Last Updated – Mar-04-2021
This is a list of the most unique, useful, or interesting books I’ve ever read – the books that stand out. All books are sorted by category, and then in three lists:
- Favorites – amazing books worth reading multiple times.
- Recommended – good books worth reading at least once.
- Honorable Mentions – books that are controversial/flawed/very weird, but are worth reading despite (or because) of that.
Also, each has an Amazon link (I get a small reward, and you get an awesome book at no extra cost to you).
Biography, Memoir, and Letters
Favorites:
Recommended:
- “84 Charing Cross Road” by Helene Hanff
- “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins
- “Educated” by Tara Westover
- “Einstein” by Walter Isaacson
- “Emergency” by Neil Strauss
- “The Game” by Neil Strauss
Business, Economics, and Finance
Favorites:
Recommended:
- “The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing” by Al Ries
- “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss
- “Anything You Want” by Derek Sivers
- “The Effective Executive” by Peter Drucker
- “How to Win at the Sport of Business” by Mark Cuban
- “Only the Paranoid Survive” by Andy Grove
- “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” by Harv T. Eker
- “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek
General, How To, and Art
Favorites:
Recommended:
Green and Environmental
Favorites:
History
Favorites:
- “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford
- “The Lessons of History” by Will Durant and Ariel Durant
Philosophy and Religion
Favorites:
- “Doing Good Better” by William MacAskill
- “The Precipice” by Toby Ord
- “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs
- “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert Pirsig
Recommended:
- “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu
- “A Book of Five Rings” by Miyamoto Musashi
- “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday
- “Lila” by Robert Pirsig
- “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl
- “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius
- “Striking Thoughts” by Bruce Lee
- “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu
- “Zen in the Art of Archery” by Eugen Herrigel
Politics and Society
Favorites:
Recommended:
Psychology and Neuroscience
Favorites:
Recommended:
Honorable Mentions:
Science and STEM
Favorites:
Recommended:
Self-Help, Relationships, and Health
Favorites:
- “The 4-Hour Chef” by Timothy Ferriss
- “Atomic Habits” by James Clear
- “Models” by Mark Manson
- “Six Pillars of Self-Esteem” by Nathaniel Branden
- “Tools of Titans” by Timothy Ferriss
Recommended:
- “The 4-Hour Body” by Timothy Ferriss
- “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman
- “Data, A Love Story” by Amy Webb
- “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
- “Lever Up Your Life” by Steve Kamb
- “No More Mr. Nice Guy” by Robert Glover
- “Tribe of Mentors” by Timothy Ferriss
- “What Women Want” by Tucker Max and Geoffrey Miller
Honorable Mentions:
Fiction
Favorites:
- “1984” by George Orwell (or get the edition combined with Animal Farm)
- “Dune” by Frank Herbert (part of the Dune series)
- “Foundation” by Isaac Asimov (part of the Foundation series)
- “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality” by Eliezer Yudkowsky
Recommended:
- “Animal Farm” by George Orwell (or get the edition combined with 1984)
- “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
- “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
- “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen
- “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien (part of the Lord of the Rings series)
- “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach
- “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- “Player Piano” by Kurt Vonnegut
Honorable Mentions:
I read all kinds of strange, interesting books; feel free to send me suggestions for what to read next!