The best essence about books is that anyone can read them, and even those that the most successful people have read, understood, and recommended to their fans. The only perceptible trait among the world’s most successful people is that all of them read the kind of books that are publicly available and you can easily get a hold on. It’s a blessing in disguise, for some, to know how some leaders got to be where they are today with the help of the important and influential books they’ve read. Many such books vary from genre to genre, space and time, but the important thing to remember is books are known to communicate with readers in an infinite and overwhelming way, they help you think productively and differently than most. We’ve put forward a compelling list of some of the best books, according to the world’s most successful people so you know who’s reading it and why. Consider this a special proposition to live happily, work smarter, and become well-informed and savvy by yourself. A smart man once said that the best thing one can do for to live productively, in this world, is to learn everything on their own, because in the age of information, ignorance is a choice.
Best Book on Self-Improvement
Your Inner Will: Finding Personal Strength in Critical Times
Recommended by Oprah multiple times on her show and blog, Your Inner Will: Finding Personal Strength in Critical Times is an extraordinary book authored by the bestselling psychotherapist, Piero Ferrucci; it expresses the importance of possessing a will to challenge life’s difficulties and gain strength and courage in exchange. To do this, the author plunges into concepts of wisdom teaching, neuroscience research, human case studies, and many other psychological exercises to build self from ground up. What you’ll love about this book is the way it simplifies life’s most basic and obvious lessons in a completely different perspective; after all, the best lessons learned are those that let us see the light, but through a divergent instrument. To understand the depth of life, courage, integrity, and mastery is to understand this best book. Your Inner Will: Finding Personal Strength in Critical Times combines pragmatism with spirituality to help readers take new risks and encounter new pitfalls in life as a way to make them stronger and compassionate in life. Each chapter is centered around a single concept, backed by stirring practical theories and psychological facts, that show readers how and when their inner strength is lacking and what they can do to master it.
Best Non-Fiction Book
SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
Recommended by Bill Gates, SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance is followed by another best non-fiction book written by the same writers of this book, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It embarks on a journey that questions everything that humans do in life. It is backed by aggressive research into the different super concepts in this world like economics, politics, major social issues, etc. to bring forth a unique and challenging idea that the world must be viewed differently to function as it should. The authors of this book combine smart thinking and great storytelling by investigating a solution to life’s major problems, while keeping a side pocket for ludicrous concepts. SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance is a must-have book that just doesn’t tell you what it what and why, it explains in comical details the realistic versions of life that an ordinary human fails to see, understand, and even accept. Lastly, it’s followed by the New York Times best-selling book which can only mean that this one is more interesting and elevated to grasp than the last one.
Best Science Fiction Book
1984
Recommended by Steve Jobs and read by many successful creative artists worldwide, 1984 is a thought-provoking science fiction book written by George Orwell. It is a classic that will last for a lifetime of generations because of its futuristic and nostalgic view of life back in 1949. George Orwell talks about his idea of the future that’s so convincing and memorable to grasp that it has empowered and moved many leaders into creative thought and mystery. The daunting conception of what is written in 1984 is something that no man ever could challenge, a concept that only grows with the passage of time, influencing more and more people with it. The book is based in London, in 1984, at the time when there’s a war uprising with one of two other vast entities, Eurasia and Eastasia. It is about a man who thinks, acts, and feels the deepest and gravest creation of his own mind. According to our consumer research, we found that this is one of those best books, according to the world’s most successful people that are heavily loaded with common yet visually perplexing vocabulary. It is a masterpiece that lives to tell a tale suitable for any generation.
Best Book on Investing
The Investment Answer
Recommended by Steve Lockshin who is a successful industry agitator and a partner at Betterment Institutional and by Nobel Prize Winner and Father of Modern Portfolio, Harry Markowitz, The Investment Answer simplifies the confusing understanding about investing in order to improve and insure future financial freedom. Written by Daniel C. Goldie and Gordon S. Murray, this is the best book anyone could possibly read on investing. What this impressive book does is cut-through all the complex talks about Wall Street, just to give you enough on what you really need to know about investing at a younger age. You get to learn the benefits, differences, characteristics, and pitfalls of the investing industry, while creating a margin of advantages for you to prosper in support with. The Investment Answer urges you to look at your investment health just as closely and diligently as you will your physical health. An important and much-needed divination for this generation, this book is best read and grasped to achieve financial prosperity and long-lasting efficiency in the same. Become a savvy investor and know the important measures of investing as a result of this impressive book.
