I’m not really a hit at get-togethers at the moment. When the discussion turns to current reads and I say early Greek philosophy, people assume I have a highly contagious disease and leave. I don’t mind. I’m having so much fun in my current rabbit trail of learning about the philosophers who influenced Plato and Aristotle. I’m amazed at the vastness of their questions, the theories generated in answer to those questions, and the ways in which these philosophers not only influenced each other, but the poets and politicians around them. As I close out my detour from Plato, I’m deeply thankful for the past two months of early Greek philosophers, Sophists, and thinkers.

April 2026 Reading

Early Greek Philosophy

I spent the majority of April reading the book on the left. It covers the Sophists Protagoras, Gorgias, Produces, Hippias, Antiphon, Thrasymachus, Critias, Alcidamas, and others. The Sophists live in infamy for teaching their students how to win any argument irrespective of the truth of that argument. They are lambasted in Greek Tragedies, Comedies, and by Plato. It was thought that the Sophists had set aside the early Greek philosopher’s search for truth in order to make money by teaching others to straddle truth and falsehood. Yes, they did that, but they also continued the philosophical tradition by asking and answering difficult questions.

The three green Loeb books in the middle were used for reference as Diogenes Laertius and Philostratus both wrote about the lives of the philosophers and Sophists I was reading about. These accounts were quite entertaining and would pull from a variety of often contradicting reports.

Last, I decided to try to set the book of II Timothy to memory during 2026 and used the book on the right for that purpose. It’s slow going and I’m seeing just how much I need to work on my memory skills.

May 2026 Reading Plan

Back to Plato

Last year, I read 9 dialogues in this Plato Complete Works before realizing that I needed to stop and read the philosophers Plato was referring to. My plan is to return to his complete works at the beginning of May. The question is whether I start at the beginning and read the 9 dialogues I’ve already read or start on the 10th dialogue. Your suggestions would be welcome.

We’ll be reading Euripides’ Medea for the May Short Great Books Reading Group selection. If you live near Franklin, TN, we’ll be meeting at Landmark Booksellers on Monday, May 4th at 7pm.

Recently Acquired

April Book Purchases

• I purchased Philostratus’ Lives of the Sophists to learn more about each Sophist as I read about them in the Penguin Classics book. This was written between 231 and 237 AD.

• During last month’s trip to Rome, I was learning about Seneca and had it in my mind to purchase this copy of Six Tragedies. This is in preparation for when I reach the Romans in my Immortal Books list.

• Stoner by John Williams - I count it as a sign from God if I hear two or three people mention a book within a short timespan. I then purchase the book without hesitation. That’s what happened here.

• Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage - this is a new translation of Gilgamesh that I had pre-ordered many months ago. I’m taking my summer break month (July) of reading this year to focus exclusively on The Epic of Gilgamesh. This will be one of the versions I read.

• Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder - I remember a friend of mine reading this during college and loving it. I thought it’d be fun to reference as I’m working my way through philosophy. The more exposure to the overarching ideas, the better.

Bookish Adventures

I’m the business manager at Landmark Booksellers in Franklin, TN and here are 9 photos I took inside the store during April (as well as one from the Franklin Theatre for an event with Sally Lloyd-Jones). We’re on a continual quest to organize the store for the optimal, heavenly book experience:

In this podcast episode, I cover the life and ideas of Gorgias, the father of the Sophistic Movement. We can pinpoint a shift from philosophy to sophism in the life of Gorgias. Each of the early Greek philosophers had a First Principle, an arche they considered to be the foundation of everything else. That stops with the Sophists. Instead of a love of wisdom using speech to seek after truth, the Sophists value persuasion and the ability to get results irrespective of truth.

The work of most early Greek philosophers only survives in minor fragments. With Gorgias, we have some surviving full works that are simply delightful. I talk about the life of Gorgias, these surviving works, and the one thing the stuck out to me the most about this early Sophist.

