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Charlie Becker

Charlie Becker
This is not an About page. CBL #93 - Some thoughts on thinking/acting, naming/doing, and where this blog is headed
6 days ago
Charlie Becker
Chelsea is not a metaphor. CITS #92 | May 22, 2025
3 weeks ago
Charlie Becker
We don't have time, we are time. | Friday Footnotes #4 Footnote #4 is based on a passage from 4,000 weeks by Oliver Burkeman.
2 months ago
Charlie Becker
Sonder, Sobriety, and Abstractions | Friday Footnotes #3 Friday Footnotes is a weekly newsletter where reading and reflection meet real life.
2 months ago
Charlie Becker
To Discard, To Preserve, To Bury, To Build | Friday Footnotes #2 Friday Footnotes is a weekly newsletter where reflection meets real life.
2 months ago
Charlie Becker
Vikings, Origami, and New Mexico | Friday Footnotes #1 What are the things that enrich your life?
3 months ago
Charlie Becker
Orson Welles as Falstaff on Late Night TV This post is in the Notebook - my digital workshop for anecdotes, links, excerpts, sketches, lists,...
3 months ago
31
3 months ago
This post is in the Notebook - my digital workshop for anecdotes, links, excerpts, sketches, lists, and anything else I want to explore in brief, revisit later, or post for reference.
Charlie Becker
Who are the role models for the rest of us? Converted from a Note 12/9/25
4 months ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky's Seven Most Underrated Essays A look back to celebrate my son being ~7 days old
4 months ago
Charlie Becker
You need to be wholesome-maxxing. You need to be wholesome-maxxing:
4 months ago
Charlie Becker
How I Make Room for the Year The first of a three part series marking the transition from 2024 to 2025
5 months ago
Charlie Becker
You're not Simon Sarris. Castles in the Sky December 20, 2024
5 months ago
Charlie Becker
Courage and Moonshots On Nikolai Fedorov's impossible dream and the ordinary courage of taking crazy ideas seriously
6 months ago
Charlie Becker
The map is clear but the road is bumpy. Castles in the Sky | October 27 - November 2, 2024
7 months ago
Charlie Becker
Statistics are people, too. What we celebrate is what we value, and what we ignore is what we normalize.
8 months ago
Charlie Becker
13 Lessons from 37 Years My Gift to You for my 37th Birthday
8 months ago
Charlie Becker
Notes Worth Saving #1 From the launch of Notes in April 2023 until December 2023
9 months ago
Charlie Becker
If you let it, AI will prompt you. Welcome to the hundreds of new subscribers to Castles in the Sky!
9 months ago
Charlie Becker
I have a new face. Reintroducing myself and Castles in the Sky
10 months ago
Charlie Becker
Living the Questions, Reading the Clown-Arounds Embracing the Trivial in a World Obsessed with Takeaways
10 months ago
Charlie Becker
Have you quit social media? Do you want to? I am looking for feedback on an idea I'm writing an essay about.
10 months ago
Charlie Becker
Move over New York Times. These are the 44 Best Books of the 21st Century. A completely objective list based on only the finest criteria
11 months ago
Charlie Becker
How many of The New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century have I read? This is a Workshop post, which means it doesn’t get emailed out to everyone and doesn’t show up in...
11 months ago
70
11 months ago
This is a Workshop post, which means it doesn’t get emailed out to everyone and doesn’t show up in the Castles in the Sky best of lists. To subscribe and receive these in your email inbox (or unsubscribe from them if you’re already receiving them), adjust your
Charlie Becker
Notes on Artistry from Jonathan Miller, TV Director for BBC's Shakespeare Seasons 3-4 A long Wikipedia excerpt
11 months ago
Charlie Becker
Beyond Food and Travel: Remembering Anthony Bourdain I used to sit in my apartment, eating Ramen and watching Anthony Bourdain, wondering about all of...
11 months ago
122
11 months ago
I used to sit in my apartment, eating Ramen and watching Anthony Bourdain, wondering about all of the things life and the world had to offer. It’s difficult to overstate the influence Anthony Bourdain has had on my worldview. For over a decade, whenever someone asked, “what do...
Charlie Becker
What We Have Given Up in Exchange for This Limitless Bounty Novelty and Nostalgia in Second-Tier Grocery Stores
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Best Things I Read or Watched in April 2024 | Castles in the Sky Links These are all the best things I read and watched in April 2024. If you open this in a browser, you...
a year ago
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a year ago
These are all the best things I read and watched in April 2024. If you open this in a browser, you can click the link to take you straight to that part of the article. Cosmographia by M. E. Rothwell “On reaching the age of the TV anti-hero” by Erik Hoel
Charlie Becker
"Dada, slow down!" Fatherhood at Thirty-Thousand Feet A letter from a father flying solo with his toddler
a year ago
Charlie Becker
What it feels like to be in love Vignettes #2
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Becoming an adult, one toddler tantrum at a time. A letter from a father
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Many Faces of Mexican Heirloom Corn | Introducing the Vignettes Series Vignettes #1
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Tracking how many of The Atlantic's Great American Novels I've Read An ongoing project
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Beyond Cliché and Pretense: From the Canon to Constellations The Importance of the new type of Artist
a year ago
Charlie Becker
CATHEDRAL | Chapter One - Four Years Out Cathedral | Castles in the Sky #60
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Treat life like a trip to the used bookstore. Bookstore Register #4
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Limits of Novelty as a Value Proposition Early thoughts on writing about Russian Cosmism and "the common task"
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Once the Cosmos Become Commonplace Castles in the Sky #59
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Third Year Online Creator Playbook How I'm going to have my most productive and creative year yet
a year ago
Charlie Becker
To go and lay down in that sense of it. Castles in the Sky #45
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Dreams Over Goals in 2024 More dreams, less goals, and some commitments for the year
