<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Random Reading Lists | Kris Yotam</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="../../c/site.css">
<meta name="description" content="a list of wishlists, goodreads profiles, and other reading lists I have found snooping around the internet">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
</head>
<body>
<div class="mode-container">
<input type="radio" name="theme" id="theme-auto" checked>
<label for="theme-auto" class="auto" title="Auto theme"></label>
<input type="radio" name="theme" id="theme-light">
<label for="theme-light" class="light" title="Light theme"></label>
<input type="radio" name="theme" id="theme-dark">
<label for="theme-dark" class="dark" title="Dark theme"></label>
</div>
<div class="top-bar" role="navigation">
<a href="../../index.html" title="Main page"><img src="../../c/sigma.svg" alt="Main page"></a>
<a href="../../about.html" title="About"><img src="../../c/news.svg" alt="About"></a>
<a href="#" title="Code"><img src="../../c/code.svg" alt="Code"></a>
<a href="../../pics.html" title="Photography"><img src="../../c/camera.svg" alt="Photography"></a>
<a href="#" title="Pictures"><img src="../../c/picture.svg" alt="Pictures"></a>
<a href="../../vids.html" title="Videos"><img src="../../c/video.svg" alt="Videos"></a>
<a href="#" title="Donations"><img src="../../c/beer.svg" alt="Donations"></a>
<a href="#" title="Social"><img src="../../c/elephant.svg" alt="Social"></a>
</div>
<h1>Random Reading Lists</h1>
<div class="keepws">
(<span class="bold">notes</span>
(date 2025-06-04)
(category <a href="../../notes.html">culture</a>)
(status <span class="status-evergreen">evergreen</span>)
(confidence certain)
(importance 10)
(tags personal books reading-lists))
</div>
<p class="preview">a list of wishlists, goodreads profiles, and other reading lists I have found snooping around the internet</p>
<div class="prose">
<p>I spend a awful lot of time being nosy. I like to see what other people are buying, reading, studying. How and why it differs from myself.
It is also interesting to try to find correlation between a type of people and the content consumption associated with them.</p>
<p>This list includes goodreads profiles, personal blog links, amazon wishlists, etc. In the rare cases that someone has typeset their entire reading list in plain text where extensive enough I
am likely to have given it it's own page such as <a href="/notes/libraries/luke-smith-library">Luke Smith's Library</a>. You may notice some big names. You may not notice some small names. Regardless these are
being documented here as I find them.</p>
<p>export const readingLists = {
"Theoretical Physicists": [
{
name: "Sean Carroll",
desc: "Theoretical physicist at Johns Hopkins, author of The Big Picture",
links: [
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/151771.Sean_Carroll" },
{ label: "Reading List (blog)", url: "https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2015/12/16/reading-list/" },
{ label: "Recommended Novels", url: "https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2006/07/26/recommended-novels/" },
],
},
{
name: "Carlo Rovelli",
desc: "Theoretical physicist, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics",
links: [
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/108952.Carlo_Rovelli" },
{ label: "Five Books on Time", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/time-carlo-rovelli/" },
],
},
{
name: "Sabine Hossenfelder",
desc: "Theoretical physicist, author of Lost in Math, YouTube science communicator",
links: [
{ label: "Books Read (blog)", url: "http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2016/09/ive-read-lot-of-books-recently.html" },
{ label: "Personal Site", url: "https://sabinehossenfelder.com/books/" },
],
},
{
name: "David Deutsch",
desc: "Oxford physicist, pioneer of quantum computing, author of The Beginning of Infinity",
links: [
{ label: "62 Recommended Books", url: "https://www.mostrecommendedbooks.com/david-deutsch-books" },
{ label: "Good Books Profile", url: "https://www.goodbooks.io/people/david-deutsch" },
],
},
{
name: "Leonard Susskind",
desc: "Stanford theoretical physicist, father of string theory",
links: [
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/30080.Leonard_Susskind" },
{ label: "Theoretical Minimum References", url: "https://theoreticalminimum.com/references" },
],
},
{
name: "Roger Penrose",
desc: "Nobel laureate, author of The Road to Reality",
