The below is a list of some of the best books that I’ve found, thus far in life. This list is being continuously updated. The list is curated and handpicked after carefully listening to or reading about which books people I’m inspired by, have found to be the most impactful. By tracking these and then selecting the ones that were most often recommended, a list emerged. I have read them all personally, and then down-selected the ones I found to be the best among those.
There are many great books to read, and in order to make the most of your time you may want to consider learning how to speed read. Speed reading is a technique used to increase reading speed without sacrificing comprehension or retention of information.
Some of the best techniques and approaches to speed reading
Table of Content
- Useful and Effective Mental Models
- Philosophy and Psychology
- Health and Longevity
- Business, Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management
- History and Society
Useful and Effective Mental Models
- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness (2020) by Eric Jorgenson
- The Book of Elon: A Guide to Purpose and Success (2026) by Eric Jorgenson
- Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger (2005)
- The Anthology of Balaji: A Guide to Technology, Truth, and Building the Future (2023) by Eric Jorgenson
- The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age (1997) by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones (2018) by James Clear
- Thinking in Systems (2008) by Donella Meadows
- Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011) by Daniel Kahneman
- Also see the section on Cognitive Biases
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2014) by Yuval Noah Harari
- The Secret Pulse of Time: Making Sense of Life’s Scarcest Commodity (2006) by Stefan Klein
- Freakonomics: A Groundbreaking Exploration of Hidden Incentives, Behavioral Economics, and Unconventional Wisdom (2005) by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
- Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life (2019) by Rory Sutherland
- Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything (2011) by Joshua Foer
- How to Fight a Hydra: Face Your Fears, Pursue Your Ambitions, and Become the Hero You Are Destined to Be (2018) by Josh Kaufman
- Ultralearning: Accelerate Your Career, Master Hard Skills and Outsmart the Competition (2019) by Scott H. Young
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (2007) by Timothy Ferriss
- The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life (2012) by Timothy Ferriss
- The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications (1997) by David Deutsch
- The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World (2011) by David Deutsch
Philosophy and Psychology
- Meditations (170–180 AD, first printed edition 1558/1559) by Marcus Aurelius
- Man’s Search for Meaning (1946) by Viktor E. Frankl
- Bhagavad Gita (2nd–1st century BCE) (commentary by Swami B.G. Narasingha)
- Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (2014) by Sam Harris
- The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream (1988) by Paulo Coelho
- 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (2018) by Jordan B. Peterson
- The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire (1997) by David Deida
- Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence (2006) by Esther Perel
- How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence (2018) by Michael Pollan
- The School of Life: An Emotional Education (2019) by Alain De Botton
- Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (2008) by Richard H. Thaler
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (1984) by Robert Cialdini
- Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (2008) by Dan Ariely
- The Common Denominator of Success (1940) by Albert E. N. Gray
- Lying (2011) by Sam Harris
- The 48 Laws of Power (1998) by Robert Greene
- How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) by Dale Carnegie
- Think & Grow Rich (1937) by Napoleon Hill
- I Will Teach You to Be Rich (2009) by Ramit Sethi
- Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life (2020) by Bill Perkins
Health and Longevity
- Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams (2017) by Matthew Walker
- Protocols: An Operating Manual for the Human Body (2026) by Andrew Huberman
- Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity (2023) by Peter Attia
- The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman (2010) by Timothy Ferriss
Business, Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management
- The Infinite Game (2019) by Simon Sinek
- Zero to One (2014) by Peter Thiel (with Blake Masters)
- Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works (2013) by A.G. Lafley, Roger L. Martin
- The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (1997) by Clayton M. Christensen
- The Lean Startup (2011) by Eric Ries
- Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days (2016) by Jake Knapp
- The Right It: Why So Many Ideas Fail and How to Make Sure Yours Succeed (2019) by Alberto Savoia
- The Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with Less (2021) by Sahil Lavingia
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers (2014) by Ben Horowitz
- Financial Intelligence (2006) by Karen Berman and Joe Knight (with John Case)
- Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect (2022) by Will Guidara
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (1993) by Al Ries, Jack Trout
- The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (1984) by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
- Steal the Show (2015) by Michael Port
- Never Split the Difference (2016) by Chris Voss
- How to Be a Power Connector (2014) by Judy Robinett
- Team of Teams (2015) by General Stanley A. McChrystal
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity (2017) by Kim Scott
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (2016) by Angela Duckworth
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t (2001) by James C. Collins
- Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the creator of Nike (2016) by Phil Knight
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (2007) by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (2000) by Malcolm Gladwell
- What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars (1994) by Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan
- Fish!: A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results (2000) by Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, Harry Paul and Ken Blanchard
History and Society
- Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (2014) by Nick Bostrom
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997) by Jared Diamond
- Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think (2018) by Hans Rosling
- The Anxious Generation (2024) by Jonathan Haidt
- A Brief History of Time (1988) by Stephen Hawking
- 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell
- Animal Farm (1945) by George Orwell
- The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future (2016) by Gretchen Bakke
Some of these books can be put together into smaller well-curated curriculums, such as
How to Attain a Personal MBA in 6 Months