Beyond the Lake

The Book Club.

A space to connect, share, and explore beyond the roles and routines that fill our weekdays — one book a month, across every genre, with whoever wants to read along.

Beyond the Lake Book Club
The Rotation

Reading now, and just finished.

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill
Reading now · Jun–Jul '26 · Discussion in Aug

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties

Tom O'Neill with Dan Piepenbring

A New York Times bestseller, now adapted into a Netflix documentary. What began as a 1999 magazine assignment on the 30th anniversary of the Manson murders turned into a twenty-year obsession. Drawing on hundreds of new interviews and previously unseen LAPD, FBI, and CIA documents, O'Neill challenges the official “Helter Skelter” account and traces apparent cover-ups reaching into the government's mind-control research — a gripping work of investigative true crime.

The Traitors Circle by Jonathan Freedland — book cover
Just finished · May '26

The Traitors Circle: The True Story of a Secret Resistance Network in Nazi Germany — and the Spy Who Betrayed Them

Jonathan Freedland

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist. Berlin, 1943: a circle of high-society rebels — countesses, a diplomat, an intelligence officer, an ambassador’s widow — gathers for tea, not knowing that one of them is about to hand the entire group to the Gestapo. A true story of courage, resistance, and betrayal that reads like a thriller, and asks what kind of person it takes to stand up to tyranny.

Welcome

More than a book club.

This isn't just a book club; it's a space to connect, share, and explore beyond the roles and routines that fill our weekdays. We're so much more than what we do from 9 to 5, and this club is a reminder of that — an opportunity to carve out time for curiosity, connection, and conversation.

Whether you're a client, a friend, a family member, or just a fellow book lover, you're welcome here. And you don't have to be local to Philadelphia to join (though if you are, we'll sprinkle in some “Go Birds!” spirit).

A bit of backstory

During the early days of COVID, my college friends and I — spread across the country, one even joining from El Salvador — decided to start a book club. We were a group of former fraternity brothers who'd played collegiate soccer and lacrosse together, not exactly your typical book club crowd. But it turned out to be the perfect way to keep a sense of normalcy, find a little distraction from the uncertainty, and reconnect in a fun, thought-provoking way. We made it through a surprising number of diverse books, and those discussions became something we all looked forward to. Now I want to bring that same sense of connection and exploration to you.

— Chris Gatsch

How It Works

Easygoing, flexible, and open.

01

One book a month

Each month we explore a new book across genres — fiction, non-fiction, business, biography, and beyond.

02

Members pick

Everyone who joins gets a turn choosing a book, so the list stays diverse and every discussion feels fresh.

03

Read your way

Audiobook, hardcopy, Kindle — whatever works for you. No strings, no subscription, join whichever months you like.

The Shelf

Previous reads.

A running record of where the club has been — roughly 70 books and counting, organized alphabetically by title.

A
  • AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future — Kai-Fu Lee & Chen Qiufan
  • A Random Walk Down Wall Street — Burton G. Malkiel
  • American Dirt — Jeanine Cummins
  • Atomic Habits — James Clear
B
  • Between the World and Me — Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking — Malcolm Gladwell
C
  • Can't Hurt Me — David Goggins
  • Crash of the Titans — Greg Farrell
D
  • David and Goliath — Malcolm Gladwell
E
  • Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future — Ashlee Vance
  • Extreme Ownership — Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
F
  • Freakonomics — Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
G
  • Good Energy — Casey Means, MD
  • GUTS: Greatness Under Tremendous Stress — Brian “Iron Ed” Hiner
H
  • Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow — Yuval Noah Harari
  • How to Change — Katy Milkman
  • How to Swing Trade — Brian Pezim & Andrew Aziz
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie
I
  • Inner Excellence — Jim Murphy
L
  • Living with a SEAL — Jesse Itzler
  • Lone Survivor — Marcus Luttrell
M
  • Mastering the Trade — John Carter
  • Mafia Prince — Philip Leonetti
  • Meditations — Marcus Aurelius
  • My Life in Full — Indra Nooyi
N
  • Never Finished — David Goggins
  • Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks — Yuval Noah Harari
O
  • One Up On Wall Street — Peter Lynch & John Rothchild
  • Outliers: The Story of Success — Malcolm Gladwell
P
  • Post Corona — Scott Galloway
  • Principles — Ray Dalio
  • Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order — Ray Dalio
R
  • Raising Men — Eric Davis
  • Rise: My Story — Lindsey Vonn
S
  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval Noah Harari
  • Sharp Objects — Gillian Flynn
  • Skin in the Game — Nassim Nicholas Taleb
  • Supernova Advisor Teams — Curtis C. Brown & Robert D. Knapp
  • Sweat Equity — Jason Kelly
T
  • The 5AM Club — Robin Sharma
  • The Art of Mindful Living — Thich Nhat Hanh
  • The Art of Racing in the Rain — Garth Stein
  • The Art of War — Sun Tzu
  • The Big Picture — Sean M. Carroll
  • The Four — Scott Galloway
  • The Devil in the White City — Erik Larson
  • The Immortality Key — Brian C. Muraresku
  • The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham
  • The Laws of Human Nature — Robert Greene
  • The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
  • The Ride of a Lifetime — Robert Iger
  • The Silent Patient — Alex Michaelides
  • The Supernova Advisor — Robert D. Knapp
  • The Supernova Multiplier — Robert D. Knapp
  • The Technical Republic — Alexander C. Karp
  • The Traitors Circle — Jonathan Freedland
  • The Tycoons — Charles R. Morris
  • The Warren Buffett Portfolio — Robert G. Hagstrom
  • The Warren Buffett Way — Robert G. Hagstrom
  • The Wolves of K Street — Brody Mullins
  • The World Played Chess — Robert Dugoni
  • Think and Grow Rich — Napoleon Hill
  • Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging — Sebastian Junger
U
  • Unbroken — Laura Hillenbrand
  • Unknown Market Wizards — Jack D. Schwager
W
  • Will — Will Smith

Interested in joining? Just email Chris and you'll be added to the group — for every book or just one.

Email to Join