Hi,
I'm looking to get back into reading.
Weather it's Self Help or Fiction, i'm looking for you to recommend a book which you really enjoyed, or something which has made an impact on your life.
I'm hoping I'll get a few recommendations which multiple people recommend.
Thank you
Ecclesiastes.
Outliers
think and grow rich
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
The Small Pleasures Of Life by Philippe Delerm
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
The Intelligent Investor - Benjamin Graham, made me look at investing the correct way, i.e. blocking out the noise and no emotions
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - John Perkins, opened my eyes about what true US Capitalism is about
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari - Robin Sharma
Rich dad poor dad
The Richest Man in Babylon.
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
A book that should be mandatory reading for every new manager, captain, coach or anyone who finds themselves in a position of authority, even if they did say Collingwood was a great team.
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Now featuring analysis of the five-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and their captain, Tom Brady
The seventeen most dominant teams in sports history had one thing in common: Each employed the same type of captain—a singular leader with an unconventional set of skills and tendencies. Drawing on original interviews with athletes, general managers, coaches, and team-building experts, Sam Walker identifies the seven core qualities of the Captain Class—from extreme doggedness and emotional control to tactical aggression and the courage to stand apart. Told through riveting accounts of pressure-soaked moments in sports history, The Captain Class will challenge your assumptions of what inspired leadership looks like.
The Three kingdoms.
As in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"? That is a REALLY long read - congratulations.
unshakeable by tony robbins
principles by ray dalio
motivated money by peter thornhill
barefoot investor - scott pape (note i didnt really like the familes version at all) but the first one is good
Principles is an excellent read!
12 years a slave - [been while reading this, please google for author]
But it was one of the worst movies ever
My list.. not ranked in order
1. Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
2. Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari
3. The Courage to be Disliked - Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
4. Mindfulness in Plain English - Bhante Henepola Gunaratna
5. Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
6. Why we Sleep - Matthew Walker
7. Basic Economics - Thomas Sowell
8. Skin in the Game - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
9. Factfullness - Hans, Anna & Ola Rosling
10. 12 Rules for Life - Jordan B Peterson
11. The Ascent of Money - Niall Ferguson
The Great Courses series
Big History - David Christian
Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution
If your liked Thinking Fast and slow check out Misbehaving by Richard Thaler. Also a great book
Thanks - Added to my reading list
Hmm we have similar interests. I've read a number of the books on your list and have most of the others on my 'to read' list. Which one of these was most impactful or insightful for you?
The first three were the most impactful. Sapiens in articulating the big picture (followed by Great Courses - Big History). Think Fast and Slow (and "Why we Sleep") helped understand how our brains work. The most impactful one so far was The Courage to be Disliked which helped solidify my own view of life which lined up well with Adler's retort to conventional Freudian psychology.
I've read Sapiens and TCTBD, and got about halfway through TFAS.
I need to pick TFAS back up - I was listening to the audiobook which probably is not the best format for such a book because I was constantly rewinding to try to understand many of the points Kahneman makes.
With TCTBD, I felt it to be very insightful in the moment and I related to a lot of the principles, but thinking back now 6 months later I hardly remember any of the key takeaways. Glad it was impactful for you, I need to revisit it.
Raymond E.Feist - Magician
Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaimon - Good Omens
Elizabeth Kostova - The Historian
Nfi how you got negged. Magician is incredible.
Giving you a plus 1 for Good Omens.
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
VS Naipaul’s India trilogy
Paul Theroux - the old Patagonian express
Them: Adventures with Extremists - Jon Ronson.
But only if you want to understand how the world works.
If you like fantasy - Raymond E Feist - Magician.
This book got me back into reading 20 years ago. Then I read everything he has written.
If you like easy to read but fast paced try - Lee Child - Jack Reacher novels. Great to read and if you download Borrow book and use your library card you can get the audio books which are great.
If you would like to try an Australian author try Matthew Reilly - start with Contest and then move on to Ice Station
Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressel.
