Top 10 Favorite Books of 2020
Summary:
2020 was a crazy year. Fortunately, I was able to find solace in books. I finished a total of 55 books, surpassing my previous reading highs of:
This was also the first year I completed the 52 book challenge (the challenge is flawed and the 25 x 250 challenge is better for readers but that’s a story for another time).
I read a lot of great books this year in a wide range of genres. But a handful of them were truly amazing and had a big impact on my life. Here they are (in no particular order):
10) “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel
This is one of the best books on investing that I’ve read. It’s filled with 19 short stories that will teach you the psychology behind why people spend, save, and invest differently.
Morgan is a fantastic writer who knows how to entertain readers while conveying deeper lessons about personal finance. A few lessons you’ll learn: the difference between rich and wealthy, why freedom is the highest form of wealth, why the lowest-income households buy the most lotto tickets, why half of your investments can go wrong and you can still make a fortune, and so much more.
If you’re looking for a book that will help you understand why people make certain financial decisions and how you can increase your chances of becoming wealthy, read this book.
Check out my podcast with Morgan Housel here.
9) “Ultralearning” by Scott Young
In today’s knowledge economy, having a college degree is becoming less and less valuable while being skilled is becoming more and more valuable. And if you want to accomplish more and stand apart from everyone else, you need to become an ultralearner.
Author Scott Young shares new training methods and research about the most effective learning methods to teach readers how to master any skill faster. Young documents the methods he and others have used to acquire new skills such as earning a degree from MIT in 12 months or learning 4 languages in a year.
If you want an actionable book that will teach you how to learn faster and more effectively, pick up a copy today.
8) "The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg & John David Mann
You’ve heard of the term Go-Getter but have you heard of the Go-Giver?
The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man who yearns for success. He turns to a legendary consultant who mentors him and teaches him the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success:
1) The Law of Value
Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
2) The Law of Compensation
Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
3) The Law of Influence
Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
4) The Law of Authenticity
The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
5) The Law of Receptivity
The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.
This business fable is a fantastic read (I finished it in just a few hours). Many of the business lessons can also be applied to your personal life. If you liked The Alchemist or The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, you’ll like this book.
Check out my podcast with Bob Burg here.
7) “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon
This book is an inspiring guide to creativity that helps readers discover and free their artistic side. Stealing can have a negative connotation, but Kleon teaches readers that there is an ethical way to steal (study the work of the greats, remix their work, and build what they didn’t).
There’s a lot of pressure to be original, but this book will show you that originality is overrated. The greatest of the greats all “stole” work. It’s okay to do the same, as long as it’s done properly.
In total, Kleon provides 10 short lessons that each present a different principle for developing creativity. The book is both artistic and pragmatic, which makes it an enjoyable read.
Here are a few key lessons from the book:
Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.
Write the book you want to read.
The secret: do good work and share it with people.
Be boring. (It’s the only way to get work done.)
If you’re facing a creative block or are afraid to start your creative journey, grab a copy of this book.
6) “How To Read A Book” by Mortimer Alder & Charles Van Doren
We take reading for granted. Most people believe that reading is something you learn in elementary school and that’s all there is to it. Authors Mortimer Alder and Charles Van Doren disagree. They showed the world that reading was a skill and that people could learn different techniques and strategies to become better readers.
For instance, you’ll learn how to x-ray a book, properly critique a book, and the four levels of reading: elementary, inspectional, analytical, and syntopical, along with many more reading tips.
I hope to one day write a sequel to this book and share all the reading tips I’ve learned throughout my reading journey and interaction with thousands of readers.
5) "Tiny Habits” by BJ Fogg
BJ Fogg, has studied behavior for over 20 years and founded the behavior design lab at Stanford. Reading his book is like getting a PhD in habits–it’s the most detailed and practical habit book I’ve read.
If you want to learn a simple, scientifically sound, and reliable way to build new habits, sustain them, and start to make other positive changes in your life, you need to read Fogg’s book. Since he’s both a professor and researcher, he’s able to convey the science behind behavior without making it feel like you’re reading a textbook.
Even if you read a lot of other habit books, this book is filled with original lessons. For instance, the Fogg Behavior Model will teach you how motivation, ability, and prompts play a role in every single behavior you do. You’ll also learn about the importance of celebrating your success after accomplishing a habit, why emotions, not repetition wire habits, the role of identity in building habits, and much more.
If you enjoyed reading The Power of Habit or Atomic Habits, you’ll love this book.
Check out my podcast with BJ Fogg here.
4) “Nobody Wants To Read Your Sh*t” by Steven Pressfield
If you’re a writer, this book is a must-read.
Pressfield has experience in every area of writing (advertising, fiction, self-help, screenplays, and more) and in this book he shares countless of valuable lessons he’s learned from over four decades as a writer.
Here are a few tips I picked up from the book:
Streamline your message: Trim it down to the simplest, clearest, and easiest-to-understand form.
Understand that no one wants to read your writing unless it’s valuable and the readers feels they’re gaining something from the transaction.
Start at the end of the story, then write the climax, and then the beginning.
What idea should you write about? The one that scares you the most.
Think in multiple drafts: You can’t fix everything in one draft and thinking in multiple drafts helps take the pressure off.
If you enjoyed The War of Art or are looking for a writing book that’s both entertaining and educating, grab a copy today.
3) “Limitless” by Jim Kwik
Our brain is one of the most complex tools in the world and no one really tells us how to use it, until now.
