I love reading, but sometimes it can be challenging to know what to read next! To try to address that, I’ve been collecting books I’m interested in reading.
This page was renamed from “Reading List” to “Antilibrary” after reading about tsundoku on Anne-Laure’s Ness Labs. Consider this one half of my library - the half that shows how much I have yet to learn!
A cross (†) means I’ve read the book. An asterisk (*) means I don’t (yet) have a copy of it. A skull (💀) means I started and didn’t finish.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari†*
Homo Dues: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari*
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari*
Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson†
White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg†
Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 192-1941 by Stephen Kotkin*
Heavy by Kiese Laymon†
Stan Lee by Liel Leibovitz
These Truths by Jill Lepore
This America by Jill Lepore†
Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre
The Spy and The Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of The Cold War by Ben Macintyre
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 by William Manchester†
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-1940 by William Manchester†
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965 by William Manchester and Paul Reid
John Adams by David McCullough
Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt by David McCullough
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss*
Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror by Victor Sebestyen*
The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War by Benn Steil*
The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power*
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover🎵*
Black Boy: American Hunger by Richard Wright†
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
“Pop” and not so pop-Sci
The Half-Life of Facts by Arbesman
The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty by Dan Ariely
This Idea Is Brilliant Edited By John Brockman*
The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind by Jonah Berger*
Contagious by Jonah Berger*
Quiet by Susan Cain
Atomic Habits by James Clear†
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business by Charles Duhigg†*
First, Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman†
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou🎵
The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects by Andrew Chen*
Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice by Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon, and David S. Duncan
Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up by Jerry Colonna
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey🎵
Making Work Visible: Exposing Time Theft to Optimize Work & Flow by Dominica DeGrandis*
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams by Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister†
Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs by John Doerr, Larry Page†
The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker
Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker
Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford*
Power Mentoring: How Successful Mentors and Proteges Get the Most Out of Their Relationships by Ellen A. Ensher, Susan E. Murphy*
Getting To Yes by Fisher, Ury and Patton
Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World by Rand Fishkin*
The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob Fitzpatrick†
Accelerate: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations by Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim†
The Manager’s Path by Camille Fournier†
The Staff Engineer’s Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change by Tanya Reilly*
The Four by Scott Galloway
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt†
What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful! by Marshall Goldsmith
Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber*
No Rules Rules: NETFLIX and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer*
Willfull Blindness by Margaret Heffernan
Designing Products People Love: How Great Designers Create Successful Products by Scott Hurff*
Project to Product: How to Survive and Thrive in the Age of Digital Disruption with the Flow Framework by Mik Kersten*
Writing for Software Developers by Philip Kiely (Digital)
The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management by Will Larson
Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track by Will Larson
Ask Your Developer by Jeff Lawson*
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni†
The New Builders: Face to Face With the True Future of Business by Seth Levine & Elizabeth MacBride
Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Building Leaders by Breaking the Rules by L. David Marquet🎵
The Culture Map: Breaking through the invisible boundaries of global business by Erin Meyer*
Managing Humans: More Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager by Michael Lopp
The Art of Leadership: Small Things, Done Well by Michael Lopp*
Being Geek: The Software Developer’s Career Handbook by Michael Lopp
Call Sign Chaos: Learning To Lead by Jim Mattis and Bing West
Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer†
The Pyramid Principle: Logic In Writing and Thinking by Barbara Minto
Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid The Traps, Create Unity, And Reap Big Results by Morten T. Hansen
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Bob Iger*
The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer by Jeffrey Liker
Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune And Random Failure In Silicon Valley By Antonio Garcia Martinez
The Success Equation: Untangling Skill And Luck In Business, Sports, And Investing by Michael J. Mauboussin
Power and Prosperity by Mancur Olson*
Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You by Geoffrey G. Parker, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, and Sangeet Paul Choudary
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries†
Brave, Not Perfect by Reshma Saujani*🎵
Radical Candor by Kim Scott†
The (Delicate) Art of Bureaucracy: Digital Transformation with the Monkey, the Razor, and the Sumo Wrestler by Mark Schwartz*
Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow by Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais*
Sooner Safer Happier: Antipatterns and Patterns for Business Agility by Jonathan Smart*
Joel On Software by Joel Spolsky†
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley*
Start Small, Stay Small by Rob Walling*
The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael D. Watkins†
Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results by Christina Wodtke*
The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You by Julie Zhuo
The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh
Philosophy
The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Hays translation)†
The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Torode Translation)
The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Dover Thrift Translation)
Meditations: The Annotated Edition by Marcus Aurelius (Robin Waterfield translation)*
The Hedgehog And The Fox by Isaiah Berlin
Discourse on Methods and the Meditations by René Descartes
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Manual by Epictetus (Torde translation)†
Algebra of Happiness by Scott Galloway†
Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life by Zena Hitz*
Leviathan by Hobbes
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff†
The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff†
The Power of Nunchi: The Korean Secret to Happiness and Success by Euny Hong*🎵
Silence Is The Key by Ryan Holiday†
A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine
The Essential Writings by William James
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kyosaki†
Dawn of the New Everything by Jaron Lanier
Who Owns The Future by Jaron Lanier
Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier
You Are Not A Gadget by Jaron Lanier†
Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows*
Poor Charlie’s Almanack - Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger by Charles T. Munger*
Transformative Experiences by L.A. Paul*
Socrates’ Cafe by Phillips
Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper*
Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig