Bookshelf

In 2014, I felt lost. I had many questions.

My biggest question was, “What’s the purpose of life?”

This led me to reading books.

Here, you can find some of the life-changing books I’ve read since then. Some of these have helped shape the way I think and the way I view life.

I don’t agree with everything written in these books. But I believe they’re all good starting points.

(Started this page: January 29, 2021)

(Last Update: March 5, 2024)

2014 – 2020

Spirituality:

  1. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
  2. The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
  3. The Way of Zen by Allan Watts
  4. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
  5. The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti by Jiddu Krishnamurti
  6. Freedom From the Known by Jiddu Krishnamurti
  7. Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti by Jiddu Krishnamurti
  8. Waking Up by Sam Harris
  9. What Is Zen by Norman Fischer, Susan Moon
  10. The Bible (New Testament)
  11. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
  12. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  13. The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
  14. Live Free by Steven Bancarz

Business & Finance:

  1. Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
  2. Unleashing the Ideavirus by Seth Godin
  3. Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
  4. 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries
  5. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
  6. Start with Why by Simon Sinek
  7. The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
  8. Outrank by Damon Burton
  9. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
  10. E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
  11. I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
  12. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
  13. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
  14. Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger by Peter D. Kaufman
  15. Purple Cow by Seth Godin
  16. Thick Face, Black Heart: The Warrior Philosophy for Conquering the Challenges of Business and Life by Chin-Ning Chu
  17. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
  18. The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin
  19. How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis
  20. Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor by Tren Griffin
  21. The Way of the Shark: Lessons on Golf, Business, and Life by Greg Norman, Donald T. Phillips

Creativity, Learning, & Productivity:

  1. The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle
  2. Deep Work by Cal Newport
  3. So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
  4. Focus by Leo Babauta
  5. The Art of Work by Jeff Goins
  6. Reignite by Paul Jun
  7. Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
  8. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
  9. Brainwashed by Seth Godin
  10. Mastery by Robert Greene
  11. Connect the Dots by Paul Jun
  12. Your Music and People by Derek Sivers
  13. Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
  14. On Writing Well by William Zinsser
  15. 7 Must-Know Strategies to Learn Anything Faster by Scott Young
  16. Building An Empire With Words by Paul Jun

Philosophy & Psychology:

  1. The Analects of Confucius by Confucius
  2. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  3. The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
  4. Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
  5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  6. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
  7. Mindwise by Nicholas Epley
  8. Antifragile by Nassim Taleb
  9. Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton
  10. Mindset by Carol Dweck
  11. The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani Smith
  12. Atomic Habits by James Clear
  13. Habits by Mark Manson
  14. Think Straight by Darius Foroux
  15. Moral Letters to Lucilius by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  16. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
  17. The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz
  18. The Art of Selfishness by David Seabury
  19. A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine
  20. The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton
  21. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  22. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
  23. The Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
  24. The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson
  25. Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
  26. Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
  27. The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
  28. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
  29. How Successful People Think by John Maxwell
  30. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman

Parenting:

  1. The Conscious Parent by Shefali Tsabary

Science, Tech, & History:

  1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
  2. Thinking Physics by Lewis Carroll Epstein
  3. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

How to Live (Self-Improvement):

  1. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
  2. Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness by Benjamin Hardy
  3. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
  4. The Little Book of Contentment by Leo Babauta
  5. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown
  6. Simplify by Joshua Becker
  7. Choose Yourself by James Altucher
  8. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
  9. Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
  10. The Flinch by Julien Smith
  11. Everything is Fucked by Mark Manson
  12. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
  13. Hell Yeah or No by Derek Sivers
  14. Striking Thoughts: Wisdom for Daily Living by Bruce Lee
  15. Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant
  16. Reinvent Yourself by James Altucher
  17. Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris
  18. On Becoming an Individual (or HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD) by David Cain
  19. The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
  20. Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King
  21. Forgive and Forget by Lewis Smedes
  22. What Matters Now by Seth Godin

Fiction (A Few Favorites):

  1. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
  2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  3. Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
  4. Siddharta by Hermann Hesse
  5. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
  6. The Chamber by John Grisham
  7. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
  8. Percy Jackson & the Olympians (series) by Rick Riordan
  9. A Return to Christmas by Chris Heimerdinger

2021

  1. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams
  2. The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga
  3. Navigating a Newborn by Courtney Zentz (TinyTransitions.com)
  4. Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
  5. The Art of Persuasion by Bob Burg
  6. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
  7. Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book – Revised and Expanded Edition by Daniel Ingram
  8. The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
  9. Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy
  10. Happy 95% of the Time by Walter Doyle Staples, PhD
  11. No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism by Chris Niebauer Ph.D
  12. Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg Ph.D
  13. Live Your Truth by Kamal Ravikant
  14. How to Live by Derek Sivers
  15. Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility by James P. Carse
  16. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin (sponsored by Damon Burton)

2022

  1. The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni
  2. The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
  3. Business Made Simple by Donald Miller (sponsored by Damon Burton)
  4. The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers’ Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy
  5. Mindfulness: The Most Effective Techniques by Ian Tuhovsky
  6. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
  7. Divergent by Veronica Roth
  8. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
  9. Enough by John Bogle
  10. Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen PhD
  11. Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg

2023

  1. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
  2. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
  3. Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder
  4. Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain by Shankar Vedantam & Bill Mesler
  5. The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale
  6. $100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No by Alex Hormozi
  7. Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero by John Medina
  8. Résumés Are Dead and What to Do About It by Richie Norton
  9. 10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan
  10. Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman
  11. No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer