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Five Books to Feed Your Mind
"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." -Frederick Douglass
Matt Karamazov
March 24, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 36 minutes
📚Hey, good evening!
First off, let's welcome all the new people who joined us since last time!
There are 1,890 of us in total now.
Thank you (yes, you!) for trusting me to bring you the absolute best book recommendations I can each and every week!
As always, these are long emails full of great books and tons of cool surprises.
But I never expect that everyone will be interested in every single thing I publish.
So, feel free to jump around and dive into whatever does interest you!
Today we've got...
An introduction to today's "5 Books"
The best of what I'm reading and sharing right now
Two fantastic online creators you need to know about
A new book alert about one of the coolest children’s books I’ve ever seen - and a great cause
The latest book breakdown from the Stairway to Wisdom
A look at a brilliant concept that will change how you feel about “networking”
My reaction to some of the most hilarious and bewildering 1-star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon
How to harness obsession to bulldoze your goals
4 books to read if you’ve read some Simone Weil and want more
My top 5 book recommendations this week
A special gift for reading all the way to the end
In a single sentence…
You’re Too Good to Feel This Bad is a come-from-nowhere self-help book that I found to be incredibly good, and which works as a guide to help you evaluate several key parts of your life, such as your health, mindset, finances, relationships, and habits.
How to Astronaut is an incredibly funny, (down to earth? eh? eh?) book by American astronaut and former Space Station Commander Terry Virts, which answers a variety of common questions about space exploration.
Frankenstein is a classic horror story by Mary Shelley, and also one that took me completely by surprise at how phenomenally well-written and powerful it is.
How to Live is a book full of (purposefully) conflicting life advice from one of the calmest, clearest-thinking, and most generous people alive today, Derek Sivers.
The 1% Rule is a great, fast read covering some essential principles in self-improvement, and one that could make your life a whole lot better almost immediately after applying the author’s advice.
Here in this email are summaries of each book, along with a sample of my best notes, and if you want my complete set of notes on these books, you can find them on my Patreon .
Pro Learning Tip:
Getting a membership to Medium is one of the best investments I've ever made in my continuing education. The quality of the writing on Medium is superb, and some of the smartest, most interesting thinkers publish there regularly.
1) For a long time, I used to hide how obsessed I was with reading, with lifting, with business, with building my life in general. I’m a lot more intense than most people (which is fine, I’m now realizing), and most people will just never feel the same way.
But I’m now holding back less and less, and really leaning into OBSESSION, and being okay with being seen as somewhat of a crazy-person when it comes to success and achievement.
I don’t think my way of life is necessarily better or worse…just different. And so recently I’ve been less willing to downplay my obsession for others’ benefit.
2) I reached 4,000 followers on Twitter this week! As far as meaningless vanity metrics go, I think that’s a pretty sweet achievement! Follow me there if you want even more book recommendations and quotes than I share in this newsletter. Happy to have you!
3) A few great books that I'm reading right now are Hyperfocus, by Chris Bailey,, Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen , and Life Force, by Tony Robbins .
I'm also listening to The Secret to Success, by Eric Thomas, on Audible. I used to love his YouTube videos - he’s got great energy - but I haven’t paid attention to him in a while! Time to rectify that.
Nowadays, I listen to about 3-4 audiobooks a month, and I always listen to them on Audible. No other audiobook service even compares. You can also get a 30-day free trial right here .
You know I love to support new and old friends of mine who are doing awesome things (or simply amazing people I've stumbled upon around the internet), so here are a few people you should know about:
1) First up is my friend Kody, who helps go-getters build better habits on Twitter. That is, build better habits in their lives, by posting his insights and ideas ON Twitter haha. Subtle difference!
When you’re strapped for time struggling to squeeze in another self-mastery book, just read Habit Examples: a weekly newsletter where Kody helps you build indestructible build habits with sciencey tips and inspiring stories. Digest in 5 mins every Tuesday, 100% free.
And I mean, check out the wonderful things that everyone’s saying about his newsletter! You’ll be hearing a lot more from Kody in the future, no doubt.
2) The second person I want to introduce you to is someone you may have heard of already, Kieran Drew. Over the past 2 years, he’s gone from a burned out dentist to full-time creator, and his work centers on helping other people achieve the same kind of digital freedom.
He and I aren’t super close or anything, but in our few brief interactions he’s been exceptionally generous and kind, and we run in the same circles of people on the internet doing interesting things. He gets my ringing endorsement for sure.
