My wishlist is a curated mix of books, some recommended by friends, others discovered through podcasts, blogs, or favorite authors. A few continue stories I’ve already begun, while others open doors to entirely new topics. Each one is an invitation to learn, feel, and explore something new.

Sorted by reader rating, best first. The scores come from Open Library, weighted so that a book with hundreds of ratings outranks one carried by a single five-star vote. Anything Open Library has no ratings for sits at the bottom.

Exhalation - Ted Chiang

Exhalation
Ted Chiang

Shoe Dog - Phil Knight

Shoe Dog
Phil Knight

Dungeon Crawler Carl - Matt Dinniman

Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman

The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson

Endurance - Alfred Lansing

Endurance
Alfred Lansing

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Edmund Morris

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
Edmund Morris

A Bright Shining Lie - Neil Sheehan

A Bright Shining Lie
Neil Sheehan

How to Be Perfect - Michael Schur

How to Be Perfect
Michael Schur

Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

Mistborn: The Final Empire
Brandon Sanderson

Wild Swans - Jung Chang

Wild Swans
Jung Chang

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke

Piranesi
Susanna Clarke

Empire of Pain - Patrick Radden Keefe

Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe

Super Pumped - Mike Isaac

Super Pumped
Mike Isaac

Cod - Mark Kurlansky

Cod
Mark Kurlansky

All About Love - bell hooks

All About Love
bell hooks

Killing Thatcher - Rory Carroll

Killing Thatcher
Rory Carroll

The Peregrine - J.A. Baker

The Peregrine
J.A. Baker

Million Dollar Habits - Brian Tracy

Million Dollar Habits
Brian Tracy

The Great Hunger - Cecil Woodham-Smith

The Great Hunger
Cecil Woodham-Smith

Star of the Sea - Joseph O'Connor

Star of the Sea
Joseph O'Connor

Cibola Burn - James S. A. Corey

Cibola Burn
James S. A. Corey

The Bookseller of Kabul - Åsne Seierstad

The Bookseller of Kabul
Åsne Seierstad

Empire of Silence - Christopher Ruocchio

Empire of Silence
Christopher Ruocchio

The Princes of Ireland - Edward Rutherfurd

The Princes of Ireland
Edward Rutherfurd

The Anarchy - William Dalrymple

The Anarchy
William Dalrymple

Kings of the Wyld - Nicholas Eames

Kings of the Wyld
Nicholas Eames

High Output Management - Andy Grove

High Output Management
Andy Grove

The Republic of Pirates - Colin Woodard

The Republic of Pirates
Colin Woodard

Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino

Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie

The Overstory - Richard Powers

The Overstory
Richard Powers

Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss

Never Split the Difference
Chris Voss

Hell's Angels - Hunter S. Thompson

Hell's Angels
Hunter S. Thompson

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch

The Lies of Locke Lamora
Scott Lynch

Founders at Work - Jessica Livingston

Founders at Work
Jessica Livingston

Tenth of December - George Saunders

Tenth of December
George Saunders

Blindsight - Peter Watts

Blindsight
Peter Watts

Ain't I a Woman - bell hooks

Ain't I a Woman
bell hooks

Feminism Is for Everybody - bell hooks

Feminism Is for Everybody
bell hooks

The Cold Start Problem - Andrew Chen

The Cold Start Problem
Andrew Chen

Dove - Robin Lee Graham

Dove
Robin Lee Graham

Amongst Women - John McGahern

Amongst Women
John McGahern

The Stolen Queen - Fiona Davis

The Stolen Queen
Fiona Davis

Putin's People - Catherine Belton

Putin's People
Catherine Belton

Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar - Simon Sebag Montefiore

Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar
