Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2021 , 2022 , 2023 , 2024 In 2025, I read 100 books. You can view my 2025 reading list on Goodreads . Each year, I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz . Without further ado, here are my... Favorite Books Read in 2025 1) Sociopath by Patric Gagne .…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2021 , 2022 , 2023 In 2024, I read 100 books, fewer than in previous years. This is partly due to the fact that we are in a golden age of podcasting, and partly due to the fact that I’m still in the middle of reading some extremely long books. You can view my 2024 reading list on Goodreads…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2021 , 2022 In 2023, I read 100 books, much fewer than in previous years. This is partly due to the fact that we are in a golden age of podcasting, and partly due to the fact that I’m still in the middle of reading some extremely long books. You can view my 2023 reading list on Goodreads .…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 , 2021 In 2022, I again read 101 books, much fewer than in previous years. This is partially due to my growing podcast addiction, and partially due to the fact that I’m writing this a month early - on November 22 - because I will be out of town for the rest of the year. You can view my 2022…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 , 2020 This year I only read 101 books, 39 fewer than last year. I blame this drop on my growing podcast addiction, as well as the fact that I read some extremely long and dry books these past few months. You can view my 2021 book list on Goodreads . Each year, I blog about my favorite books, an…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2019 This year I read 140 books, edging out my personal record of 135. Thank you, pandemic! You can view my 2020 book list on Goodreads . Each year I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz . This year my favorite books were overwhelmingly non-fiction. At least 20…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 , 2018 This year I read 112 books. You can view them on Goodreads . Each year I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz . Why did I fall short of the 131 books I read in 2016 or the 135 I read in 2015 ? Three reasons… Firstly, for scheduling reasons, I'm blogging this a…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 , 2017 This year I read 108 books. You can view them on Goodreads . Each year I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz . Why did I fall short of the 131 books I read in 2016 or the 135 I read in 2015 ? Three reasons... Firstly, for scheduling reasons, I'm blogging this a month…
Los Angelinos are famously stereotyped as being flaky. The idea is that people who live in LA are less likely to return an email or phone call on time and more likely to show up late or not at all. Having spent half my life living in the greater New York area and half my life living in the greater Los Angeles area, I feel uniquely qualified to evaluate the two groups with some impartiality. And I…
The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Greece (from the Handbook for Time Travelers series) is now available in stores! You can order your copy online , or pick one up wherever books are sold. Ancient Greece was the most fun book to write so far in the series and I hope you enjoy it!
The first two books of the Handbooks for Time Travelers series are out! The Thrifty Guide to Ancient Rome and The Thrifty Guide to the American Revolution are in stores now. These are handy guidebooks for time travelers who want to vacation in the most amazing parts of history. Here's a book trailer from Penguin with some information about the books:
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016 This year I read 116 books. You can view them on Goodreads . Each year I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz . Why did I fall short of the 131 books I read in 2016 , or the 135 I read in 2015 ? Three reasons... (1) For scheduling reasons, I'm blogging this a month early (2)…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 , 2015 This year I read 131 books. You can view most of them on Goodreads . Each year I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz . I read some whoppers this year, like Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , Ron Chernow's riveting Alexander Hamilton , and Doris Kearns…
Yesterday, on book tour for Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas , I visited schools in Oklahoma City. At Central Middle School, I met librarian-extraordinaire Caradith Craven. Her students created a tremendous amount of art based on Addison Cooke. A group of eighth graders put on a play, acting out scenes from Addison Cooke. Other students sang a song on the importance of reading books.…
Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas is now available for pre-order on Amazon , Barnes and Noble , IndieBound , and wherever books are sold. You can also learn more about the book on Goodreads . If you need still more information, visit Penguin Random House . The book is due out on October 11. Can't wait!
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 , 2014 This year I read 135 books. You can view most of them on Goodreads . Each year I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz . Here are my... Top 10 Favorite Books Read in 2015 1) The Prom Goer's Interstellar Excursion by Chris McCoy . Wonderful. Sensationally verbally clever. A kid just wants to…
Is it true that dramas are more likely to win best picture than other genres? I decided to run the numbers. It turns out, the trend is very true and growing stronger. Best Picture Nominees for 1927 - 2001 (data source: http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics2.html) Dramas: 48% (click chart to enlarge) Best Picture Winners for 1927 - 2001 (data source: http://www.filmsite.org/bestpics2.html) Dramas: 39%…
For years, the film industry has mourned the death of the romantic comedy . According to the Hollywood Reporter, romantic comedies don't travel well to cultures and languages overseas where Hollywood makes at least 75% of its revenue . Furthermore, romantic comedies, by definition, don't lend themselves to sequels. According to the Scoggins Report , there were only two comedy spec screenplay sales…
Previously: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 I read 100 books this year. Each year I blog about my favorite books, an idea I got from the incomparable Aaron Swartz . What follows are the books I most enjoyed in 2014. * Drive by Daniel H. Pink - A lot of great ideas about how to motivate creative problem solving in a business environment. Pink clarifies the differences between…
Much has been made of the age gap between leading men and women. Male romantic leads are often cast opposite much younger females. And it is often difficult for actresses to find roles after age 40. While I suspect this gender gap has improved in the past 50 years, I decided to see if it is still alive and well. I built a spider to scrape age data for the top 5,000 actors and actresses, as ranked…