Books

Books purchased via the links on this page help support the website by generating a return through my Amazon Affiliates account (at no extra cost to you). I have no special financial relationship with any of these books; I just like ’em.

Non-fiction

• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
  • An ambitious book which incredibly lives up to its title
• The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
  • Unparalleled synthesis of history and philosophy. Not a beach book.
• Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
  • The book that convinced me to start running, and I haven’t stopped
• Letters from a Stoic by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  • Words of wisdom from this Roman statesman born around the time of Jesus Christ
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • Great short introduction to the tenets of Stoicism
• Wherever You Are, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
  • If you read one book on meditation and mindfulness, this should be it
• Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose
  • This telling of the adventures of Lewis and Clark is remarkable for, among other things, the awe-inspiring descriptions of North America during that time
• King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild
  • If you like your history mixed with horror, check out this history of the Belgian Congo
• The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
  • Perspective-changing treatise on the “unknown unknown”, i.e. stuff we never saw coming
• How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler
  • I thought I knew how to read a book, but this taught me otherwise
• Our Mathematical Universe by Max Tegmark
  • The author does an admirable job describing the mind-bending proposed realities of our universe
• The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimor et al.
  • Classic introduction to investing via the philosophy of John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard
• Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Nick Bostrom
  • This challenging but excellent book has become an instant classic of artificial intelligence. If you aren’t worried about AI, read this book, and you will be.
• The White Coat Investor by James Dahle, M.D.
  • Great resource for doctors and other professionals looking to take control of their personal finances
• The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
  • Disturbing classic tale of imprisonment in the work camps of Communist Russia
• Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
  • Don’t read this page turner if you plan to hike Mount Everest one day.
• Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux
  • As a travel enthusiast I love all of Theroux’s writing, so I chose this recent travelogue of Africa as a representation of his work.
• Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World by Dan Koeppel
  • You won’t take those delicious yellow fruits for granted so much after you read this history
• In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
  • The true story on which Moby Dick was supposedly based.
• The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
  • Do you like jungles, adventure, and lost cities? Want to find out what happened to legendary explorer Percy Fawcett, who disappeared into the Amazon jungle in 1925 looking for the “City of Gold?” This book recounts Fawcett’s story as well as the author’s own harrowing trip to the Amazon in search of answers.
• Islam and the Future of Tolerance by Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz
  • Engrossing dialgoue between Harris, a famous atheist, and Nawaz, a former radical Islamist.

Fiction

• Shogun by James Clavell
  • Epic set in 17th century Japan with Machiavellian characters and insight into Japanese culture
• Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
  • Semi-autobiographical tale of an Australian escaped convict who seeks shelter in the slums of Mumbai
• House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
  • Probably the most unique book you will ever read. Half work of art, half horror story, story within a story. You must buy the print book (i.e. not e-book)
• Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
  • Judging pure prose, McCarthy is by far my favorite writer, dead or alive. This story follows a teenager who falls in with a gang of bounty hunters looking for scalps along the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s
• The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy
  • You’ve probably heard of All the Pretty Horses, the first book in the trilogy, which follows the adventures of two young men in the Southwest US and Mexico
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
  • Post-apocalyptic + McCarthy = yes please
• Blindness by Jose Saramago
  • Another dystopian story in which everyone is struck blind, and we follow the chaos that ensues
• The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago
  • I was not expecting to laugh out loud as I read this irreverant retelling of the story of Jesus.
• The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy
  • Many medical schools make this required reading for doctors, who inevitably encounter patients near the end of life.
• At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
  • An oldie but goodie, this strange tale from one of the horror masters takes you on a surreal adventure to Antarctica
• Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
  • Collection of thought-provoking and meticulously-researched science fiction short stories
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  • Bestseller chronicling parts of Afganistan’s tumultuous history via the life stories of two young boys
• Sphere by Michael Crichton
  • I read this as a teenager and it has always stuck with me. The premise and unfolding discoveries are genius.
• Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
  • This book was initially presented as a fact-based story, but was actually Crichton’s made-up retelling of Beowulf.
• The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
  • Stephen King was my the first author I became obsessed with. While that obsession has faded over the years, I still love his writing and many of his books. This set of fantasy novels are considered his magnum opus by many.
• 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King
  • This novel proves there is more to King than horror, and follows a time-traveler as he tries to stop he Kennedy assassination.
• The Stand by Stephen King
  • After a virus wipes out much of humanity, this post-apocalypic novel boils down to a classic battle of good vs evil.
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
  • This unique book follows the quest of a geeky kid trying to solve the ultimate puzzle in the ultimate virtual reality world of the future.
• The Martian by Andy Weir
  • Somewhat geeky survival story about the rescue of an astronaut accidentally marooned on Mars by his crew.
• Silo Series (Wool, Shift, Dust) by Hugh Howey
  • I guess I like dystopican sci-fi, because this is another one. This time the survivors don’t know what happened, having lived for generations in giant underground structures called silos
• The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
  • Perhaps becoming a father myself made this story—of a “lost” baby raised by a couple running a lighthouse—really resonante with me
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  • Expert weaving of harrowing personal stories with the backdrop of World War 2.
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
  • Dog lovers, grab some tissues. This hilarious and moving story is narrated by the main character—a dog
• Man in the Woods by Scott Spencer
  • This haunting rollercoaster of a story also has a dog at the center, and has really stuck with me for years
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  • If you haven’t read the original, do yourself a favor
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  • Classic sci-fi has genius Ender Wiggin trying to save the world from an alien attack
• My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard
  • The provocative title has nothing to do with you-know-who. The stark honesty of this autobiography grabbed me right away.
• Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky
  • I wish so much that I had written this book myself. Fanciful fictional stories about real remote islands. I love remote islands.

Children’s books

• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
  • Beautiful stories don’t have to be long or complicated.
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
  • His poetry collections are timeless
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
  • Ditto
• Little Blue Truck by Alice Shertle (author) and Jill McElmurry (illustrator)
  • Love the cadence of this book for pre-readers
• The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
  • One of my son’s favorites
• The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith
  • Beautifully illustrated simple tale about getting out of your comfort zone
• Dinosailors by Deb Lund (author) and Howard Fine (illustrator)
  • Goofy story about, yes, dinosaur sailors
• Waiting by Kevin Henkes
  • Some toys discover the joys of waiting in this beautifully illustrated book