In 2015, I wrote a book summary of The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and published it on my blog.
Doing so helped me remember its key takeaways. Plus, people enjoyed reading it. So I continued doing it with other books.o
Since then, I’ve summarized 100+ of the best books to read across several categories including business, psychology, marketing, self-help, and more.
With more than 133,000 readers in 2018 so far, it’s not uncommon for me to get questions like “What book should I read to help with [insert problem here]?” Or, “Can you recommend a good book on [topic]?”
To help answer questions like the above once and for all, I’ve put together a thorough reading list of the best books of all time, organized by category.
From business to leadership, philosophy to psychology, self-help to writing, you’ll find more than 100 good book recommendations, organized by category.
To reduce overwhelm, I’ve limited each category to 10 books, included a key takeaway, and introduced my favorites explaining why I like them and how they’ve impacted my life.
Like all my work, this page is a work in progress. So, feel free to bookmark it and return to it when you’re looking for top books to read.
Best Books to Read
Not sure where to begin? Click the links below to jump to a specific category.
- Best Biographies & Memoirs
- Best Business Books
- Best Finance Books
- Best Health & Fitness Books
- Best Leadership Books
- Best Marketing Books
- Best Philosophy Books
- Best Psychology Books
- Best Self-Help Books
- Best Writing Books
Best Biographies & Memoirs
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth
by Chris Hadfield
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“Sweat the small stuff. Without letting anyone see you sweat.”
Benjamin Franklin
by Walter Isaacson
Key takeaway:
“Knowledge is obtained by the use of the ear rather than of the tongue.”
Bossypants
by Tina Fey
Key takeaway:
“Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.”
Einstein
by Walter Isaacson
Key takeaway:
Knock down the things that depress or anger you.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
Key takeaway:
“Pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
Shoe Dog
by Phil Knight
Key takeaway:
“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”
Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson
Key takeaway:
“If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them away. The more the outside world tries to reinforce an image of you, the harder it is to continue to be an artist, which is why a lot of times, artists have to say, ‘Bye. I have to go. I’m going crazy and I’m getting out of here.’ And they go and hibernate somewhere. Maybe later they re-emerge a little differently.”
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!
by Richard Feynman
Key takeaway:
You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. You have no responsibility to be like they expect you to be. It’s their mistake, not your failing.
Best Business Books
Built to Last
by Jim Collins
Key takeaway:
When building a revolutionary company, understand who you are rather than where you are going—for where you are going will almost certainly change.
Built to Sell
by John Warrillow
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“Don’t be afraid to say no to projects. Prove that you’re serious about specialization by turning down work that falls outside your area of expertise. The more people you say no to, the more referrals you’ll get to people who need your product or service.”
Note from Sam:
Built to Sell is my favorite business book. Systemizing our marketing department transformed how our marketing department and organization (Sleeknote) operates. Plus, it’s helped scale our content marketing (more on that here).
Getting Things Done
by David Allen
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
Use your mind to think about things, rather than think of them. Add value as you think about projects and people rather than remind yourself they exist.
Getting to Yes
by Roger Fisher
Key takeaway:
“People listen better if they feel that you have understood them. They tend to think that those who understand them are intelligent and sympathetic people whose own opinions may be worth listening to. So if you want the other side to appreciate your interests, begin by demonstrating that you appreciate theirs.”
How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“Don’t be afraid of enemies who attack you. Be afraid of the friends who flatter you.”
Losing My Virginity
by Richard Branson
Key takeaway:
“To be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running.”
The 4-Hour Work Week
by Tim Ferriss
Key takeaway:
“Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.”
The Lean Startup
by Eric Ries
Key takeaway:
When building a minimum viable product, remove any feature, process, or effort that does not contribute directly to the learning you seek.
The One Thing
by Gary Keller
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
To distinguish the vital few tasks that matter from the trivial many that don’t, ask yourself, “What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
by Marshall Goldsmith
Key takeaway:
“Treat every piece of advice as a gift or a compliment and simply say, ‘Thank you.’”
Best Finance Books
How to Own the World
Print | Kindle | Book Summary
By Andrew Craig
Key takeaway:
“If you do not have a solid grasp of what is happening in the world at the moment then it is very likely you are becoming poorer, and this process is only set to accelerate.”
Note from Sam:
I put off investing for YEARS. I didn’t know what indexing was, how it worked, or why I needed to get started. But then I read How to Own The World … and it changed everything for me. In fact, I began investing for the first time before I even finished the book. One of my favorites.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich
by Ramit Sethi
Key takeaway:
“Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.”
