A selection of the most insightful books I've read, covering a wide variety of topics.
My intention with this list is twofold:
- To provide a list of recommendations for extremely high-quality books containing valuable information that I think are very likely to benefit anyone who reads them.
- To provide particularly insightful or interesting passages from each book that may spark your interest, so that you can efficiently decide and prioritize which books would be most valuable for you to read.
- Breath — James Nestor
- Why We Sleep — Matthew Walker
- Outlive — Peter Attia
- Attached — Amir Levine and Rachel S.F. Heller
- Ikigai — Hector Garcia and and Francesc Miralles
Top-tier books containing highly valuable and important information that I think would would benefit everyone.
- The Creative Act — Rick Rubin
- The Power of Now — Eckhart Tolle
- Stillness Speaks — Eckhart Tolle
- Think Like A Monk — Jay Shetty
- Discipline Equals Freedom — Jocko Willink
- Principles — Ray Dalio
- Dopamine Nation — Anna Lembke
- How to Change Your Mind — Michael Pollan
- The Last Lecture — Randy Pausch
- Beyond Order — Jordan B. Peterson
- The Road to Character — David Brooks
- Daring Greatly — Brene Brown
Top-tier books, but not on a universal topic. Absolutely recommended if you are interested in the subject.
- A Meditator's Guide to Buddhism — Cortland Dahl
- The Book of Five Rings — Miyamoto Musashi
- Gita 3 — S.B. Keshava Swami
Not quite absolutely top-tier books, but still books that I felt were definitely worth reading.
- How to Know a Person — David Brooks
- How to Think More Effectively — The School of Life
- The Art of Loving — Erich Fromm
- The Gifts of Imperfection — Brene Brown
- The Way of the Warrior — Erwin Raphael McManus
- The World's Religions — Huston Smith
- A Whole New Mind — Daniel H. Pink
(These books have very high quality insights and ideas, but end up in this category because either: I felt the author spent too much time sidetracked from the core value of the book, or I felt the book was very interesting but not hugely impactful to how I actually live my life or see the world.)