We’re halfway there. 20 more books to go.
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Blockchains are really where audiobooks should be. I explain my point in the following tweet. Real DAOJ fans will like this tweet.
I’ve decided I’m going to make that a reality this year. I already know which chain I want to use - which would make the most sense?
Hint: it’s not Ethereum, Solana, or Aptos (my favs).
Development likely won’t start until q3 2023 or so, but I think the concept is a good idea. I’m going to try to add all my favorite books that are in the public domain. Maybe I’ll try to do the same with music scores - similar to IMSLP. If that sounds interesting, reach out to me on Twitter or Linkedin.
21) The Infinite Machine
By: Camila Russo
Rating: 5/5 - Must read for crypto, tech, and finance people.
I hold Camila in high regard and have followed the work of her publication Defiant, for some time. Infinite Machine is required reading for crypto people. Tech and finance people should read it too. It details the origins of Ethereum as observed by people there at the time.
The writing is smart and subtle in its delivery, and ample research supports the content.
I audiobooked Jobs by Walter Isaacson a few years ago, and all the parts about Steve were amazing, but I got sick of hearing about the crew of people surrounding him - which Walter spent too much time on. Camila doesn’t do that with Ethereum. Vitalik, Charles, Gavin, and all the main characters have appropriate amounts of writing allotted to them.
22) Flash Boys
By: Michael Lewis
Rating: 5/5 - Required reading for finance and tech people.
The best book I’ve read by Michael Lewis. Flash Boys looks deeply into the history and infrastructure of the world’s quantitative trading networks. Before you could program a Python script to trade for you 1000s of times per second, Wall Street had to adopt the infrastructure for you to do so.
The stories involved in doing that are very interesting, and if you are trying to be a trader and don’t know about the insights in this book, you’re in trouble.
23) Liar’s Poker
By: Michael Lewis
Rating: 4/5 - This was his first book.
I wouldn’t read this again, but it put Michael Lewis out there, and the world (and Hollywood) has benefited from that. It makes me want to write a book, and it should be required reading for any finance person.
24) The Undoing Project
By: Michael Lewis
Rating: 3/5 - Not my favorite but worthwhile.
A love story between Michael Lewis, Amos Tversky, and Daniel Kahneman. Michael’s writing is great, and these monolithic figures deserve recognition, but this felt too much like an ode to friendship or the trials and tribulations of it. Maybe that’s the point.
Either way, you learn about the high-level thinking strategies deployed by Amos and Daniel, as well as how they arrived at their conclusions - of which there are many. Overall pretty good book.
25) The Divine Comedy
By: Dante Allighieri
Rating: 5/5 - Genius but never again.
I tried my best to get through this whole thing, but it’s a lot.
Very creepy and good. Historically significant and impressive. This used to be memorized and told over fire and brimstone by bards. They would implement the techniques detailed in Moonwalking with Einstein (40 Audiobooks: Part 2).
Imagine being present at one of those.
26) The Corrections
By: Johnathon Franzen
Rating: 5/5 - Depressing fiction but very real.
I’m from the Midwest. Johnathon Franzen is from the Midwest.
Johnathon Franzen writes what he knows. I can tell you that his perception of the Midwest is largely accurate. It’s a depressing picture he paints, but it’s something I empathize with.
He is a good writer. But as I said, it’s depressing, and there were moments when I wished I had read something else, but the ending was potent.
27) Wanting
By: Luke Burgis
Rating: 4/5 - Interesting psychology that you don’t really think about. The concept is a bit redundant but perhaps I didn’t grasp it’s full application.
Mimetic desire is something investors should know about.
I think of it like a trampoline. If you’re next to me and I jump up - you feel it, and you suddenly need to jump up too.
It’s something babies inherently exhibit, but most adults don’t fully understand. I too, am qualmed by aspects of it - like how do you decipher what is mimetic desire and what is not. Urges arise for different reasons; I don’t think they’re all mimetic. I also don’t think they’re all sexual - a la Freud.
Hence my hesitation in accepting mimetic desire as new dogma.
Either way, it’s worth the read or at least becoming familiar with the topic - especially if you’re an investor. Chamath likes it.
28) First Person Singular
By: Haruki Murakami
Rating: 3/5 - A collection of 8 short stories. Good but not really my thing.
Haruki is extremely skilled. I was amazed when I read his 1985 novel Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. That book is easily a 5/5 and will forever be in my top 5 fiction list.
This one, on the other hand, didn’t do it for me. Short stories must be punchy, existential, or something - but these felt stale. After the first few, I skipped through the rest and moved on to the next book.
I’m giving 3 stars instead of 2 because Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is so good.
29) Brave New World
By: Aldous Huxley
Rating: 5/5 - Must read for everyone.
Of the 40 books on this list, Brave New World is the only one I’ve read before this year. I had to read it in high school - I barely did, and I cheated on the test - and then I decided to read it again in college because I learned more about how amazing Aldous was.
This was my third time reading it, and it was the best one yet. Aldous is one of my favorite thinkers - I put his writing ability in the same arena as Keith Jarrett’s piano ability - and Keith is the best musician of all time.
Aldous published this in 1931, and it will still be relevant in 3131 and beyond. While the story may seem derivative (since everyone copies him), there’s no doubt he ascends to levels that C.S. Lewis and company could only dream of.
30) Fahrenheit 451
By: Ray Bradbury
Rating: 0/5 - Must read for noone.
Fahrenheit 451 disgracefully fails at trying to be Brave New World. Fahrenheit 451 is a busted Brave New World.
I don’t know what Ray Bradbury was thinking.
This book came out 22 years after Brave New World and was absolute heresy. I’m being dramatic, but I read this shortly after Brave New World, and I was appalled at how pathetic it was in comparison. The themes are the exact same but dumbed down. The characters are simps, and the story is predictable.
This book should have been thrown in the fires it talks about.
Phew
We’re getting there. 75% done. One more lap.
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Who is zachary r0th?
Zachary is a technical writer, product manager, and aspiring full-stack developer with expertise in blockchain technology.
As part of the original team behind Solrise, the parent company for Solana's Solflare Wallet and Aptos' Rise Wallet, Zach managed product backlogs, ran all consumer-facing publications, led user research initiatives, and developed diverse sets of documentation for several blockchain products, including programming resources, courses, and editorials that helped onboard hundreds of thousands of people to crypto for the first time.
As a freelance writer, Zach manages the DAOJ - a free newsletter about blockchain-enabled innovations with an occasional sponsor.
He also contributes to various financial publications, often as a ghostwriter. Recent projects have included ghostwriting newsletters about global blockchain regulation for an audience of institutional investors whose AUM > $3 billion and authoring multiple key sections of a private placement memo for a fund that raised $500,000,000 to source streaming and royalty deals on precious metals.
His website features work across dozens of publications, including MoonPay, Solflare, Solrise, Rise, Substack, Global Coin Research, CryptoManiaks, and more.
To keep up with Zach, follow him on Twitter, GitHub, or LinkedIn.
You can also follow the DAOJ on Twitter.