Money Master the Game
by Anthony Robbins
Key takeaway:
“Remember: we all get what we tolerate. So stop tolerating excuses within yourself, limiting beliefs of the past, or half-assed or fearful states. Use your body as a tool to snap yourself into a place of sheer will, determination, and commitment. Face your challenges head-on with the core belief that problems are just speed bumps on the road to your dreams. And from that place, when you take massive action—with an effective and proven strategy—you will rewrite your history.”
Rich Dad Poor Dad
by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
An asset puts money in your pocket. A liability takes money out of your pocket. To become wealthy, acquire assets.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind
by T. Harv Eker
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“If you want to move to a higher level of life, you have to be willing to let go of some of your old ways of thinking and being and adopt new ones.”
The Intelligent Investor
by Benjamin Graham
Key takeaway:
“You must thoroughly analyze a company, and the soundness of its underlying businesses, before you buy its stock; you must deliberately protect yourself against serious losses; you must aspire to “adequate,” not extraordinary, performance.”
The Millionaire Fastlane
by M.J. DeMarco
Key takeaway:
“Instead of digging for gold, sell shovels. Instead of taking a class, offer a class. Instead of borrowing money, lend it. Instead of taking a job, hire for jobs. Instead of taking a mortgage, hold a mortgage. Break free from consumption, switch sides, and reorient to the world as producer.”
The Millionaire Next Door
by Thomas J. Stanley
Key takeaway:
“Whatever your income, always live below your means.”
The Richest Man in Babylon
by George S. Clason
Key takeaway:
“Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you only take what is worth having.”
Think and Grow Rich
by Napoleon Hill
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”
Best Health & Fitness Books
Bigger Leaner Stronger
by Michael Matthews
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“For optimal muscle growth, you must lift in such a way that causes optimal micro–tearing and then you must feed your body what it needs to grow and give it the proper amount of rest.”
Food Rules
by Michael Pollan
Key takeaway:
If you’re hungry, use the apple test. If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, you’re not hungry.
In Defense of Food
by Michael Pollan
Key takeaway:
“While it is true that many people simply can’t afford to pay more for food, either in money or time or both, many more of us can […] For the majority of Americans, spending more for better food is less a matter of ability than priority.”
Starting Strength
by Mark Rippetoe
Key takeaway:
To get strong, you need to perform a few very important exercises, movements that train the whole body as a system, not as a collection of separate body parts.
Strength Training Anatomy
by Frédéric Delavier
Key takeaway:
To prevent the formation of fibrous scar tissue in the hamstrings, reeducate the muscles as soon as possible. A week after a tear, perform gentle stretches for the back of the thighs. The goal is to stretch the injured muscles and especially to soften the scar so that it doesn’t tear when you resume training.
The 4-Hour Body
by Tim Ferriss
Key takeaway:
“Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates (or anything that can be white). Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again. Rule #3: Don’t drink calories. Rule #4: Don’t eat fruit. Rule #5: Take one day off per week and go nuts.”
The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding
by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Key takeaway:
“If you don’t find the time, if you don’t do the work, you don’t get the results.”
The First 20 Minutes
by Gretchen Reynolds
Key takeaway:
Walk or otherwise work out lightly for 150 minutes a week in order to improve your health. You can split these 150 minutes into almost any chunks and still benefit.
Wheat Belly
by William Davis
Key takeaway:
Eat raw nuts. Raw almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, and cashews are wonderful. Eat as much as you want. They’re filling and full of fiber, monounsaturated oils, and protein. They reduce blood pressure, reduce LDL cholesterol (including small LDL particles), and consuming them several times a week can add two years to your life.
Why We Get Fat
by Gary Taubes
Key takeaway:
The one thing you absolutely have to do if you want to get leaner—if you want to get fat out of your fat tissue and burn it—is lower your insulin levels so you can secrete less insulin.
Best Leadership Books
Extreme Ownership
by Jocko Willink
Key takeaway:
“Prioritize your problems and take care of them one at a time, the highest priority first. Don’t try to do everything at once or you won’t be successful.”
Good to Great
by James C. Collins
Key takeaway:
If you’re building a great company, limit its growth based on your ability to attract enough of the right people.
Leaders Eat Last
by Simon Sinek
Key takeaway:
If you want to be a great leader, you need to inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more.
Lean In
by Sheryl Sandberg
Key takeaway:
Make others better as a result of your presence and make sure that impact lasts in your absence.
Start with Why
by Simon Sinek
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it. So, instead of asking, “WHAT should I do to compete?” ask yourself, “WHY did I start doing WHAT I’m doing in the first place, and WHAT can I do to bring my cause to life considering all the technologies and market opportunities available today?”
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
by John C. Maxwell
Key takeaway:
“To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others, use your heart.”
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen R. Covey
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.”
