Personal development
Ikigai
Héctor García & Francesc Miralles
A short book on the Japanese idea of ikigai, a reason for getting up in the morning.
View on Amazon: Ikigai on Amazon.com (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
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The shelf
Books worth packing
Well-known books across travel, habits, mindset, personal development and fiction, in print, on Kindle and as audiobooks.
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Picks · 01
Personal development
Books on creativity, purpose and designing a life that fits.
Personal development
Designing Your Life
Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Two Stanford instructors apply design thinking to building a career and a life.
Personal development
Daring Greatly
Brené Brown
On vulnerability, courage and what it means to show up as yourself.
Personal development
Big Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert
A book about living a creative life with less fear.
View on Amazon: Big Magic on Amazon.com (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Amazon affiliate link
Personal development
The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron
A twelve-week course in recovering and sustaining creativity.
Personal development
The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz
A short code of personal conduct drawn from Toltec wisdom.
Browse more personal development books on Amazon (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Picks · 02
Travel
Memoirs, trail stories and essays for the long way round.
Travel
Wild
Cheryl Strayed
A memoir of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone.
View on Amazon: Wild on Amazon.com (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Amazon affiliate link
Travel
A Walk in the Woods
Bill Bryson
A humorous account of an attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail.
Travel
Eat, Pray, Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
A memoir of a year of travel through Italy, India and Indonesia.
Travel
Vagabonding
Rolf Potts
A guide to taking time off and travelling for the long term.
Travel
The Art of Travel
Alain de Botton
Philosophical essays on why we travel and what we get from it.
Travel
Under the Tuscan Sun
Frances Mayes
A memoir of restoring an old villa in the Tuscan countryside.
Travel
A Year in Provence
Peter Mayle
A memoir of a year spent living in the south of France.
Travel
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer
A journalist's account of a young man's journey into the Alaskan wilderness.
Browse more travel books on Amazon (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Picks · 03
Productivity & habits
Systems and small routines for focus, calm and follow-through.
Productivity & habits
Atomic Habits
James Clear
A practical guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones through small changes.
Productivity & habits
Deep Work
Cal Newport
On focused, distraction-free work and how to make room for it.
View on Amazon: Deep Work on Amazon.com (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Amazon affiliate link
Productivity & habits
Essentialism
Greg McKeown
The case for doing fewer things, but doing them better.
Productivity & habits
The Power of Habit
Charles Duhigg
How habits form and how they can be changed, with examples from science and business.
Productivity & habits
Tiny Habits
BJ Fogg
A method for building habits from very small first steps.
Productivity & habits
Getting Things Done
David Allen
A task-management method for capturing, clarifying and organizing commitments.
Productivity & habits
Digital Minimalism
Cal Newport
A philosophy for being more intentional about the technology in your life.
Browse more productivity & habits books on Amazon (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Picks · 04
Mindset
Psychology and philosophy on resilience, meaning and attention.
Mindset
Mindset
Carol S. Dweck
A psychologist's book on fixed and growth mindsets.
View on Amazon: Mindset on Amazon.com (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Amazon affiliate link
Mindset
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
Frankl's account of life in Nazi concentration camps and his ideas about finding meaning.
Mindset
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
The private notebooks of a Roman emperor, and a classic of Stoic philosophy.
Mindset
The Obstacle Is the Way
Ryan Holiday
Stoic ideas applied to turning obstacles into progress.
Mindset
Grit
Angela Duckworth
A psychologist on passion, perseverance and long-term goals.
View on Amazon: Grit on Amazon.com (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Amazon affiliate link
Mindset
The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle
A guide to living in the present moment.
Browse more mindset books on Amazon (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Picks · 05
Fiction
Novels to read on the plane, the train or the sofa.
Fiction
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
A fable about an Andalusian shepherd boy who travels in search of treasure.
Fiction
The Midnight Library
Matt Haig
A novel about a library containing every life you could have lived.
Fiction
Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens
A novel set in the marshes of North Carolina.
Fiction
Circe
Madeline Miller
A retelling of the myth of the sorceress Circe.
View on Amazon: Circe on Amazon.com (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Amazon affiliate link
Fiction
The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A novel set in post-war Barcelona, built around a mysterious book.
Fiction
The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern
A novel about a travelling circus that appears without warning.
Fiction
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
Austen's classic novel of manners, family and romance.
Fiction
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman
A novel about a socially isolated office worker in Glasgow.
Browse more fiction books on Amazon (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Kindle
E-books for the bag
The same kind of reading, without the weight. These buttons open an Amazon search in the Kindle store.
Personal development
Ikigai
Héctor García & Francesc Miralles
A short book on the Japanese idea of ikigai, a reason for getting up in the morning.
Personal development
Big Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert
A book about living a creative life with less fear.
Travel
Eat, Pray, Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
A memoir of a year of travel through Italy, India and Indonesia.
Travel
Vagabonding
Rolf Potts
A guide to taking time off and travelling for the long term.
Travel
The Art of Travel
Alain de Botton
Philosophical essays on why we travel and what we get from it.
Productivity & habits
Atomic Habits
James Clear
A practical guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones through small changes.
Productivity & habits
Deep Work
Cal Newport
On focused, distraction-free work and how to make room for it.
Productivity & habits
Essentialism
Greg McKeown
The case for doing fewer things, but doing them better.
Mindset
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
The private notebooks of a Roman emperor, and a classic of Stoic philosophy.
Fiction
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
A fable about an Andalusian shepherd boy who travels in search of treasure.
Fiction
The Midnight Library
Matt Haig
A novel about a library containing every life you could have lived.
Fiction
Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens
A novel set in the marshes of North Carolina.
Fiction
The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A novel set in post-war Barcelona, built around a mysterious book.
Browse Kindle e-books on Amazon (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Audible & Kindle audio
Audiobooks on the move
For long flights, trail walks and train rides. These buttons open an Amazon search for audiobook editions.
Personal development
Daring Greatly
Brené Brown
On vulnerability, courage and what it means to show up as yourself.
Travel
Wild
Cheryl Strayed
A memoir of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone.
Travel
A Walk in the Woods
Bill Bryson
A humorous account of an attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail.
Travel
Eat, Pray, Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
A memoir of a year of travel through Italy, India and Indonesia.
Productivity & habits
Atomic Habits
James Clear
A practical guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones through small changes.
Productivity & habits
Deep Work
Cal Newport
On focused, distraction-free work and how to make room for it.
Productivity & habits
The Power of Habit
Charles Duhigg
How habits form and how they can be changed, with examples from science and business.
Mindset
Mindset
Carol S. Dweck
A psychologist's book on fixed and growth mindsets.
Mindset
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
Frankl's account of life in Nazi concentration camps and his ideas about finding meaning.
Fiction
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
A fable about an Andalusian shepherd boy who travels in search of treasure.
Fiction
The Midnight Library
Matt Haig
A novel about a library containing every life you could have lived.
Fiction
Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens
A novel set in the marshes of North Carolina.
Fiction
Circe
Madeline Miller
A retelling of the myth of the sorceress Circe.
Browse audiobooks on Amazon (Amazon affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
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