Episode · How I Write · 2024-05-29
Books mentioned on A Conversation with the Genius Mind of Ted Gioia
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville is a classic American novel detailing Captain Ahab's obsessive quest for revenge against the giant white sperm whale.
Discussed“so I'm an admirer of Moby Dick or the few recent authors that have a maximalist style”
Where to get it
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Infinite jest
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is a sprawling, maximalist novel exploring addiction, entertainment, depression, and modern American culture against the backdrop of a tennis academy and a halfway house.
Recommended“Infinite Jest is one of my favorite books just because of his courage in doing the maximalism”
Where to get it
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Critique of Pure Reason
Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant is a monumental work of modern philosophy that investigates the limits and foundations of human knowledge, reason, and metaphysics.
Discussed“so for example I will say I was listening to this music and it awoke me from my dogmatic Slumber which was what Emanuel K said when he wrote the critique of pure reason”
Where to get it
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The alchemy of finance
Discussed“so that's why I will read a book by George Soros called the Alchemy of Finance where he shows how he became a billionaire by understanding the way financial markets especially currency markets would evolve”
Where to get it
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“The” History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon is a monumental multi-volume historical work chronicling the trajectory of Western civilization from the height of the Roman Empire through the fall of Byzantium.
Discussed“well I'm going to read the decline and fall of the Roman Empire by Gibb and I'm reading it”
Where to get it
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The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon. Vol. 2. [-3-4].
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon.
Discussed“well I'm going to read the decline and fall of the Roman Empire by Gibb and I'm reading it”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“well for example I wrote a book called West Coast Jazz and it is sort of a hip cool thing”