Before I even get into the best book stuff, I take this moment to wish each one of you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance. Hope you guys are geared up for holiday season and planned to spend some quality time with friends & family.
Well, another eventful year has passed by and I can’t thank enough god, family, friends, readers of this blog and last but not least some wonderful books that made this year a truly special year.
I usually read more than a dozen of books and this year was no exception. The number of books was even higher since I picked up many books recommended by many influencers I follow online. Though I could complete many of those recommended books, few of them really stood out and made a LOT of difference to my thinking, strategy and strengthened my core belief system (it’s like an operating system cleansing to a PC). The books belong to the different genre such as personal development, business advice, online business, life. Oh wait, there’s a book about marriage as well which I recently picked up and finishing reading.
Speaking of the genre, I am not a big fan of fiction books. Sorry if I offend someone here with that statement.
Since we are almost wrapping up 2017, I thought to make a post covering top 10 books that I really loved reading and experienced an impact on my life.
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Disclaimer: These are not necessarily the books that were released in 2017. These were my personal favorite books that I completed reading in 2017. Also, some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means I earn a small commission if you happen to buy these books from the link I shared here.[/su_note]
10 Best Books of 2017 – My Favourite List
1. Rework – by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Productivity, entrepreneurship, minimalism [/su_note]
[su_button url=”http://amzn.to/2DCYtch” target=”blank” background=”#eb7d2b” color=”#f8f4f4″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ rel=”nofollow”]BUY FROM AMAZON[/su_button]
I feel blessed to have gotten my hands on this book. Well, it was not a coincidence at all, since I was following Jason Fried’s writings on his blog Signal v/s Noise and I am an admirer and user of his app BaseCamp. Now, this book packs tremendous value within. I picked up this book thinking that it would offer some tips to reduce ‘rework’, you know the title gives you that impression. But the book is not just about merely correcting mistakes. It redefines the way we work. It challenges the usual norms a business follows or adhere to. And Jason Fried has a solid proof that his teachings work. BaseCamp is a fantastic product and has maintained a healthy growth rate over these years.
Again, the book is not just about business, it’s about our thinking patterns. It’s also about minimalism and cutting out the fluff from our lives and businesses, products, services. And if you think the book follows a hard to follow business language? Well, you bet, it doesn’t. I totally loved the small chapters packing enjoyable, witty and exceptional writing that is easy to absorb and implement.
Without any doubt, this was the number one book for me this year that had the most impact on my life.
2. The 4 Hour Work Week – by Timothy Ferris
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Entrepreneurship, escaping 9-5, freedom-based lifestyle[/su_note]
[su_button url=”http://amzn.to/2D251zS” target=”blank” background=”#eb7d2b” color=”#f8f4f4″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ rel=”nofollow”]BUY FROM AMAZON[/su_button]
Chances are very high that you have already heard about Tim Ferris and his adventurous outlook towards life. Tim continues to inspire thousands around the world through his blog, events, and conferences. This book I finished reading in 2017 was in my collection since a long time and I didn’t read it (sigh) and I then decided to read it fully after I bought the latest and updated version.
It was one of the best books written about living a location independent lifestyle and enjoying a freedom based work. It also introduces and expands the theory of ‘new rich’ to you about how the ‘new rich’ are leveraging the internet based businesses to establish and improvise their lifestyle.
With dedicated chapters covering eliminating the fluff, automation, time management & libration, the 4 hour work week is one of the brightest stars in the history of books written about living your dream, achieving your goals and having a fun in life.
3. Crush It – by Gary Vaynerchuk
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Entrepreneurship, personal branding, inspiration[/su_note]
[su_button url=”http://amzn.to/2D5pNie” target=”blank” background=”#eb7d2b” color=”#f8f4f4″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ rel=”nofollow”]BUY FROM AMAZON[/su_button]
Crush it, is a hard-hitting business book that will not only motivate you but inspires to take some actionable steps in starting or growing your business. Though you can classify this book as a business book, it also packs powerful advice on personal development, passion, and self-development.
Gary Vaynerchuk throws light on creating and growing your personal brand, promoting it on the right social channel and reaping benefits from word of mouth while caching in your passion. If you are looking for an actionable advice on how to cash in your passion, you can’t miss Gary’s book Crush It!
4. The One Thing – by Gary Keller
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Minimalism , productivity improvement, personal development[/su_note]
I bought this book after being recommended by Pat Flyn’s in his book club and I truly feel that it’s a terrific piece written on achieving great results while focussing on the necessary things and focussing ‘ONE THING’ at a time. Before I started reading this book, I was thinking that this book might try to merely expand on the topic of single-tasking and boy I was so wrong.
The book consists of chapters that are masterfully crafted to enlighten you about topics such as prioritizing, productivity and living with a purpose. Each chapter is small, easy to read and absorb and implement your life. A fantastic read – Thank you Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.
5. Greatest Salesman in the World
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Marketing, story-based inspiration[/su_note]
I don’t want to share internal details about this book here simply because one reason – This is a story based book and you wouldn’t like me to tell you what it is and steal the joyful experience you would otherwise have while you are reading it yourselves. However, what I can reveal about this international bestseller is it’s a compact book that packs powerful actionable advice and wisdom while taking you through the story of Og Mandino.
