Derek Sivers
Author, programmer, musician. Founder of CD Baby. Publishes rated notes on every book he reads.
You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy
Being a great listener when people speak. Deep insights about understanding, connection, helping people express themselves, overcoming assumptions, the ethics of gossip, and more. Specific techniques for the support response, encouraging elaboration, and keeping it balanced. You can’t be ethical without being a good listener. When people say, “I can’t talk right now,” what they really mean is “…
on sive.rs · 25 Feb 2026
Waste Books by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Tweets from 1765-1799 by a 4’9” hunchback physicist, friends with Goethe and Kant, admired by Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, etc. Such wonderful random thoughts, beautiful perspectives on thinking for yourself, observing nature, language, freedom, philosophy, religion, and more. Hundreds of initial insights, especially inspiring because they’re undeveloped.
on sive.rs · 3 Sep 2025
The Invention of the Jewish People by Shlomo Sand
Fascinating subject. Countries are made of stories. Kings didn’t need their subjects to agree, but nations do. So to build a nation, they need to make a story that helps people feel a shared identity, nationalism, and what distinguishes them from their neighbors. Back-creating a history. Founders of Israel did this brilliantly.
on sive.rs · 10 Oct 2024
Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions by Batja Mesquita
Cultural psychology, studying emotions through the lens of culture. Your emotions are created by your culture. You should not be too sure that you share the emotional experiences of individuals from other cultures. Culture and emotion make each other up. Great insights!
on sive.rs · 5 Apr 2024
China’s World View by David Daokui Li
Senior academic advisor to the Chinese Communist Party feels most political tensions come from a misunderstanding of China’s world view, hence the subtitle “demystifying to prevent global conflict”, and his intrinsic desire to explain. I love its insights and historical context, especially around “Respect-centered diplomacy” and how the CCP is structured.
on sive.rs · 10 Mar 2024
Arabs by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
3000 years of factual Arab history, and personal insights from this Oxford Brit who lived in Yemen for 37 years, translates classical Arabic, and clearly cares a lot. Huge and thorough but really wonderful for those with the interest. I loved his writing style and poetic asides. Read my notes here for a taste. What a great book.
on sive.rs · 3 Feb 2024
The Vagabond’s Way by Rolf Potts
Best travel book I’ve ever read! Shook my soul many times. Tiny “daily meditation” format, with lots of quotes from others, but wow what wonderful insights. They make me yearn to travel again. Love love love these ideas and perspectives so much.
on sive.rs · 15 Nov 2023
Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse
So abstract. Maybe the most abstract book you’ll ever read. Compares “finite” games with rules and winners, versus “infinite” games without winners where we can play with the game itself. Is it about a job versus a calling? Religion versus spirituality? A story versus story-telling? Who knows. Thought-provoking if you can apply the metaphor to whatever concerns you.
on sive.rs · 10 Oct 2023
You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen
Everything is negotiable. Challenge authority. You have the power in any situation. This is how to realize it and use it. A must-read classic from 1980 from a master negotiator. My notes here aren’t enough because the little book is filled with so many memorable stories — examples of great day-to-day moments of negotiation that will stick in your head for when you need them. (I especially loved…
on sive.rs · 2 Aug 2023
How Minds Change by David McRaney
The psychology of how and why we believe. How we learn and change. The craft of doubt and persuasion. Insights into the social definition of truth. Epistemology. Certainty is a feeling not based on facts. Well-written with a nice balance of story-telling and deeper dives.
on sive.rs · 30 Jul 2023
How Religion Evolved by Robin Dunbar
Great anthropology! So many insights into religions, tribes, friendships, organizations, the evolution of minds, superstition, and more. Got me thinking most about friendships.
on sive.rs · 20 Jul 2023
Nothing & Everything by Val N. Tine
I love this book so much. It's the joy of nihilism. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. I agree completely. I would give it a 10-out-of-10 rating but I disliked the whole second half of the book. So just read the first half. See my notes here. If you like my book “Useful Not True”, you should read this.
on sive.rs · 22 Jun 2023
You Look Like a Thing and I Love You by Janelle Shane
A funny book explaining the basics of AI! The subtitle is How Artificial Intelligence Works and Why It's Making the World a Weirder Place. A great introduction to AI. With a cute cartoon mascot. The title is from her training an AI to write romantic greeting cards.
on sive.rs · 18 Jun 2023
City of Gold: Dubai by Jim Krane
So well-written! Absolutely fascinating history of Dubai. An exciting page-turner. It gave me so much admiration for the city and its visionaries.
on sive.rs · 17 Jun 2023
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
Brilliant insights into human nature. Moral reasoning, inventing victims, emotional reactions, the elephant (emotions) and its rider (explanations). Intuition reacts then logic confabulates a reason. Survival of the fittest applied to groups. Understanding religion and tradition. Great from start to finish.
