When my brother bought me a bottle of this for an upcoming woods trip, he described it as “peaty” and, I believe, “challenging.” I didn’t expect to like it (and I admit that first taste was staggering), but Laphroaig has grown on me. I don’t know if it’s the imagery the brand evokes or the memories of the freezing, rain-soaked trip on which I first tasted it, but this stuff makes me think of cold weather and warm conversations with friends around a campfire.

This amazing children’s book charts the historic Apollo 11 moon landing mission with beautiful illustrations and simple, evocative prose. Moonshot is the perfect bedtime book for a space-obsessed kiddo. Even after the twentieth (?!) reading, it’s still outstanding! Click here to buy on Amazon.

If you’re like me, you’ve been struggling with this question your whole professional life: get creative fulfillment from a fulfilling (but likely low-paying) job or punch the clock at a soulless (but likely high-paying) job and get fulfillment elsewhere. This book not only highlights the improbability of achieving happiness through the latter, it discusses the meaning of and methods to achieve happiness through what author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls “optimal experience.” Click here to buy on Amazon.

Brandon’s Take — A hearty recommendation from myself as well. Flow changed my view on restructuring the tasks in my day re: what deserves automation vs. deep thinking. When you finally know why some tasks are inherently boring for you and others are truly challenging but also invigorating, it starts to reframe your outlook on your entire career path.

This book contains a sweeping exploration of the history of organizations and offers inspiring suggestions around which to craft a new business based on equity, accountability and self-management. This book describes the organizational model we always hoped businesses would be based on and gives it a name — teal. (It also provides a hauntingly familiar description of “red” businesses, which we’ve also experienced.) We’ve built Pixel and Timber around the philosophies and methods described in this book. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who is building a new business or seeking to change the culture of the one they’re in. Click here to buy on Amazon.

While I haven’t sought out a desert shaman, or decided to start microdosing during a brainstorm, this book has opened up my mind to a very different perception of what consciousness really is. Pollan explores these questionably legal drugs (and his guided experiences on them) with the same scientific and emotional detail as his other tamer works on food and nature. While these drugs are already in use to help adjust moods and behaviors for those experiencing a chemical imbalance, Pollan makes a great case for their general therapeutic use to help us all be more empathetic, mindful, and appreciative. Click here to buy on Amazon.

A quite literal spiritual successor to The Whole Earth Catalog, “Cool Tools” is a book form of the website by the same name, both by writer Kevin Kelly. Kelly captures the same DIY feel and breadth of “the catalog” but with modern recommendations. This giant coffee table book is a great gift for curious kids (and adults), and is perfect for poring over on a rainy afternoon — just be prepared to find yourself saying “Huh! I had no idea that exists!” and then heading to the internet to buy whatever clever tool you’ve just discovered. Click here to buy on Amazon.

I had been running across reverential mentions of “the catalog” multiple times in the last few months in books and podcasts, so I jumped on eBay and picked up a yellowed, 72’ copy for ten bucks. In addition to being a delightful proto-internet, “hippy” time-capsule to browse, it is still a great resource for book and tool recommendations on a vast array of subjects. While the sources for purchasing said recommendations have changed, the sound knowledge remains, and that may be the catalog’s most impressive trick. Definitely worth a look if you come across a copy.