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:

1. Favorites – amazing books worth reading multiple times.
2. Recommended – good books worth reading at least once.
3. 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:

• “Elon Musk” by Ashlee Vance
• “Total Recall” by Arnold Schwarzenegger

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:

• “Principles” by Ray Dalio
• “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel

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:

• “Impro” by Keith Johnstone

Recommended:

• “It’s All Relative” by A.J. Jacobs
• “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon

 

Green and Environmental

Favorites:

• “Whole Earth Discipline” by Stewart Brand

 

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:

• “The Righteous Mind” by Jonathan Haidt

Recommended:

• “Moral Politics” by George Lakoff
• “The War on Normal People” by Andrew Yang

 

Psychology and Neuroscience

Favorites:

• “Influence” by Robert Cialdini

Recommended:

• “Feeling Good” by David Burns
• “Your Brain On Porn” by Gary Wilson

Honorable Mentions:

• “Radical Honesty” by Brad Blanton

 

Science and STEM

Favorites:

• “The Demon-Haunted World” by Carl Sagan
• “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins

Recommended:

• “Dataclysm” by Christian Rudder
• “Superforecasting” by Philip Tetlock

 

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:

• “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene
• “The Ethical Slut” by Dossie Easton

 

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:

• “Anthem” by Ayn Rand
• “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk

---

I read all kinds of strange, interesting books; feel free to send me suggestions for what to read next!