Top 10 Books I’d Recommend to Anyone
I love to read, but I love audio books for different reasons, one being I can listen to them in the car while I’m driving and kill two birds with one stone. Life is busy! This is a list of my current top 10 favorite books (or audiobooks).
I will admit, this was much harder than I thought it would be. I have loved to read since the moment I could really get lost in a book, but obviously my tastes have changed and evolved from age 7 to now. That said, I want to do my best to remain true to those books that I know impacted my life, even if it’s not my typical go-to read these days. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my Babysitters Club and Goosebumps era out of this post.
The other reason this is difficult is because I like so many different genres. Who likes classic literature, fantasy, AND non-fiction? Maybe I’m not alone in this. Don’t take the order of the books too seriously, that part isn’t as important.
Book #10: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
This is my most recent read as of October 2024, and it did not disappoint. I chose to listen to this one on audio books for a few reasons: one-life is really busy right now, two-it’s 400 pages and I wanted to get through it quickly, and three-I really enjoyed the narrator for this one. Sometimes I’ll stop listening to an audio book and read it instead because the narrator becomes obnoxious, but this guy did a great job.
Shoe Dog is a memoir by Phil Knight. Honestly, I’m impressed with his writing. I guess I didn’t expect such an iconic businessman to be so talented in writing, but now that I think about it, creativity is what propels a business onward. Perhaps that’s one reason Nike was so successful. It must have been difficult to sum up so many complex life events which occurred during a time that so much was happening in our world, and keep it cohesive, but he did it.
Shoe Dog goes through Mr. Knight’s life in great detail from 1962 to 1980, and he somehow does it in just 400 pages. Again, what a rare talent. From the planted seed of his vision in Graduate School for a shoe company to the growing pains of Nike intermingled with personal life, all the way to Nike’s flourishing success, this story is an inspiration and well worth the read. Not to mention entertaining.
Book #9: The 5am Club by Robin Sharma
This book is the reason I’m doing what I’m doing today. It stirred up my determination to find joy and purpose after a long season of weariness. Someone recommended this book on a game platform called Treasure Games (yes, I play treasure hunting games, so what?), but it took me several days to even look up the title because “I HATE MORNINGS AND THERE’S NO WAY IN HEAVEN OR HECK I’M GONNA WAKE UP AT 5AM.”
But one day, I had enough curiosity to check it out.
A fictional story about an artist, entrepreneur, homeless man, and “The Spellbinder”, I was intrigued. Maybe I can read it and not be convinced to wake up at 5am, I thought. HA.
I purchased the book. Two days later, I woke up at 5am. And the day after that. And the day after that. And so on…
I won’t get into it too much here because what it did for me personally deserves its own blog post, but for whatever reason, this act of doing something totally outside of my typical routine set off a series of positive events in my life. I’m not saying you should get up at 5am, but I AM saying you should read the book because there’s a ton of helpful information which is laid out in an entertaining, magical, and inspirational way. Robin Sharma did a wonderful job with this work. Such a great job, that I immediately read another one of his books…
Book #8: The Wealth Money Can’t Buy by Robin Sharma
I was so sad when The 5am Club came to an end that I bought this audiobook. It’s read by Adam Simms but narrated by the author himself. I enjoyed the audiobook for this one because the chapters are very short, so I’d finish a chapter on a quick 5-10 min drive to take the kids to gymnastics, or whatever.
It essentially communicates the same ideas and principles as The 5am Club, but more broadly. It accentuates the author’s experiences rather than those of a fictional character, but there are many parallels. Depending on your style, you might like one over the other. I genuinely like both for different reasons.
It’s 175 “chapters” long, but as I mentioned, each one is incredibly and purposefully short. Each chapter’s title is something that would make your life rich, both figuratively and literally. My favorite chapters are: The Human Who Reads the Most Wins; It’s Wise to Keep a Journal; Hang with Clowns, Expect a Circus; Know Your Genes are Not Your Destiny; and Breathe Like a Samurai.
Book #7: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
This isn’t one of my typical reads, but I must list it because it really guided me in reshaping some unhealthy, negative ways of thinking. One of the oldest and continually relevant personal development books out there, it was released in 1937 and continues to be a best seller owned by just about every business tycoon in America.
In Robin Sharma’s The Wealth Money Can’t Buy he mentions a list of the most common books he’s seen in the wealthiest of libraries belonging to his clients and friends-books that seem to be a commonality among successful people in the world, and this was one of them. The reason this one intrigued me the most is because of how old it is, but popular still today. There are some chapters which pushed me out of my comfort zone slightly, but just enough to allow me to really think. It’s interesting, entertaining, inspiring, motivating, and thought-provoking. A must read if you’re ready to take a look inward to change outward results.
