101 Books You Must Read

As many of my longtime followers know, at the end of 2008 I set a personal goal to read 50 books in 2009. Given the fact I hadn’t read 50 books in my entire life up until that point; it was a lofty goal to say the least.

I chose to focus on the process (not the outcome) and made the commitment to read at least 30 minutes every day. That ‘brick by brick’ approach paid off and I accomplished my goal with ease.

And it was the most life-changing year of my life.  It has been proven we are actually happiest when we are learning, growing and developing…when we know we are making progress and getting better.  And prior to my children being born, 2009 was the happiest year of my life.

Since that time, reading has become a habit. I don’t keep the same pace as I did in 2009, but I am still a veracious reader and devour several books per month.

People often ask me where I find the time to read that much.  The truth? I don’t find the time. I make the time.  You will always make the time for the things that are truly important. You just need to decide that reading is that important to you. Turn off the TV and open a book.

Seriously, aside from your health, your faith and your family, what is more important that learning, growing and developing?

For me personally, I am constantly trying to improve as a father, a husband, a coach and a business owner.  So I choose to read books that will help me in one (or more) of those areas.

Success is never an accident. Success is a choice. Do you want to improve your social media acumen and effectiveness? Then read, watch, and listen to anything and everything you can about social media from the folks that know. Same holds true on any topic. I have full confidence that I am a better father, husband, coach and business owner today than I was a year ago because of the conscious choice I have made to read.

In no particular order, here are 118 books you must read:

1. Toughness by Jay Bilas
2. Youtility by Jay Baer
3. The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
4. Contagious by Jonah Berger
5. Tell My Sons by Mark Weber
6. Relentless by Tim Grover
7. Mind Gym by Gary Mack
8. Little Black Book of Relationships by Jeffrey Gitomer
9. No Limits by Michael Phelps
10. 100 Ways To Motivate Yourself by Steven Chandler
11. The Bald Truth by David Falk
12. Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
13. How To Eat, Move, and Be Healthy by Paul Chek
14. The Story of You by Steven Chandler
15. Little Green Book of Getting Your Way by Jeffrey Gitomer
16. Rebound Rules by Rick Pitino
17. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
18. People Are Idiots And I Can Prove It by Larry Winget
19. Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy
20. The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
21. Why We Suck by Denis Leary
22. 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries
23. Money Players by Marc Isenberg
24. Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel
25. Gold Standard by Coach K
26. Always Looking Up by Michael J Fox
27. Can We Do That by Peter Shankman
28. Collapse of Distinction by Scott McKain
29. Think Like a Champion by Donald Trump
30. The Go-Giver by Bob Burg
31. Twitter Power by Joel Comm
32. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
33. Game On by Tom Farrey
34. Cross Over by Brian McCormick
35. Leadership Game Plan for Success by John Wooden
36. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
37. Pistol by Mark Kriegal
38. The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
39. Playing for Knight by Steve Alford
40. The Miracle of St. Anthony by Adrian Wojnarowski
41. Bounce Back by John Calipari
42. The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs by Carmine Gallo
43. Trade Off by Kevin Maney
44. Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court by Roy Williams
45. No by Jim Camp
46. The 50^th Law by Robert Greene and 50 Cent
47. The Social Media Marketing Book by Dan Zarella
48. Young, Black, Rich and Famous by Todd Boyd
49. Personal Foul by Tim Donaghy
50. Viral Loop by Adam Penenberg
51. Strengths Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath
52. You Can Have What You Want by Michael Neill
53. Season on the Brink by John Feinstein
54. Purple Cow by Seth Godin
55. The Nordstrom Way by Robert Spector
56. Drive by Daniel Pink
57. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
58. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
59. Good to Great by Jim Collins
60. Go-Givers Sell More by Bob Burg
61. 50 Powerful Ideas to Help You Keep Your Customers by Paul Timm
62. Getting Your Way by Jeffrey Gitomer
63. Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin
64. What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
65. UnMarketing by Scott Stratten
66. Guerrilla Social Media Marketing by Shane Gibson
67. Play Their Hearts Out by George Dohrmann
68. My Story by Bob Knight
69. How Lucky You Can Be by Buster Olney
70. How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath
71. The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh
72. Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child by John Medina
73. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
74. Overcoming the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
75. The Power of Who by Bob Beaudine
76. A Coach and a Miracle by Jim Johnson
77. The Best Advice I Ever Got by Katie Couric
78. Display of Power by Daymond John
79. Basketball Junkie by Chris Herron
80. The Way of the Shepherd by Dr. Kevin Leman
81. Advances in Functional Training by Michael Boyle
82. Zero Regrets by Apolo Ohno
83. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
84. Can I Keep My Jersey by Paul Shirley
85. How They Did It by Robert Jordan
86. ReWork by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
87. Barefoot in Boston by Arthur Horne
88. No Bullshit Social Media by Jason Falls and Erik Deckers
89. Stop Saying You’re Fine by Mel Robbins
90. Training Camp by Jon Gordon
91. Get Bold by Sandy Carter
92. Unlimited by Jillian Michaels
93. Charge by Brendon Burchard
94. It’s Not About You by Bob Burg
95. Onward by Howard Schultz
96. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
97. The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons
98. How Rich People Think by Steve Siebold
99. Bounce by Matthew Syed
100. Shaq: Uncut by Shaquille O’Neal
101. Live and Learn and Pass It On by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
102. Socialnomics by Erik Qualman
103. Convict Conditioning by Paul ‘Coach’ Wade
104. The New Toughness Training for Sports by James E. Loehr
105. The Brand Within by Daymond John
106. How to Win at the Sport of Business by Mark Cuban
107. The Game of My Life by Jason ‘J-Mac’ McElwain
108. Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel
109. The Seed by Jon Gordon
110. Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis
111. For Better or for Work by Meg Cadoux Hirshberg
112. Drop Dead Healthy by AJ Jacobs
113. The Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Burchard
114. How to Teach Your Baby to be Physically Superb by Glenn Doman
115. The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
116. The Book of Business Awesome by Scott Stratten
117. Success is a Choice by Rick Pitino
118. Leading with the Heart by Coach K

I hope you find this list helpful. I hope it inspires you.  If so, please share it with anyone and everyone you can (social media share buttons are on the left).  And don’t hesitate to drop me a note on Twitter (@AlanStein) to let me know which books you liked best or if you have any you recommend I read.

Alan Stein