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The truth is that I don’t read to improve. I read out of curiosity and interest. the best book is the one you will devour.
You are reading: Naval ravikant recommended books
Read enough and you’ll become a connoisseur. so naturally you gravitate more towards theory, concepts, non-fiction.
non-fiction
sapiens: a brief history of mankindby yuval noah harari
a history of the human species. observations, frames, and mental models will make you look at history and your peers differently. [1]
sapiens is the best book of the last decade that I have read. he had decades to write sapiens. there are a lot of great ideas in there and it’s full of them, to the brim per page. [1]
the rational optimist: how prosperity evolves by matt ridley
The most brilliant and insightful book I’ve read in years. He has written four of my top 20 books. [11]
everything else written by matt ridley. matt is a scientist, optimist, and forward-thinker. one of my favorite authors. I have read all of his and reread all of his. [4]
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genome: the autobiography of a species in 23 chapters
The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation
the evolution of everything: how new ideas emerge
in-game skinbynassim taleb
the best book I’ve read in 2018, I highly recommend it. lots of great ideas there. lots of good mental models and constructs. He’s got a little bit of attitude, but he has it because he’s brilliant, and that’s okay. so look past the attitude and read the book, learn the concepts. It is one of the best business books I have ever read. And luckily, it’s not posing as a business book. [10]
the bed of procrustes: philosophical and practical aphorisms by nassim taleb
This is your collection of ancient wisdom. He is also famous for Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Antifragile: Things That Profit from Disorder and Misled by Chance: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and the Markets, all of which are worth reading. [7]
six easy pieces: fundamentals of physics explained by its brightest teacher by richard feynman
I would give my kids a copy of Richard Feynman’s Six Easy Pieces and Six Not So Easy Pieces: Einstein’s Relativity, Symmetry, and Space. richard feynman is a famous physicist. I love both his behavior and his understanding of physics.
I’ve also been reading perfectly reasonable deviations from Feynman’s beaten path and rereading Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, a biography of him. [8]
the explainer of things: complicated things in simple wordsby randall munroe
a great book by randall munroe (creator of xkcd, a very science oriented webcomic). In this book, he explains very complicated concepts, from climate change to physical systems to submarines, using just the 1,000 most common ones. words in the English language. he called the saturn five rocket “up five”. a rocket cannot be defined as a spaceship or a rocket. it is self-referential. he says “up”. It’s this thing that goes up. children understand immediately. [4]
physics of thought: understandable practical reality by lewis carroll epstein
There is another great book called Physics of Thought. I open this one all the time and love it on the back cover. it has this great little tone that says, “the only book that is used in both grade school and grad school.” It is true. they are all simple physics puzzles that can be explained to a 12 year old and can be explained to a 25 year old physics graduate student. They all have fundamental ideas in physics. they are all a bit complicated, but anyone can arrive at the answer through purely logical reasoning. [4]
the lessons of historyof will & ariel during
This is a great book that I really liked and that summarizes some of the most important themes in history, very incisive. And unlike most history books, it’s actually very small and covers a lot of ground. [7]
The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Ageby James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg
this is the best book i’ve read since sapiens (although much less conventional).
Poor Charlie’s Almanac: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. munger by charlie munger (edited by peter kaufman)
This is masquerading as a business book, but it’s really just Charlie Munger’s (of Berkshire Hathaway) advice on how to improve yourself to live a successful and virtuous life. [7]
Part biography and part collection of Charlie’s speeches, this is the only Munger book you’ll ever need. (naval quotes munger often, and the quotes are all from this book). [0]
reality is not what it seems: the journey to quantum gravityby carlo rovelli
This is the best book I’ve read in the last year. physics, poetry, philosophy and history packed into a very accessible form.
seven short physics lessons by carlo rovelli
I’ve read this at least twice.
the beginning of infinity: explanations that transform the world by david deutsch
Not the easiest read, but it made me smarter. [79]
For game theory, in addition to playing strategy games, you may want to try The Complete Strategy: An Introduction to Strategy Game Theory by J.D. Williams and the evolution of cooperation by Robert Axelrod. [11]
philosophy & spirituality
all by jed mckenna. jed spits out the plain truth. his style may be off-putting, but his dedication to the truth is unparalleled.
theory of everything (the enlightened perspective) – dream state trilogy
jed mckenna notebook
jed speaks #1 and #2
See Also: Preschool Books About Balls
all by kapil gupta, md. Kapil recently became my personal advisor and trainer, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t believe in trainers.
the secret whispers of a master: for those who hate noise and seek the truth about life and living
straight truth: uncompromising, non-prescriptive truths for life’s enduring questions
atmamun: the path to bliss of the swamis of the himalayans. and the freedom of a living god.
