A reading list for a better life

The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read — Mark Twain

I’m trying to establish a more consistent reading habit. Either first thing in the morning (to fit in with the earlier morning routine I’m trying to get back on track with), or before bed (to fit into the bedtime routine I’m trying to get back on track with!).

I’ve dabbled with Audible and Blinkist as ways to consume books. I’m also enjoying Medium (of course) and Google News (limited). I like the idea that it’s not about the number of books you read, but about what you retain and do with that information that is useful.

They say knowledge is power. But I would argue knowledge is nothing without behaviour change.

Below is a reading list of books I’d like to read. And as a commitment to retaining and doing something with this knowledge, I aim to write book reviews of key takeouts, and revisit these with the behaviour change I will / am doing to blend this into what I do on a daily basis.

Onto the list — if you have any additions / recommendations I’d love to hear:

1. Spiritual, mental, physical well-being:

• Breath — The new science of a lost art
• Wim Hof method
• Kindness, clarity an insight — Dalai Lama
• The mastery of love
• The happiness project
• Conversations with God
• Lost connections — why you’re depressed and how to find hope
• Autobiography of a yogi
• How to change your mind — the science of psychedelics
• Waking up
• 48 laws of power
• Bullet proof diet

2. Productivity:

• Miracle morning
• 4 hr work-week
• 5am club
• Thinking, fast and slow
• Tools of titans
• The Art of Thinking Clearly: Better Thinking, Better Decisions
• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do, and How to Change
• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life

3. Community / society:

• 21 lessons for the 21st century
• Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

4. Creativity:

• The magic of thinking big
• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
• Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
• Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Austin Kleon)

5. Character:

• How to win friends and influence people
• The introvert advantage
• Quiet — the power of introverts
• A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
• Scarcity: The True Cost of Not Having Enough
• How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life
• So Good They Can’t Ignore You
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
• The Obstacle is the Way: The ancient art of turning adversity into opportunity: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage
• Mastery (The Modern Machiavellian Robert Greene, 1)
• Penguin Great Ideas : On the Shortness of Life: Seneca
• Meditations: Marcus Aurelius (Penguin Classics)
• As a Man Thinketh

6. Adventure:

• Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul
• Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic
• The Call of the Wild

7. Wealth creation & management:

• Think and grow rick
• Cash-flow quadrant
• The total money makeover
• Richest man in Babylon
• Your Money or Your Life , 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Revised and Updated for the 21st Century
• The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy

8. Fiction:

• Cryptonomicon
• 1Q84
• Brave new world