Books on Jamie Thingelstad

Jaunty Hair by Josh Ellis

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 20:37:13 -0500

My cousin Josh has been writing his Rambling Josh column for over 20 years. (Short aside, it is funny to me that I’ve been blogging for 20 years as well. His column and my blog are very close to the same age.) In 2024 I helped Josh get all of his writing on the web so that it is preserved and accessible to the world. I’m super happy that everyone can now read his writing. And now, he’s created a book from his columns. He sent me a copy (signed and all!) and it looks amazing. Go buy a copy. You can also read Six and A Lot about it. Congrats cousin!

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:53:54 -0500

We saw Project Hail Mary today and it was every bit as good as everyone that has seen it has told me. I read the Martian and loved that book but had no idea about this book until it hit the theater. Just a great movie with incredible characters. Definitely one to go to the theater for!

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:00:00 -0500

Bought Revenue Architecture by Jacco van der Kooij on a strong recommendation and it looks really great. It has formulas! 🤔

Mon, 26 May 2025 23:36:03 -0500

I find it ironic that I’ve got a lot of things going on and am struggling to find the time to read How to do Nothing by Jenni Odell. 😬

Bitcoin Books and BTC Price

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:18 -0500

I saw this list of Bitcoin books with the price of BTC at time of release on Nostr, reshared from stacker.news. I turned it into proper text as a table and putting it here for reference.

Date	BTC-USD	Book
03/01/14	$258	Bitcoin: Beginner’s Guide
06/14/14	$604	The Book of Satoshi
07/01/14	$640	Mastering Bitcoin
05/19/15	$241	Digital Gold
01/01/16	$432	The Internet of Money
03/23/18	$4,046	The Bitcoin Standard
03/26/19	$4,028	Programming Bitcoin
06/17/19	$31,712	Inventing Bitcoin
07/07/19	$11,231	Bitcoin & Black America
08/01/19	$10,791	The Little Bitcoin Book
09/03/19	$10,620	Why Buy Bitcoin
01/01/20	$7,194	The Price of Tomorrow
01/06/20	$7,725	21 Lessons
11/23/20	$18,690	Thank God for Bitcoin
01/18/21	$36,934	Layered Money
01/31/21	$34,140	Cryptoeconomics
03/14/21	$55,805	The Blocksize War
06/21/21	$31,712	The 7th Property
07/22/21	$32,384	L(earn) Bitcoin
08/16/21	$48,281	The Bullish Case for Bitcoin
12/25/21	$50,774	Bitcoin and the American Dream
03/02/22	$39,463	Bitcoin is Venice
03/09/22	$38,904	Check Your Financial Privilege
06/13/22	$28,374	Bitcoin Evangelism
03/24/23	$27,621	Softwar
03/29/23	$28,113	The Bitcoin Handbook
04/13/23	$40,206	A Progressive’s Case for Bitcoin
05/02/23	$28,654	Proof of Money
08/14/23	$28,754	Cryptosovereignty
08/14/23	$28,754	Fiat Ruins Everything
08/20/23	$26,450	Broken Money
12/01/23	$37,810	Gradually, then Suddenly
12/05/23	$43,270	The Hidden Cost of Money
01/01/24	$42,221	The Fiat Standard
01/03/24	$43,556	The Genesis Book
04/04/24	$69,001	The Conservative Case for Bitcoin
06/14/24	$66,700	Resistance Money
07/19/24	$68,088	National Security in the Digital..
11/10/24	$88,637	The Bushido of Bitcoin
02/03/25	$101,405	The Big Print

Sat, 21 Dec 2024 10:14:00 -0500

One of my favorite activities for a Saturday morning is to enjoy a cup of coffee while reading a variety of emails and web pages I’ve received over the week on my iPad. It very specifically needs to be on the iPad, with no case.

Lead With Influence: A Proven Process To Lead Without Authority

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 21:31:17 -0500

I’ve met Matt Norman a few times. He is an incredibly outgoing, generous, and nice person that happily shares his insights with others. When he asked me if I would like an early read of his new book Lead With Influence I said yes right away.

Influence is an important topic, particularly in modern organizations that go far beyond a simple hierarchal view of the organization. To get things done, regardless of title and position, you need to influence people and sell them on your ideas. Knowledge work doesn’t happen because you tell someone to do it. Cross-functional teams are the norm and require influence to align around their objectives and achieve success. So, how do you achieve this influence?

