Big ideas from books you’ll love
Book Summaries and Reviews
For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond, by Ben Macintyre
Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success, Napoleon Hill
The Courage To Be Disliked, Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
The Gift of Being Yourself, by David Brenner and M. Basil Pennington
The Little Back Book of Fitness Motivation, Michael Matthews
Who Do You Think You Are? Finding Your True Identity in Christ, Mark Driscoll
Book tracker
(Most of what I’ve read over the last ten or more years)
Art & Music Books
Anatomy of a Song, Marc Myers
Can’t Slow Down, Michaelangelo Matos
Deliver Me From Nowhere, Warren Names
Drawing on The Right Side of The Brain, Betty Edwards
Every Song Ever, Ben Ratliff
How Music Got Free, Stephen Witt
How Music Works, David Byrne
How to Listen to Jazz, Ted Gioia
I Want My MTV, Rob Tannenbaum and Craig Marks
Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics
Steal Like An Artist, Austin Kleon
Modern Cartooning
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, Rob Sheffield
The Art of Star Wars The Force Awakens, Phil Szostak
The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics, Claus Janson
The Number Ones, Tom Breihan
The Sketchnote Handbook, Mike Rohde
Twilight of The Gods, Steven Hyden
VJ, MTV VJs
Autobiographical / Biographical Books
Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins (notes)
Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem, Daniel R. Day (notes)
Deep in a Dream, (The Long Night of Chet Baker) James Gavin
Fantasy Life, Matthew Berry
Fashion Climber, Bill Cunningham
Fast Girl, Suzy Favor Hamilton
Fitness Confidential, Vinnie Tortorich
For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond, by Ben Macintyre (notes)
I Must Say, Martin Short
Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdian
Maverick, Ricardo Semler
Medium Raw, Anthony Bourdain
My Journey, Robert Schuller
Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson
Sticky Fingers, Joe Hagan (notes)
The Pleasure Groove, John Taylor
The Princess Diaries, Carrie Fisher
The Ride of a Lifetime, Bob Iger (summary)
The Soundtrack of My Life, Clive Davis
Tokyo Vice, Jake Adelstein
Tough Sh*t, Kevin Smith
Business & Entreprenuership Books
10x is Easier Than 2X, Dan Sullivan
Affiliate Manager Boot Camp, Shawn Collins
A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Burton G. Malkiel
Born for This, Chris Guillebeau
Career Renegade, Jonathan Fields
Comic Wars: Marvel’s Battle for Survival
Creative Selection, Ken Kocienda
Crush It!, Gary Vaynerchuk
Daily Inbox Zero, S.J. Scott
Disney War, James B. Stewart
Do What You Are, Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron, and Kelly Tieger
Escape from Cubicle Nation, Pamela Slim
Free, Chris Anderson
Game Over, David Shell
Good To Great, Jim Collins
Graceful, Seth Godin
Growth Hacker Marketing, Ryan Holiday
Half Time, Bob Buford
Hit Men, Fredric Dannen
How Star Wars Conquored the Universe, Chris Taylor
Insubordinate, Seth Godin
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Gary Vaynerchuk
Linchpin, Seth Godin
LinkedWorking, Lewis Howes
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, Sean Howe
Meaningful, Bernadette Jiwa
Million Dollar Consulting, Alan Weiss
Newsjacking, David Meerman Scott
Non-Obvious, Rohit Bhargava
Obvious Adams, Robert R. Updegraff
Performance Partnerships, Robert Glazer
Rules of Thumb, Alan M. Webber
Side Hustle, Chris Guillebeau
Side Hustle Blueprint, Lise Cartwright
Skip the Line, James Altucher
Small is The New Big, Seth Godin
Smartcuts, Shane Snow
The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau
The 10X Rule, Grant Cardone
The 4-Hour Work-Week, Tim Ferriss
The Accidental Instructional Designer, Sammy Bean
The Art of Non-Conformity, Chris Guillebeau
The Art of Work, Jeff Goins
The Authentic Salesman, Michael McIntyre
The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks
The Big Moo, Seth Godin
The Dip, Seth Godin
The End of Jobs, Taylor Pearson
The Monk and the Riddle, Randy Komisar
The New Rules of Marketing and PR, David Meerman Scott
The One Device, Brian Merchant (review / notes)
The One Thing, Gary Keller
The Pathless Path, Paul Millerd
The Power of Broke, Daymond
The Start-Up of You, Reid Hoffman
The Thank You Economy, Gary Vaynerchuk
The Well-Fed Writer, Peter Bowerman
Trust Agents, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
Trust Me, I’m Lying, Ryan Holiday
Faith & Spirituality Books
A Hidden Wholeness, Parker J. Palmer
Beyond Jabez, Bruce Wilkinson
Crushing, by T.D. Jakes (notes)
Dying to Be Me, Anita Moorjani