Jim Kwik is a brain coach and has written the owner’s manual for mental expansion and brain fitness. In his book, Kwik reveals science-based practices and field-tested tips to improve your memory, focus, and reading ability.
A few lessons from the book:
Healthy brain foods: Avocados, blueberries, broccoli, eggs, green leafy vegetables, salmon, and walnuts.
Sleep is crucial for brain health: It helps remove neurotoxins and distribute components that enhance cellular repairs.
IQ may be fixed but intelligence levels aren’t. If you’re constantly learning, you can get smarter.
If you fight for your limitations, you get to keep them.
In the book, Kwik also dispels common brain myths, teaches readers how to study better, and provides strategies to become a speed reader (stay tuned for an article about it). If you want to be a better learner then this is a great book to read.
2) “Indistractable” by Nir Eyal
This is a book EVERYONE should read. Why? Because we all experience distraction and can benefit from learning how to deal with them.
Nir explains the psychology behind what causes distractions and shares a ton of practical steps on how to manage it. He also teaches readers how to hack back meetings, smartphones, group chats, and emails.
If you enjoy want to learn how to better use technology and stop spending so much time on your devices, you’ll love this book.
Check out my podcast with Nir Eyal here.
1) “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant” by Eric Jorgenson
This book is a compilation of all of the best advice from entrepreneur, investor, & philosopher Naval Ravikant.
Naval shares tips on how to get rich without getting lucky, why you need to own equity to become wealthy, how to happier, helpful life advice, and much more. If you want to become healthier, wealthier, or wiser, read this book.
If you follow Naval on Twitter or enjoyed reading Poor Charlie’s Almanack or Poor Richard’s Almanack, you’ll love this book.
Check out my podcast with Eric Jorgenson here.
My 10 favorite books of 2020.
The 50+ Books Mark Manson Recommends Reading
Mark Manson is a self-help author, personal development consultant, entrepreneur, and blogger.
He is best known for writing “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” and “Everything is F*cked.”
Here’s a list of books Manson recommends reading!
Mark Manson is a self-help author, personal development consultant, entrepreneur, and blogger. He blogs under his own name at MarkManson.net, and has authored three books:
Not only is Manson a successful author (“The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” alone sold 3+ million copies), he is also an avid reader–he read 66 books in 2017 and 63 books in 2018.
I was curious to find out which books he loved the most, so I did some research and compiled together this list of all his book recommendations:
Author Mark Manson and myself.
TO UNDERSTAND LIFE:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Republic by Plato
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn
The Denial of Death and Escape from Evil by Ernest Becker
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, and Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Why Information Grows by Cesar Hidalgo
TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD:
The Origins of Political Order and Political Order and Decay by Francis Fukuyama
Lessons of History by William Durant and Ariel Durant
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches by Marvin Harris
Zealot by Reza Aslan
Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber
On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche
Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud
Marriage: A History by Stephanie Coontz
The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt
The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker
The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith
Race Against the Machines by Eric Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee
Democracy for Realists by Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels
Average is Over by Tyler Cowen
TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN NATURE:
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
The Red Queen by Matt Ridley
The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker
The Evolving Self by Robert Kegan
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
Influence by Robert Cialdini
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
This is Water by David Foster Wallace
FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2017:
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant
Why Information Grows by Cesar Hidalgo
Godel, Escher and Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter
The Sixth ExtinctionL An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt
FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2018:
I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Nietzsche by Sue Prideaux
The Evolving Self by Robert Kegan
The Three-Body Problem Trilogy by Cixin Liu
Democracy for Realists by Christopher Aachens and Larry Bartels
The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2019 (so far):
Circe by Madeline Miller
This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom by Martin Hagglund
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The Second Mountain: A Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
How many books on Manson’s list have you read?
If there’s a book on here that you think is a must-read, let me know in the comments below!
You may also want to check out book recommendations from these great authors:
If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our site or signing up for our monthly newsletter. Thank you!
This article was based on several articles. The sources can be found here, here and here.
*The links throughout this site are Amazon affiliate links. Amazon pays me a small fee from each purchase which helps keep this website up and running ad-free. It does not affect the price of your purchase in any way.*
The 40+ Books Leo Tolstoy Recommends Reading
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, better known as Leo Tolstoy, is one of the greatest authors of all time.
He is best known for writing “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina.”
Here’s a list of books Tolstoy recommends reading!
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, better known as Leo Tolstoy, was a renowned Russian writer and perhaps one of the greatest authors of all time. Best known for his two novels “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina”, Tolstoy also wrote several short stories and a semi-autobiographical trilogy.
Author Virginia Woolf once called Tolstoy “the greatest of all novelists.” Even today, over a hundred years after his death, Tolstoy’s thousand long page books are still in print and continue to sell well.
Portrait of Leo Tolstoy (source).
A few of Tolstoy’s bestselling books.
“Rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.”
Being one of the greats is no easy feat so I began to research which books Tolstoy loved most during his life in an attempt to gain insight into what influenced this genius writer.
According to an article by Russia Beyond, Tolstoy decided to compile a list of his own 100 must-read books after reading and being dissatisfied with author John Lubbock’s list which was published in 1891.
However, Tolstoy found that creating a list of the 100 greatest books to be difficult, so instead, he sent a letter to his publisher Mikhail Lederle with 45 books that impressed him the most. Tolstoy’s list contains a wide range of books from religious texts to Chinese philosophy, and is divided into five ages of man with their actual degree of influence ("enormous," "v. great," or merely "great").
