The following are the best books on the planet in each of several genres.
Fantasy/Science Fiction:
1 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy/The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – Tolkien is a master storyteller and world builder. Highly recommended
2 A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Martin has created a gritty and incredibly detailed world with great plot lines, incredible action and intense political intrigue.
3 The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This was a great book with a wonderful story and a really unique perspective on magic. I loved it, though I have yet to read the sequels – The Wise Man’s Fear and The Slow Regard of Silent Things.
4 Dune by Frank Herbert. A classic story of politics, intrigue, adventure, and giant spice worms in an incredible intergalactic universe. This should have been a better movie though I have read it was a basis for George Lucas in the making of Star Wars.
5 Ilium & Olympos by Dan Simmons. A great retelling of the ancient civilizations of Troy and Greece with a couple of major sci-fi additions. I loved it and highly recommend it.
Fiction
1 Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Absolutely magnificent tale of the wild west and how wild it was.
2 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Wonderful tale of escape, treasure and revenge. Way better than the movie.
3 Gates of Fire (or any of the ancient world books) by Steven Pressfield. If you want an authentic look at ancient warfare and the brotherhood of soldiers, this will not disappoint.
4 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Extremely prescient and ironically relevant. We are destroyed by our entertainment. What could be a better commentary on 21st Century America?
5 The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Could have been under Fantasy, but since I didn’t include it there, I had to put it here. Classic tale.
Philosophy
1 Plato’s Complete Works by Plato. An absolute must read for readers interested in philosophy. So much wisdom and insight for the ancient philosopher that when you look at what he was thinking so long ago you might realize how much farther we all have to go.
2 Rhetoric by Aristotle. It is questionable to have Aristotle here at number two when he could easily take the first spot in this category, but the examination of rhetoric as the best available means of persuasion in any given circumstance should help us to understand how brands, politicians, advertisers, and even our friends and loved ones try to persuade us to do what they want.
3 Being and Time by Martin Heidegger. This work represents a major turn in the history of philosophy with a phenomenological investigation into the nature of Being itself. Though he was sympathetic to the Nazi cause (and that has been a problem for students of philosophy interested in his thought), his illumination of Dasein (the Being of human beings) is original and insightful. Word of caution – this is extremely dense and difficult to read.
4 Works of Isocrates. This may be debated but Isocrates gives a perspective on virtue and reflects my admiration for the rhetorical component in philosophical thought. (For a greater introduction to rhetoric see Aristotle and I discuss some aspects of it in this podcast and in this blog post).
5 Pensees by Blaise Pascal. I read this when I was in my early twenties and it so impacted me, particularly his discussion of distraction and the nature of the human being I’ve been back through it multiple times since and each time it still engages my thoughts and captures my interest.
Non-Fiction
There’s too much here and I will put up another post with some smaller categories but for the time being, here are my top 5 focused around media and culture:
1 Technopoly by Neil Postman. So prescient and insightful that you read it and see what we have become. I bought this book used on Amazon five years ago and happened to get a copy autographed by Neil himself (thought it was written to someone else) so I call that a bonus!
2 Alone Together by Sherry Turkle. Take a look at what is happening to us in our social interactions due to the monopolization of digital technologies. Turkle gives a warning that we must heed.
3 The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. Another excellent examination of how the internet is literally re-wiring our brains.
4 Black Ops Advertising by Mara Einstein. If you want to learn how digital marketing in the social media space works and how the internet giants are manipulating us by using our trust in our friends against us, this one is for you. Warning: You may never look at social media and blogs the same – this one included 😉
5 Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan. This is the one that started it all – “the medium is the message.” How simple, yet profound. It began a discussion of how our media extend our senses and reshape our entire being.
This is an incomplete list but it certainly represents some of the work that has deeply affected my own personal thinking and I believe will give you some incredible insight as well.