Person
Every book Theo Von recommended on podcasts
Theo Von hosts This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von, a podcast where he engages with a wide range of guests, including comedians, scientists, and callers, often blending humor with reflections on life, personal struggles, and history. Throughout the podcast, he has recommended and discussed several books. He mentioned Neil deGrasse Tyson's Lost in Space: 5,000 Facts for Navigating the Universe while wrapping up an interview. He also suggested Jordan Peterson's works, such as 12 Rules for Life, and remarked that a guest's young daughter might enjoy Peterson's books when she grows older. Von recommended Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens during a conversation contrasting historical living conditions with modern life. He brought up David Rogers and Daniel Keyes's Flowers for Algernon to describe the disorientation of waking up from a blackout. Furthermore, he noted Robert James Waller's The Bridges of Madison County as one of his favorite books and movies, mentioned an Alcoholics Anonymous text for recovery guidance, and expressed interest in reading Robert Firestone and Joyce Catlett's Fear of Intimacy.
Books recommended by Theo Von
-
The Bridges of Madison County
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller is a bestselling tragic romance novel about an unexpected four-day love affair between a National Geographic photographer and an Iowa housewife.
Discussed“you know I like that movie on Bridges of Madison County you know there's just a moment of choice in there”
Where to get it
-
12 Rules for Life
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B.
Discussed“he's a best-selling author sold over 5 million copies of his first book 12 rules for life”
Where to get it
-
How to Read the Bible
How to Read the Bible by James L.
Discussed“i think i think yeah look at the bible even yeah they want they want they have to take down someone that's at the top”
Where to get it
-
Hillbilly Elegy
Hillbilly Elegy by J.
Recommended“and there's a book you should read as well I'm going to recommend to you called hillbilly elegy um I'm reading it right now and it's uh it's it's amazing man it's just it's about your culture and the things that happen in your area in Kentucky”
Where to get it
-
Fear of Intimacy
Fear of Intimacy by Robert Firestone and Joyce Catlett is a psychological exploration of the psychological defenses, fears, and emotional barriers that prevent individuals from forming deep, meaningful, and lasting romantic connections.
Recommended“I know there's a book out there called the fear of intimacy which I heard is really good that I'm about to read”
Where to get it
-
Fear of Intimacy and the Tango Cure
Fear of Intimacy and the Tango Cure is a psychological exploration of interpersonal relationships and the psychological barriers that prevent people from forming deep emotional connections.
Recommended“I know there's a book out there called the fear of intimacy which I heard is really good that I'm about to read”
Where to get it
-
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon by David Rogers and Daniel Keyes is a poignant science fiction novel about a mentally disabled man who undergoes experimental surgery to artificially triple his intelligence, mirroring the trajectory of a lab mouse named Algernon.
Recommended“I was looking out a window just looking into a backyard and I was like I have like you know when you ever wake up from a black guy oh yeah I don't know what I'm looking at right now I was like it's like flowers for algernon and get read that book”
Where to get it
-
Jordan B. Peterson 2 Books Collection Set
Jordan B.
Recommended“she might be a jordan peterson fan you have to get her to read this jordan peterson when she can read better”
Where to get it
-
Lost in Space
Lost in Space by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Lindsey Nyx Walker is an engaging and comprehensive compendium packed with thousands of fascinating facts designed to help readers navigate the wonders of the universe.
Discussed“Um, you have a new book, uh, Lost in Space: 5,000 Facts for Navigating the Universe.”
Where to get it
-
Plain Language Big Book
Plain Language Big Book is an accessible adaptation of the foundational text used in twelve-step recovery programs for alcohol addiction.
Recommended“Have them get a sponsor, have them get the big book having do 90 meetings in 90 days and get serious”
Where to get it
-
Sapiens
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari explores the sweeping trajectory of human history, from the cognitive evolution of early hominids to the complex social and economic structures of the modern era.
Recommended“like even if you were there there's this book called sapiens it's really good”
Where to get it
-
Beyond Order
Beyond Order by Jordan B.
Discussed“he has a new book out beyond order 12 more rules for life i am uh i'm almost to rule number four right now”
Where to get it
-
Bowling Alone
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D.
Discussed“there's a book book it's called bowling alone maybe yeah Robert putam”
Where to get it
-
Breaking Bad
Discussed“breaking bad is out of New Mexico there two guys in a trailer cooking basically a food truck that [__] ran off theate that's a madeup show but no one questioned it no one's like that that ain't happening out there everybody's like yeah that's what happens out there”
Where to get it
-
Discontent in the Field of Dreams
Discontent in the Field of Dreams by Marvin Lazerson explores various facets of sports and culture.