links: [
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1409.Roger_Penrose" },
],
},
{
name: "Richard Feynman",
desc: "Nobel laureate, legendary physics teacher",
links: [
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1429989.Richard_P_Feynman" },
{ label: "Books Recommended By (aggregated)", url: "https://theceolibrary.com/books-recommended-by/richard-p-feynman" },
],
},
],
"Pure Mathematicians": [
{
name: "Terence Tao",
desc: "Fields Medalist, UCLA, one of the greatest living mathematicians",
links: [
{ label: "Blog (What's New)", url: "https://terrytao.wordpress.com/books/" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/155010.Terence_Tao" },
],
},
{
name: "Timothy Gowers",
desc: "Fields Medalist, Cambridge, editor of The Princeton Companion to Mathematics",
links: [
{ label: "Personal Page", url: "https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~wtg10/" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/42307.Timothy_Gowers" },
],
},
{
name: "John Baez",
desc: "Mathematical physicist at UC Riverside, prolific blogger on math/physics pedagogy",
links: [
{ label: "How to Learn Math and Physics (reading list)", url: "https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/books.html" },
{ label: "Azimuth Blog", url: "https://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/" },
],
},
{
name: "Cédric Villani",
desc: "Fields Medalist, author of Birth of a Theorem",
links: [
{ label: "Reading List", url: "https://www.thereadinglists.com/cedric-villani-mathematical-reading-list/" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/994420.C_dric_Villani" },
],
},
{
name: "Jordan Ellenberg",
desc: "Mathematician at UW-Madison, author of How Not to Be Wrong",
links: [
{ label: "Personal Site", url: "https://www.jordanellenberg.com/" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693884-how-not-to-be-wrong" },
],
},
],
"Philosophers": [
{
name: "Peter Singer",
desc: "Bioethicist at Princeton, author of Animal Liberation",
links: [
{ label: "Favorite Books", url: "https://radicalreads.com/peter-singer-favorite-books/" },
{ label: "Five Books (19th Century Philosophy)", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/nineteenth-century-philosophy-peter-singer/" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12397.Peter_Singer" },
],
},
{
name: "Nigel Warburton",
desc: "Freelance philosopher, host of Philosophy Bites, prolific Five Books interviewer",
links: [
{ label: "Best Philosophy Books 2025", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/best-philosophy-books-2025-nigel-warburton/" },
{ label: "Best Philosophy Books 2023", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/best-philosophy-books-2023-nigel-warburton/" },
{ label: "Best Introductions to Philosophy", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/introductions-to-philosophy-warburton/" },
],
},
{
name: "Martha Nussbaum",
desc: "Philosopher at University of Chicago, author of The Fragility of Goodness",
links: [
{ label: "Five Books (books by Nussbaum)", url: "https://fivebooks.com/people/books-by-martha-nussbaum/" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20757.Martha_C_Nussbaum" },
],
},
{
name: "Cosma Shalizi",
desc: "Statistician at CMU, polymath, 130+ book reviews by subject",
links: [
{ label: "Bactra Review (book reviews)", url: "https://bactra.org/reviews/" },
{ label: "Reviews by Subject", url: "http://bactra.org/reviews/subjects/" },
{ label: "Notebooks (400+ topic pages)", url: "https://bactra.org/notebooks/" },
],
},
{
name: "Bryan Magee",
desc: "British philosopher-broadcaster, presented The Great Philosophers (BBC)",
links: [
{ label: "The Great Philosophers (Goodreads)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23257.The_Great_Philosophers" },
],
},
],
"Literary Critics & Lit Professors": [
{
name: "Harold Bloom",
desc: "Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale, author of The Western Canon",
links: [
{ label: "Western Canon (full list)", url: "http://sonic.net/~rteeter/grtbloom.html" },
{ label: "278 Books You Should Have Read (Goodreads)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/152097.Harold_Bloom_s_278_Books_You_Should_Have_Read_By_Now" },
{ label: "Open Culture (free online versions)", url: "https://www.openculture.com/2014/01/harold-bloom-creates-a-massive-list-of-works-in-the-western-canon.html" },
],
},
{
name: "Susan Sontag",
desc: "Essayist and critic, author of Against Interpretation",