Best Book on Business
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
Recommended by Guy Kawasaki, The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done is the best book on business crafted by Peter F. Drucker. The purpose of this book is help readers to contribute to and indentify with the essential practices towards achieving business effectiveness. Peter F. Drucker was considered a top influencer whose ideas have shaped the modern corporation and he’s also one of the top management leaders of his time. The book talks about 5 essential practices that are important to make business work just right. In a fairly obvious yet effective way, the author has crafted the best practices ever seen on effective decision-making, taking risks, managing time, and knowing where to mobilize strength into effect for a business person. Compelling by his perception, this book has seen ample of success stories focused on the term knowledge and business. It is a well-written and precise business book that offers fresh insights and practices that many have overshadowed in their lives. If you’re looking for some practical and sticking business advice from a professional, this is book for you.
Best Book on Time Management
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not
Recommended by Dane Maxwell who is one the most influential entrepreneurs to build a multi-million dollar software company called The Foundation, Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not is a masterpiece that every man, woman, and even child can resonate with. It is the perfect book on time management and even finance. Written by Robert T. Kiyosaki himself, the book tells the legendary story of Robert Kiyosaki and his real father and the father of his best friend whom he calls his rich dad. He sets the perfect balance of why to earn a high income to become rich and the striking difference two forces of you working for money and making the money work for you. Sometimes you’re better off grasping knowledge about money and investing from a successful influencer and personal-finance practitioner than just a factual article found on the web, these are personal stories and tried-and-testing principles that make a person what they are today: rich and successful. This book compellingly sheds light on financial literacy that you won’t find being taught in school, anywhere!
Best Book on Emotional Intelligence
Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success and Happiness
Recommended by Eric Schmidt, Tony Hsieh, and Jimmy Carter, Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success and Happiness is written by one of Google’s smartest engineers, Chade-Meng Tan. It speaks of maximizing personal growth by enhancing emotional intelligence and mindfulness in both personal and professional life. It offers exceptional advice and timeless wisdom that can only be harnessed by virtue of our emotional intelligence. The author was formerly responsible, as a personal growth pioneer, to bring to surface techniques of complete mindfulness so that people can make the most out of their happiness, creativity, and health by making it reflect back on their personal and professional lives. This book is a transparent and most sought-after course in improving the productivity and livelihood of our minds by harnessing our emotional intelligence. If you want to become successful and influential in the world, Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success and Happiness is the getaway book to rely heavily on. It speaks of wisdom, productivity, creativity, and intelligence like never grasped before. These ideas will stay with you in moments of happiness and despair.
Best Satirical Book
Gulliver’s Travels
Recommended by Neil DeGrasse Tyson who is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, and science communicator known for his many scientific publications, Gulliver’s Travels is a classic satirical book written by Jonathan Swift. It’s a book about a man, Lemuel Gulliver, who wakes to an unknown island named Lilliput, only to realize that he’s surrounded by little people that are so significant in size that he looks like a giant to them. This books travels into funny yet thought-provoking ideas of human behavior that so often shape our lives. It talks about philosophical encounters, understanding our uncompromising selves, and the real versions of who we want to become against who we really are. Gulliver’s Travels tells a traveler’s tale into a full-length work of an English Literature genre. If you’re looking for something comical and impressive, continue to purchase this best book that works as a simple fiction package, but results in a thought-provoking and probably the most satirical masterpiece the world’s ever read.
Best Book on Happiness
The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom
Recommended by Tony Hsieh, The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom is written by a world-famous and award-winning psychologist Jonathan Haidt. It is a widely-praised book on philosophical wisdom and happiness that shows a deeper understanding of ensuring life’s sorrow and strenuousness to transform our lives for the better. It shows us the simple fact that what doesn’t kill us makes us incredible stronger. We know that happiness is a subjective concept, but we do not know how it comes into our lives and makes it so plentiful. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom subjects to finding the correct conscious intention in the pursuit of happiness, backed by cognitive and neurology psychology. A book such as this can only leave you overwhelmed and strong-willed in life and that’s why it read and loved by many leaders of this generation. It is a must-read book if you want to grasp the positive realization of life, the kind that sprouts in personal relationships, travel, work, and in a person’s private life. To elucidate the meaning and purpose of happiness, the author also talks about the ‘positive psychology’ movement that has had an impact on many in search of true happiness.
Best Book on Spirituality
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Recommended by Oprah, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment is a well-acknowledged and embraced book on spirituality written by Eckhart Tolle who is a world-class teacher and mentor in the concepts of ‘living in the present’. Is book, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment speaks about those simple principles and patterns of human lives to find the deepest self in personal growth and spirituality. It embarks on an inspiring journey through the discovery of light and truth that bring into existence the difference between life and death and what it means to us. How the author addresses spirituality in this book is both profound and graspable by everyone. It takes information and ideas from human relationships, creative use of the mind, impermanence, and the pure cycle of life. One of the best traits of this book is that the author has carefully installed ‘break time’ markers after paragraphs or passages in the book that he wants his readers to stop reading and contemplate on the idea that they just read. This marks the absolute reflection of this book and what it means for your spiritual sense.
