Field Notes - June 2026

A thought

At the end of each quarter, I share a list of what I’ve been reading and offer a few thoughts on each.

Someone remarked after Q1 that all I must do is “work and read books.” While directionally correct, I’d point out that many of these are pretty short (sub 100 pages) and are very quick reads.

So without further ado…

Non-fiction

• The Last Kings of Hollywood by Paul Fischer - I’ve mentioned this one before, a great story of today’s iconic directors - Lucas, Spielberg, Coppola, and Scorsese.

• A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst - A crazy story of a shipwrecked couple.

• Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer - Somehow I’d never read this one before

• The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur C Brooks - Brooks’ new book. Enjoyable

• On the Shortness of Life by Seneca - Ancient but timeless wisdom

• Garden City by John Mark Comer - JMC dives deep into a theology of work. Per his usual, it’s engaging and thought provoking

• The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris - I’ve mentioned this one before

• A Confession by Tolstoy - Recommended by a friend, was really good

• Discourses and Selected Writings by Epictetus - Moments that were interesting, I enjoyed the Enchiridion a lot more

• Rule of St. Benedict by St. Benedict - Quite interesting to see the intentional ordering of a culture

• What to Make of a Life by Jim Collins - I like Collins’ ideas in this one, but the book reads more like a series of profiles. Felt like it could have been edited a bit more tightly.

• Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu - Hard to access. Alan Watts’ companion book was helpful in understanding the big context.

Fiction

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - Mentioned before - so good

• China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan - The sequel to Crazy Rich Asians - Not going to win a Pulitzer but was entertaining

• Snobs by Julian Fellowes - 20+ years old from the creator of Downton Abbey - really entertaining and more a social commentary than a fictional story

A quote

“Timely silence, then, is precious, for it is nothing less than the mother of the wisest thoughts.”

Diadochus of Photiki

A book

I just started Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Highly regarded, one of the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. So far so good