links: [
{ label: "93 Recommended Books (Goodreads)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/128270.Recommended_by_Susan_Sontag" },
{ label: "Sontag's Re-reading List", url: "https://radicalreads.com/susan-sontag-favorite-books/" },
],
},
{
name: "Alan Jacobs",
desc: "Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Baylor, literary critic",
links: [
{ label: "Blog", url: "https://ayjay.org/" },
{ label: "Reading List", url: "https://social.ayjay.org/reading/" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3957.Alan_Jacobs" },
],
},
{
name: "Danny Yee",
desc: "Independent book reviewer, 1,600+ reviews across all subjects",
links: [
{ label: "Main Site (reviews)", url: "https://dannyreviews.com/" },
{ label: "Reviews by Subject", url: "https://dannyreviews.com/subjects.html" },
],
},
],
"Polymaths & Independent Researchers": [
{
name: "Gwern Branwen",
desc: "Independent researcher on statistics, AI, psychology, genetics",
links: [
{ label: "Book Reviews", url: "https://gwern.net/review/book" },
{ label: "Goodreads (4,415 books)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11004626-gwern" },
],
},
{
name: "Patrick Collison",
desc: "CEO of Stripe",
links: [
{ label: "Bookshelf (full catalog)", url: "https://patrickcollison.com/bookshelf" },
{ label: "Novels", url: "https://patrickcollison.com/novels" },
{ label: "Silicon Valley History", url: "https://patrickcollison.com/svhistory" },
],
},
{
name: "Tyler Cowen",
desc: "Economist at George Mason, Marginal Revolution blog",
links: [
{ label: "What I've Been Reading (200+ posts)", url: "https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/category/books" },
{ label: "Five Books on Information", url: "https://fivebooks.com/best-books/tyler-cowen-on-information/" },
],
},
{
name: "Naval Ravikant",
desc: "Investor, founder of AngelList",
links: [
{ label: "Recommended Reading", url: "https://www.navalmanack.com/navals-recommended-reading" },
{ label: "212 Books Compiled", url: "https://www.mostrecommendedbooks.com/naval-ravikant-books" },
],
},
{
name: "Nassim Nicholas Taleb",
desc: "Author of The Black Swan and Antifragile",
links: [
{ label: "233 Books Mentioned", url: "https://recommentions.com/nassim-taleb/books/" },
{ label: "66 Favorite Books", url: "https://radicalreads.com/nassim-taleb-favorite-books/" },
],
},
{
name: "Derek Sivers",
desc: "Entrepreneur, musician, author of Anything You Want",
links: [
{ label: "Book Notes (420+ books, rated)", url: "https://sive.rs/book" },
],
},
{
name: "Scott Alexander",
desc: "Psychiatrist, essayist at Astral Codex Ten / Slate Star Codex",
links: [
{ label: "Book Reviews (SSC)", url: "https://slatestarcodex.com/tag/book-review/" },
{ label: "66 Books Reviewed (Goodreads)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/119219.Books_reviewed_by_Slate_Star_Codex" },
],
},
{
name: "Michael Nielsen",
desc: "Quantum computing researcher, writer on tools for thought",
links: [
{ label: "Books, Glorious Books (blog post)", url: "https://michaelnielsen.org/blog/books-glorious-books/" },
{ label: "Goodreads (1,720 books)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/549089" },
],
},
{
name: "Maria Popova",
desc: "Writer and curator of The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)",
links: [
{ label: "The Marginalian", url: "https://www.themarginalian.org/" },
],
},
{
name: "Bill Gates",
desc: "Co-founder of Microsoft, reads ~50 books/year",
links: [
{ label: "GatesNotes Book Reviews", url: "https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books" },
],
},
],
"BookTubers & Content Creators": [
{
name: "Cleopatrick",
desc: "YouTube creator",
links: [
{ label: "Amazon Wishlist", url: "https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/1TD9CQ9LC5ESR?ref_=wl_share" },
],
},
{
name: "Carolyn Marie",
desc: "BookTube creator",
links: [
{ label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@CarolynMarieReads" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/49501801-carolyn-marie" },
],
},
{
name: "Emma Reads",
desc: "BookTube creator",
links: [
{ label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@emmiereads/videos" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10795588-emma" },
],
},
{
name: "Prose and Petticoats",
desc: "Literature and reading",
links: [
{ label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@ProseandPetticoats" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/93717002-prose-and-petticoats" },
],
},
