Well if you’ve already read them and know the ideas then of course those books wouldn’t be super entertaining or thought provoking. But for people who are new and actually interested in a real economic foundation, those are great places to find grounding from the Keynesian shit people are fed.

Those are recommended frequently because they are often completely unheard of for new people into the space. I still know people who majored in Econ and have never even heard that list of names. But of course, it they aren’t looking for economic grounding or something to explain why everything they know about money and the state is nonsense, then those books won’t be of much value to anyone. But nobody is going to pick that knowledge up from Shakespeare.

TL;DR - That list is recommended because those are generally the ideas and arguments that normies have literally never heard before (Rothbard, Hayek, Mises, Rand, etc). Thus, they often result in people’s worldviews being shattered, because they are extremely strong philosophical examinations, imo. 

 Totally fair and agree. My pitch would be once you hit those, don’t lose that sense of intellectual adventure that got you there in the first place and keep branching out to more stuff. Because it’s certainly true that good fiction/lit can open up perspectives, unearth layers and vistas that were previously unseeable. Again, paraphrasing Eliot, good lit is a raid on the inarticulable. 

It’s low key one of my dreams to start a Shakespeare / classic lit reading group of bitcoiners. I think the mash up of ideas would be exhilarating, fruitful, and lots of fun. 

And when that dream comes to fruition you are getting an invite sir. 

 Would love an invite! And I agree with the general thesis here, i will read about anything that sparks an interesting thought and I do fiction as often as non-fiction. 🫡 

 Instructions unclear.  Ordering "Fifty Shades of Grey" 

 I would join this. 

 +1. Shakespeare was taught at my woke government school. They wouldn’t allow a book on their curriculum that would actually make people think. These books, especially Ayn Rand have been incredibly valuable to me. It took me 30 years to find it. 

 Sounds like your woke government school taught Shakespeare wrong, or at least deeply insufficiently. Shakespeare traditionally not taught in anything resembling woke, but some scholars in the last probably 25 or 30 years or so have tried to narrow him in that way. Don’t give up on him. You might find him even more interesting/constructive now as an adult with the economic grounding you now have. 

 You have a good point. Would you recommend one to start with?