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Key Takeaways
Slowing down, in reading or life, is more meaningful than trying to do more.
Not changing is still a decision, and eventually that bill comes due.
Great fatherhood evolves without ever losing its purpose.
My 2026 Reading List (And Why It’s Short on Purpose)
At the beginning of each year, I make a reading list.
It’s not long—usually 10 to 12 books—and that’s intentional. My goal isn’t to win a contest about how many books I can read in a year. I want to take my time and give myself space to actually digest each book instead of racing through pages just to check a box.
This year, I’m heavy on fiction—especially thrillers. Partly because they’re fun, partly because they remind me that reading doesn’t always have to feel like work. A good story still counts. According to Lee Child, it counts even more.
Here’s what’s on my 2026 list:
Jack Reacher #31 – Andrew Child
The Relic Hunters – David Leadbeater
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t – Steven Pressfield
The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel
Power Play – Joseph Finder
The Black Echo – Michael Connelly
Paranoid – Joseph Finder
Falling Upward – Richard Rohr
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry – John Mark Comer
It’s not a perfectly balanced list. That’s the point. Some of these will stretch me. Some will slow me down. Some are just here because I want to enjoy a good story at the end of a long day.
If I read all of them, great.
If I don’t, that’s fine too.
The list isn’t about accomplishment.
It’s about intention.
A big 2026 starts now
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He not busy being born is busy dying.
Staying the same is still a choice—and choices always have consequences.
Campfire Conversations: Bryan Ward
I sat down with Bryan Ward, host of the Dad Up Podcast, to talk about fatherhood after the whistle blows—shifting from coach to advisor, learning when to listen instead of lecture, and staying present as kids grow and leave home.
A grounded conversation about the long game of fatherhood.
And feel free to skip the awkward intro that I was clearing reading.
Until next time—
🔥Keep the fires burning,
— Clay
P.S. I’d rather grow Campfire Gentleman through real connections than algorithms.
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