Books

These are books that have had a large impact on me and are broken down into Fiction, Non-Fiction, Biography, and Art. Each category is listed in no particular order.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is best known now for The Handmaid’s Tale and the subsequently amazing series on Hulu by the same name but this book was my introduction to her many years ago and has resonated in my mind on many occasions. The way she describes things with emotion has made scenes from the book stick eternally and the struggle of choices for the characters are abstract yet so completely relatable at their core.

It has always reminded me of a quote by Norman Schwarzkopf that goes something like “The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.”

P.S. It is not necessary to read the remaining books in the series as this one is self contained

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

This was a life changing book for me, there is a lot of contention around Ayn Rand and a lot of people place her work into a bucket or two because of the history involved but for me personally this book was the first one to fully articulate the way I felt about a lot of things I couldn’t put into words as a child. From religion to politics to social structure there were a lot of views that made sense to me when I first read it in 2008 that have helped me to think critically of the world around me and to not just accept what I was taught as a child.

If you can ignore the controversy around her teachings and instead focus on the work itself then you can make up your own mind what you think about it and leave out all of the parts you might disagree with.

Love, dishonor, marry, die, cherish, perish: A Novel by David Rakoff

It’s difficult for me to recommend this book as an entry to this man’s work, his life and death has had one of the most profound impacts on me as a person for someone who I never had the chance to meet in life. With that said it is important to note that he wrote this book in the last days of his life and recorded the audiobook version in the last weeks of his life. It is written entirely in verse similar to the majority of Dr. Seuss books and has some of the most in depth things to say and feels to express. His voice on the audiobook brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to it and I couldn’t encourage you more to read all of his works including Fraud, Don’t Get Too Comfortable, and Half Empty.

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

First introduced to this series through the magnificent film by Alex Garland starring Natalie Portman I knew I had to read the book. To my delight the book and movie diverge greatly and both very much have their own message that is incredibly powerful, this is the first in a trilogy and the set tells an amazing story that echoes within me. It dives into isolation and beauty and nature and purpose in ways I have never witness in any other written form of media.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of the Human Cadavers

This book is one of many by Mary Roach that are informative, irreverent, funny and thought provoking. As a culture in America we spend so much time and effort avoiding death and issues surrounding it but there is much to learn and embrace so that we can treat each other and the planet we live on better.

You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney

This book is one of many that have given me an idea of just how dumb we all are. So many people think they are intelligent and/or they have a lot figured out, it is so easy to deceive ourselves and our brains don’t really help us out in this area but the more we can watch for these errors and inconsistencies the better. All of David McRaney’s work is brilliant including the follow up to this book titled ‘You Are Now Less Dumb’ and his YANSS podcast.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

This is another great view of how our brains work and the many ways they can fail us as well as allow for great emotion and beauty. Dr. Sacks has many books published, all of which have been a delight to read but if I had to pick a favorite it would be this one, it allows for many different stories and examples of neurological disorders as viewed by a doctor who understands the condition as well as the human experiencing it.

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

I read this book in early 2018 and it changed my entire life. By this point I was 31 years old, I had read a bit about sleep but all I really knew at a core was that I hated sleep and believed it to be a necessary waste of time just to stay alive. I thought I could survive just fine on 5-6 hours of sleep a night and that would allow me to maximize my waking hours and how much life I could experience before death.

After reading this book I have entirely changed my sleep habits, adjusted to many things and now insist on getting a 8 hour opportunity to sleep at minimum every night. Since changing these things I have seen a dramatic reduction in depression, an increase in energy, an increase in motivation and willpower, really just a huge boost in all physical and mental health and now I may have less waking hours but they are far more fulfilling. There isn’t another core change to life I’d recommend more as it all starts with good sleep.

More Than Two by Franklin Veaux and Eve Rickert

This book along with others like The Truth, Non-Violent Communication, The State of Affairs, and Mating in Captivity have helped me conceptualize and communicate in romantic relationships in so many different ways and helped me to break more things that I grew up with as “Normal”. Relationships don’t have to be one thing and no one’s choice is the right choice for everyone. Find the relationship you want and put work into it to make it last, these are some of the things that helped me to see the good and bad in a lot of things so that I can figure it out for myself.

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin

The single best biography I’ve ever read. His life astounds me, it’s full of beauty and pain and struggle and thought and life, he made choices and he dealt with the consequences and put thought into how he impacted the world in everything from his day to day life to the decisions that affected many people.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

A deep look at life and what matters in the time that we are here. This is probably the shortest book out of all of these but its brevity only adds to its impact.

My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor

An internal journey through a very rare stroke as experienced by a brain scientist. It’s incredibly interesting to experience this through her as a scientist that understands what is happening but can do nothing to stop it. No matter how much we know sometimes life will take what it wants anyway and it’s more about how us and the people we love deal with what happens.

If you enjoy this one then I’d also recommend Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

A man who with many people helped change the world I live in for the better, this is an unflinching look at his life with the good, bad and everything in between. You likely already know who he is and probably have an opinion about him as well but I’d encourage you to read this book with an open mind for that opinion to adjust.

Walter Isaacson also writes an incredible biography of Leonardo da Vinci that explores his entire life in the most detail I’ve ever read.

Pimp: The Story of My Life by Iceberg Slim

The words and slang and terms used in this book got stuck in my head for months after reading it, it encapsulates such a specific moment in time while also relating methods of manipulation and control in an effort to prevent more people from falling for the same tactics. He is not shy about who he is/was and the mistakes he’s made which is what makes this such powerful read.