Reading Recap: December 2025
Winter Break • Kicking off 2026
I set aside one post per month to highlight my reading life. Books of Titans is a reading project aimed at seeking the ancient paths by reading The Immortal Books by 200 authors chronologically over the next 15 40 years. Thank you for following my journey.
December 2025 Reading Recap
Winter Break
December is where I take a break from the Immortal Books and read some books that have piled up on my to-be-read pile. Here’s what I read during December:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - I read this for my Short Great Books reading group. During our discussion, one of the attendees brought up the fact that Scrooge lived in an entirely ethical manner and yet failed at life. That story really shows the difference between ethics and morality. I’ve been thinking about that a lot since reading this again this year.
Rhetorica Ad Herennium by Cicero - I read a short 15 page section dealing with memory. It’s the first writing we have about how to remember what you hear or read. Here’s my podcast episode about this book.
The Real Environmentalists by Jim Beach - Jim Beach had a huge impact on my life. He was my teacher of entrepreneurship during my graduate studies and I trace my current career path largely to his class. This book talked about entrepreneurs making an actual difference for the environment.
The Secret Society of Success by Tim Schurrer - This was a fun book that provided a number of helpful reminders.
Living the Braveheart Life by Randall Wallace - I really enjoyed getting to know the story of how Braveheart came about. You can see clear traces from Randall’s life.
Maria’s Scarf by Zoro - This was an incredible story of growing up in poverty and becoming one of the world’s most renowned drummers. I’m meeting with Zoro this week to discuss the book.
Roots and Rhythm: A Life in Music by Charlie Peacock (audiobook) - I learned a lot about Charlie Peacock’s role in a number of album’s I’ve enjoyed throughout my life.
January 2026 Reading Plan
The Bible
I kick off each new year reading straight through the Bible. This year, I’m using the following editions:
The Intertextual Tanakh (The Five Books of Moses and The Former Prophets)
Bibliotheca (The Latter Prophets, The Writings, The Apocrypha, and The New Testament)
I started the Intertextual Tanakh on January 1st and am really enjoying it so far. As the title suggests, the commentary ties together different parts of the Hebrew Bible. This Bible is really neat in that it starts from the back of the book, it has English on the right, Hebrew on the left, and contains commentary on each outer side of the page. It’s a huge Bible but I’m getting a lot out of the commentary. It references Robert Alter quite often, which was the version I read in 2023.
For the remainder of 2026, here’s a rough outline of my plan:
Jan/Feb: The Bible
Mar-Jun: Finish all dialogues by Plato & Early Greek Philosophy
July: Books about Gilgamesh (I love the Epic of Gilgamesh)
Aug-Nov: Aristotle Complete Works
Dec: Books about Trees (hey, I want to know more about trees)
December Bookish Adventures
I had a few fun book-related events during December. I drove to Birmingham, AL to see an interview of Allen Levi. It was delightful to catch up quickly with him.
At Landmark Booksellers, we had a big Dickens of a Christmas Festival mid-month. I booked 30+ authors to join us and sign books. Kathie Lee Gifford was one of our authors:
In family news, we got a cat who joins me as I read in the morning. Her name is Lucy (after Narnia) and here she is about to attack the book I’m reading, something she loves to do:
Finally, we spent a few days over the holidays at Disney World and EPCOT. I was amazed walking around and thinking that the park wouldn’t exist were it not for books. Nearly every ride is based upon a book and a story. The Spaceship Earth ride at EPCOT is basically an homage to the history of the book. It’s incredible.
I’ve had the same thoughts as that person about living ethically as a recluse or ascetic and how that doesn’t result in a successful life. It’s a really interesting topic that I’m hoping to write about. The absence of doing bad things is not enough to be a good person. Separately, I just finished A Christmas Carol and several of Aristotle’s works as well as Plato’s dialogues, so we are on parallel tracks. I would recommend supplementing with the podcast “The History of Philosophy without any Gaps”. It’s very well done.
Looks like a great month!! :) I wanted to make it over to Franklin for the Dickens festival but couldn't swing it with other plans. Couldn't believe how cold it ended up getting that weekend in town; so glad Saturday could still happen!