February 2024

👋 Hey there

Updated: February 1, 2024

📕 Books I finished reading

• 10% Happier by Dan Harris – Dan Harris is a news anchor on national TV. After reporting from war zones in Iraq, he struggles with drug use and ends up having a panic attack on live TV. This book tells his story from drug use to finding meditation and Buddhism. He’s not “all in” on Buddhism, especially the more supernatural elements like karma and reincarnation – but he thinks the practice of meditation makes him about 10% happier. One quote I liked from the book was where Harris was quoting Eckhart Tolle and said “we ‘live almost exclusively through memory and anticipation,’ he wrote.” I feel that quote is very true and accurate.
  My Rating: ★★★★☆
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy – This is the second book I’ve “read” by listening to the audiobook. I had read this one before back in 2018 and I gave it 3 stars. But the audio book was very good… I really enjoyed listening to it. This is not a happy book – it’s about a father and son in a post-apocalyptic world just trying to survive and fighting the urge to not want to just die. The man and the son have a conversation about remembering things, which I thought had a good point:
  “Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.
  You forget some things, dont you?
  Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.”
  My Rating: ★★★★☆

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Weathervane by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – I listened to this when it came out… but I guess I wasn’t ready for it yet. I gave it another listen and was blown away by a couple of songs… mostly The King of Oklahoma – what an incredible song… I really like songs that can tell a whole short story… maybe even a novella in just a short 5 minute song. Jason Isbell seems to do that extremely well

📃 Articles I thought were worth reading

• Jason Isbell, Self-Doubt and the Album That Tested His Marriage – As I went down the Jason Isbell rabbit hole, I read this article and thought it was interesting and worth reading. It describes a rough time in Jason’s life and marriage while he was struggling and trying to push through making an album and still discussing with his alcoholism even though he’d been sober for years at that point.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• None – I haven’t listened to any good podcasts lately. What podcasts/episodes do you recommend?

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• VH1 Inside Out: Warren Zevon – A VH1 documentary about the last few months of Warren Zevon’s life after he had been given the diagnosis and only 3 months to live. This was pretty sad, but it was nice to see a group of friends help him produce one of the best and most creative (and saddest) albums of his life.
• What to say when you’re not 100% sure – I’ve got in the (bad?) habit of watching this YouTube channel. I believe he is an English as a Second Language teacher… but for some reason, I enjoy watching his videos. I can’t explain it. If you speak English well, this one might waste your time.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“Nancy Clutter is always in a hurry, but she always has time. And that is the definition of a lady.”

– from In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

I’ve thought about this quote quite a bit since I read it (listened to it) in the early chapters of In Cold Blood. I’m not sure if it defines a lady or not… but I do think it’s something to strive for… always be in a hurry and have some urgency about the things you want to get done, but at the same time – always take the time when necessary, especially with people – make sure to slow down and be present during conversations.

January 2024

👋 Hey there

Updated: January 1, 2024

📕 Books I finished reading

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – This was my first audio book.  I’ve always considered audio books cheating, but now that Spotify offers some free with Premium I thought I might as well take advantage.  I’ve read The Great Gatsby before and didn’t get much out of it.  I enjoyed listening to the audio book and probably got slightly more out of it this time.  I’m still not sure I really enjoyed the story, but I liked listening to the audio book.
• The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell – I was caught off guard by this one.  I had written it down as another George Orwell book to read, but after I got to the second chapter I realized I wasn’t reading a dystopian novel — instead this was a non-fiction book.  It’s two parts where the first part he spends researching the working poor – he lives and works with coal miners, etc.  The second part he tries to make a case for socialism.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• After Me, Kashus Culpepper – I like finding good artists before they’re popular.  This song is poetry… sad and vivid.  After listening to this song, I searched for more music by Kashus Culpeper… but it’s unavailable.  He’s not on Spotify or any other music service yet, but I’ll be watching for it!

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• The Handi Desk – This guy shows a way of journaling where he uses a device that he invented called the Handi Desk.  The device is not that cool, to be honest… but this video did give me the idea to start journaling with a Binder.  I like the ideas of being able to re-organize the journal… so it doesn’t have to be chronological, if you don’t want it to be.  Also, the ability to write a single sheet of paper, and not have a stack of papers (the rest of the notebook) under your hand while you try to write.  So I bought a binder and also one of the date stamps that Austin Kleon recommended.  I’m ready to journal in 2024!

