Read These: Ten Books I've Read
These 10 Books Are Worth Reading.
Some I’ve loved. Some I’ve just liked. All of them left an impression on me. I would recommend them each for a different reason. Some spiritual. Some deep. Some playful. Some intellectual. Some poetic. All of them masterfully written.
And, because I know you’re probably busy, I’ve kept this brief and included links. Here we go:
POETRY: I happen to think that this translation of Rumi by Coleman Barks is the best one available in English. Some of the poems are so rich with energy and moving that it’s hard to imagine what it would be like in the original Persian. Mind blowing, I would imagine. The poems are gathered into sections according to the theme and vibe of the poem—spiritual, devotional, love, wilderness—so it makes it really easy to generate some momentum as you read through them.
If you have someone in your life who loves living life to the fullest, these Rumi poems will likely speak to them. It would make an excellent gift.
PSYCHOLOGY & SHADOW WORK: I had been looking for a copy of Jung’s The Red Book that was under $100 and this one is AMAZING. It is beautifully designed and has so many extras—like scholarly input, historical footnotes, and a layout that makes these sacred concepts really shine. Jung goes deep here and each page is like entering a new world of thought, belief, and dream. And, of course: This book deep dives into the shadow.
The Red Book would make an excellent gift for basically anyone who loves Carl Jung and/or his work. This is also a great book for people who love beautiful books—like little art objects.
SPIRITUALITY: If you know about Esther Abraham Hicks and her channeling, but have not read Ask and It Is Given yet: Read it NOW. Their lectures are amazing to listen to—for sure—and there is something powerful about reading their words, too. This book gives crystal clear clarity about how the process of manifestation works and it clarifies many of the common myths about Law of Attraction.
Ask and It Is Given makes an amazing gift for spiritual people who like to go deep with their knowledge and learning. This book is also a good introduction to the main ideas of Law of Attraction, Visualizing, & Manifesting.
MONEY: I used the principles in this book to double my yearly income. Money Is My Friend taught me how to change my money mindset and become a channel of actual abundance. I used to unconsciously push things away because of my underlying beliefs—this book provides a strategy for meeting those beliefs and then working through them. It has literally taught me how to re-wire my brain, build my business, and welcome levels of prosperity into my life that I never thought possible. This book changed my life in a very concrete way.
The book Money Is My Friend makes an awesome gift for money mindset people, entrepreneurs, and people who are trying to figure out their relationship with money. This book is so amazing.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: To Be A Man has helped me continuously deepen my relationship with myself, my masculine energy, and other people. It has helped strengthen my connections with other men in my life. My favorite chapter is about the difference between anger and aggression. It gave me so much clarity and, at many points, made me very uncomfortable in the best way.
To Be A Man would make a great gift for the people in your life who want to explore the deeper levels of what showing up as a man in the world today can look like.
SELF GROWTH: This book is seriously bulletproof, in my opinion. The Tools provides an answer to virtually any situation that rises up in our lives and limits us in some way. The book is organized around a series of mental exercises that WORK for pushing through limitation and regaining our confidence, power, and passion for life. The authors are amazing men, too—and they’re really funny and straightforward in their delivery.
This book is a good gift for people who are hungry for more in life, but keep getting in their own way or keep feeling overcome with doubt and fear. The Tools literally offers tools to meet adversity with courage, clarity, and strategy.
LITERATURE: I used to be afraid of books like this. The Georgics of Virgil is so beautiful and so satisfying to read that it changed my life forever. This particular translation is the one I would recommend. These lines of poetry basically give in depth instructions on how a person or society can live in harmony with nature, the land, and the sky—while also describing the full-blown miracle of being alive and being here.
People who love classic literature usually love The Georgics of Virgil, but also people who have never dived in to old books like this—it’s a great place to start.
GRATITUDE & PRAYER: Help, Thanks, Wow is the title of this book and it’s also the three most common prayers. The author is careful to describe a sort of graduation from Help to Thanks to Wow as we advance on our spiritual path. It’s ultimately a book about gratitude and Anne Lamott structures this teaching around these three core prayers. So good!
Get this book for people who are going through hard times or have recently gotten to the other side of some serious darkness. Help, Thanks, Wow is beautifully written and is a quick read.
PHILOSOPHY: Become What You Are is one of the lesser talked about books from Alan Watts and, in my opinion, is one of his denser works—but it’s well worth the effort. He’s talking about the absolute foundational nature of reality and the universe in a way that is accessible. Again, it’s heavy, but it’s clear. And, it’s SO satisfying when one of his big points “clicks”. I often find myself gasping and just saying, “Oh” when he lands a good one.
This collection from Watts is a must read for everyone who loves his work. Become What You Are has everything that people these days love about Watts in one place.
CLASSIC: Of all the classics, this one is forever my favorite. The Republic of Plato just fires on all cylinders page after page and delivers the goods every time. This is one of those books that I read slowly over the course of a few months or a year—savoring each paragraph. I actually feel like the ideas physically change my brain structure—they are SO rich with insight and meaning.
The Republic of Plato is a masterpiece. I feel like every home should have a copy.
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