Required Reading (Books)

  1. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

  2. Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl

  3. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

  4. The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm

  5. Vamps and Tramps by Camille Paglia

  6. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

  7. Speedboat by Renata Adler

Required Reading (Articles)

  1. The Four Quadrants of Conformism by Paul Graham

  2. How to Think for Yourself by Paul Graham

  3. The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius by Paul Graham

  4. Exiting the Vampire Castle by Mark Fisher

  5. Bad Apple by Antonio García Martínez

  6. How I Became the Honest Broker by Ted Gioa

    1. Ted Gioa’s yearly album lists are also worth checking out

  7. Guerilla Open Access Manifesto by Aaron Swartz

    1. The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz | full movie (2014) by Brian Knappenberger - Incredible Documentary honoring Aaron Swartz

  8. Killing Joy: Feminism and the History of Happiness by Sara Ahmed

    1. “the unpopular woman who speaks uncomfortable, necessary truths.” 

  9. The Case for American Seriousness by Katherine Boyle

    1. “But fundamentally you have to believe that individuals with tremendous willpower can do things. Great, shocking, inconceivable things. Like find your husband on your phone. Or build a spaceship to go to another planet. Or create a new currency.”

  10. Why I Walk by Chris Arnade

Required Reading (Poems)

  1. The Eyes of the Poor by Charles Baudelaire