2016 Reading Review

2016 was the first complete year I was able to dedicate to my blog and podcast, and I ended up doing a great deal of reading. I read A LOT of online articles/blog posts, but I also read a lot of books.

For a review of my favorite book, blogs, and podcasts of 2016, check out my podcast with Mike Dariano. Here's a list of all the books I read in 2016.


(1) The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
The book I’ve gifted the most in 2016.

(2) Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson
500 pages flew by for this master entrepreneur’s autobiography.

(3) A Wealth of Common Sense by Ben Carlson
Practical advice on personal finance, clearly written.

(4) Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday
Defining Growth Hacking from the marketing head of American Apparel.

(5) Steal the Show by Michael Port
A fantastic manual for building skills in public speaking.

(6) $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau
A lite version of Tim Ferriss’ 4 Hour Workweek.

(7) Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman
Physicist studied broadly and masterfully connected insights together.

(8) Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why by Laurence Gonzales
Stoic philosophy and Antifragile principles baked into tales of survival and “chance”.

(9) The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout
Short, sweet, and timeless rules for marketing anything.

(10) The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
by Kevin Kelly
Kelly was a guest and went deep on all the research that went into his predictions.

(11) Boys Among Men by Jonathan Abrams
Abrams did a ton of interviews chronicling the prep-to-pro generation of NBA stars.

(12) Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
An absolute classic. Unlike anything else I’ve ever read.

(13) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
If you haven’t read this, you need to read it.

(14) #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness by Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vee’s broadest book on business, leadership, and family.

(15) The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Often cited by leaders in politics, entertainment, and business.

(16) How to Be Interesting by Jessica Hagy
Derek Sivers recommended this short, easy read.

(17) The Book In a Box Method by Tucker Max & Zach Obront
Tucker is a multi-time bestseller and lays out the fundamentals of book creation.

(18) Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work by Steven Pressfield
Pressfield’s well-crafted sentences cut through the excuses and negative self-talk stopping creatives from producing.

(19) Influence by Robert Cialdini
One of the most oft-cited psychology books by business leaders.

(20) Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A “lightbulb” book with new ideas you won’t be able to ignore.

(21) The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Beautiful imagery and an exciting tale of unlocking the beast within.

(22) Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Stoic philosophy classic. Should be in every high school curriculum.

(23) Fast Forward: What Is Your College Degree Worth? by Tucker Matheson and Pichon Duplan
Getting real about extracting maximum value from your degree.

(24) How to Shoot Video the Doesn’t Suck by Steve Stockman
Title says it all.

(25) What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly
Founding editor of Wired magazine lays out the trends of technologies over many centuries and what to expect.

(26) The Resilience Advantage by Richard Citrin
Learning the resilience resides within all of us is key to developing confidence.

(27) Chimpanzee Politics by Frans de Waal
Analyzing chimps to better understand your fellow man.

(28) The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida
A masterclass on masculinity and one of Tony Robbins’ favorites.

(29) Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back by Douglas Rushkoff
Rushkoff obliterates assumptions baked into your everyday corporate lifestyle.

(30) Enchiridion by Epictetus
In the tradition of Stoic philosophers like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus offers practical short passages of advice.

Recommendations
For College Students & Job Hunters
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
Pressfield eloquently lays out the mental framework required to get shit done.

Best Gift
Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson
Entertaining, well-written, and informative tales of business triumphs and near-death adventures. 

Top Intellectual Stimulation
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
I explained it in episode 171, but this just a powerhouse book. Your brain will never be the same.

I'm always looking for suggestions for future reading, drop me a line if you have any recommendations. Here are my starting five for the beginning of 2017.

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Social Organism by Oliver Luckett
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski

I set a goal of reading 30 books in 2016 at the beginning of the year. I ended up nailing 30, so I’m pushing for 40 next year. I think I can do it. 

What will you be reading in 2017?