Five Books Every Human Should Read
I’m sorry. You were looking for a listicle, but instead you are going to have a brief existential crisis. There have been more books published this month then you will ever have the chance to read in your lifetime. This is why this is an extremely curated list that will never grow above 5. It only includes those books that I believe every human should read given their limited time on this earth.
- On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Writing well is one of the most important skills. I think it will become even more important as we enter the age of AI generated garbage. Even if you’re not a professional writer, the lessons in this book will help you throughout life.
- I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
Ignore the cheesy title, this is the personal finance education that I wish I got when I was a teenager. This book changed my life.
- Principles by Ray Dalio
A field guide for how to build a life you are proud of.
- How to Live by Derek Sivers
I think if Derek Sivers started a cult, I’d join it. A book of contradicting philosophies, it inspires me, makes me angry, and provokes lingering thoughts every time I read it. Reading this book is how to live.
- [still searching]
Thank you for reading! Share your thoughts with me on bluesky, mastodon, or via email.
Check out some more stuff to read down below.
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Recent Favorite Blog Posts
This is a collection of the last 8 posts that I bookmarked.
- Give Your Spouse the Gift of a Couple's Email Domain from mtlynch.io
- Skip the Next iPhone from Articles on Jose M.
- Have smart glasses finally hit an inflection point? from The Torment Nexus
- The McPhee method from the jsomers.net blog
- Pluralistic: LLMs are slot-machines (16 Aug 2025) from Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
- Pluralistic: Bluesky creates the world's weirdest, hardest-to-understand binding arbitration clause (15 Aug 2025) from Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
- Just a Little More Context Bro, I Promise, and It’ll Fix Everything from Jim Nielsen’s Blog
- The Futzing Fraction from Deciphering Glyph
Articles from blogs I follow around the net
Who Is The Sky? by David Byrne
Seeing David Byrne last night for the first-ever performance of Who Is The Sky was one of the best and most impactful concerts/experiences of my life.
via Blog – Brad Frost September 17, 2025Pluralistic: Conspiratorialism's causal chain (17 Sep 2025)
Today's links Conspiratorialism's causal chain: A four-part begat. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: Legal threats over HDCP leaks; Print your own TSA luggage keys; "A Natural History of Empty Lots." Upcoming appe…
via Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow September 17, 2025Theatre Review: Interview (Understudy Performance) ★★★☆☆
One of the best things about London theatre is that once in a while a show will give its understudies a chance to break out of the dressing room and soar on the stage. It's a chance to see talented performers at a discount price. What's not to lik…
via Terence Eden’s Blog September 17, 2025Generated by openring