Tolstoy’s list of the 45 books he recommends reading:
Childhood to the age of 14 or so:
Pushkin’s poems: Napoleon - Great
The Little Black Hen by Pogorelsky - V. great
The story of Joseph from the Bible - Enormous
Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich. Folk Tales - Enormous
Age 14 to 20:
History of the Conquest of Mexico by William Prescott - Great
The Overcoat, The Two Ivans, Nevsky Prospect by By Nikolai Gogol - Great
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol - V. great
Die Räuber by Friedrich Schiller - V. great
Polinka Sachs by Aleksandr Druzhinin - V. great
Yevgeny Onegin by Alexander Pushkin - V. great
A Sportsman’s Sketches by Ivan Turgenev - V. great
The Hapless Anton by Dmitry Grigorovich - V. great
A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne - V. great
A Hero for our Time by Mikhail Lermontov - V. great
Nouvelle Héloise by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - V. great
Viy by Nikolai Gogol - Enormous
Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Enormous
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - Enormous
Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Enormous
Age 20 to 35:
Afanasy Fet’s poems - Great
Aleksey Koltsov’s poems - Great
Fyodor Tyutchev’s poems - Great
The Odyssey and The Iliad by Homer (read in Russian) - Great
Phaedo and Symposium by Plato (in Cousin’s translation) - Great
Victor Hugo. Notre Dame de Paris - V. great
Hermann and Dorothea by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - V. great
Age 35 to 50:
George Eliot. Novels - Great
Anthony Trollope, Novels - Great
Mrs. [Henry] Wood. Novels - Great
The byliny - V. great
Anabasis by Xenophon - V. great
The Odyssey and The Iliad by Homer (in Greek) - V. great
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - Enormous
Age 50 to 63:
Book of Genesis (in Hebrew) - V. great
Progress and Poverty by Henry George - V. great
Epictetus - Enormous
Pensées by Blaise Pascal - Enormous
All the Gospels (in Greek) Enormous
Lao-Tzu. Julien [S. Julien, French translator] - Enormous
On the Buddha. Well-known Frenchman [“Lalita Vistara”] - Enormous
Portrait of Tolstoy, 1887 (source).
How many books on Tolstoy’s list have you read?
I’ve read only a couple books on this list (the English versions), but it looks like I have a lot more reading to do. If there’s a book on here that you think is a must-read, let me know in the comments below!
You may also want to check out these book recommendations from:
If you want to check out my list of recommended books, you can find that here.
If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our site or signing up for our monthly newsletter. Thank you!
This article was based on several articles. The sources can be found here, here and here.
*The links throughout this site are Amazon affiliate links. Amazon pays me a small fee from each purchase which helps keep this website up and running ad-free. It does not affect the price of your purchase in any way.*
The 20+ Books George R. R. Martin Recommends Reading
George R. R. Martin is the creator of the bestselling series: “A Game of Thrones.”
His book series was adapted into an HBO show and has been watched by millions of viewers.
Here’s a list of books GRRM recommends reading!
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist and short story writer in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres, screenwriter, and television producer.
Martin is the bestselling author of several novels, including the acclaimed series “A Game of Thrones” which in 2013 alone sold 1 million copies. His book series was adapted into a TV series on HBO and the first episode aired in 2011. Millions of people tune in to watch the hit show and some episodes have even been viewed by over 18 million people.
Author George R.R. Martin.
A few of Martin’s bestselling books.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.
”
I was curious to learn which books Martin enjoyed throughout his life, so I did some research to find out which books the famous author recommends. Here is the list of the 20+ books George R.R. Martin recommends reading.
Martin's favorite books (regardless of genre) in order:
If you love Game of Thrones, Martin suggests Reading:
More Books Martin Recommends Reading:
Martin’s review:
If you haven’t yet grabbed a copy of Joe Hill’s The Fireman, you need to. Original and gripping, a page-turner.
“The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins
Martin’s review:
“It’s a strong story, with a great sense of time and place, and one that had me from start to finish.”
Martin’s review:
Outlander is one of the best shows on television, a wonderful blend of historical drama, science fiction, fantasy, and romance.
“Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania” by Erik Larson
Martin’s review:
Larson is a journalist who writes non-fiction books that read like novels, real page-turners. This one is no exception.
Martin’s review:
A Song of Ice and Fire draws as much on the traditions of historical fiction as it does on those of fantasy, and there are many great historical novelists, past and present, whose work helped inspire my own. Sir Walter Scott is hard going for many modern readers, I realize, but there’s still great stuff to be found in Ivanhoe and his other novels.
Martin’s review:
Armada, like Ready Player One, is a paean to the video games of a bygone era, and like Ready Player One, it is a tremendous amount of fun for anyone who remembers that time and played those games.
“Angles of Attack (Frontlines Book 3)” by Marko Kloos
Martin’s review:
Since I know there are a lot of fans of military [science fiction] out there, I’d say that Angles of Attack might actually have an outside chance at earning a genuine Hugo nod solely on its merits… In any case, Kloos is a writer to watch.
“The White Company” by Arthur Conan Doyle
Martin’s review:
Fantasies are not the only books I recommend to my readers, however. It has always been my belief that epic fantasy and historical fiction are sisters under the skin, as I have said in many an interview… there’s still great stuff to be found… in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The White Company (he [wrote] more than just Sherlock Holmes).
