Did you actually read that book? · The Directory On Skool

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Did you actually read that book?

Or did you pull the quote off the internet so you'd sound smart in a caption?

No judgment. I've done it.

I quoted Marcus Aurelius for years before I ever opened Meditations. Same with Sun Tzu. Same with half the "great thinkers" I'd repeat at dinner like I'd earned them.

Here's what I finally figured out: I wasn't avoiding those books because they were boring. I was avoiding them because reading them alone is genuinely hard. No deadline. No context. Language older than my house. You get 12 pages in, feel dumb, and quietly shelve it.

So I built the fix.

The Canon Club — one classic a month, read together. A short guide up front so the old language stops being the barrier. Weekly discussion with people on the same pages as you. And one rule I care about most: zero pretentiousness. "This confused me" is a perfectly good comment.

We start August 1st with Meditations — a Roman emperor's private journal about staying calm while everything's on fire. Which, running a business, felt relevant.

If you've got a shelf of books you've been "meaning to get to," come get to them with us. 🏛️

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Did you actually read that book?