February - 2026

Joy of Reading

I've always been an avid reader, a passion that has only intensified over the years. During long expeditions, books are my faithful companions, offering solace and entertainment on storm days, rest days, and those moments when sanity seems to slip away. To this day, one of my life’s simple pleasures is visiting the library and checking out a book.

Why I Share My Reading List

My decision to start posting about the books I read stems from a somewhat selfish motive. If these recommendations inspire even one person to set aside their smartphone, power down their laptop, or turn off their TV in favor of losing themselves in a good book for an uninterrupted period, I'll consider it a success. The benefits of reading are truly abundant and far-reaching.

Most of the books I encounter come recommended by fellow readers, admirers, or through magazine reviews. While not every book captivates me—and those that fail to hold my attention often go unfinished and unmentioned—most of the ones that do make it to my list are worth exploring.

An Invitation to Read

I encourage you to embrace the simple pleasure of reading. Find a quiet spot outdoors, perhaps under the shade of a tree or settled in a cozy tent, and immerse yourself in a good book. The world within its pages awaits.

Skål,
Sean

The books discussed below are from my evening, before-bed, reading list.

In addition to my nighttime reading, I devote hours to exploring books, magazines, and clinical research papers on wellness, mental fortitude, and fitness applications. Every day is an opportunity to learn and grow as a human being.

The Wide Wide Sea, Hampton Sides

I love books like this. A subject I’m not too familiar with (Captain James Cook, and his final voyage) and then have Hampton Sides telling it. Tremendous … a masterful work of narrative history. Drawing on extensive research, including the journals of Cook's crew and the oral histories of Indigenous peoples, Sides crafts an all-encompassing, high-stakes adventure. The book chronicles Cook's third voyage, launched in 1776, as he searched for the legendary Northwest Passage

Both Flesh and Not, David Foster Wallace

This book is a posthumous collection of Wallace's essays that showcases his blend of high-octane intellect and profound human empathy. The collection captures Wallace’s evolution from a self-conscious "would-be writer" in the late 1980s to the cultural giant who wrote the title essay, "Roger Federer as Religious Experience”… a masterclass in sportswriting. Other highlights, such as "The Nature of the Fun," provide an intimate, vulnerable look into the writer's psyche, while W

Stella Maris, Comac McCarthy

Published in late 2022, Stella Maris serves as the final literary novel from Cormac McCarthy, released just months before his passing. The novel has an intellectual ambition and it’s a departure from Cormac’s traditional grit. Written entirely as a series of transcripts between a math prodigy, Alicia Western, and her psychiatrist, the book acts as a philosophical vessel for McCarthy’s lifelong obsessions with quantum physics, the nature of language, and the intersection of m