Tour the Library of a Man Doing a 40-Year Great Books Reading Project

Overview of Eric Rostad’s Reading Library Project

Eric Rostad (from Books of Titans) runs an extremely structured, long-term reading program designed to maximize both comprehension and memory.

• His shelves are arranged so you can see exactly what he read and in what order, because he books in the same sequence as his reading.
• A major emphasis is chronological organization (by read date/year/sequence). He says this helps him mentally “place” the books in time and recall connections between ideas more effectively.

“Books of Titans” (Discipline + Public Tracking)

Origins

• Began: early 2017
• Core origin:
  • Eric discovered Tim Ferriss’s Tools of Titans
  • Ferriss’s performer questions included:
    • favorite book
    • most gifted book
  • Eric converted the recommendations into a spreadsheet and built a year-by-year plan

Yearly reading goal and method

• Target: about 52 books per year (often ~one per week)
• He:
  • selects a set number for the year
  • randomizes the reading order
  • reads one book at a time
• He nearly always finishes books, arguing that a big payoff often comes at the end

Ongoing documentation

• Instagram: daily posts with a book photo + a few pages and a short summary of what he learned
• Weekly podcast: ~20–30 minutes summarizing what he learned from a recently completed book or exploring his reading process

Bible Routine (Cover-to-Cover Each Year)

• Every year starts with the Bible:
  • January–February: read straight through a full Bible in a particular translation/version
  • He plans around page counts (example: aiming for ~48 pages/day to finish by the target date)
  • In 2020 (leap year), he finished right around February 29
• Apocrypha:
  • Sometimes adds the Apocrypha in alternate years
• Reading style:
  • Reads it “like a novel”
  • Takes notes in margins/within the text (including sermon context in church)

Transition to the “Great Books / Immortal Books” Project

Shift in 2023

• In 2023, he shifts to reading “the great books” in chronological order by original composition
• He also social-rebrands them as “Immortal Books” to distinguish “great books” from “great/good books”

Long time horizon

• Originally imagined 10 years, then 15 years
• Now considering a much longer run—possibly 40 years—potentially lasting his lifetime because:
  • he keeps expanding Plato and filling knowledge gaps
  • he wants to read additional philosophers/authors referenced later

How He Organizes Shelves (Recall Technique)

He organizes shelves primarily by:

• Books of Titans: order of his reading (the read sequence is visible)
• Immortal/Great Books: chronological writing order

Why it works: visual proximity helps him remember:

• what came before/after
• how ideas connect across adjacent books
• where he “was” in life when he read them

Note-taking / Annotation “System” (Marking to Remember)

He moved from not marking books when younger to heavy marking as an adult:

• underline/stars
• notes in the back
• chapter recap notes
• writing book number/year in the front
• stamps/signatures to track reading

He prefers hardcover books for easier annotation and tries to avoid damaging special editions.

Reading Groups (Community + Variety of Texts)

Landmark Book Sellers (in-person)

• The in-person group runs at Landmark Book Sellers
• In 2024:
  • Focus: The Iliad
  • Met weekly over 9 weeks
  • Discussed 24 books
  • Used a fast multi-book-per-week schedule initially
• In 2025:
  • Reduced intensity to “Short Great Books”
  • Structure: one short great book per month
  • Includes both:
    • in-person sessions
    • a previously available online/subscriber option (online interest was low; it may be dropped)

Health / Lifestyle Habits Tied to Reading

• Morning habit:
  • He wakes earlier than family to read and frames it as a habit on social media
• Exercise + audio:
  • He listens to podcasts/audio while running
  • He largely avoids audiobooks for the Immortal/Great Books project because he doesn’t retain details well from listening alone
• Sometimes limits headphones to allow “thinking time” while walking/reflecting

AI and Modern Information Use (How He Reads in the LLM Era)

• He uses chatbots rarely, mostly after reading
  • Example: used ChatGPT (and similar tools) to clarify Plato’s Sophist when he couldn’t understand it
• He reads multiple translations to resolve confusion
• Concern:
  • LLMs rely on online information, which he believes is often incorrect
  • This motivates him to return to foundational ancient texts to anchor understanding