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“There is no knowledge that is not power”

– Mortal Kombat 3 (also Ralph Waldo Emerson)

December 2023

Updated: December 1, 2023

📕 Books I finished reading

• The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller – I’m not really a believer in God or Christianity or any religion – but I’m always interested.  So I read this in the hopes that it might help me understand why people believe in God — but I’m not sure this one did the trick for me.  I found it dry and uninteresting and unconvincing.
• Skipping Christmas by John Grisham – I have a theory that, in general, if you read the book first before you watch the movie adaptation then the book is better.  However, if you watch the movie first and then read the book, the movie is better.  This has been true for me 95% of the time and it’s true again.  I pictured Tim Allen from the movie, Christmas with the Kranks, the whole time I was reading this book.  I do love the concept of the story – I can relate to Luther Krank every year.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• History Books, Gaslight Anthem – I became a fan of Gaslight Anthem back around 2016.  By that time they were on their indefinite hiatus.  I thought I had missed any tours or new music – but, I was very excited when they got back together and toured last year – and now we finally get new music.  And it’s a great album from beginning to end and just like I would expect it to be — very similar to their past work, but a little more mature, a little more reflective.

🎧 Podcast episode I thought was interesting

• #396 – James Sexton: Divorce Lawyer on Marriage, Relationships, Sex, Lies & Love, Lex Fridman Podcast – This was very interesting to me and I’ll probably give it a re-listen.  James Sexton talks a lot about divorce, but even more about love and marriage and I think this one is worth a listen.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Vanilla Ice 1st REACTION to Ice Ice Baby Music Video after 34 years! – I really enjoyed how much he enjoyed looking back at this video. I would’ve thought he might be embarrassed by some of the things – but he didn’t seem to be. After watching this, I went down an Ice Ice Baby live version rabbit hole.
• 3 Ways To Compound Your Portfolio Quickly – This is probably the number one YouTube channel I’ve been watching lately as I’ve gotten more interested in stocks. I thought this video explained very nicely and simply at least one simple strategy for how to invest.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“Be where your feet are”

– Proverbs

October 2023

👋 Hey there!

Updated: October 1, 2023

It’s been a while.  If you’re new here, hello!

I had gotten very busy with work and life, in general and it seemed like something had to give.  For me, I love the internet, but I also try to prioritize it last when compared to anything in my real life.  So writing and sending out this newsletter was something that didn’t happen for the last several months.

But now that things have cooled out again… picking back up where we left off.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• I’ll be honest, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately.  I’ve been reading, but I’ve also been struggling to get through books at my usual pace.  I didn’t finish reading any books last month.

📗 Books I’m currently reading

• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
  • Because when you’re struggling, why not try to read a 1200+ page French novel?  Actually, I thought it might help for a couple of reasons – 1) I loved Les Miserables and this seems to be the same genre and 2) my wife is listening to the audiobook at the same time – so we’re discussing it a bit.
• The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris
  • This has been a somewhat interesting read.  The subtitle is “a zoologist’s study of the human animal” and goes into some of our biological and evolutionary behaviors that make us the animal we are today.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Arlo McKinley & The Lonesome Sound, Arlo McKinley
  • I’m not sure how I cam across this Arlo McKinley album… I’ve never heard of Arlo McKinley before.  I’ve played this album probably 20-30 times start to finish.  It’s great. And Lonesome.
• These Days, Bon Jovi
  • At one point in my childhood I liked Bon Jovi.  This album was new and I bought it on cassette.  It was good then and it’s good now.  Probably the most underrated Bon Jovi album.

🎧 Podcast episode I thought was interesting

• Blueprint for Armageddon, Hardcore History
  • I’ve listened to the first episode of this series 3 times over the last several years.  I thought it broke down how WW1 started in such a vivid way – I had never heard history talked about like that.  I finally decided it’s time to break down and buy the rest of the series and give it a listen.
• #692: Arthur C. Brooks – How to Be Happy…, The Time Ferris Show
  • A pretty great conversation that I listened to more than once.  I learned a lot… one thing was the difference between the complex and complicated.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• What I Saw When I Saw: Rocky, What I Saw When I Saw
  • This is an interesting take on an odd scene from the original Rocky movie.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“You can increase your satisfaction temporarily and inefficiently by having more, or permanently and securely by wanting less.”

– Arthur C. Brooks

March 2023

👋 Hey there!

