Looking for a good read? Here’s a list of categorized books that are personal favorites of Eric, host of the show. You can’t go wrong with any of these books.*
Fiction
- A Prayer for Owen Meany: A Novel by John Irving
- High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
- The Brothers K
- The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
- The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
- Midnight’s Children: A Novel by Salman Rushdie
- The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley
- A Fan’s Notes by Frederick Exley
- About a Boy by Nick Hornby
- Tenth of December : Stories by George Saunders
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
- The Humans by Matt Haig
- The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick
- The Little Prince by Antione de Saint-Exupery
- A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
- Where I’m Calling From: Selected Stories by Raymond Carver
- Wolf Hall: A Novel by Hilary Mantel
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates by Tom Robbins
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
- The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
- Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
- Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
- Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Matthew Scudder Series by Lawrence Block
Business/Productivity
- Rework by Jason Fried
- The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
- Never Confuse a Memo with Reality: And Other Business Lessons Too Simple Not to Know by Richard A. Moran
- Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
General Spirituality
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel
- The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
- The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
- Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell
- Letters to a Young Poet by Ranier Maria Rilke
- A Seeker’s Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure by Elizabeth Lesser
- Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning by Ernest Kurtz
- The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt
- Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman
Buddhism
- Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor
- At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace by Claude Anshin Thomas
- When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
- Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart: A Buddhist’s Perspective on Wholeness by Mark Epstein
- Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard
- Against the Stream by Noah Levine
- 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Loosing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works – A True Story by Dan Harris
- Bearing Witness: A Zen Master’s Lessons in Making Peace by Bernie Glassman
- The Feeling Buddha: A Buddhist Psychology of Character, Adversity and Passion by David Brazier
- Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective by Mark Epstein
- A Path With Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life by Jack Kornfield
- Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment by Lama Surya Das
- Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steven Hagen
- The Light Inside the Dark: Zen, Soul and the Spiritual Life by John Tarrant
- Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa
Memoirs
- A Drinking Life: A Memoir by Pete Hamill
- Travels with Charlie in Search of America by John Steinbeck
- Lit: A Memoir by Mary Karr
- Night by Elie Wiesel
- Running With Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
- A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
- This Boy’s Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff
- Wild: From Lost to Found of the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
- Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Wayward Monk by Shozan Jack Haubner
- Marley and Me by John Grogan
- Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, Parts I & II by Art Spiegelman
- Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Marya Hornbacher
- The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer
- A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
- Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff
- Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Miscellaneous
- The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous by Dr. Bob Smith & Bill Wilson
- Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981 – 1991 by Michael Azerrad
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
- The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Waterson
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
- The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Soloman
- The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
- Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
*In the Spirit of Full Disclosure: The links for the above-listed books are Amazon affiliate links & we’ll be compensated if you buy stuff from Amazon using those links. You pay no more and the show gets a few pennies.
That said, your trust means everything to us and we would never recommend anything lightly – these are all books that have had a profound impact on Eric during the course of his life.
