The book club · one book a quarter

Read with the professor.

"Let's start a book-every-quarter challenge. Let's start with the Ascent of Money followed by the House of Debt." — into the group, March 25, 2026. That message is the whole constitution of this club.

One book a quarter, his pick. Read it, argue about it in the group, bring it up in discussion — class participation counts here too. Audiobooks for every pick are being stocked on our shelf, so you can take the quarter's book on your commute.

The challenge

Now reading — The Ascent of Money

Niall Ferguson. A financial history of the world — banks, bonds, bubbles, insurance and property, told through the disasters. This quarter's book; MK's 4-page takeaways live in the group.

Up next — House of Debt

Mian & Sufi. Why household debt, not banks, did the real damage in 2008 — and what that says about EMIs, LTV caps and every credit boom since. Next quarter's pick, already named.

The discussion

Chapters get argued over in the group and in the daily thread. Useful takes earn karma — same ledger as everything else.

From the shelf

Ray Dalio — Power Index Appendix

186 pages of country-power arithmetic, shared into the group by Pooja. Not a quarter pick; read it for the method, not the rankings.