read with AI isn’t about finding the hardest thing you can survive. Instead, choose a book that sparks curiosity. Perhaps you wonder what all the fuss is about. For me, reading The Count of Monte Cristo was a little about Fear of...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, Everyone name-drops The Count of Monte Cristo like it’s a universal rite of passage. But most people I know haven’t actually finished it. I did. And…wow. This was one of my "stretch reads" for 2025—a personal challenge to finally tackle the kind of book I’d long sidestepped: big, intimidating, widely referenced classics. And Monte Cristo was the one that almost broke me. I started with one of those free Kindle versions. Didn’t realize how wildly different translations could be. A...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Unhustled Archives Hello Reader, I’m experimenting with Friday morning sends—to give you something bookish before the weekend rush hits. Let me know if it works better for you. Or if it doesn’t. I’m listening. Speaking of weekends, last year I got to take in a Banana Ball game in Oklahoma City with some dear friends. My favorite of the 4 teams competing this year? Party Animals! And most weekends I make time to watch a game live on YouTube. 📚 Step Up to the Plate—With a Book In case you’re...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader, Some stories don’t end the way we want. The hero doesn’t win. The team comes up short. The underdog pushes all the way to the edge—and still loses. I’ve been thinking about this while working through The Count of Monte Cristo and watching my team's March Madness run end in heartbreak. Two very different stories, same uncomfortable truth: sometimes the most meaningful endings aren't the happy ones. In both basketball and literature, we’re trained to expect certain outcomes. The...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, A couple of weeks ago, a reader emailed me to say that Amazon is evil and that, because I use a Kindle, I’m a corporate sellout (worse than that, actually). I get it. There’s a lot to dislike about Jeff Bezos and Amazon. A lot. But here’s the thing: Kindle keeps my 85-year-old mom and me reading. It has larger fonts for aging eyes. We read 300ish books a year between the two of us. Kindle Unlimited gives us access to books our local library doesn’t have or there’s a long, long...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, Ever feel like you're reading wrong? Like you're not highlighting enough, not taking the right kind of notes, or not retaining enough? Maybe you’ve watched one too many videos on how to optimize your reading, and now you’re low-key convinced you need a second brain just to track your thoughts. Yeah. Let’s shut that down. There is no right way to read. And yet, the internet is full of advice that insists otherwise. The perfect note-taking system. The best way to absorb information....
3 months ago • 2 min read