Books Referenced:

• The Greek Sophists - Translation by John Dillon and Tania Gergel - Penguin Classics

• The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics

• Lives of the Sophists - Philostratus - Loeb Classical Library 134

Show Notes:

• Encomium of Helen

One thing I’ve been loving about the early Greek philosophers is that they can each be identified with a first principle. This overarching principle is usually an element or idea that underlies their entire philosophy. Here are some first principle examples:

• Heraclitus - fire

• Thales - water

• Parmenides - being

• Democritus - atoms & void

The Greek word for this first principle is arche and it also has the meaning of beginning or origin. It can relate to not only the ruling principle, but also the ruling power. Our English words for Monarchy and Oligarchy encompass ruling power while archaic highlights ancient origins.

I’m constantly experimenting with ways to better remember what I read. One practice that has helped tremendously in this endeavor is to try to remember one thing from each book that I read. Being able to tie each early Greek philosopher to a first principle as a one thing has been very helpful in recalling other parts of their philosophy. If Democritus believed atoms were the foundation of all things material, that has ramifications that help explain other parts of his philosophy.

I’ve also begun considering first principles in other books that I read. It’s a fun thought exercise. I start each year reading straight through the Bible. If I were narrow down the entire Bible into a first principle, it’d be love. The entire book hinges on love. It’s quite a contrast to the power-hungry Greek pantheon. Love is not their first principle.

There was one early Greek philosopher who also spoke of love. His name was Empedocles. His first principle was a set of four roots (earth, water, air, fire) driven by love or strife. He was using the term philia for love whereas agape is primarily used in the New Testament. From my reading, he appears to be the only early Greek philosopher who hinted at love being a driving part of his first principle.

What is the first principle of the book you are currently reading?

What is your first principle?

In this podcast episode, I cover the life and ideas of Democritus of Abdera. He is one of my favorite early Greek philosophers, mainly because of his wisdom/ethical sayings. He barely made the Presocratic cut, being just 1 - 10 years before Socrates. However, his ideas, way ahead of their time, were picked up by Aristotle and Epicurus and have influenced humankind to our time. A true Renaissance Man before it was popular 😉, Democritus is worthy of study. His First Principle(s) of Atoms and the Void are revolutionary and are great responses to the ideas of earlier philosophers.

Books Referenced:

• Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes - Penguin Classics

• The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics

• Lives of the Eminent Philosophers - Diogenes Laertius - Loeb Classical Library

My family and I were in Rome, Italy a few weeks ago and visited the Vatican Museum. We were herded past priceless works of art on a tight timeframe with the end goal of seeing the Sistine Chapel. Right before the beloved chapel, I entered the room that contained Raphael’s School of Athens.

I’ve long admired this painting. I bought a print of it some 25 years ago and usually have it visible in my office. I’ve known that these were the men who set the philosophical tradition in order, but I never knew who each person was in the painting.

Raphael’s painting takes up an entire wall at in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. It was completed between 1509 - 1511 AD and it is wondrous. I stayed in the room as long as I could.

I’m in the midst of reading through the early Greek philosophers. Some of them are depicted in this painting. As I’ve been reading about them, I’ve been making a note of who appears in the painting. Here are a few of those I’ve been reading about who are depicted in the painting:

Plato & Aristotle

Plato and Aristotle are the focal point of the entire painting. Plato is in red on the left and Aristotle in blue on the right. There are some really neat things to observe in each philosopher:

• Raphael painted Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) as Plato.

• Plato is pointing up to the heavens, to the unchanging Forms

• Aristotle is gesturing to the earth, focusing on observable reality

• Plato is holding his work Timaeus

• Aristotle is holding his work Ethics

Heraclitus

Heraclitus (535–475 BC) is seated front, slightly left of center. He’s alone. He was known as Heraclitus the obscure and could be quite dismissive of his colleagues. He wasn’t a pleasant guy to be around. Yet his ideas of logos, fire, and flux set a philosophical path we still discuss today. Raphael painted the ninja turtle artist Michelangelo as Heraclitus.

Socrates

I’m actually surprised that Socrates is not closer to Plato and in a more prominent place. Although, perhaps it is appropriate that he is in discussion rather than holding a book like many of the others. He did not leave written work behind. Plato did that for him.