{
name: "Lanchen",
desc: "Study and academic life",
links: [
{ label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@justlanchen" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/142073153-lanchen" },
],
},
{
name: "Adam Walker",
desc: "Close Reading Poetry",
links: [
{ label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@closereadingpoetry" },
{ label: "Goodreads", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4272622-adam-walker" },
],
},
{
name: "Ruby Granger",
desc: "Study-with-me, academic life",
links: [
{ label: "YouTube", url: "https://www.youtube.com/@RubyGranger8/featured" },
{ label: "Goodreads (to-read)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/21679362?shelf=to-read" },
],
},
],
"Institutional & Historical Lists": [
{
name: "St. John's College Great Books",
desc: "All-required Great Books program spanning 3,000 years, Homer to the 20th century",
links: [
{ label: "Official Reading List", url: "https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/great-books-reading-list" },
{ label: "Goodreads (100 books)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/122279.St_John_s_College_Reading_List" },
],
},
{
name: "Harvard Classics (Dr. Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf)",
desc: "50-volume anthology compiled by Harvard President Charles W. Eliot (1909)",
links: [
{ label: "Full Contents", url: "https://www.harvardclassics.net/" },
{ label: "Wikipedia", url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Classics" },
{ label: "15-Minutes-A-Day Guide", url: "https://www.mensetmanus.net/inspiration/fifteen_minutes_a_day/" },
],
},
{
name: "Mortimer Adler's Great Books of the Western World",
desc: "60-volume set, 517 works from 130 authors",
links: [
{ label: "Wikipedia (full list)", url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World" },
{ label: "Reading List from How to Read a Book", url: "https://www.tosummarise.com/mortimer-adlers-reading-list-from-how-to-read-a-book/" },
{ label: "Complete 1990 Edition List", url: "https://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/book-lists/greatbooks.htm" },
],
},
{
name: "Columbia University Core Curriculum",
desc: "Required reading for all Columbia College students since 1937",
links: [
{ label: "Goodreads (21 books)", url: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/46360.Columbia_Core_Curriculum_Literature_Humanities" },
{ label: "Wikipedia", url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_Curriculum_(Columbia_College)" },
],
},
{
name: "Five Books (Meta-Resource)",
desc: "1,700+ interviews asking experts to recommend 5 best books in their field",
links: [
{ label: "Main Site", url: "https://fivebooks.com/" },
{ label: "Most Recommended Books", url: "https://fivebooks.com/most-recommended-books/" },
],
},
{
name: "Art of Manliness - 100 Books Every Man Should Read",
desc: "Curated list spanning fiction, philosophy, history, biography",
links: [
{ label: "Full List", url: "https://www.artofmanliness.com/living/reading/100-books-every-man-read/" },
],
},
],
};</p>
<p>export const listCss = `
.rl-section { margin-bottom: 2.5rem; }
.rl-section h3 { margin-bottom: 0.75rem; }
.rl-card { padding: 0.6rem 0; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border); }
.rl-card:last-child { border-bottom: none; }
.rl-name { font-weight: 600; font-size: 0.95rem; }
.rl-desc { font-size: 0.82rem; opacity: 0.6; margin-top: 0.15rem; }
.rl-links { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 0.4rem; margin-top: 0.35rem; }
.rl-links a { font-size: 0.8rem; color: var(--foreground); text-decoration: underline; text-underline-offset: 2px; opacity: 0.75; }
.rl-links a:hover { opacity: 1; }
`;</p>
<p>export const ReadingListGrid = () => {
return (</p>
<div>
<style dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: listCss }} />
<p> {Object.entries(readingLists).map(([category, people]) => (</p>
<div key={category} class="rl-section">
<h3>{category}</h3>
<p> {people.map((p) => (</p>
<div key={p.name} class="rl-card">
<div class="rl-name">{p.name}</div>
<div class="rl-desc">{p.desc}</div>
<div class="rl-links">
<p> {p.links.map((l) => (</p>
<a key={l.url} href={l.url} target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">{l.label}</a>
<p> ))}</p>
</div>
</div>
<p> ))}</p>
</div>
<p> ))}</p>
</div>
<p> );
};</p>
<p>You can find my contact information on the <a href="/contact">Contact</a> page.</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>