The Read Well Podcast

When my reading habit falls apart, I don’t try to brute-force it back into existence. I take a slower, kinder approach—and it works. In this episode, I explain why life disrupts reading, the two reader mindsets I see...

In this episode, I sit down with novelist Timothy Schaffert to talk about The Titanic Survivors Book Club and the quiet, sustaining role books play in a life. We discuss how readers can slow down, pay better attention...

I've spent years setting reading goals that looked impressive on paper but left me feeling overwhelmed. This year, I’m taking a healthier path. I explain why focusing on total books read can quietly harm the reading...

I’ve tried every trick in the book to remember what I read—and the one that works isn’t about highlighting or taking notes. It’s about applying ideas. I’ll show how I take concepts off the page and into real life so...

In this episode, I sit down with author Thatcher Wine to talk about something most of us overlook: the space where we read. Thatcher shares practical ideas for creating a room that invites focus, comfort, and deeper...

Reading deeply takes practice. The more you wrestle with complex ideas, the more your mind learns how to sit still with them. In this episode, I talk about what that practice looks like, how it’s shaped my life, and why...

I’ve found that reading a book isn’t enough—you have to wrestle with it. In this episode, I’ll show you how Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages method can help you process what you read so the ideas actually stay with you...

In this episode, I talk about a simple motto that changed the way I read: Read slowly, take notes, apply the ideas. Most of us rush through books hoping the next one will fix what the last one didn’t. But real learning...

Nietzsche once said, “Live dangerously.” But what did he mean by that? In this episode, I explore the heart of that idea—why safety can dull the human spirit, and how risk is tied to becoming who you are. I’ll share my...

I’m behind in my reading. Does that ever happen to you? Let’s chat about why it happens, how it messes with the brain, and how to get back on track without all the reader’s guilt and drama. In this episode, I share: Why...

In this episode, I close out my series on Emerson’s journals by looking at what his essay Self-Reliance can teach us about keeping a thoughtful record of our lives. I also share a book recommendation—Agnes Callard’s...

In this episode I explain how John Locke created a system for indexing journals that looks clever at first but quickly becomes a burden. I also share why Ralph Waldo Emerson abandoned the method and point you to his...

Ralph Waldo Emerson didn’t just write in his journals—he returned to them again and again. In this episode, I’ll share how that practice helped him refine his thinking and why it can help us too. I’ll also recommend a...

In this episode, I begin a six-part series on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s journaling habits. Emerson didn’t see his journals as a place to record daily events—he saw them as a savings bank for ideas. I’ll explain what that...

What makes a bookstore more than four walls and shelves of paper? In this episode, I read a short essay about how bookstores can help us rediscover ourselves. I’ll also share a powerful book recommendation— The Best...