Parmenides

Parmenides led me to the early Greek philosophers, albeit in a roundabout way. I read Plato’s dialogue called Parmenides and was completely and utterly confused. I realized I needed to stop reading Plato and go back to the philosophers whose ideas Plato was referring to. That led me on the trail of learning about these early Greek philosophers.

Parmenides lived from 515–445 BC. Most of the early Greek philosophers have a first principle or fundamental element. For Parmenides, his first principle was Being. He believed that things that didn’t exist could not even be discussed. Perhaps that’s why he’s standing on a solid stone to signify the firm foundation of Being. The book he is holding is likely On Nature, his main work.

Towards the top of the painting, two Greek gods flank the artwork. Apollo is on the left and Athena on the right. The architecture is similar to what you see inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

My plan is to continue to identify the philosophers in the painting as I learn about them.

In this podcast episode, I cover the life and ideas of Anaxagoras of Clazomenae. His first principle, the thing that organized everything else, was the nous or the mind. He thought that in the beginning, there was an original mixture of unchanging seeds that a mind set in motion and began to organize. Anaxagoras was born in Asia Minor and moved to Athens, becoming one of the first philosophers to establish Athens as a hub of philosophy. In fact, Anaxagoras is a philosophical grandfather to Socrates through his student Archelaus. Socrates learned from Archelaus who learned from Anaxagoras.

Books Referenced:

• Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes - Penguin Classics

• The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics

• Lives of the Eminent Philosophers - Diogenes Laertius - Loeb Classical Library

I lead a monthly, in-person reading group called Short Great Books. Our book for April was One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and we discussed it last night. This book is a work of fiction that follows a typical day for a prisoner in the Soviet Gulag system. It’s a harrowing account not because of a shock and awe of the tortures but more so due to the mundanity of the horror.

For example, when discussing the time of the prison sentences, one prisoner says this:

“He himself was serving twenty-five years. In happier days everybody got a flat ten. But in ‘49 a new phase set in: everybody got twenty-five regardless. Ten you could just about do without turning up your toes. But twenty-five?”

A few pages later, we meet the camp hygienist, who has no special training. He’s merely a prisoner appointed to the camp hospital, ignorant of the basics.

Perhaps the most diabolical aspect of the Gulag system was that many of the prisoners had been POWs during World War II, some having suffered greatly in Nazi concentration camps. They were promptly moved from that hell to a new Gulag hell because the Soviet’s considered them to be spies for having met the enemy.

Connections to The Gulag Archipelago

There were a number of connection points to The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn’s influential work of non-fiction:

• Both works talk about the requirement of forgetting your former life upon entering the Gulag. In “Ivan Denisovich,” the main character asks his wife not to write to him anymore. We hear little about his family. He says he now has more in common with his fellow prisoners.

• Both works highlight that behavior and attitude within the Gulag are determined well before arriving at the Gulag. One’s prior daily decisions set a path for how one survives in a hell camp.

• The soul - “Here you have time to think about your soul.” That’s a statement from Alyoshka, the Baptist who exhorts Ivan to “be glad you’re in prison.” (His name is quite similar to Alyosha Karamazov from Dostoevsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov). In The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn thanks the Gulag as being a place where he developed his soul.

The Gulag Archipelago was such an influential book for me. I read it in 2018 and think about it often. I actually had trouble getting into One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Gulag has more grit. But the more I consider One Day, the more I realize that there is a special horror in seeing the terrible mundanity of one day in the life of a prisoner.

The Soviet Philosophy

John Bayley wrote the introduction for the Everyman’s Library edition of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. In it, he wrote the following:

“Ordinary reportage about the real nature of the camp system would have had some effect on the reading public, of course; but the shock achieved by Solzhenitsyn was a literary shock as well as a social one. Literature had, as it were, abruptly come to terms with the unique horrors of this form of slave economy, and showed that it could master what it really signified, presenting graphically the kind of world on which the Soviet political philosophy ultimately rested.”

The Gulag was the end game of the Soviet political philosophy. It was the manifestation of the supposed utopia.

In this podcast episode, I cover the life and ideas of Empedocles of Acragas. He lived from 495 - 435 BC before dramatically diving into the volcano at Mt. Etna to prove he was immortal. As we find out in this episode, the accounts of the life and death of Empedocles are varied and contradictory and contain an element of myth, which is appropriate given his use of epic poetry to present his ideas. With Empedocles, we have the largest stash of fragments of any of the early Greek Philosophers.

Books Referenced:

• Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes - Penguin Classics

• The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics

• Lives of the Eminent Philosophers - Diogenes Laertius - Loeb Classical Library

March 2026 Reading

Early Greek Philosophy

I returned to my Immortal Books reading list at the start of March. I’ve taken a break from reading Plato in order to read the philosophers who inspired Plato. I realized that Plato was referencing early Greek Philosophers and I wanted to know more about them, so that’s my focus at the moment. I also worked in a few extra books during the month. Here they are from bottom to top:

• Nero & Paul - Kathie Lee Gifford with Bryan M. Litfin / Landmark Booksellers had an event with Kathie Lee Gifford on March 16th about her new book with Bryan Litfin called Nero & Paul. A few days after that event, I left on a family vacation to Rome, and so I decided to read this book on the plane. I ended up visiting a number of Roman sites mentioned in this book that dealt with the life of the Apostle Paul. This was one of those perfectly timed books.

• Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes - Penguin Classics / I’m still reading this book and going through each of the early Greek philosophers one by one.

• The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics / I’m still reading this book and going through each of the early Greek philosophers one by one.

• Heraclitus: Fragments - Translation by Brooks Haxton - Penguin Classics / I read this in preparation for my podcast episode about the early Greek Philosopher Heraclitus and to learn more about his writing about the logos.

• The Logos of Heraclitus - Eva Brann / I wanted to learn more about Heraclitus’ use of the logos term and to see if it had any connections to John’s use of the term in the Gospel of John. I share what I learned in this podcast episode.

• The Intentional Father - Jon Tyson / I need all the help I can get in parenting. Although written for dads with sons (I have two daughters), this book was full of helpful wisdom. Now to implement.

April 2026 Reading Plan

Early Greek Philosophy • Plato

I’m continuing on in my pursuit of the early Greek philosophers. That may take me through the end of April. My plan is to cover the main philosophers on the podcast. My goal with this detour is to better understand Plato when I return to him. Here are the books on tap for April from bottom to top:

• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn / This is the book for April for the Short Great Books reading group I lead in Franklin, TN. I’ve never read this and am looking forward to it.

• Three Books about Greek Philosophers

• Lives of the Eminent Philosophers - Diogenes Laertius - Loeb Volumes 1 & 2 / Back in 200–250 AD, Diogenes wrote a large book about the early philosophers. This has become an important source for information about these early Greek Philosophers. I’m reading this as I read about each philosopher.

Bookish Adventures

Author Events • Edinburgh • Rome

March was full of incredible author events at Landmark Booksellers and some delightful travel abroad. I’m including some photos and descriptions below:

1. A welcome sign in Edinburgh

2. The Loeb section at Blackwells in Edinburgh

3. An event in Franklin, TN with Kathie Lee Gifford and Karen Kingsbury

4. The Almost Corner Bookshop in Rome

5. The Liberia Fahrenheit Bookshop in Rome

6. A Bernini statue of Hades’ rape of Persephone at the Borghese Gallery in Rome

7. The School of Athens by Raphael at the Vatican Museum

8. An event in Franklin, TN with illustrator Stephen Crotts and poet Malcolm Guite

9. Listening to Malcolm Guite read a poem about the desk of Emily Dickinson at Landmark Booksellers

Recently Acquired

March Book Purchases

I went a little crazy on the book buying during March. I acquired some of these overseas. Here’s why I purchased each book:

• Aristotle Complete Works - I’ll be reading Aristotle after Plato and had been eyeing this new set for a while. I finally pulled the trigger.

• Galahad and the Grail - Malcolm Guite, Illustrated by Stephen Crotts / I’ve been highly anticipating this book and it came out on March 26th. This is the first of a four-part epic written by the poet Malcolm Guite. It’s a stunning work and is one I think will stand the test of time.

• Heraclitus - Martin Heidegger / I purchased this one to learn more about Heraclitus’ use of the term logos.