Updated: March 1, 2023

February is a very short month, but it was jam packed with all kinds of good stuff in my world.  Especially as it relates to music – which, in my opinion, is the lifeblood of… well, life!

• Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, back on tour – I took my daughter Charlotte and it was a fantastic evening!
• I also bought tickets for several concerts for the rest of the year.
• Two of my daughters had major music performances this past month – those are fun to watch.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• Gilead by Marilyn Robinson
  • I read this book twice in a row, and then thought hard about it in order to make a YouTube video.  After doing that, I did feel that I got way out of the book than just reading through it once.  It did take a lot more time and effort though.  I’m still deciding if I want to keep trying  
• The Humans by Matt Haig
  • This was a bit of an easy read – an alien visits Earth and notices that odd behaviors of humans and attempts to act like one while.  I was going to read it twice (like Gilead), but opted just to place it back on the shelf, for now.
• Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
  • We have a long line of ancestors – way back, past the first humans even – back to lizards, and even to fish! This book shows our connection to all these different animals, for example how fish fins evolved into our hands with fingers.

📗 Books I’m currently reading

• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
  • Short kids book that I’ve never read, so why not?

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Live in Tampa, FL, Bruce Springsteen
  • I started following the Springsteen tour as soon as it started.  This was the opening night and I pre-ordered it the night of the concert.  I listened consistently up until the Kansas City, MO concert was available.
• Live in Kansas, Mo, Bruce Springsteen
  • Pretty cool to hear a concert you attended, mixed professionally and available for download just 5 days after the concert.  It’s definitely different to listen to a concert live and then listen to it on your headphones, but very cool.

🎧 Podcast episode I thought was interesting

• What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health, Huberman Lab
  • I like drinking beer and other alcohol — this was sad for me to listen to — but maybe I’ll make some changes because of it.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Handle Hard Better, Kara Lawson
  • This was fantastic advise and it’s similar to what my wife tries to teach to her Junior and Senior students – it doesn’t get easier; it doesn’t ever get easier, it gets harder.
• The FedEx Guy that Changed the way I Spend Time with People Forever, Buddy Brown
  • This was a nice story and makes you think about how you interact with people. I think one of the key takeaways from this story is that it takes effort from both parties – the FedEx guy would never know that his kids’ fished unless he came forth with that information.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“The problem is no longer getting people to express themselves but providing little gaps of solitude and silence in which they might eventually find something to say.“

– Gilles Deleuze

February 2023

🌟A few updates since last time!

Updated: February 1, 2023

• I got a bit of a promotion in January, so I’m now the Payroll Practice Lead (Interim) at AspireHR.
• I’ve been trying out Twitter again – I had not used it for several years – we’ll see how it goes.  If you’re looking for me at @_joshuabest
• I tried my hand at making some YouTube shorts – I’m not sure that TickTick ‘How to’ videos are ideal for YouTube shorts, but I’m giving it a shot.
• My daughter has been making cakepops for all of our family gatherings for a couple of years now.  She’s decided to try her hand at making some money from it.  I made her a web-site: charmedcakepops.com.

📗 Books I’m currently reading

• Gilead by Marilyn Robinson
  • I’ve spent a long time with this book.  This is the first book I’ve read twice, right in a row.  It’s not particularly interesting or compelling, but it has been interesting to read it twice. 
• The Humans by Matt Haig
  • An alien visits Earth and notices that odd behaviors of humans and attempts to act like one while completing the task he was sent to Earth for. It’s pretty comical and really makes you think about some of our odd behaviors.  I finished reading this once, but I will read it a second time as well.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• N/A
  • I’m reading at a much slower pace than normal because I’m trying out/testing out reading books twice through rather than just once.  It seems it takes twice as long to read a book twice.  But I have found that I do seem to get get a little more out of the second reading that I missed the first time around – or maybe it gives it me more time to think about the story.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Midnights, Taylor Swift
  • This one is slightly embarrassing. But, I have to be honest – I’ve listened to this album a lot over the last few weeks, especially on runs.  Maybe it has something to do with the tempo of the songs that makes it a good running album? That’s what I’ll blame it on, anyways.
• For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver
  • Speaking of Taylor Swift, I was unfamiliar with Bon Iver except for his duet with Taylor Swift.  After watching a brief video on the making of his first album which was very interesting, I took a listen… and didn’t like it. Then after about the third listen through, I started thinking – hey, this is not too bad!  This is normal for me – I sometimes need 3-5 listens through before deciding that I like something.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• Don’t be a Cowardly Manager, At the Table with Partrick Lencioni
  • This could be titled, Don’t be a Coward. It’s about having tough conversations in a timely manner.  Good reminder.