a year ago
Charlie Becker
23 Highlights from 2023 A new video, two viral essays, a weekend in London, friends, family, a toddler, and much more!
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Unlikely Connection Between Fiction and Travel Castles in the Sky #44
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Those who support you may not support your art. Castles in the Sky #43
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Cathedral: A Short Story Castles in the Sky #42
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Foom Anxiety Castles in the Sky #41
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Virtue of Tourism Castles in the Sky #40
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Wedge Between Pleasure and Pain Castles in the Sky #40
a year ago
Charlie Becker
To Love a Dove Castles in the Sky #39
a year ago
Charlie Becker
You are Giants to Me Castles in the Sky #37
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Open Thread: Castles in the Sky in Your Life Castles in the Sky #37
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Confronting and Embracing the Void | A Review of The Stranger by Albert Camus Castles in the Sky #36
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Bookseller's Register #3 Two Customer Encounters
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Relatable Flaws | Review of Ask the Dust by John Fante Ask the Dust is a great book that captures a specific feeling unlike anything else I’ve ever read....
a year ago
30
a year ago
Ask the Dust is a great book that captures a specific feeling unlike anything else I’ve ever read. The protagonist is a deeply flawed, almost perverse daydreamer, but it is his flaws that make him relatable in a way I’ve encountered in very few other places.
Charlie Becker
The Bookseller's Register #2 My favorite section in the bookstore
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 35 Thirteen Perspective Changing Experiences from July 2023
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Bookseller's Register #1 Introducing a new series on building the bookstore of the future
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Power of Being Weird There are a lot of different ways to be an outsider. Nobody really wants to be a misfit or a "noob."...
a year ago
90
a year ago
There are a lot of different ways to be an outsider. Nobody really wants to be a misfit or a "noob." But there is wisdom in outsiders. They can be characters who challenge societal norms and reshape our understanding of what it means to belong. There are some people for whom...
Charlie Becker
Questions Lead to the Good Life Formally Introducing Psychological Richness
a year ago
Charlie Becker
For Richer or Poorer A Love Letter to Weddings
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Sandcastles and Wanderlust An Adventure at the Beach
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Pure Research is a Bet on Progress Normally I spend part of my summer convincing a group of reluctant students that pure research is an...
a year ago
17
a year ago
Normally I spend part of my summer convincing a group of reluctant students that pure research is an essential part of the progress and preservation of civilization. But for the first time in four years, my calendar was blank for the middle weeks of June. I would usually teach a...
Charlie Becker
Why Write Memoirs | Review of All the Wrong Moves by Sasha Chapin A good memoir is entertaining, insightful, and relatable. A great memoir changes you because you see...
a year ago
21
a year ago
A good memoir is entertaining, insightful, and relatable. A great memoir changes you because you see yourself in it. All the Wrong Moves by Sasha Chapin is a great memoir. It is nominally a book about a guy who becomes obsessed with chess. But to me, it’s a book about the...
Charlie Becker
Beautiful and Ordinary Saturday
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 34 - June 2023 Monthly Wrap-up
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Simplicity, Expertise, and Bullshit The difference between understanding and communicating
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Corporate Bloodsuckers Fiction | Magical Realism Short Story #3
a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Scrutiny Gap Critical Thinking at Critical Times
a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 33 [May 2023] Big, Big News!
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Small Oven Syndrome A New Name for an Old Problem
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Good Lessons from Bad Men Paradoxical lessons in masculinity from crime cinema
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 32 Weight Loss, Civilization, and Good Reading
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Do the weirdest thing that feels right. From "what to write" to "how to live"
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 31 From the New York Times to the Crowd Work section
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 30 The First Two of Twelve Questions
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 29 Hot Streaks and Cohort-Based Courses
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Moral Case for Small Business Starting, running, and supporting our way to a better world
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Everything is a Mood There and Back Again with ADHD Medicine
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 28 "Smorgasbord!"
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Individual Magic of Their Genius Introducing the Enchanter Series
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 27 Next Big Steps
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
A Pilgrimage for Book People Reflecting on a family tradition
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Get into Character Characters drive the story
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Who Cries for the Robot? Humans, perhaps?
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 26 The Power of Meeting Weirdos
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
The Enchanter Series Profiling Great Creators
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky 25 Thought Bananas is now Castles in the Sky
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Original Castles in the Sky Art This is the home for all the original art in Castles in the Sky that is an AI generation, original...
over a year ago
42
over a year ago
This is the home for all the original art in Castles in the Sky that is an AI generation, original commission, or some collage of the two. When the art is AI-generated, I will link to the first time it appeared in Castles in the Sky along with the prompt I used.
Charlie Becker
Castles in the Sky The reason I write
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Thought Bananas (Castles in the Sky) 24 The Thousand Griefs of a Left-Behind Place
over a year ago
Charlie Becker
Behind the Scenes of the Annual Review 2022 Last week, I wrote my first public Annual Review, read it here! I did two exercises to prepare for...
over a year ago
33
over a year ago
Last week, I wrote my first public Annual Review, read it here! I did two exercises to prepare for my annual review and explore what might be fun for me to write and interesting for others to read. After sharing both of these with a few friends, they encouraged me to polish them...
Charlie Becker
Thought Bananas (Castles in the Sky) 23 “Failing is not the end of growth”
over a year ago