Alrighty, NONfiction books! What are your favorites?

[MFAAS]

So, despite recently wholeheartedly getting back into fiction. For the last few years before that I was really solely reading nonfiction books. Also listened to a lot of podcasts on money and real estate too which I will throw in here with the books. I read self improvement books, a lot of real estate/money/business books, basically just trying to better myself personally, professionally, and get ahead financially so I can be on track for FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early, there's a whole subreddit about it if you're interested)

My favorite books I've read, self improvement category:
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck (literally every single person in the world should read this, it is life changing)
- High Performance Habits - by Brendon Burchard
- Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers by Robery Sapotsky
- Breath by James Nestor
- Emotional Intelligence Mastery
- Extreme Ownership
- Leadership Strategy and Tactics
- Ego is the Enemy
- Blink by Malcom Gladwell
- The Big Leap
- Lifeonaire
- The ONE Thing
- I Know What to Do. So Why Don't I Do It?
- Unshakeable by Tony Robbins

Real Estate/Finance/Business/Success
- Never Split the Difference (holy shit this book is incredible, if there is only ONE book you could ever read and learn anything from again, hands down this is the book to choose!!
- Literally any BiggerPockets book, but specifically Set For Life,
- The Millionaire Fastlane
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad
- Cashflow Quadrant
- Landlording on Auto-Pilot
- The Richest Man in Babylon

Just plain excellent books that will change the way you view the world:
- The Hidden Life of Trees (FASCINATING book, I can't recommend it enough, trees are SO MUCH MORE complex and collectively intelligent than almost anyone realizes, 100% worth reading or getting the audible book!)
- Also Peter Wohlleben's other books: The Inner Life of Animals and The Secret Wisdom of Nature!
- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
- A Brief History of Time
- Sapiens
- Origins (Neil DeGrasse Tyson)
- Altered Genes, Twisted Truth

Plus there's a bunch more but that's all I will list for now.

Of those I would say the top from each category are:
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
- Never Split the Difference
- The Hidden Life of Trees

 

[VikingDub]

I prefer nonfiction. Economics, sociology, business/finance, self-help, and history. I like learning and as you said, reading topics that change how you view the world.

- Freakonomics
- Tipping Point
- Sapiens
- Talking to Strangers
- A Brief History of Time
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
- The Art of War
- How to Win Friends and Influence People
- The 48 Laws of Power
- John Adams by David McCullough
- American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
- The Bully Pulpit: Roosevelt and the Golden Age of Journalism.

 

[Human_backhoe]

Stealing Fire. Jamie Wheal and Steven Kotler

You might really enjoy the above!

Anything by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Or Henry David Thoreau!

 

[Demondosage]

I feel like a dumb fuck every time I see one of these posts. Non-fictional. I read Meso. Fictional? I also read Meso.

I need to definitely expand my horizons, that subtle art of not giving a fuck sounds good. Very catchy name, that kind of shit draws dumbasses like me in, hahhahaa. Seriously though, I need to read more stuff

 

[NLM36]

Be Your Own Bodybuilding Coach by Scott Stevenson
Championship Bodybuilding by Chris Aceto
Everything You Need to Know About Fatloss by Chris Aceto
Heavy Duty Nutrition by Mike Mentzer
High Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way
Lyle McDonald The Rapid Fatloss Handbook
Most of what I read has to do with dieting, training, and nutrition.

 

[Jet Labs]

Dark Nature and Supernature by Lyall Watson.

Amazing reads!

 

[MFAAS]

I feel like a dumb fuck every time I see one of these posts. Non-fictional. I read Meso. Fictional? I also read Meso.

I need to definitely expand my horizons, that subtle art of not giving a fuck sounds good. Very catchy name, that kind of shit draws dumbasses like me in, hahhahaa. Seriously though, I need to read more stuff

lmao reading is a good thing. Honestly it is my favorite way to wind down. Just get lost in a good fiction book. For non fiction I like reading during the day more. Honestly man I think literally every single person in the world should read The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck. I got it for my dad, my girlfriend, my girlfriends mom, my girlfriends sister. I've literally bought that book like 8 times lmfao. I have it on Kindle and paperback. It's quite literal gold, if you don't do anything else today, just go online and order that book. That's your mission being granted to you by me, MFAAS, half-goat, half-man, with wattles that could kill.