Book #6: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
This is quite a jump, but I have the fondest memories of my mom reading this book to me each night before bed. Anne Shirley is an orphan who was sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who intended to adopt a boy to help on the farm and instead got this whimsical, dreamer whose vocabulary likely exceeds that of any adult I know. As I reflect on it, I realize this is probably a big reason my mom read it to me-to help expand my vocabulary as a child. That’s also probably why I didn’t read it on my own the first time…I would have needed a dictionary.
Written by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, it was originally published in 1908 and I still love the story to this day, and considering how many shows and movies have been based on this book, so does everyone else. Even though it’s categorized as a children’s novel, I think it’s absolutely appropriate for adults also. I’ve always thought that if someone is able to make something equally enticing to both children and adults, then they must be a real genius. Lucy Maud Montgomery is that.
Book #5: A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
This is not a traditional book, in fact, this book is comprised of C.S. Lewis’s private journal entries. It’s a beautiful and heart-wrenching look into his mind as he describes the agony which accompanies facing grief head on after the death of his wife, Joy Davidman, who died of cancer in 1960. They had only been married for 3 years, and he had waited 58 years to find her.
Lewis reflects upon the issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss, and bravely opens up about the things that every human has struggled with at one point or another. It’s a short book, but the emotions it evokes reach deep. It’s not always easy to pick up a book like this, but since so many of us have endured loss, I think everyone should read it at some point as it helps reconcile the all too familiar problem of pain and suffering and having faith in the midst of it all.
Book #4: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Where the Crawdads Sing is truly a work of art. It has an ominous overtone with underlying hope and beauty that seeps through. I think another iconic book that does this well (though obviously very different) is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. However, unlike The Great Gatsby, Where the Crawdads Sing was a smashing success right from the beginning and has sold over 18 million copies since it was published in 2018, and unlike F. Scott Fitzgerald, Delia Owens will not leave this Earth without seeing its impact.
This book is made up of two storylines which eventually overlap. The first is about Kya, a young girl who lives in the marshes, and the second revolves around an investigation of a local murder. It has two parts: Part 1 is The Marsh which centers around a young Kya who is abandoned by her mother and forced to live with her abusive father. Eventually her siblings leave due to her father’s abuse, but her wild spirit is connected with the marshes and she stays. Then one day, her father does not come back and she is left to fend for herself. Part 2 is The Swamp which depicts Kya grown up at 19, somehow simultaneously frail and resilient. It’s all about how she has survived betrayal, abandonment, and heart break, and even found joy.
I won’t spoil the rest. https://amzn.to/3Z3y6qm
Book #3: Litle Women by Louisa May Alcott
This book was given to me by my grandmother when I was very young. I didn’t read it until much later, but it became one of my favorite books of all time.
Volume 1 of this book was published in 1868 and volume 2 in 1869. The novel describes the lives of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, and their passage from childhood to womanhood, marked with laughter, adventure, and sorrow. It’s classified as a semi-autobiographical novel, loosely based on the life of Louisa May Alcott herself and her three sisters. A truly legendary piece of literature, she essentially created a new genre, combining several that were popular at the time. I love what Sarah Elbert has said, that “Within Little Women can be found the first vision of the “All-American” girl, and her various aspects are embodied in the differing March sisters.”
I named my third daughter Josephine, or “Jo”, after Jo March from Little Women, and as it turns out, her already confidently, wild spirit will not pale in comparison to the character for whom she’s named after.
Book #2: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
This one is so deep, it’s hard to sum up...I will be back to edit this.
Book #1: Name of the Wind
Published in 2007, this book and its phenomenal characters captured me the moment I started reading it, and so far, it’s my favorite from this genre as a whole. Bold statement, I know. I think Patrick Rothfuss was somehow able to capture fantasy differently than other authors. It’s unique. This book is also referred to as The King Killer Chronicle: Day 1 and its sequel, The Wise Man’s Fear (published 2011), is just as good, so I guess the title here should be The King Killer Chronicles. Sadly, no one has read the third book, The Doors of Stone, because, well, it hasn’t been published yet. All these years later, and I still look it up from time to time. I believe!
Out of respect, I won’t compare it to any other fantasies, but I will say that this trilogy takes place in a completely fictional world called Temerant, a large continent with 4 known parts called the four corners of civilization. Coexisting alongside the mortal world is the realm of the Fae, which is a parallel universe. Supernatural creatures can move between these universes. The utter genius of Rothfuss’s fictional creation, I’ve only seen once before.
Excuse me while I go find my nerd glasses and pop this book open once again.
Name of the Wind https://amzn.to/4fXf3F7
The Wise Man’s Fear https://amzn.to/48XN9qd