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Bookworm — Arts
Bookworm

Bookworm is dedicated to doing more than just reading books. Mike Schmitz & Cory Hixson read a book every two weeks and discuss ways to apply the author’s lessons to their lives.

Latest Episodes:

259: The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur Brooks Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

Today's author promises to show us how to push back against cultural changes that are rewiring our brains and find the meaning we need to live a happy, fulfilling life. Join Mike & Cory as they embark on a pilgrimage to answer the age-old question: "What is the meaning of my life?"

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The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur Brooks
From Strength to Strength by Arthur Brooks
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Design Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Meaning of Life Quiz
Score App
Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Toastmasters
Atomic Habits by James Clear
You Can Just Do Things by Cate Hall
Grit by Angela Duckworth
Situated by Angela Duckworth
Co-Existence by Ethan Mollick
The YouTube Formula 2.0 by Derral Eves
Recommend a Book

Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

258: You Can Just Do Things by Cate Hall Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Today's author promises to help us live with agency and take control of our future. Join Mike & Cory as they consider how to stop waiting and build the life they want.

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Woody Walls
The Goal by Eli Goldratt
You Can Just Do Things by Cate Hall
Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan
All The Wrong Moves by Sasha Chapin
Liminal Thinking by Dave Gray
The Story of You by Ian Morgan Cron
Grit by Angela Duckworth
The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur Brooks
Situated by Angela Duckworth
Recommend a Book

Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

257: The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

Today's author and self-proclaimed "slayer of sacred cows" promises to help us think differently about how business gets done. Join Mike & Cory as they discuss the theory of constraints in one of the most transformational business process books ever written.

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The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt
The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford
Toyota Production System
Just-In-Time
Up
Work the System by Sam Carpenter
Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni
The Goal: A Business Graphic Novel
Getting Things Done by David Allen
You Can Just Do Things by Cate Hall
The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur Brooks
Recommend a Book

Mike's Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Cory's Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

256: Uncommon Sense by William Brody Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Life, unlike textbooks, has no answer key. Today's author promises to help us think and live beyond the syllabus. Join Mike & Cory as they rethink what it means to be educated.

Support the Show
Typefully
Mike's Secondary YouTube Channel
Uncommon Sense by William Brody
Super Thinking by Gabriel Weinberg & Lauren McCann
The Great Mental Models by Shane Parrish
Focused #263: Removing the Roadblocks, with Cat Mulvihill
The Second Mountain by David Brooks
How to Be Everything by Emilie Wapnick
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt
The Goal: A Business Graphic Novel
You Can Just Do Things by Cate Hall
Recommend a Book

Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

255: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

Today's author promises to help us improve our money mindset by sharing several short stories that teach timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness.

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Amplify Cohort
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Same as Ever by Morgan Housel
You Can Just Do Things by Cate Hall
30 Lessons for Living by Karl Pillemer
Uncommon Sense by William Brody
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt

Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

254: Inside the Box by David Epstein Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

Today's author argues that all of us—individuals, businesses, institutions, even societies—can benefit from narrowing our options. Join Mike & Cory as they attempt to transform themselves—and the world—by embracing constraints.

Support the Show
Inside the Box by David Epstein
Mike's Amplify Cohort
The Growth Intensive
The Goal by Eli Goldratt
Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
Science Fictions by Stuart Ritchie
Six Sigma
Anatomy of a Breakthrough by Adam Alter
Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball
Range by David Epstein
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Uncommon Sense by William Brody

Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

253: How to Try Again by Steve Kamb Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

Some people wake up at 4 AM, run fifteen miles barefoot, and then meditate in an ice bath. Today's author promises to help the rest of us transform our lives by giving up more often, failing faster, and mastering the art of starting over.

Support the Show
Bookworm #252: The Book of Elon
How to Try Again by Steve Kamb
Nerd Fitness
The Case for Delusional Confidence
Museum of Failure
The Growth Intensive
Bookworm #219: Tiny Experiments
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
Dark Souls
Inside the Box by David Epstein
Range by David Epstein
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Bandersnatch
Recommend a Book

Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

252: The Book of Elon by Eric Jorgenson Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

Today's author promises to help us bring purpose and energy to our meaningful work. Join Mike & Cory as they attempt to learn from the life of one of the Internet's most enigmatic and colorful characters.

Support the Show
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
The Book of Elon by Eric Jorgenson
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
How to Live a Meaningful Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Zip2
Tesla
SpaceX
Sid Meier's Civilization
Talking to the Internet

How to Try Again by Steve Kamb
Inside the Box by David Epstein
Alchemy by Rory Sutherland

Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

251: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

Today's author and restaurateur shares hospitality lessons learned from turning Eleven Madison Park into the #1 restaurant in the world. Join Mike & Cory as they consider how they, too, can transform ordinary transactions into extraordinary experiences.

Support the Show
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
Nathan Barry Show with Will Guidara & Brian Canlis
The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Diary of a CEO
Intelligentsia
Chemex Coffee Brewer
Chemex Ottomatic
Siphon Brewing
Theory11
Simon Sinek | The Optimism Company
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgensen
The Book of Elon by Eric Jorgensen

Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

250: Design Love In by Marcus Buckingham Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

Today's author promises to help us unleash the most powerful force in business — love. Join Mike & Cory as they consider what it means to design love in as leaders and experience-makers.

Support the Show

Bookworm #249: What You’re Made For by George Raveling

Design Love In by Marcus Buckingham

Love + Work by Marcus Buckingham

StrengthsFinder

Mac Power Users with Marco Arment

EOS (Entrepreneur Operating System)

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Unreasonable Hospitality

The Book of Elon

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

Mike's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Cory's Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

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