Books of Titans Podcast

2026 has been a fun year of reading so far. I’ve read the Bible, a few Plato dialogues, legends of King Arthur, and others. Here’s my mid-year reading review. It’s a great way to learn about books you may want to add to your own reading list. I go through the 20+ books I’re read so far for this year and a little about each one of them. Enjoy!Reading List (Jan - June 2026)* The Intertextual Tanakh* Bibliotheca Vol II: The Latter Prophets* Bibliotheca Vol III: The Writings* Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell* Bibliotheca Vol V: The New Testament* Our Name is Dare by Kev Coleman* Heraclitus Fragments* The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and the Sophists* Early Greek Philosophy* The Logos of Heraclitus by Eva Brann* Nero & Paul by Kathie Lee Gifford w/ Brian M. Litfin* One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn* The Greek Sophists * The Flowering Hawthorn by Hugh Ross Williamson* Plato: Complete Works by Plato* Philebus Plato* Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory* Galahad and the Grail by Malcolm Guite* King Arthur and His Knights of The Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green* The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien* Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis* The Mirror, the Mask, and the Masterpiece: A Guide to C. S. Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces” by Peter Kreeft This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

Here’s episode 7 covering my 2026 read-through of the Bible. I talk about the ideas that have stuck out to me while reading the New Testament books of the Gospels, Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.Show Notes:Dr. Jason Staples’ Suggested Bible Reading Order (start at the 1hr 16 minute mark): This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

This special mid-week episode is a deep dive into the musical Hadestown, Anaïs Mitchell’s folk opera that reimagines the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in a haunting, jazz-inflected underworld. Last week, I had the joy of playing violin in the on-stage band for a series of local youth-theater performances of Hadestown, and sharing the stage with my daughter made the entire experience unforgettable.During preparation, I became captivated by the music, the storytelling, and the rich threads of Greek mythology woven throughout Hadestown. I also discovered that the show’s writer published a book, Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown, which opens a window into the creative process behind the musical.In this episode, I explore:* The Greek myths at the heart of Hadestown* The subtle ways the musical reshapes and reimagines those myths* The connection points between this story and narratives found in the BibleThis musical moved me in a way that very few others ever have.Audio RecordingsOriginal Broadway Cast RecordingSpotify / Apple MusicLive from LondonSpotify / Apple MusicThis one is my personal favorite but it only contains about half of the songs. Hermes is played by a female and she just absolutely kills it. I love her passion.Talking Hadestown: Commentary & SongsSpotify / Apple MusicThis is a neat recording where Anaïs Mitchell talks about some of the songs from Hadestown.The BookWorking on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown by Anaïs MitchellThe Band This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

Here’s episode 4 covering my 2026 read-through of the Bible. I talk about the ideas that have stuck out to me while reading the books of Ezekiel, the 12 Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi), and the Psalms. I also highlight some overarching themes so far from this reading.Show Notes:Purchase The Intertextual Tanakh from Landmark Booksellers.Dr. Jason Staples’ Suggested Bible Reading Order (start at the 1hr 16 minute mark) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

Here’s episode 2 covering my 2026 read-through of the Bible. I talk about the ideas that have stuck out to me while reading the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel. I also highlight some overarching themes so far from this reading.Show Notes:Purchase The Intertextual Tanakh from Landmark BooksellersDr. Jason Staples’ Suggested Bible Reading Order (start at the 1hr 16 minute mark) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe

READING YEAR THEME: GREEK PHILOSOPHYI’ll be spending most of 2026 ploughing the depths of Plato and Aristotle. I divide eating reading year into semesters:* Spring Semester - March - June* Summer Break - July* Fall Semester - August - November* Winter Break - DecemberI start each year reading straight through the Bible during January & February. The versions I’m using this year are The Intertextual Tanakh (tah knock), Bibliotheca (The Latter Prophets, The Writings, The Apocrypha, and The New Testament)Spring Semester Book List (Subject to Change)I started Plato during Fall Semester last year. I’ll be continuing on, but am first taking a look at philosophers before Plato since he keeps referencing them. I’ll then return to the 20 or so dialogues of Plato that I have remaining within the Complete Works set.* The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and the Sophists* Early Greek Philosophy* Heraclitus Fragments* The Greek Sophists* Plato: Complete Works* The Republic / Bloom* A Commentary on Plato’s Meno / Jacob Klein* From Plato to Christ / Louis Markos* The Cave and the Light / Arthur HermanSummer BreakI’m going to dedicate the month of July to Gilgamesh. I love that epic so much and am going to read some of the books pictured above. I’ve been collecting anything I find about Gilgamesh and it’s time to read those books. If you know of other books related to Gilgamesh that I must read, please let me know in the comments below.Fall Semester (Subject to Change)If I finish reading Plato during the Spring Semester, I’ll begin reading Aristotle in the Fall Semester. Like Plato, I’m planing on reading the complete works of Aristotle. I realize that’s excessive and may change my tune, but why not. He’s one of the greatest philosophers of all time.* The Complete Works of Aristotle Volume 1 / Hackett* The Complete Works of Aristotle Volume 2 / Hackett* From Aristotle to Christ / Louis MarkosWinter BreakI’m going to explore another area of interest during December - Trees! I know nothing about these strange things surrounding us outside and simply want to know more. I don’t have a list yet, so suggestions are welcome. There’s only one book so far that I keep seeing over and over again:* The Hidden Life of TreesShort Great Books Reading GroupI lead a reading group in Franklin, TN and this year we’ll be covering the following books, so I’ll be interspersing these books with the list above. More details here.* A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor - Jan 12* The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol - Feb 2* Our Name is Dare by Kev Coleman - March 2* One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn April 6* Medea by Euripides - May 4* Apology (Defense of Socrates) by Plato - June 1* Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis - July 6* Billy Budd by Herman Melville - August 3* My Antonia by Willa Cather - September 7 (Labor Day)* Candide by Voltaire - October 5* Jason and the Golden Fleece by Apollonius - November 2* The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffmann - December 7 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.booksoftitans.com/subscribe