Books of Titans Podcast

Each year, I stack all of the books from the previous year’s reading list next to me and reminisce over the reading year. It’s one of my favorite yearly podcast episodes and it’s a great way for you to hear about some books to add to your reading list.2024 was My Big Fat Greek Reading List. I’m reading through The Great Books The Immortal Books in chronological order over the next 15 years, and the time frame for this year was all Greek. Greek epic poetry, Greek tragedies, histories, and even fables.It was an absolutely delightful year of reading, the most enjoyable in my 44 years of living.In this episode, I cover the year as a whole, some of my favorite works, and some best of lists.Here are some of my favorite podcast episodes over this past year: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

I used to think that great art had to have come from a great-souled artist with an honorable life. How else would you be able to forge David out of a slab of marble or compose an entire opera in your head? A minimum of a pure mind combined with superhuman abilities must have been required, right?Actually, art is oftentimes forged through intense suffering in the life of the artist. It’s suffering we know well as we also experience it to varying degrees. That’s the power of this book. It highlights Sacred Failures.In this episode, I cover three artists, what I learned about them, and how that shifted how I now see their art. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

This book was suggested by a friend of mine named William Leachman. He’s a bonafide teacher, as in he has students and teaches them in a building that says school on the outside of it. He told me I should read this book and he told me that I’m a teacher.I bristled at that. I’m not a professional. I don’t teach eager students at the local high school. But after reading this book, I hesitantly acknowledge that I am indeed a teacher. I’m a teacher to my children, to those I work with, and perhaps to those I reach with this podcast. This book convinced me that I do indeed teach.But this book goes much deeper. It talks of the close connection between learning and teaching. How we all have an innate desire to share the beauty we encounter, be it physical or intellectual beauty. How the best teachers are those most desirous of learning.This is a book about the methods of teaching, not about which subjects to teach. It covers three main modes of teaching, famous teachers (and their students), and the role of parents in teaching their children.In this episode, I share some ideas I came across and how I’ve seen them play out in my own life through great teachers and even greater teaching styles. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

“And after this, not many days later…”Xenophon begins his history with these words. The “after this…” refers to the writings of Thucydides, which abruptly end in the midst of the Peloponnesian War in 411BC. Xenophon takes up the mantle and takes us first to the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404BC and then on to 362BC.Xenophon’s work takes us through the decline of the Athenian empire into the rise of the Spartans, Boeotians, and then Thebans. Throughout the work, the Persians are making their presence known as well.It’s a fascinating history, one that sets the stage for the eventual Macedonian takeover. I kept thinking about the literature and philosophy being composed during these years. Some of the world’s greatest works were created during this period of history.In this episode, I share the main things that stuck out about topics such as government, justice, and tradition. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe