Below is a list of books that I’ve read that have changed my outlook on life. Before reading each one of these books, I thought something else or didn’t think of the topic at all.
After reading each of these books, I took away at least 1 new idea that changed how I look at life. Or it added a new dimension to my life I didn’t know was missing before.
I broke the list down into non-fiction, fiction, philosophy, and money and investing. Arguably the philosophy section is the most important, with fiction a close second. For practical advice on how to live and succeed in business and life, I recommend starting with the non-fiction section.
These are all 10 out of 10 books. I have read over 250 books since I started keeping track in a spreadsheet in 2009. These are the 33% of the books I recommend without hesitation.
Non-fiction
How to succeed in life and business
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck – Mark Manson
- The 4 Hour Work Week – Tim Ferriss
- Essentialism – Greg McKeown
- Wild Problems – Russ Roberts
- War of Art – Stephen Pressfield
- How to Get Rich: One of the World’s Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets – Felix Dennis
- The Almanac of Naval Ravikant
- Anything you Want – Derek Sivers
- The Gift of Fear – Gavin de Becker
- Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker
- Atomic Habits – James Clear
What to do after you succeed
- From Strength To Strength – Arthur C. Brooks
- The Second Mountain – David Brooks
- The Comfort Crisis – Michael Easter
Other
- Tribe – Sebastian Junger
- Skyfaring – Mark Vanhoenacker
- Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
Death and dying
- On Grief and Grieving – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Relationships and Love
- Mating in Captivity – Esther Perel
- Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work – John Gottmann
- Selfish Path to Love
History and Economics
- Fiasco -Thomas Ricks
- 1776 – David McCollough
- The Prize – Daniel Yergin
- The Splendid and the Vile – Erik Larson
- Bomber Mafia – Malcolm Gladwell
Where Humanity Came from and Where We are Going (Should be Read Together)
- Sapiens – Yuval Noah Harari
- The Beginning of Infinity – David Deutsch
- The Fabric of Reality – David Deutsch
Fiction
Science Fiction SciFi
- Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
- Spin Robert – Charles Wilson
- Red Rising
- Children of Time
- Quarantine
- The Diamond Age
- Cloud Cuckoo Land
- Dune
- This is How You Lose the Time War
- Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
- Revelation Space (Inhibitor Trilogy) – Alastair Reynolds
- The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
- House of Suns – Alastair Reynolds
- Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse Book 1) – James S.A. Corey
- Seveneves – Neal Stephenson
- Hyperion – Dan Simmons
Fiction and Literature
- The Road – Cormac McCarthy
- I Served the King of England – Bohumil Hrabal
- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
- The Stand – Stephen King
- East of Eden – John Steinbeck
- The Drifters – James Michener
- All Quiet on the Western Front
Fantasy
- A Song of Ice and Fire Series (Starting with A Game of Thrones) – George R.R. Martin
- The Last Wish (Witcher series) – Andrzej Sapkowski
- The Lies of Locke Lamora
- Harry Potter Series – J.K. Rowling
Philosophy
How to Live and Act
- Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl
- The Courage to be Disliked – Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi
- How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
- How to Live – Derek Sivers
- Digital Minimalism – Cal Newport
- The Obstacle is the Way – Ryan Holiday
- Stillness is the Key – Ryan Holiday
- Greenlights – Matthew McConaughey
- Tao of Seneca
- Meditations – Marcus Auerilus
- A Guide to the Good Life – William Irvine
- The Life You Can Save – Peter Singer
Shortness of Life
- Hell Yeah or No – Derek Sivers
- 4000 Weeks – Oliver Burkeman
- When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi
- Vagabonding – Rolf Potts
Religion and Awe
- For Small Creatures Such as We – Sagan
- Letter to a Young Muslim Omar – Saif Ghobash
- The End of Faith – Sam Harris
- Letter to a Christian Nation – Sam Harris
- Waking Up – Sam Harris
- God is Not Great – Christopher Hitchens
- 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head – Dan Harris
Money and investing
Absolute Beginners and Paying off Debt
- Total Money Makeover – Dave Ramsey
- I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi
- The Simple Path to Wealth – J.L. Collins
- The Millionaire Next Door
Investing Philosophy
- A Random Walk Down Wall Street – Burton Malkiel
- The Little Book of Common Sense Investing – John C. Bogle
- Bogleheads Guide to Investing
Advanced and post-financial independence
- Die with Zero – Bill Perkins
- The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel
- Strangers in Paradise – James Grubman