I Love Reading!
It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself, and every day I look forward to picking up a book and learning something new or traveling to a far away place. Sometimes both! You can follow my reading journey on Goodreads where I sometimes post reviews as well. I also have a bookstagram account here. The below yearly lists consist of fiction and non-fiction, science fiction, fantasy, history, classics, and modern literary fiction. I love it all. I keep this page updated as often as I can. If you have suggestions for books you enjoyed I’d love to hear them at upgradedragon@gmail.com!
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* denotes a book I feel is highly valuable, a MUST read
2023
1.* Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (I used the Waterfield annotated edition)
2. Bob Dylan: A Biography by Anthony Scaduto
3. *Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott Young
4. *The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin (AMAZING Book) 
5. The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time #2) by Robert Jordan
6. *On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
7. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
8. *A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
9. *The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 
10. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
11. Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
12. *Educated by Tara Westover (couldn’t put it down!)
13. *The Road by Cormac McCarthy (stark and beautiful)
14. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
15. *The Secret History by Donna Tartt (twisted & fascinating Dark Academia)
16. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
17. *Russia: A 1,000-Year Chronicle of the Wild East by Martin Sixsmith (a well done broad overview of Russian history w/ emphasis on the 1900s)
18. Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within by David Goggins (audio) 
19. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
20. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
21. *Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
22. Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight by Travis Langley
23. Thriving in the Gig Economy: Freelancing Online for Tech Professionals and Entrepreneurs by Adam Sinicki
24. Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on The Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising by Ryan Holiday
25. One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days by Brendan Kane
26. I’d Rather be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
27. *Children of Dune by Frank Herbert 
28. *God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
29. The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World’s Most Notorious Terrorists by Tracy Walder
30. *Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini (deserves the praise it gets) 
31. My Ideal Bookshelf by Jane Mount
32. Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon
33. Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction, edited by Frederik Pohl
34. Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
35. *Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance by Kelly Starrett (manages to be both fascinating and dry as the Sahara. has come in clutch for me several times.)
36. *Alone at Dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the Untold Story of the World’s Deadliest Special Operations Force by Dan Schilling
37. *The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson (RIVETING!) 
38. *The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir by Samantha Power
39. Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by K. Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
40. Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
41. Bag of Bones by Stephen King 
2022
1. The Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation) by Isaac Asimov
2. *The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll
3. Plant Grow Harvest Repeat by Meg McAndrews Cowden
4. *Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert 
5. *Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday
6. Functional Training and Beyond by Adam Sinicki (audio)
7. Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku (audio)
8. How to Change by Katy Milkman (audio)
9. *Life Undercover by Amaryllis Fox (audio) 
10. 25 Hours a Day by Nick Bare (audio)
11. *The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge (audio)
12. Becoming Bulletproof by Evy Poumpouras (audio)
13. City by Clifford D. Simak
2021
1. *Dune by Frank Herbert 
2. *The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco (reread, audio as well)
3. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Issacson
4. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
5. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson 
6. Never Quit by Jimmy Settle (audio)
7. Chosen Soldier by Dick Couch (audio)
8. American Sniper by Chris Kyle
9. You’re Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day (audio)
10. Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee 
11. Limitless by Jim Kwik
12. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
13. Leonardo DaVinci by Walter Issacson 
2020
1.*The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco 
2. *Grit by Angela Duckworth
3. Side Hustle by Chris Guillebeau
4. *Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
5. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
6. *Every Tool’s a Hammer by Adam Savage 
7. *The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone (audiobook)
8. Be Obsessed or be Average by Grant Cardone (audiobook)
9. Unscripted by MJ DeMarco
10. *Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuck (audiobook)
11. Alone at Dawn by Dan Schilling and Lori Chapman Longfritz (audiobook)
12. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (audiobook)
13. Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level by Leander Kahney (audiobook)
14. Batman Knightfall by various authors 
15. Ringworld by Larry Niven
16. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
17. *You are a Badass by Jen Sincero (audiobook)
18. You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero (audiobook)
19. *Black Boy by Richard Wright
20. *Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins (audio)
21. The Bassoon King by Rainn Wilson (audio)
22. Living with a Seal by Jesse Itzler (audio)
23. *The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman
24. *Batman Omnibus Vol. 1 (Snyder/Capullo) (a must if you’re a Batman fan!) 
25.* Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
2019
1.*The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
2. Retire Inspired (audiobook) by Chris Hogan
3. *So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
4. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
5. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle
6. *Atomic Habits by James Clear (audio and written versions)
7. Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale 
8. The Power of Habit by Charles DuHigg
9. *The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
10. Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Issacson
11. Level Up Your Life by Steve Kamb
12. *Deep Work by Cal Newport
13. *Invincible Ironman by Matt Fraction
14. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
15. Outliers by Malcom Gladwell (audio)
16. The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Weiking
17. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
18. *Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger
19. *I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi
20. The Everything Store by Brad Stone (audio)
21. Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan
22. *Start with Why by Simon Sinek (audio)
23. *This is Marketing by Seth Godin