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Life and How to Live It Podcast with Dr. Rocco Episode: Reading for Pleasure — One of Life's Greatest Gifts

In this episode, I'm diving deep into one of my all-time favorite topics: reading for pleasure. I consider reading to be one of life's truly great pleasures, and whether you're a devoted bookworm or someone who hasn't picked one up in years, I genuinely believe there's something in this episode for you. I walk through my personal reading journey, explore the many gifts that reading gives us, and share a curated list of book recommendations spanning fiction and nonfiction.

My Reading Journey

I've loved reading since I was a young boy — books, magazines, comic books, even the back of the cereal box at breakfast. I was a sponge, and I've pretty much stayed that way my whole life. I was that odd high school kid who actually enjoyed the assigned reading in English class, and when I went on to study pre-med at the University of Virginia, I was fortunate to take some truly memorable English and History courses. In particular, a class on William Faulkner and Southern Gothic literature, and another on the plays of Shakespeare, taught me something I never forgot: there is incredible pleasure to be found in reading something that is genuinely challenging. Shakespeare's language can feel like a barrier, but once you get comfortable with it, the language is the thing — that's where the joy lives.

After college, medical school and residency consumed most of my reading time with textbooks and journal articles. But as my career progressed, I picked it back up. The real turning point came during a visit to my parents. I'd forgotten to bring anything to read, so I browsed the bookshelf in my old bedroom and pulled out The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway — a book I'd read at 16. Reading it again at around 35, I was stunned. As a teenager, I saw a group of friends drinking in Paris and going to bullfights in Spain. As an adult, I understood the profound loneliness and woundedness of Jake Barnes — a man left impotent by a war injury, in love with Lady Brett Ashley, unable to ever consummate that love. I saw the Lost Generation, the searching for meaning, the diversion and the despair. I had not gotten any of that at 16.

That experience changed everything. I asked myself: what else did I miss? And so I made a decision to read the classics — all of them. If I hadn't read it, I read it. If I had already read it, I reread it.

Highlights from the Classics

• The Epic of Gilgamesh – Written approximately 4,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, this is the story of King Gilgamesh, his friendship with Enkidu, and his desperate quest to find a cure for death after losing his beloved companion. What struck me most was the visceral realization that we as human beings have not changed very much. The things that caused Gilgamesh grief and anxiety are the very same things that haunt us today.
• The Iliad – One of my favorite books of all time. There is a scene where Andromache pleads with her husband Hector not to go to the front of the next day's battle, knowing he will die and that she has already lost her entire family to this war. I literally teared up reading it. This could have been a modern wife speaking to her husband before he leaves for combat. The universality of the human soul leaps off every page.
• The ancient Greek philosophers and the Bible – Taken together, these form the very roots of Western civilization and the way we think today.
• The Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione – Written in 16th century Italy, this book outlines the qualities of the ideal gentleman: well-read, athletic, humorous, able to dance and dress well. Reading it, I felt like I was reading about James Bond. What fascinated me was seeing just how old these ideas really are.
• Don Quixote by Cervantes – Written in the early 1600s, around the same time as Shakespeare, this hilarious buddy story of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is widely considered the first novel ever written.
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville – A deep dive into the whaling industry, yes, but more importantly a profound study of obsession and how hubris can bring tragedy crashing down on everyone around you.
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – An incredible story centered on revenge — that powerful, dangerous desire to get back at those who have wronged you.
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – Nearly 1,200 pages and close to 600 characters. A slog at times, but an extraordinary cognitive and emotional experience. The characters became more alive to me than many people I know in real life, and I still think about them regularly, years after finishing it.
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez – The masterpiece of magical realism. Set in the fictional Colombian town of Macondo, this novel weaves a dream. While you're in it, you are in a dream-like state. Truly an extraordinary reading experience.

What Does Reading Give Us?

• Pleasure – Sometimes it takes 20, 50, even 100 pages to sync up with an author's voice and way of thinking. Push through that initial barrier — the pleasure is waiting on the other side.
• Anticipation – Once you're hooked, you think about the book during the day, and you feel that little flutter of excitement when you pass it on your bedside table.
• Escapism – Whether it's sci-fi, fantasy, or a novel set in a completely different culture, reading transports us out of ourselves and into another world entirely.
• Knowledge – Nonfiction is built for learning, but great fiction authors like Umberto Eco pack their novels with rich history and cultural insight too.
• Vocabulary – Your vocabulary will genuinely grow, especially if you read the classics.
• Cognitive exercise – Keeping track of characters, storylines, and timelines is a real workout for the brain.
• Empathy – Fiction places you inside the heart, mind, and soul of another person in a way that real life simply cannot. I truly believe that being a reader of fiction made me a better doctor — it helped me understand what makes people tick.
• An expanded worldview – You learn about different places, cultures, and human experiences, and that makes you a better citizen of this country and of the world.

Nonfiction as Your Own Curriculum

I love nonfiction for the freedom it gives you to build your own learning path. Say you get curious about life for women in the Old West — you don't have to wait for a documentary. Just start reading. And the bibliography at the back of any good nonfiction book will send you down rabbit holes you never expected.

My Book Recommendations

Novels:

• Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurtry (1985) — Two friends lead a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. The characters are unforgettable. My wife considers this one of her all-time favorites too.
• This Is Happiness – Niall Williams (2019) — The story of the last town in Ireland to get electricity in the 1950s. Endearing, beautiful, and deeply touching.
• A Soldier of the Great War – Mark Helprin (1991) — One of my all-time favorites. An Italian soldier reflects on his life and his time in World War I. It's about love, loss, war, meaning, and the afterlife. Absolutely stunning.
• Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison (1977) — A journey from North to South as Milkman Dead searches for his family's history. Themes of slavery, family secrets, and identity. Incredibly beautiful.

Short Stories:

• Table for Two – Amor Towles (2024) — My favorite recent short story collection. Fun, surprising, and completely engaging.
• The Pacific – Mark Helprin (2004) — Another excellent collection from one of my favorite writers.
• Flannery O'Connor — Pick up any of her collections. You're in for a wonderful time.
• Anton Chekhov — One of the great masters of the European short story.

A note on short stories: If you don't read much fiction, short stories are the perfect entry point. You can read one in a single evening, and reading before bed — rather than scrolling on your phone — is a great way to calm your nervous system and sleep better.

Nonfiction:

• The Power Broker – Robert Caro (1974) — A biography of Robert Moses and essential reading for understanding how New York City became what it is today. I listened to this on audiobook and got everything I needed from it.
• The Wide Wide Sea – Hampton Sides (2025) — The story of Captain Cook's third voyage: discovering Hawaii, returning to Tahiti, searching for the Northwest Passage. Written like a novel but completely true.
• Brunelleschi's Dome – Ross King — The story of how the great dome of Florence's cathedral was built in the 1400s, full of artistic rivalry and architectural genius. Fascinating.

One More Thing

Based on recent data, the top countries for reading by per capita books read per year are the United States, India, and the United Kingdom, with China, Italy, and France also ranking highly. Within the US, the top reading states are Vermont, New Hampshir

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