Simon Sebag Montefiore

Andrew Carnegie - David Nasaw

Andrew Carnegie
David Nasaw

Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs - Camilla Townsend

Fifth Sun
Camilla Townsend

Incorruptible - Eric Ries

Incorruptible
Eric Ries

How to Raise an Adult - Julie Lythcott-Haims

How to Raise an Adult
Julie Lythcott-Haims

Selling to VITO - Anthony Parinello

Selling to VITO
Anthony Parinello

Modern Ireland: 1600-1972 - R. F. Foster

Modern Ireland: 1600-1972
R. F. Foster

The Graves Are Walking - John Kelly

The Graves Are Walking
John Kelly

Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA - Richard English

Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA
Richard English

The Good People - Hannah Kent

The Good People
Hannah Kent

The Rebels of Ireland - Edward Rutherfurd

The Rebels of Ireland
Edward Rutherfurd

Ireland's Civil War - Calton Younger

Ireland's Civil War
Calton Younger

Fifty Dead Men Walking - Martin McGartland

Fifty Dead Men Walking
Martin McGartland

The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel - Douglas Brunt

The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel
Douglas Brunt

One Good Turn - Witold Rybczynski

One Good Turn
Witold Rybczynski

The Cuckoo's Egg - Cliff Stoll

The Cuckoo's Egg
Cliff Stoll

Zero to One - Peter Thiel

Zero to One
Peter Thiel

Prophet Song - Paul Lynch

Prophet Song
Paul Lynch

Quantum Computing Since Democritus - Scott Aaronson

Quantum Computing Since Democritus
Scott Aaronson

Trinity - Leon Uris

Trinity
Leon Uris

Home - Witold Rybczynski

Home
Witold Rybczynski

Working Backwards - Colin Bryar & Bill Carr

Working Backwards
Bryar & Carr

This Is How You Lose the Time War - El-Mohtar & Gladstone

This Is How You Lose the Time War
El-Mohtar & Gladstone

Good Strategy Bad Strategy - Richard Rumelt

Good Strategy Bad Strategy
Richard Rumelt

The Lean Startup - Eric Ries

The Lean Startup
Eric Ries

The Broken Shore - Peter Temple

The Broken Shore
Peter Temple

Demand-Side Sales 101 - Bob Moesta

Demand-Side Sales 101
Bob Moesta

Making Sense of the Troubles - McKittrick & McVea

Making Sense of the Troubles
McKittrick & McVea

Stalingrad - Antony Beevor

Stalingrad
Antony Beevor

Red Rising - Pierce Brown

Red Rising
Pierce Brown

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles

Influence - Robert Cialdini

Influence
Robert Cialdini

In a Sunburned Country - Bill Bryson

In a Sunburned Country
Bill Bryson

Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

Angela's Ashes
Frank McCourt

The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz

The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Ben Horowitz

The Dying Earth - Jack Vance

The Dying Earth
Jack Vance

The Wonder - Emma Donoghue

The Wonder
Emma Donoghue

Mao: The Unknown Story - Jung Chang & Jon Halliday

Mao: The Unknown Story
Chang & Halliday

The Happiness Advantage - Shawn Achor

The Happiness Advantage
Shawn Achor

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Dee Brown

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Dee Brown

King Leopold's Ghost - Adam Hochschild

King Leopold's Ghost
Adam Hochschild

Salt - Mark Kurlansky

Salt
Mark Kurlansky

American Nations - Colin Woodard

American Nations
Colin Woodard

The Third Policeman - Flann O'Brien

The Third Policeman
Flann O'Brien

In the Woods - Tana French

In the Woods
Tana French

Blood and Thunder - Hampton Sides

Blood and Thunder
Hampton Sides

The Devils - Joe Abercrombie

The Devils
Joe Abercrombie

Amp It Up - Frank Slootman

Amp It Up
Frank Slootman

Made in Nepal - Binod Chaudhary

Made in Nepal
Binod Chaudhary

Maintenance: Of Everything, Part One - Stewart Brand