the book of lifeby jiddu krishnamurti
krishnamurti is a lesser known guy, an Indian philosopher who lived at the turn of the last century and is extremely influential to me. he is a very direct and uncompromising person who basically tells you to watch your own mind at all times. I have been greatly influenced by him. probably the best book is the book of life, which are excerpts from the various speeches of him and books stitched from him. [6]
I will give my children a copy of the book of life. I’ll tell them to put it away until they’re older because it won’t make much sense while they’re younger. [8]
Total Freedom: The Essentials of Krishnamurtiby jiddu krishnamurti
I like this for someone more advanced. a rationalist guide to the dangers of the human mind. the “spiritual” book I keep coming back to. [1]
siddhartha by herman hesse
I love this classic philosophy book, a good introduction for someone starting out. I have handed out more copies of this book than of any other. [1]
I am almost always rereading something from krishnamurti, osho, jed mckenna, kalil gupta, the vashistha yoga and shopenhauer. those are my favorite philosophers.[4]
the book of secrets: 112 meditations to discover the inner mystery of osho
Most meditation techniques are concentration methods, and there are many, many meditation techniques. If you want to go over a lot of them, you can choose a book called the osho book of secrets. I know he’s gotten a bad rap recently, but he was a pretty smart guy. it is actually a translation of an ancient Sanskrit book with 112 different meditations. you can try each one and see which one works for you. [74]
the great challenge: to explore the inner world of osho
the road to love: the last meditations of anthony demello by anthony demello
the unattached soul: the journey beyond yourself by michael singer
meditations of Marcus Aurelius.
marcus aurelius was absolutely life changing for me. It is the personal diary of the Emperor of Rome. here’s a guy who was probably the most powerful human being on earth at the time he lived. he is writing a diary for himself, not expecting it to be published. when you open this book you realize that he had the same problems and the same mental struggles, he was trying to be a better person. right there, you realize that success and power do not improve your internal state, you still have to work on it. [6]
love yourself as if your life depended on it by kamal ravikant
In fact, I’ve been reading my brother’s book, love yourself like your life depended on it. I thought it was very succinctly written. (obviously a plug for my brother). He is the philosopher of the family, I am just an amateur. he has a great line in his book :
I once asked a monk how he found peace.
“I say ‘yes,'” he said. “To everything that happens, I say ‘yes’.”[7]
the tao of seneca: practical letters from a stoic master
my most listened to audiobook. The most important audiobook I have ever heard.
how to change your mindby michael pollan
there’s a good book that michael pollan recently wrote called how to change your mind, and i think it’s a brilliant book that everyone should read.
The book talks about psychedelics. psychedelics are a bit of a cheat code on self-observation. I don’t recommend drugs to anyone, you can do it all through pure meditation. if you want to speed up, you know, psychedelics are good for that. [74]
Shocking Thoughts: Bruce Lee’s Wisdom for Everyday LifeBy Bruce Lee
interestingly, bruce lee wrote a great philosophy and striking thoughts is a good summary of part of his philosophy.
the prophetby kahlil gibran
This book reads like a modern religious tome of poetry. it’s up there with the bhagavad gita, the tao te ching, the bible and the koran. it is written in a style that has a feeling of religiousness and truth, but was very accessible, beautiful, non-denominational and non-sectarian. I loved this book.
He has a gift for poetically describing what children are like, what lovers are like, what marriage should be like, how you should treat your enemies and your friends, how you should work with money, what you can think about every time you have to kill something to eat it. I felt that, like the great religious books, it gave a very deep, very philosophical, but very true answer on how to approach the main problems of life. I recommend the prophet to anyone, religious or not. whether you are Christian, Hindu, Jew or atheist. I think it’s a beautiful book, and worth reading. [7]
the tao of philosophy by alan watts [7]
science fiction
I started with comics and science fiction. so I was in the story and the news. then in psychology, popular science, technology.
fictions byjorge luis borges
I love Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinian author. his collection of fictional stories, or labyrinths, is incredible. Borges is probably the most powerful author I’ve read that wasn’t just straight writing philosophy. there was philosophy there with science fiction. [1]
stories from your life and othersby ted chiang
my current favorite sci-fi story: probably ted chiang’s “understand”. it’s in a collection called stories of your life and others. “story of your life” became a movie called arrival. [1]
exhalation: storiesof ted chiang
This contemplates the wonder of thermodynamics from the greatest science fiction short story writer of our era.
the lifecycle of software objects by ted chiang
See Also: Wings of Fire Audiobooks | Audible.com
another sci-fi masterpiece from ted chiang
snowshockbyneal stephenson
snow crash is an amazing and amazing book. there is nothing very similar to snow shock. snow crash is in a league of its own. Stephenson also wrote The Diamond Age.
the last question by isaac asimov
I quote the last question all the time. I loved it as a child.
what are the books you are rereading now?
