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Why We Sleep

Matthew Walker

I used to have sleep problems, with days and nights reversed. I started reading this book because I wanted to fix my sleep. This book made me realize how important sleep is: more important than diet and exercise. By following the advice in this book, I was able to get my sleep back to normal.

I remember seeing the morning for the first time in three years. I was touched. My first thought was: God damn, I love this world.

If I could recommend only one book to anyone, this would be it. It can be dry at times, but it’s worth it.

Autobiography of a Yogi

Paramahansa Yogananda

This book kept showing up in my life, so I gave it a try.

There was something special about this book—reading it felt warm and comforting. I’ve never felt that way with another book. After finishing it, I understood why Steve Jobs read it once a year.

I’m grateful that this book came into my life. I was somewhat spiritual, but this book opened up a whole new world for me.

Being Mortal

Atul Gawande

Growing up, I was anxious about everything. Later, I realized that underneath it all was a fear of death. Reading this book made me less afraid of death. I began to see it as a natural part of life.

This book made me think about aging and dying for the first time: what I want my later years to look like, how I want to face death, and what role I want medicine to play in it.

The part about hospice inspired me. I had heard about it before, but I never understood it or thought of it as an option.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Lori Gottlieb

I’ve been interested in psychology since I was young. Therapy itself never felt very helpful to me, but I’ve always enjoyed learning how the mind works.

This book taught me to be honest with myself. We’re surprisingly good at lying to ourselves. Finding what’s underneath our feelings can feel like Sherlock Holmes solving a case—suddenly, everything makes sense.

I hadn’t read a book in ten years. I read this one every night before bed and loved it. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with reading again.

The Let Them Theory

Mel Robbins

I came across this book when I was shifting from trying to control everything to letting things be.

It changed how I approach relationships. I learned to let go of expectations and focus on myself. Eventually, I decided to go no contact with my family.

I loved the part about adult friendships and the three pillars: proximity, timing, and energy. I used to think I was the only one who found making friends so hard and felt so lonely. This book made me realize that many people feel the same way, and I found that strangely comforting.

This book can be repetitive at times, but I loved the real-life stories. I've recommended it to many people, and they loved it too.

Atomic Habits

James Clear

I knew about this book for years but never read it because I thought it would be another clichéd self-help book. Turns out, I was wrong.

I understood the idea of compounding before, but this book made me realize how powerful it could be in everyday life. I started thinking about my goals in terms of decades. All I need to do is a little every day and keep going.

This book also changed how I think about habits. I used to rely on willpower and push myself harder. Now I think more about systems: making good habits easier and bad habits harder.

I applied what I learned to my life, and it worked well. I used to procrastinate a lot. Now I rarely do.

44 Harsh Truths About the Game of Life Watch ↗

Naval Ravikant

I kept coming across Naval's quotes online, so I listened to this podcast. It took me two months to finish because I had to keep pausing to process what he said.

One idea that stuck with me was this: “A rational person should cultivate indifference to things that are out of their control.” After that, I stopped following the news. I felt more at peace.

Naval is comfortable with changing his mind. It inspired me to be more open to changing my mind. I started to see my beliefs as what I think today, not something I have to hold on to forever.