Derek Sivers's Book Recommendations

"If you liked “Predictably Irrational” or “Stumbling on Happiness” or any of those pop-psychology books, well, this is the Godfather of all of their work. Huge thorough book gives a great overview of much of his work. Read the other quotes on Amazon about it."

"If you liked 'Predictably Irrational' or 'Stumbling on Happiness' or any of those pop-psychology books, well, this is the Godfather of all of their work."

"I love his thinking, especially Hackers & Painters."

"Derek Sivers mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast."

"Derek Sivers recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book."

"I found when reading it that the quirky philosophy I've been living my life by since 17 matches up exactly with a 2000-year-old philosophy called Stoicism."

"Absolutely everyone who is an entrepreneur or wants to be one needs to read this book."

"Awesomely creative think-piece. 40 very short fictional stories about what happens when you die."

"Great blunt advice about writing better non-fiction. So inspiring."

"Derek Sivers mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast."

"Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what “Resistance” is. This book is about that. Read it."

"Wonderful considerate book about conversational people skills."

"Derek Sivers recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book."

"When I was 18, Awaken the Giant Within changed my life."

"Great, little book [...] that I highly recommend."

"Many new brilliant insights, especially about over-estimating the differences between you and others, thereby separating into us-vs-them tribalism."

"A great overview of the lessons of Charlie Munger (partner of Warren Buffett) - and his approach to checklists of multi-disciplinary models to guide clear thinking."

"Derek Sivers recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book."

"Parents of young (age 5-10) readers: We just finished reading the “HILO” comic books - which my boy’s librarian recommended - and it’s the best we’ve ever found. GREAT writing/story/twists/everything. If you know another this good, please let me know."

"@mapc LOVE this book!"

"For those fascinated with memory. Riveting page-turner about a journalist (with no particularly good memory) who went to cover a memory championship event. Intrigued and befriending some competitors, he starts practicing, and a year later wins the U.S. memory championship event himself. Inspiring dive into the subject of memorization."

"Actually analyzing what makes certain ideas or stories more memorable than others! Fascinating. Apply this wisdom to your songs, bio/story, communication with fans, etc."

"My #1 most-gifted book is “The Third Ear” by Joachim-Ernst Berendt. Forever changes how you think of sound."

"The world's cultures and politics are this way because of geography : oceans, rivers, mountains, deserts, farmable land, etc. Fascinating for me because I'd never looked at this world this way before."

"Surprisingly insightful. Much better than expected. An outsider’s insights into Finnish culture. I read it on my way to Finland, and swooned at the description of what sound like my kind of people. My experience in Finland mostly matches the book’s description, except I was in louder central Helsinki, so the anti-social silence was not on display. The book has a list of spectrums of culture which could be a good framework to categorize various countries’ cultures."

"A must-read for every entrepreneur. A holistic, generous, human, emotional, long-term, story-driven approach to your business. The world would be a much better place if businesses were led this way. You'll have a competitive advantage if you do this, since so few do."

"Philosophy made relatable. Great points about taking feelings seriously, pain as the speed of light, humanity as an ends not means, and democracy acknowledging human nature. Sections on Nietzsche and Kant are fascinating, not academic. The second half grabbed me the most."

"Harvard professor of psychology has studied happiness for years, and shares factual findings that will change the way you look at the world."

"Profound idea that everyone has a primary time focus: either Future-focused, Present-focused, or Past-focused. Fascinating implications of each."

"[This is the book I've given most often as a gift] because I’m fascinated with understanding the mindset of a place."

"Derek Sivers mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast."

"Brilliant reversal of all of the 'how to manage all your crap' books."

"[This author] talking about the internet is like Sid Vicious talking about punk. Analysts merely adopted it, but Ohanian was born in it, molded by it, and is the voice of it."

"Though I’ve worked my way through many Rails books, this is the one that finally made me 'get' it."

"Every future millionaire needs this wise perspective."