on sive.rs · 28 May 2023
Write Useful Books by Rob Fitzpatrick
How to write a non-fiction book so useful to people that they recommend it to others. A great step-by-step methodology from someone experienced, who’s done it successfully a few times already.
on sive.rs · 25 Sep 2022
Wild Problems by Russ Roberts
How to improve your HUGE major life decisions, like whether/who to marry, whether to have kids, where to live, career paths, and such — where you can’t use the usual checklist/data approach. This economist addresses self-identity, “deepest self”, and “something I was meant to do”. You can’t use a pro/con checklist with an item that says “lose respect for myself”.
on sive.rs · 12 Sep 2022
Relationship Handbook by George Pransky
Best philosophy of love relationships I’ve ever found. Like meditation teaches you that moods pass, this experienced marriage counselor says this applies to relationship communication as well. When angry or insecure, don’t vent, don’t share that. Let the feeling pass. Your anger doesn’t reveal some real truth. Everyone in a romantic relationship should read this.
on sive.rs · 16 Aug 2022
Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
This 1992 book changed everything about my life. It’s my Bible. Most of my beliefs come from it. I read it many times at a formative age, but re-read it now 30 years later, taking notes. It’s not a perfect book. It’s too verbose and full of expired American references. But its core messages are the wisest, most effective life philosophy I’ve ever encountered. You choose how you feel. Your emoti…
on sive.rs · 22 Jun 2022
The Listening Book by W.A. Mathieu
Everyone should read this book of little essays about listening. It teaches your ears to pay more attention. It calls your attention to sounds you hadn’t noticed. It’s beautifully written, and makes your life better. I read it twice, 24 years ago, and reading it again this week, it was even better than I remembered.
on sive.rs · 3 Sep 2021
How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand
I’ve read this book three times since 1999, and gifted it many times to others. It’s changed the way I look at buildings. I read it again now because I’m building a new house. Its main idea is that all buildings are predictions, and all predictions are wrong, so design to make them easy to change. I think of it metaphorically in life: assuming my predictions about what I want will probably be w…
on sive.rs · 2 Aug 2021
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Classic book with near-cult following. How to manage every last itty bitty tiny thing in your life. Keep your inbox empty. Re-read 16 years later. Still great.
on sive.rs · 30 Apr 2021
Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg
The 2nd-best and most-radical book about great writing. It tells you to focus entirely on the sentence, an approach that was already my favorite, which is why I bought this book. It recommends you boldly eliminate transitions and conjunctions, split compound sentences, don't save your point for the end, and revise by deleting. This is the first book I've seen printed as one sentence per line —…
on sive.rs · 28 Mar 2021
Skin in the Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Taleb is always filled with surprising ideas and confrontational bragging. Ignore the hot air and gather the gems. Great thoughts around putting your ass on the line with consequences — not just thinking things in theory but doing things in reality — in the real world.
on sive.rs · 15 Aug 2020
This Is Marketing by Seth Godin
A must-read for every entrepreneur. A holistic, generous, human, emotional, long-term, story-driven approach to your business. The world would be a much better place if businesses were led this way. You'll have a competitive advantage if you do this, since so few do.
on sive.rs · 2 Aug 2019
Atomic Habits by James Clear
I was doubtful, but everyone kept telling me it’s awesome, so I reluctantly read it. Holy crap! It’s GREAT! Feels like the definitive masterpiece on the subject of how to make good habits and break bad ones. Very focused on helping you take action. Very relatable and inspiring.
on sive.rs · 29 Dec 2018
The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
Wow. A profound little philosophy book from Japan, communicating the psychology of Alfred Adler - a rival of Freud. Told as a conversation between an angry student and a patient teacher. A little book so good that I rushed home from other activities to keep reading it, and finished in a day. A surprisingly fresh perspective on how to live. (The “disliked” part is not the point, so don’t let the…
on sive.rs · 25 Jul 2018
Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
Amazing point: Would your belief in something stand up to the question, “Wanna bet?” If you had to gamble significant money on that belief, would you still feel 100% about it? Or maybe more honestly 60%? This creates healthy skepticism encouraging you to seek the best information instead of just defending your belief. Now objective accuracy wins instead of argument. Combine with “The Biggest Bl…
on sive.rs · 2 Jun 2018
12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
A unique thinker with strong opinions presented as indisputable fact. More surprisingly interesting ideas than almost any book I've ever read. Extremely thoughtful, but occasionally abruptly concludes with an unsupported point. It has a conservative “this is how it is” certainty. It’s a broad collection of thoughtful insights on life, mixed with a lot of Bible interpretation.
on sive.rs · 10 Apr 2018
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Awesomely creative think-piece. 40 very short fictional stories about what happens when you die. The framework is inspiring for anyone: coming up with 40 different answers to any one question. But they’re also just brilliant ideas and powerful little fables. I just read it a 2nd time and love it even more now.
on sive.rs · 27 Sep 2017
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
I resisted reading this popular history of mankind, because it came out when I had just finished “Guns, Germs, and Steel” and “Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches”, on the same subject. But wow - this book is at its best when the author is sharing his personal perspective about binding myths, humanism, and other ways that “truths” are not true. And you get an interesting history of the world along wi…
on sive.rs · 15 Aug 2017
Happy by Derren Brown
Brilliant and profound yet totally entertaining philosophy book by one of my favorite people. Gives an approachable overview of past philosophies and shows how they apply to your life today better than the harmful pop-self-help-positivity stuff. Amazing perspectives on desires, death, relationships, anger, and how being present doesn’t matter as much as the story you tell yourself afterwards. H…
on sive.rs · 5 Mar 2017
Au Contraire: Figuring Out the French by Gilles Asselin and Ruth Mastron
The absolute best book I've ever found on explaining the mindset of a country. (Runner-up is “Watching the English” by Kate Fox.) I wish every country had a book this deep. Not just what but why! Also appreciate the bold writing, skipping caveats.
on sive.rs · 11 Oct 2016
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
The opposite of every other book. Don’t try. Give up. Be wrong. Lower your standards. Stop believing in yourself. Follow the pain. And oh yeah, kill yourself. Each point is profoundly true, useful, and more powerful than the usual positivity. Succinct but surprisingly deep, I read it in one night, then read it again a month later.
on sive.rs · 26 Sep 2016
The Gardener and the Carpenter by Alison Gopnik
Great philosophy of parenting, from a grandmother who is a wise professor of philosophy and a developmental psychologist. Such a beautiful mindset and outlook. Required reading for every parent. Re-read it often as a necessary reminder.
on sive.rs · 10 Aug 2016
Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
Forget yourself and focus on the work. Be humble and persistent. Value discipline and results, not passion and confidence. Be lesser, do more. This message is crucial, but the opposite of almost every other book. I wish everyone would read this. I need to re-read it each year. It's that important. It's easy to read this and say “oh yeah I've got my ego under control”, but the problem is deeper…
on sive.rs · 1 Aug 2016
Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen
I’ve read many books on parenting, but this one is the best. It’s genius. My top recommendation for everyone with a kid age 1-13. Its point is that children communicate through play. So, to reach them: play! Anything can be done through play: teaching, emotional connection, processing difficult situations, and even discipline can be made playful. Read the whole book instead of just my notes, si…
on sive.rs · 5 Jun 2016
Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston
Powerful and profound life lessons from a psychiatrist who's been listening to people's problems for decades.
on sive.rs · 26 Apr 2016
Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris
Mind-blowing anthropology. Great argument that the reasons that religions worship cows or hate pigs, that tribes wage wars, or Europe's 200 years of witch hunts, are all very practical economic reasons usually unknown to the participants or washed out of history. But they're revealed here in zoomed-out hindsight. My notes here can't describe it. You have to read the whole book. Riveting.
on sive.rs · 19 Feb 2016
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Great blunt advice about writing better non-fiction. So inspiring.
on sive.rs · 1 Aug 2015
The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy
Rar! My heart rate is racing as I tear through this riveting book. Darren captures and spreads the entrepreneurial spirit better than anyone I know. I've been a successful entrepreneur for 25 years but The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster just got me more excited and enlightened than I've been in a long time. You must read and USE this immediately!
on sive.rs · 1 Aug 2015
The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chödrön
Powerful thoughts on not running, distracting, or escaping, but sticking with something all the way through.
on sive.rs · 16 Apr 2015
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön
Profound philosophy on facing the negative emotions head-on and getting to know them well, instead of trying to avoid them or escape.
on sive.rs · 30 Nov 2014
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
Classic self-help book, in the best sense. Inspired the hell out of me. Mostly fundamentals I had heard before, but put in a very energetic go-do-it way. As he says, “You already know all that you need to succeed. You don’t need to learn anything more. If all we needed was more information, everyone with an Internet connection would live in a mansion, have abs of steel, and be blissfully happy.”
on sive.rs · 17 Jul 2014
When Cultures Collide by Richard D. Lewis
Masterpiece of cultural observations. I wish there were more books like this. My Wood Egg books were created with the same goal. Insights into different countries' cultures. Some amazing, like the reason for American's lack of manners, or Japanese procedures. My detailed notes don't do it justice because I practically underlined the entire book, I loved it so much.
on sive.rs · 16 Jul 2014
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Bold perspectives, unusual ideas, and surprisingly wise advice around an interesting subject of the “opposite of fragile.” Looking through that lens at health, education, governments, business, and life philosophy. Very inspiring, and sparks a lot of further discussion.
