Hey Reader, Everyone name-drops The Count of Monte Cristo like it’s a universal rite of passage. But most people I know haven’t actually finished it. I did. And…wow. This was one of my "stretch reads" for 2025—a personal challenge to finally tackle the kind of book I’d long sidestepped: big, intimidating, widely referenced classics. And Monte Cristo was the one that almost broke me. I started with one of those free Kindle versions. Didn’t realize how wildly different translations could be. A...
14 days ago • 2 min read
Unhustled Archives Hello Reader, I’m experimenting with Friday morning sends—to give you something bookish before the weekend rush hits. Let me know if it works better for you. Or if it doesn’t. I’m listening. Speaking of weekends, last year I got to take in a Banana Ball game in Oklahoma City with some dear friends. My favorite of the 4 teams competing this year? Party Animals! And most weekends I make time to watch a game live on YouTube. 📚 Step Up to the Plate—With a Book In case you’re...
21 days ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader, Some stories don’t end the way we want. The hero doesn’t win. The team comes up short. The underdog pushes all the way to the edge—and still loses. I’ve been thinking about this while working through The Count of Monte Cristo and watching my team's March Madness run end in heartbreak. Two very different stories, same uncomfortable truth: sometimes the most meaningful endings aren't the happy ones. In both basketball and literature, we’re trained to expect certain outcomes. The...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, A couple of weeks ago, a reader emailed me to say that Amazon is evil and that, because I use a Kindle, I’m a corporate sellout (worse than that, actually). I get it. There’s a lot to dislike about Jeff Bezos and Amazon. A lot. But here’s the thing: Kindle keeps my 85-year-old mom and me reading. It has larger fonts for aging eyes. We read 300ish books a year between the two of us. Kindle Unlimited gives us access to books our local library doesn’t have or there’s a long, long...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, Ever feel like you're reading wrong? Like you're not highlighting enough, not taking the right kind of notes, or not retaining enough? Maybe you’ve watched one too many videos on how to optimize your reading, and now you’re low-key convinced you need a second brain just to track your thoughts. Yeah. Let’s shut that down. There is no right way to read. And yet, the internet is full of advice that insists otherwise. The perfect note-taking system. The best way to absorb information....
2 months ago • 2 min read
Unhustled Archives Hello Reader, I picked up my first Elvis Cole & Joe Pike book on December 23, 2024, thinking I’d read a little and move on. Instead? I turned into a full-blown Libby stalker, refreshing my holds like a person with zero chill. 20 books later… now what? How do you move on when a fictional duo has taken over your brain? Spoiler: Not well. Send help. 😬 For the Uninitiated: Who Are Cole & Pike? Elvis Cole → Wisecracking, self-proclaimed World’s Greatest Detective, ex-Ranger,...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Unhustled Archives Hey Reader, Time for our February book list, in honor of Black History Month in the United States. This isn’t a list of books you should read. This is a list of books I have read. And they hit me hard. I didn’t choose them because they were “required reading” for Black History Month. I chose them because they had something to say—and they said it loud. Some I read this month. Some, years ago. But together, they taught me something about history, identity, and—most of...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Unhustled Archives Hey Reader, Hope you're enjoying Saturday. It's a beautiful day here in Western Arkansas. Question: What are you afraid to read? You know the one. It’s sitting on your shelf, staring back at you. Or maybe you walked past it in a bookstore, picked it up for a moment, and then put it down. Why? Because books that make us uncomfortable force us to face things we’d rather not feel. They demand we step out of ourselves and into someone else’s story. And that’s terrifying, isn’t...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Unhustled Archives Hello Reader, TikTok is probably going dark in the next several hours, but BookTok’s light is harder to extinguish. As I write on this Saturday morning, the platform that revolutionized how millions discover and discuss books expects to be offline in the U.S. in just a few hours. I haven't spent much time on TikTok. Every now and then I check up on kerri_okie and her mom—they're absolutely delightful. 😎 Plus, I have a BFF who sends me screen recordings of posts I really...
4 months ago • 2 min read