Reading books is indeed an amazing hobby. That’s the reason some of the billionaires of the world read a book, or at least a few pages daily.
And these billionaires include Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffet, to name a few. In fact, celebrity talk show host, Oprah Winfrey has an entire library at home and reads books daily.
All these billionaires share one thing in common: that they reached their positions due to reading books.
Maybe you’re a person that doesn’t really enjoy reading books. But fear not. Because now I’ll be writing about the 25 best books to read before you die.
Surely, you would find something from any of these top books that appeal to you and possibly, change the way we look at life.
List of 25 best books to read before you die
This list contains the best books to read from almost every genre. Furthermore, these books would be easily available online or from brick-and-mortar bookstores. You could also check a library for these books, if you don’t wish to buy them.
1. The Law of Attraction
No doubt, this is one of the best books to read. In this new thought classic, William Walker Atkinson looks at the law of attraction in the thought world.
He points out the similarities between the law of gravitation and the mental law of attraction. He explains that thought vibrations are as real as those manifesting as light, heat, magnetism and electricity.
The difference is in the vibratory rate which also explains the fact that thought vibrations cannot usually be perceived by our five senses. This is a really inspiring book.
It gets you focused on your dreams and goals with very simple to understand directions. Everyone who reads and applies the information with a spirit of enthusiasm can feel the transformation in his life.
2. The Secret
Regarded as a life-changing read by many readers, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is a self-help book that embarks to motivate the reader about a universal paradigm about success that can be achieved through it remains hidden for most people.
The book explores about unveiling this little secret which may transform how people look at things and lead them on to the road of success and true happiness.
According to the author, the book makes proper use of the ‘law of attraction’ and shows how positive thinking can open the treasure trove of bountiful happiness, health and wealth.
3. The Net and the Butterfly
Written by Judah Pollack and Olivia Fox Cabane, this is the best non-fiction book to read and a bestseller in all respects. The creative mode in your brain is like a butterfly.
It’s beautiful and erratic, hard to catch and highly valued as a result. If you want to capture it, you need a net.
Enter the executive mode, the task-oriented network in your brain that helps you tie your shoes, run a meeting or pitch a client.
To succeed, you need both modes to work together-your inner butterfly to be active and free, but your inner net to be ready to spring at the right time and create that “aha!” moment.
But is there any way to trigger these insights, beyond dumb luck?
Thanks to recent neuroscience discoveries, we can now explain these breakthrough moments–and also induce them through a series of specific practices.
4. The Journey Within
The Journey Within guides readers through the essential teachings of bhakti-yoga.
World-renowned spiritual leader Radhanath Swami draws from his personal experiences to demystify the ancient devotional path of bhakti, capturing its essence and explaining its simple principles for balancing our lives.
His down-to-earth writing simplifies spiritual concepts and answers timeless questions in a heartfelt narrative that brings this sacred philosophy beautifully to life.
What is love? What is the soul? Who is God? How can we live in the physical world without losing touch with the spiritual?
In concise and approachable language, Radhanath Swami sheds light on how to answer these vital questions and offers solutions to life’s challenges with the simplest of resources.
This is the best book to read before you die. as it gives you many answers to your life.
5. The Theory of Everything
Written by Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything is a true masterpiece.
Seven lectures by the brilliant theoretical physicist have been compiled into this book to try to explain to the common man, the complex problems of mathematics and the question that has been gripped everyone all for centuries, the theory of existence.
Undeniably intelligent, witty and childlike in his explanations, the narrator describes every detail about the beginning of the universe.
He describes what a theory that can state the initiation of everything would encompass.
Ideologies about the universe by Aristotle, Augustine, Hubble, Newton and Einstein have all been briefly introduced to the reader. Black holes and Big Bang have been explained in an unsophisticated manner for anyone to understand.
6. Good Earth
Good Earth is a Pulitzer winner and an American epic written by Pearl S. Buck. When O-lan, a servant girl, marries the peasant Wang Lung, she toils tirelessly through four pregnancies for their family’s survival.
The reward at first is meagre, but there is sustenance in the land – until the famine comes. Half-starved, the family joins thousands of peasants to beg on the city streets.
It seems that all is lost, until O-lan’s desperate will to survive returns them home with undreamt-of wealth.
But they have betrayed the earth from which true wealth springs, and the family’s money breeds only mistrust, deception – and heartbreak for the woman who had saved them.
The Good Earth is a riveting family saga and story of female sacrifice – a classic of twentieth-century literature.
7. Malgudi Days
This one of the best fiction books is on 7th in the list of 25 best books to read before you die. The book Malgudi Days is a collection of short stories written by R.K.
Malgudi Days is a collection of 32 fictional stories set in a small beautiful town called Malgudi in South India. Every story is based on the problems faced by nations in general during that era.
The Malgudi Days story has been applauded around the world.
Actor and director, Late Shankar Nag had directed the televised series of stories of Malgudi Days in 1986. Film-maker Kavitha Lankesh has redirected the series which was telecast in 2006. The Malgudi Days series was very popular.