Emergence, Derek Rydall
Fearless, Max Lucado (notes)
Frequency, Robert Morris (notes)
Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom
He Restores My Soul, Jennifer Kennedy Dean
I Can See Clearly Now, Dr. Wayne Dyer
If, Mark Batterson (notes)
If You Want To Walk On Water, You’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat, John Ortberg
Infinite Possibilities, Mike Dooley
Joyful Journey: Listening to Emmanuel, E. James Wilder
Key to Yourself, Venice J. Bloodworth
Killing Kryptonite, John Bevere
Let Your Life Speak, Palmer J. Parker (summary)
Manifesting Change, Mike Dooley
Miracle at The Higher Grounds Cafe, Max Lucado
More Glimpses of Heaven, Trudy Harris
Proof of Heaven, Eben Alexander
Put Your Dream To The Test, John C. Maxwell
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson
The Dream Giver, Bruce Wilkinson
The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz
The Gift of Being Yourself, David Brenner and M. Basil Pennington (notes)
The God I Never Knew, Robert Morris
The Noticer, Andy Andrews
The Path Made Clear, Oprah Winfrey
The Power of Favor, Joel Osteen (notes)
The Prayer of Jabez, Bruce Wilkinson
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer (notes)
The Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra
The Shack, William P. Young
The Spirit of Man, Dr. Ana Mendez-Ferrell
The Surrender Experiment, Michael A. Singer
The Traveler’s Gift, Andy Andrews
The Universe Has Your Back, Gabrielle Bernstein
The Untethered Soul, Michael A. Singer
The Way of The Peaceful Warrior, Dan Millman
The Way of The Superior Man, David Deida
Today We Are Rich, Tim Sanders
Tough Minded Faith for Tender Hearted People, Robert Schuller
Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom
Where do You Live, Janet L. McGee
Who Do You Think You Are, Mark Driscoll
Win From Within, John W. Gray
Without Rival, Lisa Bevere
You Were Born For This, Bruce Wilkinson
General Fiction Books
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles
American Tabloid, James Elroy
A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick
Black Widow, Randy Wayne White
Camino Winds, John Grisham
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
Children of the Canyon, David Kukoff
City of Thieves, David Benoit
City on Fire, Garth Risk Hallberg
Dead of Night, Randy Wayne White
Finally, Some Good News, Delicious Tacos
Gathering Blue, Lois Lowry
Ice Run, Steve Hamilton
In The Distance, Hernan Diaz (review and notes)
Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson
Messenger, Lois Lowry
NYPD Red, James Patterson
Pirate Latitudes, Michael Crichton
Savage Son, Jack Carr (review & quotes)
Smoke, Bob Williams
The Devil’s Hand, Jack Carr
The First Phone Call From Heaven, Mitch Albom
The Giver, Lois Lowry
The Midnight Library, Matt Haig (review & notes)
The Mistletoe Promise, Richard Paul Evans
The Overstory, Richard Powers (review & quotes)
The Terminal List, Jack Carr (review & quotes)
The Vegetarian, Han Kang
True Believer, Jack Carr (review & quotes)
Finance Books
Money: Master the Game, Tony Robbins
I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi
The Eventual Millionaire, Jamie Tardy
The Instant Millionaire, Mark Fisher
The Millionaire Fastlane, MJ DeMarco
The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Clason
The Total Money Makeover, Dave Ramsey
Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
You are a Badass at Making Money, Jen Sincero
Health & Fitness Books
Deep Nutrition, Dr. Catherine Shannahan
How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger
Perfect Health, Deepak Chopra
Proteinaholic, Dr. Garth Davis
The Blue Zones Solution, Dan Buettner
The Fatburn Fix, Dr. Catherine Shannahan (review and notes)
The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss
The 4-Hour Chef, Tim Ferriss
The Little Black Book of Fitness Motivation, Michael Matthews (review and notes)
The New High Intensity Training, Ellington Darden
History Books
1776, David McCullough
A Higher Call, Adam Makos
Detroit, An American Autopsy, by Charlie LeDuff
Flags of our Fathers, James Bradley
Island of the Lost, Joan Druett
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, Jonathan Mahler
One Summer, Bill Bryson
Supergods, Grant Morrison
The Caped Crusade, Glen Weldon
The Chicago Tribune Collection 1984-1997, Mike Royko
The Cult of LEGO
The Demon of Unrest, Erik Larson (review)
The Fifties, David Halberstam
The Girl With Seven Names, Hyeonseo Lee
The Greater Journey, David McCullough
The Library Book, Susan Orlean
The Living Great Lakes, Jerry Dennis
The Lost City of Z, David Grann
The Next 100 Years, George Friedman
The Race Underground, Doug Most
