Never Finished /// David Goggins

If you Google “Who is the toughest Navy Seal ever?”, David Goggins name comes up. His nickname is “The Toughest Man Alive” and if he’s not the very toughest he’s definitely up there. This is his follow up book to his bestselling “Can’t Hurt Me” and follows a lot more of his ultra racing. His story is pretty well known to a lot of people by now, but worth reading if you’re at all interested in what the human body and mind are capable of.

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life /// William Finnegan

This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read, and probably my single favorite autobiography. It’s a totally wild tale of growing up in 1960s southern California/Hawaii and the years following chasing waves all over the world. It’s The Endless Summer on paper, and in a lot of ways makes it feel even more real than a screen can.

I could basically care less about surfing, but I could read Finnegan’s description of waves and surf adventures all day. And hey, he won a Pulitzer for it in 2016!

Also I lied about reading it. I actually listened to the audio version of this book which he narrates. It’s so neat hearing it read in his voice, like sitting around a campfire and listening to him tell travel stories for hours on end.

Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional /// IsAac Fitzgerald

I (Nathan) just finished this book and it was an OK read, but not overly special. He is shamelessly self-aware if nothing else- and that is meant in the best sense of the words. I was initially drawn to it as a fellow Masshole and in that regard it delivered. It’s overall worth a read/listen, and especially for the one really great essay where he talks about his stint as a porn actor and all he learned from it (for real!).