Reading
You can find me on Goodreads.
In addition to regular reading I enjoy a reading project. Here's what I've been working on:
Patrick Collison's Ten Important Historical Novels
In 2024, Patrick Collison read ten important historical novels. I'm following the same reading list in 2026.
- Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre
- George Eliot: Middlemarch
- Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse
- Charles Dickens: Bleak House
- Henry James: The Portrait of a Lady
- Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina
- Vasily Grossman: Life and Fate
- Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness
- Gustave Flaubert: Madame Bovary
- Thomas Mann: The Magic Mountain
Rise and Fall of Civilisations
My current reading project is to put a dent in The Rise and Fall of Civilisations: A Reader Course by Tanner Greer . This is not yet the full list, but I will add a few more books as I get through them.
- Robert J. Gordon: The Rise and Fall of American Growth
- Azar Gat: War in Human Civilization
- Francis Fukuyama: Political Order and Political Decay
- Francis Fukuyama: The Origins of Political Order
- Francis Spufford: Red Plenty
- Hendrick Spruyt : The World Imagined
- James C. Scott: Seeing Like a State
- Joe Studwell: How Asia Works
- Joel Mokyr: The Lever of Riches
- Joseph Tainter: The Collapse of Complex Societies
- Machiavelli: Discourses on Livy
- Mancur Olson: The Rise and Decline of Nations
- Michael Mann: The Sources of Social Power Volume 1
- Michael Mann: The Sources of Social Power Volume 2
- Paul Kennedy: The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
- Peer Vries: State, Economy and the Great Divergence
- Ronald Findlay and Kevin O'Rouke: Power and Plenty
- Thomas Ertman: Birth of the Leviathan
Interintellect - Reading the Greats
In 2021 I took part in the Interintellect, Reading the Greats salon series. This monthly book club took us on a tour of some of the most well known works of the western canon.
- (Anon): Beowulf
- Austen: Pride and Prejudice
- Brecht: Mother Courage and Her Children
- Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France
- Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales
- Dante: The Divine Comedy
- Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy
- Homer: Iliad
- Huxley: Brave New World
- Machiavelli: The Prince
- Orwell: 1984
- Plato: The Last Days of Socrates
- Shelly: Frankenstein
- Sophocles: Antigone
- Woolf: Mrs Dalloway
Reading
2026
The Magic Mountain Thomas Mann
You Can Just Do Things: How to Stop Asking Permission and Start Making Things Happen Cate Hall
Inside the Box: The fascinating New York Times bestseller that reveals the hidden power of limits David Epstein
When We Cease to Understand the World Benjamín Labatut
To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf
Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë
Bleak House Charles Dickens
Maintenance of Everything: Part One Stewart Brand
The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education W. Edwards Deming
The Baby Sleep Solution: The stay-and-support method to help your baby sleep through the night Lucy Wolfe
The Running Ground: A Father, A Son and the Simplest of Sports Nick Thompson
Free: Coming of Age at the End of History Lea Ypi
On the Calculation of Volume III Solvej Balle
Human Acts Han Kang
2025
English Pastoral: An Inheritance James Rebanks
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive Jared Diamond
Meditations for Mortals: Four weeks to embrace your limitations and make time for what counts Oliver Burkeman
Nuclear War: A Scenario Annie Jacobsen
Left Behind: A New Economics for Neglected Places Paul Collier
Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again Jake Tapper
1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed Eric H. Cline
War in Human Civilization Azar Gat
Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler Tim Bouverie
Why The Allies Won Dr Richard Overy
Pathogenesis: How germs made history: A Sunday Times Science Book of the Year Jonathan Kennedy
Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection John Green
On the Calculation of Volume II Solvej Balle
On the Calculation of Volume I Solvej Balle
The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West Alexander C. Karp
Growth: A Reckoning Daniel Susskind
Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II Arthur Herman
The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy Adam Tooze
Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life Agnes Callard
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood James Gleick
The Making of the Atomic Bomb Richard Rhodes
The MANIAC Benjamín Labatut
Bettering Humanomics: A New, and Old, Approach to Economic Science Deirdre Nansen McCloskey
Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix It Sam Freedman
The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI Ethan Mollick
Greek Lessons Han Kang
No Longer at Ease Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe
On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything Nate Silver
Medieval Horizons: Why the Middle Ages Matter Ian Mortimer
2024
Second Act: What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Success and Reinventing Your Life Henry Oliver
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity David Graeber
Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century J. Bradford DeLong
Why War? (Pelican Books) Richard Overy
Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart Again Robert Kagan
The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism John Gray
Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance Alex Hutchinson
Exercised: The Science of Physical Activity, Rest and Health Daniel E. Lieberman
Arts and Minds: How the Royal Society of Arts Changed a Nation Anton Howes
The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time Yascha Mounk
Great Britain?: How We Get Our Future Back Torsten Bell
How To Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen David Brooks
Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology Chris Miller
