I was at the local bookstore today, and boy, I felt like a kid at a candy store—just drowning in possibility. Should I read a book on Aristotle? No, some epic fantasy? Ooh, a pretty guide to the Italian coast!

Now, I can also get the same sense of drowning (in possibility) from the convenience of my home, when I stumble on a quality booklist.

Quality booklists are hard to come by.

They need to be:

Honest
Across genres
For a general audience
& Packed with hits!

Derek Sivers’ Book Notes (Link)

THE nonfiction book list on the internet, in my humble opinion. Sivers takes notes on book, and posts the notes, along with a review and rating for the book. I use the ratings to filter for the best books.

Nat Eliason’s Book Notes (Link)

Nat Eliason has a similar system to Derek Sivers set up. I’ve read over a dozen of his recommendations, and I trust his ratings.

I also just love his blog in general. I feel like we’d get along :)

Bill Gates’s Book Recs (Link)

Bill Gates’s recommendations, I love because he doesn’t recommend self help for junkies like me. Instead, he reads a lot of fiction, and he also reads about the world. Gates has been the only reliable fiction source for me, but that’s because I don’t follow any fiction bloggers—yet.

Mark Manson’s Book Recs (Link)

I love Mark Manson’s all-time top book recommendations. When I’m up to learn something complex about life or the world, I go here. If you’re a member, you can check out his recommendations for previous years.

St. John’s College Great Books Curriculum (Link)

This booklist is special. It’s a list of the classics you read for a liberal arts degree from St. John’s college, where there are no exams, just discussions.

I haven’t read any of the books on here yet, but I plan to. I want to read more foundational books, like Naval Ravikant suggests, to be more of an original thinker.

Thanks to James’ article for the list.

Finally, a cry for help

Hope y’all enjoyed this list of booklists. Astute readers will notice I have no great fiction booklists.

Big sad, so help me out! If you know any, tweet me @rdhanaraj!

Update: I do know this one fantasy booklist. This website is super trustworthy, I’ve read over a dozen books off here: http://bestfantasybooks.com/best-epic-fantasy.html

Another update: After writing this, I’ve been sent a ton more great booklists! Thanks everyone!

• https://ryanholiday.net/reading-list/
• ‍https://www.ribbonfarm.com/now-reading/
• ‍https://meltingasphalt.com/what-im-reading/
• ‍http://investorfieldguide.com/bookclub/
• ‍https://patrickcollison.com/bookshelf
• ‍http://www.jquiambao.com/2020_reading_list