Welcome to the third annual “top life-changing books” list!
If you missed the top 3 books from 2018:
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown (Summary | 🔒 How To Apply It | Amazon)
- A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle (Summary | Amazon)
- Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich by Duane Elgin (Summary | Amazon)
Or, the top 5 books from 2019:
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It | Amazon)
- The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer (Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it | Amazon)
- The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant (Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It | Amazon)
- Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell Version) (Summary | Amazon)
- On The Shortness Of Life by Seneca (Summary | Amazon)
This year, I also compiled my full reading list in this Google Spreadsheet including: 250 books, Amazon links, summary links, and recommendations.
The Top 10 Life-Changing Books I Read in 2020 (& Worth Your Time in 2021)
10. Best Slow Living Book
In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed by Carl Honoré
Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It | Amazon
“The questions that lie at heart of this book: Why are we always in such a rush? What is the cure for time-sickness? Is it possible, or even desirable, to slow down?” — Carl Honoré
9. Best Simple Living Book
The Quest of the Simple Life by W. J. Dawson
Summary | Amazon (Public Domain)
“More and more the thought began to gather shape, Was I getting the most, or the best, out of life? Was there no other kind of life in which toil was redeemed from baseness by its own inherent interest, no life which offered more of tranquil satisfaction and available, if humble, happiness? Day by day this thought sounded through my mind, and each fresh discouragement and disability of the life I led gave it sharper emphasis. At last the time came when I found an answer to it, and these chapters tell the story of my seeking and my finding.” — W. J. Dawson
8. Best Money Book
The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness by Morgan Housel
“The premise of this book is that doing well with money has a little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave.” — Morgan Housel
7. Best Wealth Book
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Eric Jorgenson
Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It | Amazon
“Naval is broadly followed because he is a rare combination of successful and happy. After a lifetime of study and application of philosophy, economics, and wealth creation, he has proven the impact of his principles.” — Eric Jorgenson
6. Best Life Purpose Book
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer
Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It | Amazon
“With the exception of Chapter I, every chapter in this book originally appeared as an essay in some other publication during the past decade. I have rewritten all the essays, most of them substantially. My aim has been to create a real book—not not just a collection of articles about vocation, but a coherent exploration of a subject that engages many of us for the better part of our lives.” — Parker J. Palmer
5. Best Beginner Spirituality Book
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
“Siddhartha learned new things with every step along his path, for the world was transformed and his heart was enchanted.” — Hermann Hesse
4. Best Intermediate Spirituality Book (Tie)
The Way to Love: Meditations for Life (also subtitled The Last Meditations) by Anthony de Mello
“For life to those who have the ears to hear is a symphony; but very, very rare indeed is the human being who hears the music. Why? Because they are busy listening to the noises that their conditioning and their programming have put into their heads.” — Anthony de Mello
3. Best Intermediate Spirituality Book (Tie)
Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality (also subtitled Conversations with the Masters) by Anthony de Mello
Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It | Amazon
“In this retreat I’d rather leave it like this, unstructured and moving from one thing to another and returning to themes again and again, because that’s the way to really grasp what I’m saying. If it doesn’t hit you the first time, it might the second time, and what doesn’t hit one person might hit another. I’ve got different themes, but they are all about the same thing. Call it awareness, call it love, call it spirituality or freedom or awakening or whatever. It really is the same thing.” — Anthony de Mello
2. Best Advanced Spirituality Book
Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing by Jed McKenna
Summary | 🔒 How to Apply it | Amazon
“If I were to reduce this book and my teachings to their essence, I would say it all comes down to nothing more than this: Think for yourself and figure out what’s true. That’s it. Ask yourself what’s true until you know.” — Jed McKenna
1. Best Art of Living Book
A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Selected from the World’s Sacred Texts by Leo Tolstoy
Summary | 🔒 How to Apply It | Amazon
“The purpose of my book is not to give exact, word-for-word translations of thoughts created by other authors, but to use the great and fruitful intellectual heritage created by different writers to present for a wide reading audience an easily accessible, everyday circle of reading which will arouse their best thoughts and feelings.” — Leo Tolstoy
Have you read any of these books yet? What other life-changing books did you read this year that we should check out?
Please let me know in the comments.
Here’s to 2021!
You May Also Enjoy:
- Top book summaries (or browse all book summaries)
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