Current Reading Stack, Apology, Death Parade

Existential Espresso Monday Shot Vol. 111

Current Reading Stack:

Unlike the usual “What I’ve been reading last week," I’m sharing all the books I am reading now and will be reading for at least the next couple of weeks. You’ve seen some of them in recent editions of Existential Expresso, and others refferenced in my writing as books I’ve read in the past.

In no particular order, here they are:

-Under Saturn’s Shadow: The Wounding and Healing of Men by James Hollis

-Meeting the Shadow edited by Connie Zweig and Jeremiah Abrams

-Romancing the Shadow by Connie Zweig

-Jung's Map of the Soul by Murray B. Stein (reread the single best introduction to Jungian psychology)

-Man’s Search for Himself by Rollo May

-Existential Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom

-The Search for Existential Identity: Patient-Therapist Dialogues in Humanistic Psychotherapy by James F.T. Bugental

-The Farther Reaches of Human Nature by Abraham Maslow (in my active reading rotation almost permanently for the last 3.5 years)

-Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en (the only fiction book I’m reading at the moment)

Why am I sharing this list instead of just my latest read, like I usually do?

Not to flex on you with how much I read. Quite the opposite. Ever since I started writing online over 5 years ago, I’ve been loudly advocating for two things:

-Quality over quantity of reading.

-Slow reading.

These two principles allowed the books I read to change me and my life and not just be a self-improvement vanity metric.

Considering this, I feel it can be hypocritical for me to share a new book with you every week. Even though I never said you should read every book I share, some people can get the wrong message.

“If that discipline guru is saying I have to wake up at 3 AM, and that business guy says making $10K per month is easy, maybe David expects me to read a book per week.”

But no. I actually think setting reading goals based on the number of books you read per month or year is one of the single worst things you can do for your reading.

Here’s the thing: Reading is a part of what I do for a living. (It still feels weird writing this, that’s how blessed I am.) That’s why I read a lot. I can. I have to. I get to. The books I share are there to give you an insight into my creative and private life and, hopefully, inspire you to explore some of them that speak to you.

Does this mean I’m stopping my weekly reading recommendations after 2 and a half years? Not really. I’m just not sure at the moment in what format they’ll continue. Until I figure it out, you know what I’ll be reading.

What I’ve been thinking about:

An Apology

When I wrote How I Avoided Getting Killed and Killing Myself, I said I’d be publishing weekly essays sharing my journey of getting out of despair and learning to love life.

Since then, I've published just one more essay from the same series, An Overthinker’s Guide to Making Life-Changing Decisions.

Instead of weekly, I’ve been publishing this series every 2-3 weeks. However, the reason is not laziness, creative block, or a lack of time management. I simply didn’t anticipate how emotionally intense the process would be. Every writing session leaves me questioning whether I’m fully ready and willing to share that part of my journey. There is also the logistical side of writing, where I still have to be careful about my privacy. All of this makes the essays take 3 times more than the same length piece of writing otherwise would.

So, I’m making a correction and promising to publish this essay series at least once every three weeks.

As previously promised, in the next essay, I will write about how an older Australian gentleman shattered my romanticized view of the adventurous life. It will be published before Monday.

What I’ve been listening to:

Death Parade OST by Yuki Hayashi

If you’re in the mood for some emotional and dramatic instrumental music, listen to this one.

Thank you for reading.

Stay strong, love life, and never feel sorry about yourself.