# book list **Published by:** [cumquat](https://paragraph.com/@cumquat/) **Published on:** 2022-07-25 **URL:** https://paragraph.com/@cumquat/book-list ## Content non-fiction Infinite Beginnings: The Origin of the World's Progress, David Deutsch This book is not very easy to understand, but it does make me wiser. A Brief History of Mankind: From Animals to God by Yuval Harari This book presents the history of mankind. The observations, frameworks, and mental models in the book will make you look at history and humanity differently. A Brief History of Humankind is the best book I have read in the past 10 years. The author spent decades writing this book, and there are so many wonderful ideas in the book, and every page is the essence of the thought. Rational Optimists: A History of Human Economic Progress, Matt Ridley This is one of the most wonderful and inspiring books I have read over the past few years. 4 of the top 20 books on my recommended list are by Matt. I recommend all of Matt Ridley's work. Matt is a scientist, an optimist, and a forward-thinking thinker. He is one of my favorite writers. I have read all of his works, each of them several times. → "Genome: The Book of Life, Chapter 23" → "The Red Queen: The Evolution of Sex and Humanity" → "The Origin of Virtue: The Evolution of Human Instinct and Collaboration" → "Bottom Up: A Brief History of the Evolution of All Things"Asymmetric Risk, Nassim Taleb This is one of the best books I've read in 2018 and I highly recommend it. There are many fascinating perspectives in the book, as well as many advanced mental models and ideas. The author is critical of many things, but also because he's too good to be. So, don't care about his attitude, just study the concepts in the book. Asymmetric Risk is one of the best business books I've ever read. Fortunately, the book was not packaged as a business book. The Wisdom of Random Survival: Quotes from the Black Swan, by Nassim Taleb Nassim presents a collection of ancient wisdom. His other books include The Black Swan, Antifragile, and The Random Walk for Dummies, all of which are worth reading. Feynman in Physics: An Introduction, Richard Feynman I will give both this book and Feynman in Physics: Theory of Relativity to my children. Richard Feynman was a famous physicist. I really like his approach to the world and his understanding of physics. I am reading the Feynman Codex. I also read his biography, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, several times.The Explainer of Everything: A Minimalist Instruction for Complicated Things, by Randall Monroe Randall Monroe is the founder of the scientific comics website xkcd. This book he wrote is fantastic. Using only 1,000 of the most commonly used words in English, he clearly explains such complex concepts as submarines, climate change, and physical systems. For example, he called the Saturn V rocket "Rider V", because it is too complicated and unclear to explain "rocket" with concepts such as spaceships, so he used the word "Rider". The so-called "ascender" is something that rises upwards, and children will understand it at once. Fun Physics Answers, Lewis Carroll Epstein This book is very good, I will open it and read it when I have nothing to do. There is a quote on the back cover of the book that I love: "The only textbook in the world that can be used by both elementary and graduate students." It's quite right. The book is full of simple physics problems that a 12-year-old can understand and a 25-year-old physics graduate student can think deeply about. The book is full of basic physics knowledge. Although the question is a bit difficult, anyone can find the answer through pure logical reasoning. "The Lessons of History," Will Durant, Ariel Durant This book is very good, I like it very much. It outlines some grand historical themes. Unlike most history books, this one isn't actually very long, but it covers a lot of ground. The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age by James Dale Davidson, Lord William Rees-Mogg This is what I've read since A Brief History of Mankind One of the best books of the year (but nowhere near the bestsellers of A Brief History of Humankind). The Book of Poor Charlie: The Wisdom of Charlie Munger, by Charlie Munger and Peter Kaufman (eds.) This book looks like a business book, but it's actually life advice from Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman of the board of directors, on how to go beyond yourself and live a successful life with integrity . Reality Is Not What You See It: A Journey Through Quantum Gravity, Carlo Rovelli This is the best book I've read in 2019. Elegantly written and simple to understand, it covers physics, poetry, philosophy, and history.Seven Minimalist Physics Lessons by Carlo Rovelli I have read this book at least twice. To learn about game theory, in addition to playing strategy games, you can read The Compleat Strategyst: Being a Primer on the Theory of Games of Strategy by J.D. Williams and Robert Axel Errod's The Evolution of Cooperation. Philosophy and Spirituality The Complete Works of Jed McKenna. Jade exposes the naked truth in the book, unabashed and unreserved. His style may not be flattering, but his insistence on the truth is unparalleled. The Theory of Everything (Enlightenment Perspective) - Dream Trilogy Jed McKenna's Notebook Jed Talks #1 Jed Talks #2 ( Jed Talks #2) The Complete Works of Kapil Gupta, MD. Kapil recently became my personal advisor and coach, and I never believed in "coaching" before. A Master's Secret Whispers: For those who abhor noise and seek The Truth…about life and living Uncompromising, non-prescriptive Truths to the enduring questions of life) The Book of Life by Jidu Krishnamurti Krishnamurti is not that famous. He was an Indian philosopher who was born in the late 19th century and lived in the 20th century, and had a great influence on me. He was determined and straight to the point. His main point is to observe your own thoughts at all times. I am deeply influenced by him. Probably his best book is The Book of Life, an excerpt from his various lectures and books. I would give the Book of Life to my children and tell them to read it when they grow up, because when they were young they couldn't read it. Total Freedom: The Essentials of Krishnamurti, by Jidu Krishnamurti This is a book written for rationalists and recommended for the more ambitious. In the book, the author points out the dangers of the human mind. This book is a spiritual book that I frequently turn over. Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse I absolutely love this classic on philosophy, it's a great primer for someone just starting out, and one of the books I give away most often. I will re-read the works of Krishnamurti et al, who are my favorite philosophers. (Update: Now I've added Jed McKenna, Kapil Gupta, Washista Yoga, and Schopenhauer to the reading list.) The Way to Love: The Last Meditations of Anthony de Mello by Anthony de Mello Living Sober, Mike Singer Meditations, Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius had a huge impact on my life. Aurelius was a Roman emperor, and this book is his personal diary. So, the content of the book was written by Aurelius to himself, and he never thought it would be published. Aurelius was supposed to be the most powerful man in the world at the time. However, open the book and you will find that he has the same problems and mental struggles that we do; he is always trying to make himself a better person. After reading this book, you will understand that success and power do not improve a person's inner state - you still need to work on it. "Make Loving Yourself a Good Habit" by Kamal Ravikant The book was actually written by my brother, and I think the language is very concise (apparently it's an ad placement here). He's our family's philosopher, I'm just an amateur. There is a saying in this book that is particularly good: I once asked a monk how he found inner peace. "No matter what happens, I say 'OK'," he said. The Tao of Seneca: Practical Letters from a Stoic Master This is one of my favorite audiobooks and the most important one. Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan This book is well written and I think everyone should read it. This book talks about psychedelics. Psychedelics are a bit like cheat codes in self-observation. I wouldn't recommend drugs to anyone because self-observation can be done through pure meditation, and drugs only accelerate. Sobering Thoughts: The Wisdom of Bruce Lee's Life, Bruce Lee Perhaps beyond everyone's expectations, Bruce Lee has also written some very wonderful philosophical articles, and the book "Suspension" summarizes some of his philosophical thoughts very well. The Prophet, Gibran This book reads like a collection of modern religious poetry, with references to the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching, the Bible, and the Koran. Gibran's writing style has a sense of religion, but there is no sectarian distinction. What he tells is the truth, the style of writing is elegant and kind, and the writing is beautiful. I love this book. Gibran has a gift for writing and writes poetry: what a child is like; what a lover is like; what a marriage should be like; how to deal with enemies and friends; how to deal with money; Time to think about something. I feel like this book, like those great religious writings, gives very deep, philosophical, and at the same time very real answers to how to deal with life's major questions. Whether you are religious or not, whether you are a Christian, a Hindu, a Jew or an atheist, I recommend the book The Prophet to you. I think this is a great book and worth reading. ‍‍‍‍‍‍Sci-Fi I started out reading comics and science fiction, then started reading history and journalism, and finally fell in love with psychology, science, and technology. "Fiction" by Jorge Luis Borges I love Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentine writer, whose collection of short stories, "Fictions" is absolutely brilliant. Borges is probably the most influential author I've ever read. Instead of writing philosophy directly, he expresses his philosophical ideas in the form of science fiction. The Story of Your Life, Ted Jiang Ted Jiang's "Enlightenment" is my current favorite science fiction short story. The novel is included in The Story of Your Life. Among them, the short story of the same name "The Story of Your Life" was adapted into the movie "Arrival". "Breathe" by Ted Jiang This is the reflection of the best science fiction short story writer of our time on the wonders of thermodynamics. The Life Cycle of a Software Body is also Ted Jiang's sci-fi masterpiece. Avalanche, by Neil Stephenson Avalanche is a stunning book, one-of-a-kind and unrivaled. Stephenson also wrote The Age of Diamonds. "The Last Question" Short stories by Isaac Asimov. I often quote the story from The Last Question. I loved this novel as a child. What book have you been rereading lately? That's a good question, I'll turn on my Kindle now. I usually read some scientific works over and over again. I'm reading a book on René Girard's imitation theory. To be precise, this book is an overview and interpretation of Kirar's theory, since I could not read his original work. I'm still reading "Tools of Giants" by Tim Ferriss, which documents what he's learned from many of the great people he's interviewed. There's also Thermoinfocomplexity. This book was written by my friend Behzad Mohit. I just finished reading "First Movers" by Robert Cialdini. I just glanced over it, and didn't look closely. Because I feel like you don't need to read it from cover to cover to get the point of the whole book, but it's good to skim through it. This is a good history book. I'm still reading The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant. I have a young child now, so I read a lot of parenting books and often go to them to look up some information. I've been reading some Emerson and Chesterfield recently. I also have a book by Leo Tolstoy here. And books by Alan Watts and Scott Adams. I recently reread The Pieces of God. There is also the Tao Te Ching, which I reread because a friend of mine is rereading it. There are many more books that I could go on and on. I have Nietzsche's book here, as well as "Undercover Economics" by Tim Harford, "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" by Richard Bach, and a few books by Jed Mack Kenner's book. There are also several Dale Carnegie books here, Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem, Victor Frankel's Living Meaning, Christopher Ryan's Sex at Dawn ),and many more. By the way, when I share my bibliography, about 2/3 of the books don't speak. I didn't say it because I felt embarrassed, the books didn't sound like good books, and they talked about topics that seemed trivial or silly. People listen to it and say, "What are you reading this for?" So I don't share all the books I read. I read everything, including books that are considered trash by others, even books that others think are reprehensible. I also read books that are the exact opposite of mine to inspire myself to think. ## Publication Information - [cumquat](https://paragraph.com/@cumquat/): Publication homepage - [All Posts](https://paragraph.com/@cumquat/): More posts from this publication - [RSS Feed](https://api.paragraph.com/blogs/rss/@cumquat): Subscribe to updates