“The Beautiful Cigar Girl” by Daniel Stashower
Martin’s review:
I’ve also really enjoyed a nonfiction title from a couple of years ago called The Beautiful Cigar Girl by Daniel Stashower, which is simultaneously a bio of Edgar Allan Poe and a ‘true crime’ account of a sensational NYC murder case that inspired him to write The Mystery of Marie Rogêt. Call this one history or biography if you must, but it reads like a novel… and I especially loved the stuff about the New York City press, one of my obsessions.
“The Iron King” by Maurice Druon
Martin’s review:
Whether you want something else to occupy your time while waiting for The Winds of Winter, or you’re just looking for a good read… you won’t go wrong with Maurice Druon, France’s best historical novelist since Dumas Pere.
Martin’s review:
Stephen King was big for me in 2013. I really liked Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining... but I actually liked Joyland even more. Set in a dying amusement park in the south, Joyland features a ghost and a serial killer, but the real heart of the novel is a coming of age story, one that took me vividly back to my own youth, working the rides at Uncle Milty's in Bayonne.
“The Cuckoo's Calling” by Robert Galbraith
Martin’s review:
I also enjoyed the hell out of The Cuckoo's Calling, by "Robert Galbraith".
Martin’s review:
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn... which I came to late, but liked so much I went out and read all of her other books at once.
“Rin Tin Tin: the Life and the Legend” by Susan Orlean
Martin’s review:
Less hard-boiled, but equally engrossing, was Susan Orlean's biography of the famous film dog Rin Tin Tin, Rin Tin Tin: the Life and the Legend Woof!
“There was part of me that wanted to see the world and travel to distant places, but I could only do it in my imagination, so I read ferociously and imagined things. ”
If there’s a book on this list that you think is a must-read, let me know in the comments below! -Alex W.
You may also want to check out these book recommendations from:
This article was based on several articles. The sources can be found here, here and here.
*The links throughout this site are Amazon affiliate links. Amazon pays me a small fee from each purchase which helps keep this website up and running ad-free. It does not affect the price of your purchase in any way.*
The 20+ Books F. Scott Fitzgerald Recommends Reading
F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most well-known writers of the 20th century.
His book, “The Great Gatsby” is one of my all-time favorites.
Here’s a list of 20+ books Fitzgerald recommends reading!
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940), better known as F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of my favorite fiction writers and his book, “The Great Gatsby” is one of my all-time favorite reads.
For those unfamiliar with Fitzgerald, he was a 20th-century American short-story writer and novelist. He completed four novels and more than 150 short stories during his lifetime, and is perhaps best remembered for his third novel, “The Great Gatsby” (1925), which is today widely considered “the great American novel.”
Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith.
Throughout his life, Fitzgerald struggled with alcoholism and in 1936, he ended up at the Highland Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina.
There, he provided his nurse with a list of 22 books he thought were essential reading:
At the top of the page, the nurse wrote, "These are books that Scott thought should be required reading."
The list is a bit hard to read, so here it is typed out:
“The Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant” translated by Michael Monahan
“An Outline of Abnormal Psychology” edited by Gardner Murphy
“The Best American Humorous Short Stories” edited by Alexander Jessup
John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley: Complete Poetical Works
What do you think of this list and have you read any of the books on it?
Although I see a lot of familiar names on here such as Conrad, Faulkner and Wilde, I’m sad to say I have not read any of the books here. Guess it’s time to order some more books.
““That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.””
If you’re looking for more book recommendations, check out the books Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King and J.K. Rowling recommend reading.
For just a few dollars, books give you an enormous amount of valuable information that can help change your life. It’s practically high-robbery. So take advantage of this and read as much as you can.
Also, if you want to check out my list of recommended books, you can find that here.
If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our site or signing up for our monthly newsletter. Thank you!
This article was based on several articles. The sources can be found here and here.
*The links throughout this site are Amazon affiliate links. Amazon pays me a small fee from each purchase which helps keep this website up and running ad-free. It does not affect the price of your purchase in any way.*
The 20+ Books J.K. Rowling Recommends Reading
J.K. Rowling is the creator of the “Harry Potter” series and the world’s first billionaire author.
Want to know which books she loves and inspired her?
Here’s a list of books she recommends reading!
Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen names J.K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith, is a British novelist, philanthropist, film producer, television producer and screenwriter, best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series–which have sold more than 500 million copies, becoming the best-selling book series in history.
Rowling is also known for her “rags to riches” life story, where she went from living on state benefits to becoming the world’s first billionaire author.
Interestingly, she lost her billionaire status because she gave away much of her earnings to charity (that’s incredible of her to do that).
Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith.
Similar to other famous authors including Stephen King and Ernest Hemingway, Rowling loves to read books.
“I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.
”
I was curious to learn which books Rowling loved or inspired her, so I did some research to find out which books the former billionaire author recommends, here is the list of the 20+ books she recommends:
“Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott
Rowling is a big fan of Little Women, saying that her “favorite literary heroine is Jo March. It is hard to overstate what she meant to a small, plain girl called Jo, who had a hot temper and a burning ambition to be a writer.”
"The Woman Who Walked Into Doors" by Roddy Doyle
"My favorite living writer is Roddy Doyle," Rowling told Amazon. This novel in particular — about a woman's relationship with a violent man — was one of the most important books in her life. "I don't think I've ever encountered such a believable, fully rounded female character from any other heterosexual male writer in any age," she told O, The Oprah Magazine.