Lunch with the Generals - Derek Hansen
There are 4 books in the series and all are awesome
Some recent sci-fi and thrillers:
Fear Saga by Stephen Moss (three books, highly recommend the audio books as the books were initially self published contain too many errors apparently. Audio books narrated by Bray are decent).
Old man's war - scalzi
Daemon and Freedom by Daniel Suarez (awesome concepts in these ones! Fairly violent though!)
Finance:
Richest man in Babylon (many other's seem to draw from this one).
Barefoot investor
Wealthy barber
Millionaire next door
Your money or your life
Bogelheads Guide
Intelligent Investor
Now looking for self help… Have got Cixin Lui's three body book1 and 2 and will attack them soon.
Jack Kerouac - On The Road.
It inspired me to travel the world at the age of 21, well before the internet, email & social media, and introduced me to Jazz music.
My most favoured science fiction books:
Seveneves - by Neal Stephenson
Wool (4 short stories) - by Hugh Howey
The Magicians - by Lev Grossman. Became a trilogy, then a TV show, but the books are by far best
Killing Floor by Lee Child (book 1 of the jack reacher series)
25 books later and i'm still hooked
Currently reading The Inner Game of Tennis. It's a self-help book that tries to help you eliminate or reduce self-doubt, lapses of concentration etc
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth - Chris Hadfield
Gave me some good perspective on life.
Shantaram
The Star Rover - Jack London
Power of Now - Eckart Tolle
The Vampire Lestat is pretty awesome
If you like fantasy genre I would recommend The Way of Kings, The Name of the Wind, Magician, The Blade Itself, Elantris (pretty much anything by Brandon Sanderson)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance is also quite good
The Bible
Pretty much anything by Phillip K Dick.
Clifton Chronicles series.
Ender's Game series.
Actual Air - David Berman.
Forgot the rest above and below
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu.
Eckhart Tolle - The Power of Now (audible edition narrated by the author)
My new favourite is MacBook Pro M1.
Only available as a hardcover aluminium version.
Kitchen Confidential. The chefs subreddit has the same name.
Agree! To this day I'm grateful he validated my thoughts on garlic presses (they suck) and elbows on tables (it's okay).
RIP
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds - David Goggins
The Secret to Success - Eric Thomas
The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck
Put it on hold around 2/3rds in… But it's helped reflect on childhood habits and experiences
Sir Francis Chichester.
The lonely sea and sky.
The best book I’ve ever read. Just a great life filled with many adventures, well worth a read. Non fiction.
The power of one.
Schindlers List.
This isn't a book, but everyone should check out Wait But Why, Tim Urban takes a ton of huge, heavy concepts and makes them digestible but no less mind-blowing.
As for a book recommendation, I really enjoyed the Chung Kuo series by David Wingrove when I read it 25 odd years ago. I haven't revisited it to see how it holds up, but every time people banged on about the depth and detail of GoT/ASOIAF it made me think of this sprawling sci-fi series.
Love love love wbw
Allen Carr's Easyway to quit smoking
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
BRUTAL book, but fascinating and though provoking.
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (https://www.amazon.com.au/Gospel-Flying-Spaghetti-Monster/dp…) explains why we are where we are as well as any other book.
The Gospel begins with the creation of the universe by an invisible and undetectable Holy Flying Spaghetti Monster.
On the first day, the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) separated the water from the heavens; on the second, because He could not tread water for long and had grown tired of flying, He created the land—complemented by a beer volcano.
Satisfied, the Flying Spaghetti Monster overindulged in beer from the beer volcano and woke up hung over.
Between drunken nights and clumsy afternoons, the Flying Spaghetti Monster produced seas and land (for a second time, accidentally, because he forgot that he created it the day before) along with Heaven and a "midget",which he named Man.
Man and an equally short woman lived happily in the Olive Garden of Eden for some time until the Flying Spaghetti Monster caused a global flood in a cooking accident.
Did I mention that Heaven has a stripper factory and that beer volcano?
The FSM explains his 8 "I'd Really Rather You Didn't" suggestions on how to live in words that we can all understand:
I’d really rather you didn’t act like a sanctimonious, holier-than-thou ass when describing my Noodly Goodness. If some people don’t believe in me, that’s okay. Really, I’m not that vain. Besides, this isn’t about them so don’t change the subject.