📄 Article I enjoyed reading

• The Need to Read, Paul Graham
  • I’ve been thinking a lot about the question – why do we read?  What are the benefits? Can we get the same benefits from other mediums?  Anyways, this article I thought summed up a good point on one reason to read is so that you can write, and you should be able to write so that you can think.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Note Taking Basics – Fiction and Novels, Robin Waldun
  • I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of figuring out how to get the most out of reading the last few months.  This video was one that has convinced me to read novels twice.  I’m giving it a try.
• The election of George Washing was weirder than you think, Premodernist
  • This video explained a lot of concepts of early US History clearly, simply, and quickly.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“You’re under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.“

– Alan Watts,

January 2023

😀 Updates since last month

Updated: January 1, 2023

• I registered a new domain – https://joshua.best – and I’ve moved my web-site over there and also setup a new e-mail — josh@joshua.best
  • It’s just a little simpler, a little cleaner
• My wife, Pearl, received her Masters Degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha
  • Despite the pandemic, despite taking care of her mom, despite raising 3 children, despite moving houses, despite teaching high school English full time. Despite everything.
• I spent a good amount of downtime during the holidays and am ready to have a productive 2023.

📗 Book I’m currently reading

• Gilead by Marilyn Robinson
  • I received this as a Christmas present from my wife along with a few other books from some of the “top 100” books to read lists.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • The classic self-help book. There were a couple of good things in this. But also there were some things that made me question if people were just extremely rude back in the 1930’s when it was written – that someone would have to instruct people not to talk that way. This book got very repetitive by the end.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Country Coffeehouse, Spotify playlist
  • I frequently return to this playlist.  Something about slow, sad songs that make them very enjoyable.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• Civil War Excursion with JD Baker Pt.1, Jock Podcast
  • I listened to this first episode of this 6 part series and it was good.  I’ll try to make time to listen to the other 5 episodes.
• Mind Mapping, Focused
  • Mind mapping is a simple topic, but it was interesting to hear 2 people discuss it for over an hour.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Don’t Worry about Reading More Books. Focus on Reading Better., Jared Henderson
  • I’ve been doing a deep dive on the topic of reading and not just reading, but reading deep – and this is one video that stood out to me.
• How I Remember Everything I Read, Ali Abdaal
  • Some more thoughts on how to get more out of reading.

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



Do you want to have a meaningful life? Everything you do matters.

That’s the definition of a meaningful life.

But everything you do matters! You’re going to have to carry that with you.

Or do you want to just forget about the whole meaning thing, and then you don’t have any responsibility…and you’re stuck in meaninglessness, but you don’t have any responsibility.

Which one do you want?”

– Jordan Peterson,

An alternative to the Light Phone?

The Light Phone has always appealed to me. A phone that really limits what it’s used for. The original Light Phone only had the ability to make phone calls and that was it – otherwise a dumb phone. This seems like a good idea for someone trying to use their phone less. But then you realize you can’t take a photo of something you see, you can’t text you brother, you can’t find your way if you’re lost. Our phones give us so many tools.

The Light Phone II gives some more functionality including GPS, Music, and Podcasts. After watching some video reviews, I think I’ll still stick with my Pixel for now. How would I call an Uber? How would I track how long I’ve walked? How would I play Clash of Clans?

But, I still like the minimalist aspect of it – so I set out looking for a minimalist Android launcher that might be used as an alternative to the Light Phone, still giving me the capability to do all of the things that you “need” to use your phone for. There are several minimalist launchers to try:

• Before Launcher
• Niagara Launcher
• LessPhone

These all seem to have a similar home screen as the Light Phone – minimalist, text only. However, the one I liked the best and landed on was the Olauncher. It is free and has a very minimal approach – it was exactly what I was looking for.

Here is a screenshot my homescreen:

This does add a very little bit of a barrier to getting to your apps… but not really enough to where I’m not going to play Clash of Clans. It’s pretty easier to swipe up and start typing in Clash of Clans:

So, I think I’m going to stick with the launcher – but mostly because I like it aesthetically. I don’t think it’s a true alternative to the Light Phone. I don’t think it adds any true barriers to actually using your phone for all the distractions it can provide.