“Grimble At Christmas” by Clement Freud
"Grimble is one of funniest books I've ever read," Rowling told Amazon. "Grimble himself, who is a small boy, is a fabulous character. I'd love to see a Grimble film. As far as I know, these last two fine pieces of literature are out of print, so if any publishers ever read this, could you please dust them off and put them back in print so other people can read them?"
“The Story of the Treasure Seekers” by Edith Nesbitt
“She’s the children’s writer with whom I most identify,” Rowling says of Nesbitt. Rowling calls The Story of the Treasure Seekers a “breakthrough children’s book” because it wasn’t a morality tale like the other children’s books of the time.
Jane Austen is J.K. Rowling's favorite author of all time, and "Emma" is her favorite of her books. "I've read all her books so many times I've lost count," she told Amazon. Of those many book-reading sessions, she said she read "Emma" at least 20 times.
“The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller
“I loved it.”- J.K. Rowling
"Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin
In 2012, Rowling described Team of Rivals as the last truly great book she read. “I lived in it the way that you do with truly great books,” she says, describing the experience as “putting it down with glazed eyes and feeling disconcerted to find yourself in the 21st century.”
“The Little White Horse” by Elizabeth Goudge
On a deeper level, Rowling was attracted to how cleverly the book was constructed, even though it seemed simple on the surface. "Perhaps more than any other book, it has a direct influence on the Harry Potter books," she told The Scotsman.
"The Diaries of Auberon Waugh" by Auberon Waugh
Auberon Waugh, son of Evelyn kept a diary between 1972 and 1985 in which he mocked the trends of the day. You may not know this, but J. K Rowling says she keeps a copy in her bathroom and “It’s always good for a giggle.”
When asked to name her favorite books as a child, Rowling said she loved "anything with a horse on it." Among those, "Black Beauty" is one of her favorite.
"Hons and Rebels" by Jessica Mitford
Rowling loves Mitford so much, she named her daughter after her. Rowling's great aunt gave her the journalistic memoir when she was 14, and she instantly became her heroine.
"I love the way she never outgrew some of her adolescent traits, remaining true to her politics — she was a self-taught socialist — throughout her life," Rowling told The Scotsman. "I think I've read everything she wrote."
"Manxmouse: The Mouse Who Knew No Fear" by Paul Gallico,
This book about a mouse who went off on epic adventures was one of Rowling's favorites when she was a child. "Gallico manages the fine line between magic and reality so skilfully, to the point where the most fantastic events feel plausible," she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Chéri" by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
Of all of Colette's books, Rowling loves "Chéri" the most. It's about a romance between a young man and her mistress. "I absolutely bow to Colette," Rowling said. "But I think if she could hear me, she would probably tell me where to get lost, because she was that kind of woman."
"I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith
Rowling calls "I Capture the Castle" one of her "favourite books for younger people." It's about a 17-year-old girl who lives in a castle with her family. In a recent edition of the novel, Rowling blurbed it, saying its narrator, Cassandra, is "one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met."
"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens
Rowling read Dickens' masterpiece in her third year of college. She shared a flat with"with an Italian, a Russian and a Spaniard," according to The Scotsman. "She found the Italian disagreeable and would avoid him by spending whole days in her room reading."
"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare
Like any British author — and any author working in the English language — Rowling loves Shakespeare. Her favorite is about a fellow Scot, "Macbeth." Its prophecy and fate-driven plot is an influence on the plot of "Harry Potter."
Rowling referenced the Greek epic at the end of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," when Harry saved Cedric's body. "That's where it came from," Rowling told Entertainment Weekly. "That really, really, REALLY moved me when I read that when I was 19. The idea of the desecration of a body, a very ancient idea… I was thinking of that when Harry saved Cedric's body."
"There are two books whose final lines make me cry without fail, irrespective of how many times I read them," Rowling told BBC Radio 4. "One is 'Lolita.'"
Like many other admirer's of Nabokov's novel of a pedophile who pursues a 12-year-old girl, Rowling loves it for the writing style.
"There just isn't enough time to discuss how a plot that could have been the most worthless pornography becomes, in Nabakov's hands, a great and tragic love story, and I could exhaust my reservoir of superlatives trying to describe the quality of the writing," she said.
“The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling
That's right, even J.K. Rowling loves J.K. Rowling, or at least she makes herself cry, too. She admitted to bawling her eyes out while writing, editing, and rereading The Casual Vacancy . That's some kind of endorsement, right?
If you don’t see any books on this list that you may want to read, here’s a piece of advice from Rowling.
“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.
”
You may also want to check out the books Stephen King recommends reading or Ernest Hemingway’s list.
If you still can’t find the right book, here’s my personal list of great books (split up by genre): Recommended Books
And remember, books turn muggles into wizards, so go and read as much as possible!
If there’s a book on this list that you think is a must-read, let me know in the comments below. Thank you everyone! -Alex W.
This article was based on several articles. The sources can be found here, here, here, here and here.
*The links throughout this site are Amazon affiliate links. Amazon pays me a small fee from each purchase which helps keep this website up and running ad-free. It does not affect the price of your purchase in any way.*
The 25+ Books Gen. Mattis Recommends Reading
It’s always a good idea to learn from smart people and know which books they recommend.
James Norman Mattis is the current the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
However, he is probably best known for serving as a U.S. Marine Corps general.
James Norman Mattis is the current United States Secretary of Defense, but is probably best known for serving as a U.S. Marine Corps general.
Mattis is one of the most admired leaders serving America today and credits books as one of the best tools available to becoming a great leader. His personal library is said to house over 6,000 books!