Follow him on Twitter for the writing advice, but stay on his newsletter for the creator strategies and the business advice! You won’t regret it.
Do you know someone I should know?
I’m always looking to connect with accomplished, inspirational, and good-hearted people who share the same interests that I do…especially books!
So if you have a favorite author, influencer, creator, etc. that you think I might love to meet (and maybe feature here), let me know! You can just hit reply to this email anytime and tell me about them. Thanks!
In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Prisons uses children's fourth grade reading statistics to predict how many prison beds they'll need in the future.
If that hit you as hard as it hit me, you'll see why I feel so intensely that children EVERYWHERE deserve the opportunity to receive an education, and a chance to discover the magic of reading.
It's also why I'm proud to present Jarrett Lerner'’s latest book, A Work in Progress, which is available for pre-order now, and will be released on May 2nd!
For everyone who pre-orders the book, Jarrett will donate $1 to First Book, one of the most incredible children's charities around, and I’ll donate $2 for everyone who pre-orders the book through the link in my Instagram bio (for a total of $3 for each pre-order!)
If you're looking for children's book ideas, check out Jarrett's book!
Here are a few words about A Work in Progress:
"A young boy struggles with body image in this poignant middle grade journey to self-acceptance told through prose, verse, and illustration.
Will is the only round kid in a school full of string beans. So he hides…in baggy jeans and oversized hoodies, in the back row during class, and anywhere but the cafeteria during lunch. But shame isn’t the only feeling that dominates Will’s life. He’s also got a crush on a girl named Jules who knows he doesn’t have a chance with—string beans only date string beans—but he can’t help wondering what if?
Will’s best shot at attracting Jules’s attention is by slaying the Will Monster inside him by changing his eating habits and getting more exercise. But the results are either frustratingly slow or infuriatingly unsuccessful, and Will’s shame begins to morph into self-loathing.
As he resorts to increasingly drastic measures to transform his appearance, Will meets skateboarder Markus, who helps him see his body and all it contains as an ever-evolving work in progress."
Thank you to Jarrett and First Book for doing AMAZING work, and also to all of you who pre-order and support this wonderful cause. A child who reads will become an adult who thinks, and it's the responsibility of all of us to make this possible for them.
“Connecting is a philosophy of life, a worldview. Its guiding principle is that people, all people, every person you meet, is an opportunity to help and be helped.”
No one is self-made anymore, if they ever were at all. Total self-reliance doesn't exist either, which is actually great news for all of us, because we rise or fall together.
Connection and relationship are the law of the universe, and this book will help you put that law into action to build a powerful network that will help you realize your greatest ambitions.
In order to achieve what's possible for you in life and business, you need a strong, healthy network full of other altruistic individuals who want to see you succeed, and...more good news...it's never been easier - and more necessary - to do that as it is today.
Keith Ferrazzi became the Chief Marketing Offer at Deloitte & Touche Consulting, the youngest-ever CMO at Starwood Hotel & Resorts, then the CEO of Yaya Media, before starting his own company. He's built up a personal network of more than 10,000+ people that he can rely on to take his calls, and whom he can assist in helping to get what they want in life.
Never Eat Alone is one of the greatest networking books ever written - a certified classic - but it's not literally all about who you have dinner with. Not completely. It's so much more than that, and Keith uses both his own story and the stories of influential power connectors like Katherine Graham, Bill Clinton, and Dale Carnegie to illustrate his best tactics for gaining influence by being valuable to others and cultivating your network.
It's about becoming valuable to the people you're connected to and being a resource for them, someone your whole network can rely on to help them get things done. It's about winning yourself, while making sure that, at the same time, your friends are winning too.
Now is the most exciting time to be alive in the history of the planet, and more opportunities exist today to both get everything you ever wanted and to help other people do the same.
Goodwill isn't finite, and Ferrazzi demonstrates the truth of this statement throughout the entire book. As we assist others and accept their assistance in turn, we expand our total possibilities and begin to access our full potential - together.
Infinite Horizon Networking:
Infinite horizon networking is the alternative to that slimy, manipulative, "take-take-take" style of networking that makes "networking" such a dirty word.
The basic idea here, eloquently put forth in The Long Game, by Dorie Clark, is that you can start to view business relationships less in terms of "What can you do for me today?" and more like, "How can we help each other grow today, tomorrow, and across time?"
