Recommended Reading
Reading and journaling are the two habits that have transformed every aspect of my life.
They go hand in hand—reading to learn and understand, and journaling to act and reflect. I dedicate at least 30 minutes a day to each, and even more when possible. This post will focus on reading, but I’ll expand on journaling in a future discussion.
From learning new things about myself to understanding why I behave in certain ways, from improving my faults to overcoming trauma, and overall becoming a better person, I owe so much to reading. I am eternally grateful to my parents for instilling this habit in me.
In moments of deep loneliness and despair, as well as during periods of intense curiosity and feeling lost, I have always turned first to books for guidance. Whether it's to learn something new or to discover how people from the past tackled similar issues, reading has consistently provided me with a next step.
Here is a list of recommended reading to expand your life. These selections are not limited to tech-related topics, because the best technologists are not only skilled in technical areas but also well-rounded in various other aspects of life.
Understanding the Impact of Tech
Recoding America
In her new book, Jen Pahlka shows why we must stop trying to move the government we have today onto new technology and instead recode government from the ground up.
The Coming Wave Book
This groundbreaking new book from AI entrepreneur Mustafa Suleyman is a must-read guide to the technological revolution just starting, and the transformed world it will create.
Tools and Weapons by Brad Smith, Carol Ann Browne: 9781984877734 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
The New York Times bestseller, now updated with new material on cyber attacks, digital sovereignty, and tech in a pandemic. From Microsoft’s president and one of the tech industry’s broadest thinkers,…
Understanding How Social Media Wastes My Time
My New Book: Digital Minimalism - Cal Newport
A Manual for a Focused Life I’m excited to officially announce my new book, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, which will be ... Read more
Stolen Focus - Johann Hari
Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the NYT bestselling author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening—and how to get our attention back.
These Help Me Develop That Dog Within
Angela Duckworth
In this instant New York Times bestseller, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed—be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people—that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls…
Discipline Is Destiny - Ryan Holiday
DISCIPLINE IS DESTINY In his New York Times best-selling book Courage is Calling, author Ryan Holiday introduced the Stoic Virtues with the first virtue: courage. In this much-anticipated second book of the series, Holiday explores the importance of self-discipline, the next Stoic virtue. “A powerful case for the virtu
These Help Me Become a Better Human Being
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday: Book Summary, Key Lessons and Best Quotes
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” — Blaise Pascal The Buddhist word for it was upekkha. The Muslims spoke of aslama. The Hebrews, hishtavut. The second book of the Bhagavad Gita, the epic poem of the warrior Arjuna, speaks of samatvam, an “evenness of mind—a peace […]
An Emotional Education - Hardback Book | The School of Life
How to live wisely and well in the twenty-first century—an introduction to the modern art of emotional intelligence. Buy today.
Get the Book: Together by Dr. Vivek Murthy
Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World (by Vivek H. Murthy, MD)
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseveranc…
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780735211735. A beaut…
All About Love: New Visions * bell hooks Books
Author bell hooks gives us a non-academic, though personally profound look into this universal and ageless question in her book, ‘All About Love: New Visions.’ One can assimilate Hooks’ analysis to love to Scott M. Peck’s view of life from ‘A Road Less Traveled’: “Life is difficult” as Peck says… once one accepts that life is, in fact difficult, it’s easier to accept the natural course of life. Venture with Hooks into her perspective on love in her value-filled chapters about what love is. This non-academic, though the intellectually written book, will allow you to consider your own thoughts and views on what love is while giving you cultural awareness on what society allows us to accept and what we are taught to believe love is.
These Make Me Daydream in a Productive Way
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang: 9781101972120 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
From the author of Exhalation, an award-winning short story collection that blends “absorbing storytelling with meditations on the universe, being, time and space ... raises questions about the nature…
The Phoenix Project
The bestselling book that introduced the software development world to the theory of DevOps and the Three Ways.
Exhalation by Ted Chiang: 9781101972083 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories—two published for the very first time—all…
Babel
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War “Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I’ve had the pleasure of reading that isn’t just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial hi
These Help Me Think Better
What’s Our Problem? A Self-Help Book For Societies
Available today
Why Fish Don’t Exist
A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Jou…
These Help Me Improve My Health (mental, physical, emotional)
Why We Sleep
“Why We Sleep is an important and fascinating book…Walker taught me a lot about this basic activity that every person on Earth needs. I suspect his…
The Body Keeps The Score
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https://www.theschooloflife.com/shop/an-emotional-education/
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog
In this classic work of developmental psychology, renowned psychiatrist and the coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller What Happened to…
These Help Me Get My Money Up
All Books From NYT Bestselling Author Ramit Sethi
The NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER that taught a generation how to boost their income, save more, and live a Rich Life is now in a revised second edition. Personal finance expert Ramit Sethi has now…
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Personal History by Katharine Graham: 9780375701047 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PULTIZER PRIZE WINNER • The captivating inside story of the woman who helmed the Washington Post during one of the most turbulent periods in the history of American media: the…
Einstein
By the author of the acclaimed bestsellers Benjamin Franklin and Steve Jobs, this is the definitive biography of Albert Einstein. How did his mind…
The Internet Classics Archive | The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, part of the Internet Classics Archive
Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman: 9780525541875 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Instant New York Times Advice & Business Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, and Wall Street Journal #1 Bestseller! A New York Times Noteworthy Pick and a “stellar work” by Publishers Weekly From the…
Leonardo da Vinci
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativit…
The Last Days of the Incas
The epic story of the fall of the Inca Empire to Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the aftermath of a bloody civil war, and the recent disc…