December 2022

😀 Updates since last month

Updated: December 1, 2022

• It’s been 2 months since my last update, it’s been a very busy season for me and my family
• I’ve always liked the idea of the Light Phone, but don’t think I’d ever actually be able to make the switch – but I am trying out the Olauncher for Android, which is a little bit of a halfway point.
• I’ve decided I’m going to spend next year re-reading books I’ve already read – which I think will be an interesting exercise.

📗 Book I’m currently reading

• How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • The only book you you need to lead you to success, or so the subtitle says.

📕 Books I finished reading last month

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • A classic that seemed interesting since it’s about that time of year again… and now that I’ve read it, would say that it doesn’t necessarily 
• Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
  • I read this as a kid and remember liking it.  This time we read it as a family and discussed it as we read.  It was still good the second time.
• One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch
  • I rated this one a rare 5 stars. This talked about basic methods for analyzing companies to determine if they might be a good investment and it was written in a way in which a beginner could understand.  It was exactly what I was looking for.
• The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
  • It’s been a few weeks since I finished this one, the quote that keeps popping in my head from it is that humans are a “weedy species” – I thought that was an interesting way to describe us.

🎸 Music I’ve been listening to

• Only the Strong Survive, Bruce Springsteen
  • I didn’t think I’d like this album, and like most albums, I didn’t until I listened to it at least 3 times. Now I’m enjoying it – and it’s made me appreciate some of the original Soul music as well.
• Year Of The Dark horse, The White Buffalo
  • Still trying to get into this one, totally.  The White Buffalo’s last album, On The Widow’s Walk I liked immediately – but that has not been the case with this album. But, I’ll give it a few more listens.

🎧 Podcast episodes I thought were interesting

• 001. Rules of the game, Bedros Keuilian
  • This podcast is new to me, but I really enjoyed this one where he goes through 6 “rules of the game”, or rather 6 rules to live by.

🎥 Videos I thought were worth watching

• Philadelphia, Neil Young
  • A great performance of a great song.
• Father and Son, Yusuf / Cat Stevens
  • A great performance of a great song

✍ Quote I’ve been thinking about



“You get more out of reading 1 book that’s great 5 times than out of reading 5 mediocre books.

Books that are older, in general, tend to be better because the reason the reason the person wrote it was a different intention. They wrote it because they wanted to transmit knowledge to the next generation. Whereas the people who write books are now are writing for money, writing for notoriety, or writing to sell other shit.

If I read something once, I still don’t know it yet. I will read a book 2 times, 3 times, 4 times, 5 times – until I can teach the book.

If your behavior doesn’t change as a result of reading a book then it means you’ve learned nothing which means it was a waste of time. Many people that read books are just wasting their time, because their behavior doesn’t change“

– Alex Hormozi, 14 Life Lessons I Wish I Knew Earlier,

My reading plan for 2023

I’m wrapping up a strong year of reading – I’m already a couple of books past my yearly goal of 20 books, and there is still a month left in the year! I’ve also started thinking about what I want to do for reading next year.

I’ve always considered re-reading some of my favorite books – but I’m always torn because on the one hand, I think you’re wasting time re-reading something you’ve already read when there are so many other books to read – but on the other hand, I think there would be some benefit from it.

I recently watched a YouTube video by Alex Hormozi where he suggests,

“You get more out of reading 1 book that’s great 5 times than out of reading 5 mediocre books.”

I think this might be true. So that got me thinking, maybe I should just take next year and re-read the books I’ve already read once and thought were great or, at least, worth re-reading.

I didn’t take reading seriously until about 2015, which is when I started tracking my reading on Goodreads. And since then, I’ve obviously gotten better at reading and especially better at note taking and capturing ideas. I know not everybody believes note taking is beneficial when reading, but I have a hard time reading now without a pen and paper to go along with the book.

I’ve gone through my list of books I’ve read over the last 7 years and picked out the ones I either rated 5 stars or have an urge to re-read and I’ve tagged them with the year 2023 on Goodreads.

I think it will be an interesting exercise to go through. One reason it will be good is because I seem to have a short memory, and likely don’t remember most of these books. They say you only remember 10% of what you read, but for me it has to be closer to 1% – especially after a few months.

And also because “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man” (Heraclitus), it will be interesting to see how I feel about some of the books I read several years ago.