• The Four Gospels in Braid Scots / I purchased this book in Edinburgh at McNaughtan’s Bookshop, Scotland, and it’s the four gospels of the New Testament in Scots dialogue. It’s so awesome.

• The Secret Life of the American Musical - Jack Veirtel / This book was mentioned in the book about the musical Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell and sparked my interest enough to purchase it.

• Rome: Archeological Guide / My other trip during March was to Rome, Italy, and so I picked this book up at the Almost Corner Bookshop and had a lovely chat with one of the owners.

• The Flowering Hawthorn by Hugh Ross Williamson / During my read-through of the Bible this year, I was really struck by the story of Joseph of Arimathea and how he cared for the body of Jesus. Well, this story then ties Joseph to Arthur.

• Selected Myths - Plato / The title alone has me intrigued and I plan to read everything by Plato. However, I think this is just a collection of the myths he references in his dialogues, so I’ll probably be reading these all within the dialogues. But oh my, that title.

• Sayings and Anecdotes - Diogenes / I actually meant to get the works by Diogenes Laertius, so this was a mistake purchase, but I decided to keep the book as I’ll probably read it at some point.

• The Logos of Heraclitus - Eva Brann / I purchased this to learn more about Heraclitus’ use of logos.

• Aristophanes II - Loeb / A Scotland secondhand bookstore purchase at Edinburgh Books. When I see Loebs on sale, I just go ahead and buy them. I also want to return to Aristophanes at some point.

• Argonautica - Apolonius Rhodes - Loeb / This is one of the books on my Short Great Books reading group list this year, so I thought I’d pick up the Loeb version. Another Scotland secondhand bookshop purchase.

• Lives of the Eminent Philosophers - Diogenes Laertius - Loeb Volumes 1 & 2 / Purchased these for the great information about the main early Greek philosophers.

Aristotle called Thales the Father of Natural Philosophy. At a very high level, he’s credited with shifting from mythos to logos, from a mythological explanation of the world to one based upon natural observation. Thales believed that water was the underlying principle of everything, that an immortal soul existed, and that earthquakes were caused by waves underneath a flat earth instead of by the gods.

Thales of Miletus is one of the earliest Greek philosophers (625 - 545 BC) and in this podcast episode, I look at his life, his ideas, and his impact both now and then.

Books Referenced:

• Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes - Penguin Classics

• The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics

I’ve spent the past few days in Rome with my family. It’s been a wonderful trip and the sheer amount of ornate churches, historical monuments, museums, history, and delicious food have been overwhelming.

I’ve been thinking a lot about St. Paul the Apostle on this trip. Prior to leaving, Landmark Booksellers hosted Kathie Lee Gifford for an event centered around her new book Nero and Paul. As the title would suggest, the book contrasts Roman Emperor Nero to the Apostle Paul. At the event, Kathie Lee spoke some about Paul’s time in Rome.

Upon landing, one of our first visits was to the Mamertinum prison. It was also called the Tullianum and the carcer, a prison so notorious that it’s where we get the word incarcerated. Tradition holds that St. Paul (and perhaps St. Peter) were both held here awaiting execution. Tradition also holds that they were executed the same day in Rome, on June 29th, 67AD. Paul, being a Roman citizen, was beheaded while Peter was taken across the river and crucified. He asked to be crucified upside down so that he was not killed in the exact same way as Jesus. His tomb is believed to be where St. Peter’s Basilica is now located in Vatican City.

It’s possible that the second letter to Timothy was written while Paul was incarcerated in the room you see above. A church has been built atop this prison and it’s a short walk to the Colosseum (not there during Paul’s time). It’s amazing to see the ruins of the Roman Empire right outside of this prison. You see the remains of the glory of Rome above ground while Paul was in this prison cell below ground.

Photos by Atlas Obscura (they asked that I not take photos, but this is what I saw).

We had another neat encounter at a church called the Basilica of San Crisogono in Rome. While admiring its beauty, an American student who was working with the church approached us to tell us about an archeological dig beneath the very church. Along with the priest, I got to tour this area underneath the church. We descended a set of stairs that led to an underground labyrinth and to one of the oldest churches in Rome, from the 4th century AD and possibly even earlier.

