You're in. Welcome.
I'm genuinely glad you're here. Here's a welcome gift: two reading lists that have shaped how I think about Thriving with AI.
AI Tools & Thinkers I Follow
- Claude Code - The agentic harness that started it all for me. If you haven’t tried it, start here.
- Dan Shipper / Every - Practitioner-first AI coverage. Dan builds with AI and writes about what works. The whole Every crew covers different angles.
- Ethan Mollick (One Useful Thing) - Academic rigor meets practical experimentation. Wharton professor running real experiments on AI capabilities.
- Simon Willison - Developer’s developer. Publishes his full AI workflow and tooling. Incredibly generous with his process.
- Hamel Husain - AI evals specialist. His writing on building reliable AI systems is the best I’ve found.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy I Love
-
Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons - The Canterbury Tales in space. Each pilgrim’s story is a different genre masterpiece, and the AI discourse woven throughout feels eerily prescient. If you read one thing from this list, make it the full trilogy.
-
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein - Magical realism meets sci-fi. Odd and very profound. One of those books that rewires something in how you see the world.
-
Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin - A magic system unlike anything I’ve encountered, told in second person, which shouldn’t work but absolutely does. Brilliant character development wrapped in a world that’s literally tearing itself apart.
-
Mistborn: Wax & Wayne series by Brandon Sanderson - The Wayne character made the whole series for me. If you’ve read the original Mistborn trilogy, this second era is a completely different vibe and I loved every page.
-
Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee - Starting with Jade City. A kung fu mafia family epic with a magic system tied to jade. The world-building is dense and the family dynamics are Shakespearean. One of my favorites in recent years.
-
Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb - All 16 books. OK, you can skip the 4 Rain Wild Chronicles without losing too much. Fitz’s journey across decades is one of the most emotionally rewarding investments I’ve made in fiction. Start with Assassin’s Apprentice and clear your calendar.
These are 6 of my 20+ favorites. Hit reply to any newsletter if you want to swap favorite stories.
What you signed up for
A ~weekly letter called Thriving with AI. What I'm learning, what I'm building, and what's worth your time. I aim for useful, not frequent.
The best way to make this valuable for you: hit reply to any edition and tell me what you're working on. I read every reply.
If you haven't read my inaugural essay yet, start here.
~h