10 Books That Made Me Happier And Smarter In 2024
A quick review of the best books that I read over the past year
In 2024, I’ve read over 55 books, and many of them were amazing… but, the books below were the best.
Pull up your reading list!
The books on this list increased my curiosity and knowledge base and made me happier.
How did they manage to do all of this you ask?
The answer depends on the book we are talking about.
But, a book makes me happy when I feel like I learned applicable information, was entertained, or best of all, sparked new ideas in my crazy wandering mind.
This list is well-rounded so that no matter what kind of book recommendation you are looking for, you are sure to find a book which will excite you, educate you or make you happy!
Enjoy!
1. War of Art by Steven Pressfield
A classic and a book that was recommended to me consistently for probably about two years before I finally read it.
I regret not reading it until this year. This book was incredible.
Although it often refers to Steven’s writing, what he says is directly applicable to anything anyone who is creative does… and we are all creative.
After reading the first 20 pages, I started writing more and wrote over 10,000 words that week. It inspired me to be consistent and to find multiple ways to express myself.
This book is also not too long but not too short. It is just long enough to get you hooked and leave you feeling like you spent your time well.
What I’m getting at is it is one of my favourite books of all time.
Rating: 10/10
Click here to read War of Art
2. Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
I bought this book after hearing Danny Meyer on the Tim Ferriss podcast. While I enjoyed hearing him talk, I was very interested in how much he overcame and how he found success.
Funny enough, it was perfect timing because I was in the process of opening a restaurant. It was one of my inspirations for how to treat customers and made me a lot more passionate about what I was doing.
Danny truly cares about what he does, his customers and his staff.
Whether you’re opening a restaurant or not, this book is great. Especially for those looking to start or run a business.
It’s all about going out of your way to treat people well.
Rating: 8.5/10
Click here to read Setting the Table
3. Trust Me I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday
This book was nothing short of brilliant and eye-opening. After reading this book, I changed the way I look at the news and my news sources.
To be honest, it made me detest the mainstream media more than I already did (which says a lot).
Ryan dives into how easily the media can be manipulated and showcases ways he himself actually manipulated them.
The mainstream media will lie directly to our faces and when it comes time to correct their lies, they make the apology so small, you’ll never see it.
They will destroy people's lives and reputations without properly verifying their work just to get a few clicks.
If you’re interested in how the media works, this one is for you.
Rating: 9/10
Click here to read Trust Me I’m Lying
4. The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli
The perfect combination of physics and philosophy/theory.
As Carlo Rovelli teaches you about time, he teaches you how he approaches life with these teachings and how physics has affected him.
Carlo is currently my favourite author.
Every time I read a book by him I am mind blown at how he can write about physics so beautifully.
I need to be honest though… I have a secret love for physics so his work may speak more to me than it does to you.
With that being said, most people have a desire to understand the world on some level. In search for this understanding, they turn to astrology, theology, spirituality or science.
If you are someone who seeks to understand the universe on a scientific level, I recommend you read Carlo’s work.
This book is my favourite book by him. It sent me on a trip reading it and I can’t wait to read it again.
Rating: 10/10
Click here to read The Order of Time
5. The Anthology of Balaji by Eric Jorgenson
Balaji is one of the most interesting people out there. Alongside Naval Ravikant, he is one of the people where when he talks, you should listen.
When I had read this book, I hadn’t consumed too much of his content. After though, I went down a rabbit hole listening to everything I could find.
I was not disappointed.
It’s remarkably interesting to see what he believes the future will look like. At one point, he absolutely tears apart the New York Times, which I love to see.
The book also goes through how he starts companies, hires and manages.
If you’re an entrepreneur or like thinking about the future, this one is for you.
Rating: 9/10
Click here to read The Anthology of Balaji
6. Anaximander by Carlo Rovelli
I had to include another Carlo Rovelli book because they’re all amazing. I read a few more of his books this year too, but this one stood out to me.
To be honest, I didn’t know if I was going to like this book, but I was wrong to doubt Carlo.
This book is all about Anaximander and how he essentially gave birth to scientific thought as we know it.
He was the first geographer, biologist, astronomer and the first to propose theories that would prove fundamental to scientific activity.