If it was earlier than that, it’s possible this area was a sort of hidden gathering place for Christians, as they would have been required to meet in secret before that. The priest said there was reason to believe that one of the rooms was the house of Rufus, a friend of Paul’s mentioned at the very end of Paul’s letter to the Romans:

I have no idea if this is true or not, but I did see a fairly well-preserved area of Rome that were of or near that time period. Churches were often built atop important spots or over temples. It was neat to think of Rufus in Rome, of Paul’s visiting him, and of Rufus’ mother’s special relationship to Paul. It brought texture to what has only been text to me.

Last week, I talked about the life and philosophy of Heraclitus of Ephesus. A number of his surviving fragments deal with the concept of Logos, what Eva Brann calls “the order that is the cosmos.” This week, I’m taking a deeper look into what Heraclitus meant by Logos and how that might help us better understand John’s use of it in the New Testament Gospel, where he writes, “In the beginning was the Logos…”

In The Logos of Heraclitus, Eva Brann considers the fragments of Heraclitus in order to arrange a cohesive philosophy containing Logos, fire, and flux. I share what I learned from this short book and how it expanded my understanding of the Logos.

Show Notes:

• March 13, 2026 Episode about Heraclitus

• Purchase The Logos of Heraclitus by Eva Brann

I’m currently making my way through three books about the lives of early Greek philosophers. My goal is to better understand the ideas that Plato addressed in his dialogues. These thinkers were called pre-socratic in that they predated Socrates, however it’s helpful to think of this in terms of ideas rather than years, as some of the lives of these philosophers actually overlapped the life of Socrates.

The Four Main Concepts

In the Penguin Classics Early Greek Philosophy, translator and editor Jonathan Barnes identifies four main concepts considered by the Presocratics:

1. The Cosmos (κóσμος - kósmos) - the orderly arrangement of the entire universe. Since it is ordered, its principles can be extracted and explained.

2. Nature (φύσις - physis) - nature consists of the things that can grow and is contrasted with τέχνη - technê, which are artificial things designed by humans.

3. Ruling Principle (ἀρχή - archê) - the search into nature leads to a search for the fundamental building blocks. Some Presocratices thought this was air, water, or fire.

4. Logos (λόγος) - as Barnes states, this is a multifaceted concept “of the human faculty which enables us to offer explanations or reasons for things.”

The Twelve Main Philosophers

1. Thales of Miletus

2. Anaximander of Miletus

3. Anaximenes of Miletus

4. Xenophanes of Colophon

5. Heraclitus of Ephesus

6. Parmenides of Elea

7. Zeno of Elea

8. Melissu’s of Samos

9. Pythagoras of Croton

10. Anaxagoras of Clazomenae

11. Empedocles of Acragas

12. Diogenes of Apollonia

One interesting thing to note is that none of these philosophers were from Athens. We’ve come to identify Athens as the birthplace of philosophy thanks to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, but the Presocratics were from Italy, Asia Minor, and Greece.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be considering these concepts and philosophers on both the podcast and my weekly articles.

For the next month or so, I’m going to highlight different early Greek Philosophers on the podcast and in my Substack articles. Last year, I started reading Plato’s dialogues and realized that I didn’t know the philosophers or their ideas that he was referencing. I stopped reading the dialogues in order to get to know these Greek Philosophers.

In this episode, I cover Heraclitus, a philosopher famous for his ideas on flux, fire, and the logos. While we don’t have his complete work On Nature, we do have fragments that provide an understanding of his main ideas. This will be a two-part episode with this first one focusing on the life and ideas of Heraclitus and the second one focusing on Heraclitus’ idea of the logos.

Here are the books I referenced for this podcast episode:

• Early Greek Philosophy - Translation by Jonathan Barnes - Penguin Classics

• Heraclitus Fragments - Translation by Brooks Haxton - Penguin Classics

• The First Philosophers - Translation by Robin Waterfield - Oxford World’s Classics

• Heraclitean Fire - Erwin Chargaff - Book 20 in 2017

• Lives of the Eminent Philosophers by Diogene Laertius - Vol 2 of Loeb.

