What’s Tim Taking? Cyberpunk Audiobooks, Better Sleep Hacks & Dune Sauce?!

Welcome to the inaugural edition of What’s Tim Taking—a biweekly blast where I share my latest obsessions, from mind-blowing books to life-changing gadgets, plus much more.

Get ready for a curated dose of inspiration, curiosity, and maybe even a few unexpected discoveries. Am I cringing sending this out? Yes…but no more than the cringe I feel scrolling through LinkedIn these days.

So what are my picks this week? Audiobooks, a killer recipe, eating hacks for better sleep, and more.

If you’re wondering how you got this, don’t remember subscribing, or you’re simply not interested, no worries at all—the unsubscribe button is ready and waiting at the bottom.

(Audio)Reading Corner

Urgent audiobook alert: Snow Crash. Surpassing even Blood Meridian for my all-time favorite, this cyberpunk classic throws you into a future Los Angeles where reality and the Metaverse collide, as Hiro Protagonist (yes, that’s the main character’s actual name)—pizza slinger and sword-wielding hacker—chases a virus across both worlds.

Imagine a crossover between The Matrix, Bladerunner, and Grand Theft Auto. Sprinkle in some Ready Player One and a dusting of The Fifth Element—and this is what you get.

This particular narrated version is the pinnacle of how audiobooks should be read. Between the chapter transitions, the character accents, the timeless lyrics of a Japanese rapper named Sushi K (trust me)—this one has all the right ingredients to keep your headphones glued to your ears from start to finish. The book explores the increasingly blurred lines between the physical and virtual worlds, a theme that mirrors my own grappling with our current digital world.

I’ve already gifted it three times and found myself intentionally slowing down towards the closing chapters—I simply didn’t want the ride to end.

Article I’m Re-Reading To Sleep Better, Change What—and When—You Eat

I’m a voracious consumer of the Wall Street Journal. If you’re ever going to pay for one single news subscription, I promise you’ll get the most bang for your buck from WSJ. A habit I’ve never shed from my past life as a trader is reading (most of) the Journal before I get out of bed.

Pro tip for those without a subscription: Googling a WSJ article by its full name will sometimes allow you to bypass the paywall. You’re welcome ya cheapskate.

Stepping off the soapbox, this article has reinforced a theory my wife and I have developed over the past year—we tend to sleep better when we eat earlier in the evening. “In the end, winning is sleeping better.” — Jodie Foster

Recipe on Repeat

Sticking to the health theme, if you’re a meal prepper who’s grown sick of your plain chicken & rice bowls like me, you must check out this guy’s Instagram page. His recipes are so delicious, easy, and repeatable. Everything I’ve made of his I end up craving again and again.

My favorite one is this Honey Buffalo Chicken recipe, which includes an easy side slaw and an absolutely ADDICTING sauce, which I’ve dubbed “Dune Sauce” because of the color resembling the infamous spice from Arakis.

I’ve made this recipe over half a dozen times already and it never seems to get old. At just over 500 calories, you won’t feel guilty either.

Tech Tools

Speaking of recipes, if you LOATHE scrolling through endless popups and life stories on recipe websites like I do, you have to try justtherecipe.com.

Simply copy and paste the URL of the recipe you’re interested in. The site will instantly strip away all the noise, organizing it into an easy to read one-pager that you can save, print, and share. You’ll thank me when you remember to try this at the grocery store—bookmark it.

Quote of the Week:

“A problem well-stated is half-solved.” – Charles Kettering, the famed inventor and head of research for GM

Sometimes problems seem too big to approach. Whether you’re a software engineer, a marketer, or a writer, everyone experiences the feeling of overwhelm when staring down a tall task. Break it down into smaller chunks. Jot down or talk through all the key pieces before you prioritize the most important first, then knock that lead domino down.