Best books I read in 2015

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In 2015, I challanged myself to read 100 books before the end of the year. Unfortunately, I didn’t reach my goal of 100 books— I got busy writing my own book and life generally just got in the way.

The good news is I still read a TON of books. Here are my top 10, roughly sorted by how awesome I thought they were:

1) Total Recall: My Unbelievable True Life Story (Link to Amazon)

Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s autobiography, weighing in at a whopping 658 pages, came highly recommended from Eddie Machaalani, CEO of Bigcommerce. It ended up being my favorite January book. Arnold lived an incredible life— from conquering bodybuilding, to making his first million as a real-estate mogul, dabbling in movies, and later on Governor of California.

The stories are humorous, but valuable, and the takeaway is just the pure unwillingness to settle. I loved it.

2) A Short History of Nearly Everything (Link to Amazon)

Picking #2 was by far the hardest. Total Recall was the clear standout, but I’ve read so many books that everything else in the top 10 is GREAT.

I picked A Short History of Nearly Everything book because it’s the book that I learned the most from. This book is, well, a short history of the entire universe. It’s packed with ideas and factoids about our universe that will get you thinking about where we come from.

3) Kitchen Confidential (Link to Amazon)

Something like an autobiography, Anthony Bourdain walks you through his adult life while he was trying to make it as a chef. If I didn’t already know he was famous, I wouldn’t have thought he was going to make it to the end of the book alive.

Full of drugs, sex, and hilarious stories. It’s raw, uncut, amazing.

4) How to Fly a Horse (Link to Amazon)

As a book that claims to be the The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery, I had a high expectations for this book and it delivered. How to Fly a Horse busts the myth that there are “magic moments of creation"— that creation is not magic, it is simply work.

5) Meat Eater (Link to Amazon)

Before going on my first hunting trip, I wanted to read something to give me an idea of what to expect while out in the woods. Meat Eater delivered— with a lifetime full of hunting stories, Steve Rinella gives you a taste of what it’s like to be a hunter.

6) Racing the Rain (Link to Amazon)

Racing the Rain is a continuation of one of my favorite novels, Once a Runner. If you ran track or cross country in high school, or have ever been addicted to running, I really recommend that you give this series a read. Simply put, it’s a romantical look at running through Quenton Cassidy’s eyes.

7) Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating (Link to Amazon)

This book promises to deliver a economics lessons through his experiences on OkCupid and Match.com. The book was great, I learned a little bit about economics and also how to write the perfect Tinder message.

8) An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth (Link to Amazon)

Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut, has been to space 3 times, and even lived on the ISS for 6 months.

What I really loved about Chris’ story is the amazing pursuit and determination to become an astronaut, starting from when he was a child. The tidbits you learn about flying to space throughout the book are pretty excellent, too.

9) Do the Work (Link to Amazon)

My favorite book of all time is The War of Art— a quick read that resonantes with my inner procrastinator so hard. Do the Work is the practical continuation of The War of Art some blasphemists even say they like this book more.

10) Driven to Distraction (Link to Amazon)

Read this if you’ve ever been curious about ADD/ADHD. I learned, for example, that many of the symptoms that I commonly associated with ADHD are not actually the symptoms that we should be looking for.