According to my Goodreads account, I’ve read 264 books over the past three years. Since my favorite genre is nonfiction, finding ideas I haven’t read before has been difficult. This means I never finish most of the books I start, but I’m fine with that. Morgan Housel calls this strategy of starting any book but giving it up as soon as it becomes uninteresting “wide funnel, tight filter” (you can read more about it here).
The books I read belong to several categories, including habit formation, personal finance, relationships, philosophy, and productivity. You’ll notice there are over 130 book summaries on the site and since that might feel overwhelming to most people, here are my favorite books for someone who doesn’t know where to start. Notice that even though I’m familiar with the core ideas from these books, I tend to reread them whenever I can.
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Deep Work is a guide that helps you focus on a demanding task for long periods. As simple as that idea sounds, it can change your life because it enables you to master a skill and produce better results in less time. Although most books focus on removing distractions, Newport offers a framework for focusing on a single topic for as long as possible, something he calls Deep Work. In the modern era, being able to dedicate yourself fully to a single task might be the closest thing we have to a superpower.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
In Atomic Habits, James Clear provides a framework to make small changes that have a tremendous impact. The idea is to improve daily, using the science behind habit formation. The strategies detailed in this book are practical and will help you start healthy habits and quit unhealthy ones. Clear argues that the problem isn’t you but your system, so he helps you develop the right system that can help you achieve anything you want.
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
Humans live, on average, four thousand weeks, so what are you going to do with that time? Although this seems like a time management book, its approach is more philosophical than anything else. In Four Thousand Weeks, Burkeman helps you accept the fact that you won’t be able to do everything you’ve always wanted. We must embrace our finitude and determine what we want to do with our limited time.
Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
I don’t think I can read another business book. Luckily, Anything You Want is the only business book I need and the best part is that I can read it in less than an hour. Instead of telling you to focus on OKRs, KPIs, or other complex terms, Sivers has a simpler (and more effective) way of building a business. Are you happy? Are your customers happy? Is that enough? Through simple questions like that, Sivers created a business from nothing, and a decade later, he sold it for $22 million. The book is a series of 40 lessons you can read in one sitting and it’ll give you a unique path to success that others tend to overcomplicate.
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
This book is about embracing your influences and using them to create something unique. Nothing out there is unique and artists worth their salt know this and use it to their advantage. Learn from others and remix those ideas to make them unique. This is how you can turn a hobby into your work and enrich other people’s lives. Although I’m mentioning the first book in the series, I highly recommend Show Your Work and Keep Going as well. You can read all these books in one sitting and if you’re anything like me, come back to them for inspiration often.
Models by Mark Manson
You’d be surprised how much you can learn about human psychology from dating books. Most dating books are terrible because they encourage men to be manipulative, but Models is the exception. Among other things, this book teaches you how to develop a sense of humor, overcome anxiety, keep a conversation, deal with rejection, and be honest. Like I said before, most of those qualities you want to have, even if you’re not interested in dating.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
In this groundbreaking book, Mark Manson tells you the secret to being happy and it involves finding the problems you enjoy solving. Through the use of paradoxes and lessons from ancient wisdom, the author creates a guide that helps us navigate the modern world. There are some life-changing lessons in this book and while this is a philosophical book, it’s also practical and funny too.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
I love this book and I constantly find myself revisiting it at least once every year. The book compiles ideas from different interviews with entrepreneur Naval Ravikant and they revolve around two concepts: how to be wealthy and how to be happy. I love this book because of its simplicity, but there’s timeless wisdom here that will challenge you too.
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
If you only have time or money to read one book about personal finance, make it this one. In The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel explores how money isn’t about data, math, or formulas. When humans are part of the equation, money becomes more complicated. The book features 19 stories that explore different ways in which people think and behave around money.
Ikigai by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that refers to something that gives a person a reason for living. In the book, the authors explore how of ikigai affects the longest-living people in the world and how we need a sense of purpose to live a happy and fulfilled life. Once you find your purpose, you won’t want to retire or do something else. You’ll be happy doing that activity until the day you die.