A Good Reading List

A Look at My Literary Tastes

My reading inclinations lean strongly toward non-fiction, with a marked preference for content that offers a deep dive into historical or political subjects.

The historical non-fiction genre is my favorite, particularly stories that bring the past vividly to life. A standout example is the novel We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter—a truly compelling read. Similarly, the work of Ken Follett, including his excellent multi-book series, consistently provides high-quality historical storytelling.

While non-fiction is my staple, I also engage with fiction provided the narratives are masterful and the writing is superb. Authors who exemplify this standard include the brilliant storyteller Barbara Kingsolver, as well as renowned writers like Dan Brown and John Grisham.

Jon Meacham:

  • Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship
  • Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
  • The Hope of Glory: Reflections on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross
  • Impeachment: An American History
  • Voices in Our Blood: America’s Best on the Civil Rights Movement

David McCullough:

  • The Pioneers
  • The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
  • The Wright Brothers
  • Mornings on Horseback
  • The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
  • The Johnstown Flood
  • The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For
  • Ten Presidents from FDR to George Bush (Character Above All)
  • Power and the Presidency
  • Small Town America
  • The Course of Human Events

Ron Chernow:

  • The Death of the Banker: The Decline and Fall of the Great Financial Dynasties and the Triumph of the Small Investor

Walter Isaacson

  • Einstein Walter Isaacson
  • Leonardo da Vinci

Ken Follett

  • Circle of days

Dan Brown

  • Inferno (2013) – Currently Reading
  • Origin (2017)
  • The Secret of Secrets 

John Irving

  • The World According to Garp 

David Howart

  • We die alone 

T.J. English

  • The Corporation: An Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld (2018)

Mario Puzo

  • The Godfather (1969)

Joseph J Ellis

  • THE GREAT CONTRADICTION: The Tragic Side of the American Founding

Robert Gerwarth

  • The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End

Cemal Kafadar

  • Between Two Worlds: The Construction of the Ottoman State

Ta-Nehisi Coates

  • The Beautiful Struggle 

Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams

  • The Book of Hope 

Ariel Levy

  • The Rules Do Not Apply 

Philippa Perry

  • How to Stay Sane 

Naomi Alderman

  • Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today 

Viktor E. Frankl

  • Man’s Search for Meaning 

Paulo Coelho

  • The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho

Mitch Albom

  • Tuesdays with Morrie

David Rohde

  • Where tyranny begins -David Rohde

Dan Jones

  • Henry V

Yuval Noah Harari

  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Aldous Huxley

  • Brave New World by English author Aldous Huxley

Volker Ullrich

  • Hitler: Ascent, 1889–1939
  • Hitler: Downfall, 1939–1945
  • Eight Days in May: The Final Collapse of the Third Reich
  • Germany 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler’s Putsch, and Democracy in Crisis

James Clear

  • Atomic Habits

Harper Lee

  • To Kill a Mockingbird 

Daniel Kahneman

  • Thinking, Fast and Slow

Don Miguel Ruiz

  • The Four Agreements 

Eckhart Tolle

  • The Power of Now

This list comprises books I have read previously and deem worthy of revisiting. They have not been included on my Review page, as I completed them years ago—well before I began documenting my reading experiences.

  • The Book Thief — Markus Zusak
  • Frozen in Time — Mitchell Zuckoff
  • In Cold Blood — Truman Capote
  • Orr: My Story — Bobby Orr
  • The Road to Serfdom — F. A. Hayek
  • The Lost City of Z — David Grann
  • Jungleland — Christopher S. Stewart
  • World War Z — Max Brooks
  • The Clash of Civilizations — Samuel P. Huntington
  • After America — Mark Steyn
  • Unbroken — Laura Hillenbrand
  • Have a Little Faith — Mitch Albom
  • Lone Survivor — Marcus Luttrell
  • Brothers — David Talbot
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns — Khaled Hosseini
  • The Story of Edgar Sawtelle — David Wroblewski
  • Under the Dome — Stephen King
  • The War of the Worlds — H. G. Wells