What should a sharp, curious person read today?
A community-curated syllabus for better thinking, deeper focus, and sharper conversations
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September is reset season and I am craving substance. I want whole foods and I want whole books. Less content, more culture. Less dopamine, and more depth.
I’ve been thinking about how powerful books are as tools to sharpen the way we think, and what it means to be ‘well-read’.
The phrase used to turn me off. It felt boring and very judgey (and it makes me so very aware that I don’t have an English degree). But I’m coming around to the idea, and it’s starting to feel like something else: the foundational books that enhance your thinking and build your understanding.
A knowledge and confidence that comes from understanding the references and cultural touchpoints of how the world works.
Being well-read isn’t about being impressive, it’s about curating your inputs.
It’s about choosing what you consume, so you can show up with better ideas, better instincts, and better conversations.
I’ve been down many a forum hole exploring this recently. There are many lists and they skew very fiction, and often very American. It used to mean serious, literary books - they’re called classics for a reason - but I think for today’s reader this could, and should, be much broader. A mix of classics, along with business, cultural and personal essays. Fiction and non-fiction. Short stories and poetry.
The ultimate reading list, that, sure, might help you become a bit smarter, but more importantly curious and fluent. Fluent in conversation, in culture and in self-understanding.
So, what would a curious person actually read?
Let’s build a toolbox for modern thinkers
Let’s crowdsource a community-built syllabus of essential reads, both fiction and non-fiction. Books that broaden your views and help you make sense of work, life and culture today.
The ones that get cited in essays, screenplays, and late-night debates. The ones that teach you how the world works, and how you want to move through it.
Why this might be for you 👀
Maybe like me, you want to:
Feel sharper, more fluent, less foggy
Train your attention instead of chasing content
Make connections and see the bigger picture > scrolling and reacting
Build a deeper bank of knowledge to draw from
What do we mean by ‘well-read’?
I asked friends, subscribers, and serious readers. Here’s what they said:
“Understanding the tropes that make up our cultural cornerstones”
“Books that are essential to understanding writing and society today”
“Books that are emblematic of their category, have filtered down, and are referred to”
“Being open to reading outside of your norm and across genres”
“A fundamental grounding that allows you to understand references, nuance, structure”
How to get involved. It’s quick and easy…
Simply reply to this email or leave a comment to let me know your essentials.
Reply with:
Up to 3 books you consider essential
One line on why each matters
Optional: a pairing (essay, podcast, film) that deepens it
I’ll compile the list and share a curriculum you can actually follow.
A seed list to react to
Here to provoke, not prescribe. What would you add or swap?
The Odyssey by Homer
The Bible
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Why this matters
We’re all overwhelmed by inputs. But not all inputs are equal.
A handful of books have shaped the way I think more than a thousand posts ever could. I want to read more of these. And I think you might too.
Want to help shape the list?
Reply with your 3 essentials and 1 line on why. I’ll compile the full list - a community-built syllabus you can actually follow.
👋 PS - If you’re designing your next chapter - your week, your work, or your wider business - I offer 1:1 support. Connect or message me below.
If you like great books, you might like to check out Verse.
From the archive:
Enjoyed this reflection on a modern definition of 'well-read' - thank you!
So many I could think about adding - many I am yet to read - but two that came to mind pretty quickly...
1 - 4,000 Weeks, Oliver Burkeman: A very little reminder that life is short so we had better get to doing what we really want to, while we can, and gladly accept that cannot be everything. I've read it 3 or 4 times already (not sure what that says for my ever-growing TBR pile).
2 - Trick Mirror, Jia Tolentino: Thought-provoking serious of essays on a myriad of modern topics, all of which, I think, say something interesting about who we are and how we live today. One I have been meaning to re-read for a while.