If you want to learn to play rock, start by listening to the blues because the blues musicians influenced rock-and-rollers. If you're going to learn the blues, listen to slave songs and spirituals because that music gave birth to what we know as the blues. No matter what you do in music, there will always be a fundamental starting point - a source of truth from which to grow. Curating a “books to read” list of 384 titles spanning 60 topics was no different.

I read a lot of Seth Godin's work. His books often contain citations or endnotes for further reading - his influences. I then begin researching the people who influenced Seth, and then the people who influenced them, and I keep going until I arrive at the fundamental. I do that process for many of the authors I read.  

So why does any of this matter? Because of exploration. Because I get to choose how and who to explore next. I may not get to everything on the list, and that's okay. Achievement is not finishing the list; it's hoping that the list never stops growing.  

If you want to see the list, go here.