I’ve found that reading a ton of books is a common trait among many successful individuals, including Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, James Altucher and Elon Musk.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
In an email from November 20th, 2003, Mattis wrote:
“The problem with being too busy to read is that you learn by experience (or by your men’s experience), i.e. the hard way. By reading, you learn through others’ experiences, generally a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men.”
He continued by saying:
“Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed (successfully or unsuccessfully) before. It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.”
It’s clear that Mattis is a strong advocate of reading books. So, without further ado, here are the books he recommends reading:
“With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa” by E. B. Sledge
“One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer” by Nathaniel Fick
“Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon” by Basil H. Liddell Hart
“Gates of Fire” by Steven Pressfield
Pressfield is an amazing author and I highly recommend reading his other work, especially “The War of Art.”
“Military Innovation in the Interwar Period” by Williamson Murray
“Before the First Shot Is Fired: How America Can Win Or Lose Off The Battlefield” by Tony Zinni
“For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith” by Gail Shisler
“Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American” by Basil H. Liddell Hart
“Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary” at War by Robert Gates
I recently got this book, Gates served as Secretary of Defense (the same position Mattis now runs) and worked for the CIA and National Security Council.
This is an impressive list of books and I hope to someone day read all of them. As a civilian who has never served in the military, I’m oblivious to how the military functions, what actually happens in war, and how wars impact countries and the world as a whole–which is something I believe more people should learn about.
As Mattis wrote in his email above, reading books is the easier path to knowledge instead of learning from other people’s experiences, i.e. the hard way. And although books won’t give you all the answers, “it lights what is often a dark path ahead.”
So read often and as much as possible!
If there’s a book on this list that you think is a must-read, let me know in the comments below. Thank you everyone! -Alex W.
For just a few dollars, books give you an enormous amount of valuable information that can help change your life. It’s practically high-robbery. So take advantage of this and read as much as you can.
Also, if you want to check out my list of recommended books, you can find that here.
If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our site or signing up for our monthly newsletter. Thank you!
The 45+ Books James Altucher Recommends Reading
It’s always a good idea to learn from smart people and know which books they recommend.
James Altucher has founded or co-founded over 20 companies and written over 10 books.
This is someone you want to learn from.
One of the most important things to do in life is to remain a student and learn from people smarter than you. That's why it's a good idea to read books that smart people, such as Stephen King or Ernest Hemingway, recommend.
I recently learned about another smart person, James Altucher, and dived deeply into his articles, podcasts and books.
For those unfamiliar with Altucher, here is a short bio:
He is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, best-selling author, venture capitalist, and podcaster. He studied at Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University, and founded or co-founded more than 20 companies. He’s also written over 10 books. Here are a few of his best-selling books:
Now that’s an impressive resume.
Altucher attributes part of his success to reading many books. In fact, here is what he said:
“For each one of these books: either they made me a better person, or I felt, even as I was reading them, that my IQ was getting better. Or, in the case of fiction, I felt like my writing was getting better by reading the book.
Or I simply escaped to another world. I like to travel to other worlds. To pretend to be a character in someone else’s story.
I think if you can find even one takeaway in a book that you remember afterwards, then it’s a great book.
”
So without further ado, here is his list of books worth reading:
“Antifragile” by Nassim Taleb (and “The Black Swan” and “Fooled by Randomness” by him)
“Jesus’ Son” by Denis Johnson (a collection of short stories, not a religious book)
“The Rational Optimist” by Matt Ridley (and the Evolution of Everything by him)
“The Surrender Experiment” by Michael Singer (along with The Untethered Soul by him)
“How We Got to Now” by Stephen Johnson (and his book on ideas)
“The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle (and “Practicing the Power of Now” by him)
“What We Talk About When We talk about Running” by Haruki Murakami
Serial entrepreneur and best-selling author James Altucher.
"Everyone worries. 20 million people in the US suffer from some sort of untreated clinical anxiety disorder.
Worry is ok. It helps me make deadlines, care about people, care about improving myself. But “toxic worry” is when things spin out of control.
When you wake up at 3am and can’t get that thought out of your head: why did they do that? How will I live? Does she/he love me? And on and on and on and on.
The book, “Worry” helped me."
"First, Judd is one of the most comic directors of all time. So anything he says about comedy is a must-read.
Second, why comedy?
Learning the skills of standup comedy has helped me in so many other areas of my life: insights into life, dealing with others, overcoming fears, negotiating, sales, influence, confidence, and least of all…humor."
"Just look at the table of contents:
"The idea: if you have “skin in the game” on major life decisions (and even smaller ones), that means you take both risk and reward on your decisions.
You’ll do more research, you’ll take better care of yourself to have the energy to make good decisions and be creative, and ultimately you will live a more real and brave life.
The title alone is worth it. And the rest of the book is a good read."
"It’s about when I went totally broke and lost everything and had to bounce back.
It doesn’t tell you how to bounce back. It describes how I bounced back.
How I internally had to strengthen physically, emotionally, creative, and spiritually.
But also it’s about the most important topic: Freedom.
We only get one life to be free, to make the decisions we want (not in a selfish way, but in a way that can allow us to create the life with the biggest impact).
The path to freedom, for me, was learning to “choose myself”: not allow anyone else to make the decisions that would define my happiness and well-being.
The actions we make today, become our biography tomorrow."
Altucher ends his article by saying:
“When I read any of these books, I feel like a vampire. Like I’m sucking all of the blood out of the author. I’m stealing his soul and consuming it.