Discussed“one thing Iowa has they've got the Field of Dreams so they can just have dead people coming out of the Corn I think that's a just easing and that's in dville and actually pulled off the interstate one time and spent some time in their beautiful place”
Where to get it
-
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump by Winston Groom is a humorous and poignant novel that follows a well-meaning but intellectually disabled Alabama man whose life intersects with major historical events of the twentieth century.
Discussed“what was a great movie Gary Sinise is the best huh see this is great but it's just a um even watching it now and he's sitting on that the [__] guy is sitting on the couch or the bench and you see that feather floating it's really nice I'd say I can't see [__] right oh you could say”
Where to get it
-
Grain Brain
Discussed“so here today we have a beautiful man and he's the author of the book grain brain”
Where to get it
-
Greed
Greed by Chris Ryan is a book exploring human sexuality, evolutionary psychology, and alternative relationship structures.
Discussed“What's your opinion? you know I just started reading this book called sex at dawn and it's by a man named Chris Ryan and I just started and uh and I've literally read through the introduction and I mean just in the first chapter I'm it just started yesterday Anna read slow and I don't wanna [ __ ] I”
Where to get it
-
Men in black
Men in Black by Steve Perry, Lowell Cunningham, and Ed Solomon is a science fiction property centering on a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth.
Discussed“this reminds me of that scene in men in black you know where it was a little girl with the physics book that's the money shot right”
Where to get it
-
Moby Dick
Moby Dick by Herman Melville is a classic American novel that follows Captain Ahab's obsessive, self-destructive quest to hunt down the white sperm whale that maimed him.
Discussed“did you go read moby-dick see how many mahi-mahi they got in that sucker zilch ezel”
Where to get it
-
MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville is an epic American masterpiece detailing Captain Ahab's obsessive, destructive quest for vengeance against the giant white whale that maimed him, interwoven with exhaustive details of nineteenth-century whaling.
Discussed“and I'm gonna go with Sun Also Rises and Moby Dick Heffron he did not write Moby Dick”
Where to get it
-
Murder On The Orient Express
Murder On The Orient Express is a classic detective novel by Agatha Christie featuring her famous Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot solving a murder on a snowbound train.
Critiqued“speaking of trains I went and saw midnight on the Orient Express or whatever it is Murder on the Orient Express save your money all right boring”
Where to get it
-
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is a classic American novel that examines institutional oppression, individuality, and mental health through the experiences of patients in a psychiatric ward ruled by the tyrannical Nurse Ratched.
Discussed“what's the what's the book what One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest the book”
Where to get it
-
Sex at Dawn
Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha is an evolutionary anthropology book that challenges traditional assumptions about human monogamy by arguing that our prehistoric ancestors practiced a more fluid, polyamorous form of mating.
Discussed“i'm reading this listening to this book still called sex at dawn and when i first heard it man they were talking like a lot of anti-christian stuff and things like this”
Where to get it
-
The Care and Feeding of Children
Discussed“baby cages came into Vogue after they were invented in 1922 but their Origins really began with the 1884 book The care of feeding of children um by EMT Hol”
Where to get it
-
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel The Scarlet Letter tells the powerful and enduring story of Hester Prynne, a woman in Puritan New England who is publicly condemned and forced to wear the letter 'A' after having a child out of wedlock.
Discussed“probably something from that um Scarlet Letter book what are some names in that book”
Where to get it
-
The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is a seminal modernist novel that chronicles a group of American and British expatriates traveling from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and bullfights.
Discussed“and I'm gonna go with Sun Also Rises and Moby Dick”
Where to get it
-
Tribe
Tribe by Sebastian Junger is a concise and poignant exploration of the human psychological need for community, belonging, and shared purpose, particularly in the aftermath of modern alienation and crisis.
Discussed“and you had that tribal vibe you know as Sebastian Junger talks about when you had that old school you got different emotions from different places and it was all so close together in your source of family and now maybe you have to go door to door these days to get the love and affection and emotion or little”
Where to get it
-
We Who Wrestle with God
We Who Wrestle with God by Jordan B.
