Book Notes

Can’t figure out the next book to read? Want some recommendations? Check out my list of books categorized by different themes and topics, or simply search to see if I have a book summary you might be interested in.

Most of these books I’ve created notes for. However, some of them I read before I started this practice, but I still recommend them if you’re interested in that topic.

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Categorized by Themes & Topics

• Leadership
• People Skills, Sales & Influence
• Military
• Business, Career & Personal Success
  • Business
  • Career/Organizational
  • Personal
• Finance & Money
• Creativity & Arts
• Marketing
• Productivity & Life-Hacks
• Habits
• Health, Nutrition, Fitness
• Dating
• Relationships & Love
• Happiness
• Spirituality
• Mindset & Psychology
• Motivation / Inspiration
• Memoir & Biographies
  • Personal Memoirs
  • Funny Memoirs
  • Political Memoirs & Biographies
  • Business Memoirs & Biographies
• Historical
• Thought-Provoking
• Fiction, Sci-fi, Fantasy

Leadership:

• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
• The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
• Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
• Principles by Ray Dalio
• Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
• The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker
• Winning by Jack Welch
• Tribes by Seth Godin
• The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
• The Virgin Way by Richard Branson
• Be a People Person by John C. Maxwell
• A Promised Land by Barack Obama
• The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
• Twelve and a Half by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Powerful by Patty McCord
• The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

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People Skills, Sales & Influence:

• The Like Switch by Jack Schafer
• Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards
• Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Soulful Art of Persuasion by Jason Harris
• Unlimited Sales Success by Brian Tracy
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• How to Talk to Anyone by Neil Lowndes
• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
• TED Talks by Chris Anderson
• Influence by Robert Cialdini
• Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini
• The Secrets of Power Negotiating by Roger Dawson
• Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff
• Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
• Rejection Proof by Jia Jiang
• The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
• How To Prospect, Sell, and Build Your Network Marketing Business with Stories by Tom “Big Al” Schreiter
• Be a People Person by John C. Maxwell
• Go for No! by Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz
• The Art of Negotiating the Best Deal by Seth Freeman
• Twelve and a Half by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
• You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy
• Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg

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Military:

• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
• Make Your Bed by William McRaven
• Never Finished by David Goggins
• The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

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Business, Career & Personal Success:

Business:

• Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
• The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
• Tribes by Seth Godin
• Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life by Donald J. Trump
• Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
• Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
• The Startup Checklist by David S. Rose
• The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman
• The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
• 40 Rules for Internet Business Success by Matthew Paulson
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• Alibaba’s World by Porter Erisman
• The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow
• The Everything Store by Brad Stone
• #AskGaryVee by Gary Vaynerchuk
• The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson
• Zero to One by Peter Thiel
• Good to Great by Jim Collins
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek
• Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey

Career & Organizational (career/success):

• The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker
• Winning by Jack Welch
• Linchpin by Seth Godin
• Creative Calling by Chase Jarvis
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
• Principles by Ray Dalio
• Give and Take by Adam Grant
• The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
• Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
• Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
• The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
• The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
• The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
• Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker
• Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker
• The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
• Twelve and a Half by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Powerful by Patty McCord

Personal (general self-improvement):

• Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
• The Path Made Clear by Oprah Winfrey
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Mastery by Robert Greene
• 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
• The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn
• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Rejection Proof by Jia Jiang
• Awaken The Giant Within by Tony Robbins
• The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
• The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
• The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
• The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
• Relentless by Tim S. Grover
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• How to Stay Motivated by Zig Ziglar
• Motivational Legends by Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Dennis Waitley, Chris Widener
• The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John C. Maxwell
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
• Make Your Bed by William McRaven
• Give and Take by Adam Grant
• Ultralearning by Scott Young
• Think Like A Monk by Jay Shetty
• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
• Beyond Religion by the Dalai Lama
• The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins
• Act Like You Got Some Sense by Jamie Foxx
• Ikigai by Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
• Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
• Make It Stick by Peter C. Brown
• Endure by Cameron Hanes
• Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
• The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
• The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
• Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Finance & Money:

• Unshakeable by Tony Robbins
• The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• Money: Master the Game by Tony Robbins
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
• The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle
• Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley & William D. Danko
• Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker
• The Unemployed Millionaire by Matt Morris
• The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
• The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
• The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

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Creativity & Arts:

• Creative Calling by Chase Jarvis
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Linchpin by Seth Godin
• Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
• Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Ultralearning by Scott Young
• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
• Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld
• Mastering Stand-up by Stephen Rosenfield
• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• Act Like You Got Some Sense by Jamie Foxx

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Marketing:

• All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
• The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout
• Contagious by Jonah Berger
• Positioning by Al Ries & Jack Trout
• YouTube Marketing by Jerry Kershen
• The Conversion Code by Chris Smith
• The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
• Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

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Productivity & Life-Hacks:

• Make Time by Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky
• Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness
• The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
• The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
• Awaken The Giant Within by Tony Robbins
• Giant Steps by Tony Robbins
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
• The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss
• Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
• The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
• Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg
• The ONE Thing by Gary Keller
• Ultralearning by Scott Young
• Make It Stick by Peter C. Brown
• The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

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Habits:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• Make Your Bed by William McRaven
• The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins

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Health, Nutrition, Fitness:

• Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
• Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness
• The Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler
• The Obesity Code by Jason Fung, MD
• The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss
• Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, PhD
• Trauma by Paul Conti, MD
• Ikigai by Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
• The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
• Built to Move by Kelly and Juliet Starrett
• The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

