Sorta Random Sunday: 10 Best Books You Need to Read, Plus Bonus Ones!

Since the end of my training, I have found a renewed love of reading. To be fair, I did a lot of reading in training. It was mostly just from plastic surgery textbooks. So, this is the list of the best books that I have read that I think you should read.

The rules for this list are that I had to have read the book in the past 6ish months. (Recently updated to reflect this.) That’s it.

Here we go!

The top 10 books you need to read

(No particular order)

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

Love this book. More about it here: You Don’t Rise to Goals, You Fall to Systems

Atomic Habits should be required reading for everyone everywhere.

2. Taxes Made Simple: Income Taxes Explained in 100 Pages Or Less by Mike Piper

3. Independent Contractor, Sole Proprietor, and LLC Taxes: Explained in 100 Pages Or Less by Mike Piper

Recently re-read these and learned even more. I never really understood taxes before reading them. And man did they seem like a boring topic. I read both of these books in just a couple days and loved filing my taxes this year. That’s how good of a job these books do.

4. Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat by David Greene

Selenid and I have already done a kind of pseudo BRRRR on a property as I walk through here. But I wanted to learn more about this. And I found this BiggerPockets book to be a really great guide. It’s very detailed and granular. So it’s a bit tougher to get through. But well worth it.

5. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller

Selenid and I are re-reading this book. If there is one book to read about real estate, this is it. This book will teach you all that you need to know if you are considering investing in real estate.

Here are some other resources for the real estate inclined:

• The Real Estate Flywheel Effect for Successful Physician Investors
• How to Screen & Analyze Investment Properties the Right Way

6. Dear Boy: A Celebration of Cool, Clever, Compassionate You! by Paris Rosenthal

My sister got this book for our sons a while ago and it is really a great one. They also have “Dear Girl” if you have daughters. If you have kids, this is worthwhile.

7. A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel

This is maybe the best finance book that I have ever read. It is detailed and goes into the research behind many of the concepts that I follow like investing in index funds.

Here are some great summary posts:

• Understanding the Stock Market: Firm Foundation vs. Castle in the Air Theories
• Beta & the Stock Market: Does It Matter?

8. Good to Great by Jim Collins

This is a really fantastic book. It’s researched based and examined companies that have made the leap from, you guessed it, good to great. Of course, these are large companies. But the strategies and take aways work for small companies or even individuals.

Highly recommend.

9. I’m Not Sleepy! (Baby Owl) by Jonathan Allen

Still reading this book. And this baby owl is still my spirit animal…

10. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

I really like this one. You have to look past the outdated references and some questionable analogies. But the main message is spot on and I really believe in it.

Ok, now time for some bonus ones…

Bonus: Thinking: Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

This is such a fun and interesting book to read. In it, the Nobel prize winner goes into how the mind works and why humans do irrational things. It is long and in depth. But each chapter and topic is well broken down. One of my favorites.

Bonus: Die with Zero by Bill Perkins

I include this here even though I don’t necessarily agree with all of the contents. However I think the ideas presented are interesting and worth thinking about. It’s also an easy read that you can get through really quickly.

Bonus: Doctor Incorporated: Stop The Insanity of Traditional Employment and Preserve Your Professional Autonomy by Dr. Tod Stillson

Every doctor should read this book. Regardless of employment situation. Because it will really help you to think about actions you can tale to improve your work situation, practice more on your terms, and mitigate burnout. My full review of the book is here.

Bonus: Dune by Frank Herbert

My brother-in-law gifted me this book over a year ago and it’s just sat on my shelf. I didn’t think it was my kind of book. But then I read all the other books I have and thought I’d give this one a chance. Full disclaimer, I am still reading it. But love it so far!

What do you think? What are the best books you have read recently? I love new recommendations! Let me know in the comments below!