Do read the book and got to know more about it. Powerful, magical portraits of all kinds of people and comprising stories written over almost forty years, Malgudi Days presents Narayan’s imaginary city vividly.
On R. K. Narayan’s 108th birthday Google commemorated by featuring a Google Doodle showing him behind a copy of Malgudi Days in 2014.
8. How to Win Friends and Influence People
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
This is an interesting book to read if you want to know how to make better relations in your school, office and business.
From the fundamental techniques in handling people to the various ways to make them like you, this book offers insights on how to win people to your way of thinking; how to increase your ability to get things done; the ways to be a leader and change people without arousing resentment; and how to make friends quickly.
A timeless bestseller, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People has been an inspiration for many of those who are now famous and successful.
With principles that stand as relevant in modern times as ever before, it continues to help people on their way to success.
9. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
The 7 Habits have become famous and are integrated into everyday thinking by millions and millions of people. Why? Because they work.
With Sean Covey’s added takeaways on how habits can be used in our modern age, the wisdom of the 7 Habits will be refreshed for a new generation of leaders.
They include-
- Habit 1: Be Proactive
- Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
- Habit 3: Put First Things First
- Habit 4: Think Win/Win
- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand
- Then to Be Understood
- Habit 6: Synergize
- Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.
This beloved classic presents a principle-centred approach for solving both personal and professional problems.
With penetrating insights and practical anecdotes, Stephen R. Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity—principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.
10. The Eighth Habit
In the 7 Habits series, international bestselling author Stephen R. Covey showed us how to become as effective as it is possible to be.
In his long-awaited new book, THE 8th HABIT, he opens up an entirely new dimension of human potential, and shows us how to achieve greatness in any position and any venue.
All of us, Covey says, have within us the means for greatness. To tap into it is a matter of finding the right balance of four human attributes: talent, need, conscience and passion.
At the nexus of these four attributes is what Covey calls voice – the unique, personal significance we each possess.
Covey exhorts us all to move beyond effectiveness into the realm of greatness – and he shows us how to do so, by engaging our strengths and locating our powerful, individual voices.
Why do we need this new habit? Because we have entered a new era in human history.
11. Rich Dad, Poor Dad
This is one of the interesting books to read if you want to be financially strong. once It’s been nearly 25 years since Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad first made waves in the Personal Finance arena.
It has since become the #1 Personal Finance book of all time.
translated into dozens of languages and sold around the world. Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert’s story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing.
The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.
12. The Power of Onlyness
If you’re like most people, you wish you had the ability to make a difference, but you don’t have the credentials, or a seat at the table, can’t get past the gatekeepers, and aren’t high enough in any hierarchy to get your ideas heard.
In The Power of Onlyness, Nilofer Merchant, one of the world’s top-ranked business thinkers, reveals that, in fact, we have now reached an unprecedented moment of opportunity for your ideas to “make a dent” in the world.
Now that the Internet has liberated ideas to spread through networks instead of hierarchies, power is no longer determined by your status, but by “onlyness”—that spot in the world only you stand in, a function of your distinct history and experiences, visions and hopes.
If you build upon your signature ingredient of purpose and connect with those who are equally passionate, you have a lever by which to move the world.
13. The Writer on the Hill
There are so many lovely things to see, there is so much to do, so much fun to be had and so many charming and interesting people to meet. How can my pen ever run dry?
One of India’s finest and most prolific writers, Ruskin Bond has been putting pen to paper for well over six decades.
Since The Room on the Roof, his award-winning debut novel which introduced readers to the unforgettable Rusty, the orphan from Dehradun Bond has created characters both charming and eccentric, which have endured in the popular imagination?
And, in what is perhaps his most towering achievement, Bond has brought to pulsing life the mountains, valleys and rivers of Garhwal, as well as the quiet magic of small, tucked-away places, in book after book.
The Writer on the Hillis a comprehensive selection of Bond’s fiction and non-fiction, both popular and little-known.
14. Tess of D’Urbervilles
With its depiction of the wronged ‘pure woman’ Tess and its powerful criticism of Victorian hypocrisy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles is one of the most moving and poetic of Thomas Hardy’s novels.
When its heroine, Tess Durbeyfield, is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D’Urbervilles, meeting her ‘cousin’ Alec proves to be her downfall.
A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future.
15. Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex
Written by Dr David Reuben, MD, this book aims at answering every question that men and women wanted to ask about sex but were afraid to ask anyone.
Written in a simple, question-and-answer form, this book is one of the bestsellers in the world of healthcare.
Dr David Reuben quashes various myths and false information related to sex and provides medically proven facts that’re easy to understand, even for a commoner.
16. 50 Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James is a romantic thriller that comes with a supernatural twist. An erotic romantic novel, it is the first part in the Fifty Shades Trilogy that tracks the relationship between a college girl and a young successful business person.