Thank you, author, for giving me your soul. For giving me immortality.
That’s why reading is great. It’s like I’ve lived 100s of lives as well as just my own.
One of these days someone will eat my soul also. I hope I have enough seasoning to taste good.”
And I agree.
For literally 5 bucks and a few hours of time, you get an enormous amount of valuable information that can help you in life. It’s practically high-robbery. So take advantage of this and read as much as you can.
Also, if you want to check out my list of recommended books, you can find that here.
If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our site or signing up for our monthly newsletter. Thank you!
*The links of this site are Amazon affiliate links. Amazon pays me a small fee from each purchase which helps keep this website up and running ad-free. It does not affect the price of your purchase in any way.*
The 150+ Books Stephen King Recommends Reading
At the end of “On Writing” Stephen King lists 150+ books he believes are worth reading.
Check out the list and let me know whether or not you agree with his choices.
I used to think that I read a lot of books; last year I read 35 and this year I’m on track to read 42 books. However, when I read Stephen King’s book “On Writing” I began to think otherwise. In his book, King writes, “I’m a slow reader, but I usually get through seventy or eighty books a year.”
Let me repeat that.
He says he’s a SLOW READER, but he still gets through 70-80 BOOKS A YEAR.
At this point, you might be wondering why a best-selling author like King reads so many books. Well, it’s because he believes reading a lot makes you a better writer. King writes that every book has its own lessons, and for writers that don’t have time to read, King says “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time to write” (pg 147).
Read my review of "On Writing" here.
At the end of “On Writing” King lists over a hundred books that are worth reading. It’s a long list, but an interesting one at the same time. So without further ado, here is King’s list of books worth reading:
Abrahams, Peter: A Perfect Crime
Abrahams, Peter: Lights Out
Abrahams, Peter: Pressure Drop
Abrahams, Peter: Revolution #9
Agee, James: A Death in the Family
Bakis, Kirsten: Lives of the Monster Dogs
Barker, Pat: Regeneration
Barker, Pat: The Eye in the Door
Barker, Pat: The Ghost Road
Bausch, Richard: In the Night Season
Blauner, Peter: The Intruder
Bowles, Paul: The Sheltering Sky
Boyle, T. Coraghessan: The Tortilla Curtain
Bryson, Bill: A Walk in the Woods
Buckley, Christopher: Thank You for Smoking
Carver, Raymond: Where I’m Calling From
Chabon, Michael: Werewolves in Their Youth
Chorlton, Windsor: Latitude Zero
Connelly, Michael: The Poet
Conrad, Joseph: Heart of Darkness
Constantine, K.C.: Family Values
DeLillo, Don: Underworld
DeMille, Nelson: Cathedral
DeMille, Nelson: The Gold Coast
Dickens, Charles: Oliver Twist
Dobyns, Stephen: Common Carnage
Dobyns, Stephen: The Church of Dead Girls
Doyle, Roddy: The Woman Who Walked into Doors
Elkin, Stanley: The Dick Gibson Show
Faulkner, William: As I Lay Dying
Garland, Alex: The Beach
George, Elizabeth: Deception on His Mind
Gerritsen, Tess: Gravity
Golding, William: Lord of the Flies
Gray, Muriel: Furnace
Greene, Graham: A Gun for Sale
Greene, Graham: Our Man in Havana
Halberstam, David: The Fifties
Hamil, Pete: Why Sinatra Matters
Harris, Thomas: Hannibal
Haruf, Kent: Plainsong
Hoeg, Peter: Smilla’s Sense of Snow
Hunter, Stephen: Dirty White Boys
Ignatius, David: A Firing Offense
Irving, John: A Widow for One Year
Joyce, Graham: The Tooth Fairy
Judd, Alan: The Devil’s Own Work
Kahn, Roger: Good Enough to Dream
Karr, Mary: The Liar’s Club
Ketchum, Jack: Right to Life
King, Tabitha: Survivor
King, Tabitha: The Sky in the Water
Kingsolver, Barbara: The Poisonwood Bible
Krakauer, Jon: Into Thin Air
Lee, Harper: To Kill a Mockingbird
Lefkowitz, Bernard: The Ignored
Maclean, Norman: A River Runs Through It and Other Stories
Maugham, W. Somerset: The Moon and Sixpence
McCarthy, Cormac: Cities of the Plain
McCarthy, Cormac: The Crossing
McCourt, Frank: Angela’s Ashes
McDermott, Alice: Charming Billy
McDevitt, Jack: Ancient Shores
McEwan, Ian: Enduring Love
McEwan, Ian: The Cement Garden
McMurtry, Larry: Dead Man’s Walk
McMurtry, Larry, and Diana Ossana: Zeke and Ned
Miller, Walter M.: A Canticle for Leibowitz
Oates, Joyce Carol: Zombie
O’Brien, Tim: In the Lake of the Woods
O’Nan, Stewart: The Speed Queen
Ondaatje, Michael: The English Patient
Patterson, Richard North: No Safe Place
Price, Richard: Freedomland
Proulx, Annie: Close Range: Wyoming Stories
Proulx, Annie: The Shipping News
Quindlen, Anna: One True Thing
Rendell, Ruth: A Sight for Sore Eyes
Robinson, Frank M.: Waiting
Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Russo, Richard: Mohawk
Schwartz, John Burnham: Reservation Road
Seth, Vikram: A Suitable Boy
Shaw, Irwin: The Young Lions
Slotkin, Richard: The Crater
Smith, Dinitia: The Illusionist
Spencer, Scott: Men in Black
Stegner, Wallace: Joe Hill