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Dating:

• Models by Mark Manson
• The Dating Playbook For Men by Andrew Ferebee
• Mystery Method by Mystery
• The Game by Neil Strauss
• The Truth by Neil Strauss
• The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
• No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert Glover
• Atomic Attraction by Christopher Canwell

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Relationships & Love:

• Let Love Have the Last Word by Common
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
• The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
• Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel
• Where Should We Begin by Esther Perel
• Models by Mark Manson
• The Dating Playbook For Men by Andrew Ferebee
• The Truth by Neil Strauss
• Kick Ass with Mel Robbins
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
• Give and Take by Adam Grant
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
• Boundaries by John Townsend & Henry Cloud
• Trauma by Paul Conti, MD
• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• The Gift by Edith Eger
• Will by Will Smith
• No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert Glover
• The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins
• Act Like You Got Some Sense by Jamie Foxx
• Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
• You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy
• Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
• The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

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Happiness:

• Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat
• You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
• Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson
• The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga
• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
• 10% Happier by Dan Harris
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• The Tao of Seneca by Seneca
• Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• Take Control of Your Life by Mel Robbins
• Kick Ass with Mel Robbins
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• The Path Made Clear by Oprah Winfrey
• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
• Laugh It Up! by Candace Payne
• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
• Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• Rejection Proof by Jia Jiang
• The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
• The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
• Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Think Like A Monk by Jay Shetty
• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
• Awareness by Anthony de Mello
• Trauma by Paul Conti, MD
• The Gift by Edith Eger
• Will by Will Smith
• Beyond Religion by the Dalai Lama
• Ikigai by Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
• Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
• Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
• The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

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Spirituality:

• Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• As A Man Thinketh by James Allen
• Think Like A Monk by Jay Shetty
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
• Awareness by Anthony de Mello
• Boundaries by John Townsend & Henry Cloud
• Beyond Religion by the Dalai Lama

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Mindset & Psychology:

• Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
• Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• Take Control of Your Life by Mel Robbins
• Kick Ass with Mel Robbins
• The Decision by Kevin Hart
• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
• Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• The Tao of Seneca by Seneca
• David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
• Relentless by Tim S. Grover
• The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
• As A Man Thinketh by James Allen
• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
• The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
• Trauma by Paul Conti, MD
• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• The Gift by Edith Eger
• Will by Will Smith
• Never Finished by David Goggins
• Endure by Cameron Hanes
• The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
• The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
• Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Motivation / Inspiration:

• The Power of Ambition by Jim Rohn
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• The Decision by Kevin Hart
• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
• The Secret to Success by Eric Thomas
• Relentless by Tim S. Grover
• How to Stay Motivated by Zig Ziglar
• Motivational Legends by Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Dennis Waitley, Chris Widener
• Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
• The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins
• Never Finished by David Goggins
• Endure by Cameron Hanes
• The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
• Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Memoirs & Biographies:

Personal Memoirs:

• Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• Memoirs and Misinformation by Jim Carrey
• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
• The Secret to Success by Eric Thomas
• So Much I Want to Tell You by Anna Akana
• Showboat by Roland Lazenby
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• Open by Andre Agassi
• When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead by Jerry Weintraub
• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
• The Gift by Edith Eger
• Will by Will Smith
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
• The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey
• Never Finished by David Goggins
• Endure by Cameron Hanes
• The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
• Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger

    Funny Memoirs:

• Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
• The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
• I Can’t Make This Up by Kevin Hart
• Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
• Bossypants by Tina Fey
• Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
• Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang
• Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
• Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
• Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld
• Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
• Mixed Plate by Jo Koy
• Act Like You Got Some Sense by Jamie Foxx

    Political Memoirs & Biographies:

• The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
• Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• Shortest Way Home by Pete Buttigieg
• This Is What America Looks Like by Ilhan Omar
• Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
• The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
• A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
• Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff
• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
• Make Change by Shaun King
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
• A Promised Land by Barack Obama
• The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
• The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

    Business Memoirs & Biographies:

• Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
• Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life by Donald J. Trump
• The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
• Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
• Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
• Alibaba’s World by Porter Erisman
• The Everything Store by Brad Stone
• The Virgin Way by Richard Branson

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Historical:

• The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
• Stamped From The Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
• Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
• Tribe by Sebastian Junger
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
• The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
• The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
• Racism Without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva

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Thought-provoking:

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• Stamped From The Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
• Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt
• The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo
• Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson
• Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
• Tribe by Sebastian Junger
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
• Zero to One by Peter Thiel
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• Make Change by Shaun King
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
• A Promised Land by Barack Obama
• The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
• Trauma by Paul Conti, MD
• Ikigai by Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
• Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
• Racism Without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
• Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
• The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

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Fiction, Sci-fi, Fantasy:

• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Thug Notes by Sparky Sweets PhD
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer
• We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
• For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor
• All These Worlds by Dennis E. Taylor
• Heaven’s River by Dennis E. Taylor
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
• The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Artemis by Andy Weir
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
• Lock In by John Scalzi
• Recursion by Blake Crouch
• Head On by John Scalzi
• Spell or High Water by Scott Meyer
• Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Armada by Ernest Cline
• Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
• An Unwelcome Quest by Scott Meyer
• Fight and Flight by Scott Meyer
• The Maid by Nita Prose
• The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
• The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
• The Sandman, Act II by Neil Gaiman

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