Before him, there were no attempts to think of natural phenomena such as wind, as independent from gods…
Basically, he created science.
If you love science or learning about the world in general, this one is for you.
Rating: 9/10
Click here to read Anaximander
7. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I rarely read fiction (yes, including Harry Potter). In fact, I’ve only read 3 in the last 2 years.
I made a special exception for this book because Elon Musk has referred to it so many times.
This book is incredible.
Now, it is a kids' book, kind of.
But, there is a lot of deeper meaning in it.
The main characters in the book are on a search supercomputer which has the ability to tell them what the meaning of life is.
I don’t want to spoil the ending by telling you what the computer tells them, so I won’t, but I will tell you the significance behind it.
By the end, you learn that sometimes asking the right question is more important than getting the answer and often the answer you get will not be what you are expecting.
To live a good life, you need to ask the right questions while working on problems you enjoy.
When I read this book, it reinforced this philosophy for me.
I would also recommend listening to Elon Musk talking about the book. It’s pretty awesome.
Rating: 9.5/10
Click here to The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
8. Am I Being Too Subtle by Sam Zell
I picked this book after hearing about it on The Founders Podcast. I’m going to be doing some work in the real estate industry and wanted to start shifting my mindset. This book was a great place to start.
This is essentially Sam Zell’s autobiography. He shares an incredible amount of wisdom in a way that would inspire you whether you are in real estate or not.
If you don’t know who Sam Zell is… look him up.
Sam sold his company for $39 billion and owned a countless number of office buildings. He is one of the best examples of a deal-maker.
To learn how Sam does business is well worth the cost of this book.
Rating: 9/10
Click here to read Sam Zell
9. The Founders by Jimmy Soni
Thanks to The Founders Podcast (again), I’ve been on a biography kick. This is one of the books I found through that podcast. Funny enough, it’s called The Funders too.
Anyway, The Founders (book) is written about the PayPal mafia.
If you don’t know who they are, the PayPal mafia is what people call the original group of employees and founders of PayPal.
These people are incredible.
Between the PayPal mafia, they have gone on to start some of the most incredible businesses in the world, aside from PayPal that is.
Yelp
Tesla
SpaceX
Palantir
YouTube
Yammer
LinkedIn
Neuralink
The Boring Company
On top of that, Peter Thiel (one of the founders), was the first investor in Facebook.
Remember in the movie, “The Social Network” when they meet with a rich guy who gives them a $500,000 check? Yeah, that’s him.
Anyway, this book is the story of PayPal and the founders’ stories leading up to PayPal.
The number of hurdles they had to overcome to get to where they are and to see PayPal through the bursting of the Dot-Com bubble is nothing short of inspirational.
This book is best suited for business owners or those who are inspired by entrepreneurs.
Rating: 9.5/10
Click here to read The Founders
10. The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg
This is one of the best and most interesting books I’ve ever read. It was recommended to me by a few friends and I’ve also continuously heard it be recommended by prominent people, like Peter Thiel (surprise!).
You may have heard of this book because it basically predicted cryptocurrencies.
This book talks a lot about the end of democracies and nation-states as we know it. The change it talks about is pretty hard to imagine, but as you get through it, it makes more and more sense.
By the end of the book, my world-view had changed, I wanted to learn more (it led me down another Balaji rabbit hole) and I wanted to make more money to become free of our society.
It’s not for everyone, but those who it is for, will fall in love.
Rating 9.5/10
Click here to read The Sovereign Individual
Conclusion
When reading, you want to get a healthy variety of genres.
The mix that makes me happiest consists of spirituality, biographies, self-help, physics, business and fiction. This allows me to get everything I need to build my knowledge and maintain my happiness.
Pick your mix of genres based on your goals.
While my mix is to optimize knowledge and happiness, yours might be for entertainment and humour. It’s all up to you.
Now it’s your turn! What were your favourite books you read in 2024?
Thanks for reading
P.S. There were a lot of biographies I read that were excellent, but weren’t top 10. If you’re interested in biographies, check out the following:
Titan by Ron Chernow - 9/10
Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli - 8.5/10
Churchill by Paul Johnson - 9/10