The Russo-Ukrainian War Serhii Plokhy
Politics On the Edge: A Memoir From Within Rory Stewart
We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience Lyndsey Stonebridge
Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change W. David Marx
Stories of Your Life and Others Ted Chiang
The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform The World David Deutsch
The Making of the English Working Class (Modern Classics) E.P. Thompson
So Late in the Day Claire Keegan
An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace Tamar Adler
How to Keep House While Drowning K.C. Davis
The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion
Victorious Century: The United Kingdom, 1800–1906 (Penguin History of Britain) David Cannadine
2023
The Enlightened Economy: Britain and the Industrial Revolution, 1700-1850 Joel Mokyr
The Death of Ivan Ilyich Leo Tolstoy
The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England Jonathan Healey
The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown Anna Keay
The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Study on Happiness Robert Waldinger
The Precipice: ‘A book that seems made for the present moment’ New Yorker Toby Ord
How to Be You: Simone de Beauvoir and the art of authentic living Skye Cleary
Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians Tara Isabella Burton
The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World Book 70) Robert J. Gordon
Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock Jenny Odell
Making Peoples: A History of the New Zealanders From Polynesian James Belich
You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters Kate Murphy
International Relations: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) Christian Reus-Smit
Red Notice: A True Story of Corruption, Murder and One Man’s Fight for Justice Bill Browder
Red Crosses Sasha Filipenko
Red Plenty: Inside the Fifties’ Soviet Dream Francis Spufford
Thud! (Discworld, #34; City Watch, #7) Terry Pratchett
The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities (Veritas Paperbacks) Mancur Olson
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 Paul Kennedy
Ideology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) Michael Freeden
2022
How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth Mark Koyama
Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organise Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential Tiago Forte
Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships Robin I.M. Dunbar
What We Owe the Future William MacAskill
How Religion Evolved Robin I.M. Dunbar
Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution Francis Fukuyama
The Great Disruption Francis Fukuyama
Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment Francis Fukuyama
Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalisation of Democracy Francis Fukuyama
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution Francis Fukuyama
Liberalism and Its Discontents Francis Fukuyama
The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty Daron Acemoğlu
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty Daron Acemoğlu
The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story For Work and Life Paul Millerd
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century Louise Perry
Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World Deirdre Nansen McCloskey
A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy (Graz Schumpeter Lectures) Joel Mokyr
The Gospels: A New Translation Sarah Ruden
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Mary Wollstonecraft
Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind Tom Holland
Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through: The Surprising Story of Britain’s Economy from Boom to Bust and Back Again Duncan Weldon
Messy: How to Be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World Tim Harford
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly Anthony Bourdain
Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? Michael J. Sandel
On Politics Alan Ryan
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure Jonathan Haidt
Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology Johnjoe McFadden
The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous Joseph Henrich
Why Orwell Matters Christopher Hitchens
Brave New World Aldous Huxley
1984 George Orwell
Orwell: A Man Of Our Time Richard Bradford
The Timeless Way of Building Christopher W. Alexander
Doughnut Economics: The must-read book that redefines economics for a world in crisis Kate Raworth
Virginia Woolf Alexandra Harris
Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World Deirdre Nansen
The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism & Carbon Footprint Ellie Harrison
Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf
The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce Deirdre Nansen McCloskey
The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company William Dalrymple
2021
Mother Courage and Her Children (Modern Classics) Bertolt Brecht
Why Liberalism Works: How True Liberal Values Produce a Freer, More Equal, Prosperous World for All Deirdre Nansen McCloskey
It's All in Your Head Suzanne O'Sullivan
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future Steven Levitsky
Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain Sathnam Sanghera
Thomas Paine's Rights of Man: A Biography (BOOKS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD Book 10) Christopher Hitchens
The Writings of Thomas Paine - Volume 2 (1779-1792): the Rights of Man Thomas Paine
Exponential: Order and Chaos in an Age of Accelerating Technology Azeem Azhar
The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't Julia Galef
Reflections on the Revolution in France Edmund Burke
Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It Oliver Burkeman
Science Fictions Stuart Ritchie
What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets Michael J. Sandel
Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny Kate Manne
The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice Shon Faye
Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality Helen Joyce
Frankenstein Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot
Vaxxers Sarah Gilbert
Shakespeare in a Divided America James Shapiro
The Secret of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter Joseph Henrich
Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics Stephen Greenblatt
The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 James Shapiro
Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends Anne Applebaum
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Robert Wright
Descartes: A Beginner's Guide (Beginner's Guides) Harry M. Bracken
How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics Michael Pollan
Meditations on First Philosophy, with Selections from the Objections and Replies René Descartes
Chaucer: A European Life Marion Turner
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know Adam M. Grant
Work Clean: The life-changing power of mise-en-place to organize your life, work, and mind Dan Charnas
The Medici Mary Hollingsworth
The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior: The Intersecting Lives of Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped Paul Strathern
The Prince: A Norton Critical Edition (Norton Critical Editions) Niccolò Machiavelli
Machiavelli: The Art of Teaching People What to Fear Patrick Boucheron
The Prince Niccolò Machiavelli
This Sovereign Isle: Britain In and Out of Europe Robert Tombs
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need Bill Gates
Whole Earth Discipline Stewart Brand
Reading Dante (The Open Yale Courses Series) Giuseppe Mazzotta
The Hidden Half: How the World Conceals its Secrets Michael Blastland
Reading Dante: From Here to Eternity Prue Shaw
The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso Dante Alighieri
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think Hans Rosling
Thinking in Systems: A Primer Donella H. Meadows
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer
Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon Colin Bryar
Leviathan Thomas Hobbes
Political Philosophy (The Open Yale Courses Series) Steven B. Smith
Grendel John Gardner
Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software Nadia Eghbal
A World Without Email: Find Focus and Transform the Way You Work Forever (from the NYT bestselling productivity expert) Cal Newport
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell Unknown
Beowulf Unknown
Beowulf Seamus Heaney
The Aeneid Virgil
How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading Mortimer J. Adler
A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor John Berger
The Ancient Guide to Modern Life Natalie Haynes
Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader's Guide to a More Tranquil Mind Alan Jacobs
Meno and Other Dialogues: Charmides, Laches, Lysis, Meno Plato
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths Natalie Haynes
The Last Days of Socrates Plato
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
The Burial at Thebes: Sophocles' Antigone Seamus Heaney
How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy Julian Baggini
Antigone, Oedipus the King and Electra Sophocles
Lifespan: Why We Age―and Why We Don't Have To David A. Sinclair
The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential Wim Hof
The Iliad: A New Translation by Caroline Alexander Homer
2020
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma Bessel van der Kolk
Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems Abhijit V. Banerjee
Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion Paul Bloom
Cleopatra: A Life Stacy Schiff
Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture Sudhir Hazareesingh
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones James Clear
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art James Nestor
Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies: New Zealand and the United States David Hackett Fischer
Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change Eitan D. Hersh
Birdstories: A History of the Birds of New Zealand Geoff Norman
El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America Carrie Gibson
The Choice: Embrace the Possible Edith Eger
History Has Begun Bruno Maçães
Dreams of Leaving and Remaining: Fragments of a Nation James Meek
Tools for Conviviality Ivan Illich
Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility James P. Carse
The Living Mountain Nan Shepherd
Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights Molly Smith
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers Sönke Ahrens
The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop Adam Kucharski
Drink?: The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health David J. Nutt
Extreme Economies: Survival, Failure, Future – Lessons from the World’s Limits Richard Davies
The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone Olivia Laing
Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation Kyo Maclear
The Last Hanna Jameson
The Natural History of Selborne Gilbert White
Why Are We Yelling?: The Art of Productive Disagreement Buster Benson
Night Boat to Tangier Kevin Barry
2019
Adam Smith Jesse Norman
Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science Alice Domurat Dreger
The Meaning of Birds Simon Barnes
Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
Spirit to the Stone: Building the Old Ghost Road Marion Boatwright
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Mary Beard
Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films Dean Movshovitz
Giovanni’s Room James Baldwin
Deschooling Society Ivan Illich
Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism Benedict Anderson
The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind Raghuram G. Rajan
The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History David Hackett Fischer
The Anxious Triumph: A Global History of Capitalism, 1860-1914 Donald Sassoon
The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age Astra Taylor
The Lies that Bind: Rethinking Identity Kwame Anthony Appiah
Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career Scott H. Young
All That Remains: A Life in Death Sue Black
The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium Martin Gurri
An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management Will Larson
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World David Epstein
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Alison Bechdel
Normal People Sally Rooney
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men Caroline Criado Pérez
Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities Eric Kaufmann
Digital Minimalism Cal Newport
Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging Afua Hirsch
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy Jenny Odell
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson Joseph J. Ellis
National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy Roger Eatwell
The Chinese Machiavelli Dennis Bloodworth
Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business Paul Jarvis
It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work Jason Fried
AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order Kai-Fu Lee
Metaphors We Live By George Lakoff
The Park Bench Christophe Chabouté
Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking Samin Nosrat
Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders
Singapore, Singapura: From Miracle to Complacency Nicholas Walton
Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order Bruno Maçães
The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future Ryder Carroll
2018
The Ocean at the End of the Lane Neil Gaiman
The Gene: An Intimate History Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer Siddhartha Mukherjee
Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy Tim Harford
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor Adam Kay
The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1) Liu Cixin
Capitalism without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy Jonathan Haskel
Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation Serhii Plokhy
Arbitrary Stupid Goal Tamara Shopsin
Notes on a Nervous Planet Matt Haig
Notes of a Native Son James Baldwin
The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook Niall Ferguson
On Directing Film David Mamet
The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy Mariana Mazzucato
Closely Watched Trains Bohumil Hrabal
Mr. Kafka and Other Tales from the Time of the Cult Bohumil Hrabal
Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia Michael Vatikiotis
The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken The Secret Barrister
A History of Pictures: From the Cave to the Computer Screen David Hockney
The Dawn of Eurasia Bruno Maçães
The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking Oliver Burkeman
So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love Cal Newport
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 Gordon S. Wood
Equal Power: A Handbook for Men and Women Jo Swinson
The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam Douglas Murray
Pachinko Min Jin Lee
Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman
Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia Peter Pomerantsev
Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life John B. Arden
Principles: Life and Work Ray Dalio
2017
The Penguin History of New Zealand Michael King
The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding Robert Hughes
Down Under Bill Bryson
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America Colin Woodard
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1) Robert M. Pirsig
Making Sense of the Troubles: The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland David McKittrick
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race Reni Eddo-Lodge
How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Lisa Feldman Barrett
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload Daniel J. Levitin
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari
Micromastery: Learn Small, Learn Fast, and Find the Hidden Path to Happiness Robert Twigger
If This Is a Man • The Truce Primo Levi
The Age of Revolution, 1789–1848 Eric J. Hobsbawm
Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now? Ian Dunt
Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow Yuval Noah Harari
Prisoners of Geography Tim Marshall
World Order Henry Kissinger
The Case Against Sugar Gary Taubes
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Milan Kundera
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World Cal Newport
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers Timothy Ferriss
2016
Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed James C. Scott
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution (The American Revolution Series) Nathaniel Philbrick
Who Governs Britain? Anthony King
The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time Alex Korb
Politics: Between the Extremes Nick Clegg
The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine--A Tale of Two Narratives Padraig O'Malley
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman--Including 10 More Years of Business Unusual Yvon Chouinard
The Wealth of Humans: Work and its Absence in the Twenty-First Century Ryan Avent
Against the Double Blackmail: Refugees, Terror and Other Troubles with the Neighbours Slavoj Žižek
When Breath Becomes Air Paul Kalanithi
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis J.D. Vance
What's Left? Nick Cohen
Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy Peter Mair
Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World Don Tapscott
Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It) William Poundstone
The Accidental Superpower: The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder Peter Zeihan
Love, Poverty, and War: Journeys and Essays Christopher Hitchens
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements Eric Hoffer
What Got You Here Won't Get You There Marshall Goldsmith
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami
