Tim Urban Book Recommendations

Originals

How Non-Conformists Move the World

by Adam Grant

"Enjoyed the shit out of it. Highly recommend." - Tim Urban (Source)

The Biggest Bluff

How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win

by Maria Konnikova

"One of the most insightful and best storytellers around." - Tim Urban (Source)

The Fountainhead

by Ayn Rand

"I absolutely loved the book. Sure, the characters are extreme and one-dimensional - but to me, that was the point." - Tim Urban (Source)

The Three-Body Problem (3 books)

"Rocked my existence for a few months." - Tim Urban (Source)

Atomic Habits

An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

by James Clear

"I'd attribute about 60% of my good habits to [the author's] blog and this book is rapidly filling in the other 40%." - Tim Urban (Source)

The Uninhabitable Earth

Life After Warming

by David Wallace-Wells

"[The author's] been scaring the shit out of me with this research for the past few years, and now it's a book I hope lots of people read/discuss/debate." - Tim Urban (Source)

Hit Makers

The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction

by Derek Thompson

"Every time I talk to [this author], I can't stop taking my phone out to jot down insights that pop up in the convo. [This book] has the same effect." - Tim Urban (Source)

Culture (10 books)

"They make me so depressed that I live in our primitive world." - Tim Urban (Source)

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

by Mark Manson

"[The author's] an awesome writer." - Tim Urban (Source)

Dream Teams

Working Together Without Falling Apart

by Shane Snow

"[This author] is an insanely interesting human." - Tim Urban (Source)

Option B

Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy

by Sheryl Sandberg

"A powerful book about a life skill we all need: resilience." - Tim Urban (Source)

A Little History of the World

by E. H. Gombrich

"Super comprehensive history of everything. As if your grandfather were sitting around with a bunch of little kids explaining it." - Tim Urban (Source)

Our Final Invention

Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era

by James Barrat

"I think is the best overall resource on AI." - Tim Urban (Source)

Tools of Titans

The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

by Tim Ferriss

"Definitely worth checking out." - Tim Urban (Source)

TED Talks

The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking

by Chris Anderson

"[I read this book] while prepping for my TED Talk and found it HUGELY helpful." - Tim Urban (Source)

Immune

A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive

by Philipp Dettmer

"Super fun read and totally changed my understanding of the human body." - Tim Urban (Source)

Elon Musk

Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

by Ashlee Vance

"A great biography on Musk." - Tim Urban (Source)

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

by Eric Barker

"A mountain of scientific research on success distilled into a quick, enjoyable read." - Tim Urban (Source)

Station Eleven

A Novel

by Emily St. John Mandel

"Should be required reading to remind everyone that we all live in an incredible magical utopic civilization." - Tim Urban (Source)