Discussed“but so far there's a part in uh chapter three um where you talk about fear and you talk about the fog”
Where to get it
-
Your Favorite Seuss
Discussed“you know i started to think about um the dr seuss thing and here's my theory on dr seuss for one i started to think that i bet i bet someone had a lot of dr seuss books that the sales on them had probably slowed down because i don't know if people are buying as dr seuss as much”
Where to get it
Appearances
Other mentions (120: passing, ad reads, own books)
“He has a new book, Lost in Space: 5,000 Facts for Navigating the Universe.”
“I'm in here in the damn Jungle Book.”
“I was like, God, this dude's on 40 days. Put this dude back in the Bible.”
“did you watch Oppenheimer yeah yeah so the so all the New Mexico shots in Oppenheimer that's exactly where I grew up”
“I don't if you saw Mr Robot I didn't but I dm'd with Magnus Magnus Carlson... so but no Mr Robot is it good uh it's it just it it shows like all this hacking stuff in like you know cool it it makes it seem really cool”
“we had the book in a day [ __ ] was always weird like I don't even know if I want to talk to a guy who just read Where the Red Fern Grows”
“I think real Seaman like in that movie um Silence of the Lambs yeah I don't know if it was real or not”
“even like in Grapes of Wrath, remember that book, they breastfed their kids in Grapes of Wrath”
“even like in Grapes of Wrath / yeah / remember that book / They breastfed their kids in Grapes of Wrath / They breastfed the adults at the end”
“you're just reading night by eli weissel just like oh [ __ ] oh man i gotta”
“and then i saw a spider and so i said oh damn you know charlotte's webbing this [ __ ] you know what i'm saying this this that damn fifth grade reading level that shit's you know causing me to act up”
“and then i saw a spider and so i said oh damn you know charlotte's webbing this [ __ ] you know what i'm saying this this that damn fifth grade reading level that shit's you know causing me to act up”
“but uh very lord of the flies ass kind of [ __ ] but we made the most of it”
“very lord of the flies ass kind of [ __ ]”
“they said it would take a minute 600 years to get out of this here prison but andy dufresne did it in less than 20.”
“and then you're also i mean you're just nice to look at you remind me of like the if they met a female female jungle book who would be in it you know mowgli”
“this was a few years ago remember that honduran caravan there was all of this like there was pictures and there was like some of the pictures were even stolen images from um hotel rwanda”
“if you look back through time even only on the first few pages of the bible is men naked and then one of the men kills the other men and then at that point they said damn we got a blouse up”
“that same physique baby that p hyzek as baloo from the jungle book”
“so then suddenly everyone goes and buys the dr seuss books now everybody's cat in the head it up everybody's hammed and greened you know”
“so then suddenly everyone goes and buys the dr seuss books now everybody's cat in the head it up everybody's hammed and greened you know”
“and everybody's hearing horton's in the distance you know it is what it is”
“put on some poetic justice or something in the background or like a”
“save the last dance or something or dances with wolves”
“save the last dance or something or dances with wolves”
“You can't be like Indian in the cupboard. You got to be, you know, Indian in the closet who left a note”
“You can't be like indian in the cupboard you got to be you know indian in the closet who left a note”
“it's the art of war you know like anytime you can create some chaos in the other person's mind you do it damn yeah”
“If you even know 1492 you get half the answers right If you read the scar letter you get four out of five answers right So I mean that's a 80 right there”
“it was kind of like the odyssey you ever had the odyssey rally”
“It was kind of like the odyssey. you ever had the odyssey rally. i have. And you. it was pretty wild huh. oh yeah. yeah very similar to that”
“i thought it was from the dang bible when i read it on a menu i said well damn is it you know is this the does the church run this place”
“do you start to become like Lord of the Flies on it's called semester at sea you start to become like in the beginning everybody's kind of chilling”
“have you seen that roots movie yeah me my grandma watch that”
“do you think we'll ever get to a place where six nine will be in it we'll be in roots”
“here we got the old man in the sea for Whom the Bell Tolls that's those are not Def Leppard songs”
“here we got the old man in the sea for Whom the Bell Tolls that's those are not Def Leppard songs”
“here we got the old man in the sea for Whom the Bell Tolls that's those are not Def Leppard songs”
“those that is Hemingway books in our time”
“those that is Hemingway books in our time Sun Also Rises fair what arms to heaven having out for Whom the Bell Tolls the old man in the sea”