There's a world of difference between those two approaches. Looking at it this way can help remove some of the grimy feelings people sometimes get when they think of networking and establishing business connections.
We live in an increasingly interconnected world, one in which word travels fast, people from your past can become highly relevant to your future at any time, and short-term, parasitic relationships are no longer helpful when pursuing success in business or in life - if they were ever helpful at all.
We need each other, and we're always going to need each other, so working on an "infinite" horizon is the most sensible course of action, and it's the strategy that will earn you the most trust, respect, and admiration from the people with whom you come into contact.
Further Reading: The Long Game, by Dorie Clark
Note: This is a sample from my other newsletter, Stairway to Wisdom. Along with the book breakdowns, you get a premium weekly newsletter packed with insights and ideas like this one. Get your 14-day free trial here .
I don't even know what to say. These 1-star book reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are just...BREATHTAKING. I mean, yea...well, you'll see when you watch the video. My favorite is the last 1-star book review. It's just one line, in all caps, it comes out of NOWHERE, and I can't stop laughing. Enjoy these epic 1-star book reviews and let me know which one was your favorite!
This one’s for the obsessed.
I’ve got a long, long way to go before I get anywhere close to what I consider “greatness” — at least where my potential is concerned. But I’m absolutely, fanatically, maniacally obsessed with getting there, and I’m not going to apologize for that anymore.
If you’re one of the obsessed too, you shouldn’t apologize for your obsession either. There’s also one more thing you should NEVER apologize for, and the quicker you embrace it, the quicker you’ll get to your goals. [ Read Time: 4 Mins ]
The Nobel Prize-winning philosopher Albert Camus called her “the only great spirit of our time,” and popes and presidents and philosophers the world over have said pretty much the same thing.
She’s one of the most fascinating, thought-provoking writers of the 20th century, and the story of her death is as heartbreaking as it is senseless.
I’ve read 4 books by her or about her, and my latest book breakdown features Love in the Void, her book about beauty, how becoming poor is the easiest way to become invisible, about the true function of education, and much more besides.
It’s a spectacular book, and you can get all the key ideas and takeaways right here for free, but I want to bring 4 other books to your attention today that you might like once you’re finished with that one. [ Read Time: 10 Mins ]
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I was originally put off by the title of this one, even though it was blowing up on Instagram and it seemed like every Bookstagrammer I follow was recommending it heartily. My initial thoughts were, “But I don’t feel bad! Why do I need to read this? It sounds…whiny and…weak.” However, after blazing through it myself, I’ve found it’s pretty much the opposite. And now I recommend it heartily!
The ideal reader here is the high-achiever, or wannabe high-achiever, who is already doing relatively well, but who endeavors to go further. The book starts off with some fairly simple – but important – foundational stuff that many successful people seem to struggle with, like breathing properly and getting enough sleep, and then it moves on into mindset, career success, and money, before finishing on a high note with respect to relationships and love.
So yes, Nate Dallas covers quite a bit of ground in a fairly short book, and it certainly wasn’t written to be the “definitive” book on any of these topics. But it’s rooted in Dallas’s invaluable personal experiences getting to the top of the Career mountain and realizing that he’d neglected important parts of himself along the way. There’s an element of ceaseless self-questioning in this book that would be a wonderful skill for all of us to develop more fully.
A recurring theme here is the large impact over time of small choices that we are in control of. Simple, obvious stuff like breathing from the diaphragm and prioritizing sleep is well within our loci of control, and once we do regain control of these elemental life processes, a whole lot of other things are going to start falling into place as well.
Also important – and I’m so glad he references them repeatedly – is the raising of our standards. We don’t rise to the level of our goals, but rather fall to the level of our standards, and in my own life, raising them has been a huge part of my success. You get what you tolerate in life, and if you tolerate getting 4 hours of sleep and working 70 hours a week for a salary that’s barely enough to live on, that’s exactly what you’re going to keep on getting. Ed Mylett calls this your inner thermostat, and if the temperature of your thermostat is set to some “comfortable” level, you’re never going to achieve what you’re truly capable of achieving. You have to turn up the heat.
My whole life changed when I started raising my standards – in all areas of my life – and this is one thing that this book is uniquely suited to help you do. It’s also extremely quotable, and he’ll hit you with ideas that stay stuck in your head, like when he points out that “brands are for livestock, to show who owns them.” Do you own your car, or your handbag, or whatever, or do they own you?
