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Ivan Smirnov
Ivan Smirnov

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My Top Book Recommendations

I deeply enjoy reading books. Here's a short list of some of my favorites.

Non Fiction

Every book on this list has changed my life in a pivotal manner. I invite you to read them for yourself and hope it brings about positive change for you as well.

  • How to Win friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie - great foundation on interacting well with people.
  • Getting Things Done by David Allen- the root of my time management philosophy.
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo - great philosophical foundation.
  • Esentialism by Greg McKeown - pivotal work on how to priorize in life.
  • Deep Work by Cal Newport - a must read on how to work better.
  • Algorithms to Live By - fun read on how to apply computer algorithms to optimize your daily life.
  • Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari - an excellent history of the human race.
  • Give and Take by Adam Grant - understand different types of people and how to interact best with them.
  • Atomic Habits by James Clear - an actionabe guide on how to set up proper habits in life.
  • All books by Malcolm Gladwell <!--kg-card-end: markdown-->

Fiction

Sometimes you just need to decompress. I like reading books with well developed worlds and consistent logic.

  • Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality - A mind blowing fan fiction with deep tenets in rationalism and science. Extremely enjoyable. Familiarity with original Potterverse is a must.
  • Deathworlders - excellent web serial about humans in space. Touches upon all parts of life, and characters and world are incredibly well developed.
  • Mother of Learning - a fun web serial about a mage in a time loop. Download here.
  • Nexus Trilogy by Ramez Naam - This is a very interesting series about the emergence of superconsciousness and how the world reacts to it. I believe that it is entirely possible that events such as these will unfold in our future here on Earth, and found the description of events here very enlightening and thought provoking.
  • Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson - A very fun read, set in an alternate universe in medieval times. What I liked about this series was that it was more than just action and drama - the author managed to encode some very interesting discussions and thoughts about morality, life, philosophy, and ethics. Very enjoyable read, and quite deep.
  • Tide Lords by Jennifer Fallon - This was definitely more of a fun time killer. Action, magic, and a captivating plot. Grat for a nice vacation.
  • All works by Terry Pratchett. Here is the suggested reading order. <!--kg-card-end: markdown-->

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