“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
Stephen King
Books are transformational. They have the power to pull us up from the darkness and into the light. I am a firm believer that a good life requires good reading–whatever that may mean to you. Learning doesn’t end when we graduate, but neither does adventure. In the words painstakingly crafted by others, we can find ourselves and find joys unimaginable.
These are the books that have changed my life. I highly recommend each of them. I have organized them into the following categories:
- Philosophy
- Finances
- Personal Development
- Writing
- Fiction
- Biographies and Other Non-Fiction
Philosophy
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.”
There are innumerable translations of Marcus Aurelius’ influential writings, and ultimately it will come down to your own preference and research. However, if I were to recommend one in particular, it would be the translation by Gregory Hays. I have found it to read a lot more personally and frankly than other translations. Just like Aurelius himself, penning these notes down throughout his busy life as a Roman Emperor, this translation effects a no nonsense, humble oration of what it means to live well. I highly recommend it.
Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
“At any moment, man must decide, for better or for worse, what will be the monument of his existence.”
A masterpiece on finding meaning and purpose in life, even when life is hard and cruel. Frankl, a doctor of neurology and psychiatry and a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, wrote this book just after the horrors ended, and it is a remarkable tribute to hope.
Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
“There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with.”
I always marvel at how the lessons I hear from great minds today have been echoed through the ages. Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, has throughout his writings some of the timeless wisdom on living in this tempestuous world, and he proves that the secrets to living well and being successful are by no means new. This book is a collection of his writings, personal letters sent many ages ago that, to this day, a worth reading and contemplating.
“To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not, that is knowledge.”
A collection of sayings and ideas attributed to ancient Chinese philospher Confucius, is an outstanding example of Eastern philosophy that, despite its antiquity, rings many truths even today.
“He who overcomes others has force, he who overcomes himself is strong.”
Discourses, Fragments, and Handbook by Epictetus
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang — Lin Yutang was a renowned Hokkien Chinese writer, translator, linguist, philosopher, and inventor. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generation. His masterwork expresses his highly subjective, personal feelings after years of studying ancient Chinese texts, and creates a wonderfully slow-going yet radiantly clear guide to the simple life — to remind us to enjoy the life that’s all around us.
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer — “What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity? The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions.”
Finances
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki — Not only offering sound financial advice, but also life advice in general on how to live boldly and achieve your dreams. Sounds fluffy? It ain’t. Kiwosaki lays out his success paradigms, FRANKLY.
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko — This book, to the point, inoculates one to the common misperceptions about wealth and the wealthy. What does it really mean? Believe it or not, the truly wealthy people are rarely the ones you would expect, for the rules of making and keeping wealth are far from mainstream.
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason — This short, concise, and easy to read book is written in narrative form and covers so many of the basic yet essential principles of wealth management, all in the form of parables set 8000 years ago in ancient Babylon. After a century of bring in print, it’s still going strong—and for good reason.
Personal Development
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma — An excellent book that weaves well-needed life advice into a narrative between a bigshot-lawyer-turned-enlightened-monk and his ailing friend.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie — A modern classic by Dale Carnegie. Get it.
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie — It’s just as the title says. Apply what you read in this book, and you’ll absolutely worry less and live more. At least I did.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill — One of the pioneers of personal development. You just may end up doing what the title says.
As Man Thinketh by James Allen — Written at the start of the 1900s as a self-help book, Allen’s book is focused around the power of thought and its role in the fruition of a wonderful life. This book has shaped the personal development movement with its timeless message: as you think, so you become.
Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens — An excellent book written by a Navy SEAL to a fellow veteran struggling with PTSD. The lessons therein may be from a way of life that’s alien to most of us, but they are applicable to all walks of life. I immensely enjoyed it, not only the lessons, but following the story embedded in those letters.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck — I’ve often struggled with self-sabotage, and this book gets down to the bottom of the mindset aspect of success and the roadblocks to it. Not only did it help me better understand myself, but it also showed me the wonderful concept of the “Growth Mindset” which is so essential to a fulfilling life.
Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins — An outstanding book that will light a fire under your ass.
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb — Taleb stands uncertainty on its head, making it desirable, and proposing that things be built in an antifragile manner. Extremely ambitious and multidisciplinary, Antifragile provides a blueprint for how to behave—and thrive—in a world we don’t understand and which is too uncertain for us to even try to understand. He who is not antifragile will perish.
Writing
The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass — I can’t even begin to express how much I love Maass’ approach to the writing craft. Heading the literary agency that represents my favorite author, Brent Weeks, Maass’ insights and practical tools helped stoke the flames of my writing life. I can’t recommend him enough.
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass — As above. What more can I say?
The Emotional Craft of Writing by Donald Maass — Donald Maass is a genius at cutting to the heart of what makes a story touch us. Isn’t that your goal as a writer? It certainly is mine. And his tools and insights are practical and revolutionary to the daily process of writing.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King — This book contains so many useful tips not only for editing, but the writing craft itself. The exercises and examples are outstanding as well.
On Writing by Stephen King — This is an outstanding book for the aspiring writer. It is a great writer’s memoirs on the craft, sans bullshit.
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren — An excellent guide to getting the most out of what you read.
The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White — A de-facto bible for writing style. I always go back to this for refreshers.
Fiction
“There are times when dreams sustain us more than facts. To read a book and surrender to a story is to keep our very humanity alive.” ~Helen Fagin
When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson
The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
The Odyssey by Homer
The Iliad by Homer
The Aeneid by Virgil
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1984 by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
The Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer
The Powder Mage Trilogy by Brian McClellan
The Gods of Blood and Powder Trilogy by Brian McClellan
A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R. R. Martin
The Shannara Series by Terry Brooks
The Works of William Shakespeare
Biographies and Other Non-Fiction
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Roméo Dallaire — The unforgettable firsthand account of the genocide by the leader of the mission. Digging deep into shattering memories, Dallaire tells a powerful story of betrayal, naïveté, racism and international politics. His message is simple and undeniable: Never again.
Waiting for First Light: My Ongoing Battle with PTSD by Roméo Dallaire — A mesmerizing first-hand account of what it means to be a psychological casualty of war. Dallaire’s struggle with PTSD is not unique. It is the story of countless men and women who served, and as Dallaire writes, I too think that those who would judge someone with this illness ought to first understand it.
The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — Written by the Russian writer and dissident, Solzhenitsyn, the Gulag Archipelago is a book whose revelations into the cruelty and inhumanity of the Soviet Union’s brutal and mechanical system of arrests, tortures, imprisonments, and executions shook the very ideological regime it protested against. This should be required reading. Willful ignorance will not help us prevent such atrocities from happening again—only awareness, vigilance, and courage can. Yet the book is not only about darkness, but the struggle against it by the remarkable power of the human spirit. As Natalia Solzhenitsyn remarked, “The book is about the ascent of the human spirit, about its struggle with evil. That is the reason why, when readers reach the end of the work, they feel not only pain and anger, but an upsurge of strength and light.”
In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté MD — A haunting, compassionate and deeply personal examination of the nature of addiction.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah — A brutal and eye-opening memoir of war through the eyes of a child soldier. While this is the story of one boy, it reflects the tragic experiences of countless child soldiers who have fought, or are currently fighting, around the world.