• Major Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins - Oxford University Press

I have a serious medical condition doctors call Rabbit-Trail-Itis (via leporina itis). There is no cure. It’s a disease that impacts the central purchase system, where like rabbits, books begin to multiply at exponential rates. Two books breed four breed sixteen breed hundreds. Unfortunately, it’s unstoppable.

Here’s an example of a recent outbreak of this incurable disease:

Plato

I initially planned to get my Platonic feet wet with a few of Plato’s most famous dialogues. However, I purchased the Complete Works of Plato and came up with the asinine idea to read every single one of his dialogues. I began reading said dialogues and quickly realized that Plato often referenced the ideas of earlier philosophers (I guess I just thought he had come up with all of this on his own through Socrates). I figured I should stop reading Plato and first get a grasp on what these earlier philosophers thought.

Early Greek Philosophers

So I purchased The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and the Sophists, Early Greek Philosophy, and Heraclitus Fragements. I’m currently making my way through these books. The Early Greek Philosophy book makes a connection between Heraclitus’ idea of the logos and John’s use of the term in the Gospel of John. I became intrigued, which led to:

The Logos of Heraclitus by Eva Brann

This book takes a closer look at Heraclitus’ idea of the logos. I also purchased:

Heraclitus by Martin Heidegger

The hope here is that I learn even more about Heraclitus’ idea of the logos and then share that with you in an upcoming podcast episode.

Lives of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius

The philosophy books also led to an interest in early accounts of the lives of philosophers, something put together in roughly 200 - 250 AD by Diogenes Laeritus. This has some fantastic anecdotes about Heraclitus.

Heraclitean Fire by Erwin Chargaff

This is a book from my 2017 reading list (the first year of this project) that is titled after one of Heraclitus’ most famous ideas regarding fire. It was neat to see the ideas of Heraclitus channeled in a more recent book.

—

It’s easy to see how this disease quickly spreads across books from different authors, times, and places. One of the main symptoms of Rabbit-Trail-Itis is impulsive purchasing behavior. I don’t have much to offer in terms of a cure, but I do hope the knowledge that others suffer the same disease provides some comfort to you today.

I start each year reading straight through a different version of the Bible during January & February. This year, I selected the Intertextual Tanakh for the Five Books of Moses and the Early Prophets and used the Bibliotheca version for The Latter Prophets, The Writings, and The New Testament. In this episode, I share what stuck out this year over the 80 hours of reading through the Bible.

February 2026 Reading Recap

The Bible

I finished it! My goal was to read the entire Bible between January & February of this year. I finished it on the final day of February. It took a total of 80 hours and 54 minutes between January 1st and February 28th. My original plan was to include the Apocrypha between the Old and New Testaments, but I ran out of time, so dropped it and went right to the New Testament after the Old.

This is my 5th time kicking off the year by reading straight through the Bible. Each year it gets better. This year, I started by using The Intertextual Tanakh for the Torah and Early Prophets. I then switched to the Bibliotheca version for The Latter Prophets, The Writings, and The New Testament. Here are a few photos showing the vast difference in layout:

The most interesting thing about this practice is how I notice different things each year. I don’t plan this, it just happens. This year, I became interested in the question of what it looked like for an individual to live contrary to the prevailing culture. Throughout the Bible, we see a path set, mainly at the leadership level, and that path is in the opposite direction from what it should be. There are very few examples of individuals who forge a different path by obeying God. Some of those who did so were Ruth, the prophets, Job, and John the Baptist.

I’ll record one final episode of the podcast for this Friday that covers the overall experience of reading through the Bible this year. I’ll share my main takeaways and what I’m still thinking about after 80 hours of reading.

March 2026 Reading Plan

Back to the Immortal Books

I kicked off my Spring Semester of reading on March 1st. This semester takes me through the end of June and I’ll spend these 4 months back on my Immortal Books reading list where I left off last year. I’m currently in the Greek Philosophy time frame and am reading some philosophers who came before Plato. These include Heraclitus, the Presocratics, and the Sophists. After reading a few Plato dialogues last year, I realized that I had a large gap in knowledge. Plato continually referenceds earlier philosophers and I didn’t know what they had said. So I picked up these 4 books as a way to learn about those earlier philosophers.

