# Library β€” Owen Howe > Owen Howe's reading list β€” a mix of fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, and history spanning continents and centuries. Source: https://howe.app/library # The Library. Grab a book off my shelf. πŸ”¦ scouting report The New York Times tech columnist goes inside the race to build artificial general intelligence β€” OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind, from Anthropic's founding to Sam Altman's brief ouster, drawn from more than 150 insider interviews and internal memos. Reading Now The AGI Chronicles Kevin Roose πŸ”¦ scouting report The marketing classic on winning a place in the prospect's mind β€” why the first in a category wins, how a follower finds the hole the leader left, and why a crowded mind only makes room for a few names. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind Al Ries & Jack Trout πŸ”¦ scouting report A young Moroccan sets out for Mecca in 1325 and doesn't come home for 29 years β€” some 75,000 miles across the medieval Islamic world from West Africa to China, abridged and annotated by the Arabist who retraced his steps. The Travels of Ibn Battutah Ibn Battutah, ed. Tim Mackintosh-Smith πŸ”¦ scouting report A Japanese novelist rides the rails of 1938 colonial Taiwan with her Taiwanese interpreter, eating her way down the island β€” a novel of food, friendship, and the empire sitting between them, in Lin King's translation. Taiwan Travelogue YΓ‘ng Shuāng-zǐ πŸ”¦ scouting report Harari turns from past and future to right now β€” 21 short essays on work, war, truth, and meaning in an age of algorithms. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century Yuval Noah Harari πŸ”¦ scouting report A technologist's read on China as an engineering state versus America's lawyerly one β€” why one builds fast and the other blocks. Breakneck Dan Wang πŸ”¦ scouting report A lone astronaut wakes with no memory, light-years from Earth, as humanity's last hope against an extinction-level threat β€” Weir at his problem-solving, science-nerd best. Project Hail Mary Andy Weir πŸ”¦ scouting report A sweeping history of the CIA's covert operations from its origins onward, tracing the agency's secret wars β€” and their fallout β€” in America's pursuit of its ideals abroad. Safe for Democracy John Prados πŸ”¦ scouting report A psychologist takes apart the 'nerd' stereotype, arguing the way we mock brainy, bookish kids quietly steers them away from science and smarts. Nerds David Anderegg πŸ”¦ scouting report Gladwell traces a small band of WWII airmen obsessed with precision bombing, and how their dream of a more humane way to win a war collided with the firebombing of Tokyo. The Bomber Mafia Malcolm Gladwell πŸ”¦ scouting report Faith Martin's Oxford Detective Society mystery series β€” a cozy whodunit set in and around Oxford. The Oxford Detective Society Faith Martin πŸ”¦ scouting report Book two of the Stormlight Archive β€” an epic-fantasy doorstopper where a storm-scoured world runs on oaths that literally reforge broken people. Words of Radiance Brandon Sanderson πŸ”¦ scouting report A geopolitical tour of the Indian Ocean, arguing the waters from Africa to Indonesia are where this century's power struggles will play out. Monsoon Robert D. Kaplan πŸ”¦ scouting report Huckleberry Finn retold from Jim's point of view β€” sharp, subversive, and one of the most acclaimed novels of 2024. James Percival Everett πŸ”¦ scouting report A street-level history of one of D.C.'s grand avenues, from mansions to embassies to the politics that shaped it. Sixteenth Street NW John DeFerrari πŸ”¦ scouting report A con-artist heist fantasy: a crew of elite thieves run an elaborate grift in a Venice-like city until a deadlier player upends the game. The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch πŸ”¦ scouting report Sinclair's 1906 muckraker exposing Chicago's meatpacking horrors β€” aimed at labor reform, it ended up reshaping food safety law. The Jungle Upton Sinclair πŸ”¦ scouting report A short, tongue-in-cheek Twain essay mourning the lost craft of the well-told lie. On the Decay of the Art of Lying Mark Twain πŸ”¦ scouting report The cerebral sci-fi collection behind the film Arrival β€” ideas-first short stories about language, time, and free will. Stories of Your Life Ted Chiang πŸ”¦ scouting report Standalone fantasy where magic is powered by color and 'Breath,' two estranged princess sisters, and a god who isn't sure he's one. Warbreaker Brandon Sanderson πŸ”¦ scouting report Book one of the Stormlight Archive β€” the sprawling, storm-battered epic that launched the whole saga. The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson πŸ”¦ scouting report