Tartt, Donna: The Secret History
Tyler, Anne: A Patchwork Planet
Vonnegut, Kurt: Hocus Pocus
Waugh, Evelyn: Brideshead Revisited
Westlake, Donald E.: The Ax
And if this list of 100 books to read is too short, King added an updated list to his new edition of “On Writing.” So here are 50+ more books that King recommends:
Abrahams, Peter: End of Story
Abrahams, Peter: The Tutor
Adiga, Aravind: The White Tiger
Atkinson, Kate: One Good Turn
Atwood, Margaret: Oryx and Crake
Berlinski, Mischa: Fieldwork
Black, Benjamin: Christine Falls
Blauner, Peter: The Last Good Day
Bolano, Roberto: 2666
Carr, David: The Night of the Gun
Casey, John: Spartina
Chabon, Michael: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
Child, Lee: The Jack Reacher novels, starting with Killing Floor
Connelly, Michael: The Narrows
Costello, Mark: Big If
Cunningham, Michael: The Hours
Danielewski, Mark: House of Leaves
Diaz, Junot: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Dooling, Richard: White Man’s Grave
Downing, David: Zoo Station
Dubus, Andre: The Garden of Last Days
Enger, Leif: Peace Like a River
Exley, Frederick: A Fan’s Notes
Ferris, Joshua: Then We Came to the End
Franzen, Jonathan: Strong Motion
Franzen, Jonathan: The Corrections
Gaiman, Neil: American Gods
Gardiner, Meg: Crosscut
Gardiner, Meg: The Dirty Secret Club
Gay, William: The Long Home
Goddard, Robert: Painting the Darkness
Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants
Hall, Steven: The Raw Shark Texts
Helprin, Mark: A Soldier of the Great War
Huston, Charlie: The Hank Thompson Trilogy
Johnson, Denis: Tree of Smoke
Keillor, Garrison: Good Poems
Kidd, Sue Monk: The Secret Life of Bees
Klosterman, Chuck: Fargo Rock City
Larsson, Stieg: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Le Carre, John: Absolute Friends
Lehane, Dennis: The Given Day
Leonard, Elmore: Up in Honey’s Room
Lethem, Jonathan: The Fortress of Solitude
Lippman, Laura: What the Dead Know
Little, Bentley: Dispatch
Malamud, Bernard: The Fixer
Martel, Yann: Life of Pi
McCarthy, Cormac: No Country for Old Man
McEwan, Ian: Atonement
Meek, James: The People’s Act of Love
Niffenegger, Audrey: Her Fearful Symmetry
O’Brian, Patrick: The Aubrey/Maturin Novels
O’Nan, Stewart: The Good Wife
Oates, Joyce Carol: We Were the Mulvaneys
Pelecanos, George: Hard Revolution
Pelecanos, George: The Turnaround
Perrotta, Tom: The Abstinence Teacher
Picoult, Jodi: Nineteen Minutes
Pierre, DBC: Vernon God Little
Proulx, Annie: Fine Just the Way It Is
Robotham, Michael: Shatter
Roth, Philip: American Pastoral
Roth, Philip: The Plot Against America
Rushdie, Salman: Midnight’s Children
Russo, Richard: Bridge of Sighs
Russo, Richard: Empire Falls
Simmons, Dan: Drood
Simmons, Dan: The Terror
Sittenfeld, Curtis: American Wife
Smith, Tom Rob: Child 44
Snyder, Scott: Voodoo Heart
Stephenson, Neal: Quicksilver
Tartt, Donna: The Little Friend
Tolstoy, Leo: War and Peace
Wambaugh, Joseph: Hollywood Station
Warren, Robert Penn: All the King’s Men
Waters, Sarah: The Little Stranger
Winegardner, Mark: Crooked River Burning
Winegardner, Mark: The Godfather Returns
Wroblewski, David: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Yates, Richard: Revolutionary Road
I've read about ten books on this list so it looks like I have a lot of reading to do! But let me know how many books on this list you've read and tell me which books on this list you’d recommend reading and which you wouldn’t in the comments below!
*PS: The links on my website are Amazon affiliate links, Amazon pays me a small fee for each item purchased. Important Fact: It doesn't affect the price of your purchase at all, and it helps keep this website up and running ad-free.*
If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our site or signing up for our monthly newsletter. Thank you!
Reader freebies:
The 25+ Books Hemingway Recommends For Writers
- Book: “Ernest Hemingway on Writing" edited by Larry Phillips
- For: Anyone interested in Hemingway's writing, aspiring writers
- Lesson: Learn Hemingway's thoughts on being a writer, his work habits and advice for aspiring writers
The book, “Ernest Hemingway on Writing” is a collection of Hemingway quotes taken from novels, stories, letters, interviews and other sources.
When it comes to writing, Hemingway said “I think you should learn about writing from everybody who has ever written that has anything to teach you” (page 91).
Hemingway goes on to recite a list of necessary books to read including:
“‘Should a writer have read all of those?’ ‘All of those and plenty more.’”
What are your thoughts on Hemingway’s list of necessary books to read to become a writer?
If you've enjoyed this article, consider getting the book. Get it here.
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Writing is hard, but becoming a writer is even harder. Writers should seek mentors, such as successfully published authors. Although not everyone can have such a mentor, everyone can read books to improve their craft and take a step closer to becoming a writer.