#27 - Erik Rostad: Lessons from Reading 52 Books per Year
Listen Here: Apple | Spotify
My guest today is Erik Rostad. Erik is the creator of the Books of Titans project. Inspired by Tim Ferriss' book, Tools of Titans, Erik has been reading 52 books per year since 2017. Not only does he read the books, but Erik posts written summaries on his beautifully designed website and audio summaries on his popular Books of Titans podcast.
In this episode, Erik and I discussed the origins of his project, Erik's reading rules, why reading books is more valuable than watching the news, and Erik's advice for retaining what you read. We also discussed our thoughts on books ranging from the Bible to Blood Meridian; from The Autobiography of Malcolm X to Robert Caro's series on Lyndon Johnson.
Selected links from the show:
Why You Should Stop Watching the News by Joseph Wells
Tips on reading the Bible from Erik's podcast - five minute section starting at 1:16:45
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro
What I Learned from Being Robbed at Gunpoint by Joseph Wells
Daily Death Reminder on Twitter
Show notes:
01:57 - The origin of the Books of Titans project
06:27 - How Erik chooses his books
08:59 - Erik's reading rules
11:30 - Why books are more helpful than the news
16:17 - How Erik prepared for the election
19:35 - How reading 52 books per year makes Erik more effective
20:56 - Time as a common theme across many books
22:34 - Erik's advice for retaining what you read
"The books I've not done a podcast for, I don't remember them as well as the books I have done a podcast for."
28:16 - How running helps with reading and life
31:38 - Tips for and benefits of reading the Bible
39:35 - Why I hated Blood Meridian, and why Erik changed his mind on it
50:02 - Why Malcolm X was so willing to change his mind
53:51 - Examples of other people open to changing their minds
55:53 - Robert Caro's series on Lyndon Johnson
1:04:51 - The one thing that's surprised Erik most about LBJ
1:08:35 - Eric's question for me
1:14:15 - Erik's advice to a recent college grad
1:15:17 - Erik's advice to a new parent
1:15:42 - Erik's favorite Twitter follow
1:17:22 - Where you can connect with Erik