Best Historical Book
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
Recommended by Bill Gates, the The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined is written by the best-selling author of The Stuff of Thought and The Blank State, Steven Pinker takes a foolhardy trip towards the history of violence. It speaks of war, crime, and terrorism from the most historical and crusty stand-points of life. He showers information in abundance about what led to the decrease in violence, if at all, and the growth of peace in certain domestic societies. Learning the provocative history of violence can teach us about the way things work today. The The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined examines many traditional and modern societal theories of violence, human nature, and what accounts for violence but isn’t. Then he finally concludes this amazing book with 5 historical forces which have shaped the evolution of society and the influence and importance of violence for its functioning. An interesting take on how humans perceive what they know, but can’t understand, Steven Pinker is an excellent historian with more transparent views on the evolution of violence than most. His analytical and precise judgments have set the tone of a strong case of violence that most people fail to understand and accept.
Best Romance Book
The Great Gatsby
Recommended by Bill Gates, Chuck Palahniuk, and Haruki Murakami, The Great Gatsby is written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is a classic romance book that’s taken the entire world for a lulling spin. It’s a novel written about the Jazz Age and the life and obsession of a wealthy Jay Gatsby and his profound connection and love for Daisy Buchanan. Between lavish parties on Long Island and interlaced past and present reciprocity, The Great Gatsby is a book of love, meaning, and endurance. It is a simple yet thought-provoking book that will leave you in tears when you truly grasp its essence. Intricately patterned and set to bring into life the purpose of a cynical neighbor to Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, who’s also a close cousin to Daisy, this book embarks on a journey that only stops when you want it to. Some call this masterpiece a poem while some an enigma. You won’t know until you’ve buried yourself into it completely.
Best Classics Book
The Catcher in the Rye
Recommended by Bill Gates and Woody Allen, The Catcher in the Rye is a classic novel written by J. D. Salinger about an ancient child of 16, Holden Caulfield. If you know anything about the author’s wide collection of interesting publications, you’d know how popular and grasping this best classics book is. He has carefully combined the mysteries and peculiarities behind children and adults in the The Catcher in the Rye, perfecting a staged phenomenon that only a few readers can handle. The story catches on when the 16-year-old has been expelled from prep school and has to find his way, confused and agitated, for truth and meaning in the adult world. Fighting against all the absurd atrocities of the world he’s currently living in, he learns to survive, but with emotional and psychological stigma. This 16-year-old quickly finds himself in a psychiatrist ward, bursting for help and direction, soon after he recovers him his breakdown, Holden Caulfield writes this amazing classic for readers to relate to. Brilliantly composed and patterned, this book teach you how to portray problems in a unique manner and you emerge with a fresh new perspective of the world in which you will always choose to live.
Best Fiction Book
Song of Solomon
Recommended and loved by Barack Obama, Song of Solomon is a fiction work art. Written by Toni Morrison, this is a cultural fiction book on the African American dream. It illustrates the life Milkman Dead as he crawls, struggles, and finally becomes a part of the black world as he knows it. Stuck in-between his family’s origins and an entire cast of assassins, liars, and strivers, Toni Morrison embarks on her own accounted imaginary story of sometimes laughable yet provoking misery and ambition packed in together. This book is a product of passion and voice that take the reader into the depths of detail and realistic surrealism. You will find certain relations to history and the way societies were and still are emerging into shape and form with violence and dashed hopes as its side. You will also find the true meaning of hop and kindness when all seems to be lost. Song of Solomon is an emotionally charged booked where all the characters are fully-awake, responsive, and real. They feel like you’re them and they’re you, but that’s a reader into the author’s perspective, that’s not even the origin of resonance.
Best Philosophical Book
Atlas Shrugged
Recommended by Mark Cuban and Steve Jobs, Atlas Shrugged is a masterstroke in the world of philosophy and existentialism. Written by Ayn Rand, a best-selling author of The Fountainhead which is another philosophical masterpiece, she developed a new world of philosophy called Objectivism. Atlas Shrugged is a product of that development. This book screams out self and how one struggles to fight against everything that stands in one’s way. This book pleads to be read, not because it’s simply a book, but because it reflects back on every individual’s constant fear and feeding power, the will to exist. Atlas Shrugged is about a man’s life ‘ his ambition ‘ his irresistible suspense ‘ the journey to his own destruction – and the panorama of human life. As a reviewer, we found this book to be on extreme sides of the coin: while some loved the philosophy conveyed in her story, some didn’t understand and quite frankly, hated this book for what it composed. Only when you read this book, you understand the true meaning of a man’s spirit and his desperation to conquer.
