1. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
Not even
close. No book comes even close to this. Yeah I get it, some of you read it in
middle school and thought it was just alright. You’re stupid and wrong, this
book is amazing. This is one of the few books that I picked up and just could
not put down. I think I finished within 12 hours of starting, ending at 4:00 in
the morning. Insightful and just downright depressing, this is my favorite book
of all time.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale
Carnegie
This
book really got me thinking about relationships on a different level. I’m sure
that if I read this book for the first time today, it would not even be on this
list. However, I read it when I was much younger, at a time was I was learning
about forming relationships and making friends. To this day I still make remembering
names a priority, I write down the name of most people I meet as a mnemonic
device.
3. A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking
Tremendously
complicated subject matter, but in plain English. A book I read at a young age,
that got me initially interested in science and the universe. A very quick read
at 212 pages, and you will finish the book feeling much dumber. Yeah you will
learn a lot, but it is a in-your-face reminder of how much you don’t know, and
how much our entire species does not know.
4. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall
Bias
alert, I’m a born runner. I ran my first marathon when I was 13, and I continued
running marathons throughout high school and college. Right now, I’m at 5 total,
not including the back leg of my 2019 Ironman. Do I agree with the thesis of
this book, that the human species owes much of its evolutionary success due to human’s
ability to out-endurance prey? Honestly, no. However, the story of the Tarahumara
was fascinating to my younger self, and was influential in by running career.
5. Dune, by Frank Herbert
This is
just a fantastic sci fi novel. It’s a shame that every attempt to put this
spectacular story on the big screen has fallen flat. If you enjoy
worldbuilding, or giant worms, this is the book for you. I’d be hard pressed to
find another science fiction book that measures up.
6. The End of Faith, by Sam Harris
I was born
and raised Catholic. I went to mass every Sunday, was a leader in my church’s youth
group, and prayed every single night. Then by mid-high school I grew out of it.
I decided to read three religious books (Mere Christiantiy, Seven Storey
Mountain, The Case for Christ) and three anti-religious books (The End of
Faith, The God Delusion, God is Not Great). Of all of those books, this one was
the most insightful (with Mere Christianity at #2). In no way, shape, or form is
this a perfect book. Still, it was important to my development and helped sharpen
my critical thinking skills and led me to question authority.
7. A Random Walk Down Wall Street, by Burton
Malkiel
Almost
didn’t read this book. All I can say is thank god I did. During the summer after
freshman year of college, I worked for a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley. I
was extremely unprepared. To my credit, I had not taken a single finance class
yet, and really did not know what I was getting into. Before going back the
next summer, I decided that I would be as prepared as possible. I read probably
every single page on Investopedia, and then one active-management advocate book
(One Up on Wall Street) and one passive-management advocate book (this one).
This book completely shattered my preconceptions and caused me to pick a
different career path.
8. One Up on Wall Street, by Peter Lynch
The
advisor I worked for at Morgan Stanley was extremely smart. He directly managed
a ton of money, and he provided great value to his numerous clients. He was probably
the most important professional mentor I’ve had in my life. Reading this book essentially
set me on this path. I decided I wanted to be a stock picker, and even senior
year I was still recruiting for equity research positions. Peter Lynch was a Rockstar,
and his advice is genuine and useful.
9. Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse
I wonder
if putting this book on the list means that I’m a pseudointellectual. Who cares,
it’s a great book that I believe draws profound philosophical conclusions. I do
not believe in re-reading books. There are just too many books on my to-read
list that I want to get to before I die. Still, I am going to re-read this book
multiple times.
10. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
So entertaining. Just a fun book all around. I'd say this book is on this list mostly because it reignited my interest in reading. Who doesn't love a good adventure?
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