Like I said, this book isn’t the “only” one you need in order to level up. You should totally read and apply 100 more great books in each area and watch your life upgrade before your very eyes. But it’s a wonderful resource, written in a friend-to-friend style that’s both encouraging and helpful, and frankly, you’re too human not to read this book.
“Small decisions do influence dramatic transformations.”
***
“The problem is that we genuinely have no idea of what lies outside of the mediocrity. We don’t even question the possibilities because we are ignorant of them. Our measuring scale is inadequate. We compare our lives to those of sick people, not to the people that are thriving. I was one of the healthiest and happiest people I knew, but only because I measured myself within the median range of sick, unhappy, stressed, depressed, angry, broke, bored, unfulfilled folks. I am now functioning as an anomaly, several standard deviations away from the mean.”
***
“When we know what is necessary, but cannot do it, our desire must be questioned. It’s possible that that thing is not very important and can be dismissed from our obsessive thinking. But often, it is worthwhile, and we have not fully considered the risks and benefits of both outcomes. Asking what the pain will be next year, in five years, or ten, if we remain unchanged and do nothing, is a worthy exercise.”
***
“When we begin to think in new ways, we quickly become someone else.”
As someone whose first investment ever was in a space company, and who loves studying the universe – and the feeling of being a part of it – this was required reading. Terry Virts is a retired American astronaut and former Space Station Commander, and his book supplies answers to the most commonly asked questions about space travel and exploration.
There’s the usual stuff about space suits and how astronauts deal with zero gravity, and then there’s so much you don’t expect, like what it was like shooting an IMAX movie in space and some amazing perspectives, like the realization that you are not on your home planet anymore – that the Earth is over there, and you are not.
The audio version is read by him, which is what I listened to. Can I use the word enthralled? I was enthralled. The book is hilarious and comforting and surprising and thought-provoking and inspiring and everything else that space travel can be.
“To witness a space shuttle launch was to see firsthand the best that humanity could accomplish.”
***
“In space, flailing does you no good at all. Trust me.”
***
“Pluto’s still a planet to me.”
***
“There are so many experiences that comprise a space flight. But I believe that there is one profound one that supersedes all others: the realization that you are not on your home planet anymore. That you are here, in space, and the Earth is down there – over there, not where you are. Everyone who has ever lived and probably will ever live was born and died down there, on that planet, over there. And you are not there.”
This 19th-century horror story is astonishing in so many ways, not least because of the intricate story structure and because Mary Shelley was just 18 years old when she wrote it. It’s beautifully written, spectacularly so, and she possesses Milton’s talent for making us empathize with the “monster” and feel his psychological pain as our own.
Fun fact: the doctor who creates the monster is named Frankenstein, not the actual monster, who goes unnamed throughout the novel. But basically Victor Frankenstein gets it into his head that he’s going to create a sentient being of his own, and over month and months of painstaking work and trial and error he comes up with something…else.
The monster he creates is so hideous that he is ostracized and essentially unwelcome wherever he goes, despite the fact that he isn’t evil (at first) and really just wants to make friends and join a society of equals. His looks, and the prejudices of the people he comes across makes this impossible, leading him to terrorize doctor Frankenstein, murder several innocent people, and then escape across the frozen landscape of northern Europe, where the doctor ends up giving chase.
The novel itself is split into several different points of view, including the doctor, the monster, and a ship captain, Robert Walton. It starts off with Walton telling his story in the form of letters to his sister; then he meets a dying doctor Frankenstein, whose narrative then gives way to the creature’s itself, then back to Frankenstein, then back to Walton – it’s realty spectacular how it all comes together. Oh, and the monster is more literate than I am; it’s crazy.
***
***
“But Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it, as I had read the other volumes which had fallen into my hands, as a true history. It moved every feeling of wonder and awe, that the picture of an omnipotent God warring with his creatures was capable of exciting. I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own.
Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect. He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator; he was allowed to converse with and acquire knowledge from beings of a superior nature: but I was wretched, helpless, and alone.
Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me.”
***
Certain authors just become associated with certain ideas, and one that I continue to profit from handsomely – year after year after year – is Derek Sivers’ insight that when making a decision, it’s either a “Hell yeah!” or it’s a “No.” Either you’re consumed with interest by what you’ve decided to do - it’s just so completely obvious that this is the thing you should be doing/want to do - or you’re better off not doing it at all.