2015
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization Peter M. Senge
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time Jeff Sutherland
Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies C. Otto Scharmer
Norwegian Wood Haruki Murakami
The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves Stephen Grosz
Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Empathy Exams Leslie Jamison
Become What You Are Alan W. Watts
A Death in the Family (My Struggle #1) Karl Ove Knausgård
The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business Clayton M. Christensen
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting Milan Kundera
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love Raymond Carver
John Adams David McCullough
The Art of Negotiation: How to Improvise Agreement in a Chaotic World Michael A. Wheeler
The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long-term Health Justin Sonnenburg
Invisible Cities Italo Calvino
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives David Eagleman
Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World Donald Sull
Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy Jonathan Rauch
Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works A.G. Lafley
Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It Dorie Clark
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time Dava Sobel
Chronicle of a Death Foretold Gabriel García Márquez
The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy David Graeber
Joy at Work Dennis W. Bakke
Germany: Memories of a Nation Neil MacGregor
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality Brian Greene
Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One's Looking) Christian Rudder
The Martian Andy Weir
The Kindness of Strangers: Penniless Across America Mike McIntyre
Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life Karen E. Fields
The Scientist as Rebel (New York Review Books (Paperback)) Freeman Dyson
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Jared Diamond
2014
How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness Russell "Russ" Roberts
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End Atul Gawande
1491: The Americas Before Columbus Charles C. Mann
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery Henry Marsh
How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World Steven Johnson
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Marie Kondō
Sam Walton: Made In America Sam Walton
The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age Reid Hoffman
The Art of Profitability Adrian J. Slywotzky
The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway
The Call of the Wild Jack London
The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage Ryan Holiday
Eastern Wisdom, Modern Life: Collected Talks 1960-1969 Alan W. Watts
How Google Works Eric Schmidt
Tao of Leadership: Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching Adapted for a New Age John Heider
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future Peter Thiel
Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success Shane Snow
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, #1) Robin Sloan
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration Ed Catmull
Everyday Sexism Laura Bates
My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel Ari Shavit
On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City (Fieldwork Encounters and Discoveries) Alice Goffman
Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder Nassim Nicholas Taleb
At the Loch of the Green Corrie Andrew Greig
Twelve Years a Slave Solomon Northup
Meditations Marcus Aurelius
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers Ben Horowitz
My Share of the Task: A Memoir Stanley McChrystal
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy William B. Irvine
The Outsider Albert Camus
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character Paul Tough
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time Keith Ferrazzi
The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies Erik Brynjolfsson
The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner
It's Not All About Me: The Top Ten Techniques for Building Quick Rapport with Anyone Robin Dreeke
Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence Daniel Goleman
The Naked and the Dead Norman Mailer
Poor White Sherwood Anderson
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life Marshall B. Rosenberg
The Motivation Hacker Nick Winter
2013
On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes Alexandra Horowitz
Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes Maria Konnikova
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Cheryl Strayed
Art and Fear David Bayles
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon Brad Stone
Average Is Over: Powering America Beyond the Age of the Great Stagnation Tyler Cowen
Einstein’s Dreams Alan Lightman
Love's Executioner Irvin D. Yalom
Consider the Lobster and Other Essays David Foster Wallace
The Yankee Tea-party Or, Boston in 1773 Henry Clay Watson
Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential Carol S. Dweck
Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier Terry Laughlin
The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka
Cancer Ward Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The Monarchy: A Critique of Britain's Favourite Fetish Christopher Hitchens
Making Great Decisions in Business and Life David R. Henderson
On the Road Jack Kerouac
All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque
How Will You Measure Your Life? Clayton M. Christensen
The Halo Effect: How Managers let Themselves be Deceived Philip M. Rosenzweig
Decisive: How to make better choices in life and work Chip Heath
Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman
Winesburg, Ohio Sherwood Anderson
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
Capitalism and Freedom Milton Friedman
2011
The Education of Henry Adams Henry Adams
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
