100 books like Can't Even

This was probably the most easily digestible book on investing that I’ve ever read. To me, the most difficult part of investing is simply getting over the fear of doing it, and Morgan Housel gives genuine motivation for overcoming that fear.

The chapters are purposefully short, which allowed me to absorb the main takeaways without getting too in the weeds on details (a necessary downside of a lot of nonfiction). I loved that it included very clear examples of how our brains work against us when it comes to our finances, as well as clear advice on how to counteract that.

As a rather Type A person who can get a bit preoccupied with schedules and to-do lists, this book was a much-needed reality check for me. I love the almost nihilistic approach to productivity here: this book is quite literally about how we are all going to die, yet we spend so much of our waking life trying to be as productive as possible.

This book forced me to interrogate how much unnecessary time I spend on work (the income-driven kind as well as the household chore kind) and got me thinking seriously about the reason for work in the first place: so that joy is a possibility. 

To me, this book is a classic in the realm of personal finance for a reason. It is the clearest explanation of how money is not actually about money; if you’re actually living by your values and seeking a life that makes you feel truly fulfilled, the point of working is to earn enough money to live on and take care of your future with, while being able to spend the majority of your time doing what you actually enjoy.

I love that this book is centered around finding a purpose without tying that purpose to how you earn a living. It also gives really clear suggestions for long-term investing, and I was happy to see that updated for our current times in the newest edition. 

I loved this no-nonsense take on consumer culture. Listen, I love to shop. I love an outfit. But Aja Barber’s writing was a necessary wake-up call when it came to my spending habits—what’s driving them and how they are impacting the planet.

It’s easy to think the world’s environmental and social issues driven by consumerism can’t be fixed with individual choice, so why bother changing? While that’s true on some level, I feel spiritually (and financially) lighter when I am buying less and caring better for what I already own.

This book helped me finally break some shopping habits I wasn’t proud of and gave me a framework to continue questioning which of my habits are driven by our consumer culture rather than my own genuine desires. 

Originally published in 2002, the author took a revolutionary approach to burnout, suggesting that burnout could be an opportunity for making overdue changes rather than a reason to panic. Ignoring the warning signs of burnout, feeling exhausted, frustrated, empty, disconnected, spent, or cynical will ultimately lead to a state of collapse, but listening to the message of burnout and exploring life alternatives will enable you to make beneficial changes. One of the founders of Skyros Holistic Holidays in Greece, psychotherapist and imagework practitioner Glouberman promotes alternative ways of living and being that actively promote psychological health.

I like this book because it’s very complementary to Peter Thiel’s book.

It emphasizes how to make yourself the focus of your “zero to one” effort.

Too many entrepreneurs burn out before they go the distance, usually because they’re exhausted and frustrated trying to manage their employees and all the tasks associated with the business.

Brantley, a successful entrepreneur, proposes a new approach that gets entrepreneurs out of micromanaging (which they tend to do) by leveraging the time and talent of their best people.

I tend to get myself into the weeds on things that are important to me (like a business), and this book helped me see what I was doing before I did any real damage.

I think you’ll feel like he wrote the book for you. No fluff, just great advice and tools you can actually use.

For me, beating burnout involves knowing yourself well, and this book helps with a critical aspect of that: understanding my interactions with others.

The book is so easy to read and understand without being oversimplified. I’ve used the material to help teach people how to create and maintain healthy boundaries in life and work.

Our well-being is largely within our influence. But that doesn’t mean context doesn’t matter. Too often the burden of burnout is placed on the shoulders of educators; the reality is that burnout is made worse by unhealthy working conditions. This book will reassure you that burnout is not your fault, while giving you ideas on what schools need to make conditions better.

Moss does a great job breaking down decades of burnout research to help any reader realize the specifics of their burnout and what the biggest culprits are. Read this to feel affirmed. Then ninja-sneak it onto your principal’s desk as required reading.

This book is about a new and elegant approach to healthcare called ‘energy management’. Dr. Manga’s passion is in bringing mindfulness into medicine and in inspiring conscious living as a way of restoring and supporting health and wellbeing. She teaches high performers how to access authentic energy instead of relying on adrenalized energy. Dr. Manga offers simple yet powerful ways to integrate what she calls “recovery loops” into our everyday lives. This book is full of real-life stories about the effects of stress and is a treasure trove of practical tips for preventing and recovering from it. In fact, I believe that this book will do more to help you prevent and recover from stress and burnout than anything you have learned or that has been published to date.

I LOVE the author’s voice in this memoir: she is eloquent, funny, and blisteringly honest about the dehumanization that has plagued medical training from its inception to this day.

I found it enlightening to see that a woman who is a concert pianist and turned down a full scholarship to Oxford to go to medical school suffered the same level of self-doubt as a medical student and resident that I did! I found her descriptions of sleep deprivation, the anxiety of being on call, and the pager as “the box of pain” highly relatable, even as I laughed out loud—or sometimes shed a tear.

I was inspired by her redemption through what she called “Doctor Rehab,” a Zen mindfulness retreat which gave her a whole new take on her calling.