Flight records for the mind — books and dramas worth the altitude.
CAPTAIN'S LOG
Every great book or drama changes the altitude at which you see things. These are my rated flight records — callsigns, briefings, and honest assessments from the reading & viewing logbook. Click any entry to open the full log.
The Remains of the Day
Kazuo Ishiguro · 1989
A meditation on duty, regret, and the life unlived. Stevens is the most heartbreaking narrator in English literature.
Shogun (2024)
FX / Hulu · 2024
Meticulous production and a genuinely layered portrayal of feudal Japan. Hiroyuki Sanada is extraordinary.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Milan Kundera · 1984
Kundera weaponises philosophy as narrative. A novel that rearranges your understanding of love and responsibility.
Pachinko
Apple TV+ · 2022
Four generations of identity, sacrifice, and survival. The Apple TV adaptation honours its source with rare intelligence.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman · 2011
Kahneman's dual-system model is essential reading for any auditor. Bias is the silent co-pilot in every judgment.
Succession
HBO · 2018
Shakespearean tragedy in boardroom drag. Every character is both monster and sympathetic in equal measure.
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl · 1946
Frankl's logotherapy distilled through Auschwitz. The argument that meaning — not pleasure — is the primary human motivation.
Andor
Disney+ · 2022
Rare prestige sci-fi that takes institutional oppression seriously. The writing is surgical.
The Black Swan
Nassim Nicholas Taleb · 2007
Taleb's epistemology of uncertainty is uncomfortable — and necessary. Every risk model has a blindspot.
Slow Horses
Apple TV+ · 2022
Unglamorous British Intelligence done right. Jackson Lamb is the best anti-hero of the decade.