I read a lot. If you’re reading this blog, you likely know that about me. And, around this time of year, I receive a number of requests for book recommendations. I love giving them, and I love talking — and, as you see, writing — about books. As I do annually, a tradition I was inspired to begin by Ryan Holiday, who does the same, I have logged my favorite books of the year. Below, in no particular order, are my top-10 books I read this year, with a slew of honorable mentions. Enjoy!

See my 2023 Books of the Year

Gift From the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Ryan Holiday, the modern stoic and tremendous writer, is maybe my most-trusted source of book recommendations. This one has been a recurring recommend from him, and Gift From the Sea has been on my to-reads list for multiple years. My parents bought it for me for Christmas, and I devoured it – it’s a quick read – in a few days.

I’m a firm believer that the timing of reading certain books is what makes them so magical – or irrelevant – and Gift From the Sea hit at the perfect time for me, at the tail end of the most exhausting year of my life. The point is stillness, space, quiet, slowing down. I needed that, and it felt like Lindbergh was writing directly to me, nearly 75 years after the initial publication of the book. Cannot recommend this enough.

A Bold Return to Giving a Damn: One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food, Will Harris

I first heard Will Harris on the Joe Rogan Experience and grew intrigued enough to put his book on my to-read list – for years. In that span, I bought a few bits of meat from White Oak Pastures, Harris’ regenerative farm that I hope will become the blueprint for all farms moving forward. My dad says it’s the best steak he’s ever had.

Harris’ book, which details the rise of White Oak Pastures from an industrialized, disgusting pollutant with no care for the animals into a massive regenerative operation that has resuscitated a whole town and has provided the blueprint for regenerative farming. If you’re passionate about the environment, your food, your health, or all of the above, this is an excellent choice for you.

Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food, Chris van Tulleken

This book will absolutely rock your world. Never again will you grocery shop the same, will you be able to order out the same, will you be able to eat what once seemed a delicious, if not tiny, meal on an airplane and think “this should be good!” Instead, you’ll shudder a bit, as I do now.

Ultra-Processed People might be the most important book I read this year, and, if you choose to pick it up, will probably be the most important one you read as well. Already, my wife and I have gifted this book to no less than half-a-dozen people. Bonus point: van Tulleken is a splendid and funny writer, and even if the topic can be a bit dark, there’s good humor in it, and it makes for a fun read the majority of the time.

Red Rising Saga, Pierce Brown

This was a recommend from Chris Williamson, host of the tremendous podcast, Modern Wisdom, which checked in as my most-listened-to podcast in 2024 by a long shot. How good is this series? I brought the first book, Red Rising, to my first international trip of the year – and finished it in a single flight from Los Angeles to Sao Paolo, Brazil. I still had two weeks left in the trip and only one other book to keep me company, so I just…read it again. Every other trip I took this year, I was accompanied by a Red Rising novel, and now I, like many other devotees of Pierce Brown, anxiously await the seventh and final volume, Red God, which is expected to be published in January.

Red Rising has not, to me, surpassed Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings as far as best fiction series goes, but it’s in the conversation.

The Simple Path to Wealth: Your road map to financial independence and a rich, free life, JL Collins

One of my New Year’s resolutions in 2020 was to read at least one book on business or finance or marketing or something of that ilk per month. For the most part, that has continued through 2024, but The Simple Path to Wealth stands out above all the rest. The writing is digestible and easy to understand, the concepts both foundational and advanced to the point that it might be all you really need to know about money and how to manage it. Big fan of JL Collins’ work, and I’m a big fan of the man who recommended this to me: Mr. Money Mustache, whose blog is fantastic and a weekly read for me.

When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, David A. Maraniss

This year was my first foray into coaching, and my reading list reflects as much. When Pride Still Mattered is perhaps the most well-known of any coaching biography out there, and its reputation is deserved: Maraniss’ deep dive into Vince Lombardi is an absolute must for any coach, or any sports fan, really.

The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

I, like many people, get excited about a lot of things – and therefore get distracted by many things. Oftentimes, it is these very distractions that get in the way of us accomplishing anything, for we’re too busy changing directions to find out if anything is actually working or not. This book was a valuable one for me, as I get excited about all sorts of things both trivial and not, and am therefore easily distracted. The One Thing expounds on exactly that: How focusing on ONE THING is often the difference between winning and not, succeeding and not.

The Little Liar: Mitch Albom

The first book I read in 2024 — on a training camp to Hawai’i with Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk — may actually be my favorite of the year. Mitch Albom is undefeated to me. When he comes out with a book, I don’t even bother reading the description or the jacket – it’s just a buy. The Little Liar isn’t the best he’s ever written, I don’t think, but it’s close, and if you’re looking for an uplifting read with phenomenal writing, do yourself a favor and pick up The Little Liar.

Meditations: Marcus Aurelius

The number of times I have seen Meditations recommended, without me actually buying it or giving it a shot, was more than any other book in the world. Finally, finally, finally, I bought and read it – and then read it again, and then one more time. It’s more than worth the hype. I’ve heard it said that everything that needs to be said (or written) has already been said (or written), but people need to keep saying them because nobody was listening. When you read Meditations, you’ll know that’s true, as this is the foundation of every self-help or leadership or some type of improvement book of any kind. You don’t really need to bother with anything but good ole Marcus and his Meditations.

Living From the Soul: The 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sam Torode

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and John Muir have long been heroes of mine, so when I saw this book, it was an instant buy. I’m glad I did, as I flipped through this one multiple times this year. If you pair this with Meditations and simply flip back and forth between the two, you’ll have virtually everything you need to know for good livin’.

Honorable Mention Books of the Year

All of these books also received five-star reviews from me on GoodReads, and I cannot recommend them enough. They just didn’t make the top-10.

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact, Chip Heath

Tao Te Ching: A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way, Lao Tzu

The Art of Living: A Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness, Epictetus

The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way, Wayne Dyer

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip Heath

The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever, Mark Frost

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative, Austin Kleon

Transforming Basketball: Changing How We Think About Basketball Performance, Alex Sarama

What To Do When Someone Makes Fun of Your Shoes, Travis Mewhirter

As a Man Thinketh, Sam Torode