I’d really rather you didn’t use my existence as a means to oppress, subjugate, punish, eviscerate, and/or, you know, be mean to others. I don’t require sacrifices and purity is for drinking water, not people.
I’d really rather you didn’t judge people for the way they look, or how they dress, or the way they talk, or, well, just play nice, okay? Oh, and get this in your thick heads: woman = person. Man = person. Samey-samey. One is not better than the other, unless we’re talking about fashion and I’m sorry, but I gave that to women and some guys who know the difference between teal and fuchsia.
I’d really rather you didn’t indulge in conduct that offends yourself, or your willing, consenting partner of legal age and mental maturity. As for anyone who might object, I think the expression is go f*** yourself, unless they find that offensive in which case they can turn off the TV for once and go for a walk for a change.
I’d really rather you didn’t challenge the bigoted, misogynist, hateful ideas of others on an empty stomach. Eat, then go after the b******.
I’d really rather you didn’t build multimillion-dollar churches / temples / mosques / shrines to my Noodly Goodness when the money could be better spent (take your pick):
a. Ending poverty
b. Curing diseases
c. Living in peace, loving with passion, and lowering the cost of cable
I might be a complex-carbohydrate omniscient being, but I enjoy the simple things in life. I ought to know. I am the creator.
I’d really rather you didn’t go around telling people I talk to you. You’re not that interesting. Get over yourself. And I told you to love your fellow man, can’t you take a hint?
I’d really rather you didn’t do unto others as you would have them do unto you if you are into, um, stuff that uses a lot of leather / lubricant / lass Vegas. If the other person is into it, however (pursuant to #4), then have at it, take pictures, and for the love of mike, wear a condom! Honestly, it’s a piece of rubber. If I didn’t want it to feel good when you did it I would have added spikes, or something.
What else do you need to know to have a full life?
If you're a parent and have young kids, The Conscious Parent by Dr Shefali. Best selling book in US and was supposed to come down under last year for a tour.
Dad?
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Book by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
It just make logical sense. There is also a documentary of it if you don't want to go too deep down the rabbit hole:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104810/
Anyone read The Dry? Watched the movie a couple of weeks ago and thought it was decent for Australian-made… heard very good things about the book
Sorry, that is one of the very worst movies I have ever seen. So many holes in the story, utterly incomprehensible police work. Anyone could have observed the "suicide" site and deduced otherwise - footprints of the victim, blood from 2 head bashings….just a woeful storyline.
Hmm, I definitely didn't like it as much as some of my friends… sure some bits of the story were broken but I enjoyed the cinematography and a taste for what's to come from Australian film. Maybe the book is better, although I heard the film stays pretty faithful - so maybe not!
For reading, I've found myself attracted to two main types of books: older (think 1800s) fictional/semifictional (partially made up stories with real places or interpretations of historical events) books and also sci fi.
For the older books, I've mainly loved them due to the fantastic vocabulary of writers from that period and the real complexity/depth of their work. Many of the books were published in a serialized form (one chapter released each week or such), kind of like a modern tv show. This means the writers had lots of time to build their work out over eg a 2 year period and so they sometimes are a bit of a run on, but always have some serious thought put into them. They're also quite interesting since they give a REAL perspective on society at that time, not some manufactured 'period novel', which is always interesting to contrast to nowadays.
My favourites in this category are the Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers (and the followups), Around the world in 80 days, twenty thousand leagues under the sea, and Charles dickens in general. Saki's short stories are great too (especially the chronicles of clovis). These books might be better listened to as audiobooks since they can be a bit slow in places.
I also love science fiction, since it shows where the writer believes we might be in the future and opens up discussion in my head about whether to agree/disagree with their perception of the future etc. I LOVE everything Ray bradbury, and also liked The Martian, the Parafaith war.