That’s a good question. I’ll open my kindle app as we speak. I’m usually always rereading some science books.
I am reading a book on the mimetic theory of René Girard. it’s more of a general book because I couldn’t get past his actual writings. i’m reading tools of titans, tim ferriss’s book of what he learned from many great artists.
I’m reading a book, thermoinfocomplexity. it’s actually from a friend of mine, behzad mohit. I just finished reading Precaution: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, or should I say I just finished Precaution Reduction by Robert Cialdini. I don’t think I needed to read the whole book to get the point, but it was still good to read what I did. It is a great history book. I am currently reading History of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Great Philosophers, including Will Duran.
I have a little boy now, so I have a lot of parenting books that I use more as reference material than anything else. recently i read some emerson and some chesterfield. I have a book by Leo Tolstoy here.
alan watts. scott adams. I recently re-read god’s debris. tao te ching a friend of mine is rereading it so i picked it up again. there are tons. I mean, I could go on and on. there is nietzsche’s book here. there is the undercover economist. Richard Bach’s book [Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah]. there are some jed mckenna books.
a little dale carnegie here. the three-body problem [cixin liu]. man’s search for meaning [victor e. frankl]. there are lots. sex at dawn [christopher ryan]. there are many books out there.
By the way, when I tell people what I’m reading, I skip 2/3 of my books. the reason i skip 2/3 is because they are embarrassing. They don’t sound like good books to read. they sound trivial or silly. who cares? I don’t have to tell everyone everything I read. I read all sorts of things that other people consider rubbish or even reprehensible. I read all kinds of things that I don’t agree with because they are mind bending. [4]
I always spent money on books. I never saw that as an expense. that’s an investment for me. [4]
some awesome blogs out there:
@kevinsimler: melting asphalt, https://meltingasphalt.com/
@farnamstreet: farnam street, a sign in a world full of noise, https://fs.blog/
@benthompson — strategy, https://stratechery.com/
@baconmeteor: idle words, https://idlewords.com/ [4]
the munger operating system: a life that really works by @farnamstreet
rules to live and prosper.
the day you became a better writer by scott adams
Although I am a very good writer and have written a lot since I was young, I still open that blog post and put it in the background every time I write something important. it’s so good i use it as my basic template to write well. think of the title “the day you became a better writer”. It’s such a powerful title. he teaches you in a short blog post the importance of surprise, the importance of headlines, the importance of being short and to the point, not using some adjectives and adverbs, using the active voice instead of the passive, etc. this blog post will change. your writing style forever if you lower your ego and absorb it properly. [6]
Do you want to become smarter in ten minutes? Absorb This: Buddy Beliefs
best post i’ve ever read on “career decisions” (on silicon valley/tech) by @eladgil
harari’s sapiens in the form of a conference/course on youtube.
every business school should have a course on aggregation theory. or learn it from the master himself, @benthompson, the best analyst in technology.
great read. “quantum physics is not ‘weird’. you are weird.” – think like reality
must read. “lazy leadership” by @awilkinson
unrestrained wisdom of a self-made man. everything on @edlatimore’s site is well worth a read for those with great performance: https://edlatimore.com/
If you eat, invest and think according to what the “news” advocates, you will end up nutritionally, financially and morally bankrupt.
twitter accounts like:
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@amusechimp (my favorite twitter account of all time)
@mmay3r
@nntaleb
art devany (on facebook)
The awesomeness is here, unevenly distributed. [4]
must read. (twitter thread on “intellectual composition” by @zaoyang). [11]
Actually, there are some really good graphic novels out there. if you’re open to the cartoonish element, transmetropolitan, the boys, planetarium, and the sandman… I think some of these are among the greatest works of art of our era. I also grew up as a kid reading comics, so I may be very inclined towards those. [1]
rick and morty(TV show + comic)
rick and morty is the best show on tv (imho of course). just watch the first episode, that’s all you need. it’s a back to the future meets hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy. the rick and morty comic is just as smart as the show.
“you and your research” by richard hemming
a beautiful essay, I recommend reading it. apparently it is written for people who are engaged in scientific research, but I think it applies across the board. it’s just an old essay on how to do great work. It reminds me a lot of what Richard Feynman used to say, though I think Hemming has said it more eloquently than almost anywhere else he’s seen. [74]
See Also: LIST: These famous books were written by Alabama authors | WHNT.com
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