Best Biography Book
Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness
Recommended by Elon Musk who is a genius business magnate, engineer, and inventor, Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness is a strict biography written by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele. The books illustrates the monumental and convoluted life of Howard Hughes in his mixture of secrecy, dashing lifestyle, and reclusiveness. It is a fully-documented and serene lifestyle of a rare American life, from someone who had everything to nothing. This well-documented book features a detailed peek into the life of a desperately ambitious man whose handsome appearance gave him away to a lavish and almost mythical lifestyle. It is commendable how much effort had been put into this book by the authors to document the detailed life of the man and according to our research, the authors traveled a great deal from the United States and Japan to conduct the research of the book. To summarize, if you want to read about a man’s tragic as well as brilliant life story filled with years and years of irresistible despondency, Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness is the book for you.
Best Ancient Fantasy Book
Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg and Ted Turner, The Aeneid is a brilliantly composed fantasy book by Virgil and translated by Robert Fitzgerald. The Aeneid tells the legendary and classic story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is an ancient fantasy book made in a poetic literature to soothe the reader into a magical and character-driven plot. You should know that when Virgil first wrote this masterpiece, by his death, he requested that this book should be burnt because it lacked perfection, at least that’s what he thought. But fortunately, his request was refuted and this epic came into the world. If you know anything about Greek and Roman epics, you’ll absolutely love this version. It is readable, light-hearted, and boats of tragic confessions all the time. The translation is done in crystal-clear literature, leaving no space for criticism and disappointment.
Best Book on Poetry
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Recommended by Bill Clinton, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a beautiful book on poetry composed by Maya Angelou with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey. It is a poetic and powerful book that captures the longing of lonely children and the power of words that has the ability to make the world right. It speaks of Maya’s life and struggle when she’s sent away, with her brother, to live with their self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town. Faced with many difficulties and sorrows, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings boasts of love, kindness, and human spirit that she found in herself years later. The best part about this book is that is speaks of Maya’s life as one’s own which is why many have embraced this book with dignity and appreciation. And that’s why many successful people like Bill Clinton and James Baldwin have found I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings a masterstroke of light and courage.
Best Memoir Book
The Light of the World: A Memoir
Recommended by Michelle Obama, The Light of the World: A Memoir is a fantastically composed memoir by Elizabeth Alexander about leading life as life itself. It is an impressively popular book recommended by New York Times, Boston Globe, NPR, and many such prominent organizations. The Light of the World: A Memoir talks about love in all three aspects of life; past, present, and future. It is about Elizabeth Alexander’s journey after her husband’s sudden death. It is a story of loss as she finds herself taking care of her two teenage sons and where she finds herself delving into the past while living the present and hoping for future to come as easily as it must. Consider this book a gift to find your strength and companionship to form new relationships, new principles, and new hopes of a better, stronger, and clearer life. If you’re looking for a memoir on lost love and self-courage, The Light of the World: A Memoir is for you.
Best Fitness Book
Ignite the Fire: The Secrets to Building a Successful Personal Training Career
Recommended by Brad Schoenfeld, Ignite the Fire: The Secrets to Building a Successful Personal Training Career is a resonating book on fitness and personal training written by Jonathan Goodman. If you’re looking to fit into the world of personal training and grow a profitable personal training career, this book is for you. It is repeatedly called one of ‘best books for personal trainers’ and one of the best books, according to the world’s most successful people. Everything you need to know to get to the top is in here. According to Livestrong, this book is rated as one of the top 21 Must-Read Health, Fitness, and Nutritious Books on the market as it sheds the secrets of how to land your dream job in fitness and built a reliable client list and profit from it. Lastly, it’s everything a beginner would want from a fitness book that puts you at par to understand what the fitness world is all about.
Wrapping it up
If you’ve struggled with selection or confusion when purchasing a new book, it is time you knew what books some of the world’s most successful people have read. These are the best books, according to the world’s most successful people that will motivate and inspire you for some important aspect in your life. Every book leaves a lasting impression of its reader and we promise you that these best-selling popular books aspire to do the same. If you’re read this entire review, you should be encouraged to buy from our books as quickly as possible. Those who read often know the importance of reading and those who don’t- you might want to take up the habit of reading regularly to improve your mind in all aspects. Reading books make you a better person, in your personal and professional life. And there’s no denying the kind of impact it would have on your creative chain of thought and confidence. It also has a drastic effect on how you shape your personality and how you communicate in human relationships. If anything can help your concentration and analytical skills, it’s reading and reading only. And if anything can save the world from ignorance and inspire people to become world leaders with respect, it’s reading.
Jen Miller is a former electrical engineer and product specialist with more than 20 years of product design and testing experience. She has designed more than 200 products for Fortune 500 companies, in fields ranging from home appliances to sports gear and outdoor equipment. She founded Jen Reviews to share her knowledge and critical eye for what makes consumers tick, and adopts a strict no-BS approach to help the reader filter through the maze of products and marketing hype out there. She writes regularly and has been featured on Forbes, Fast Company, The Muse, The Huffington Post, Tiny Buddha and MindBodyGreen.