Travel + Culture Highlights Mentioned Through Books

His reading connects to places he visits (used as preparation):

• Peru: worked there; reading selections tied to stories/research
• Scotland: reads multiple Scotland-related and historical works; loves traveling there
• Egypt: museum visits; reads Egypt-related ancient texts
• Italy: family trip; visited religious/operatic culture; read about what he would see

Notable Books and “Reading Finds” He Emphasizes

Books of Titans anchors / favorites

• Tools of Titans (the trigger)
• 2017 favorites:
  • Man’s Search for Meaning
  • Blood Meridian (later reappraised)
  • Heracleian Fire (less known)

“Suffering-forged” favorites

• Man’s Search for Meaning
• The Gulag Archipelago (bridge edition)
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Observation about “retreads”

• After reading Thinking, Fast and Slow, he noticed later business/psychology books often reuse single ideas from it

Immortal Books / Great Books pathway anchors (especially Greek)

• Gilgamesh (multiple translations; compares modern “versions” vs translations)
• Herodotus, Hesiod, Sappho
• Edith Hamilton’s Mythology
• The Iliad and The Odyssey (especially Emily Wilson’s Iliad)
• Greek tragedies:
  • Aeschylus (Oresteia, read multiple times)
  • Sophocles
  • Euripides
• He repeatedly stresses foundations: Greek myth compilation before diving into Homer/tragedy

Specific Methods and Steps (As Described)

Books of Titans yearly plan

• Choose target set of ~52 books
• Randomize order
• Read one book at a time
• Finish all books (rare exceptions)

Bible annual plan

• Pick a Bible translation/version
• Read straight through in Jan–Feb
• Compute daily page goals based on total pages and calendar days

Annotation basics

• Underline/star key passages
• Notes in margins or back
• Add identifiers (name/book #/year stamps)

When stuck (especially Plato)

• Re-read
• Try another translation/version
• Use AI only after reading first
• Consider “phone a friend” (scholars/friends)

Notable Locations, Products, and Speakers Mentioned

Locations

• Franklin, Tennessee — Landmark Book Sellers (main hub for events/reading groups)
• Nashville area / Spring Hill, TN (residences mentioned)
• Scotland (frequent travel)
• Peru (work study/project)
• Egypt (Cairo museum visit mentioned)
• Athens, Georgia (bookshop visit)
• Jerusalem (referenced as travel-style learning via tours)

Stores / Organizations / Series

• Landmark Book Sellers (bookstore; “Great Wall of Franklin” display)
• Books of Titans (Instagram/Substack project)
• The Katherine Project (online reading groups)

Notable speakers/authors mentioned

• Tim Ferriss (Tools of Titans, also 4-Hour Workweek)
• Karen Kingsbury (The Bridge, adapted for Hallmark)
• Russ Roberts (Econ Talk)
• Joel J. Miller (The Idea Machine)
• Dr. Jason Staples (ancient Judaism / Paul scholarship; helped start podcast)
• Alexander Hudson (event at Landmark; The Soul of Civility)
• David Goggin(s) and Jocko Willink (habit framing on social media)
• Jordan Peterson (influence/popularity mention, introductions)
• Alex Van Halen / Van Halen related author (Van Halen projects mentioned)
• George McDonald, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien (Inklings network)
• Robert Alter, David Bentley Hart (Bible translations)
• Emily Wilson (Iliad translation)

Products / Books repeatedly referenced

• Tools of Titans, 4-Hour Workweek
• Bible translations (including references to a Bibliotheca/“one-column” style; King James; Barry Moser Bible)
• Gilgamesh (including Andrew George, Steven Mitchell, Sophus Hell)
• The Iliad and The Odyssey (Emily Wilson; Fitzgerald; Fagel(s))
• Greek tragedies: Aeschylus (Oresteia), Sophocles, Euripides
• Blood Meridian, Thinking, Fast and Slow
• The Gulag Archipelago, Man’s Search for Meaning
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
• Plato (Complete Works, John M. Cooper edition)
• “Great Wall of Franklin” (chronological Great Books display concept)