I start many books and finish few. These are the books I read and thought about in 2022.

Ironically, I almost finished Strong to the Finish by Brian Hunter. I met the author at a church in Jackson Wyoming before knowing he was an author. The book is about him running across Mongolia for homeless kids in the country. I related to Brian in that part of seeking out Adventure in physical, more mountainous ways, is in searching for meaning. Yet he didn’t find it in the woods. The one line I got from Brian was “Paradise without purpose is a prison” Having been on the road for three months mountain biking and living my “paradise”, without meaningful purpose, I knew exactly what he meant. It was then for the first time on the trip I was ready to come home.

I did finish “The Truth” by Neil Strauss, informing an on-going thought discussion pertaining to relationships and sex. Neil finds though a grueling and emotionally taxing process, stray from his initial Casanovian ways, that nothing truly great comes without commitment.

While driving out to Arizona it was before I passed the Mississippi that I finished Vagabonding by Rolf Potts for the second time, reiterating his liberating thoughts on long term travel as an art and how to get the most out of it. It is more a philosophy book than how-to, showing how vagabonding is separate from the traditional American vacation. It is a psychological journey fueled by curiosity, experimentation, forced extroversion, and becoming more aligned with the uncertainty reality creates.

I listened to Ask Powerful Questions by Will Wise in the mid-west on my return trip. It is one of my favorite on the topics of questions and connecting with others.

Live No Lies by John Mark Comer, A book exposing the lies society pushes on us.

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero – There’s a bad reputation for “Christians”. And understandable so. Scazzero saw that people could be a Christian for 40 years and never truly change largely because they are still emotionally immature. He suggests mature spirituality is impossible without the self-awareness that comes with emotional health.

Unleash the Power Within by Tony Robbins – Robbins is a great storyteller and an inspiration for entrepreneurial pursuits, but also life in general.

Your Engineered Home by Rex Roberts – The book was given to me by the owner of Lancaster County Timber Frames, the same book that led him to build his own house, and then two more of his own. Rex Roberts, through a conversational tone shares how to build a home intentionally, beautifully, wisely, and without the cliches and fads of architectural styles or the structural manifestations of greed, materialism, tackiness, insecurities, etc.

The Gospel of Mark, Proverbs, Ephesians, – The Bible

Do The Work by Steven Pressfield – A short manifesto I’ve read several times on the creative process and fighting the resistance (doubt, shame, imposter syndrome, etc) that stops us from creating. It’s a book for anyone who is struggling to do the thing that’s burning a hole in their conscience, that book, album, painting, blog, photography business, romantic relationship, marathon training, house project.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – My attempt at reading fiction. I tried.

Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion – read most of it. This helped with marketing ideas for Mt. Gretna Coffee.