Hugo-winning Chinese sci-fi: a first-contact mystery that spirals from the Cultural Revolution to the fate of civilization. The Three-Body Problem Cixin Liu πŸ”¦ scouting report How tiny Portugal seized the Indian Ocean spice trade and built the first global empire β€” narrative history at full sail. Conquerors Roger Crowley πŸ”¦ scouting report A heist crew plots to topple an immortal tyrant in a world where swallowing metals grants powers. Sanderson's breakout. Mistborn Brandon Sanderson πŸ”¦ scouting report A month-by-month case that the humble oak is the single most important tree for backyard ecosystems. The Nature of Oaks Douglas W. Tallamy πŸ”¦ scouting report Wendell Berry's essays on farming, stewardship, and the moral weight of how we treat the land. The Gift of Good Land Wendell Berry πŸ”¦ scouting report Berry's landmark critique of industrial agriculture and the cultural cost of losing the small family farm. The Unsettling of America Wendell Berry πŸ”¦ scouting report Bill Bryson's very funny, frequently underprepared attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson πŸ”¦ scouting report The astonishing story of how a single corporation β€” the East India Company β€” conquered India for profit. The Anarchy William Dalrymple πŸ”¦ scouting report A Pulitzer-winning novel told across nine lives and the trees that bind them; activism, loss, and forests. The Overstory Richard Powers πŸ”¦ scouting report A chilling history of U.S.-backed anticommunist mass killings during the Cold War, centered on 1960s Indonesia. The Jakarta Method Vincent Bevins πŸ”¦ scouting report Harari's sequel to Sapiens, forecasting a future where data, biotech, and AI reshape what it means to be human. Homo Deus Yuval Noah Harari πŸ”¦ scouting report Gripping investigative reporting from the lawless high seas β€” slavery, poaching, and crime beyond any nation's reach. The Outlaw Ocean Ian Urbina πŸ”¦ scouting report The argument that the airport, not the city, is becoming the organizing hub of the global economy. Aerotropolis John D. Kasarda & Greg Lindsay πŸ”¦ scouting report Ezra Klein's systems-level explanation of how American politics became identity-driven and self-reinforcing. Why We're Polarized Ezra Klein πŸ”¦ scouting report Meacham revisits past national crises to argue America's better angels have beaten its demons before. The Soul of America Jon Meacham πŸ”¦ scouting report The wildly popular sweep through human history, from foraging bands to global capitalism. Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari πŸ”¦ scouting report Verne's classic race against the clock as a Victorian gentleman bets he can circle the globe. Around The World in 80 Days Jules Verne πŸ”¦ scouting report Bryson's witty, fact-packed guided tour of the human body, head to toe. The Body Bill Bryson πŸ”¦ scouting report Argues North America is really eleven rival regional cultures β€” and history makes more sense once you see them. American Nations Colin Woodard πŸ”¦ scouting report The searing as-told-to memoir tracing Malcolm X's path from the streets to the Nation of Islam to a global vision. The Autobiography of Malcolm X Malcolm X & Alex Haley πŸ”¦ scouting report A tactical history of the Premier League β€” how formations and ideas evolved across its eras. Catnip for football nerds. The Mixer Michael Cox πŸ”¦ scouting report An insider's take on the U.S.–China AI race and what automation means for jobs and society. AI Superpowers Kai-Fu Lee πŸ”¦ scouting report How cyberweapons became states' tool of choice, told through real attacks and shadow conflicts. The Perfect Weapon David E. Sanger πŸ”¦ scouting report Ten maps explaining how mountains, rivers, and coastlines quietly dictate global politics. Prisoners of Geography Tim Marshall πŸ”¦ scouting report A history of Xinjiang and the Uyghurs, tracing how China's remote, restive far west became a fault line between empire and identity. Wild West China Christian Tyler πŸ”¦ scouting report A biography of Alexander von Humboldt, the forgotten polymath explorer whose idea of nature as one interconnected web reshaped science. The Invention of Nature Andrea Wulf πŸ”¦ scouting report A romp through the summer of 1927 β€” Lindbergh's flight, Babe Ruth's home runs, and the strange events that made America modern. One Summer Bill Bryson πŸ”¦ scouting report A former CIA technical chief's history of the agency's gadget shop β€” the real hardware behind five decades of spy tricks. Spycraft Robert Wallace, H. Keith Melton, and Henry R. Schlesinger πŸ”¦ scouting report A former CIA operations chief's memoir of the Cold War's covert front lines, from Allende's Chile to arming the Afghan mujahideen. Good Hunting Jack Devine