Pick this little book as soon as possible and I am sure you will finish reading this in one go – Because I did :-)
6. The Mind-Body Connection
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Health, healing , brain power, pyschology[/su_note]
[su_button url=”http://amzn.to/2DeGat1″ target=”blank” background=”#eb7d2b” color=”#f8f4f4″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ rel=”nofollow”]BUY FROM AMAZON[/su_button]
Leaping into a totally different genre, I think this book deserves a separate review post since I can’t cover all benefits of this book in few words. However, I will try my best to share an introduction to this one here if not about those core principles the book has to offer.
This is a very interesting book that’s written by John E Sarno (M.D.) who has helped thousands around the world with his books and personal consulting and he focusses on how our brain itself can heal us from chronic ailments. He explains how our brains perceive pain and how it regulates blood supply to various parts of the body and why our specific part of the body is deprived of blood circulation. And most importantly what we can do to cure the unexplained problems such as CFS(Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), chronic back pain and many other diseases by just understanding our situation and ‘accepting them’. He also talks about ‘rage’ and how it is the culprit for many diseases.
A must-read for anyone (and everyone) to understand the connection between mind and body and how a revolutionary way of healing by thinking and accepting. Go and get this one and take your time to read (not surely in one go).
7. The Laptop Millionaire
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Online business, escaping the 9-5[/su_note]
[su_button url=”http://amzn.to/2zuLW7v” target=”blank” background=”#eb7d2b” color=”#f8f4f4″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ rel=”nofollow”]BUY FROM AMAZON[/su_button]
If you want to know what are the various ways and channels using which you can make a living online (and in some cases a fortune), then this book is a great start. Mark Anastasi is well respected for his teachings about generating an income online while staying location independent.
He shares 32 ways to profit from internet based businesses along with real-life case studies of people who transformed their lives. True to his book’s title, all you need is a laptop and an internet connection to get started with any of the online business modes as adviced by Mark Anastasi.
He covers various online channels of income generation such as using YouTube, Facebook, Fiverr and many others. He also explains the strategies of list building email marketings, webinars and scaling approaches including outsourcing.
A fantastic start if you are looking to start an online business and live your life on your own terms rather than bound to a 9-5 job.
8. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Personal development[/su_note]
[su_button url=”http://amzn.to/2zuauxf” target=”blank” background=”#eb7d2b” color=”#f8f4f4″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ rel=”nofollow”]BUY FROM AMAZON[/su_button]
I almost dismissed this book because its strong title (won’t you?) and even after reading few initial chapters. But, I started connecting and appreciating the hidden message and the real meat of the book only after chapter 4 (The Value of suffering) and I didn’t look back then and completed the whole book.
Mark Manson’s book is special, unique and offers a totally different lens how you see the world. I sometimes felt (before chapter 4 as I said earlier) demotivating and demoralizing in few ways while Mark tells that we are not special and we don’t possess superpowers. However, I started connecting with his views about what he says about boredom and emotional state of ours. It effortlessly made its place in my top books I read this year.
I won’t reveal much again about this one, read yourselves and do let me know what you feel about it.
9. Love Mirage – by Sheelaa M Bajaj
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Marriage, Love & life[/su_note]
[su_button url=”http://amzn.to/2DeGp7p” target=”blank” background=”#eb7d2b” color=”#f8f4f4″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ rel=”nofollow”]BUY FROM AMAZON[/su_button]
This was one of the surprising addition to my collection this year and I thought I won’t be able to finish the book before getting it in my hands, but I finished reading it in one go due to two reasons. It’s crisp, to the point and it’s short in length (but adequate enough to cover the message).
Written by Sheelaa Bajaj who is a well-known name in numerology field and her book ‘Love Mirage’ throws light on one of the oldest institutions of India, marriage.
She digs deep to discover some great insights about love, compromise, sympathy, and shares some hard hitting truth of broken marriages and secrets for a happy marriage. Pick up this one and enlighten yourself by the wisdom that the book packs from author’s experience of consulting hundreds of couples and counseling them.
10. The Art of Thinking Clearly
[su_note note_color=”#f7fbf8″]Genre: Personal development & making impactful judgements in life[/su_note]
[su_button url=”http://amzn.to/2C7rc8w” target=”blank” background=”#eb7d2b” color=”#f8f4f4″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ rel=”nofollow”]BUY FROM AMAZON[/su_button]
This is a 300+ page masterpiece that packs so much wisdom that you won’t disagree with any of the author’s views (I resonated with most of them). What is the book all about? Well, it’s about us, life and about the wisdom about making those important judgments in our lives. It’s about practical thinking, seeing the reality AS IS than feeling over-the-top emotional about any event or person.
The book brings clarity to your thoughts, makes you powerful to take those impactful decisions in your life, makes you a better human being and 300 pages wiser.
Rolf Dobelli, thank you!
Over to You – Which are favorite books of 2017?
Which books were you able to read and benefit in 2017? I would be eager to know. Please share in the comment section.
William Chou
These are great books. I’m familiar with most of them. I recommend Ray Dalio’s new book Principles