And then, there are the books that have both of those elements. If you read just one book on my recommendation, read 'From the earth to the moon' by jules verne. The humour is so effortless (similar in nature to humour in hitchhikers guide, also great)
Great thoughts re older serialised books… the vocabulary definitely stands out among some older works I've dipped into and is certainly a joy to read. This sounds like a genre i'd be interested in exploring further… will look into your recommendations - thanks
as for science fiction, have you tried any of Ted Chiang's stories? The film Arrival was based on his novella 'Story of Your Life'. He has excellent - albeit limited - short story collections… and his profile perfectly epitomises 'quality over quantity'
I haven't read any of him, but have watched Arrival so will give him a go! Thanks for the recommendation
My favourites in this category are the Count of Monte Cristo
Love this book.
Will be reading The Three Musketeers shortly.
If you haven't already, listen to the audiobook read by David Clarke (v3) on librivox. Its actually incredible, a completely free work done by someone in their spare time with mindblowing dedication; the voices are so great and the pronounciation is spot on for the french terms.
https://librivox.org/the-count-of-monte-cristo-version-3-by-…
There are also some great readings of the three musketeers and some of the sequals on librivox too :) I prefer the ones done by solo authors, so try out a few, find a good narrator, and enjoy!
Siddartha by Herman Hesse - beautiful tale about self fulfilment. Very influential in the 60's and a great read.
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang.If you like science fiction this author is extremely good. He only does short stories but has won the Nebula & Hugo award multiple times for them. The movie Arrival was based on one of his stories. Each story is very unique and explores very interesting ideas. Reading this book you will learn where a large amount of science fiction ideas and themes originated from.
point for Ted Chiang. Funny cos I mentioned his works in the comment above just a minute ago. Have you tried his Exhalation- both the novella itself and the collection? I have it on loan from the library but haven't started yet… very excited
Not yet - just working my way through the short story collection but they are next on my list!
3 body problem
Slow start but stick with it. Basically has a very long prologue. Then stuff gets real
Agree I started it and put it down somewhere in the prologue. Came back to it a year later and pushed through, and then god damn. I can why it's getting the special treatment from Netflix/GOT team.
Hopefully Netflix don't screw it up. The detail in the book is amazing
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
I second this. Couldn't put it down, brilliant story. Changed my perspective for the better.
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, about a teenager trying to survive after a plane crash
Last's Anatomy
"How to win friends and influence people", By Dale Carnegie
The title makes it out as being manipulative/nefarious but really it just talks about and shows examples of how to effectively communicate with people in a genuine way which benefits you both.
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
The older stuff by Alastair Reynolds - by far some of the best sci fi I've ever read.
Otherwise, the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy series is always great.
The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain probably had a huge impact on me. I was very young.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valey Start up by John Carreyrou.
It’s a non fiction book that reads like fiction. Couldn’t put it down.
Lot’s of wtf moments and how did they get away with it for so long.
Not my favourite, didn’t impact my life but sure as hell made me think.
I really enjoy John Grisham books, especially the earlier ones like "the runaway jury" or the Client… if you're into law thrillers give it a shot :)
Grug
Sherlock Holmes
"The Day of the Triffids" by John Wyndham. Still one of the finest end-of-the-world and what happens next books ever written.
Love this book. Pathologically afraid of viewing meteor showers since reading it.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Wild Swans, Three Daughters Of China by Jung Chang (especially good if you're interested in what communism actually is from someone living in it)
The Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison
Red Dead Redemption 2. Changed my life.
Best story line in a video game? I haven't played it yet. Story is something that didn't really concern me in the past.
Any of Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy (though the first one, Wolf Hall, is the best). Her earlier A Place of Greater Safety (set in the French Revolution) was pretty damned good too.
Candide by Voltaire
Satire and surprisingly still holds well, I was at my lowest and this helped a bit
You are my new favourite ozbargainer. My wife is the only other person whom had ever ready this book.
This is a serious comment. Mein Kampf made a big impact on me. Getting into the mind of a facist and racist really opens your eyes into the ways they trick their followers into believing everything they say. All the tricks that are being used today are detailed clearly in his book. People should know how to spot it so they don't succumb to populism, propoganda and conspiracies.