This is the library of materials I’ve summarised for my own learning.
For each book, I’ve also given a short summary of what I think is the main gist of the book. If a particular book sounds interesting to you, click on the summary and you can browse my notes on it.
FYI, they’re not organised by category. Also, this page will constantly update as I read more books.
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Learn how to read, understand, and criticise a book.
The Body: A Guide for Occupants
Pop science book about the intricacies of our body.
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
An exploration of what creates innovation.
Everything you need to know about the Fed and the U.S. monetary system.
Burn: New Science Reveals How Metabolism Shapes Your Body, Health, and Longevity
We evolved to have a daily caloric expenditure limit.
Kicks: The Great American Story of Sneakers
The history of sneakers from every popular brand.
History of chicken farming and how antibiotics contributed to it.
Write Useful Books: A Modern Approach to Designing and Refining Recommendable Nonfiction
A useful book on how to write useful books.
A collection of stand-up material from one of the greatest.
A dystopian novel where people are cloned and raised as organ donors.
Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World
Well-researched but highly disorganised book about kleptocracies, money laundering, and corruption.
The author interviewed nine successful property investors in the UK to learn how they did it.
The Complete Guide to Property Investment: How to Survive & Thrive in the New World of Buy-to-Let
Everything you need to know to buy a house in the UK for property investment.
Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s memoir. Incredible life story—what hustle and drive.
A highly recommended kettlebell programme for beginners.
Dr. Felix Hoenikker has invented ice-nine, an element capable of freezing the world. The narrator tries to find it and embarks on an incredible journey.
The most famous anti-war novel.
An adman’s views and philosophy about advertising.
Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters—And How to Get It
Most women can’t orgasm via intercourse but are expected to. This results in an orgasm gap between men and women.
Everything you need to know about the male sex organ.
Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life
Everything you know about sex is wrong. This book corrects your misconceptions and teaches you a better way of doing it.
The development of the vaccines used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum
The founding of the blockchain and cryptocurrency, Ethereum.
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
A prescient yet timeless book about how mass movements (nationalistic, religious, etc.) are started, executed, and carried on.
The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money Are Challenging the Global Economic Order
Introductory book about Bitcoin and its effects on the world.
Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America
About Charles Koch and Koch Industries.
Tall Order: The Goh Chok Tong Story (Volume 1)
Part one of a 2-part biography of Singapore’s second Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong.
Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It
Practical tips for writing.
The Science of Fear: How the Culture of Fear Manipulates Your Brain
We are terrible at judging risk.
80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More
Leverage the 80/20 rule for marketing.
Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
Fight cognitive bias and make better decisions.
The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports and Investing
Disentangle skill and luck so we can avoid biases and make better decisions.
Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising
Intrigued by growth hackers—people who combined engineering, marketing, psychology and a less-than-desirable budget to achieve great results—Ryan Holiday investigated the trend and wrote a book about it.
Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition
A book about decision making—specifically the cognitive biases and mistakes that affect us when thinking clearly.
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
Drawing from history, psychology and anthropology, Sebastian Junger looks into the problems with modern society, the lack of tribalism and community, and how that affects mental health issues like PTSD.
Pebbles of Perception: How a Few Good Choices Make All The Difference
A book filled with wisdom, inspired by the works of Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett. Very kindred if you’re familiar with the work of Shane Parrish.
A summary of the lessons and themes learnt from 5,000 years of recorded history.
A butler dedicates his life to professional service and realises he has lived a life of regrets.
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
Our lives are increasingly ruled by algorithms, which perpetuate existing inequality and racism.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Part memoir, famous Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami discusses the impact of running on his life and his writing.
The memoir of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. He discusses his life, Wal-Mart and why he thought Wal-Mart succeeded.
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
A book about the founding and growth of Amazon. Also a semi-biography about Jeff Bezos.
A collection of memos by ex-Bear Stearns CEO, Alan Greenberg.
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
A compilation of talks given by Zen Buddhist master, Shunryu Suzuki. Considered one of the best beginner books to study Zen Buddhism.
Set in a dystopian future, books are banned and burned. Firemen burn books instead of saving people.
Understand the laws of power so you can use, manage or deflect them.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
How to live well. Very stoic.
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk
The originators of the idea of “positioning” shares 22 laws of marketing to abide by. The laws are top-heavy—those featured first were much better than the rest.
Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
Originality is overrated. All great artists research and repurpose.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
One of the most influential books in Silicon Valley. A step-by-step guide on how to build addictive products.