The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
Key takeaway:
“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
The Effective Executive
by Peter Drucker
Key takeaway:
“It is more productive to convert an opportunity into results than to solve a problem—which only restores the equilibrium of yesterday.”
The Innovator’s Dilemma
by Clayton M. Christensen
Key takeaway:
To succeed consistently as a manager, you need to be skilled not just in choosing, training, and motivating the right people for the right job, but in choosing, building, and preparing the right organization for the job as well.
Wooden on Leadership
by John Wooden
Key takeaway:
Commit to what’s right rather than who’s right.
Best Marketing Books
80/20 Sales and Marketing
by Perry Marshall
Key takeaway:
80/20 says 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your efforts, and 20 percent of your results come from the other 80 percent. Invest your time, energy and resources in the 20 percent for each area of your business.
Contagious
by Jonah Berger
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
Design products and initiatives that advertise themselves and create behavioral residue that sticks around even after people have bought the product or espoused the idea.
Influence:
by Robert B. Cialdini
Key takeaway:
People like to have reasons for what they do. So, when asking someone to do you a favor, give a reason. You will be more successful.
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
by Al Ries
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
It’s better to be first than it is better. So, if you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.
Note from Sam:
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing is my favorite marketing book and I recommend it to every intern that works under me. Granted, the examples are outdated, but the principles are not. And that’s why it’s a classic.
Ogilvy on Advertising
by David Ogilvy
Print | Hardcover | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
When meeting with prospective clients, tell them what your weak points are, before he notices them. This will make you more credible when you boast about your strong points.
Permission Marketing
by Seth Godin
Key takeaway:
“Invest money in customer retention, because it’s a small fraction of the cost of customer acquisition.”
Positioning
by Al Ries
Print | Hardcover | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
You don’t need to create something new and different to position your company. Rather, you need to manipulate what’s already in the buyer’s mind, to retie the connections that already exist.
Purple Cow
by Seth Godin
Key takeaway:
“Instead of trying to use your technology and expertise to make a better product for your users’ standard behavior, experiment with inviting the users to change their behavior to make the product work dramatically better.”
To Sell Is Human
by Daniel H. Pink
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
To sell well in today’s world, is to serve, first; to improve another’s life and, in turn, improve the world. So, anytime you’re tempted to upsell someone, stop what you’re doing and upserve instead.
Tribes
by Seth Godin
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
Best Philosophy Books
Discourses and Selected Writings
by Epictetus
Key takeaway:
“Remember from now on whenever something tends to make you unhappy, draw on this principle: This is no misfortune, but bearing with it bravely is a blessing.”
Enchiridion
by Epictetus
Key takeaway:
“Demand not that events should happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.”
Letter from a Stoic
by Seneca
Key takeaway:
“Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to injure future ones.”
Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
The Obstacle Is the Way
by Ryan Holiday
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
In moments of crises, focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.
Best Psychology Books
Drive
by Daniel H. Pink
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
The new approach to motivation has three essential elements: (1) Autonomy—the desire to direct our own lives; (2) Mastery—the urge to get better and better at something that matters; and (3) Purpose—the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.
Flow
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Key takeaway:
To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, you must become independent of the social environment to the degree that you no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments. To achieve such autonomy, you have to learn to give rewards to yourself. You have to develop the ability to find enjoyment and purpose regardless of external circumstances.
Grit
by Angela Duckworth
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
Grit is about working on something you care about so much that you’re willing to stay loyal to it. It’s not about falling in love; it’s about staying in love.
Man’s Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl
Key takeaway:
Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. Listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run, success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.
Outliers
by Malcolm Gladwell
Key takeaway:
To be successful, develop the persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.
Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
To improve an irrational behavior, ask yourself, “How did it begin? Second, ask yourself, “What amount of pleasure will I be getting out of it. Is the pleasure as much as I thought I would get?”
Switch
by Chip and Dan Heath
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“Any successful change requires a translation of ambiguous goals into concrete behaviors. In short, to make a switch, you need to script the critical moves.”
The Happiness Advantage
by Shawn Achor
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
If you work hard, you will become successful, and once you become successful, then you’ll be happy is a broken formula.
The Power of Habit
by Charles Duhigg
Key takeaway:
You can’t extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it. To do that, you need to keep the old cue and deliver the old reward but insert a new routine.
Stumbling on Happiness
by Daniel Gilbert
Key takeaway:
“When we imagine future circumstances, we fill in details that won’t really come to pass and leave out details that will. When we imagine future feelings, we find it impossible to ignore what we are feeling now and impossible to recognize how we will think about the things that happen later.”
The Talent Code
by Daniel Coyle
Key takeaway:
When learning a skill, don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
Key takeaway:
“Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it.”