The other book I think everyone should read, is that Never Split the Difference book. However, I will give you guys a shortcut/sneak preview, you can listen to Chris Voss on the BiggerPockets podcast episode 260. The Subtle Art will help you make your life better and cut out the bullshit and focus on what matters, Never Split the Difference will help you get more out of relationships, conversations, etc. I have used the tactics in this book in my personal life, my work life, even in online/text format. It's incredible stuff. At the bare minimum, listen to the meat of that podcast.

I prefer nonfiction. Economics, sociology, business/finance, self-help, and history. I like learning and as you said, reading topics that change how you view the world.

- Freakonomics
- Tipping Point
- Sapiens
- Talking to Strangers
- A Brief History of Time
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
- The Art of War
- How to Win Friends and Influence People
- The 48 Laws of Power
- John Adams by David McCullough
- American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
- The Bully Pulpit: Roosevelt and the Golden Age of Journalism.

I've read several of those, I actually read The Art of War in like 8th grade and it was WAY above my head lol. Tipping Point was an amazing book, I should've had that on my first list for sure.

To be honest, I was not a friend of How to Win Friends and Influence People. If you read The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck, I think in that book he talks about the shift from the Character Ethic to the Personality Ethic . (I am pretty sure that's the book where he talks about it, not 100% though, it very well could've been a different one. There's also articles like the one I linked there.)

Basically, long story short, before WWI, people wanted to be good, wholesome people, they wanted to have good morals and strong character. Then, after WWI, there was a shift to having a good "personality". Being "likeable" and having a wide circle of friends and influencing/manipulating people to do/think the way you want. The book is really written from a business and networking angle, not from a this is my true authentic self sort of angle. I am really not a fan of this sort of method interaction. I truly despise networking and I can't stand being fake or pandering to other people. I have read the book, I know that it's not all about that, but overall I just don't vibe with the message of the book. I am MUCH more preferential to the Character Ethic than the Personality Ethic. I TOTALLY agree with some of what is in the book, remembering people's names makes a big difference and is just a nice thing to do, acknowledge your own mistakes is not only good for others but for you too, don't try to win an argument (I always instead try to plant seeds).

Overall, a lot of it is just common sense. Regardless, I get along with basically everyone I meet, because I am a nice person and I am empathetic and can relate to just about anyone. I have literally never sucked up to anyone before. If someone doesn't like me for who I am, then that's great, I have just eliminated the need to expend energy on them.

I much prefer The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, or the more modern "High Performance Habits" by Brendon Burchard, to How to Win Friends and Influence People. Between High Performance Habits, The 7 Habits, and Never Split the Difference, that is like the trifecta of being a solid person!

Stealing Fire. Jamie Wheal and Steven Kotler

You might really enjoy the above!

Anything by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Or Henry David Thoreau!

I have this in my Audible Library but never actually listened to it!! Thank you for reminding me!

Also two incredible authors, I have read some of their poetry way back when, but not been exposed to as much else. Will for sure add to my list.

Be Your Own Bodybuilding Coach by Scott Stevenson
Championship Bodybuilding by Chris Aceto
Everything You Need to Know About Fatloss by Chris Aceto
Heavy Duty Nutrition by Mike Mentzer
High Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way
Lyle McDonald The Rapid Fatloss Handbook
Most of what I read has to do with dieting, training, and nutrition.

How could I have forgotten to add physique books here lol. Several of those you mentioned I have read, but not all, I will be adding them to my list.

FIRST OFF:

The Book on Steroids by @PeterBond
The Book on Dietary Supplements by Peter Bond

The Stronger By Science Podcast forever, baby. I fucking love those guys. They also released 2 books, The Art of Lifting and The Science of Lifting. They are well illustrated and covers the basics really well, The Science of Lifting gets much more in depth. Super solid material, highly recommend for you @NLM36 and everybody here, really.

Also:
Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier
Women's Strength Training Anatomy Workouts also by Frederic Delavier and Michael Gundill (read this so I could coach my girlfriend better)
Serious Strength Training (a little outdated now, perhaps)

Dark Nature and Supernature by Lyall Watson.

Amazing reads!

Will for sure add these to my list, thanks!


Thanks for the suggestions y'all!!

 

[PeterBond]

FIRST OFF:

The Book on Steroids by @PeterBond
The Book on Dietary Supplements by Peter Bond

I can vouch for these.

 

[Logan44551]

Any of you read the 48 laws of power?

 

[janoshik]

>tfw nobody mentioning Starting Strength

 

[VikingDub]

Any of you read the 48 laws of power?