Based around Anastasia Steele, a 21-years old college girl who on behalf of her friend Kate interviews Christian Grey, an uber-rich successful businessman.
The unfolding sadomasochistic relationship turns ugly as the plot, filled with many twists and turns, further reveals about how the life of a simple college girl, who fell in love with the rich person, turns her world upside down.
The book is known for its daring, bold and erotic descriptions, which actually depicts about human bondage, dominance, sadism and submission.
The popularity of the book has also been adapted into a famous Hollywood film that goes by the same name and does feature many bold romantic scenes.
17. Topaz
Dive into the world of espionage during the Cold War and the Cuban missile crises. Topaz is all about an espionage agent of KGB that defects to the West and divulges secrets.
A #1 New York Times bestseller, Topaz follows French intelligence chief André Devereaux and NATO intelligence chief Michael Nordstrom.
On the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis in Paris, 1962, Devereaux and Nordstrom uncover Soviet plans to ship nuclear arms.
But when nobody acts after sharing his findings, Devereaux becomes the target of an assassination attempt and soon realizes the plot extends far beyond Cuba – and himself.
A thrilling and well-paced novel filled with Cold War intrigue, Topaz features two agents on a journey around the world to save NATO and themselves.
A subsequent film based on the novel was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and released in 1969.
18. O Jerusalem
Now a major motion picture, this remarkable classic recounts moment by moment, the spellbinding process that gave birth to the state of Israel.
Collins and Lapierre weave a brilliant tapestry of shattered hopes, fierce pride, and breathtaking valour as the Arabs, Jews, and British collide in their fight for control of Jerusalem.
O Jerusalem! meticulously re-creates this historic struggle.
Writers Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre penetrate the battle from the inside, exploring each party’s interests, intentions, and concessions as the city of all of their dreams teeters on the brink of destruction.
O Jerusalem! remains, as ever, a towering testament to the fiery dawn of Israel and an unforgettable tale of faith and violence, of betrayal and indomitable courage.
19. The Game of Life & How to Play It
In this transformational classic, Florence Scovel Shinn teaches the power of positive thought.
She explains how our thoughts and words affect the experience we have in our daily lives, and uses concrete examples to show how we can use them to bring more of what we want into our lives, including abundance, love and success.
A wonderful and simple-to-follow book on the power of right thinking. This little book has inspired thousands of people around the world to find a sense of purpose and belonging.
Whatever we send out into the world will eventually be returned to us, which means that if we give love, we will be loved, but if we hate we will in turn feel hated.
Through what we give and receive, we shape our reality. This is another best book to read if you want to know about karma and the way of life.
20. The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho’s enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world.
This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids.
Along the way, he meets a Gypsy woman. The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation.
21. The Prize
The Prize is one of the books you shouldn’t miss reading, if you wish to know a lot about the oil industry.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and hailed as “the best history of oil ever written” by Business Week, Daniel Yergin’s “spellbinding…irresistible” (The New York Times) account of the global pursuit of oil, money, and power addresses the ongoing energy crisis.
22. Chariots of the Gods
Immediately recognized as a work of monumental importance, Chariots of the Gods endures as proof that Earth has been visited repeatedly by advanced aliens from other worlds.
Here, Erich von Däniken examines ancient ruins, lost cities, spaceports, and a myriad of hard scientific facts that point to extraterrestrial intervention in human history.
Most incredible of all, however, is von Däniken’s theory that we are the descendants of these galactic pioneers—and he reveals the archaeological discoveries that prove it.
23. The Science of Getting Rich
In the international bestseller book, The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D. Wattles provides us with a uniquely practical guide to achieving economic and emotional security in our lives.
He provides us with practical principles which are embedded in science and philosophy a plan of action that will help create a harmonious environment for ourselves, complete with wealth, wisdom and happiness.
24. Quantum Healing
More than twenty-five years ago, Quantum Healing helped transform Deepak Chopra into a cultural phenomenon.
Now Dr. Chopra, hailed by Time as “the poet-prophet of alternative medicine,” returns to this groundbreaking exploration of consciousness and the power of mindfulness, adding the latest scientific research as well as expanded thoughts on the connection between body and mind.
Inspired by the unexplained recovery of patients in his own practice who had been given just a few months to live, Dr. Chopra began his search for answers.
After returning to his native India to explore humanity’s most ancient healing tradition, Ayurveda, he combined those insights with Western medicine, neuroscience, and physics.
25. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
This remarkable book by Dr. Joseph Murphy, one of the pioneering voices of affirmative thinking, will unlock for you the truly staggering powers of your subconscious mind.
Combining time-honoured spiritual wisdom with cutting edge scientific research, Dr. Murphy explains how the subconscious mind influences every single thing that you do and how, by understanding it and learning to control its incredible force, you can improve the quality of your daily life.
In Conclusion
As you can see, the above list contains books for self-development, fiction, real-life stories and lots more. Therefore, you can select any genre you want and read.
you can As I mentioned earlier, reading is a fabulous hobby and these books could help you get started.