Person
Every book Ted Gioia recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Ted Gioia has recommended or discussed 7 books on podcasts, as of May 29, 2024.
- Ted Gioia has talked about books on 1 podcast, as of May 29, 2024.
- Those books came up in 1 episode, as of May 29, 2024.
- The 3 books Ted Gioia has mentioned in the most episodes, as of May 29, 2024: Infinite jest, “The” History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and Critique of Pure Reason.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Ted Gioia aired on May 29, 2024.
Updated
Ted Gioia’s most recommended books
- Infinite jest by David Foster Wallace
- “The” History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
- Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
- MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE by Herman Melville
- The alchemy of finance by George Soros
- The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon. Vol. 2. [-3-4]. by Edward Gibbon
- The white goddess by Robert Graves
Ted Gioia appears on the How I Write podcast to discuss his creative process, analytical methods, and literary influences. As evident from the conversation, Gioia is an avid admirer of maximalist writing styles and deep historical or philosophical research. He highlights David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest as one of his favorite books, praising the author's courage in embracing maximalism, and expresses a similar admiration for Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. Gioia also references foundational texts to explain his writing habits and philosophy, citing Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason when describing moments of sudden intellectual awakening. To illustrate his practice of drawing analytical tools from outside fields like finance, he mentions reading George Soros's The Alchemy of Finance to understand how currency markets evolve. Furthermore, Gioia discusses reading Edward Gibbon's multi-volume work The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire purely for its exquisite prose style, despite having disagreements with the author's arguments. He also brings up Robert Graves's The White Goddess when exploring the concept of muses and creative inspiration. Through these literary references, Gioia showcases a formidable breadth of reading that bridges literature, philosophy, history, and economics.
Books recommended by Ted Gioia
-
Infinite jest
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is a sprawling, maximalist novel exploring addiction, entertainment, and modern American culture.
Recommended“Infinite Jest is one of my favorite books just because of his courage in doing the maximalism”
Where to get it
-
“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 the Roman world from the height of the empire to its eventual collapse.
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
-
Critique of Pure Reason
Critique of Pure Reason is a foundational philosophical work by Immanuel Kant that investigates the limits and structure of human knowledge.
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
-
MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is an epic American novel that chronicles the obsessive, self-destructive quest of Captain Ahab to hunt down the giant white whale that maimed him.
Discussed“so I'm an admirer of Moby Dick or the few recent authors that have a maximalist style”
Where to get it
-
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
-
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon. Vol. 2. [-3-4].
Edward Gibbon’s monumental historical work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, details the trajectory and ultimate collapse of Roman civilization across multiple volumes.
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
Books Ted Gioia wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Conversation with the Genius Mind of Ted Gioia | How I Write | 2024-05-29 | 7 |
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“well for example I wrote a book called West Coast Jazz and it is sort of a hip cool thing”