“Sun Also Rises fair what arms to heaven having out For Whom the Bell Tolls the old man in the sea”
“after offering to exchange one hostage for a copy of the widow's son which I get a son book the noid reneged on his offer after a police brought him the book”
“the post mates guys showed up in the rain last night and it felt like a damn it felt like I felt like I was in that movie The Notebook”
“one thing that's nice when you get out on a hike man I start to want to get lost honestly you know I'm a big Hansel and Gretel fan”
“one thing that's nice when you get out on a hike man I start to want to get lost honestly you know I'm a big Hansel and Gretel fan”
“money of like kind of an Ignatius Reilly do you remember can you bring that character up but more handsome he's like confederacy of dunces do you remember that”
“he's written countless books including a creativity 101 it is Professor James Kaufman”
“I don't care if you open my mouth and just drag me through mr. McGregor's garden”
“you know reminds me of that circus mouse on Green Mile member in that movie remember that movie that killed the big black guy that killed Michael Clarke Duncan”
“and so I was so curious very much like the American Beauty remember that movie with Kevin Spacey and the other boy Ben Affleck or whatever”
“Why does somebody have to remember a magical word to get something / is this the bridge to terabithia”
“I mean just some really nice gifts / Somebody gave me a Darryl Strawberry book really cool”
“somebody gave me a Darryl Strawberry book really cool”
“What are they gonna do stop an arrow and a bullet with their [ __ ] Book of Mormon”
“this dude who was famous where we drive around town and give away free tickets to comedy clubs in exchange for food at restaurants yeah and he was his most halfhazard an amazing guy in his own right kind of like this Confederacy of D's ignacius Riley type of man you know”
“I don't believe in that war anymore uh Silence of the Lambs doesn't hold up I don't know if that's”
“so here today we have a beautiful man and he's the author of the book grain brain”
“and in readin [ __ ] Grapes of Wrath at the same time if he did it”
“when i was young i wrote a letter to the people that had where's waldo remember the books so i wrote a letter to them and i was like hey i want to dress up like waldo and just walk across america”
“wasn't there a movie bridge - spina bifida did you see that Bridge to Terabithia yeah that's something enough Bridge to Terabithia”
“and so then you have to get it from extemporaneous places from outsiders brought from straight up SE Hinton's”
“it was like a time to kill you know every room I go into another brick the thighs in and I literally went through the house and then ran right out”
“and if you dude don't stand around with your ass to people and lay down like you're like you're in a damn you know little little women novel or something”
“you know like a like a a mystery not a prognosticator you know someone who predicts the future and and this lady could read ribs and I mean is this [ __ ] read my [ __ ] for about 40 minutes you know like it was a dang you know it was like a damn Agatha Christie novel”
“it has one of the largest ports in the world along the Mississippi River Tom huckleberry Tom and Huck stayed here Jim you know darker Jim and Tom and Huck and Mark Twain remember that”
“what I'm currently listening to on audible is out of the shadows understanding sexual addiction by Patrick Carnes”
“What I'm currently listening to on audible is out of the shadows understanding sexual addiction by Patrick Carnes”
“I don't know if you guys have ever read like a lot of history books or the Bible or you know different type of Muslim Muslim literature or slim literature some people say instead of Muslim a lot of people say slim”
“we have a jock a willings book in here”
“and they got Jordan Peterson book a pumpkin right there when a mother Nick his [ __ ] dirty little you know gonads right there one of those orange little party poppers that she floats out this time of year”
“and they got Jordan Peterson book a pumpkin right there when a mother Nick his [__] dirty little you know gonads right there”
“no Tim who was in Shawshank Redemption Oh Tim Robinson Tim Robbins”
“Oh then I go into a loop that I'll put on Finding Neverland with Johnny Depp oh so you really like you're crying”
“it was very everything was dark and very you know um like that George Orwell book or whatever into the jungle or whatever it's called”
“um like that George Orwell book or whatever into the jungle or whatever it's called yeah”
“is you like Fight Club ... Fight Club for your heart baby Fight Club for your emotions”
“like there's like even certain instances that you could read about there was a Japanese airline a few years back that had a terrible terrible incident that happened where the for the pilot planning to commit suicide and kill everybody on the plane... I don't know how they found this out but I think it said even in a book...”