This is where Norman’s book comes in. He walks the reader through all of the components of creating influence. He includes many resources in the form of different checklists and mental models to help the reader work through creating influence on their own. This is a book that could easily come with worksheets (or make your own) to help you create a strong case for what you are working to influence in any given situation.

I would recommend this book to knowledge workers that find themselves working in cross-functional teams toward a goal (isn’t this all knowledge workers?). The book is approachable by anyone in business even if you have very little training or experience in these topics.

Here is the table of contents so you can get a feel for the book.

PART ONE — Position: Setting the Table for Influence

Prioritize Availability over Productivity
Build both Predictive and Vulnerability-Based Trust
Pay Attention to the Little Things
Be like a Salmon
Use Value Language
Talk like a Palace Builder

PART TWO — Probe: Facilitating New Ways of Thinking

Explore the Four Parts of Human Thinking That Drive Influence
Develop the Art of Facilitation
Summarize Regularly

PART THREE — Propose: Making Your Ideas Known

Explain in a Way That Will Resonate
It’s Not Just What You Say, but How You Say It

PART FOUR — Persuade: Managing Resistance and Tension

Be a Nonanxious Presence
Respond instead of Reacting
Persuade through Pushback
Consider Whom You’re Trying to Change

PART FIVE — Institutionalizing Leadership Influence

Coaching for Improved Performance
Reinforcing Thought and Communication Patterns
The Culture of Influence
Conclusions About Leading With Influence

Sat, 26 Aug 2023 08:11:02 -0500

Tammy and I have both been digging into Peter Attia’s new book Outlive. The way he frames these health and wellness topics resonates strongly with me. So much that I decided to subscribe to gain access to the deeper dives on specific topics like blood pressure.

Beyond the Light by Layne Kennedy

Sun, 11 Jun 2023 08:19:19 -0500

My friend Layne Kennedy launched a Kickstarter for his new book Beyond the Light. I met Layne when Tammy signed me up for a Dog Sledding Photography workshop in 2009. Layne is an incredible photographer, creator, and teacher.

They speak to us about the power of connection, the place of beauty in our lives, and the strength that comes from deep within us all.

They go beyond the light,.

That is why, after 40 years of searching out these images, wherever they are found – from my own backyard to locations across the world – I am bringing a curated collection of these photographs and the stories behind them, together in a new, high-quality collector’s edition book; BEYOND THE LIGHT: The Stories Behind The Photographs.

I still routinely hear Layne’s words when I look through the viewfinder.

“Every photo tells a story. What is the story you are telling?”

True for many things beyond photography too…

The Kickstarter is just $1,000 away from the funding goal! 🎉

Signed "Proof of Stake" by Vitalik Buterin

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 08:33:05 -0500

Vitalik Buterin is releasing a new book called Proof of Stake: The Making of Ethereum and the Philosophy of Blockchains. This is going to be launched right around the same time that Ethereum makes the transition to proof-of-stake. Buterin is donating all of the proceeds from the book to support open-source public good through Gitcoin Grants. I’m a fan of Gitcoin Grants and have participated in multiple Grant Rounds. I already pre-ordered a copy of the book.

Vitalik is doing a very interesting thing with the ebook though. You can make a donation of any amount and get a copy of the ebook. In return you get a non-transferrable NFT and when the book is published you get a digitally signed copy with your NFT in it. I’m in!

PS: The book itself is also published under a Creative Commons license, another organization that I have been a longtime supporter of. I publish my website and newsletter under Creative Commons as well

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 08:37:27 -0500

The Winter 2022 issue of Reading Things, our family newsletter on books and reading, is out now! 📚

In this issue: My Brigadista Year, We Are Not From Here, Minecraft: The Mountain, Caste, To Shake the Sleeping Self, and Four Thousand Weeks.

