I work in a park, in a position that underutilizes my skills (especially my mind), so I have all day to think and listen to audiobooks. I have come to view this as a good thing, since an educated man with all day to think his own thoughts is perhaps the powerful position known to man.
I love audiobooks, particularly business, psychology, behavioral economics, and self-improvement books. They’re an amazing way to share research and insight in these various fields. I have all day, so I generally listen to at least two books per week.
I wanted to share the list of audiobooks that I have kept on my mp3 player for the last year, since a lot of them have helped me overcome my own psychological obstacles. These titles make up the large body of research that has influenced my own thinking and the information that I present in this blog. If you’ve enjoyed the content here, I highly recommend these titles.
I go to my library’s website and search the OverDrive catalog (most libraries subscribe to this online audiobook/e-book service, though not every library will have the same titles). I scan the titles in the non-fiction section, but primarily the “Business and Career” section, and select all the books that sound interesting to me. All you need is a library card, and you’ll have access to tons of great audiobooks.
Business books are notorious for using the same examples; they constantly reference each other’s research (it’s very incestuous like that). The advantage is that it’s easy to find the next book you want to listen to. My reading list has grown by following the path of bibliographies.
If you need some motivation, or to change your mindset and habits, here’s my short list. These are the titles that I have listened to several times:
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg
- The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance At Work by Shawn Achor
- Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All, by Russell Simmons with Chris Morrow
If you want to learn more about “project management,” how to set goals and get shit done, I recommend:
- The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki
- Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
- The 4-Hour Workweek (Expanded and Updated): Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Or, if you want to check out my master list, this is what I have been carrying with me every day at work on my mp3 player (in alphabetical order):
- Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change by Shawn Achor
- Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
- Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
- How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities by John Cassidy
- Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Dan Heath and Chip Heath
- Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
- Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
- Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All by Russell Simmons with Chris Morrow
- The 4-Hour Workweek (Expanded and Updated): Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
- The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
- The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki
- The Bible (The New Testament)
- The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance At Work by Shawn Achor
- The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons
- The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No and Still get to Yes by William Ury
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
- The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers by Bill Conaty and Ram Charan
- The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk
- The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home by Dan Ariely
- Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Ariana Huffington
- Tribes: We Need you to Lead Us by Seth Godin