This list will continue to be updated as I travel the world, read more books, and more relevant information becomes available. Last Update: July 7, 2026
When we read the stories of others in their physical form, the movement through the text captures our own lived experiences. Pages and time marked by the drops of watermelon juice from the bustling yet quaint Bangkok cafe; the salty tears and ocean spray stain the necessary passages and tides we’re meant to return to; boarding passes from bygone trips—fleeting escapes—that serve as bookmarks not only for pages, but for memories; the almost-dissipated smell of Turkish kebabs caught in the fibers transports us back to that wonderfully chaotic bazaar; the smudge of dirt from who knows where while we were doing who knows what forever underlines the title.
Neon highlights stretch unevenly across the text while our handwritten notes crowd the margins, exploring thoughts, feelings, and ideas we may act on — or never think of again. The mere act of transferring those ideas from our minds onto the physical pages of the stories that call to us is enough to anchor them, even if only subconsciously, into our daily actions and routines.
Our lives, like the pages, flip forward without hesitation, but the experiences that shape them remain. Like the impossibly velvety-fine sand from the beaches of San Juan, or the torn edge that sparks the faint callback to a sudden gust of cold Icelandic wind, they are forever pressed between the pages of a story that, somewhere along the way, became our own.
The latest haul… from Da Nang, Vietnam
The book that started the list. Bought for me for Christmas by my sissy…
The book that started the routine… because it set me back $45 in Hong Kong and I WILL get my money’s worth lol
I’ve been embodying the Hemingway quote used for the title of this post for quite a few months now. After more than two years into this journey, things are finally clicking, and I’ve figured out that writing is truly THE THING I’m supposed to be DOING with my life. And the more I write, the more I know that taking time out to read will only make me a better writer.
That being said, there is still a lot of work to do, LOL. While I started reading more in general last year (and tracking those books in a different blog post), my mistake of spending waaaayyy too much money on books at the Hong Kong airport last fall has led to a more intentional practice.
And let’s be real, I’m a physical list type of person. Like if I create a to-do list and complete something that’s not on the list, I’ll go back and add it just so I can cross it off—totally sane behavior, right? So, given the importance of what I hope reading and writing will become in my life, it feels appropriate to keep a list of all the books I read on this grand experiment.
And that’s all this entry is, nothing more than a list of books I’ve read thus far, in one clear, consolidated place in case I need to reference them for any reason later. I’ve included links to Bookshop.org (which directly supports independent bookstores and authors) for each in case they pique your interest (and yes, I’d get a small commission if you purchase through my link).
Maybe I’ll come back and add more or dive into this deeper in the future, but for now, let’s keep it simple… for once, LOL.
Books Read:
- Call You When I Land by Nikki Vargas
- The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier
- What to Say When You Talk to Yourself by Shad Helmstetter
- Take Your Own Advice by Jeffrey Marsh
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- The Eyes of Gaza by Plestia Alaqad
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Books Being Read:
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo
Books to Read:
- World Travel by Anthony Bourdain
- The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
- Inner Excellence by Jim Murphey
- The Daily Laws by Robert Greene
Books I've Started but May Not Finish:
LOL. I know I should finish the things I start, but I’m also trying to be as honest as possible. Maybe I’ll finish these, maybe I won’t (insert Kanye shrug here):
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
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