The Swamp, Michael Grunwald
The Ten-Cent Plague, David Haidu
VJ, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Gavin Edwards
Historical Fiction Books
Dead Wake, Erik Larson
In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson
Issac’s Storm, Erik Larson
New York (The Novel), Edward Rutherford
The Devil in The White City, Erik Larson
The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson (notes)
Thunderstruck, Erik Larson
Humor Books
Dave Barry in Cyberspace, Dave Barry
Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits, Dave Barry
Dave Barry’s History of the Millennium, Dave Barry
Dave Barry’s Only Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need, Dave Barry
Food: A Love Story, Jim Gaffigan
Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh
Political & Sociology Books
Believer, David Axelrod
Brazil’s Dance With The Devil
David and Goliath, Malcom Gladwell
Game Change, John Heilmann, Mark Halpern
Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, Glenn Beck
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, Jon Ronson (review)
The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell
Psychology Books
Beyond Thoughts, Joseph Nguyen
Blink, Malcom Gladwell
Boundaries = Freedom, Joseph Nguyen
Don’t Believe Everything You Think, Joseph Nguyen
How to Meet Your Self, Dr. Nicole LePera
Influence, Robert Cialdini
It Works, by RHJ
Just Listen, Mark Goulston
Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl
Mindset, Carol S. Dweck
Never Split the Difference, Chris Voss (notes)
NLP For Work, Dianne Lowther
Outliers, Malcom Gladwell
Persuasion Skills, Rintu Basu
Quiet, Susan Cain (notes)
The Inner Work, Mat & Ash
The 48 Laws of Power
The Courage To Be Disliked, Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
The INTP, by Dr. A.J. Drenth (notes)
The Like Switch, Jack Schafer
The Magic of Thinking Big, David J. Schwartz
The Courage to Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi (notes)
The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale
The Rational Male, Rollo Tomassi
The Six Pllars of Self-Esteem, Nathaniel Branden
Triggers, Joseph Sugarman (notes)
Turning Pro, Steven Pressfield
When I Say No, I Feel Guilty, Manuel J. Smith
Why You’re Stuck, Derek Doepker
Win Bigly, Scott Adams (notes)
Science Fiction / Fantasy Books
Artemis, Andy Weir (review + notes)
Dust, Hugh Howey
Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir (review)
Shift, Hugh Howey
Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron, Alexander Freed
Star Wars: Aftermath, Chuck Wendig
Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire’s End, Chuck Wendig
Star Wars: Aftermath: Life Debt, Chuck Wendig
Star Wars: Ahsoka, E.K. Johnston
Star Wars: A New Dawn, John Jackson Miller
Star Wars: Battlefront Twilight Company, Alexander Freed
Star Wars: Battlefront II, Inferno Squad, Christie Golden
Star Wars: Before The Awakening, Greg Rucka
Star Wars: Bloodline, Claudia Gray
Star Wars: Catalyst, James Luceno
Star Wars: Dark Disciple, Christie Golden
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising, Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: Darth Bane Dynasty of Evil, Drew Karpyshyn
Star Wars: Darth Bane Path of Destruction, Drew Karpyshyn
Star Wars: Darth Bane Rule of Two, Drew Karpyshyn
Star Wars: Darth Plagues, James Luceno
Star Wars: Force Collector, Kevin Shinick
Star Wars: Heir To The Empire, Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: Heir to The Jedi, Kevin Hearne
Star Wars: Kenobi, John Jackson Miller
Star Wars: Lords of The Sith
Star Wars: Lost Stars, Claudia Gray
Star Wars: Master and Apprentice, by Claudia Gray
Star Wars: Rogue One, Alexander Freed
Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, Rebecca Roanhorse
Star Wars: Smuggler’s Run, A Han Solo Adventure, Greg Rucka
Star Wars: Specter of The Past
Star Wars Stormtroopers: Beyond the Armor, Adam Bray
Star Wars: Tarkin, James Luceno
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Alan Dean Foster
Star Wars: The Last Command, Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: Thrawn, Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances, Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason, Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: Vision of the Future, Timothy Zahn
Star Wars Propaganda, Pablo Hildago
The Martian, Andy Weir
Wool, Hugh Howey
Self-Improvement Books
10% Happier, Dan Harris
And You Know You Should Be Glad, Bob Greene
Anything you Want, Derek Sivers
As A Man Thinketh, James Allen
Awaken the Giant Within, Tony Robbins
Become an Idea Machine, James Altucher
Become What You Are, Alan Watts
Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert
Choose Yourself, James Altucher
Evil Plans, Hugh MacLeod
Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin (notes)
Focus on Impact, Wendy Lipton-Dibner
Gorilla Mindset, Mike Cernovich
How To Be Like Walt, Pat Williams
How to Lose at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Dale Carnegie
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
Humility, Andrew Murray
If You’re Not First, You’re Last, Grant Cardone
Ignore Everybody, Hugh MacLeod
Imagine, Justin Sachs
Into the Magic Shop, James Doty
It’s Not About The Tights, Chris Brogan
I Was Blind, But Now I See, James Altucher
Let Go, Pat Flynn
Life is What You Make It, Peter Buffett
Live Your Truth, Kamal Ravikant
Love Yourself, Kamal Ravikant
My Exile Lifestyle, Colin Wright
Outwitting The Devil, Napoleon Hill
Pivot, Jenny Blake
Playing Big, Tara Mohr
Rebirth, Kamal Ravikant
Reinvent Yourself, James Altucher
Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, Kevin Carroll
Simplify, by Joshua Becker
Strengths Finder 2.0, Tom Roth
Success Forces, Joe Sugarman
The Art of Possibility, Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
The Choose Yourself Stories, James Altucher
The Crossroads of Should and Must, Elle Luna
The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity, Catherine Ponder
The Gift of Being Yourself, David G. Benner
The Happiness of Pursuit, Chris Guillebeau
The Happiness Project, Gretchen Ruben
The Passion Test, Janet Bray Attwood and Chris Attwood
The Power of Focus, Jack Canfield
The Power of No, James Altucher
The Rich Employee, James Altucher
The Strangest Secret, Earl Nightengale
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a ****, Mark Manson
The Success Principles, Jack Canfield
The Think Big Manifesto, Michael Port
Uncommon Life, Tony Dungy
University of Success, Oz Mandingo
Unlimited Power, Tony Robbins
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Marshall Goldsmith
Sports Books / Sports Biographies
3 Nights in August, Buzz Bissinger
A Fan’s Guide to Baseball Analytics, Anthony Castrovince
Aces: The Last Season on the Mound with the Oakland A's Big Three, Mychael Urban
Baseball: The Writer’s Game, Mike Shannon
Best Baseball Writing, Matthew Silverman and Greg Spira
Big Ten Country, Bob Wood
Bless You Boys: A Diary of the Detroit Tigers’ 1984 Season, Sparky Anderson
Duffy, Duffy Daughtery and Dave Diles
Friday Night Lights, Buzz Bissinger
Go Gators! Peter Golenbock
Great Baseball Writing, Sports Illustrated
Moneyball, Michael Lewis
Now I Can Die in Peace, Bill Simmons
Opening Day, Jonathan Eig
Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Blunders, Rob Neyer
Saban: The Making of a Coach, Monte Burke
Spartan Seasons, Lynn Henning
Spartan Seasons II, Lynn Henning
Spring Training, William Zissner
Summer of ‘49, David Halberstam
Summer of ‘68, Tim Wendel (review)
Ted Williams, Leigh Montville
The Book of Basketball, Bill Simmons
The Bullpen Gospels, Dirk Hayhurst
The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse, Rich Cohen
The Extra 2%, Jonah Keri
The Inside Game, Keith Law
The MVP Machine, Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik
The Ride of A Lifetime, George Perles and Vahe Gregorian
The Russian Five, Keith Gave
Where’s Harry? Steve Stone with Barry Rozner
Wrigleyville, Peter Golenbock
Writing / SEO / Content Strategy Books
A Poetry Handbook, Mary Oliver
Ca$hvertising, Drew Eric Whitman (notes)
Comedy Writing Secrets, Melvin Helitzer
Consider This, Chuck Palahniuk (review and notes)
Content, Inc., Joe Pulizzi
Content Rules, Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman
Corporate Conversations, Shel Holtz
Do You Talk Funny?, David Nihill
Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug
Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss
Everybody Writes, Ann Handley
How To Tell A Story and Other Essays, Mark Twain
If You Want To Write, Brenda Ueland
My Life in Advertising, Claude Hopkins
Newsjacking, David Meerman Scott
On Writing, Stephen King
Phrases that Sell, Germain Werz
Process: The Writing Lives of Great Authors, Sarah Stodola
Scientific Advertising, Claude Hopkins
SEO 2019, Adam Clarke
Show Your Work! Austin Kleon
Stories That Sell, Casey Hibbard
Story Engineering, Larry Brooks
Strategic Public Relations, Jennifer Gentry
Tested Advertising Methods, John Caples
The Boron Letters, Gary Halbert (notes)
The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics, Dennis O’Neil (notes)
The AdWeek Copywriting Handbook, Joe Sugarman (notes)
Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg (review & summary)