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# Recommended Reading
- URL: https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/recommended-reading/
- Published: 2024-11-04T12:26:52.000Z
- Updated: 2024-11-04T12:26:51.000Z
- Author: CJ Chilvers
- Tags: books, Productivity, leisure, publishing

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/93/30/933059b9-0a90-40a6-8ecc-04cdf152178d/content/images/2024/11/IMG_0513-1.jpeg)

No one goes north this time of year, so I took a weekend off and [headed up north](https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/make-the-time-2/) with my son on a road trip to Door County. 

A whole bunch of new books were released, so the timing was perfect to catch up on some reading.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/93/30/933059b9-0a90-40a6-8ecc-04cdf152178d/content/images/2024/11/IMG_0620.jpeg)

Alex Van Halen’s new book, [Brothers](https://www.vanhalenstore.com/page/VH/PROD/B85?ref=cjchilvers.com), is really two books. It’s a love letter to his brother, Ed, and it’s Van Halen History 101\. I’m glad he did the book at all, but I wish he would have chosen to go deep on one topic or the other. I suspect it was the publisher’s decision to keep it light and approachable. Hopefully, there’ll be a follow-up, given how well this book is selling.

The print edition of Derek Siver’s new book, [Useful Not True](https://sive.rs/u?ref=cjchilvers.com), just arrived a few minutes ago in the mail. I’ll report back, but he’s reliably fascinating.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/93/30/933059b9-0a90-40a6-8ecc-04cdf152178d/content/images/2024/11/meditations.jpg)

I’m still working through Oliver Burkeman’s new book, [Meditations for Mortals](https://www.oliverburkeman.com/meditationsformortals?ref=cjchilvers.com), the follow-up to his blockbuster hit [Four Thousand Weeks](https://www.oliverburkeman.com/fourthousandweeks?ref=cjchilvers.com). It’s best described as a guide to “imperfectionism,” or as he puts it, to be “free to aspire not to a life without problems, but to life of ever-more interesting and absorbing ones.” It’s one of those books I could re-read as a reminder, over the course of a lifetime, and never quite complete – in a good way.

Austin Kleon announced he scored a publishing deal for his next title, [Don’t Call It Art](https://austinkleon.com/2024/10/25/just-shy-of-a-major-deal/?ref=cjchilvers.com). It’ll be an instant buy.

Jamie Thingelstad was nice enough to [visit me in person](https://www.thingelstad.com/2024/10/18/this-morning-we.html?ref=cjchilvers.com) recently. He recommended subscribing to a blog that’s right up our alley by [Josh Bernoff](https://bernoff.com/?ref=cjchilvers.com). I concur, go subscribe.

Read on! – [CJ](https://cjchilvers.com/?ref=cjchilvers.com)

P.S. For the last three weeks, I’ve posted a photo of a chapter from [my new book](https://www.cjchilvers.com/principles-for-newsletters/) to [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-chilvers-186528ab?ref=cjchilvers.com) every weekday just to see what would happen. Book sales and subscriptions had a slight bump, but LinkedIn says my profile got 7000%+ more “engagement.” Hey, I’ll take it.