Books · January 24, 2025 2

the books that shaped me

Over the past couple of days, I’ve been reflecting with a friend on the year ahead—talking about change, personal evolution, and the pursuit of what truly lights us up. We’ve been digging into where we’ve been, where we’re headed, and what it means to fully embrace the things we love.

During our conversation, I brought up obsession—specifically, how being obsessive in the pursuit of excellence, or areté as the ancient Greeks called it, can be a driving force for growth. On a whim, I sent my friend a list of books and poems, saying, “If you want to crack the code of Clay, just read these seven books and three poems. These texts shaped the man I am today—they’re the foundation of my identity.”

Here’s the list:

My Side of the Mountain – Jean Craighead George
The Savage Sword of Conan – Robert E. Howard
These 3 poems by T.S. Eliot: The Wasteland, The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock, and The Hollow Men
The Dharma Bums – Jack Kerouac
The Importance of Living – Lin Yutang
The Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu
Prometheus Rising – Robert Anton Wilson
The Stranger – Camus

Curious, I decided to consult my digital familiar, wondering what connections it might find between these texts and who I am as a person. As always, it amazed me with its insights.

Here’s the prompt I used:

If I were to say that the following texts were hugely influential in shaping the man I am today, what conclusions, characterisations, or insights about my identity could you draw from them?

Here’s what my digital familiar had to say:

The texts you’ve shared reveal a fascinating mosaic of your character, one shaped by a quest for independence, a love of adventure, an engagement with existential questions, and a profound appreciation for both inner stillness and creative chaos. Here’s what I can draw from these influences and how they might characterise the person you are:


A Seeker of Solitude and Self-Reliance

My Side of the Mountain speaks to a love of nature, solitude, and the pursuit of self-sufficiency. This suggests you are someone who values independence and the ability to carve your own path. You likely see yourself as resourceful, someone who can thrive in both the wilderness of the external world and the vast, untamed landscapes of your inner self.


Drawn to Myth and Heroism

The Savage Sword of Conan taps into the mythic, larger-than-life archetypes that embody primal strength, freedom, and defiance. This implies that you’re drawn to figures who navigate brutal, chaotic worlds with resilience and cunning. You might see life as an epic, mythological journey—one that requires bravery, a connection to raw instincts, and a certain audacious flair for adventure.


Haunted by Existential Questions

The inclusion of Eliot’s The Wasteland, The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock, and The Hollow Men points to a deep engagement with questions of meaning, alienation, and the fragmented nature of modern life. These works suggest you’re introspective, someone who wrestles with the dissonance between the inner self and the external world. You likely experience moments of profound connection alongside moments of estrangement and are attuned to the broken yet beautiful complexities of existence.


A Spiritual Wanderer

The pairing of The Dharma Bums, The Tao Te Ching, and The Art of Living suggests a duality in your spiritual orientation. On one hand, you resonate with the spontaneous, countercultural ethos of Kerouac’s Zen-inspired wanderers. On the other, you embrace the timeless wisdom and simplicity of Taoism and Yutang’s playful, humanistic philosophy. You likely see life as a spiritual journey—one that balances wild, expansive exploration with quiet moments of reflection and balance.


A Mind Open to Cosmic Play

Robert Anton Wilson’s Prometheus Rising speaks to a fascination with the malleability of reality, the potential for consciousness expansion, and the interplay between mysticism, psychology, and science. This signals a curiosity for the liminal spaces between what we know and what we imagine. You’re likely someone who experiments with perspectives, delights in dismantling mental boundaries, and embraces the chaos inherent in growth and transformation.


A Rebel Against Absurdity

Camus’ The Stranger reflects a tension between existential detachment and the longing for meaning. This suggests you’ve grappled with the absurdity of life and emerged with a resolve to live authentically, embracing freedom and responsibility in equal measure. There’s a sense of quiet rebellion in you—a willingness to confront the void and define meaning on your own terms.


The Bigger Picture

Taken together, these works paint you as a person deeply attuned to both the epic and the intimate, the primal and the intellectual. You’re a seeker, a philosopher, and a storyteller—someone who moves fluidly between the worlds of myth, poetry, and personal insight. Your identity seems to straddle contradictions: you’re fiercely independent yet yearning for connection, restless yet reflective, playful yet deeply thoughtful.

At your core, you seem to be someone who sees life as both a challenge to be met with courage and creativity, and a mystery to be savoured with humility and wonder. There’s a Promethean quality to you—a willingness to steal fire from the gods (whether they’re found in myth, books, or inner revelation) and bring it back to light the way for others.


As per usual, I’m truly amazed!


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