The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell
Key takeaway:
“If you want to bring a fundamental change in people’s belief and behavior, you need to create a community around them, where those new beliefs can be practiced and expressed and nurtured.”
The Willpower Instinct
by Kelly McGonigal
Key takeaway:
“The biggest enemies of willpower: temptation, self-criticism, and stress. (…) these three skills —self-awareness, self-care, and remembering what matter most— are the foundation for self-control.”
You Are Not So Smart
by David McRaney
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“From the greatest scientist to the most humble artisan, every brain within every body is infested with preconceived notions and patterns of thought that lead it astray without the brain knowing it.”
Best Self-Help Books
Awaken the Giant Within
by Anthony Robbins
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards and believe you can meet them.”
Note from Sam:
Wow. What can I say about Awaken the Giant Within? I read it in my early twenties and it changed my life. Granted, Tony’s NOT for everyone. But if he’s for you, and you apply what you read, his content will impact your life—guaranteed.
Feeling Good
by David D. Burns
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“The negative thoughts which cause your emotional turmoil nearly always contain gross distortions. Although these thoughts appear valid, they are irrational or just plain wrong, and that twisted thinking is a major cause of your suffering.”
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
by Dale Carnegie
Key takeaway:
“When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness.”
Maximum Achievement
by Brian Tracy
Key takeaway:
“All change is from the inner to the outer. All change begins in the self-concept. You must become the person you want to be on the inside before you see the appearance of this person on the outside.”
The Magic of Thinking Big
by David J. Schwartz
Key takeaway:
“Look at things not as they are, but as they can be. Visualization adds value to everything. A big thinker always visualizes what can be done in the future. He isn’t stuck with the present.”
Psycho-Cybernetics
by Maxwell Maltz
Key takeaway:
“Your nervous system cannot tell the difference between an imagined experience and a ‘real’ experience.”
The Power of Positive Thinking
by Norman Vincent Peale
Key takeaway:
“The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.”
The Road Less Traveled
by M. Scott Peck
Key takeaway:
“Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once [you] truly see this truth, [you] transcend it. Once [you] truly know that life is difficult-once we truly understand and accept it-then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
by Mark Manson
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
When you don’t know what to do, don’t just sit there. Do something. The answers will follow.
The Success Principles
by Jack Canfield
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“If you want to be successful, you have to take 100% responsibility for everything that you experience in your life.”
Best Writing Books
Bird by Bird
by Anne Lamott
Key takeaway:
Own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.
On Writing Well
by William Zinsser
Key takeaway:
“Decide what you want to do. Then decide to do it. Then do it.”
On Writing
by Stephen King
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”
Note from Sam:
An awe-inspiring insight into the experiences, habits, and convictions that have helped Stephen become one of the most prolific writers of all-time. Even if you’re not interested in writing, it’s worth reading to learn how he bounced back after his involvement in a car accident.
The Elements of Style
by William Strunk Jr.
Key takeaway:
“To achieve style, begin by affecting none.”
The War of Art
by Steven Pressfield
Print | Audiobook | Book Summary
Key takeaway:
“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”
Like What You Read?
Sign up for my free weekly newsletter and get a full month’s worth of book recommendations delivered straight to your inbox. Just enter your email address and click “Get Updates!”
RAY YET 
&dbg=0&cap=tc%3D0%26ab%3D0&inst=1&jsl=1&prod=undefined&lng=en&ogt=alt%2Cheight%2Cwidth%2Csecure_url%2Cimage%2Csite_name%2Curl%2Ctype%3Darticle&pc=wpp&pub=ra-5ab629c235b88c39&ssl=1&sid=5bb3c90b5d85e225&srf=0.01&ver=300&xck=0&xtr=0&og=locale%3Den_US%26type%3Darticle%26title%3D100%252B%2520Best%2520Books%2520to%2520Base%2520Your%2520Life%2520On%2520(Organized%2520by%2520Category)%26description%3DLooking%2520for%2520good%2520books%2520to%2520read%253F%2520Read%2520this%2520page%2520to%2520get%2520great%2520book%2520recommendations%2520without%2520feeling%2520overwhelmed%2520by%2520all%2520the%2520options.%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.rayyet.com%252Fbest-books-to-read%252F%26site_name%3DSam%2520Thomas%2520Davies%26image%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fi0.wp.com%252Fwww.rayyet.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2018%252F06%252FBest-Books.png%253Ffit%253D702%25252C702%2526ssl%253D1%26secure_url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fi0.wp.com%252Fwww.rayyet.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2018%252F06%252FBest-Books.png%253Ffit%253D702%25252C702%2526ssl%253D1%26width%3D702%26height%3D702%26alt%3DBest%2520Books&csi=undefined&rev=v8.3.5-wp&ct=1&xld=1&xd=1){kind=link}