My Brigadista Year: This libro really struck home for me because of the overarching themes of family, love, teaching, and farming. Like, literally all of my favorite things. It is a grounding, heartwarming read. — Mazie

We Are Not From Here: It’s not a lighthearted read, but it is a devastatingly honest look at the journey many kids make trying to come to this country from Central America because of the impossibility of where they were born. — Tammy

Minecraft: The Mountain: Will Summer survive? Will Guy come back to the Nether to save Summer? Now come and read this adventure packed book and see what happens to them and their relationship. — Tyler

Caste: But perhaps there is also a fundamental framework, a super-structure, that was created with absolute intent and clarity, that is then justified and allowed to exist on the poison of racism. — Jamie

To Shake the Sleeping Self: I thought it was a great read; a travelogue of a 30 year old guy trying to find himself while on an epic bike journey that spanned two continents and a year and a half. — Tammy

Four Thousand Weeks: We have what we get. It disappears at the same linear rate for all of us. Four Thousand Weeks is filled with ways to contemplate that limited time and what we want to do with it. — Jamie

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 23:37:48 -0500

Great list from Ryan Holiday. 🤔

9 short rules for a better life:

Wake up early

Focus on effort, not results

Read every day

Strict with yourself, forgiving of others

Seek out challenges

Stay a student

Cut toxic people out of your life

Think about death

Focus on what you can control

Four Thousand Weeks as Rings

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 18:29:31 -0500

I’ve been reading Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. The title comes from the fact that if you live to be 80, you’ll have had about 4,000 weeks. Technically it is 4,174 but that wouldn’t make a very good title for the book.

I’m still just in the beginning of the book but as I pondered his focus on the finitude of our time, I couldn’t help but think of how to visualize this! I knew Shortcuts could do the math for me, and then I realized Charty could do the visualization.

The innermost ring (red) is the current week. It will fill up each day and reset at the end of each week. This ring will fill 52 times for each time the middle ring fills.
The middle ring (yellow) is the weeks until your next birthday. This ring will fill 80 times until the outermost ring is filled.
The outermost ring (green) is the weeks you have lived thus far. Hopefully we even overfill this ring.

It strikes me as an interesting visualization. Something to ponder. 🤔

However, I showed it to my family and they didn’t care for it much at all. The common theme seemed to be that “filling ones rings” is seen as a goal, something to look forward to, and filling these rings didn’t seem like a thing to look forward to. 😇

This post is part of the Shortcuts Collection.

Sun, 31 Oct 2021 20:56:54 -0500

We just published the Fall 2021 issue of Reading Things! In this issue: This Is Your Mind on Plants, Calvin and Hobbes, Locally Laid, Ghost, Evicted, The Honey Bus, and Nature & Walking. 📚

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 18:19:27 -0500

It was cool to visit the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library today. Tammy loved his books in college. An amazing author, artist, and activist.

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 14:06:18 -0500

I am happy to back the Hack the Gap Book on Kickstarter! I’m looking forward to reading, and learning, from the stories of women and non-binary people in tech. Join me in supporting this project today!

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 17:03:04 -0500

I’m eager to read Michael Pollan’s newest book, This Is Your Mind on Plants. We listened to Pollan on Tim Ferriss’ podcast and found it interesting. We got the book at Mirabai in Woodstock, NY.

Ready to watch Dune, again!

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 21:13:12 -0500

Dune is perhaps my favorite sci-fi world. I read all six of Frank Herbert’s books in one summer and loved them. I saw Lynch’s 1984 version of the movie and watched it at least a dozen times on Laserdisc. I saw the Sci-Fi channel mini-series from 2000. I’m eager to watch the new 2021 movie.

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 21:51:22 -0500

We just sent out the Summer 2021 edition of Reading Things! Here in the Real World, Think Again, My Eyes Are Up Here, Klara and the Sun, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Radical Markets. If you enjoy books, check out our family newsletter.

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 20:53:22 -0500

Got A Calendar of Wisdom from Painted Porch. Discovered the book via Ryan Holiday so figured it should be my first purchase from his book store! Will be making this part of my daily reading habit. 📚

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 20:39:05 -0500

Starting to read The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich. My book club is reading this. Looks interesting, and long. 📚

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 22:10:00 -0500

Started reading The Bullet Journal Method. Recommended by Dan Grigsby to give it a full read versus just scanning the syntax. More depth here than I suspected. 📚

Book: Scale

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 23:15:00 -0500

My book club just finished reading Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies by Geoffrey B. West. This was a dense book focused on the concept of scaling, in the abstract. The author did a lot of research and shows some surprising scaling views to look at different animals, cities, and even companies. He identifies some amazing correlations that show how entities scale.

