12 Interesting Books That Have Shaped Me

Even though we live in a world where all the world’s information is just a few clicks away, I think reading physical books remains an underrated pursuit.

I’ve spent thousands of hours reading blogs, watching videos, and following my favorite thinkers on social media. But when I think back over the past decade, much of my personal growth and many of my most vivid learning experiences were the result of books.

There is something about the length and pace of a book that allows context to emerge and related ideas to build on each other, which is in stark contrast to online media which is largely incentivized to increase clicks, not depth of interaction.

Besides the fact that reading is enjoyable, it has the added benefit of being great exercise for the brain. Research has linked reading to a host of positive effects including slowing age-related cognitive decline, increasing empathy for others, and reducing stress. 

For all these reasons, I highly recommend a lifetime of reading. To celebrate the gift of books in my life, and to hopefully stir your desire to read more, here is a list of the ten most memorable, and impactful books I’ve read. They aren’t necessarily my ten favorite books, but rather the ones that stuck with me long after I finished, or expanded my horizon of possibilities.

1. A Severe Mercy – by Sheldon Vanuken.

The first book that ever made me cry. It opened a world of beauty to me including a vision of deep love, sincere friendship, and the painful/joyful ache of longing.

2. Surprised by Joy – by C.S. Lewis.

The first time I ever saw someone write seriously about aesthetic pleasure. This book gave words to so many things I had felt deeply, and reshaped my faith into a pursuit of the source of all the good things in this world. 

3. Antifragile – by Nassim Taleb.

Of all the books on this list, this one is the hardest to summarize, but somehow it has touched nearly every area of my thinking. Its overall effect has been to raise the status of simple heuristics, time-tested ideas, people who have skin in the game, and the value of options.

4. The Art of the Commonplace – by Wendell Berry.

This book is actually a collection of essays on an agrarian vision of life. Combined, they had the effect of making me long for simplicity, appreciate the beauty of ordinary life, and desire to belong to a community.

5. The Code of the Woosters – by P.G. Wodehouse.

I chuckled my way through this entire book, and even laughed out loud on several occasions. The book is funny, but also, P.G. Wodehouse is one of the best wordsmiths in the English language. Reading this book was one of the purest, most child-like pleasures of my adulthood.

6. Everybody Wins – by Phil Harkins.

My first encounter with the thrill of an entrepreneur chasing their dream. I had never considered that work could be so fun, or so risky. I knew at that moment I would need to taste this for myself someday.

7. Four Hour Workweek – by Tim Ferris.

This book awakened me to the idea, as a maturing young adult, that I no longer needed permission to shape my life into whatever I desired. It felt like I was being handed a piece of clay and told “go make something interesting.”

8. Churchill – by Paul Johnson.

Reading this biography of Churchill produced my first ever personal hero. Virtue never seemed so desirable as when I saw it displayed in this man’s life. What an amazing mixture of curiosity, passion, courage, and manliness.

9. A Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life – by Leo Babauta.

This was the book that led to me starting my first blog in college, The Art of Minimalism, and launched one of my most focused experiments in reshaping my life around an idea. 

10. On the Road – by Jack Kerouac.

I don’t remember the plot of this book, or if there really was one, but I remember the impression of a young man living life at full speed and full of adventure. I’m not nearly as reckless, but it increased my yearning to do interesting things with my days.

11. The Light Between Oceans – by M.L. Stedman.

There are scenes in this book that are permanently etched in my memory. This story made me want to love more deeply, and not take anything I have for granted. Also, I read/listened to this book with my wife, Mollie, making it all the more memorable as a shared experience.

12. I Chronicles – by Ezra the Scribe. 

A strange and short little story (less than 100 words) about a man named Uzzah that rescued my faith from skepticism in college. Never before or since has something I read in the Bible spoke to me with such authority, or made me feel such humility.