Books.
Summaries.
Reviews.
Notes.
Magic.
Book Summaries, Reviews and Notes of the Best Non-Fiction Books
Welcome to the largest, most comprehensive list of book summaries on the web. Here you’ll find the best resource online of summaries, reviews and notes on some of the greatest non-fiction books out there (and some fiction sprinkled in. What? I’m not a monster). Hundreds of book summaries. All in one place. All free. All yours.
Why? Because in 2020, I hit rock bottom. Then, in 2021, I found out that there was one more layer underneath rock bottom. Reading saved me. Books saved me. Now I hope these summaries get you reading, or at the very least, they inspire you and give you the highlights needed to help you improve – to pick up the heavy-ass burden of responsibility that comes with changing your life and becoming a better human.
This page is the gateway into some of the greatest minds: from Roman Emperors to today’s, and yesterday’s, most prolific thinkers. From self-improvement to business, from game theory to Zen theory. It’s all here.
You can browse the book summaries based on the category below, the best of, or pick a title from the list below. Or you can use Ctrl + F (or Cmd + F on a Mac) for a quicky search, if you’re into that kind of thing. Enjoy.
All Book Summaries
1. Best Books by Topic
BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR
- Greenlights
- Can’t Hurt Me
- Will
BUSINESS
- Creativity, Inc.
- Influence
- The 4-Hour Workweek
- Anything You Want
CREATIVITY
- The War of Art
- Show Your Work
CULTURE & SOCIETY
- Sapiens
- Guns, Germs and Steel
DATING & RELATIONSHIPS
- How To Not Die Alone
- The Way of the Superior Man
- The Game
- Models
DECISION MAKING & GAME THEORY
- Thinking in Bets
- The Biggest Bluff
FICTION
- The Hobbit
- How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
FINANCE & INVESTING
- The Intelligent Investor
- Rich Dad Poor Dad
- The Millionaire Fastlane
HABITS, FOCUS, PRODUCTIVITY
- Atomic Habits
- Deep Work
- The ONE Thing
HAPPINESS
- The Happiness Hypothesis
HEALTH
- Breath
- The 4-Hour Body
LIFE PURPOSE
- Everything is F*cked
- Man’s Search for Meaning
- The Untethered Soul
- The Last Lecture
MOTIVATION
- The 5-Second Rule
- Unfu*k Yourself
- The Mountain is You
PHILOSOPHY
- Meditations
- The Obstacle is the Way
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
PSYCHOLGY
- How Emotions Are Made
- Stumbling on Happiness
- Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
- Tools of Titans
THE HUMAN MIND
- Mindset
- Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
- Becoming Supernatural
TRAVEL & ADVENTURE
- Vagabonding
WRITING, LEARNING, READING
- On Writing
- Speed Reading for Dummies
2. Best Books and Summaries by Topic
Here you’ll find all the book summaries organized by topic and for each topic I summarize the best books that outshine the rest.
- Biography and Memoir Book Summaries: Not only are these some of the most captivating books that entertain and inspire, they also reveal the secret behind what it truly takes to reach greatness.
- Business Book Summaries:
- Creativity Book Summaries:
- Culture and Society Book Summaries:
- Dating and Relationship Book Summaries:
- Decision Making and Game Theory Book Summaries:
- Fiction Book Summaries:
- Finance and Investing Book Summaries:
- Habits, Focus and Productivity Book Summaries:
- Happiness Book Summaries:
- Health Book Summaries:
- Life Purpose Book Summaries:
- Motivation Book Summaries:
- Philosophy Book Summaries:
- Psychology Book Summaries:
- Self-Improvement Book Summaries:
- The Human Mind Book Summaries:
- Travel and Adventure Book Summaries:
- Writing, Learning, and Reading Book Summaries:
- The “Couples” Page:
3. Book Summaries by Rating
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (Life-Changing: Must Read)
First and foremost, you need to understand yourself. And the most effective way to do that is to take 100% responsibility for everything in your life. You need to focus on what you can control – yourself. Then go to work. Be proactive. Now.
Well, you’ve probably already heard of this book. My two cents: I found it to be more of a mindset book, than a finance or investing book. And that’s a good thing. It’s a perfect place to start when re-organizing your mindset around money.
A hobbit named Bilbo Baggins unwillingly joins a motley crew of Dwarves on an adventure through Middle Earth in the hopes to reclaim a long lost treasure that belongs to the Dwarves – but it is guarded by a dragon named Smaug.
Life is just a process of moments and he outlines some of his biggest, more influential and pivotal moments to really say one thing: death is coming for us all and choosing to live with values is what makes for a meaningful life.
Gary John Bishop is intense. He’s not for everyone, but if you need someone to yell at you to get your ass motivated, he’s your guy. In this book he tells you, in no uncertain terms, that you are the problem.
4. My Favorite Books
This list was created by me with the dual purpose of 1) training my once indecisive brain to decide my favorite books from an ever-growing list of really, really good books that I continue to come across, and 2) giving you, dear reader, a solid list of books to read that will forever change your life, or the way you think…or just flat-out entertain you for hours.
- My List of Favorites
5. Top Recommendations Each Year
At the end of each year, I pick my top 10 favorite books that I read for the year, summarize them and share them with you. Hopefully you can find something that sparks your curiosity and gets you reading something good…and, hopefully, life changing.
- The Best Books of 2022
6. My Yearly Reading List
As I read throughout the year, I continuously add to the “Yearly Reading List” so you can see what I’m currently reading as well as the topics I’m exploring. (Coming Soon: I will make these summaries more accessible and more current by sharing my massive library of Notion book summaries, reviews and notes.)
30 Days of Audible…Free
My Book-Rating Scale
*If you use the affiliate links in here a magic genie will suddenly appear in front of me granting me unlimited wishes, at which point I will then immediately wish for something like 100 billion dollars, a submarine, a funny hat, or something cool like that. So just assume that if you use the links to buy anything I make tons of money and become filthy rich. Besides this last statement, I practice radical honesty and anything I ever recommend is something I stand by.