October - 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.

Heartland, Keith O’Brien

This brought me back to 1979, when as a child, I watched Larry Bird in the NCAA Championship game. Like many, this was the first time I saw him play, and he made me love the Boston Celtics that much more the following year when he began his NBA career. This book is a masterful sports biography that breathes new life into one of basketball's most unlikely Cinderella stories. O'Brien dives deep into the heart of small-town Indiana in the 1970s, chronicling Larry Bird's rocky pa

The Things We Never Say, Elizabeth Strout

A meditation on the architecture of the self and the invisible shells surrounding human relationships. Through the life of Artie Dam, a beloved yet inwardly desolate high school history teacher in coastal MA, Strout probes the tension between our performed identities and the currents of loneliness that shape us. Artie moves through his days dispensing wisdom and kindness to students while wrestling with loneliness… a quiet despair amplified by a fractured world of political w

London Falling, P A Keefe

A nonfiction examination that goes beyond true crime to focus more on identity, deception, and the building of selfhood in a hyper-capitalist world. It’s centered around the 2019 death of nineteen-year-old Zac Brettler, who fell from a luxury London apartment into the Thames. What begins as a family's grief-stricken search for answers unravels into revelations of Zac's double life: a middle-class teenager who inventively impersonated the scion of Russian oligarchic wealth, na

The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, Andy Warhol

I expect nothing less from Warhol… this is a weird little book that feels more like Andy just chatting with you over coffee than any kind of serious philosophy. He skips all the heavy academic stuff… no big theories or complicated arguments. Instead gives you these breezy, repetitive thoughts on everyday stuff like beauty, fame, money, time, and even death. What I loved is how he turns his whole pop art vibe into a way of seeing the world: everything’s about surfaces, not dig

Let It Blurt, Jim DeRogatis

It’s wild and messy. A biography that captures Lester Bangs like he was… brilliant, self-destructive, and totally unafraid to blurt out the raw truth. It's not your typical polished life story; instead, it dives into Bangs' chaotic world of rock criticism, drugs, and endless late-night rants, showing how he turned writing about music into a full-on philosophy of living. Bangs believed rock 'n' roll wasn't just entertainment; it was a gut-level attitude, a way to stay alive an