This year I focused on building software, training my body, reading regularly, and making space for music and writing. What follows is a snapshot of what I worked on, learned, and enjoyed along the way. I hope you find something that sparks curiosity or inspiration.
Wishing you all the best for 2026. If you’d like to catch up, feel free to find a time that works for you.
Best,
Peter Spannagle
https://linkedin.com/in/pspan
https://roadmaps.substack.com/
Narrata
July – December: 90 days of coding (75% FT)
3.69B tokens | 6.4k messages | 289,606 lines of code
Building AI software is one of the most rewarding projects I took on in 2025.
Narrata helps people navigate a changing job market, starting with a better way to write cover letters. The product combines a structured workflow with AI assistance and explicit human control. What began as a project to explore how AI tools change what’s possible in software development has become something more. Six months in, I’m convinced LLMs represent the most powerful shift in software since the internet.
I started by learning new coding tools and proving I could use a story library, template, and LLM to create cover letters using only the command line. I then paused development to invest in discovery, design and strategy before building a full end-to-end prototype in React. To date, 200+ people from 19 countries have tried Narrata, providing enough signal to justify building out the remaining backend systems. The product is now feature-complete for private beta, planned for January 2026.
Check out my GitHub for AI and open-source tools, including an Apps Script project for deploying free email newsletters via Google Docs + Gmail (with per-recipient mail merge, test sends, scheduling, Gmail API integration, and one-click unsubscribe) 😄
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Exercise and Embodiment
In 2025 strength training took center stage, with endurance and mobility training as essential supporting pillars. Daily meditation practice also increased vitality and clarity. I continue to enjoy a car-free lifestyle. Biking satisfies most of my transportation needs. Inspired by Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run” I bought zero-drop shoes, put down my first 50 miles, and plan to continue running this winter. Despite past critiques, new research indicates persistence hunting was indeed part of our evolutionary heritage.
Highlights
- ~8 hours of exercise per week
- 3.0M lbs lifted (+221% YoY) | Best week = 140k lbs
- Endurance cycling: 26 rides | 823 miles | 40,002 ft / Bike commute: 488 rides | ~725 miles
Music
Music is a crucial source of inspiration and self-expression for me: a place for presence, growth, and play.
- Totally Biased: Genres Worth Exploring: (9) Spotify playlists of “Top 25” songs for my favorite genres.
- Home Recordings and First Takes: I challenged myself to learn and record new songs weekly. This is a collection of my favorites.
- Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor (BWV 1004)
“Not just one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, but one of the greatest achievements of any man in history. It’s a spiritually powerful piece, emotionally powerful, structurally perfect.” – Joshua Bell (Violinist)
Writing
Writing is how I reflect, process experience, and make sense of what I’m learning.
- Circumambulation of Mt Tam: a poem written on a 13-mile hike around Mt Tam in the pouring rain on Winter Solstice.
- Type 2 Fun and 0–1: Pirate Metrics for Home Energy Management: how I led a cross-functional team of 8 from 0-1.
- Narrata PM Leveling Framework: a meta-synthesis of product leadership, outlining 4 PM categories and 4 specializations.
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Books
Reading remained a major source of learning and inspiration. Highlights below. Complete reading list here.
Top 3 Books
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| Wellness by Nathan Hill | The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan | The Shallows by Nicholas Carr |
| This book explores marriage, ambition, disillusionment and self-optimization culture. An irreverent and touching take on modern identity, obsessions and relationships. | Illuminating retelling of the Dust Bowl as a study in policy failure and environmental collapse that feels uncomfortably current. It’s rigorous and humane, political without being polemical. | 15 years later, Carr’s argument is more illuminating than ever. In a year defined by AI acceleration and attention fragmentation, this book frames the stakes clearly: learning and memory are hindered and our brains fundamentally changed when we engage with information in a fragmented and shallow manner. |
Best in Category
| NONFICTION | ||||
| History & Power | Inequality, Labor & Social Change | Science & the Natural World | Biography, Memoir & Meaning | Technology & Modern Life |
| When the Clock Broke by John Ganz | The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan | The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee | American Poison by Daniel Stone | The Shallows by Nicholas Carr |
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| Special Mention: The Wager by David Grann | Special Mention: Soldiers and Kings by Jason de León | Special Mention: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall | Special Mention: King, A Life by Jonathan Eig | Special Mention: Doppelganger by Naomi Klein |
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| FICTION | ||
| Literary Fiction | Speculative & Science Fiction | Short Stories & Experimental |
| Wellness by Nathan Hill | The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow | A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders |
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| Special Mention: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen | Special Mention: Hum by Helen Phillips | Special Mention: Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges |
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Recipes
High-protein faves help me hit personal target of 150g/day.
- Chashu Pork / Ramen Eggs: in weekly rotation (subbing leaner loin for belly). Breakfast without these eggs would be sad.
- LA Galbi: Quick and easy! Tendons and bone make a great broth.
- Thai Basil Chicken: Really brown the minced chicken for best flavor and texture.
