Reading Misogi
One deliberately oversized reading project a year. I pick it intentionally and make it a daily habit. I scaffold shamelessly, whatever keeps the momentum. A misogi is the one hard thing you do each year; this is my reading version. The point is as much having read it as what the year spent reading it does to you.
One mountain a year · width = the size of the climb · 2026 is mid-climb
2023 · The Brothers Karamazov · one big Russian novel
The Brothers Karamazov
The starter misogi, before it had a name. One deliberately heavy book, that I felt like I was “supposed” to have read, and never did.
Cadence Whenever. Hard to get through, and didn’t realize it was the start of something bigger until after I was done.
Route Front to back, no shortcuts. Engage with the critics, force myself to talk to friends about it.
Scaffolding None! I listened to a few podcasts and found some critics afterwards. Realized I needed more upfront/during.
Rules Finish it, think critically about it and talk about it.
What it gave me “Holy shit. This book is just about life.”
2024 · The Bible · cover to cover · 366 days
The Bible
The obvious one: the most-referenced book in the civilization I live in, and I had never read it straight through. I grew up Catholic. Familiar with the stories, but I wanted to see what really doing the work of reading it day in and day out would do for me.
Cadence Twenty minutes, every day, first thing before anyone else was up.
Route Genesis to Revelation in canonical order, without skipping, without summarizing, without glossing.
Scaffolding THe Bible Recap - Tara Leigh Cobble for daily narratives. Bible Project videos and Youtubes for book overviews. Bible for Normal People podcast for a 30k foot view.
Rules Twenty minutes a day. Specifically used NSV not King James for “easier” reading.
What it gave me “No one is perfect.”
2025 · Jorge Luis Borges · the complete works
Jorge Luis Borges
After the Bible's single long road, the opposite terrain: dozens of short, dense, perfect objects. And the first misogi where an AI reading partner became part of the method.
Cadence Short story format was fun, could choose based on how much time I had but generally 2-20 minutes daily.
Route Collected Fictions. Selected Non Fiction
Scaffolding AI as the standing reading partner, helping untangle the labyrinths, chasing the references, testing my readings against the text.
Rules No rules. Read all of Borges in any order you want.
What it gave me “Reading Borges is like walking on a mobius strip or looking at a magic eye picture. ”
2026 · Shakespeare · the complete plays · in progress
Shakespeare
Interior work with the whole canon: fathers and sons, control, the need to be right, anger, reconciliation. Coming off Borges and the Bible, the through-line stays the same. How does life work, what does it mean, what should we do.
Cadence Try for an Act a day, often times half an Act.
Route A deliberate ladder: early comedies to establish the habit, the Henriad in spring for the father/son masterclass, the great tragedies at the height of summer, the late romances to close. My personal theme: fathers reckoning with what they broke.
Scaffolding Folger editions with No Fear alongside. Not stressed about grappling with meaning, I will just look it up if i can’t get it. Critics: Bloom , Garber when Bloom gets too eccentric, Greenblatt. The Folger podcast, Globe productions, a film after the big ones. And a dedicated AI conversation per play, or a reading partner that never tires of questions.
Rules Buffer days are built into every month. The schedule bends, but the mornings habit doesn’t.
▸
The route · 25/38 plays read · now: Romeo and Juliet · steal this syllabus
January — Foundations
- ● The Comedy of Errors Shortest play. Farcical. Warm-up.
- ● The Two Gentlemen of Verona Early, slight. Friendship vs. love.
- ● The Taming of the Shrew Problematic but psychologically interesting. Control dynamics.
- ● Love's Labour's Lost Dense wordplay. Youthful cleverness confronting mortality.
- ● A Midsummer Night's Dream First major comedy. Dreams, transformation, what we can't see in ourselves. “The play-within-the-play is a tragedy played as comedy. Shakespeare showing you what this story could have been.”
February — Early histories
- ● Henry VI, Part 1 Collaborative, episodic. France, Joan of Arc.
- ● Henry VI, Part 2 York emerges. Political chaos.
- ● Henry VI, Part 3 Brutality. Richard of Gloucester rises.
- ● Richard III First great villain study. Seduction and self-deception.
March — Comedy deepens
- ● King John Minor history. The Bastard Faulconbridge is interesting.
- ● The Merchant of Venice Control from beyond the grave. Shylock's complexity.
- ● Much Ado About Nothing Wit as defense mechanism.
- ● As You Like It The forest as transformative space.
- ● Twelfth Night Peak comedy. Feste's wisdom.
April — The Henriad
- ● Richard II The lyric king. Identity dissolved with the crown.
- ● Henry IV, Part 1 Key play. Hal between two fathers.
- ● Henry IV, Part 2 Deeper, sadder. “I know thee not, old man.”
May — The arc completes, Rome begins
- ● Henry V Hal becomes king. Propaganda and genuine heroism.
- ● The Merry Wives of Windsor Falstaff resurrected for comedy. Light.
- ● Julius Caesar Rhetoric and self-deception.
- ● Titus Andronicus The revenge-play template. Complete works means complete.
June — Problem plays
- ● Troilus and Cressida War as degradation. Anti-romantic.
- ● Measure for Measure Control, judgment, mercy. Who gets to judge?
- ● All's Well That Ends Well The uncomfortable resolution.
July — Into the great tragedies
- ◐ Romeo and Juliet Young tragedy. The contrast for what comes next.
- ● Hamlet The mountain. The father/son play. Take your time.
August — Peak tragedy
- ○ Othello Jealousy as self-destruction.
- ○ King Lear Fathers and children. Giving up control. Madness as stripping away.
September — Late tragedies
- ○ Macbeth Ambition, guilt. Lady Macbeth as shadow.
- ○ Antony and Cleopatra Grandeur and ruin. Middle-aged passion.
- ○ Coriolanus The need to be right. Mother and son.
- ○ Timon of Athens Rage after betrayal. Brief.
October — Toward the romances
- ○ Henry VIII Late pageantry. Katherine's dignity.
- ○ The Two Noble Kinsmen Completist.
- ○ Pericles First romance. The recognition scene is the template.
November — The romances
- ○ Cymbeline Forgiveness despite nothing being earned.
- ○ The Winter's Tale After you've broken it completely, is restoration possible?
December — The culmination
- ○ The Tempest Control, letting go. “Every third thought shall be my grave.” Read slowly.
● read · ◐ now · ○ ahead — verdicts appear as they're written
Run your own
- 01
Pick one mountain, only one, a year.
- 02
Make it slightly too big; the point is that it doesn't fit inside casual effort.
- 03
Set a daily minimum dose and keep it small. Twenty minutes you do beats two hours you won't.
- 04
Scaffold shamelessly: podcasts, critic companions, film versions, AI. Anything that gives you momentum is not only allowed but encouraged.
- 05
Order the route around your seasons; save the summit for when you'll have the most capacity. Schedule in slack and use it when you need it.
- 06
Keep a log, but don’t go crazy. A checkbox a day is enough.
- 07
Let it end. December is for re-reading and reflection. If you’re moved or motivated to do more, you wont have to foce it.
The Shakespeare route above is a complete, tested syllabus. Steal it.