• Sapiens (Yuval Noah Harari). A single thread that ties together all kinds of interesting ideas.
• The Rational Optimist (Matt Ridley). Made me smarter at a fundamental level. Compelling reasons to cheer up.
• The E-Myth Revisited (Michael E. Gerber). When read one way, this is a masterclass in business. When read another, a masterclass in writing.
• The Personal MBA (Josh Kaufman). One of the most information-dense books on this list. It's exactly what it sounds like.
• $100M Offers (Alex Hormozi). Hormozi is an absolute mercenary. The more times I re-read this book, the more I learn, and the stupider I feel for overcomplicating everything.
• $100M Leads (Alex Hormozi). Same as above. This book is incredible — if you ever have time, take a look at how he marketed it.
• Same As Ever (Morgan Housel) The Lindy Effect in action.
• The Nichomachean Ethics (Aristotle). An exercise in first principles thinking.
• The Book Of Five Rings (Miyamoto Musashi). At first, this book sounds like the title of a dodgy Kung Fu movie. And then you read it.
• Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu). This is one of those books you need to read a few times, probably out of order. Very short pages, easy to pick up and put down.
• Man's Search For Meaning (Victor Frankl). Frankl was a psychiatrist who endured the Nazi concentration camps, and lived to tell the tale. You've gotta read this one (preferably twice).
• Meditations (Marcus Aurelius). Everybody's heard of this book, and for good reason. The diary of the world's most powerful man, completely unedited.
• All 5 Books from Nassim Taleb's Incerto. These books are incredible. There are 5 in the series — #3 (The Bed Of Procrustes) is optional, but all others are absolutely non-negotiable.
• Letters From A Stoic (Seneca) At the time he wrote this, Seneca was one of the richest men in the world (possibly history). Yet his insights are surprisingly applicable to you and I.
• The Science Of Storytelling (Will Storr). Picked up this one more recently. Accidentally read it in one day.
• Influence (Robert Cialdini). If you're interested in human behaviour, read this book. If you're interested in psychology, read this book. If you're interested in marketing/sales, read this book twice.
• Adweek Copywriting Handbook (Joseph Sugarman). A simple, practical, actionable guide to getting started with copywriting. Highly recommend.
• Never Split The Difference (Chris Voss). An absolute masterclass in negotiation. I must've read this four or five times, and plan on reading it many more.
• 48 Laws Of Power (Robert Greene). Banned in the prisons of several US States. Need I say any more?
• Genghis Khan and The Making Of The Modern World (Jack Weatherford). Main takeaway? Don't mess with Genghis Khan.
• Shoe Dog (Phil Knight). This is the story of how Nike came to exist as a company. Anybody pursuing a huge, ambitious goal needs to read this.
• Churchill (Paul Johnson). Short, snappy, dense with insight. This is another one that I accidentally read in a single day.
• Endurance (Alfred Lansing). If you're ever feeling sorry for yourself, read this book.
• So Good They Can't Ignore You (Cal Newport). Read this once, and thought it was good. Was then re-recommended by a mentor, and I got a lot more on the second reading. The younger you are, the more this'll benefit you.
• The Psychology Of Money (Morgan Housel). This book is nothing special, but that's what makes it so brilliant.
• The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant. This one could easily go in the 'foundational' category, but I put it here specifically to emphasise its decision-making utility. It's entirely free (legally), available through the link. Outstanding book.
• Principles (Ray Dalio). Mental models from one of the all-time great hedge fund owners. Billions of dollars of wisdom in a few hundred pages. Good deal.
• How To Live (Derek Sivers). Very, very, very good. You could technically read it in an hour, but you should probably read it over a year.
• Poor Charlie's Almanack (Charlie Munger). Possibly my favourite book of all time.
• Essentialism (Greg McKeown). A simple book, but that's kind of the point.
• The Wealth Of Nations Books 1-3 and Books 4-5 (Adam Smith). These are most of the ideas you'll need from economics, as far as I can tell.
• Six Easy Pieces (Richard Feynman). Incredible mental models, disguised as a physics lesson.
• How Not To Be Wrong (Jordan Ellenberg). The more this book's title appeals to you, the more you'll get out of it.