Maintenance: Of Everything
Stewart Brand

From Lab to Life: How AI Works in China - Collin Hogue-Spears

From Lab to Life
Collin Hogue-Spears

Obviously Awesome - April Dunford

Obviously Awesome
April Dunford

Unleashing the Vajra - Sujeev Shakya

Unleashing the Vajra
Sujeev Shakya

Astonish Me - Maggie Shipstead

Astonish Me
Maggie Shipstead

Gambling Man - Lionel Barber

Gambling Man
Lionel Barber

Dissolution - Nicholas Binge

Dissolution
Nicholas Binge

Timmur: Stories and Flavours from Nepal - Prashanta Khanal

Timmur: Stories and Flavours from Nepal
Prashanta Khanal

The Apocalypse - Deva Prakash Tripathi

The Apocalypse
Deva Prakash Tripathi

History Upside Down - David Meir-Levi

History Upside Down
David Meir-Levi

The Science of Selling - David Hoffeld

The Science of Selling
David Hoffeld

Gap Selling - Keenan

Gap Selling
Keenan

Hope Is Not a Strategy - Rick Page

Hope Is Not a Strategy
Rick Page

The Art of Closing the Sale - Brian Tracy

The Art of Closing the Sale
Brian Tracy

Personal Development for Smart People - Steve Pavlina

Personal Development for Smart People
Steve Pavlina

A Cypherpunk's Manifesto

A Cypherpunk's Manifesto
Eric Hughes

The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto

The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto
Timothy C. May

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace
John Perry Barlow

Your Secret Right to Cash

Your Secret Right to Cash
Peter Van Valkenburgh

The Praxeology of Privacy

The Praxeology of Privacy
Max Hildebrand

Of Cypherpunks and Sousveillance

Of Cypherpunks and Sousveillance
Patrick Anderson

Protecting Privacy with Electronic Cash

Protecting Privacy with Electronic Cash
Hal Finney

Why I Wrote PGP

Why I Wrote PGP
Philip Zimmermann

Definition of Democratic Civilization

Definition of Democratic Civilization
Abdullah Öcalan

The Conscience of a Hacker

The Conscience of a Hacker
Loyd Blankenship

The Cyphernomicon

The Cyphernomicon
Timothy C. May

Meditations on Cypherpunk Nightmares

Meditations on Cypherpunk Nightmares
Michael Goldstein

T.A.Z.

T.A.Z.
Hakim Bey

The Beauty of eCash

The Beauty of eCash
Hal Finney

21 Lessons

21 Lessons
Gigi

The Wizard of the Kremlin

The Wizard of the Kremlin
Giuliano da Empoli

Ireland: A History - Thomas Bartlett

Ireland: A History
Thomas Bartlett

The Transformation of Ireland - Diarmaid Ferriter

The Transformation of Ireland
Diarmaid Ferriter

A Nation and Not a Rabble - Diarmaid Ferriter

A Nation and Not a Rabble
Diarmaid Ferriter

The Great Irish Famine - Cormac Ó Gráda

The Great Irish Famine
Cormac Ó Gráda

The IRA: A History - Tim Pat Coogan

The IRA: A History
Tim Pat Coogan

Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion - Charles Townshend

Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion
Charles Townshend

The Irish Story - R. F. Foster

The Irish Story
R. F. Foster

The Easter Rising: A Guide to Dublin in 1916 - Kostick & Collins

The Easter Rising: A Guide to Dublin in 1916
Kostick & Collins

Michael Collins: A Biography - Tim Pat Coogan

Michael Collins: A Biography
Tim Pat Coogan

The Republic

The Republic
Charles Townshend

The Twelve Apostles - Tim Pat Coogan

The Twelve Apostles
Tim Pat Coogan

A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000 - John Gibney

A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000
John Gibney

The Green Flag - Robert Kee

The Green Flag
Robert Kee

The Lone Samurai - William Scott Wilson

The Lone Samurai
William Scott Wilson

My Name Is Red - Orhan Pamuk

My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk

How to Get Rich - Felix Dennis

How to Get Rich
Felix Dennis

Troubles - J. G. Farrell

Troubles
J. G. Farrell