The Daily Stoic - BONUS: Charles Duhigg’s Reading List (From Ryan Holiday)

Date: March 22, 2026
Host: Ryan Holiday
Guest: Charles Duhigg
Theme: Sharing favorite books, insights into writing, and building a culture around literature

Episode Overview

This episode of The Daily Stoic is a special bonus featuring a conversation between Ryan Holiday and acclaimed author Charles Duhigg. Together, they discuss book recommendations, particularly around Los Angeles and Stoicism, explore the process and challenges of writing, and reflect on curation and building a meaningful literary environment. The discussion blends practical insights on productivity, fascinating literary anecdotes, and thoughtful dives into the craft of storytelling.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Literary Obsessions: LA, Ghost Towns, and Chinatown

• Book Recommendations about LA & Ghost Towns
  • Ryan and Charles share their fascination with LA history, referencing books about ghost towns and the backdrop to the film Chinatown.
  • Charles: “He recorded the audiobook for this at 900 feet below ground, like, for the thing.” (04:49)
• Movies as Urban History Lessons
  • Discussion about movies (Chinatown, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) that are based on true civic transformations, e.g. water wars and the advent of freeways.
  • Charles: “It’s also insane that you would, like, make a hit movie about, like, stealing water.” (03:45)

2. Hidden Literary Gems & Publishing Anecdotes

• The Saga of ‘Ask the Dust’ by John Fante
  • Story of a lost LA novel, Ask the Dust, nearly buried by its publisher’s bankruptcy after they released an unauthorized edition of Mein Kampf.
  • Rediscovered by Charles Bukowski and later optioned for film, this book became a cult classic.
  • Ryan: “So the book is lost to history until Bukowski discovers it in the Los Angeles Public Library.” (05:18)

3. Building Spaces for Books & Culture

• Transforming Old Buildings into Bookstore Havens
  • The bookstore’s setting: converted historic buildings, a bar from the 1800s, and a statement fireplace constructed with 2,000 books and thousands of screws.
  • The importance of memorable, Instagrammable spaces that drive community engagement.
  • Ryan: “It’s what, it’s 2,000 books, 4,000 screws, six gallons of glue, and it weighs–” (08:05)

4. Physical Book Curation & Local Flavor

• Texas Literature & Regional Interests
  • Notable sales of Texas history and biography, highlighting the state’s rich literary culture.
  • Charles: “Yeah, I mean, I've read a lot about Texas. I think Texas is fascinating. And those are some of the greatest biographies ever written.” (05:52)

5. Deep Reading & Notetaking: Productivity for Writers

• Daily Practice and The Discipline of Reading
  • The importance of reading widely as a prerequisite for writing. Ryan shares his process of constant research before starting a book.
  • Charles: “How do you structure your time? ... Most of the people in my books are dead.” (11:02)
• Notecards and Information Organization
  • Both authors use 4x6 notecards to structure research, laying them out physically to connect themes and organize narratives.
  • Ryan: “I use like 4x6 note cards ... I have a table upstairs and they’re all laid out...” (11:32)

6. Unlocking Book Ideas: From Theme to Story

• Theme, Characters, and Narrative Structure
  • Charles and Ryan dissect their approaches to conceptualizing books. While Charles centers around “the anchor story,” Ryan starts with theme and works toward characters that embody the message.
  • Charles: “I have to find the story... until I know what the anchor story is, the narrative, then I can’t actually figure out how to structure the chapter.” (13:22)
  • Ryan: “For me, it’s first, what’s the thing? Then, like, who are the... guys?” (14:16)
• Making Stoicism Accessible
  • Discussion on the challenge of making abstract virtues like temperance and wisdom compelling for modern audiences, leading to reframed titles and stories.

7. The Process, and The Struggle of Writing

• Navigating the Writing Journey
  • The “fun” and “frustrating” parts of being in the middle of a project, finding traction, and knowing when it’s time to begin writing versus researching.
  • Ryan: “Solving the puzzle part is fun and then finishing is fun. It's the middle part.” (14:23)
  • Charles: “It’s literally like the middle part of the middle where you’re just like—am I getting closer?” (14:29)
• Writing Tricks
  • Charles shares his method of writing a long explanatory letter to his editor, as a way to organize thoughts before drafting a chapter.
  • Charles: “Then I’ll just sit down and I’ll write my editor a letter explaining how this chapter is going to work. And the letter is, like, four or five thousand words long.” (15:22)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the quirks of book retail:
  “There’s a handful of books like that where, like, we’re like one of the only places that’s selling them... so the publisher’s always running out.” — Ryan Holiday (10:44)
• On people’s appetite for moderation:
  “No one wants to read a book about a thing that they’re not inclined to do, you know. So I made that book about self-discipline, which is a rendering of temperance, self-control.” — Ryan Holiday (12:51)
• On Instagram-era bookshops:
  “People just come in, the first thing they want to do is take a picture in front of it … in the world of social media, you want something you share about the thing that you did.” — Ryan Holiday (08:07)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:09] — On LA’s literary and cinematic history, “ghost town” books and Chinatown
• [04:16] — Ask the Dust and lost LA novels
• [07:37] — The architectural story behind the bookshop, the book-built fireplace
• [09:20] — Current reading lists, Cal Newport’s new book, and productivity literature
• [11:30] — Notecard method for research and writing
• [13:22] — Finding anchor stories vs. character-driven themes in nonfiction
• [14:46] — Where both authors are in their current writing projects
• [15:22] — Charles’s letter-to-editor trick for shaping chapters

Conclusion

This episode offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look into the reading habits and creative processes of two bestselling authors. Brimming with book recommendations, unique anecdotes about literary history, and actionable advice for readers and writers, it’s an inspiring listen for anyone who loves books, process, or the meaning behind great writing.