I felt like this book was profound, and important. However I wasn’t sure how I would action any of it. 🤔

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 20:44:24 -0500

Ordered End of Trust, McSweeney’s Issue 54 done in collaboration with the EFF! 💜

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 00:15:07 -0500

Just signed up for a 4th site on Blot. This one will be to finally get a decent site for my Book Club.

Book: When Breath Becomes Air

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 21:16:00 -0500

I’ve had “When Breath Becomes Air” sitting at our cabin for a while, but decided to pick it up and read it on winter break. The book is a memoir by Paul Kalanithi told in two parts. The first part is his path through medical school and becoming a neurosurgeon, being close to serious illnesses, and dealing with death as a Doctor. The second part is after his cancer diagnosis with stage IV lung cancer, which causes his death within 18 months.

There were two things that struck a chord in me while reading this.

I kept thinking back to Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. I’m sure it was in part because Kalanithi, like Gawande, is a Doctor. The first part of the book had many references to the Doctor’s perspective when diagnosing a patient with a terminal illness. This book did too. Being Mortal is a very different book, and one that I highly recommend reading, but this touched on similar topics with a more personal perspective.

The other thing about this book was more personal. It reminded me in so many ways of the path of my friend David Hussman, who passed away earlier this year. He had the same diagnosis, stage IV lung cancer. I’m pretty sure he even had the same EGFR mutation and received similar treatments. Similar to Kalanithi, he did remarkably well for a long while after getting treatment. Enough that you could kind of forget a bit. But the cancer is just held back a bit. I was wishing I would have read this book when I got it, as it would have given me some deeper perspective when talking with David.

Sat, 30 Jun 2018 08:12:47 -0500

Tyler and Mazie have found a bunch of fun summer destinations in 111 Places in the Twin Cities That You Must Not Miss. We are flipping through it this morning and it’s impressive! 👏

Sun, 04 Feb 2018 09:43:28 -0500

I’m reading 📚 Why Buddhism Is True and the references to “modules” of the mind keep reminding me of the characters in Inside Out! 😁

Sat, 20 Jan 2018 08:51:33 -0500

One of my favorite Saturday morning spots to do some reading.

Sun, 14 Jan 2018 08:34:00 -0500

Trying my hand at some Nordic Waffles this morning with the help of Stine Aasland’s We Love Waffles!

Pleased with my first go at Nordic Waffles! Tasted delicious. Kids liked them too. May cut the cardamom back a touch next time.

Wed, 20 Dec 2017 21:45:55 -0500

Another super fun Book Club meeting tonight! Good conversation about Daemon by Daniel Suarez.

Wed, 29 Nov 2017 20:28:18 -0500

I’m still new to my Audible subscription but am liking it thus far. Think it will result in listening to more books. 📚

Sun, 05 Nov 2017 13:33:26 -0500

My book club is reading Daemon by Daniel Suarez this month! I’ve wanted to read this one for a while. 👍

Wed, 25 Oct 2017 21:44:00 -0500

Fun R/W Book Club meeting on A Crack in Creation tonight talking about CRISPR and gene editing! 📚

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 07:02:57 -0500

My book club is reading A Crack in Creation this month. Looks like a good read! 📚

Sun, 27 Aug 2017 21:55:47 -0500

Got a great start getting my book club website relaunched. Not ready to share yet but coming along. Using Jekyll and Github Pages.

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 19:41:03 -0500

Enjoying Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance. Recommended.

Book: Elon Musk

Sun, 21 Feb 2016 07:07:51 -0500

Enjoyed reading Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance.

Kids Book: Finding Winnie

Fri, 08 Jan 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Tyler got Finding Winnie for Christmas this year and it’s a really awesome book. If your kid has any affinity to Winnie-the-Pooh they will love this book. Even if they don’t, it’s still a great book. Really well done and one of the better books for a bedtime story. Recommended!

Sat, 19 Dec 2015 17:41:15 -0500

Saturday reading on microservices.

Sun, 06 Dec 2015 11:55:27 -0500

Digging in, ordered Promise Theory: Principles and Applications.

Sun, 26 Jul 2015 22:41:32 -0500

Excited to finally be reading Amusing Ourselves to Death!

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 20:28:52 -0500

Just typed a 40 character random password on my Kindle. That was horrible.