Why Smart People Need a Book Club (And Why I’m Starting One)

In ancient Athens, philosophy wasn’t something you did alone.

Socrates walked the agora asking questions. Plato opened the Academy. Aristotle founded the Lyceum. These weren’t just schools. They were communities. The smartest people in the world—people who shaped civilization—gathered in rooms and courtyards and gardens to read, argue, learn, and think together.

In a way, they were the first book clubs.

Today, most people think of book clubs as something suburban moms do to talk about novels over wine. And that’s fine. But somewhere along the way, we lost the real function of reading groups: intellectual camaraderie. A space to sharpen your mind in the company of others who care about the same things you do. A space to test your ideas out loud, to say the wrong thing, to revise, to change, to grow.

Most people don't get that anymore.

They read alone, scroll alone, think alone.

But thinking is not a solitary activity. Not if you want to get somewhere with it.

That’s why I’m starting a book club. A real one. Online, yes—but not passive. Not another content dump. A true club. For smart people. For readers.

It launches this Thursday.

It’s for people who like who like getting their hands dirty with a big idea. People who are skeptical of trends but curious about truth. People who have that weird hunger most of the world doesn’t seem to understand.

You know the feeling. You read a line that stops you cold, and you want to talk to someone about it. Not tweet it. Not quote it in a group chat that no one replies to. But talk about it. Really explore it. Ask questions. Pull it apart. Put it back together. Say, “I don’t know,” and mean it.

That’s who this is for.

We’ll read one book per month. Classics, philosophy, fiction, theology, maybe some curveballs. Books that sharpen your thinking. Books that last. Once a month, we’ll meet to talk. Live, on Circle. Guided conversations. Not lectures. Not school. Just smart people in a room—virtual for now—having the kinds of conversations that used to be normal before everything got dumb and fast.

In 2020, lots of people woke up to how fragile the world really is. They started lifting. Eating better. Turning off Netflix. Trying to build a better life.

But physical fitness is only one part of the equation.

What about mental fitness? Intellectual fitness?

There’s no gym for the mind. But there are books.

Books are how we stretch and strengthen the intellect. Not TikToks. Not email newsletters. Not Twitter threads (even though I write a lot of those myself). Books are how you sit with an idea until it changes you.

But here’s the thing: you need other people. Not to replace the solitude of reading, but to complete it. Reading is only half the process. Talking is the other half.

This club is the missing half.

What You’ll Get

Here’s how it’ll work, practically:

• One book per month

• A private community for members

• Notes, resources, and frameworks to guide your thinking

• Bonus events and guest discussions

• No fluff, no busywork, no grades—just real reading, real thinking, real conversations

You can come to every session or just the ones you want. No pressure. But I recommend showing up live. That’s where the magic happens.

I’m also capping the number of members at first. I want the group to feel tight, not like a Discord with 800 people all lurking and no one talking. I want this to feel like being in a room with peers. Like the Academy. Or the Lyceum. Or whatever 2025’s version of that is.

The goal isn’t just to read books. It’s to build a network.

A real one. With actual relationships. Not just followers and likes, but bonds based on shared experience and mutual respect.

Ten years from now, I hope some of you will look back and say: “That book club changed the direction of my life.” Because you found a new way of thinking. Or a new way of speaking. Or a new person who pushed you further than you could’ve gone alone.

That’s the dream.

It starts Thursday.

I’ll send you another email with all the details then.

Let’s read. Let’s talk. Let’s build the kind of mind gym the world forgot it needed.

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