Once I finish those, I’ll go back to Plato’s complete works. My plan is to read every single dialogue of Plato. There are over 30 and I read 9 of them last year, so I have a ways to go. I’m going to try to finish all of Plato during Spring Semester so that I can start with Aristotle during Fall Semester (Aug - Nov).

I’m also reading Our Name is Dare by my friend . We’re covering that book in the March 2nd local reading group, where Kev will be in attendance. I wanted to include one book where participants could talk to the author.

Tour My Bookshelves

“Inside a 40-Year Project to Read Every Great Book”

In case you missed it last month, Timothy Kenny conducted a 5+ hour tour of my bookshelves. Click the video above to check it out. It’s a great way to learn about this reading project and how I’ve accumulated my library over the years.

Watch My Bookshelf Tour

Bookish Adventures

Hadestown

In what ended up being one of my favorite music experiences of my life, I was asked to play violin in the on-stage band for a local production of the musical Hadestown this past February. It was performed by the theater company that both of my daughters are a part of. It was such a wonderful experience. I fell in love with the songs and the story. Hadestown is based off of the Greek Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and also contains Hades, Persephone, and Hermes. I’ve spent the last 3 years reading about these myths, so it was incredible to be a part of this. I covered the myth and the music in a recent podcast episode:

Show Notes:

Dr. Jason Staples’ Suggested Bible Reading Order (start at the 1hr 16 minute mark):

I love sharing the reading rules that have shaped this reading project. I have a list of 10 rules and it’s quite an entertaining experience to present them publicly. Nine of the rules are met with hearty approval but that 10th rule usually evokes disdain.

That rule is to:

Just Read One Book at a Time

I’ve found that most people have a religious devotion to reading multiple books at the same time. They have a non-fiction book for breakfast, a novel at night, a book for the bathroom, a book for the car, a book to swat flies, and a book for the office all going at the same time.

I used to be the same way. I felt something was wrong if I wasn’t in the midst of at least 5 books at a time. But I began to realize something. I was muddying the waters. I was finding it hard to remember the books I was reading because multiple books meant multiple storylines with too much time between each reading. I was also getting demoralized because I was never finishing books. I just needed the small win of a finished book to keep my reading momentum going.

In 2017, I made a list of 52 books I wanted to read in one year and decided to just start reading one book at a time. Here are some immediate benefits I realized with that approach:

• I was able to get through a larger number of books in a year.

• I could better remember what I read.

• Those small wins of finished books kept the reading momentum going.

• My overall reading pace was faster because even if I didn’t like a book, I simply had to finish it to get to the next one.

If you’re open to making the jump, you have two ways to shift from multiple books to one book at a time:

1. The Book Snowball - Are you familiar with Dave Ramsey? He has a famous suggestion for paying off debt called the Debt Snowball. You list your debts from smallest to largest and start paying off the smallest one. You pay off one debt at a time (while meeting minimum payments on the others), focusing all money towards that one debt. The reason for this is that you need small wins. It may make more financial sense to pay off the higher interest rate loan first, but we crave momentum and completion. If you are stuck with multiple books that you really want to finish, rank them in order of remaining pages from least to most and start reading the ones you can finish most quickly. That will get you the small win of finishing a book to get your momentum going.

2. Abandon Ship - if you have no desire to finish the 5+ books you’re currently working on, drop them all and start fresh with just one book.

I do break this one book at a time rule on occasion. I currently lead a monthly reading group as I continue with this reading project. I usually sneak those in while I’m reading my other books, but I try to keep that one book rule as much as possible. I’ve come to love the rule.

My guess is that your brain works much better than mine and that you can keep 5 storylines going at a time. If so, Godspeed. But if you’re like many people I talk to, the multi-book approach is leading to a reading slump and you’re not reading as many books as you’d like to. Give the one book at a time rule a try. And feel free to abandon the book you’re reading if it’s not the right book so that you can continue to the next one.

Show Notes:

Purchase The Intertextual Tanakh from Landmark Booksellers.

Dr. Jason Staples’ Suggested Bible Reading Order (start at the 1hr 16 minute mark):