on sive.rs · 15 May 2013
The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
Amazing book about willpower from Stanford psychology professor who teaches just this. Killer first point: The best way to improve your self-control is to see how and why you lose control. This is a better book than the other book on Willpower here on my list, because it's more actionable, better written, better presented. Really amazing (IF you act on it!)
on sive.rs · 5 Feb 2013
Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
In the same vein as his other books “Do the Work” and ”War of Art” - but a message that needs to be said again and again to really get through. It's all about the resistance, avoiding distractions, getting serious. Here he dives more into the mindset shift of thinking of your art as a hobby versus a real career. This stuff shakes me to the core, every time.
on sive.rs · 25 Oct 2012
Quiet by Susan Cain
Any introvert should like this book. Wonderful info and insights about introversion. It'll help you defend your preference for low-stimulus environments. Since reading it, I feel better about insisting on my quiet/alone time.
on sive.rs · 22 Sep 2012
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be? Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what “Resistance” is. This book is about that. Read it.
on sive.rs · 5 Jan 2012
Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina
My single favorite baby book: written by a neuroscientist, about babies’ brain development from pregnancy to children. Single best book for soon-to-be parents to read. I didn’t want kids until I read it, then it actually got me excited about the process. I’ve recommended it more than a hundred times.
on sive.rs · 11 Nov 2011
Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
A true manifesto. A call to action. A kick in the butt for any creative person. Great thoughts on overcoming the resistance to creating.
on sive.rs · 25 Oct 2011
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith
Aimed at already-successful people. The personality traits that brought you to success (personal discipline, saying yes to everything, over-confidence) are the same traits that hold you back from going further! (Where you need to listen to lead, and don't let over-confidence make you over-commit.) Stinging counter-intuitive insights that hit very close to home for me. Great specific suggestions…
on sive.rs · 22 Aug 2011
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William Irvine
Almost too personal for me to give an objective review, because I found when reading it that the quirky philosophy I've been living my life by since 17 matches up exactly with a 2000-year-old philosophy called Stoicism. Mine was self-developed haphazardly, so it was fascinating to read the refined developed original. Really resonated.
on sive.rs · 26 Sep 2010
Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Great great great great GREAT psychology book about real ways to make change last - both personal and organizational. So many powerful insights, based on fact not theory. Inspiring counterintuitive stories of huge organizational change against all odds. Highly recommended for everyone.
on sive.rs · 10 May 2010
The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
Psychology professor's digestible but deep insight into how our minds work, around the topic of happiness. Great metaphor of a rider on the back of an elephant. Rider is reasoning, elephant is emotions. Rider has limited control of what the elephant does. Surprising insights into ethics and morality. See my notes for great quotes, but read the whole well-written book.
on sive.rs · 1 May 2010
Influence by Robert Cialdini
Classic book on the psychology of persuasion. I read it 15 years ago, thought about it ever since, and re-read it now. How to get a 700% improvement in volunteers. How to sell more by doubling your prices. How to make people feel they made a choice, when really you made it for them.
on sive.rs · 15 Aug 2009
The Time Paradox by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd
Profound idea that everyone has a primary time focus, either Future-focused, Present-focused, or Past-focused. Fascinating implications of each. Because I’m so future-focused, reading this book helped me understand people who are very present-focused. Also great advice on shifting your focus when needed. I read it 14 years ago, but still think about it constantly.
on sive.rs · 3 Apr 2009
How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis
Shockingly honest thoughts from a filthy rich bastard.
on sive.rs · 18 Jun 2008
The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
Brilliant reversal of all of the “how to manage all your crap” books. This one tells you how to say “no” to the crap, set expectations on your terms, and be just as effective in a fraction of the time.
on sive.rs · 15 May 2008
The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read by Daniel R. Solin
An itty-bitty quick-read no-fluff book with the wisest succinct advice to investors: You can't predict the future, and neither can anyone else. Determine your asset allocation, stick with cheap broad indexes, and rebalance occasionally.
on sive.rs · 14 May 2008
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
Not at all new-agey, as the title might suggest. Harvard professor of psychology has studied happiness for years, and shares factual findings that will change the way you look at the world.
on sive.rs · 11 Jul 2007
The Paradox of Choice - Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz
Faced with many options or decisions in your life? This will change the way you look at them. We feel worse when we have too many options.
on sive.rs · 11 Jul 2007
The Art of Profitability by Adrian Slywotzky
25 different models of profitability presented in examples you can relate to your own business, making you realize profit-sources you’d never thought of before.
on sive.rs · 2 Dec 2005
E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Absolutely everyone who is an entrepreneur or wants to be one needs to read this book. I first read it after 10 years of successfully running my company, and was still blown away and totally humbled by its wisdom. Re-reading it today, I'm amazed how my view of business was completely changed by this one little book. See my notes for examples, but definitely read the book itself to get the real…
on sive.rs · 26 Feb 2004
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