“maybe you're gonna read him one of those fancy books you know horton hears a who”
“Maybe you're gonna read him one of those fancy books you know horton hears a who or you know one of the the Spike Lee autobiography”
“the kids are Amelia Bedelia is”
“the kids are Amelia Bedelia is and then so you pet you”
“man right now I'm reading a book called why we sleep and it's pretty fascinating”
“you know right now I'm reading a book called why we sleep and it's pretty fascinating but I would love to learn a little bit more about Socrates”
“have you ever seen um cider house rules but sometimes the man inside our house rules the you know the you know good night my kings of New England or mine or whatever the daddy the main man inside our house rules for those who hit that ether”
“now you are John Irving now you are anyone you want to be michael crichton shel silverstein you know I'm saying the giving tree'”
“and you know we'll you know and I know that's your book”
“have you ever seen that that Stephen King movie yes it was kind of like that kind of hair but Pet Sematary”
“Pet Sematary which one”
“I remember I watched this movie called The Joy Luck Club and it was like all Asian women and dude that maybe that movie made me cry like nine times man I was well I just watch it and I would relate to these Asian women but I'm like that's weird I'm not an Asian woman but that's like the”
“Maybe there's other people thinking about it you know our mama I used to read that book Cider House Rules all the time”
“our mama I used to read that book Cider House Rules all the time”
“she had all these show animals you know she had like the circus mouse from Green Mile”
“she had the dog from I am Legend”
“you know when Tom Sawyer had to paint the fence but he schemed those other dudes into thinking it was fun”
“and they had Cat in the Hat day at school and one of my name's sakes my dad told me was a theá-- dr. Seuss”
“I went back home ate a bunch of pills and watched uh the first season a house of cards”
“and you know it's like like if you if they had like Death of a Salesman like Jeremy would play Willy Loman you know he's got that you know he's a briefcase brother”
“I know that uh you know New Hampshire I think is John Irving country he wrote a lot of those books Cider House Rules”
“I know that uh you know New Hampshire I think is John Irving country He wrote a lot of those books Cider House Rules you know you got a lot of wrestlers and a lot of rich lot of rich kids up there going to private schools and stuff like that”
“you seen that movie where that boy ends up in a boat with the tiger go take your chances”
“but it makes me feel a little bit like a you know you said it first like of a jean bra like Aegina you know like that warm wallet you know like that wild canal you know like Joseph Conrad wrote about you know that wild canal out there that RIT whatever it was that dark river whatever he was”
“he got that Boo Radley and I'm a little bit but he's you know he's adventurous and he's helping out on the on the Thursday episode”
“I'm even even in the Bible if you go back to Adam you know you wanted to get that fruit”
“you might have eleven or nine you know eleven or nine Asian dudes you know some vietze or some laotians you know popping off given to that you know that um what's a call when they prick your skin with all those needles at one time like one of those bicycles in the Guinness Book of World Records”
“homework it was to the point where he would rather lock himself in the bathroom and jerk off and ooh that's a little Silence of the Lambs II you know he's in there petting that black sheep and you outside looking for some wolf you know”
“I mean it's like at the end of Grapes of Wrath that lady they got a lady with breasts and she's breastfeeding her own family”
“I mean it's like at the end of Grapes of Wrath that lady they got a lady with breasts and she's breastfeeding her own family”
“I do not like white supremacist I do not like them in a house I do not like them with a mouse”
“I do not like white supremacist I do not like them in a house I do not like them with a mouse”
“you know I'm talking about that Jungle Book sex”
“Dunkirk, amazing movie. If you haven't seen it, best movie I've seen since uh Shaw Shank Redemptions.”
“a large cat dark kind of looking black cat but a not a black cat like you see just on your street or on a side street — a black cat you have to really get into the woods to see you know kind of like the evil black cat in Jungle Book something like that”
“so and I love that man I'm a Romeo and Juliet er you know that but I think you guys for calling in this week madam will leave us out here”
“that's the urban update right there from the white side white guy yes the bridge to Tera the bit the bridge to Black ABIA”
“not even for sexual reasons but more for like grapes of wrathy type of necessity you know um I remember getting a [__] out here in the desert one time getting a little bit of oral uh some oral pleasure”
“I don't let let them learn me you know I learn myself through the you know I read the Bible a lot I go to God a lot”
“I don't know how old you are but there was a rumor when I was young they had the movie Back to the Future one two or three came out and they had a skateboard that skated for you you didn't have to do anything”
“and a friend of mine that died he choked to death he was on opiates and he choked to death on a piece of chicken over there in Woodville Mississippi but he got me a rhyming dictionary when I used to work on his farm and I really have always treasured that book”
“hey bro you ready for some green eggs in Hampton in DG Dr Seuss is here today”
“Horton here's a [Music] hooker”