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Soman Chainani Recommended Books
Soman Chainani has recommended 19 books. Browse the complete reading list with quotes and sources below.
Soman Chainani is an American author and filmmaker.
(Read more on Wikipedia)19 Books Recommended
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Cirque du Soleil
The Spark - Igniting the Creative Fire that Lives within Us All
by John U. Bacon
"One of my favorite books." - Soman Chainani (Source)
A Little Life
by Hanya Yanagihara
"The greatest work of fiction I’ve ever read, with the simplest theme: All of us come with baggage and wounds and pain; all of us." - Soman Chainani (Source)
Also recommended by
3 people
Andy Cohen recommended this bookAndy Cohen
"I LOVE this book!" - Andy Cohen
Andy Cohen's recommendation of this book 
Nate Berkus recommended this bookNate Berkus
"I will NEVER give away." - Nate Berkus
Nate Berkus's recommendation of this book 
Jack Edwards recommended this bookJack Edwards
"Probably the saddest piece of literature I have ever encountered." - Jack Edwards
Jack Edwards's recommendation of this book
Tao Te Ching
by Lao Tzu
"I remember reading it and being like okay, this makes no sense. But you just keep reading it again and again and slowly, I started to get the point of it." - Soman Chainani (Source)
Also recommended by
9 people
Rick Rubin recommended this bookRick Rubin
"Always what you need to read at that particular period of time. It’s a magic book, in that way, in that it always fits." - Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin's recommendation of this book 
Naval Ravikant recommended this bookNaval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant tweeted about this book.
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book 
Michael Gervais recommended this bookMichael Gervais
"[The author's] depth of teachings are complicated to decode and provide foundations for wisdom." - Michael Gervais
Michael Gervais's recommendation of this book 
Josh Waitzkin recommended this bookJosh Waitzkin
"Inspired my study of softness and receptivity as a counterpoint to my mad passions." - Josh Waitzkin
Josh Waitzkin's recommendation of this book 
Brian MacKenzie recommended this bookBrian MacKenzie
"Once you get to a certain level, it’s like, wow." - Brian MacKenzie
Brian MacKenzie's recommendation of this book 
Stewart Brand recommended this bookStewart Brand
Stewart Brand recommended this book on his "Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization" blog post.
Stewart Brand's recommendation of this book +3
More recommendations
- Jason Nemer
"Oftentimes before meditation, I’ll just open [this book] randomly to a page and read about something and then just have that be what I steep in as I sit." - Jason Nemer
- Jack Dorsey
One of Jack Dorsey's answers to "what are the books that had a major influence on you?"
- Jack Ma
Jack Ma always carries a copy of this book.
- Jason Nemer
His Dark Materials (8 books)
"[The first book is] a little bit easier but then two and three are intense." - Soman Chainani (Source)
Also recommended by:
The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales
by Maria Tatar
"Exposed me to the original Grimm’s stories, which are horrific and dark and insane. And half the time, the evil character wins and half the time the good character wins." - Soman Chainani (Source)
The Neverending Story
by Michael Ende
"An amazing book." - Soman Chainani (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Tim Ferriss recommended this bookTim Ferriss
"That was my favorite book growing up for three or four years in elementary school." - Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss's recommendation of this book
The Velvet Rage
Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World
by Alan Downs
"Ostensibly about if you grow up a gay man, [how] to deal with it in the world. But I think it’s more about modern masculinity and about what it means to be a man in America." - Soman Chainani (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person
Brené Brown recommended this bookBrené Brown
"Such an important book." - Brené Brown
Brené Brown's recommendation of this book
The War of Art
Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
by Steven Pressfield
"Half drill sergeant, half Zen voodoo master, [the author] shot me out of my stupor and taught me the meaning of creative discipline." - Soman Chainani (Source)
Also recommended by
15 people
Joe Rogan recommended this bookJoe Rogan
"A great book about harnessing creativity." - Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan's recommendation of this book 
Lex Fridman recommended this bookLex Fridman
"Beautiful book." - Lex Fridman
Lex Fridman's recommendation of this book 
Aubrey Marcus recommended this bookAubrey Marcus
"One of the most influential books in my life." - Aubrey Marcus
Aubrey Marcus's recommendation of this book 
Ryan Holiday recommended this bookRyan Holiday
One of Ryan Holiday's 2 answers to "what book are you most likely to give out as a gift?"
Ryan Holiday's recommendation of this book 
Seth Godin recommended this bookSeth Godin
Seth Godin mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Seth Godin's recommendation of this book 
Brian Koppelman recommended this bookBrian Koppelman
"Talks about resistance." - Brian Koppelman
Brian Koppelman's recommendation of this book +9
More recommendations
- Marie Forleo
"The essential no-bullshit guide for anyone who battles self-doubt or struggles to bring any important project to life." - Marie Forleo
- Daniel Pink
"I have [a little sign] on my desk here that says, 'Beat the resistance.' So, I’ve given [this book] out a lot too." - Daniel Pink
- Derek Sivers
"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." - Derek Sivers
- Russell Moore
"About showing up and not waiting for inspiration to hit." - Russell Moore
- Jen Sincero
"Read this thing if you want to blast past your fears and insecurities and resistance to being your biggest, badassiest self." - Jen Sincero
- Jodie Cook
"This book is a sharp reality check for every artist. It will help you become unblocked, right now and possibly forever." - Jodie Cook
- Danny Miranda
"Odds of re-reading: close to 100%." - Danny Miranda
- James Clear
"[One of] the 10 best nonfiction books of all-time." - James Clear
- Michael Hyatt
Michael Hyatt recommended this book on his website.
- Marie Forleo
The Little Mermaid
by Hans Christian Andersen
"You look at The Little Mermaid [movie]. Arielle should die brutally in that movie because she’s an idiot, a complete idiot. [...] To read the original [book], where she dies at the end, suddenly made sense." - Soman Chainani (Source)
The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
Soman Chainani referenced this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast. (Source)
Also recommended by
1 person- Tim Ferriss recommended this book
Tim Ferriss
"The best audiobook I've ever heard." - Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss's recommendation of this book
Garden Cities of To-Morrow
by Ebenezer Howard
Soman Chainani referenced this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast. (Source)
Peter Pan
Peter Pan, Book 2
by J. M. Barrie
"Featured a title character who was at once charming and also a complete narcissistic, pathological demon. It was that ambiguous space between good and evil that I sparked to as a kid." - Soman Chainani (Source)
Also recommended by
2 people
Gretchen Rubin recommended this bookGretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Gretchen Rubin's recommendation of this book 
Richard Branson recommended this bookRichard Branson
Richard Branson recommended this book on his "70 must-read books" blog post.
Richard Branson's recommendation of this book
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Richard Reis
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
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Anurag Ramdasan
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