I have read it. A few of the "laws" I don't agree with but I use/have used several in business dealings and in my personal life with success. Some of the recommendations in the book make it seem like you are practicing deception which isn't totally incorrect. However, if you understand the appropriate situations to apply the laws and don't come off as a complete asshole, you can shift the power dynamics in your favor in my experience.

 

[Logan44551]

I have read it. A few of the "laws" I don't agree with but I use/have used several in business dealings and in my personal life with success. Some of the recommendations in the book make it seem like you are practicing deception which isn't totally incorrect. However, if you understand the appropriate situations to apply the laws and don't come off as a complete asshole, you can shift the power dynamics in your favor in my experience.

Yeah, it it good to have read it.to see when others are trying to manipulate you as well. You are definitely correct that some of it comes of as deceptive/ manipulative.

 

[MFAAS]

I can vouch for these.

Yeah I think someone you know wrote them, or someone very close to you? In another post you had mentioned the guy was extraordinarily good looking, extremely intelligent, funny, witty, not to mention a good listener...just all around a damn good catch for whatever sexy lady manages to land him!

 

[MFAAS]

I have read it. A few of the "laws" I don't agree with but I use/have used several in business dealings and in my personal life with success. Some of the recommendations in the book make it seem like you are practicing deception which isn't totally incorrect. However, if you understand the appropriate situations to apply the laws and don't come off as a complete asshole, you can shift the power dynamics in your favor in my experience.

Agreed. Such is the nature of these books though. You take what resonates with you and leave the rest, The only two books I read where literally EVERYTHING resonated with my 100% was Never Split the Difference and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. One I finish the last Stormlight book I am going to pick that up again, I read it like 2 or 3 years ago so it's been too long.

That is another thing I think people should do, but most don't: pick up a book a second time. They read it once and take a few things again, then are done. I actually read The Subtle Art and Never Split the Difference TWICE each, back to back when I bought them. I finished it and thought "man that was so dense, there was so much in there, I definitely missed a lot. I need to re-read this again now to make sure I didn't miss anything. But yeah, if a book REALLY helped you and provided value a couple years ago, then pick it up and read it again! It will definitely provide value to you a second time. It'll refresh your memory on the things you learned, you will also pick up stuff you missed the first time. IMO It's important that people do this to ensure we don't grow complacent. We never stop growing and reading these nonfiction books is a great way to facilitate growth!!

 

[Monkipalo]

- Emotional Intelligence Mastery

by who?

 

[Fattyone]

A million miles in a thousand years


Pretty good read.

 

[MR_Midas]

Great book, I've heard a lot of good reviews. Took a few notes to read sooner.

 

[hijoshiki]

I read books on Nihilism, Anarchism, Existentialism, Nothingness, Being, Skepticism, Pessimism, Buddhism(lots of zen books and theravada).

However with all the genius contained in books of the past few thousand years.

Nothing is as fundamental and gets to truth like Cynicism.

Every great writer only adds confusion and muddles about trying to make it easier to swallow the foul taste that is civilized life.

Cynicism is revolt. It takes courage as it is completely shameless in public making a mockery of conventions.

The Buddha writings woke me up, but Diogenes is the man of action that didn't retreat from the world, but pulled up his cloak and took a steamy dump on it for all to see and because of that he was respected.

Every great thinker only adds to anxiety as they try to help you navigate your freedom while at the same time making sure you stay within convention by doing what is expected(which isn't real freedom). Not Diogenes that used his genius to masturbate in public, not because he had no morals, but because he was above morality, not because he was poor, but because he was above greed. He saw the madness of much of what people do and most importantly expect and made a comedy of it.

So if you really want to not give a fuck, this is it and I've read through most of what is to be had.

I would recommend:

The Gospel According to Dog: The Good News of Ancient Cynicism. ​

 

[MR_Midas]

I read reviews about the book "The Gospel According to Dog: The Good News of Ancient Cynicism." They are very different, from good and neutral to negative. I think I'll read it myself and draw my own conclusions. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Millard]

I read a lot of non-fiction and not surprisingly mostly books on topics of steroids, doping, sports, bodybuilding, physical culture. For now, I'll share my favorites on topic of competitive bodybuilding:

Muscle Wars: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of Competitive Bodybuilding by Rick Wayne
Muscle: A Writer's Trip Through a Sport with No Boundaries by Jon Hotten