Zen Dad & Reading in 2021

Welcome to the next iteration of my life hacking blog! From 'In Search of Quality' (general life and traveling, 2008-2010), to 'Great Egg Adventures in Nihon' (living in Japan and learning Japanese, 2010-2013), to 'A Time for Reflections and Resolutions' (mostly hiatus, 2013-2016), to 'Living in a Dream World' (learning computer science, 2016-2022), and now... 'Zen Dad' (2022-?). Upcoming posts will be geared towards the fusion (and apparent juxtaposition) of two of my current passions:

1. Parenting and all of the craziness that goes into it
2. Mindfulness and being Here, right Now, to slow down and experience life (often colloquially referred to using the name of one the Buddhist sects that practices this skill, "Zen")

But for now, let's cover books from 2021! I had something of a rapid reading resurgence (see what I did there?) in the final quarter, fueled by my interest in learning more about mindfulness and my finding the space to listen to more audiobooks. In the end, I read/listened to more in a year than I have since 2017. As usual, bold books are my high recommendations, and * books are my re-reads. Follow me on Goodreads to see my ratings and other books I've enjoyed.

1. Thinking in Bets (3/21/21)
2. The Singularity is Near (5/1/21)
3. *Atlas Shrugged (7/15/21)
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (8/2/21)
5. Principles (8/20/21)
6. No Easy Day (9/10/21)
7. Waking Up by Sam Harris (9/13/21)
1. Just a quick note about this book - this was a life-changing experience that I'm continuing to experience through the corresponding app, and is largely responsible for my current mindfulness journey. The audio content in this app is quite extensive and most of my reading time is now focused around listening to these recordings.
8. The Great Alone (9/27/21)
9. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (10/10/21)
10. On Becoming a Person (10/28/21)
11. Bad Science (11/9/21)
12. 10% Happier (11/9/21)
13. The Only Plane in the Sky (11/23/21)
14. Breath (12/12/21)
15. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (12/24/21)
16. Cribsheet by Emily Oster (12/31/21)

Take a breath and experience the present moment. This is your moment to find happiness. Not in your memories of the past, or in your hopes of reaching future destinations or goals, but in this "in-between" moment right now. Added together will make you a more present and happy parent for your little one.