Books I Strongly Suggest You Read

Books are great. Many contain great wisdom and simple lessons that you can take with you and use to make your life and the lives of others better. Even the ones that don’t can have a high entertainment value. Even still, books are worth reading just to improve your own ability to communicate and think. By reading the words and ideas of others, we can all gain a better understanding of our own thoughts and how they compare to the opinions and points of view that are held by people we may not even know.

I read quite a bit myself, and the time investment is totally worth it. I really encourage you to read anything at all, but if you are looking for a more useful direction, I have provided a list of excellent books to read below.

How to Fly A Horse by Kevin Ashton

This book is written for those people who consider themselves to be creative. I think it’s wise words would be even more beneficial to those people who DO NOT consider themselves creative. The fundamental message: we are all creative and creation is a grand result of ordinary, human actions.

Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Viktor was a Holocaust survivor. In the first half of his phenomenal book he describes his experiences in camp, and the honest telling of the story really hits you. Through his experiences, he formed theories on life and humanity’s functions within an uncertain world. The second half of his book explains his ideas, which are reminiscent of Stoic philosophies. This book really challenges your thinking, saddens you with honesty, and enlightens you with hope and resolve.

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller

You can probably categorize this as a ‘self help’ style book loosely wrapped in a business friendly cover. It’s not the most provocative read ever, but the idea that we should spend our time on pursuing only one thing that truly matters towards our goals makes sense and serves as an excellent guide when making tough choices in life.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

This book is a must read if you’re interested in improving yourself. Charles approaches habit changes from a practical angle and clearly delineates the steps you need to take to swap negative habits out for beneficial ones.

Curious by Ian Leslie

Ian Leslie proposes the idea that curiosity is a fundamental cognitive function that sets humankind apart from other organisms. He excitedly discusses how important it is to foster curiosity in young children and outlines the implications of continuing to develop the skills of curiosity as humans grow. Touching on the importance of learning and traditional education, Ian Leslie paints a unique picture about curiosity that encourages us all to keep asking questions.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (all 5 of the books)

This is a hilarious Science fiction series. It’s just so excellently British. I love these books.

1984 by George Orwell

A complete 180 in terms of how I feel about this book from the Hitchhiker’s Series. This book was very depressing and thoroughly frightening for me to read. However, it’s a book that presents a caution to us all and really gets you thinking about the nature of surveillance, order, control, protection, and government.

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

A well written and practical approach to actually making our ideas turn into realities. Scott Belsky is the co-founder and CEO of Behance, a fantastic platform for Creative people to share their work online, and so his action-oriented approach clearly holds water in the creative industry. Creative or not, this book is worth reading.

The Martian by Andy Weir

This book is wildly popular right now, and for good reason. It’s good. It is a Geek’s dream and anyone who loves fantasizing about space and NASA and Mars and the moon should read this book. Caution: there is math.

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

This is a very well written introduction to Stoic Philosophy. Ryan clearly presents the fundamental idea behind Stoicism: that whatever happens is beyond our control, how we react and chose to use what happens is what we can control.

The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

This book was a bit of a departure from what I typically read, but I was glad I read it. Amanda Palmer is a unique individual who based her entire career on asking other people for help. She writes about her experiences and what she has learned from them in a very realistic tone and is earnest in her message. We can all learn to ask more often because people are so willing to help.

Incognito by David Eagleman

An excellent introduction of Neuroscience and the leading information surrounding our own brains and how they function. David presents some very convincing arguments (and supportive science) that challenges the classic ideas behind our consciousness and free will. It really made me think.

The Antidote: Happiness for People who can’t stand positive thinking by Oliver Burkeman

I love this book because I’ve never been comfortable with positivity as a solution for common mental woes. Oliver suggests that happiness is not what we should be pursuing and that in fact negativity and negative emotions have value in our lives as well. This was a refreshing counter to a culture that seems to shrink away from sadness a little too quickly.

Mindset by Carol Dweck

This book is meant for anyone who doesn’t think they were born ‘math people’ or as ‘creative types’. Carol’s point throughout the book is that we have a choice that we can make to assume a fixed mindset or a mindset that embraces the fact that with practice, mental change is possible. You can train cognitive skills and become more creative and better at math. You can change your mindset and begin to change your abilities.