If you find yourself nodding while reading anything on this website, some of these books may land for you. Nothing here is obscure. Just works that have shaped me and kept boomeranging in my head.
Jump to a section:
- Literary Fiction
- Genre Fiction
- Foundational Wisdom
- Personal Development
- History, Biography, and Memoir
Literary Fiction
1: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
A lifetime in a book that wades through the indifferent forces of good and evil that will walk this earth so long as we do. Samuel Hamilton is one of my favorite fictional characters and something like a role model. A kind, wise man with quiet strength and full integrity.
2: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The great American novel. Or maybe that’s Suttree? (Ducks under thrown rocks.) Some passages will never leave you once read. Judge Holden — a brutal personification of something — maybe war, wrath, dread, or the indifference of the survival instinct itself. Don’t worry if it feels like you’re not ‘getting’ it. Power through, then return for the marrow.
“Everywhere there were horses down and men scrambling and he saw a man who sat charging his rifle while blood ran from his ears and … he saw the horses of war trample down the fallen and a little whitefaced pony with one clouded eye leaned out of the murk and snapped at him like a dog and was gone.”
3: Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
Beautifully written despair. That dichotomy drives McCarthy’s brilliance, and you can feel him becoming himself as a writer in these pages. For an unabashed fan like me, Outer Dark is nectar.
4: Suttree by Cormac McCarthy
Early in the book, you’ll meet a ne’er-do-well fornicating with melons. And you’ll end up loving him. That’s so McCarthy. Darkly funny. Suttree’s world is both repulsive and captivating, somehow feeling more real than reality itself.
“Mr Suttree in what year did your greatuncle Jeffrey pass away? It was in 1884. Did he die by natural causes? No sir. And what were the circumstances surrounding his death. He was taking part in a public function when the platform gave way. Our information is that he was hanged for a homicide. Yessir.”
5: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Loving McCarthy, I almost have to love Faulkner. Absurd, profoundly sad, and told through kaleidoscoping perspectives that somehow coheres. I never thought I’d be so devastated by an old man getting teeth.
6: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
I was in this book while reading it. Sweating lazily in the tan nothingness Las Vegas suburbs. Smelling antique furniture. All of Donna Tartt’s work is worth reading for her immersive prose.
7: Tenth of December by George Saunders
One of my favorite writers and a great sampling of his unique voice. Saunders blends humor, humanity, and jarring darkness in ways that leave you laughing while frowning. A great place to start if you were bewildered by Lincoln in the Bardo.
“Guy must have had his hopes and dreams, closet full of pants, and so on, some treasured childhood memories: a mob of koi in the willow shade at Gage Park, say, Gram searching in her Wrigley’s-smelling purse for a tissue—like that.”
8: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
A thousand-pound brick that wallops you with intellect. I read this in occasional bursts over the course of years. More than other books, it ties me back to the places I was and the mindset I had when reading it. I don’t recommend it for most people. It’s so long it requires that thin, creepy bible paper. Heavy. Boring. Overcooked. Incredible.
“This wise old whiskery fish swims up to three young fish and goes, ‘Morning, boys, how’s the water?’ and swims away; and the three young fish watch him swim away and look at each other and go, ‘What the fuck is water?’ and swim away.”
Genre Fiction and Adventure
9: The Stand by Stephen King
One of the first novels I read, so it’s foundational for me. King develops characters better than almost anyone. The stakes are quintessential king: good versus evil with a supernatural backdrop.
10: Deadwood by Pete Dexter
Love Pete Dexter, but most of all in this rendering of the American frontier. Clever characters with wordplay that cuts like knives. The TV show Deadwood is a favorite as well, with many of the same characters, but unassociated.
“There was nothing so beautiful that it was not more beautiful on reflection.”
11: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
Fun and witty. Supplanted True Grit on this list, though that is certainly worth reading. A comedic western.
“Every man that has ever held a position has thought about quitting.”
12: Blindsight by Peter Watts
Hard first-encounter sci-fi that builds supreme. Even the endnotes are excellent. Watts creates a devastating thought experiment about consciousness and its questionable purpose. Sublime if you like feeling like an insect sometimes.
13: World War Z by Max Brooks
Lest you think I’m anything more than a pedestrian, this is probably the book I’ve read most. Not high art. A warm, bloody blanket. Its oral history approach to a global zombie apocalypse creates a surprisingly insightful window into how different cultures might respond to catastrophe.
Foundational Wisdom
14: How to Think More Effectively by Alain de Botton
An excellent book I recommend universally. Short, dense with ideas, and a great introduction to de Botton’s philosophy for everyday life.
15: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
After getting a C in Philosophy my freshman year, I visited a bookstore and decided to really start reading. I picked Meditations because I liked the cover. Black, white, gold. Marble carvings on the front. 300 had just come out. Anyway, it was the book I needed then and so often now.
“Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break, but which stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it.”
16: Letters on Ethics by Seneca
One of the few books I bought in print and digitally just to have it in whatever form I need. Timeless. Replace 100 self-help books with the first quarter of this collection and you’ll be better for it. Old ideas are durable ideas for a reason.
17: Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Taleb: abrasive, belligerent, catty (like, seriously a bit of a bitch), and deeply insightful. The Incerto series changed many of my assumptions, repeatedly thumped the needle on my compass. His style may turn you off or enthrall you. Credit him for being interesting and unafraid to speak his mind.
Personal Development
18: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
A masterful compilation of ideas and attributed quotes and motivational personal development fluff. Deeply cliché and practical advice that turns out to be profoundly helpful (e.g., writing a personal mission statement). Read this, and it will shock you how many current personal development books are derivates of this book.
“Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny,” the maxim goes.”
19: High Output Management by Andy Grove
Excellent management and delegation primer. For younger readers, it provides a constructive way to think about your career and how to create (and reap value from creating) value within organizations. Uber practical.
20: Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
A stiff read that catalyzed overdue emotional work for me. Recommended for people who insist on attacking emotional issues with the limp instrument of logic. (Shoutout to The Whole-Brain Child — you don’t need a child to find it instructive. Alternative title: Becoming Emotionally Mature in Plain English.)
21: On Writing by Stephen King
The default book for people slouching toward creative writing. Should also be required for English classes. King is ubiquitous for a reason. His direct, unpretentious approach shatters any inclination to approach the page with academic overthinking.
“Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.”
History, Biography, and Memoir
22: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
23: American Ulysses by Ronald C. White
I grew up with pictures of Lincoln and Grant hanging side-by-side in my living room. Small oval frames with dingy yellow prints inside. Both men leveraged the hell out of modesty, and spoke and wrote simply. Lincoln was clever and even-headed. Of Grant, Lincoln said “I can’t spare this man. He fights.” And in doing so, Grant ended the Civil War. These biographies capture two extraordinary people who saved the nation, and are (mostly) worthy of emulating.
Team of Rivals: View on Amazon >
American Ulysses: View on Amazon >
24: Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
My favorite memoir, and the author who makes me laugh out loud the most. See also: No One Is Talking About This. I cannot compliment (or envy) her wit and style enough.
“My mother and I are after perfection. We are seeking a particular click in the head. We share the feeling that if we hang a picture or set a sentence down just right, we will instantly and painlessly ascend to the next level. We will be recognized, and the time we spent will be multiplied into forever and given back to us.”
25: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
One of the first books I willingly read. Lucky me! How vast and weird this world is. Bryson covers ground effortlessly, with humor, making the enormity of science and all that lingering unknown approachable.
