My favorite books

An ongoing list of books I love and would read again. Slowly adding my biggest takeaways from these books in the sections below.

The Worldly Philosophers

The Art Of The Start

The Revolt Of The Public By Martin Guri.

What happened to journalism and the media? How did Trump get elected?

Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Emma by Jane Austen

Deep Work by Cal Newport.

My biggest takeaway from this book is that focus is a muscle that must be strengthened with practice. I’ve taken the rules from this book and modified and tweaked them in the last few years to work well for me. Back in 2017 I gave a talk on this book after the second time I read it.

To Kill A Mocking Bird

Meditations

Amusing ourselves to death by Neil Postman.

Introduction to computing by David Evans.

I first read this a few years ago when I wanted to start dipping my toes into learning computer science. This is a fantastic book that is perfect for self-taught developers who want to learn CS. The author of this book, David Evans, gives this book out 100% free online.

Redwall series

Can’t hurt me by David Goggins

A lot of people said this is the only “self-help” book you will ever need. Others also said that if reading this book doesn’t cause you to change your life, no book will. Agree.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.

A book about getting your finances in order. Goes over the fundamentals of investing, spending, saving and how to live a rich life, which really means spending on things you care about and living a good life. A good read when you’re in your 20s and you’re setting up your 401k, Roth IRA, etc. I wish I had read it sooner.

So Good they can’t ignore you by Cal Newport.

Discover Your Inner Economist by Tyler Cowen

Way Of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman.

Awaken The Giant Within By Tony Robbins

Money by Tony Robbins

The elements of computing systems

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

20,000 leagues under the sea

Algorithms Unlocked

Computer organization and design

Chronicles of Narnia

Harry Potter series

Duh.

Not Caring What People Think Is A Superpower by Ed Latimore

A Mind At Play

Play It Away Charlie Hoehn.

A cure or alleviation to anxiety and stress is play. There are various forms of play and the book goes into discovering what kind of play works for you. For me after reading this book, I started making more time for board games, frisbee and other forms of play I love.

The art of learning

Lord of the Rings series

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

On Writing Well

The best book I’ve ever read on writing. Much of this book could apply to not just writing but coding or living.

The Enchanted Forest Chronices

The Dolphins of Oceanus by John Hoopes.

You don’t know JS series

The Princessa: Machiavelli for Women by Harriet Rubin.

Tools of Titans Tim Ferriss

Secrets of the JavaScript Ninja

Dune

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.

Learn from Becky Sharp so you can make sure you never become like her. The movie of this with Reese Witherspoon was quite good (albeit depressing) too.

Alice In Wonderland

12 rules for life by Jordan B. Peterson

The Last Unicorn

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

His Dark Materials series

The Great Gatsby

Little Women

Pro React 16

Excuse Me Your Life Is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn.

I remember taking this from my mom’s bookshelf when I was around 13 or 14. This book changed my life because it introduced to me for the first time the idea that you can change your thoughts.

The history of US series.