His newest book, How to Live, is basically 27 chapters full of insights like that. He’s actually chopped the book up and trimmed it down to make it just 8% of its original size, now clocking in at just 112 pages. Each chapter vehemently yet respectfully disagrees with the other ones, like taking 27 different perspectives on the question of how to live your life.
I took two full pages of notes, and many of my own notes disagree with each other. But they’re all true! The entire book is like that, and it’s so cool reading someone with the ability to disagree with themselves over and over and over again, yet still able to make a clear, concise, cogent case for the indisputably true assertion that this one life is your own, and you have to live it in a way that makes sense for you.
Years ago, Sivers sold his company, CD Baby, for millions, enabling him to forget about earning more money (he doesn’t need it or want it), and letting him put every single creative neuron in his brain into this one book. In the past, he’s been a musician, a producer, a circus performer, an entrepreneur, a TED speaker, and a book publisher, but here in this book, he’s just your friend Derek.
“Never agree with anything the same day you hear it.”
***
“Desire is the opposite of peace.”
***
“Mastery is the best goal because the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it. You can only earn it through hard work. Mastery is the ultimate status.”
***
“Value yourself higher, then rise to fit this valuation.”
If you’ve only read a few self-improvement/personal development books so far in your life, then this one could be a formative book for you, while veterans of the genre will have read about many of these ideas before. That being said, I was still able to come away with some fantastic insights, including one that, for me, made the entire book worth reading.
That one idea is a simple one (like most of the greatest ideas are), and it’s simply the idea that your “mental real estate” is extraordinarily valuable, and if someone or something is going to take up residence in your mind, they’d better pay for that privilege. There had better be a great reason for you to allow those thoughts to enter your head – otherwise, you’re doing yourself a major disservice letting yourself even think those thoughts.
The rule itself is pretty straightforward: Do something every single day to get at least 1% better in all the areas of your life that are important to you. Dead-simple idea, yes. Now you have to actually do it. Understanding something, and translating that understanding into action out in the real world are two very different things.
Tommy Baker does tend to use the same words and expressions over and over again (how many times is he going to tell me that something could “move the needle” for me?), but this book features some powerful reminders of key personal development concepts that you need to keep front and center in your mind if you want to succeed. Overall, The 1% Rule definitely earned its space on my mental real estate.
The 1% Rule: 1% Progress + Daily Application (Consistency) + Persistence (Focus) + Time (Endurance) = Success
***
“You’re experiencing wins every single day, most of which go unnoticed or unacknowledged. Celebrating your wins gives you jet fuel to keep going and extends a token of appreciation for how far you’ve come, instead of focusing on what’s missing.”
***
“The moment you learn to execute regardless of how you’re feeling, everything changes.”
***
“There is an unmistakable energy associated with living your path and dreams out loud in a world telling you what to do and how to do it.”
You made it to the end! Congratulations!
You're now among the rarest of the rare.
I mean, that was a lot of books!
But I hope you found something here that looked interesting!
Personally, I’m obsessed with sharing the magic of books and reading, and so I love it when one or more of my book recommendations “hits.”
Also, if you know someone who might love this newsletter, you can just send them this link!
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I also want to thank you for reading this newsletter all the way through to the end and to thank you for real, I’m going to give you a 1-month free trial to the Stairway to Wisdom.
That’s twice the free trial period that most people get, because people who finish what they start - and have the patience to do a lot of reading - are usually the ones who love the Stairway to Wisdom the most.
Enjoy!
And remember, you can just hit "reply" to this email to ask me a question or offer a book recommendation of your own. I may take a while to respond, but I read every one!
All the best,
Matt Karamazov
P.S. Whenever you're ready, here are three more ways I can help you apply the wisdom found in the greatest books ever written to your life:
I’m going to be leaving some casual spots open for personal mentoring, alongside what I do for my monthly clients, and the first choice always goes to the people on my email list. Simply reply to this email if this is something you're interested in working with me on, and I'll let you know more about it, answer all your questions, etc. Areas I can help you with include reading more books and remembering more of what you read, growing your business, getting into better shape, and building mental toughness and resilience. You’ll work 1-1 with me, and together we’ll be lining up big breakthroughs for you every single month.
I've released 50 complete, in-depth book breakdowns on the Stairway to Wisdom that respects both your time AND your intelligence and will help you become the person you've always known you were capable of being. Read them for free here.
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