Big ideas from books you’ll love

Book Summaries and Reviews

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)