Mastery: I've Read 150 Books—Here's My Favorite One

Issue No. 32 | August 7th, 2023 | Read Time: 3 Minutes

Happy Monday Everyone!

If you remember from one of my previous newsletters, I talked about how I've read 39,373 pages over the last four years. 

Technically it's now 41,276 pages.

But hey, who's counting?

And if you're looking for an easier number, that translates to 150 books.

In that newsletter I happened to know what my favorite page was, but I remembered saying I still didn't know what my favorite book was. 

And as someone who gets asked this question a lot, and I mean a lot, I should know this by now.

It's not that I haven't tried to figure it out, but it's difficult to pick your favorite book when there's so many different niches out there. 

For example, my favorite book in the Finance niche is easily

The Psychology of Money

by Morgan Housel.

But if you asked me what my favorite book was in the Fiction genre, I'd say

Musashi

by Eiji Yoshikawa (highly recommend it if you haven't read it yet). 

What I'm saying is, it's easy to choose your favorite book when you sort it from genre/niche, but it's another story when you have to consider every book you've ever read both Fiction and Non-Fiction.

But I recently decided to sit down and go through my entire library and finally decide what my favorite book is.

And honestly, I expected it to take hours, even days to meditate on what it could possibly be.

It took me no more than 5 minutes.

And I still stand by what I said about how it can be difficult to choose your favorite book.

I think what made it so easy for me was that this book is just

that good

.

It's the one book that I find myself thinking about and referencing back to every single day. 

So what is it?

Meditations

by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, or better known as one of the most influential Stoic Philosophers. 

Specifically, the Gregory Hays translation which has been highly recommended by Ryan Holiday, the modern curator of Stoicism. 

I've actually read it quite a few times, but what's great about this book is that it's not necessarily meant to be read in one sitting.

It's better to be read in pieces and referenced back to whenever you find your mind clouded with judgment or anxiety.

For example, whenever I find myself anxious about something that has yet to happen, I think about this quote:

"Forget the future. When and if it comes, you'll have the same resources to draw on."

Or if I'm considering putting off something to the next day I'll think of this:

"You could be good today. But instead you choose tomorrow."

Because if you don't have the discipline today to do something, what makes you think you'll have the discipline tomorrow to do it?

This book is not only a tool to help you get through the stressors of life, but it's a safe haven you can fall back on whenever procrastination or anxiety begins to take over. 

If you haven't read it yet please do so.

And if you have, this is your sign to read it again.

So, what's your favorite book?

Until next time,

Isaiah Taylor

Dive Deeper

What I'm Currently Reading -

I'm now reading

The Inner Citadel

by Pierre Hadot, an extensive breakdown of Marcus Aurelius'

Meditations

and other Stoic Philosophers. 

• If you'd like to see my notes pertaining to any of the other books I have previously read, then check out my websiteisaiahctaylor.comto view my entire library of notes and summaries.

Quote Of The Week

• "Nothing happens to anyone that he can't endure." — Marcus Aurelius