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Amit Arora

Let's talk about the top 3 must-read books in a lifetime! 📚

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I’m trying to create a solid reading list and would love to hear your recommendations. What are the top 3 books you think everyone should read at least once in their lives? These could be your personal favourites, the ones that have made the biggest impact on you, or just books you believe are the best ever written. I’m open to any genre or style—anything that you think is truly worth reading. Let’s share our top picks!

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Richard Reis
1. Man's Search for Meaning 2. Sapiens 3. 4-Hour Workweek I got this by looking at the books recommended by 600+ of the world's most successful people, and seeing which ones came up over and over. Full list here: https://www.mostrecommendedbooks...
Alexander Galitsky
Bible Atlas Shrugged Quick & Delicious
Amit Arora
@ag94 Atlas Shrugged is amazing, Alexender. :) So glad to see it here. Would you to hear your experience and what you loved in Atlas Shrugged?
Liam Xavier
For me: 1. 1984 2. One Hundred Years of Solitude 3. The Catcher in the Rye
Amit Arora
@liam_tim wow, that's interesting, Liam. :) would love to hear what did you like about 1984?
Liam Xavier
@amit_arora I really respect Winston Smith, who unwittingly ends up challenging those who abuse their power to brainwash the populace. "Big brother is watching everyone:)"
Doğa Armangil
For understanding physics and the universe, any Hubert Reeves book. There are English translations but the original versions are in French. For world politics: World Order by Henry Kissinger. I haven't read it, and I suspect it's as much about what to do as it is about what not to do, but I think it's a must-read nevertheless. Sometimes it's not a particular book but a class of books: * To learn a new language, read many books in that language. * To learn new vocabulary, read books written by erudite people. You guessed it: reading the latest bestselling novel might not always be the best thing to do! And read e-books, because it's much easier to look up words, not to mention the environmental benefits.
Amit Arora
@doga_armangil Doga, interesting to see you mentioned Hubert Reeves. also, nice points mentioned. by any chance, any recommendations for Quantum Physics?
Doğa Armangil
@amit_arora Hello Amit, Quantum computers might lie just around the corner but I haven't read much about them (yet). If you want to play around with Hadamard products and so on there are apps for that, here's one for iOS: Quantum Puzzle Generator. I myself have tried Hello Quantum, which is no longer on App Store. I realise you've asked for 3 books, so here's my 3rd book recommendation: "Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle". Yet another book that is as much about what to do as it is about what not to do.
Luka Brzin
Depends of what kind of books you like. My personal favorites are: The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera Crime and Punishment by Fjodor M. Dostojevski On top of that I really enjoyed reading The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. This is a must read for anyone interested in starting their own business.
Amit Arora
@luka_brzin thats lovely read, Luka. Interesting to see The Almanack. would love to listen your learnings from The Almanack? Ali, Ben Horowitz is a lovely author and explains really well on how to start and think 😊
Doğa Armangil
@luka_brzin I've also read The Hard Thing About Hard Things. It's mostly about how to manage people in an established company or in a very well funded startup. Hopefully there are many of those hanging around on PH!
Derek Liu
I would suggest: 1. Sapiens – by Yuval Noah Harari 2. The Selfish Gene – by Richard Dawkins 3. Guns, Germs, and Steel – by Jared Diamond All are mind-blowing!
Amit Arora
@derek_liu_dev these are actually mind blowing 😲. lovely. Which one from these 3, will you suggest me to start with?
Derek Liu
@amit_arora Definitely Sapiens! It's interesting and eye-opening, and the author is good at story telling while make you rethink what you already learned about the world history and humanity!
Katerina Dedyulya
i would go with classics.... 1. Bulgakov - Master and Margarita 2. "1984" by George Orwell (tho the storyline was taken from russian write - Zamyatin "we") 3. literally any book from Fitzgerald
Amit Arora
@katerina_mirrart this is lovely collection, Katerina. Wow, which one did you like the most from Fitzgerald?
Grigory Silanyan
I have many books which are my personal favorites and I can't not classify them as "must read for everyone" but one comes to mind specifically - Letters on Ethics: to Lucilius (Seneca) and the full version not the short paraphrased ones. But this is a very long read! :D
Amit Arora
@grigory_sl Grigory, this is a super mention. would really love to hear why you picked "Letters on Ethics"?
Stacey Zyrián
Speaking of non-fiction: Eckhart Tolle – The Power of Now Elizabeth Gilbert – Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear Viktor Frankl – Yes To Life In Spite of Everything
Amit Arora
@staceyavril this sounds like a Lovely collection. :) I have not read any of these. thanks for sharing 😊 will read them. which one do you suggest should I pick first?
Salar Davari
I'm gonna save this thread for future. I personally like " A fraction of the the whole" a great work of drama and comedy like what life really is.
Amit Arora
@salar__davari that is lovely drama and comedy. So what do you think what life really is ? 😀
Angela Ni
for me they are: 1984 The Shadow of the Wind The Little Prince
Amit Arora
@angela_ni2 The shadow of the wind is a rare book. :) Interesting to see it here, Angela. what was your experience after reading this?
Ingmar Klein
Physics & Transcendence” – it’s such a magical book in which some of the greatest physicists of the 20th century (Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Niels Bohr, Max Planck) share their personal views on the intersection of science and spirituality. I read it many times as a child (at which point I only understood about 20% of it)… I honestly have no clue why it’s not one of the most famous books today. Who has read it too?
Amit Arora
@ingmar Physics and Teamscende is super one. how did you get hands on this book?
Ingmar Klein
@amit_arora my dad ;) I just tried finding it, however couldn't see any English translations (the original version is German): https://www.amazon.de/Physik-Tra... - this is the book
itrat batool
"The Wishing Game" by Meg Shaffer "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese "Spare" by Prince Harry
Tatiana Voropaeva
1) Atlas Shrugged | Ayn Rand One of my favorite quotes: “If you don't know, the thing to do is not to get scared, but to learn.” 2) Animal Farm | George Orwell This is a classic ironic quote that says everything about the farm order the pigs were trying to build: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Han Kim
1. Man's Search for Meaning 2. Atomic Habits 3. Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck Honorable mentions: Black Swan, Sapiens, How To Win Friends, Smart Brevity, Scientific Advertising
Olivia Rose Thompson
Great choices! I'd add The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) to the list - it's a short but profound read about following your dreams. And you can't go wrong with 1984 (George Orwell) for a timeless dystopian classic that really makes you think.
Isabella Iss
Sapiens American Psycho The Da Vinci Code These are very interesting books for me. I read it when I was in university. I was so fascinated by these books that I began to miss my studies and had to often turn to the domypaper.com/ service for help. Thanks to these books, I fell in love with reading and now I have my own small library at home
Archie Sims
Absolutely, I'd love to hear your picks! Must-read books can shape our perspectives and enrich our lives. Great book publishing services play a crucial role in getting these impactful stories into readers' hands, ensuring quality editing, design, and distribution so that the right messages reach the right audience. What are your top three?