"The Little Book of Common Sense Investing"

By John Bogle, patron saint
of do-it-yourself investors

I have a lot of respect for Vanguard founder John Bogle. Unlike every other financial services company at the time, Vanguard was set up to operate at cost, rather than to extract profits from account holders to funnel to its executives and shareholders. Vanguard's customers are its owners; it's a mutually-owned mutual fund company. If Bogle hadn't given up ownership of Vanguard, he'd probably appear in every Forbes List of Very Rich People ever published, and the rest of us would be that much worse off in retirement.

"The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" details Bogle's philosophy when it comes to investing in the stock market. It boils down to a few simple ideas: in aggregate, investors are the market, so in aggregate we can't beat the market. Costs matter; the returns you get are exactly what you don't pay for. Diversify as much as possible. And you can't buy past performance¹, so don't try to time the market!

"Legend of the Galactic Heroes" Vol. 1

Politics...in...spaaaaaace!

"Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Dawn" (LOGH) is the first volume of the English translation of (in my opinion) the greatest TV show ever made. The author Yoshiki Tanaka is known for his historical writing style, which comes through clearly in the novelization. Though it's set centuries in the future, "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" explores issues that are incredibly relevant today, such as the problems with various forms of government, the tension between regressive religious doctrines and the modern economy, terrorism, when war is justified, and much more.

"Gratitude"

The cover art looks
like a stylized sunset.

Last February, beloved neurologist and author Oliver Sacks wrote a New York Times op-ed ("My own life") about his thoughts upon being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma and learning that he could expect to live for only a few more months. "Gratitude" is a collection of this and three other essays on aging, the search for meaning, and dying with grace.