Episode · How I Write · 2024-06-26
David Perell & Ryan Holiday: books mentioned on How I Write
How to Write a Book Like Ryan Holiday
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David Perell discussed Discipline Is Destiny by Ryan Holiday, Courage Is Calling by Ryan Holiday, Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday, and East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Ryan Holiday recommended Call Sign Chaos by James N. Mattis and others and The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen, and discussed The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday, Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday, The big short by Michael Lewis, Meditations by Aurelius Marcus, and The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and others.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Discipline Is Destiny
Discipline Is Destiny is a book on the power of self-control by author Ryan Holiday.
Discussed“So, the thing that I want to start off with is my favorite video, okay, of yours is there's this clip where I think that you were working on Discipline is Destiny and you get a call from your editor that Courage is calling was number three on the New York Times list and I'm like, "This guy is so”
Where to get it
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Courage Is Calling
Courage Is Calling by Ryan Holiday is a bestselling exploration of Stoic philosophy focused on overcoming fear and pursuing bravery in everyday life.
Discussed“So, the thing that I want to start off with is my favorite video, okay, of yours is there's this clip where I think that you were working on Discipline is Destiny and you get a call from your editor that Courage is calling was number three on the New York Times list and I'm like, "This guy is so”
Where to get it
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The Obstacle Is the Way
The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday is a popular modern guide to applying ancient Stoic philosophy to overcome adversity, drawing inspiration from historical figures who turned trials into triumphs.
Discussed“So when the obstacles away came out, it it did okay, but it didn't hit the list. It should have and it didn't.”
Where to get it
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Ego Is the Enemy
Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday is a philosophical exploration of how unchecked ambition, arrogance, and a bloated sense of self-importance can derail success and personal fulfillment.
Discussed“I sold what became Ego is the Enemy. So I was working on Ego as the Enemy when The Obstacles the way it came out”
Where to get it
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Trust Me, I'm Lying
Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday is an expose detailing the mechanics of media manipulation and the darker incentives driving online journalism.
Discussed“One of the things that you said that I really resonated with was you were talking about your first book, trust me, I'm lying. And you were saying something to the effect of if there were 100 units, you got 90% of the units of satisfaction from how well the book did”
Where to get it
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East of Eden
East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a sprawling, multi-generational masterpiece that adapts the Cain and Abel story into twentieth-century California.
Discussed“Like Steinbeck always said, East of Eden was like his late life masterpiece. Do you feel like you're working towards something like that?”
Where to get it
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The big short
The Big Short by Michael Lewis is a non-fiction book examining the accumulation of risk and the bursting of the housing bubble that led to the 2008 financial crisis.
Discussed“My version of what you're talking about is I I I think Michael Lewis was born to write uh the big short. Everything in his life was leading up like his background in finance, all his other books, all his characters”
Where to get it
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Meditations
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a collection of personal reflections and Stoic philosophy written by the Roman emperor during his military campaigns.
Discussed“And there there's this sense that Marcelius is depressed and dark and nihilistic and that meditations is a dark book. But like I think when you read things like that, you see that he wasn't.”
Where to get it
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The Daily Stoic
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman offers 365 days of ancient Stoic wisdom and practical daily reflections.
Discussed“So we and I don't remember what page it's on in the Daily Stoke, but like we had to do our own translations for the Daily Stoke cuz we couldn't use this one.”
Where to get it
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Call Sign Chaos
Call Sign Chaos by James N.
Recommended“General Mattis, have you heard General Mattis's book calls on Chaos? It's very good.”
Where to get it
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The Fish That Ate the Whale
The Fish That Ate the Whale by Rich Cohen is a riveting biographical work chronicling the life of Samuel Zemurray, an ambitious immigrant who rose to become the powerful head of the United Fruit Company and earned the moniker of the banana king.
Recommended“Uh and then but his his I think his best biography wrote this book called The Fish That Ate the Whale. Oh, yeah. I saw that in the book store.”
Where to get it
